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Though she has dubbed it the "baby beast", my girlfriend has joined the world of the two-wheelers on her very own Vino 125. We have been seeing each other for a few years now and I felt that I wanted to give her something special for Christmas (the one that just past). She enjoys riding passenger on my RSTD, but I knew that she is more of a driver. After we came back from a trip to Paris for 2 weeks and having seen her have the dreamy eyes at the sight of many 'cute' Vespa scooters and comments like "ohh I wish I had one! Wouldn't it be great?" I felt that I wanted to make her wish come true. So back in September 2010 I started to look around for used scooters. I was shocked to find that the price of a used Vespa was too high, and also the amount of knock off/fake Vespa's was kind of dodgy. But then I started to find that Yamaha had a retro-looking scooter called the Vino, and the used prices were much more affordable. Then I stumbled on to a deal-and-a-half for a Vino 125cc for $400. It has a bigger engine than the 50cc scooters which can barely do 45mph, so I felt that this was a much safer bike to go with. The only catch was that this scoot was pretty roughed up with high mileage, given the engine size, of 14,500 km. All of the body panels were pretty scratched up with huge gouges on the front fender and front panel. The tires were shot, torn seat, very dirt, poorly maintained, but it seemed to run. So I bought the Yamaha Vino and decided that I would transform it into a 'cute' scooter. In the next few months before Christmas I pulled the entire buggy apart, fixed up all of the panels, repainted them, reupholstered the seat with new marine grade vinyl, replaced all of the fluids, cleaned the entire engine compartment (there was an unbelievable amount of dust/sand in there), added chrome trim to the panels, cleaned the carbs and replaced the tires with new white walls,,, all under her nose. I almost got caught a few times, but I was lucky every time to keep it a secret. I managed to turn the ugly ducking into a beautiful looking machine. Well, on to Christmas Day.. I had to bring the scoot to her grandparents house and I only had one way to take it there. No! I did not drive it in the freezing cold and snow. I can actually fit it in the trunk of my Chevy hatchback. Try doing that with a Royal Star! So I pull into a school parking lot a few blocks away and unload the little thing. I put my gifts for the rest of the family in the foot area and under the seat (lots of storage under there!) and put the key in the ignition. Hit the started,, and, nothing. Stranded there with the this beautiful..paperweight. Well fortunately I got her going after 10 minutes - god bless this machine that it also has a kick starter as well! I rode the scoot a few blocks down and parked it right in front of her grandparents door. I let myself in the house and was just in time for the present opening. Well I was pretty excited and nervous about the gift, but was also very cold since riding a scoot even a few blocks in -15C weather is enough to chill anyone right down. When it came time for me to give her my gift, I gave her a fake present (empty box with a card in it). The card instructed her to grab a coat and head outside. She was very curious and confused, but when she saw her new scooter she was so excited. She was completely caught by surprise and was so excited. She kept looking at it from the window throughout the day, unfortunately it was winter and she couldn't even take it out for a ride. So fast forward a few months and she got her motorcycle license, as you must get a full motorcycle license for any vehicle over 50cc. Although she was kind of intimidated by the motorcycle she had to learn on at the course, she did enjoy it. She was the best student in the class as she just seemed to do things naturally. We had the license and insurance completed and it was time to ride. She was nervous on the roads at first but she is absolutely LOVING her little beast. We went on a few riders where I would follow on my RSTD and she looked like a natural. Now I know that there is so much talk about when you get a motorcycle you will end up spending even more on the accessories, well the same is true with the scooter world. So far she got a really nice retro helmet, a beautiful stylist Italian scooter trench coat with hidden armor (just looks like a stylist jacket), a wicker basket for the back of the scoot, new chrome turn signals, a stereo system with an ipod near the front foot area, and a soon to arrive 150cc engine upgrade kit that is 'bolt on'. I keep joking with her that it looks like a baby Venture with all this stuff on it. She is loving it, but I just recently noticed an interesting and perhaps scary incident where I went to the garage and noticed that she was sitting on my RSTD playing around with the controls... hmmm.... Anyways, I thought that I'd share a few things with you guys, maybe you might consider trading in your Ventures for the Baby Model... New White Wall Tires - $30 each Monthly Insurance - $26 (first time rider, less after 2 years) Gas Fillup - $4 Gas MPG - 85~100 Now I know it doesn't compare to the Cadillac's that we ride, but after taking this thing out a few times I can tell you that it is a blast! Before Shot - The damage and torn seat is not visible from this angle. Clever photography by the seller. http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad85/phertwo/Baby%20Yamaha/before02.jpg Christmas Day and one happy new Yamaha owner! http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad85/phertwo/Baby%20Yamaha/DSC03771.jpg Front shot http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad85/phertwo/Baby%20Yamaha/DSC03720.jpg Side shot http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad85/phertwo/Baby%20Yamaha/DSC03722.jpg Other side shot http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad85/phertwo/Baby%20Yamaha/DSC03726.jpg Rear end shot http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad85/phertwo/Baby%20Yamaha/DSC03734.jpg Front end shot http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad85/phertwo/Baby%20Yamaha/DSC03733.jpg Handle bars http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad85/phertwo/Baby%20Yamaha/DSC03730.jpg
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My '83 Yamaha Venture is my 4th bike I've owned - last year I commuted 10,000 miles between Park City & Orem. I've never had a motorcycle accident, always wear my helmet, armored jacket, gloves, clothes (no shorts, flip flops - I don't get it when I see others riding bikes like that). I've made great efforts to be educated, practice riding skills, and be extremely aware when I ride. I'm embarrassed to say that I apparently wasn't careful enough today - it happened a block & a half away from my house- It felt good to be getting off to work on my bike. I had barely turned Left onto 400 South into the Center Turn Lane from 1000 West. I had checked everywhere for cars, moving & parked, and was actively monitoring the West-bound, 400 S lane to merge going west onto 400 south. I noticed a green blur to my right as a green Kia executed a U-turn from the far curb, turning in front of me - I knew there was no way I could stop fast enough (I did get in some braking) & I didn't have the space to evade. I t-boned her car right in front of her left, rear wheel, and her momentum brought my bike down onto it's left side (happened 60 feet from 1000 West, so I was starting to accelerate and wasn't going very fast - I've had worse snowmobiling accidents). I can't lift my bike, so some people helped get it up on two wheels again. I got a bump on my forehead - not sure how that happened with my helmet on -, my right thumb was jambed some, and my right elbow might be injured - I need to have an orthopedic doc or radiologist look at xrays I got from my chiropractor. The police officer didn't issue any citations; he said we were both at fault..Her for turning in front of me, and me for moving in/trying to merge from the left turn lane (Center Lane). She was looking in the traffic lane for on-coming cars, and not the center turn lane, & I hadn't realized there was someone ready to drive who was parked on the far curb - I was paying attention to possible traffic I would have to merge into. I don't know yet how much damage my bike sustained - the front suspension took the brunt of it, and the handle bars took the brunt of stopping my mass from moving forward, and the fairing glass in front of the headlights broke from hitting her car. Her car has 3 or 4 dents and some exchanged paint. I did ride the bike home with the handlebars askew to the right. I'm most concerned about my front wheel, forks, fork tree, and frame. I'm pretty ticked off at myself - I just finished getting my bike riding ready, and I was very excited to ride today, commute this week, and go on the Provo chapter ride this Saturday. Now I have to assess the damage, find parts, fix damage, and drive my cage in the mean time. I also missed out on a couple hundred dollars of work today. This was a minor accident, and I'm fine (just shook up this afternoon), so I guess life is good, and now I know how to be a little more aware/careful of an unusual, Left Turn situation - kind of a double left turn situation, since my turning left & trying to merge right distracted me from noticing the other left turner/U turner. I could have also been a little easier about my acceleration. I'm bummed out to have to deal with the frustration & stress of working through this (instead of riding). Anyways, live & learn, and hopefully it won't be too expensive - I hope Progressive is good to deal with. $100 deductible is good news (instead of $500 + deductible). Doug Nordin
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The royal star is in the shop getting a new rear tire so I rode my daughter's not often driven 750 Vulcan to work today. I was driving through our little town just minding my own, thinking to myself just how much fun this bike is to ride, when the car in front of me decided to turn left into a convenience store. Its a good thing I slowed from 35 to about 20 mph to let him complete his turn. Just as he made his turn into the store a chevy blazer pulled out turning directly in front of me. I made a good sized dent in their passenger side door. In the process I pushed the bars way forward and hit the tank with my chest. There's a good sized dent there now too. The bike went down an I was knocked a few feet away, landing on my shoulder. Nothing's broken on me or the bike, just dented a little. He got the ticket and I got some ibuprofen. Both the bike an I should be ok in a day or two. My daughter is happy I didn't break the bike. So, I guess I owe the kitty some money, what's the going price?
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I have been trying to figure this one out for a while now. I have an '88 standard. When on the side stand there is almost no lean to my bike, it is especially noticeable when parked near other 1st gens. I am always worried about the bike falling over on the right side while it is on the side stand. When I am sitting on the bike and want to put the side stand down, I have to lean the bike well past center and to the right to get enough clearance to lower the side stand. Once the bike is on the side stand, I have to hold it up while getting off so that it does not fall over on the right side. It is not possible to sit on the bike while it is on the side stand, it will fall to the right if you are not ready for it. Once I get off of the bike I have to pull it hard over to the left to raise the suspension as much as possible. While on the side stand I could easily push the bike over on the right side with one finger, it is that close to straight up. I am always worried about a good breeze blowing it over, or even someone just touching it in a parking lot. It is not possible to use the side stand on the side of a roadway, I have to use the center stand if parked on a road. For the air suspension I run 10 lbs in the front and 40 lbs in the rear, both tires are at 42 lbs. both tires are the recommended sizes. Can someone give me some reference dimensions from the ground to somewhere on the frame front and rear so that I can tell if I have a suspension issue or a side stand issue. Shortening the side stand should be a simple job compared to all new springs. I am considering putting in Progressive front springs, maybe next winter. But if the rear spring is also weak then I'll replace that to. I just hate throwing money/parts at a problem in hopes that something will work. -
I am on my way to Highland MI to visit my brother and have my RSV on a trailer. Yesterday I noticed a dimple in the front tire. Its about dime size and 1/16th deep. The tires have about 14500 miles on them and I believe I could get another 3000 out of them, but do to the dimple I feel the front tires should be replaced. Does anyone know of a good shop in the Highland MI area that I can call. I know that nothing will be open until Tuesday. Any help will be great.
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Hello everyone. I recently joined this forum to help with some modifications I am making to my 2006 RSTD Midnight. I specifically needed information regarding retrofitting a Venture pillowtop seat to my bike. The information I have gotten so far has been great! I've done some reading and searching and it has been a big help. I have done the AIS plug up that I read about on this site. Thank you so much. Right now I am looking for a diagram to help with fabbing the front L brackets I will need to mount the RSV rider's seat on my RSTD. I would be really appreciative if somebody could help me out with it. I have a Venture seat on the way, ordered the rear seat bracket off E-bay, and have "a plan". I just need some help with the front brackets. The rear seat will be no problem, thanks to what has been posted here. Thank you in advance, I promise some of my questions will be annoying, but I could use some help and this site was recommended to me by some people from another forum who spoke very highly of it. Merlin
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Is the Rear and Front Tire Valve Stem the same size? On my next Front Tire change, I would like to replace the Front with a right angle stem like the Back Tire
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Layed the bike down recently on Lt side in gravel and not much cosmetic damage, but this plastic screw mount TAB broke off inside the front cowling. So I plastic soldered it back on.... Used heavy soldering iron and cut strips of some black plastic I found laying around to ‘plastic solder’ the mount back together (w/ tywrap support) and to solder it back in place on the cowling. Worked good. All looked great, then I had the wonderful idea of adding some contact adhesive/sealer, that I had, to help reinforce it. FAIL!!!! It seems that adhesive has a negative reaction to the plastic that the front cowling is made of and caused a soft spot/wrinkle all the way through the front. Tube didn’t say what is was good to use on or not… so tried it. Web site says good on MOST plastics.. ugghh Depressing because the plastic welding seemed to do pretty good.. Oh well, Live and Learn.. *** Dont use SealAll on plastic w/o testing it first. (Its probably real good for its true purpose..) www.seal-all.com Tried to remove as much of the adhesive as possible but afraid I will do more harm now.. Hope it stabilizes and hardens back up… May have to add some chrome to cover it OF COURSE now I see the posts about Plastex for broken Tabs on RSV fairings... that prob would have worked just fine..
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Is Jake Wilson's the best place to buy new Avons? They want $121 for a new front tire for my first Gen. Frank D.
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i have a fairly new e-3 on the front of my bike. last few times i rode it ,taking off when i get in the 15-20 mph range the front end has a very noticeable wobble to it. get above that speed and its gone.? checked front end all`s tight and good,check balance of tire-ok? cant really see any thing wrong here. anyone ever had this? iam thinking tire but it was fine for 1400 miles before this started.
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I ordered the progressive front fork springs, am I supposed to change the seals at the same time? Changing the seals looks a lot more involved than I'd be able to do. How do you know when they need replaced? Thx! -
Hi, I am looking for a front fender rail, front fender light, front spoiler (not sure if that is the proper name for it) and passenger floorboards. I have been watching ebay. Will these parts off any venture 1983 - 1993 fit on my 1985? Are there other years that will fit? Any other ideas where to find these parts? I am sure this type of question gets asked a lot by newcomers. Checked the forum for quite a while and didn't see anything so apologize if I missed an answer already posted. Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! -
On our way back home from a Mississippi river ride a week ago, we rode in moderate rain for 4 hours. I pressure washed the junk off of it today and went for a ride. After about 10 minutes of riding in town , something in the front started to chirp like a bird. Rode about 10 miles ate lunch and went back home. I sprayed some WD40 on the front axle and no more chirp. I can't see where that should have done anything. Now it kinda bothers me. I'm wondering if it's something I need to be worried about? Thanks for the help, Bwhite 2000 RSV
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hey all!! i have 83 venture when going on brand new pavement getting a slight up/down bounce from front at 25 to 40 mph noticed it b4 and thought maybe just roads here in new england but found a stertch of one day old pavement and really noticed it. tires are micheln and couple years old still pleanty tread on them. could it be out of balance? dont see any wheights on front tire. oh and also anyone have a clue what this goes to or if it goes on bike at all found it in trunk when cleaning it was left there by p/o
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Has anyone replaced front turn signal sockets? My 06 RSV has the "unique" socket requiring 3 pins on the lamp base. I would like to convert to a standard 1157 socket. Would love some help on this one. Thanks.
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I know that I need a new front tire, and probably a fork rebuild, but this bike has the shakes. It rides good(to me) though it does have a slight wobble to it, or should I say a "light" feeling in the front end while riding. Now I had this bike up to 80 mph and it went straight down the road, but still that feeling on the bars. Going around corners(at speed) demands attention. The feeling I'm talking about is like when you're riding a fast bike hammering it(racing)and you get that "feeling" right before it pulls the front wheel off the ground. Also when its on the centerstand, if I shake the bars, the front end wobbles. The whole front of the bike shakes. I know that the front tire has a little spring to it and you can see that when it moves but I don't see anything else loose. What should I look for? Thanks for any help!
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Bear just hit right in front of my house. Marine returning to base hit him with his car. Marine is OK and car was towed off to get front repaired. Bear was approx 175 lbs. and was still alive when the Marine pounded on my front door. Immediately called the State Troopers and State Wildlife. Both departments gave me to green light to dispatch the bear if it posed a threat to anyone or tried to get out into traffic. Bear died within 15 minutes dues to major lacerations at his hip. Must leave bear in the front yard until DOT comes to pick him up tomorrow. Here is a link to the Photo Bucket album if anyone wants to view. Did not post pictures here due to the nature of the wounds to the bear. Veiw at your own risk! HERE BEER30
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Have just installed a Triwing trike kit and would like to find a "Leading Legs" kit. After just getting the bike back together, I don't really want to pull the front end apart to have the trees modified. Any ideas?
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Sorry Ive been away from the forum busy with chelby number 2 coming in the next week or so and the army has had me busy. but with this my bike has fallen apart so when the baby gets here ill be busy i hope working on it while im taking family leave from the department all it looks like i need to do is to rebuild my front forks and put on the new rotors i got. would anyone be able to help me on the front end? im completely lost on it, but its great to see ya around on the fourm again so keep your eyes out for the new venture rider coming soon
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Ready to order an Elite 3 front tire. Question is since the front of my bike is lowered 1", would I get an additional improvement in handling by putting the "MT90" on, or should I stay with the "150"?
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I need a usable, front rotor off an MKII. Right or left per Bongo. I am putting it on rear wheel as part of my VMax wheel conversion. I have to use the VMax rear brake and mounting setup due to swing arm clearance issues. The VMax uses a 282 rear rotor, which is the same diameter as a 1st gen front. 1st gen is 1mm thicker, but it will work for what I am doing. MKII rear brake setup I have on now with the 320mm rotor isn't even close to being able to make to work due to the offset in the floating rotor design. I could make my 298mm MKI rear rotor work, but it wouldn't be an exact match either. Gary -
I've read a few other threads but none gave me the specific answer other than applying dielectric grease to the connectors (which I haven't yet tried). However, here's the problem .... Right front speaker - no sound Left front and both rear have sound No sound in right headset speakers, front or rear. Any ideas other than cleaning the connectors inside the fairing?
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Just curious what ya'll are running for pressure (front & rear) on your E3's ... what seems to work best? Dunlop MFG shows max load front @ 41psi and 40psi for rear.
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YATT - Yet Another Tire Thread OK...really this one isn't about which is best. I'm getting ready for a trip to South Dakota and am shopping for new tires. I have a small cut in my front tire (very small) and was going to replace it anyway, but yesterday I got a flat on the back of my Dunlop Elite 3 tire. So this next go around I have decided I am going to buy some of the Avon Venom tires. But the problem lies in shopping at the various vendors...NO ONE has the same catalog numbers and even searching the manufacturers number will not find the tires. I have a 2009 RSV-s. I want to replace both the front and back on the bike. I have checked the following sites: Dennis Kirk - Found some Venoms once...then nothing now. Jake Wilson - manufacturer catalog number does not work. Southwest Moto - Not sure if these are the right ones. Dang CONFUSING is what it is.... OK...at SWmoto tires is this the correct rear tire? http://www.swmototires.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=568&category_id=94&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53 And this the front tire: http://www.swmototires.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=555&category_id=94&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53 These are cheaper at Jake Wilson and Dennis Kirk...but GEESH. If anyone could provide the exact catalog numbers (or links) to both the FRONT and REAR tires for the AVON VENOMS from Dennis Kirk and Jake Wilson...I would appreciate it. Also...should I also get new valve stems?
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I replaced my tires with new E3's. The rear was almost shot so discarded it but I kept the front coz there's still lots of wear left. It's a Bridgestone Spitfire II. Now, my son has an '03 Sportster 1200 and his rear tire is shot. Turns out my front tire is the same size as his rear tire. The question is, can a guy put a front tire on the rear? ... and if so, should I change the rotation direction?
