joboo

Snaggletooth is right about how they work. I use the old bleeders to drain ( applies to brakes and clutch)I also use a clear plastic tube and drain old fluid into an empty container ( brake fluid is REALLY nasty stuff, eats paint on contact and will do a lot of damage to just about anything it gets on) If you are poor like me and don't have all the gizmos, I use a short piece of the clear tubing and attach it to a big syringe that you can easily get for a dollar or two at a grocery or discount store (think meat injector) or if you have a farm and supply store or know an animal vet. Anyway, put fluid in the reservoir and pull the fluid through with the syringe. DO NOT let the fluid in the reservoir get low enough to suck air in. If you use the speed bleeders they work great for this, pull until you get fluid, this method usually doesn't produce a lot of bubbles, disconnect the syringe, put the tube in the empty container, tighten the bleeder until it is BARELY OPEN and pump the brake or clutch until it produces no bubbles, ( with this method there may be very few but run enough fluid that you are sure, brake fluid is not that expensive) close the speed bleeder and pump the lever slowly until it pressures up, ( this may seem like nothing as it may already be close when the bleeder is closed) be extremely careful to pull slowwly on the lever as fluid will squirt out of the holes in the reservoir at sometime during the entire procedure. Top off the reservoir and replace the cover....good to go!

Thought I would give you guys an update on this clutch thing, Neil86, compensator was squirting fluid with the cover off. Replaced the clutch and put the new Barnett conversion back on, but while doing so noticed it slipping while I was torquing it down. Buttoned it up, drained the master and slave cylinders, laid the bike over at a 45, clutch side down and pulled the crankcase cover on the other side. This way I could easily get to the slave cylinder and not have to drag it through the "hole". Pulled the slave off and tried to move the piston, it barely would move forward but not back. Disassembled the slave and found debris from what appears to be plunger material in the cylinder, guess from when it was assembled at the factory. Cleaned it up, checked smooth operation of piston, put everything back together, refilled and bled (Speed Bleeder). Took it out for a test ride and all I can say is HOLY Sh*T. This thing is awesome! In all of these years do not remember this kind of performance! I guess the piston in the slave was getting stuck higher and higher in the cylinder. I was starting to question my abilities it was affecting things so much like Starts, turning radius, moving at near idle speeds, I was blaming on old age, mine not the bike..lol. Man what a difference, I think I'll keep it for another 21 years or until I need more wheels to stay upright.

Don, I think the weather is the biggest factor in the success of the site. As the weather gets cold and the guys up North park em they still want to be in biker mode so they get on the site and lend a hand or make fun of all the guys in the South who are riding. But when the weather gets too hot in the South and the guys there park em so they don't get heat stroke, they get on the site and give all that wonderful advice to the guys that are now out riding in the North. I think the stats would be interesting, (not that they aren't now) if they showed usage by region, I would bet that that the overlapping months like May and October with the best weather would be a surprise to see if guys are on here getting rides together or are out riding. Makes you go Hmmmmmm.....

Thought about that as it was only a year or so ago I replaced the slave and cleaned up the master. Clutch lever seems to be fine and while the clutch cover was off I actuated the clutch to check for smooth movement and all was good. I also would have thought that after wrenching on the plate that unless it was so completely plugged that it prevented the rod from re-compressing the slave that it would not have started slipping right away again. But only a fool doesn't take all the advice he asked for so I will check it. Speaking of fools, Thanks Flyinfool for the specs I could not find them anywhere and damn, didn't realize they would be so little.

The bands were normal but I did notice that the friction pads no longer had any raised sections they were smooth...the replacements were done at the shop last time and they were supposed to be oem, I have doubts now as to whether they were actually replaced or they just roughed up the friction pads. BTW that was the LAST time anybody is ever going to do any service but me.

Ok, Now I need some ideas, The clutch plates are only 18.5K miles, put in the barnett and noticed no difference, still slipping, changed oil from rotella to yamalube and took her out, thought it might need to burn off old oil, barely made it home. I guess the plates could be bad, they looked pretty smooth but it is really hard to tell by looking. Just can't believe they would be bad this soon. I don't really get on it, I just ride pretty normal, the only thing I can think of is that I have been hard on it for PGR rides ( barely crawling in the national cemetery) and parades where we are also barely moving. Any you guys think of anything else short of changing the plate kit again.

You guys rock! Will let you know how this works!

Hi Guys, I am installing the Barrett clutch conversion on my 96 Royal Star and would like to know if any of you guys ( SkyDoc) know the bolt torque, I think it must be around 5.8 but don't know the optimum. Decided to do this after changing the slave cylinder and getting slipping. The clutch plates probably only have about 18500 on them but the original single spring is still there. The slippage is happening after about 4 to 5K miles after replacing the slave, cleaning up the master and new fluid so it was really strong when it went back together. I think the most valuable lesson I have learned on this bike in the 20 years I have had it that you shouldn't change pieces. If you change clutch plates or slave for example you should probably change all of the parts in the assembly. Learned that when you pull the carbs change everything! float needles, seats, diaphragms ect cause fixing only the problem leads to another and the cost is minor compared to time and performance.

The paper here said over 100,000 in attendance this year, the weather was warm (80 F) and sunny after being chilly for the previous couple of days and man it really brought folks out from everywhere.

Thunder By The Bay in Sarasota Fl was a huge event that went on for several days. There were many of the downtown streets that were blocked off on Sunday for the finale. Jagermeister sponsored the big stage and the music was awesome by several bands. There were thousands of bikes, a couple of bike shows and hundreds of vendors with everything from patches to parts to bike customizing on the spot. There were some pretty cool Ventures, Royal Stars and even side cars. I know you guys are gonna complain about pictures but it was pretty hot and most of the bikes (the ones I wanted to take pictures of) were parked in the shade and my cell pictures were all too dark or had pictures of people more than bikes. There was plenty of parking that was either on the streets or huge reserved lots for those that had registered for any of the events. The food was awesome for vendor food but hey who doesn't like the Italian Sausage with peppers and onions or a deep fried snickers bar? Budweiser was the beer sponsor and there were beer tents everywhere. There were even full bar tents and even though there were a lot of mixed groups from MCs to Veterans rider groups and clubs by ethnic background everyone behaved. I was wearing my vest with my American Legion Rider emblem on the back as well as some other veteran and patriot guard patches so I was especially thankful that a lot of folks stopped me to say thank you for your service and several even thanked me for belonging to the Patriot Guard. All in all it was a pretty great time especially the charity poker run and I would recommend that folks try to make it next year.

@ KIC... Really dude! I have never seen anyone so stuck on 1st Gen this or 2nd Gen that...Dang he said it was 20 years old..he has what he has, I'm sure you made him feel real good about what he has, bigger bucket on the 1st gen...I think he should trade it in...NOT!...lol

A new toy! Awesome. I have owned tractors all my life. Since its enclosed one of the big problems is avoided...wasp nests but do watch for mice chewing wires, they don't seem to bother hydraulic hoses. You don't need to add fuel stabilizer to diesel it is good forever in a tractor engine, keep it full when not in use to lessen the space for condensation in the tank and you NEVER -EVER want to run out of fuel. Lower any hydraulic implements to take the pressure off, helps avoids leaks. If you are in cold country and you or the PO have added fluid to the rear tires for weight, change it to the newer rubber friendly glycol mix instead of the calcium mix, the tires will last longer and won't dry rot as they will with the calcium mix. If it had the calcium mix in it, put blocks under the tractor and fill/drain the tires a time or two to try to wash that crud out a little. The adapters that allow you to attach the water and mix hoses are not that expensive and most big farm supply stores will have them. If you let it sit for long periods treat the battery the same as you would on your bike if you left it sit. Now since you only have 2 acres and you really want to use that toy, paint it red, white and blue and use it for parades and hay rides!

Here are some additional threads and pics that may help, the mixture screws are under a cap directly under the slide covers, even though Skydocs are those fancy copper colored ones, the pics clearly show the location of sync screws versus mixture screws. Pay close attention to these guys warnings in these threads about those mixture screws. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48000&highlight=mixture+screw+pics http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=35110&highlight=mixture+screw+pics

Good followup Toy, I like the spark plug method. The only thing I forgot was that for some of these new guys, you have to shop around for the best prices, sorry Sexigennuguy. On my post I said they were not very expensive and on yours it was "wow, what a price" Some sites even sell above list and others up the prices on some of the more common items, shame, shame but there are some very good sites for parts, I think I paid around $23.50 a set for those assemblies that were totally complete, needles and all. Now after the pilots are set and the carbs are synced there should be no popping or leaking only purring. The only other advice I have, is that I pay particular attention to the reassembly of the whole bank, it can make or break a perfect setup. There is a lot of play that can be adjusted on reassembly because of the linkages and cables.(especially the choke) When all is reassembled there should be no tension or no slack on any of the cables. When you pull the choke, check the plunger bodies and make sure that each is in the identical position, move the throttle arm and make sure the throttle valves all begin to move at the same time as well as bottom out at the same time. ( this is provided you restart at zero, if you do not, the gaps or bottom position may all be different) Best of luck, and enjoy your ride! PS I was writing as you were posting but here is a good article and pictures by the fearless leader that may help. There are a couple more articles with some good pics of a 96/97 setup that I have not found yet but will post them when I do. It is a common belief that you sync one side to the other but not true, one carb is set and the others are synced to IT. 3 sync screws and they interact : http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=258&highlight=carb+sync+procedure

The needle valves are an assembly. If you have pulled it to clean it, the screen is on the bottom, then the orings on the assembly should be changed. If you have never changed the needle valve assemblies on your 97 you should do so, they are not expensive and will solve a lot of problems. Changing just the needle valves, with leaking assembly rings will cause a whole lot of tail chasing.