09RSTD

Happy Birthday to you! Hope you have a great time with family and friends. Enjoy!

Work to ride. Ride to work.

Just curious as to what front tire you are currently using. I had a similiar problem with my Royal Star. Tried everything. I finally ended up replacing the front Avon Venom tire after reading some interesting reviews online. Problem solved.

Maybe to much grease.

This is the best motorcycling website around. I have set this to be my home page and really enjoy reading al lof the posts. Not only will you find out everything you ever wanted to know about Yamaha Ventures but you also have a great social network here. This site is full of very knowlegable and friendly folks. Enjoy and welcome to best Venture site on the planet!!

Well I know that for a lot of folks the standard practice after coming home from a ride is to wash their bike. Did you wash your bike after you got done riding? If so maybe some water got into somewhere it shouldn't have.

Hope that everyone has a fantastic day. Happy Easter to all. He is risen. PTL!

Does this mod work? Well this seems to be a question that hasn't really been answered to its full potential as of yet. Up to this point it seems as though the responses would suggest that drilling the holes would allow more air into the engine. As others have stated this "mod" is a no-no by itself as far as performance goes, but what if the engine had a good set of slip on pipes and a full reject/carb workover to match more air and easier exhaust exit. I would bet that in the hands of the right carburetor tech/genius that this would probably be about the cheapest horsepower money could buy. What are the thoughts of others? Has anyone done a complete carburetor tune after having installed better breathing air intake and exhaust? What are the results once properly tuned? I am really interested in knowing if this has been accomplished by anyone as I have been considering having my carburetors tuned by a highly recommended guy in Vancouver who only does carburetors. I have installed LA Choppers slip-on exhaust and was planning on doing the K&N air filter swap next service.

Wow sounds like you had a blast. Hope the weather was good for you!

This is an exceptional idea! I also agree that we can all learn something new everytime we take one of these courses. She would feel a lot less intimidated if she new that someone was going with her.

Well I suggest that you show her a Kawasaki Ninja 250. Either a newer one or the older body style. If she really wants a "Crotch Rocket" the newer models will probably appeal to her more. She will be a lot less likely to get herself in trouble with 250cc. The Ninja 250 is an exceptional motorcycle. Reliable, low maitenance, awesome fuel economy, cheap insurance, goes freeway speed and well beyond, sport-bike good looks, and easy to handle for a "beginer". Can you get yourself in trouble with a 250? You bet! Your a lot less likely to get hurt due to the amount of power though. The throttle on the 250 is a lot less likely o get you in trouble than a 600cc inline four cyclinder sportbike. Whatever you do try as hard as you can to keep her off of any "Crotch Rocket" with a four cylinder. WAY TO MUCH POWER!!!

Like with all things keep your reciepts! In the case that you have a warranty claim you must keep the reciepts for all maintenance items purchased. Make sure that whatever oil you decide to use meets or exceeds the manufacturers standards. If not you could very likely be on your own in the event that something happens. Are some oils better than others? Absolutely. Should you use a full synthetic or synthetic blend oil in your machine? Only if it meets or exceeds the manufacturer recommendations. If Yamaha states that you need to use full sythetic oil I suggest using full synthetic oil. You don't have to use Yama-Lube though. They can't make you buy Chevron gas can they? No; but they do recommend a fuel rating to use. If they say your machine requires Premium fuel then use Premium fuel with the correct octane ratings. Same goes for oil.

I am sure that you already have checked all the obvious things. If not check the battery connections. Make sure the battery has a charge. I had a similiar issue with a car of mine. Jumped the gun and ended up replacing the alternator. Problem still existed. Chased a bunch of grounds. Charged the battery numerous times. Come to find out the battery had a bad cell. Sometimes it is the simplest things that cause the problem yet we overlook them because just "yesterday" everything was "OK". Hope this helps.

So glad that this event turned out as well as it did. Praying that you have a complete recovery in a speedily time. This must have really done a number on your nerves. Hope that you are able to get some good rest. Take care!

Thank you Lord for living a life only God could live. You touched the lives of so many while you were on this earth a short 33 years. Thank you for having love and grace on the souls of all humankind. You gave your life on that cross even though you didn't deserve to die. You did it so that all could have the chance to know their Creator. Thank you Lord for forgiving my many deeds that caused your painful death. I love you Lord. Help me love the way you loved. I am indebted to you for life so please use me for your will. On this day many years ago Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross. He did for all humankid. He cares for and loves all. He wants to know you on a personal level. If you want to know him you just need to talk to him. He's listening. Prayer is simply talking with God. May the Lord's forgiveness be celebrated this Easter season. His grace and peace are real and attainable by all.

I have a pair of Frogg Toggs and I have a one piece rain suit. Niether of them have been satisfactory. I have read very many great things about both styles one piece vs. two piece but niether of the ones that I own did the trick for me. The Road Toad Frogg Toggs I have are really great other than the fact that they leak in the worst place possible. The crotch area lets water in and that gets real uncomfortable instantly. Other than that one fatal flaw they are far superior to other rain gear options I have used for the following reasons: they are breathable; you won't get wet from your own perspiration nearly as fast while wearing these, second they pack very easily and don't take up a lot of space in my bags, and lastly they are very lightweight. There are three things I don't like about the Road Toads: obviously I don't like that they leak; I have been told that this is most likely a factory defect as many other people not only sugeested these but have gotten lots of dry use out of them, secondly I wear a size 11 boot and I have to take my boot off to get the pants on, and lastly they are to short in the legs for me and they only come in one length. I have been very unsatisfied in the one piecce rain suit that I have purchased. It is a Built brand from CycleGear and is guarenteed to be waterproof. I was running late so I road my MC to work about a total of 4 miles from my house to work in the rain. Water leaked in the crotch area. They get to hot for my liking. Not real breathable. I also have to take my boots off to get them into the pants part of the suit with out worying about ripping the stitching out. I live in Oregon and therefor I ride in the rain. If I didn't ride in the rain I'd be lucky to have 150 days a year to ride. I finally got tired of being a cheapskate and wasting money and decided that I was going to do some extensive research and find a piece of equipment that was going to live up to the claims that the manufacturer makes. Read and read and read all kinds of reviews on jackets, pants, suits, rain gear, just about every option. I researched everything from $100 dolllar jackets to the $800 dollar Aerostitch suit. I wanted to buy something that was going to work. I narrowed it down to few options and went to some local stoes to try them on. Come to find out the sizes seem to vary greatly from one manufacturer to another so make sure that if you order something from online that either you know it will fit for sure or the store has a good exchange policy. Another problem was that none of the stoes I visited had any Long version in stock. They all needed to be special ordered and pay for up front. Didn't want to take that risk. I have ordered Long versions in the past that weren't long enough. One shop that I stopped at had a piece of gear that I had been considering. The Icon PDX rain bib/pant and PDX jacket. Tried them on and they fit very well. Was really suprised that the pants worked so well. I wear a size medium pant and the length on these were very generous. So much so that they are probably to long for most riders. They were priced somewhere in the ball park of $230 for the set. When I took them to the counter to pay the ladie asked if I belonged to any clubs. I told them I was a member of Star Riders and they discounted them 20%. Cost me $184 dollars. I made sure to ask about their return policy before sealing the deal. She assured me that I could return them no questions asked for the first twelve days and for store credit within the first month. Icon PDX jacket and bib/pants work awesome. I have only ridden in these a few times in the rain but so far I am really impressed. My ride to work is 25 miles one way and they have performed flawlessly in a complete downpour both to work and home. They have a long waterprof leg zipper that allows me to easily get the pant/bibs on over my boots. they have a velcro adjustable waist to tighten up the fit once you get them on. One feature that I really like are the stirrups that go under your boots to keep your pant legs down while riding. They also have waterproof zippered fly so using the restroom doesn't require removing pant/bib. Both pieces have kept me 100% dry. One thing that I thought was going to be a deal breaker when I bought the jacket was the fact that the jacket has a non removable hood. The hood rolls down and has a securement built in. It has actually worked much better than I thought it would and it doesn't bother me. The jacket has two nice waterproof pockets. Overall I am very pleased with this set and would highly suggest giving it a closer look.

I am guessing that the statistics don't take into consideration how much experience a rider has. I know that the rate of accients among new and inexperienced riders is so much greater in the State of Oregon that the are implementing a new mandatory Motorcycle Safety Course to anyone that wants to get a motorcycle endorsement. I personally don't think that it is a bad idea at all. I would even be willing to take a class if they required it every five years or so. I think that it is very useful information and also reminds us of how vunerable we are without the protection of a cage. I really hope that this new requirement saves the lives and reduces the injuries to all riders of any experience level and especailly to those new riders. I also think that the Department of Motor Vehicles could do a much better job educating drivers about sharing the road. I could go on forever on this topic so lets keep I will try and keep it simple. Drivers need to be required to take refresher classes periodically. Currently in the state of Oregon you can get your drivers license at the age of 16 and never have to be retested or evaluated again. This is a problem. Truth is when I am in my cage i feel safe. I take risks I wouldn't dream of on two wheels. I ride a motorcycle so I am always extra cautious when changing lanes and when near motorcycles. Bottom line is we all get comfortable when behind the wheel and I think we could all use a little reminder every once in a while just how fortunate we are that we haven't been one of the statistics.

Well me personally I would prefer a belt driven timing setup as long as it was self servicable. My current Volkswagen timing belt cost me about $20.00 dollars. Timing belts dont wear out cam gears and crank gears like chains do. Trust me chain driven setups can and will fail and when they do they are much more costly to repair. Chains round off gear teeth and chains also stretch.

I have an excellent tip that I learned the hard way. If you have never messed around with a motorcycle carburetor before DON'T DO IT unless you have an experienced helper. I thought that it would be no big deal as I had rebuild automotive carburetors before. WRONG. Smaller and much more delicate. Get someone who knows motorcycle carburetors to help with the first time. That way you have a bike that runs better than when you took them off instead of the bike never running correctly again.

This eagle is smarter than your average Venture Rider!

Team North. I am in ORegon state and I can do Oregon. By the way how are we going to keep this organized? how do we know what is available and where the baton is currently?

Longer? If you want your bike to look longer you just need to park it next to about any other non-chopper motorcycle out there. I never really realized how long our machines were until I parked it directly next to my old HD Electra Glide that I sold to my buddy. My RSTD made his machine look a bit small. How much longer do you want your machine to look? maybe you could stretch out the front end?

Front tires will always last longer regardless of what type of tire you use up front. Weight is naturally transferred to the rear of the machine everytime you hit the throttle. The bikes are rear wheel drive and therefor the rear tire will also see more force put on it. Also rear lugage add weight to the rear of the machine and causes more wear to the rear tire. I agree that once a tire is beyond its break in period I.E it has been ridden numerous miles at highway speeds I would not reverse the rotation of the tire. If you rotate the tires on a car you are only swapping positions not the direction the tire rotates. If you do anything at all I would just replace the tire. Cheap insurance as far as I am concerned. Maximum of $200 dollars. Otherwise I would just leave it alone and say an extra prayer before you ride.

I use Amsoil full synthetic 10w-40 motorcycle oil. Oil is generally a personal preference just make sure that what ever you purchase meets or exceeds the factory Yamaha recomendations for warranty purposes. Keep your reciepts! In reference to your statement about temperature variations. Thankfully we are dealing with a water cooled engine. We don't have to worry about temperature change nearly as much as the air-cooled engines. Our machines our temp controlled by a thermastat and a radiator fan so once they reach operating temperature they aren't affected by changes in outside temperature nearly as much as an air-cooled machine.