Other project diaries: CM400A FJ1200
Welcome to my 2nd motorcycle diary page. After restoring Red and enjoying her around town I realized that the hope of riding her on the highway was not going to happen. I'm just a bit too big for her to safely ride at highway speeds. So after looking and looking, I came across A 1985 Yamaha Venture that literally fell into my lap. I was looking for a big cruiser but hitting 40 years old I came to the realization that a tourer is actually a good option. I'm a big guy so a full dress bike isn't that big so it's not a problem riding around town or going across the country if I wanted to. The only one though that I was interested in was Yamaha's 1st generation Venture. It's more sportier than the other models.
When Max appeared, it was pretty much a basket case. It had alot of front end damage and nothing had been done since it was new. My lofty goal (and I really went overboard on the goal) was to take it from basically a parts bike to ready to ride 900 miles from Carson City NV. to Maricopa AZ. to visit my family and back to do that in 5 weeks.
I would like to give a big thanks to the following for helping me along the way. Rhonda, for putting up with me during this and loaning me the money for some of the parts even though she STILL thinks I'm nuts and obsessed for trying this. Ron and Lee for helping with the brakes and for allowing me the use of their Jeep and trailer to retrieve the bike and shop to work on it. My mom and dad for also putting up with the idea and for instilling a love of motorcycling. And of course Emmy for all those nights Daddy was working late on the bike and didn't get to play with her before her bedtime. The great folks at www.venturerider.org. A website forum of fellow Venture/Royal Star owners who gave me alot of tips and suggestions when I ran into problems.
So here's the new ongoing tale of restoring my next project, Max.
One day during a conversation with a gentleman about networking his property for internet into multiple buildings, for no reason at all I mentioned looking for a motorcycle. Lo and Behold, he had this Venture sitting in the garage that he can't sell and didn't want to spend the money to fix up. His wife had backed into the front wheel, bending the forks. After a little discussion, a deal was agreed on. I would come down and wire up his house, set up a network for him and get his workshop plugged into the house and in return, I got the bike. Here begins the next project. :)
7/18/07: Brought it home. 3:30am I finally rolled into the shop after a trip that was pure hell. The jeep was all over the road, the trailer was bouncing and I was waiting for the straps to go at any time but nothing happened and it arrived at it's new home.
Here it is, unhooked and ready for fixing up.
A dashboard that looks like the space shuttle. Tons of info and easy to see
everything. The
seat is considered one of the best in the industry for comfort. This one though
is a little rough. The foam is compressed pretty bad. Looking for a replacement.
Full hard bags that are removable with handles like suitcases. The premiere bike
of the day.
Venture Royale. Yamaha's answer to the Gold Wing. The
first touring bike built in a wind tunnel from the ground up. 1200cc V4 motor
which was the one later used in the V-Max muscle bike. Better performance than any of
the other full dressers.
His name is "Max"
7/19/07: Went over today (after very little sleep) to do a
more detailed inspection. Actually a first inspection since I got it sight
unseen. Looks can be deceiving and the pics make it look alot better than it is.
There is alot more damage than originally expected. I should have known it was
much worse than it looked in the dark (and through the haze of sleepiness)
Forks are bent, air suspension computer isn't working, left speaker is dead, cracks in fairing, radio remote control is broken, exhaust leak on rear
exhaust pipe, right side panel mounting tabs are broken, lower fairing pieces
are zip tied on. It's going to be a project but my first goal is to have it road
worthy for a trip to Phoenix by Labor Day. Stripped off the bags and panels to
get a better view. First day and my heart is pretty much sunk thinking of how
much work is going to need done to make it in time.
7/20/07: Found a local gentleman with a bunch of parts. Very
knowledgeable in Ventures. $100 dollars later (thank you very much to my best
friend Rhonda for my birthday present) and I am back with a new set of forks,
front fender, brakes and rotors from an 86 Venture. Better brakes than the
85 too. I was lucky to find Bill who is a true motorcycle aficionado. He has parts as well as a wealth of knowledge that just within the few hours talking to
him has helped me immensely.
7/23/07: Went over to get an idea of what's needed to change out the forks and ended up instead 5 hours later with the forks swapped out and the new calipers installed and back together. Still have to bleed brakes but the screws are stripped so not able to yet. Also need to figure out wiring for the Anti Dive units. I figured it was going to be very very tight getting it ready in a month but with just tonight's cram session I am already weeks ahead of my schedule to get it back out on the road.
Here are the old forks. It was amazing the previous owner
actually rode around with these things. After more inspection it's apparent that
it wasn't "backed into" but more likely he ran it into something at a pretty
good speed. The whole front end has problems.
7/24/07: Was going to try to bleed brakes but master cylinder screws are just too stripped. Hope
that Ron has a trick to get them off or else it's going to be a mess. I decided
to try a suggestion by the guys at
www.venturerider.org to try to fix the CLASS unit (air suspension) so got
out the soldering gun and went to town on the computer. Amazingly it works!!!
The rear shock airs right up, the front shocks I need to plug back into the
compressor. This was a big deal as a used CLASS runs over $300 and the other
option is to make the air lines manual with valves. I took it out into the
parking lot to see how the new forks worked and it's amazing how much better it
rides now. I wired up the anti dive units as well tonight although Bill (the
gentleman who sold me the forks) already preloaded the springs in the forks so
not sure if the AD units make that much of a difference. While Max weighs 750 lbs. he handles like a much lighter machine (at
least to me).
Next up, finishing the brakes, exhaust leak and getting the front air hose hooked
back up, getting front fender on and then registered and insured so I can start
the shakedown local rides to make sure Phoenix will be possible.
7/27/07: with the help of Rhonda's parents Lee and Ron, I got
the brakes bled. With the Venture, it runs a weird setup. the rear brake pedal
controls the rear AND the left front brake together. I tried to make a reverse
bleeder thing which is very much like an IV unit that forces fluid up from the
bottom but the fluid decided to eat through the plastic and in the middle of
doing the clutch, it decided to disintegrate and dump 2 liters all over the
floor. So much for THAT idea. :) With the brakes and clutch done, it was out
onto the road for a very nice first ride. I took it up around Washoe Lake. Full
moon out, cool wind blowing and the Eagles playing on the radio. Just about
perfect.
Here's Lee helping with the IV unit as it was starting to leak. Moments after i
took the pic the bottle went poof.
7/28/07: On the way into work I noticed the fairing on both sides really starting to crumble. The plastic itself just fell off in my hands. Probably old spiderweb cracks under the paint that finally gave way due to the vibrations of the ride the night before. At least the left speaker decided to fix itself and work though. Looks like I will have to replace the fairing now. I did take off that lower chrome bumper at the back of the bike. I am not one who goes for putting a ton of useless chrome showy pieces on a bike just to make it shine. I like function and sleekness. So I will probably sell it on ebay and with that money I can get the fairing pieces. Not a bad swap.
Finally able to take it out for a little ride.
7/29/07: Today was one of those lucky days. It started out by me finding another guy online who had a few parts for a Venture in his garage. I needed a license plate bracket and the mounting plates for the radio and class unit as they too have started to crumble away. So I ran up to Tahoe to see what he had. Turns out they weren't useable but as I was leaving, I noticed another bike under a tarp. I asked and turns out it was an old Kawasaki KZ1000 police bike that he had JUST put on craigslist for FREE. I thought all of a couple seconds and told him I would take it. So Tuesday, Project #3 comes home. (Edit: the KZ1000 was traded away in September for a Yamaha FJ1200, HERE).
Went over tonight to fix the exhaust gaskets and make up a
license plate bracket. Ended up having to tear the whole exhaust system off just
to get to the 2 gaskets and then after putting it all back together I find out
the gaskets the shop sold me are the wrong ones! 3 hours shot. At least the
license plate is mounted, so not a total loss.
8/3/07: Gaskets came in so it's back to the shop. Got them in and
the bike is much more quiet. I figured it's a good time to do the typical
maintenance stuff so swapped out plugs, oil and filter, rear end gear oil and
might as well check the radio to see if I can find the noise problem. No luck
though. It's probably the amp that's having problems or a ground loop that I can't
find. Debating about getting the fairing pieces this weekend. That is going to
be a major project swapping them out but will also be able to hook front shock
up to the compressor and check the wiring harnesses while in there.
8/4/07: Went out and bought the fairing pieces from Bill today. Debating on when to start the swap. Thought about colors too and think yellow will be it. Visible from a distance and you just don't see many yellow Ventures on the road.
8/5/07 & 8/6/07: started the work on the fairings. Decided to just do a quick Krylon paintjob to get it all together and ready. Snagged a case of bright yellow and primer. Got the new pieces sanded, primed and painted. Not the best quality but they are bright. Also got the old fairing stripped off the bike, swapped out the old headlight for a brighter bulb and got the front fork air valve in place. Another day to do the last coat on the older bodypanels and clearcoat and those parts are ready to go back on. Need to get a new set of spark plug wires and boots to see if that helps with the stereo noise but that's pretty much it for mechanical work before the trip.
Mellow Yellow it is.
The stack of parts just from removing the fairing. A nice jigsaw puzzle to
figure out how to put back together.
8/7/07: Started putting it all back together tonight. Still a
few things to fix on a couple panels tomorrow night but it will be ready to go
once those are fixed. Going to pull off the bags and the front fender and get
them sanded and shot tomorrow as well. It should be ready to test ride by this
weekend.
I am liking the color so far and this winter when I have more time I can get the
pieces done professionally and work on the fit and finish better. For now though
it's back to being tight and solid. No rattles like before. I even got lucky and
found the missing vent pieces so all the vents are functional again and back in
place.
8/8/07: got the whole front done and bolted up as well as the fender painted. Took
the bags apart and ready to paint during the next trip. Thursday is my day off to spend
with Rhonda watching CSI and after all the nights that went from "an hour or
two" into 5 hours, it's time to take a little breather.
Too bad Yamaha didn't see the other potential of this bike, it would have made a
good police unit.
8/10/07: Well what was only going to be a couple hours turned into another 7
hour night but
pretty close to done. Rear trunk is finished and back on along with the rear
fender. Side bags should take a couple hours this weekend and it's ready to roll
out of the shop.
Rhonda's right, it looks like a completely different bike now. Sleeker and more sportier
than when it first rolled in. I am very happy with the color choice.
Running good now. Had a nice little test ride with DkKnight and Princess M from the venturerider.org group. Still needs a few things before the big trip but nothing really major. Brake pads need replaced (well not NEED, I just prefer new pads on my bikes) new plug wires/caps and probably a good idea to flush the radiator. A headset for the helmet will be a comfort item :) Also Bill said he has a front headlight glass cover to flush up the front as well as a huge bonus, an aftermarket fork brace with shock guards. With all the weight and power, the stock fork brace flexes too much and gives a mushy feel, especially in corners. This replacement brace is bigger and will firm it up. He's also giving me another windshield that has a crack at the top. I am going to trim it down to make a short sport style shield for around town use.
8/15/07: Ordered a full set of EBC sintered brake pads. These are the most recommended in the group to bring this beast down to a stop quickly. Also went by Kragen for a bottle of "Water Wetter" for the cooling system. It's one of the few additives out there that actually does what it claims by having your cooling system run 10-20 degrees cooler. BIG must have for the Venture that tends to run a bit warm. (especially if it's going to haul me across the NV and AZ desert). So got the cooling system emptied and refilled with new fluids. Picked up a couple "L" brackets at Lowe's and moved the driving lights out from under the headlight and down on top of the horns. They have hit the fender when taking big bumps. Better location also lets me point them out to the sides more. With the HID headlight and these little things it looks like an airplane coming in for a landing.
8/18/07: Got the brakepads on and huuuuge difference in braking now. Just one finger on the lever stops it. Decided to take a test ride through the desert in the heat to see how the cooling system works and ran like a champ. Here's a couple pics just for fun.
8/23/07: Few more parts still on the way here. Waiting for a set of plugs/wires/caps and the lower air fairing to get here. Highway pegs and a new antenna arrived today, a J & M helmet headset is attached and all that's really left is to figure out what all I need to pack up for the trip.
8/25/07: Got the plug wire set in this morning and since the next few days will
be busy doing priorities, I spent the day and night getting everything finished
up. New wires, plugs and boots are on and runs much better. Tossed in a can of
Seafoam to clean out the carbs. Swapped out the factory fork brace with a much
bigger one from Bill that has made the handling sooo much tighter. The
difference is like night and day, no more flex. Also got the new antenna in and
highway pegs put on and I now have AM radio. Also Bill gave me a replacement
headlight cover glass to make everything flush up front. Even that made a
difference in handling with better airflow over the front. Only piece left to
bolt on is the chin fairing piece. Had to fix the cracks in the mounting holes
so when it's dry, just have to sand, paint and bolt it on. I think it's as ready
for the trip as it's going to be now. This leaves me 4 days left to figure
out what to pack and how to strap/secure it all down and that's going to be
probably just as stressful. Rhonda's going to be helping. If it was a new bike I
wouldn't be thinking of all the stuff we are going to try to pack in but
considering it's a 22 year old bike that was unridable just a month ago, Rhonda
and I are planning on overpacking just in case it has problems on the way down.
The new brace.
8/26/07: After chatting with Glenn (Rhonda's husband) about driving the route at night, he recommended taking extra gas because the towns between Tonopah and Vegas might not have 24/7 gas stations. I'm not real hip on the idea of strapping a couple plastic gascans on the bike but then another one of my idiotic ideas popped into my head. Lee and Ron happened to have found oxygen tanks in the shop that they gave me. After using a chain wrench and a vice, I got the valves off and with 3 bucks in hose clamps I have 2 extra gastanks. Would have made better brackets but this will do for right now. All I need to do is paint them to match the bike so they blend in and I now have an extra 4 gallons of gas that will give me another 140 miles of range. More than enough if I can't find a gas station open.
painted and drying. Not a permanent fixture on the bike, simply a way to carry
extra gas for any long trip where finding a gas station open may be a problem.
8/27/07: Got the Saddleman seat from Bill tonight and swapped it for the old one which has been sold. (Another barter/wheel and deal to get an upgrade for no cost) It's a bit more firm and a little wider. Hopefully it will be comfy for the trip. Got the tanks bolted down but after more considering, they may come off and a plastic gascan just bungeed somewhere instead. Still working things through in my head.
8/28/07: Started getting the gear together this morning and last night. Keep
trying to do a list of things to pack/take and each time I do, I keep thinking
"Nah, don't need it really" or "crap, I could use this too". Being anal about
organizing and being prepared is always a stressor for me and just as expected,
raising the anxiety level. Once I get things packed though, then I'm mellow
again.
Plan to have everything packed up and strapped down on the bike ready to go
Wednesday night so I can just ride over after work and swap the car for the bike
and head out. (that's the plan anyways, lol)
Still need to get a few small things to
hopefully cover any necessities out on the road.
Took the big tanks off after double checking my route and finding truckstops along the way (god I am wishing I bought that Venture CB off Ebay now). Got a little 2 gallon gascan instead that fits inside the back trunk. No need to take extra weight if I don't need it.
8/29/07: Finished getting everything packed up and strapped onto the bike tonight. It's ready to go. The new seat needs some breaking in and I'm not really interested in suffering through that process on the trip itself so the old one is back on for this ride. All that's left after work is to change clothes, feed and play with Emmy for a little bit, grab some food, drinks and the camera, do a once over to make sure everything's good to go on the bike and hit the road.
Well folks, what started a year ago has come to fruition with alot of help and alot of stress/anxiety. Since this is the last post until I get back from Phoenix, I hope you enjoyed this 2nd journal.
9/5/07: Made it down to Phoenix with no problems other than ending up in stop and go traffic in Phoenix with the thermometer reading 125 degrees. Spent the weekend with family and then rode back Tuesday. Only problem on the way home was when it overheated in Beatty NV. Seems that the hot temps caused the crud in the radiator to loosen. After letting it flow out and then refilling, it ran fine the rest of the way home. I should have done a power flush to it apparently. The tank bag decided to melt onto the center cover though, so it needs to be sanded and repainted. Now comes the decision to keep it or sell it and move onto another one. Only reason that that thought is in my mind is my knees just can't handle long distances on it and neither can the shoulders.
Hoover Dam at night.
Arizona sunrise.
10/1/07: Lining up what needs to be done once winter sets in and finish up what
I couldn't get to before the trip. Replace the fork seals and springs with
progressives and tie the front air line into the compressor. Fix the CLASS again
as the bouncing around from the broken cover has caused it to error out yet
again. Replace the right fairing cover/pocket as it's shot. Last part that
shattered from the old fairing. Time also to get a new set of Avon tires.
Also need to redo the center cover. The heat from Arizona literally melted the
tank bag onto the cover and left residue. Probably not going to get it painted
professionally so touch up the parts that have been scratched/scuffed and do a
better job with clearcoating. Last thing will be a stereo swap. Going to put in
a simple CD indash player.
Until then though it's my daily driver.
7/5/08: Been awhile since I updated things. Max has become my daily driver in a true sense. The car sits unused except for grocery runs (and even for that I sometimes use the bike). 40mpg and enough room in the trunk/sidebags to carry just about everything I need. Now for a catch up....
I finally got tired of the stereo and after pricing used crap on Ebay I said the hell with it and went with an indash CD deck. I bought a marine unit and then put it in a boat enclosure to further protect it from the rain. Sounds great and even came with a remote control that I mounted on the tank cover and a wireless remote for goofing around when off the bike. A new set of speakers would be nice.
I also finally got the fork springs from Progressive installed. These things are fantastic. I don't need the anti dive units or even the air compressor with these. Matter of fact, I could even do with a little less preload now. The fork seals on the other hand are needing to be swapped. They are shot. That's going to be a project as the forks have the air suspension couplers so they have to come off from the bottom.
Paint on the tank? As you can tell by the pic above, still not done. I've been riding it so much that just taking it off the road for a weekend has been hard to do. I did decide to streamline things a bit more though. I painted the mirrors and chrome around the windshield black to better match the bike (remember, I am not a fan of chrome). I also removed the engine and tank guards. Debating whether to get them powdercoated black or just leave them off. (I know, they protect the bike but they also add mass). Also decided to pull off the lower fairing pieces. It gives me more air on my legs.
The plan was to replace tires with a new set of Avons but with money being tight and the Dunlops still doing their job well, I have put those on the back burner for now. I still need to powerflush the cooling system. The guys at venturerider recommended a little trick too. Swap out the old thermostat with a car theromstat from NAPA. opens at a lower temp. It hasn't been an issue though but temperatures are getting warmer again. Another old school trick that I am going to do is to paint the engine black. What many people don't realize is that chrome is very lousy for radiating heat. Black engines actually run cooler. (plus it will go with the rest of the bike better). My only other big ticket item is a new windshield. The old one is scratched up pretty good and an aftermarket one even has a vent in the middle to help with airflow. Safety and comfort in one.
As for getting rid of it? No way. I've become very spoiled with this beast. :)