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I know. I said that word but need some advice on this. If I retire I get a Medicaid Card or whatever it is from Social Security. Problem is Warden is 12 yrs younger than I am. It is going to cost me $537.00 a month to keep my health Insurance. It is very good insurance. I have to keep it on me and her to be able to keep it into retirement. I just need to cover her. Does this sound as high as I think it does?? I know people are paying a lot more I just don't have any idea how to shop for something like this. Getting rid of the Warden is NOT A OPTION!!!

For those of you who have done valve adjusts and timing checks . You know that the chrome cover on the engine's generator cover must be remove when manually turning the crankshaft. You also know there is a"special washer" that must be removed. This is part of the "stator cooling" assy.. NOW, which way does this go in. Or does it not matter? It is basically a washer w/ 2 sides(edges) slightly angled. And also the center is "pushed thru" as stamped from the factory. Which way should it sit? with the washer looking almost even w/the crank bolt or w/the washer set so the rough center faces out...and not flush w/bolt??? I was doing work on it today and forgot which way it goes. I am such a putz.

Ok, I just saw my first close up of a 2000MM on Ebay and I gotta know if the (Instrument pod with tachometer and water temp guage) is available anywhere. This is located on the switch cover and looks really cool to me. Anyone know if this part is still in production or why its not on later versions?

Need your help! Did a preventative stator change on my 89 VR getting ready for a 3000+ mile trip since the original stator had almost 60k miles on it and I run a lot of extra lights. Installed the new stator (high output) in under two hours and was feeling really good about it until I got back from a 30 minute ride and had oil dripping from the kickstand. The leak has definitively been isolated to the bottom most seam of the side cover (between the rearmost two bottom bolts) and is making a real mess. Have changed the gasket now 3 times... once without sealant and twice more with two different types of sealant (yamalube, RTV gasket sealer) applied with no luck. There are no cracks, scratches or dings, and both the side cover and case look square with a straight edge applied. This bike was tight and dry until the cases were split... and as an old aircraft mechanic leaks drive me CRAZY! Thinking about double gasketing... any other ideas? Thanks in advance for your help!

When the "patio over the playground"(belly) gets too big, and the leather jacket or T-shirts somehow don't seem long enough to cover front or back anymore - try this accessory....................

Ok, so I've been pretty lackadaisical about the '91VR since I bought her. After repairing the rear trunk... big project... and replacing a couple of cracked dash boards, it came down to trying to find the leak above the collector without a whole lot of success. I eventually pulled the middle gear cover to see if it might be that. Changed the gasket, and put a new crush washer on the bottom cap screw. Still leaked. That's where I started to loose interest, and also winter was settling in. So it sat. I don't want to pull the collector... Then I picked up the HB camera probe thinking it would help. It did a little bit, but not enough. So pulled the middle gear cover again to see if I could locate the leak. With the help of the camera I checked every possible place it could be leaking oil. It was dry as a bone everywhere I looked. A couple of screws holding the gear indicator were a little loose so I snugged them up a bit. Not because there was evidence of oil coming from the area, but just because. Put the cover back on again making sure. If it still leaks the only place left would be the pan gasket or the pan itself might have a crack in it?? Anyway the search goes on. Now, while I've got stuff somewhat off the bike I decide to check the air cleaner and diaphragms. Other than not wanting to idle real well, the motor was running very solid.. I previously did adjust the idle screws on the two carbs I could get to without removing a bunch of stuff and it did help, so I figured once I get serious about tweeking the carbs the idle would clear up. So pull the air box lid. It's got a K&N. Cool... Weights a ton. Oil soaked. I take a long screw driver and check the slider movement. They're good. So I go ahead and fire up the bike. #4 diaphragm deader than a doornail. 2, 1 , and 3 are perkin' along just fine. Now remember the motors running strong. MOF while I got the lid off the box it's still running great??? I've never had one where the motor didn't run like poop with the lid off. It was like the filter and lid weren't even needed for this thing to perform.... on 3 cylinders to boot... Anyone else had a bike that acted like this?? I bought the bike from a small builder/dealer, who in turn bought it from a private party. I have no history or heresay on this bike. I asked the dealer to get the name of the guy he bought it from so I might get a little history, but he's never gotten back to me. The bike had all sorts of mods done to it externally, but I haven't got a clue as to what's been done internally. I guess it's going to be a discovery as needed thing?? The motor's got me buffalo'd. Could it be a V-Max? Or maybe V cam and heads?? I guess only time will tell. Meanwhile I gotta find this dang leak. I want to ride it to Cody.....

Does anyone know where I could purchase a new seat covering for a 86-93 first gen? Are the available or do I need to take it out to a shop to be recovered?

I have the passenger headset cord that runs to the back of the bike, I need a driver's headset cord that comes from the radio and lays next to the tank cover. Anyone got one they are willing to sell?

My E4 code keeps springing up more and more, so I made time to see about fixing it. It took some doing to get the housing open. The pic shows some type of clear resin(?) which used to coat(?) the connectors having run of the board and essentially gluing the back cover to the housing. Is this "melting" of the I guess, protective cover, normal for the bikes age? Does it affect performance? I do see some small hairline fracture so I'll be fixing those, just want to make sure it's not wasted effort. Thanks joints aresoldered and unit is back together and seems to be working (for now ;-P) still would like to know about the "leak". Also curious if the CLASS can be made to work while the bike is running?

I need a new CB/CLASS/Coolant Inspection cover. If anyone out there has one I am in the market.

WARNING - this is LONG, so unless you are actually going to adjust your valves, or just like to read mechanical cookbooks, you probably should just stop here! There is a LOT involved in this job. It needs to be done, but it is probably worth whatever you local shop is charging. I'd certainly pay $200 for it if I trusted the shop, and I'm very comfortable doing the job myself (but you are probably not going to get it done that cheap). If you don't trust your shop, or don't have the money, then read on! We periodically have questions and discussions here on valve adjustments, like how often? (26,600 miles), is it really needed? (yes), how to? (read on), etc. And the tech manual, along with several other members, indicate it is a BIG job. So Ponch and I decided to organize a training session to see first-hand what was involved and find out about any surprises before we attempted to help any other members on this. And I want to really emphasize how thankful we are to BuddyRich for his wonderful loan of a shim kit and special tool, along with his selfless help of an entire day of hot sweaty work! Without him, what follows would probably never have happened: Background info: My 2005 RSV had the first valve check/adjustment done on schedule around 27,000 miles through the initial maintenance contract I purchased with the bike. Since the shop did it, I have no idea if any shim changes were actually needed, but since I saw evidence the valve cover gaskets were changed, I will assume that at the end of that service, all 16 valves were within spec. My bike now has 70,000 miles on it, putting it about 15,000 miles overdue for the second valve check. I found about half the valves either right at minimum tolerance or too tight (and three of them were significantly too tight). You get to decide how often you want to do your own bike, but I'll be doing this one by 30,000 miles each time now. Planning: 1. Order your gaskets and find tools and shims first. The valve cover gasket is 4NK-11193-00-00, and the best price I found was at www.carolinacycle.com for about $18 ea. I wouldn't want to do this job without a valve shim kit unless I was willing to leave the bike torn down for several days to go find the right shims after measuring all the clearances. In addition, there are different ways to hold down the valve buckets to change the shims, but the only "right" way (and certainly the easiest) is to have the special tool; therefore, find or buy one before you start. We have several members who have the tool and a shim kit (just a selection of various sizes) who may be willing to loan them. BuddyRich and Mother are two you might ask (if anyone else wants their name listed or removed here, please contact me so I can edit this post!). If you find someone to loan a shim kit, PLEASE ask them ahead of time to look at the current collection of shims, particularly the 265 and 270 sizes, to see if any common sizes are in short supply. The shims don't cost much, and in return for the loan, you really should buy at least two new shims in needed sizes before you start the job. Not only will this make it more likely you have the ones you need for your own bike, but it will make the kit better for the next use. It is hard to say ahead of time what sizes might be most needed, since every bike will change the mix. When we did four bikes on the same day, it was very interesting to see that. After the first two bikes, we had a ton of 270 shims, but not many 265 or 275. But after the next bike, there were only a couple 270s left but a big stack of 275. 2. This is a perfect time to change your coolant, so if you need it, have that on hand too. Even if you don't need to change it, you WILL need to drain about a quart, so have an appropriate clean tray and funnel that will allow you to do this and then add it back later. 3. This is also the perfect time to change your plugs, so have them on hand too. 4. Get a can of spray carb and choke cleaner. You are gonna want to pull those carbs (perfect time to set the floats too), and the #1 and #2 carbs are gonna be NASTY with oil residue and dirt. Legend has it that you can do this job without pulling the carbs, but no way I would want to try it. And besides, once you have all the other stuff off, pulling the carbs just isn't that hard. 5. You will really want to have your bike straight up for this job, so a center stand or maintenance jack is good to have on hand. This isn't required, but will be a lot easier and cleaner! On the side stand, you get some oil dumping off the left corner of the heads when you crack the valve cover loose, and more that comes out the covers in the left crank case. The oil mess is much worse if you have Leveling Links and you try this on the side stand! 6. Misc. tools: A good set of feeler gauges are obvious, but you will also need a torque wrench that goes down to 7.2 ft lbs (10 Nm or 86 in lbs), and a magnetic retrieving tool, tweezers or hemostats, and a good quality very small screwdriver (like a mid-size jeweler's driver, but stronger) will be necessary to remove the shims. I also recommend a tube of high temperature RTV 'gasket goo' to use on certain points of the new gaskets. On those feeler gauges, most sets have both inch and mm numbers, but the primary (or even increments) that it uses will be either inch or metric. You will have a much easier time of measuring and selecting shims if you have a metric set. And make certain you have a very bright flashlight - I prefer one of the new small LED ones because of the birghtness and color of the light. 7. Instructions - the shop manual is generally pretty good here, so I suggest you print out pages 3-9 through 3-13. The Job: Start by removing the basic stuff: seat, tank, lower cowlings, air filters. Since you WILL need to drain some coolant, just go ahead and pull those lower cowlings now and make taking off the air filters easier. Remove the "dog bones" connecting the front cylinder heads to the frame. Remove the air intake tract, including the rubber tubes where the air filters attach, the top air plenums, and the rubber T between the air filters (it is held on by one 10mm bolt on the right side of the frame). To get the air plenums off, you will need to first remove the metal straps on top (four screws each), and the two screws holding the crank case vent hose in the middle, then pull the hoses and wire bundles off to the side. After the clamps on top of each carb and the front clamp are loose, each plenum will just pull straight up. When taking off the metal straps, note that the inside front screw on each is longer than the other three, and be CAREFUL when putting all of those screws back at the end of this job - they will strip very easily! When you pull the crankcase breather connection loose from between the two air plenums, be careful of the little foam rings, most of them are stretched and falling apart - unfortunately they don't seem to be available in the parts breakdown. When you lift off each air plenum, there is a vent hose connected on the rear that will just pop off (watch out for the little wire spring clip - they aren't really necessary, but you don't want to have one pop off and get stuck in a carb or something). Pull all four plugs (necessary to turn the engine over while checking the valves). Drain the coolant - if not changing it, you will still need to drain a quart or so to allow the removal of the water hose from the rear head. CAUTION! The 12mm drain plug on the bottom left of the radiator is just plastic (as is the radiator), so when putting the plug back in, DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN!!!! The correct tightness is about what you can put on a clean, dry 3/8" socket extension with your bare hand. Pull the carb assembly. Start by disconnecting the fuel line behind the right rear carb and open the two clips on top of the carbs to release the fuel line that goes to the tank. Then disconnect the two overflow hoses that connect on top between the carbs and run forward to the front of the air filters. Go ahead and remove those overflow hoses completely, just pay attention to how they are routed and watch for the little plastic clip that holds them together between the carbs. At this point, all you need to do is loosen the hose clamp beneath each carb (but see the caution below) and disconnect the two electric plugs for the wires connected near the left front carb. You will find both of these plugs right up next to the frame under the large main wire bundle. The white two-wire plug is for the carb heaters, and the black triangular three-wire plug is the throttle position sensor. With the hose clamps below all four carbs loose, you can pull straight up on the assembly on each side to "pop" them loose from the intake manifolds (and this usually takes a lot of force!). With the carb assembly loose it slides straight out the left side. I generally wait until this point when the carbs are part way out to disconnect the throttle cables - access is much easier. Just loosen the long nut on each cable to allow it to slip off the bracket - as long as you don't move the small nut, the cables adjustment will not change. CAUTION! The screws on the hose clamps on the bottom of each carb are VERY soft metal. In addition, those clamps each have a metal collar to prevent you from over tightening them on the rubber boot. On most of the bikes I have worked on, at least one of those screws has been frozen so hard that the head stripped out, requiring me to drill it off to remove the clamp. If you have this same problem, stuff a rag under the clamp before you drill it off so you don't loose that little collar. The screw can then be replaced with any standard 4mm screw from the hardware store. With the carbs out, you probably should stuff a paper towel in each intake manifold to prevent anything from accidentally disappearing down there while you are working on the bike. Remove the chrome covers on the cylinder heads. Remove the plastic wire tray under the frame in front of the battery cover. This is held on by one 10mm bolt on the left side of the frame and a screw under all those hoses in front of the battery. Once that tray is off, pull the disconnected vent hoses out the back to get some needed working room above the rear valve cover. Finally, the last thing to take off before you can actually remove the valve covers is the rubber hose for the water line to the rear cylinder head (no need to take the front one off). You will need to remove the two plugs/covers in the center of the left crankcase cover to turn the engine, so now is a good time to do that. The two #3 philips-head screws are generally REAL tight, so make sure you use the correct size screwdriver to not bugger them. With the screws out, just use a very small screwdriver to work the cover back and forth on the O-ring to get it to pop off. There is a thin metal plate that will fall out as soon as the cover comes loose - it just goes back in with the ridge facing the crank, and you usually will not need to replace the O-rings on the covers. And now for the valve covers! Four flat allen-head bolts on each and they will pop off without too much effort. The gaskets are thick rubber, and they overlap a hollow cavity at the corner of each head. Just use your finger to pull of that rubber corner and then you can put a small screwdriver under there and catch the edge of the valve cover to pry it up. The rear cover will be difficult to get off, even after everything you have already removed! But just raise it as high as you can against the fuel line or other wire bundles still hanging below the frame and kinda rotate it forward to clear the cam chain. The front cover has lots of top clearance, but you need to take it out the right side to clear the water hose you left in place. FINALLY - ready to actually start checking valve clearance! MEASURING THE VALVE CLEARANCE: You can approach the measurement of the valve clearance two ways - some folks prefer to just turn the engine until they see the cam lobe pointing up for whatever valve they are checking, but I prefer to follow the more common practice of setting a piston at TDC on the compression stroke, then checking all valves for that cylinder (this is also the method from the service manual). But here is a little clue - don't get too hung up on believing everything in the service manual! There is a note in several places that tells you "TDC on the compression stroke can be found when the camshaft lobes are turned away from each other." NOT SO!!! While true for the front two cylinders, the cam lobes on the rear two cylinders will NEVER point away from each other! Seems weird to me, as I really expected the valve timing to show the identical relationship between the cams on all the cylinders for the same engine, but the facts show different. And before anyone asks, I did check my valve timing according to the manual and the index marks on the cams, and all four cams were correct. Anyway, back to the measurement. Start by turning the engine counterclockwise until you see the valves on #1 cylinder (left rear) all closed, then watch for the timing mark on the generator rotor through the observation hole to align with the mark on the crankcase cover. It is not necessary for it to be exactly perfect to measure the valves. Now you can check the clearance on both intake and both exhaust valves for #1. Since you are dealing with four valves at a time, it is helpful to write down the clearance you measure so you don't have to re-check them over and over again! If any valves need to be adjusted, I explain this in the next section. After completing the measurement and/or adjustment for #1, if you turn the crank 180 degrees, cylinder #3 (right rear) will be at TDC and ready to check (just put the socket on the crankshaft with the handle pointing to the rear and turn it counterclockwise until the handle points forward - can't get much easier than that!). When you are done with #3, turn the crank 180 degrees again, then start watching for a second timing mark to line up on the generator rotor 70 degrees later (a little less than 1/4 of a turn), now #2 is at TDC and ready to check. Finally, after checking/adjusting #2, just turn the crank 180 degrees one more time and #4 will be at TDC and ready to check. When you are done with #4, turning the crank just 110 degrees (slightly more than 1/4 turn) puts #1 back at TDC to start over. After you have made adjustments to any valve, I strongly recommend you turn the engine through several turns to ensure the valve shims are fully seated and measure them again to see if the final clearance is what you want. I found I needed to change the shims several times on some valves to get it right. By going through the 1, 3, 2, 4 sequence several times you get the chance to double-check all your measurements, as well as re-check the ones you changed. CHANGING THE VALVE CLEARANCE: Note: You will find a second person to help turn the engine VERY helpful here, especially when working on #3 and #4! To adjust the clearance you need to remove the existing shim and replace it with one of a more appropriate thickness. The majority of changes will be to a thinner shim, but you won't have any idea what the needed size will be until you get the existing shim out. Getting the tappet adjusting tool inserted the first time can be a little tricky. It can be inserted from either side of the cam, depending on which side you want to pull the shim from. The first thing you do is turn the crank in either direction so that the cam lobe is pointing AWAY from the side where you plan to insert the tool. Next, before you insert the tool, use your fingertip to turn both shim buckets until one of the open notches is where you can reach it with your small screwdriver - this is where you will need to pry up the old shim to break the suction of the oil film (and that can be tough to do). To insert the tool, try to rotate the short end under the cam to depress the buckets. You won't get it very far just with your fingers, so slowly turn the crank in the proper direction to let the cam finish turning the tool into place (while keeping some pressure on the long arm of the tool to make it move). You will want to make sure the tool is turned all the way until the long arm touches the side of the head or you won't have enough clearance to pull out the old shim. Now that the tool is in place, reach in with that little screwdriver and pry up on the bottom edge of the shim - the suction of the oil film will be STRONG, so don't be surprised if you have a tough time getting each shim to pop up. Once it does pop up, you can either grab it with tweezers or a magnet to pull it out. Turn it over and note the number on the bottom (they should always be installed with the number down). Replacement shims are only available in .05mm increments (such as 260, 265, and 270), but the ones you pull out might be be anything (such as 269 or 272). That is why you will find some odd numbers in the shim kit - they came out of someone else's bike. To decide what shim to put back in, you need to know what the clearance was before you removed it (remember, I said to write it down)! The shop manual has a really neat chart that lets you just look along one axis to find the number on your current shim, then just look down the side to find the clearance you measured - where the two lines intersect, that is the new shim number you need. It works pretty good, but make sure you look at the right chart (they are different for intake and exhaust)! If you try and do this job without having a shim kit, those charts are really the best way to decide which shims you need to buy. A less formal but more natural way is to just look at the number of the current shim, think about how much you need to change it (was that valve just a little tight, or a lot tight?), and then choose a slightly thinner or thicker shim that you think might be in the ballpark. For example, if you pull out a 273 shim and the valve was just a tad too tight, you might want to try a 270, but if it seemed quite a bit lower than the minimum spec, better go straight to the 265. No matter how you selected the new shim size, it is very important to turn the engine over several times and then re-check the clearance to see if your guess was correct - even using the charts leaves room for error. Putting it all back Together: Just a few notes here on reassembling the bike - most everything will just be a reverse of the disassembly process, but there are a few pointers to help you. Valve Cover Gaskets: These are very thick rubber with big half-circle "lumps" at the ends of each camshaft. They only go on ONE way. They are flat on the bottom, and the top has a ridge that fits into the groove on the valve cover. But it does not fit tight enough in the groove to hold it in place while you put the cover back. No matter, though, since there is not enough clearance to get the cover back on the rear cylinders with it attached - your only choice is to place the gasket on the head and then maneuver the cover in place. The original gasket seems to have been held to the cover by several spots of rubber cement in the groove, but there was no sign that a gasket sealant was used all the way around. Other than those glue spots on the cover, there was no sign that the original factory gasket had any RTV type gasket sealant used at all during assembly. However, when the shop did my valves the first time, they DID use a bit of RTV, but only on the lumps, and neither gasket ever leaked in 40,000 miles. For comparison, one person who had replaced the gasket without using any sealant did develop a slight leak at one of those lumps over time. For these reasons, I personally recommend applying just a thin coat of high temperature RTV to the depression in the head where those lumps fit before putting the gasket in place. Now look closely at the parts of the gasket where it is next to the spark plugs - on the exhaust side only you will see a slight squiggle or wave in the gasket, and on the cylinder head you will see a matching wave. Make sure you position the gasket with those points matching. Then look at the cover - notice the same wave? Guess where it goes . . . When you lower the cover down on the gasket, the challenge is to get the ridge on the gasket to smoothly fit up into the groove on the cover all the way around. If you even have a hint that the cover is not completely smooth and flush on the head, then the gasket is NOT completely seated in that groove. Take your time and trace the entire edge with a bright flashlight to get it right. Remember how much work it was to get that cover off; you don't want to have to do it again! When putting the front gasket and cover in place, remember they must go in from the right side to fit around that water pipe. The torque on the cover bolts is only 7.2 ft lbs., and that is not much. Make sure you have a wrench that has a setting that low, and use it. These are not the kind of gaskets where you can go back later and tighten them a little more if you get a leak. In fact, over tightening the cover on that thick rubber will just distort it and make the leak worse. Although the manual does not say to tighten the bolts from the inside out in a cross pattern like you would the head bolts, that is still the method I recommend. Air Intake Parts: Make sure you get that front T in place before you put the carbs in, same with the rubber Y that connects the air plenums to the T. The only thing to remember about the T is that it has a locating lug sticking out the front that MUST fit in the rubber grommet in the frame. The hose clamp on that rubber Y is located on the left side of the bike, with the head facing up. Initially it seems impossible to access, but just use a long screwdriver behind the wire bundles next to the frame. Putting the carbs back in: After making sure the hose clamps are still properly positioned on the top of the intake manifolds, slide the carbs in from the left side, but leave them just far enough out to make it easy to attach the throttle cables. Then after making sure all the carbs are centered on the manifolds, you need to push down on them pretty hard to pop them back in place. Try to put the base of your hand on top of the carb throats, not on the plastic diaphragm covers. Re-route all the fuel lines and vent hoses appropriately, and don't forget to re-connect the two plugs. Putting on the air plenums: Some people have had real trouble getting the air plenums to fit properly back on top of the carbs (and stay there when they tighten the clamps). In every single case I have seen, this has been caused by the rubber neck on the plenum being caught on the edge of the carb and buckled under the clamp - usually behind the carb where it is impossible to see. Make sure the clamps are plenty loose and rock the plenum a bit when putting it on. If the rubber is not buckled in there, the plenum will fit fully down on the carbs and not spring back up at all. Unlike the lower hose clamps, those on top of the carbs do not have a metal collar to prevent them from being over tightened, so just make sure they are properly set in the grooves on the plenum and snug them up pretty good instead of trying to play Magilla. I think that is about it. Let me know if you think I have missed something or you have any questions! Goose

Does anyone know of someplace I can get the vent that goes on the right side cover? I can find a left side on Ebay (which I already have one), But my right leg is getting a bit toasty now that summer is here. Thanks Guys.

Anyone know a good site to buy a replacement brake light cover for the RSV?

Well, this one is a little different spin on the 1st gen starter problem. I have a 1986 VR which I've upgraded the starter wiring, put in new starter brushes, new solenoid, all done in 2006. This spring I put in a new regular lead acid battery. The starter was operating nicely and wasn't giving me any problems. As part of my spring mainenance, I adjusted the valves. I've been riding it a bit to work this spring, which is about 115KM round trip. So far about 3000 KM this season. I started to notice an oil leak on the left side, dropping from somewhere under where the clutch slave cylinder is. I checked the valve covers, and there was a hint of oil leakage, but nothing significant. So I washed the whole left side off with Varsol solvent, and rinsed it off with water. I went for a short ride with all the lower body parts off. When I got back to my garage, I noticed that the leak was really coming from the cover seal right around where the starter is located. Not from the starter o ring, but the left side case to main crank case gasket. So I pulled the left side case covers off. Front cover, and middle drive cover. When pulling the main cover off, the starter gear idler came out with the case. I cleaned up all the gasket surfaces. I didn't have a gasket, and I was going to try just using grey RTV silicone gasket cement. I checked out the starter idler gears, and put them back in, in what I think is the only way that they can really go in so that the gears fully mesh. The small gear can go on two ways, but in one position, the gears will only mesh on 1/2 of the gear faces. So I assembled everything. After sitting a couple of hours, I tightened up the screws a bit extra, and poured in some oil. Now when I started it, the starter turned the engine over very slowly. Just enough that my finely tuned machine started, but definitely NOT NORMAL. I thought it might be that the idler shaft might have gotten a bit dry with the solvent, so I let it sit and cool down, hoping that maybe some oil might seep into the case cover bearing surface. Still extremely slow. So has anyone else ever had this experience? Could the missing gasket cause the case to be tight enough to tighten up on the idler gear shaft which has to flote in the journals in the main case, and cover? Is this a hint about what causes a warm engine to give starting problems when the idler gears are tight? Is it possible to actually reverse the idler gear to drop the effective gear ratio between the Starter and the crank gear? Anyone have a spare engine appart that can check this? I'll probably pull it all apart tonight and see what I find. Maybe some extra silicone when into something it shouldn't. Appreciate any suggestions.

Has anyone found a cover that fits the seat of the Venture to keep the seat dry in the rain? I saw a buddy the a H/D that had one the other day when a short burst of rain came by and it kept his seat dry at a poker run stop.

In need of the right saddlebag "cover" latch catch. I would think the rear from the left bag would work also. It must be the rear because the front and rear are different (why would you want to make them the same?). Thanks for any help.

Recent findings 1. They will make noise at low rpm and high electrical loads. Lights, radio, aux's "On" 2. Stators may appear to be ok visably but still bad. 3. If they are black on 1/3 to 2/3rds of the coils they are probably burnt out or going out. 4. The ohm reading (2.4) maybe OK as stated in the service manual but they still will not generated electricity. 5. The regulator/rectifier is probably more reliable than the stator. It has cooling fins and is in cooling air. 6. Make sure you reinstall the starter gears correctly, watch how they came out. 7. Have an extra stator cover gasket in case yours gets torn. Silicone RTV is not needed. 8. Make sure the gear selector arm is in the up position behind the cover before reinstalling. Use both washers, don't loose the circle clip. 9. You must remove the middle gear cover to get the stator cover off. 10. Look for leaks at the gear selector electrical switch, the clutch push rod and gear selector shaft seal while your in there. 11. Make sure all wires are covered, taped and will not get pinched when either cover is reinstalled. 12.At idle the voltmeter should not drop down to 12.0 volts unless the fan is on. It does have high current draw. Yes I've done it all wrong and had remove the stator cover 6-8 times now!!

Just scrolled down the page to the ebay items for sale and saw an XXL bike cover (to suit the RSV) for sale for 99c - Buy It Now. So I did! Will be shipped from China (what isn't these days) and freight to Australia was $20. Now, that's $20.99 which through PayPal equates to nearly $US35. Still a bargain I reckon. What the heck. I'm fairly confident it'll arrive safe and sound, and if it doesn't I'm protected by PayPal. Anybody else purchased a similar item through this system? Any problems encountered?

Hello again, Had one more question. The bike I'm looking at has some pretty good scratches right on the high point of one of the sidebag covers. About 1/8in wide. Too deep to buff out. Was wondering if anyone had suggestions on quick ways to touch up. Bike is Blue. Does Yamaha make touch up paint? Anyone ever had a cover repainted? Ideas on cost? Maybe some well-placed pinstriping? I'm open to any/all suggestions. Ideally cheaper would be better as we're just buying the bike. I actually checked into buying new covers. I was told you have to buy a whole new bag, not just the cover. Quoted price was $960 for just the bag... no installation included. That a bit steep for my means. Thanks as always for any thoughts/advice. Bob

I'm in the process of buying a used 07 Venture with 3k miles on it. (upgrading from an 05 RSTD). Test drove the bike today. Runs great, however, when my wife climbs on, the back of the bike seems to drop below level (I pulled up next to a store window and noticed it). She is not that big... (140lbs), so I thought this unusual. Wondering if the rear shock needs replacement? or do they all drop that far? My RSDT does not. How could I tell? Bike seemed fine over bumps, no bottoming out... Also, I noticed a very slight layer of clean oil on the bike facing side of the right cargo bag cover. Would a blown shock do this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated ! Thanks very much in advance for any insite ! Bob

I went to www.rammounts.com and was redirected to www.gpszone.com. after speaking to a representative to confirm which parts matched this is what I was sent. Holder needed was "Medium" 4" x 6" x 1.75" (This was base on my GPS Unit dimensions, yours might be larger or smaller). ZRMHOLAQ6 Medium Aqua Box, $42.07 Mount needed was for a 1" Handel Bar ZRMB149Z-202, $28.82 Shipping was UPS 3 days $10.42 The Medium Aqua Box came with 3 self adhesive anti vibration foam pads for different thicknesses that can be added or eliminated depending on the thickness differences of Holder Aqua Box and your GPS. I then used the "Clear Rubber" face cover that allowed user to use the "Touch Screen" of the gps. I had to drill a hole in the bottom to get the power cord into the Holder Aqua Box to power the GPS. I suspected the "Clear Rubber" face cover would be less than ideal so off I went on a test ride. Yes I was right the Clear Rubber face cover was a cleaver idea but the distortion was so bad I had to spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME NOT WATCHING THE ROAD!!! Secondly th GPS was bouncing off the bottom of the Aqua Box Holder (NOT GOOD)!!! This is where the MODIFICATIONS come in. 1). Added Velcro (hooks) to the anti vibration foam pad. 2). Expoxy Velcro (loops) the the back of GPS Unit (make sure not to cover the speaker). 3). Replaced the Clear Rubber face cover with a PLEXIGLAS cut out and used a small bead of silicon to seal it in place. Now I can quickly glance at the screen and get a VERY CLEAR PICTURE from GPS Screen and the VELCRO keeps the GPS Unit suspended and not bouncing around. YES I realize I gave up the ability to use the Soft Clear Rubber Face Cover but when I think about it I always SET the GPS then drive and never would try to make GPS changes while driving anyways. Here are the Pics: http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k249/frogmaster_2006/venture_gps_ram_mod004.jpg http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k249/frogmaster_2006/venture_gps_ram_mod003.jpg http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k249/frogmaster_2006/venture_gps_ram_mod002.jpg http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k249/frogmaster_2006/venture_gps_ram_mod005.jpg http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k249/frogmaster_2006/venture_gps_ram_mod006.jpg http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k249/frogmaster_2006/venture_gps_ram_mod001.jpg I would call this water resistant and NOT water proof. Enjoy

I have removed the stator cover just to reseal the two rubber gromets (stator and pickup coils) that from time to time (huh) leak. For those of you that have had to (for whatever reason) remove the stator cover, what is the best, and I do mean best, sealer to use on those pesky gromets? Any advise will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Ok here goes. The 86 VR I just brought home a few days back has a minor oil leak. Minor; but still a leak and leaks can get worse. The leak is somewhere in behind and between the stator cover and the main gear cover. Isnt the stator gromet and isn't the main gear cover gasket; somewhere further in I believe. What is back in there that can leak oil? Can the slave cylinder leak oil; clutch rod???? Any help and/or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I got to ask. I just finished up installing an upgrade stator. I remembered all the chatter about the crush washer on the 6 o'clock bolt on the stator cover. When I started to open the old girl up I had drained the oil and decided to pull both the 6 o'clock bolts on the stator cover and the secondary cover. Loosened them up and got nothing. Not a drop of oil. When I pulled the bolts there were no crush washers on either one of them. The only bolt that had a crush on it was the 8 o'clock bolt on the secondary cover. Weird place for it I thought. None the less no leaks ever on this bike. Not a drop. Now I'm getting ready to close her back up and I'm wondering if I should put washers on the two lower bolts to be safe. Are these actually supposed to be a reserve drain as I didn't see any kind of path for it when I opened it up. Just wondering.

I take my radio antenna off so I can put my cover on the bike and have a nice place to tuck it away. Well of course this morning I forget to put it back on and for some reason did not play radio all day. I get home and go to put cover on and no antenna anywhere. So I just need the antenna itself and not the mount. So if anyone has one please PM me with a price. My zip code is 48506 for shipping...Thanks.