Thank you again Jody. I just bought a gorgeous red over black Royal Star Tour Deluxe. I'm going back to re-watch ALL of your Venture videos now. I would absolutely love one of your detailed, methodical, and thorough videos on rebuilding and synching the carbs. I realize it's a huge job, especially if your bike is already dialed in. I'm just throwing out plea thinly veiled as a content suggestion. 😉
The tour deluxe is different than the Venture, especially in the air cleaner department. I never even sat on a tour deluxe. But I think you only have one air filter under the gas tank compared to a Venture which has two air filters in front of the knees. you are going to need a spray can of carburetor cleaner with the little snorkel attachment. You’re going to need a spray can of brake clean. Now is the time to replace the spark plugs, only use NGK spark plugs, only buy them from your Yamaha dealer or some other motorcycle dealer like a Honda or suzuki or Kawasaki shop, or, advance auto stocks them… I had to put slack in my throttle cable from the handlebar perch, adjustment cable, nut.. that was so I could get the cables off of the bell crank that operates the linkage to twist the bell crank that rotates the throttle plates.. take lots and lots of pictures when you remove the gas tank from every angle so you can see where all the hoses and cables go and how they are routed. Make sure you take good pictures. when you remove the carburetors from the manifold, make sure you put paper towels in each manifold hole.. outside the house or garage, spray the carburetors with brake, clean to get all the dirt off.. You’re going to need a good sharp number 2 Phillips screwdriver to remove each float bowl.. you must remove the vacuum diaphragms from under those vaccum domes on the sides of the carburetors. They look like little speaker cones.. Carburetor cleaner will damage them. There is also a small O-ring under each dome with the vacuum diaphragm. That O-ring is about as big around as a pencil. gently lift the diaphragm out, and that will pull the slide out of the carburetor. The slide is what controls the airflow through the carburetor. Pay attention to how they come out because you can only put them back in one way. It might be possible to accidentally put them in backwards. I forget… do one carburetor at a time. Put the carburetors in one of those half boxes that they ship cans in to the stores, just in case, some little part drops off and you didn’t hear it. carburetors are actually as simple as your toilet at home. There are two jets. You take them out with a screwdriver, clean them with carburetor cleaner, and put them back in. Spray carburetor cleaner in the holes The Jets came out of,and blow them out with air.. then there’s the gas flow path that comes down from the fuel line into the needle and seat, which controlls the flow of gasoline into the float bowl, just like your needle and seat control the flow of water into your toilet tank. That is controlled by a float in the carburetor and in the toilet. When the float goes up so high, it shuts the flow of liquid off. It’s that simple.. you want to take the needle out of the seat, that’s actually the valve that shuts the flow of gas into the float bowl on and off by the float pushing up on it. You want to examine that and clean it and make sure there’s no grit in there for that seat will not fit properly and allow gas to continue to flow into the float bowl, and when it does that, it just flows on to the ground under the bike through a vent hose. just take your time. When you remove the four screws from the float bowl, smack the float bowl with the handle of the screwdriver. That will loosen it. It always has over the past four decades for me… It’s not rocket science, it’s as simple as working on a toilet .. now that you have easy access to replace The spark plugs with new NGK spark plugs that you will buy at a dealer or at AutoZone not eBay. eBay is contaminated with counterfeit NGK spark plugs. Advance auto handles them and they keep them in stock or they will have them the next day. They’re only like two or three bucks apiece. Your spark plug wires live in a very hostile hot environment. Clean each spark plug wire with silicone spray, and coat, each spark plug wire with silicone grease that you can buy at AutoZone or Home Depot in a toothpaste tube container. silicone grease is also known as dielectric grease ..Make sure to put some silicone, grease inside the spark plug cap where it attaches on the Spark plug. Don’t change the gaps on the plugs they come correctly gapped from the factory unless they’ve been dropped. Never never never use champion spark plugs in anything you own if you can help it. they don’t recover after the first heat cycle to like new performance.. now would be the time to put in a new stock, air filter and fuel filter Wear goggles when spraying carburetor cleaner inside those carburetors to clean out all those little holes because carburetor cleaner is an acid.. have a fire extinguisher handy. I have been there when two buildings were on fire. One of them completely burned to the ground by fires created by accident .. if you notice, I have three fire extinguishers in my garage in my videos. I also give them to my kids for Christmas every couple years… don’t mess with the electric wires on the carburetors. Those are heaters. I have no idea what they are for other than the heat something.. I have never seen that on any other motorcycle.. take lots and lots of pictures. good luck. It’s really not one big job doing anything like this. The way I approach a job like this is, it may be 50 little jobs. Take out the screw, take out that bolt, unplug this, put the screw back in, little chores, it’s not one big enormous job, it’s a bunch of little jobs.
Thank you very much for the thorough and detailed reply Jody. I have a made in Japan rebuild kit em route, and I am shopping for a factory shop manual for this model on eBay. My bike has 22K so while I have the carburetors off I should probably also check the valve clearances. I’d REALLY like to make this a winter project and not waste the good weather. I got exactly 50mpg on my inaugural trip on a twisty, scenic state route, so my feeling is that things aren’t too out of spec right now. The bike had one stuck float when I bought it however, and the previous owner only used non-ethanol during storage. My hunch is that I need to rebuild sooner than later. I’ll take lots and lots of photos, and follow your advice. I REALLY like the toilet analogy. I’d never heard that one. Keep up the great content. Your channel is a goldmine for this niche of riders. And thank you again.
Two other problems you can experience, the throttle lever could be worn and needs replacing. this can cause your cruise control not to work or to shut off your cruise abruptly. there is a bushing in the clutch lever where the bolt that holds it in place goes into. it can wear out and cause the problem. Take the lever off and inspect that metal bushing pressed inside of it. It is a nonserviceable part so you have to order a new lever. I would suggest you use a small coat of white lithium grease on the bolt before inserting it in the new clutch lever through the handlebars. I had this problem with my cruise and noticed my clutch lever had a lot of play, so I inspected it. Another issue could be in the cancel and accel/decel button. the contacts can get dirty and cause the cruise to work erratically. You can clean them with some CRC electronic contact cleaner. Just push the Accel/Decel button up and you'll see a small open area that you can stick the straw from the can and generously spray the contacts. Make sure to work them back and forth. The cancel button has enough space to spray some in and work it as well. If you also want to, you can remove the controls and spray from the back of the control but doing it while still attached to the handlebars works fine. Mine also got gummed up with grime from years of use. I did both controls and replaced the lever and my cruise works like it did when my 07 Royal Star tour deluxe was brand new. The Tour Deluxe and the Venture share the same cruise control system. I own one of each.
Good points. The brass bushing in the clutch lever does have a very high rate of ware when neglected. I did a video last year on changing clutch and brake fluid and testing it with a brake fluid tester that measures absorbed moisture.. I point out in a couple of my videos, without even realizing it, you pull that clutch lever in hundreds of times an hour at times.. you pull the clutch lever in 10 times just shifting up through the gears and back down with a five speed box. yes, I have tried anti-seize, I’ve tried Moly grease, i’ve tried I speed wheel, bearing grease for disc brake bearings, I tried mixing different, grease with copper, anti-seize, and aluminum anti-seize, nothing seems to work better than white lithium EP grease.. I especially can feel it in my front brake lever pivot when it needs greased. It starts creaking. I have that in one of my videos, including the sound of the creaking… as for the cruise control, the only thing I use Les on any of my voter cycles is the radio which I never turn on. In fact, when I sold my goldwing, I could not demonstrate how the radio worked to the new buyer, because I never even thought about turning it on.. but unlike radios, I do occasionally use cruise control just to give my hand a break. But that’s about the extent of it.. i’ve never had a bike with cruise control that didn’t work. But my current royal star venture was reluctant to stay engaged when I first got the machine. but after a few tries, it finally did stay connected.. because they always work on all my bikes so far, I’ve really never had to dig into them to see how they work, or more to the point, why aren’t they working. They always work, so I never had to dig into them… but I don’t use them much. Maybe less than 10 minutes per year combined
I have experienced those symptoms on my 09 RSV. THREE times after Yamaha dealer service! Seems they dont take the time to properly adjust all of the throttle cables. Most of the problem is the adjustment at the cable splitter, where the input cable, cruz cable, & throttle cable come together in left lower fairing.
I have an 04 RSV and my cruse control went out about 5 years after I bought it. I went through all of the checks already listed and still no power to it. I ended up removing the front cowling and tracing the wires going to the main switch and found a broken wire where it passed under the corner of the tape deck. I had to pull the tape deck out to fix it. I then reinforced the wires in that location so they couldn't bend and break again .
thanks for the update… when you say the main switch. Is that the single purpose rocker switch that energizes cruise control, or is that the ignition switch?.. also/ was the fuse blown? was the wire just broken or did it appear to be melted. thanks for the update. I have no experience working on cruise control. but I am a retired electrician/HVAC tech, and that’s the first thing i check for is, power..
It was the wires going from the fuse to the rocker switch. The fuse was still good. I think the vibration of the tape deck against the wire and the inside cowling (this is a pinch point) was the cause of the break. The major problem with this repair was getting the tape deck out.
Anyway to adjust the sensitivity¿ Mine go down and up a few miles an hour. Occasionally, it will go down low enough to cancel itself, about 5 under what I had it set at
I am not familiar with the mounting system for bags that are called a tour pack. So I can’t suggest a different mounting system by proxy -I’d have to see it. but it has been my experience that it is tough to come up with something better than the factory has already figured out for us.. The factory spends millions developing different systems on these motorcycles. Not only do they have to not fail for safety reasons, but they can’t fail for warranty reasons, and they don’t want their reputation tarnished because of things failing… especially with something like saddlebags that you may be carrying your wallet and your cell phone in. I want to make damn sure that thing is securely attached to my machine. Because just think of the predicament you could be put in if you lost a saddle bag with your cell phone and your wallet in it somewhere along the road. And don’t forget we tend to overload our saddlebags. They do put weight limits on how much weight you should put in them max, and I’m sure everybody exceeds that especially on 1000 mile trip…. at least, in my case, I tend to carry more stuff than I ever need, just in case ..most of the time, it’s tough to come up with something better then the factory has come up with, especially when they have an army of high paid experienced engineers designing this stuff.. and they don’t just design this stuff on a CAD system and that’s the end of it. They probably come up with several prototypes, and they actually test them for thousands of miles before they actually go into production… I’m sure they keep a library of failures of certain components, and when they’re designing a new machine, they probably review the failures in the past, so they don’t repeat those failures in the new designs.. I am not at all familiar with any quickchange saddlebag mounting system on other models besides the Venture.. i’d have to see it..
I forgot to tell you that I have a 2004 Yamaha Royal Star Venture 1300 it's the trunk I really want to come off some times . But thanks for taking the time and answering my question. Learning a lot about my bike though you. Thanks
of course I moved my throttle cables and the throttle tube. I didn’t demonstrate my llama haul cable Luber in this video but you can see what one looks like if you watch my Kawasaki Z 400 prep video.. I have had that Yamaha cable pressure, Luber since maybe 1979
Ok….so here’s where I’m at. I get no indication that the cruise control is even getting power. None of the CC lights are lighting up on the dash. So I figured it was the fuse. Checked that, and the fuse is good. A couple other clues.. When I got the bike, the guy told me that the keyed ignition switch had been changed…so it requires a different key then the bags take. Other possible clue- the side stand switch would not allow the bike to be running unless the kickstand is in the up position. To be clear…if the bike was on the kickstand, even if it was in neutral, the bike would not start. When I got it home, I started looking at that, and I tried removing one of the bolts holding the side stand switch, so I could pivot the switch so the kickstand would not make contact. With the switch moved, I could start the bike with the side stand down.
something in your daisy chain of safety devices for the cruise control is open possibly. since the ignition switch has been changed, and, the cruise control is controlled through the ignition switch. You need to remove the gas tank, and get a schematic and a test meter. You have to start working backwards from the cruise control switch just above your handlebar perch on your dashboard., and test backwards and forwards, following the 12 V. It could be something like a bad connection in one of the plastic gang plugs… it could be a break in the wire, a wire pulled out of one of those plugs. The previous owner may have used a pressure washer on the machine. I would also test the right handlebar control housing for activating / controlling cruise control, functions, like resume, accelerate, decelerate, and especially cancel. Follow that wire harness from the control clamp around your handlebars at the throttle, all the way into where it plugs into the wire harness. If someone was in there, changing the ignition switch, something got disturbed, possibly.. since that rocker switch above the handle bar perch, which is the on off switch, appears to be the controlling switch for power. See if that switch is getting power, then test to see if the power is going through the switch and coming out to wherever it sends the power.. I am a retired HVAC/security systems technician. Motorcycles are a little simpler because you know you’re only dealing with 12 V... on a motorcycle like the Venture, the cruise control system has many safety switches wired in the series/path to power the unit. That is called a daisy chain of wiring. if any one of those links in the chain breaks, that stops the flow. You have to start at the point at which you do have 12 V testing through switches, through connections, through fuses to see if the power goes in one hand and comes out the other all the way to that rocker switch above the handlebar perch, then threw the clutch Perch, safety, switch, then through the brake pedal and brake lever safety switches. but the fact that your bike has a new ignition switch tells me somebody was in there near that on off switch above the handlebar perch. The fact that the lights do not come on at all tells me it’s a power problem, feeding that switch at the perch, the main on off switch for the cruise control. You have to find where are the power path stops on its way to that switch.. I suspect a plug is unplugged, or a break in the wire, or a pinched wire up near the steering head. Where are the ignition switch and other wiring comes together in has to operate in a place on the motorcycle that moves when you turn the handle bars left and right… One other little thing to check locate the negative cable on your battery, and follow it down to where it connects to the frame. Make sure you have a good ground from the battery to the frame… I have seen Yamaha motorcycles that had a corroded ground strap connection, but the bike still ran because of all of the little wire, harness tiny ground connections throughout the wire harness. what would happen is, when the owner of the machine would push the start button to start the bike. There was not a good ground from the battery to ground, but there were good grounds throughout the wire harness. But that was too much amperage to put on those tiny wires. Every time the machine started using the starter motor. And eventually it would melt the wire harness grounds, and eventually they would ruin the wire harness. I replaced two wire harnesses on Yamaha‘s I don’t think that’s your problem, but do you want to check that box while you’re at it, it will only take you a couple minutes to check the ground from the battery to the frame.. also, your side stand switch should let the bike start with the side, stand down as long as the bike is in neutral, and there is a neutral light indicated on the dashboard.. you know, you have a problem, right there at the side stand with the lockout system from that switch. I would start there you could jump the switch/bypass it. I had a problem with my side, stand switch on a Yamaha FG 1200. My tachometer and speedometer started cycling, going through their start sequence. When you start the bike or first turn the key on, the tack does a full sweep from zero all the way up and then back down to zero, that was going on while I was riding my bike. It turned out to be that side stand. Switch was playing havoc with my electrical system. to fix it, I simply sprayed electrical contact cleaner on and in the switch, and it operated fine after that. But before I cleaned it, pushing the switch in and out had a gritty feel to it. It probably had dirt stuck to grease that I sprayed on the side stand pivot that got carried into the switch itself. That could also happen up at your handlebar purchase for the clutch and front brake and your brake pedal. but none of those explain why your cruise control lights on your dashboard. Do not operate when you first turn the key on. I think you’re on the right path, it’s very hard to repair someone’s motorcycle by proxy electrical is the trickiest problem to diagnose because you can’t see it, you have to test for it with a meter working backwards and forwards, following the path of power, where you have it, and where it stops to find the faulty component or the disruption in the flow of power.. Keep at it you’ll get it… these bikes are pretty simple compared to the newer bikes out today, or the BMW, motorcycles and cars, that you have to marry the dealer when you own one of those things.. it may seem overwhelming, when you look at it as one big problem. The way I approach things like this is, one simple issue at a time, I don’t look at it as A mass of problems all at once. I would start at one place and follow the power with a meter.. find out why that rocker switch that turns the cruise control on is not turning those three lights on your dashboard on. Why aren’t those lights getting power on your dashboard? It’s probably the same reason. Your cruise control isn’t getting power. you could even be the ignition switch, which controls all of the electric devices on that machine. They are all wired through that ignition switch… it’s curious that that machine has a new ignition switch for some reason.. i would like to get my hands on that machine
My cancel switch broke, so now mine dont work at all. Haven't tore it apart to see whats going on in there. I hope I dont have to buy a hole new controller
@@08soloblade 1999/2009 Yamaha royal star venture, start/stop switch.. That one is 30 bucks plus shipping, used, there were two other ones for $55. Each, I believe I included the word handlebar switch with variations of the wording.
that makes sense that you have to be in Top Gear for the cruise control to activate. Thanks. I only use my cruise control when I’m on the highway and I want to give my right hand a break.
Do you know why they made that bike with a fuel pump when it could’ve been a gravity feed ? Would you happen to know why they have heated carbs? I understand the purpose on aircraft carbs but not motorcycles
I have wondered why they put a fuel pump on the Venture’s myself. I can understand if it had fuel injection the necessity for having a fuel pump, but not with the carburetors.. heaters on the carburetors. I would imagine, I’ve never been told this, but, to help the fuel to vaporize.
@@Jodyrides I wish they hadn’t because I would like to turn the petcock off and run all the fuel with ethanol out for winter storage afraid I might burn up the electric fuel pump doing that
thanks. I’m not really a bike washer. I’ve actually never washed this bike with water, I don’t think I’ve been caught in the rain on it yet either it’s always been garage kept by the original owner and me. That sun is rough on motorcycles that shit out.. I just use that Honda spray, polish and cleaner, I’ve never taken soap and water to any of my motorcycles over the past 30 years.. I think this machine has about 34,000 miles on it. So far so good …it’s a 2008. Yamaha has been using this basic engine platform longer than the gold wings have used their basic engine. Yamaha started using this engine in 1983, and I believe they used it up until 2021 in the Vmax. And I have never heard of any common part failures after 1986 when it became a 1300 cc. The early ventures, 1983, 1984, 1985 were 1200 cc.. they were actually the smoothest and fastest, and they had a Low failure rate of second gear. Yamaha had quite a few bikes that had bad second gears starting with 30 Yamaha three cylinder XS 750/850, even the FJ 1100 had a weak second gear design… that is actually the gear most likely to fail in most motorcycles. There is just so much torque behind that shift from 1st to 2nd, all those gears get wind up so fast, and then they get slammed to a slower speed in a millisecond, by shifting to second.at high rpms.. I made it a lifelong habit too short shift from 1st to 2nd on all my motorcycles. I don’t pour on the coal until after I’m already in second. One other little thing I like about the Venture’s. I don’t have $25,000 sitting there depreciating..
I never tried to set the cruise control at anything below 45. Mainly because, I better be doing at least 55 on limited access, highways or i’ll get run over. So usually I’m doing about 65 when I feel like giving my whip hand a break.. that’s about the only time I do use cruise control. Just to give my hands a break. Because I really don’t like long distance travel on interstates unless I have to be somewhere hours away by interstate. Even then I don’t sit there for long stretches with the cruise on not even in my truck or my wife’s car. here in the Northeast, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, there aren’t very many level straight highways. Cruise control can get you deep into a corner a little over your head if you weren’t watching… One winter night, I got called out on an electrical no power call. I was driving my brand new company, jeep liberty… I had to go about 45 miles to the site.. I got there and found the trouble and got their power back on in the Jeep, it was about 1030 at night, January, it was about 20°. I was on the highway, the roads were clear, but it had been warm enough to melt some of the snow that day, which ran across the highway and re-froze. I had the cruise control on. My jeep hit that ice and I could hear and feel the back wheels spinning up over that ice sheet. coincidentally, about two months later, a safety warning was on the news to never ever use your cruise control in the rain or in the snow.... when I heard that warning on the news, immediately the lightbulb in my head lit up, and I realized what had happened that night. I never gave it a thought before that happened… So there are a few reasons to be a little less complacent with cruise control..
@@Jodyrides There is a road thru a state park I ride thru that 25 mph. It seems like it would be about a 45 mph so I always set when I'm on the road. It is radar enforced.
Thank you so much for taking the time to make the video…you’re the guy we all wish we had as a friend or neighbour!
Thank you again Jody. I just bought a gorgeous red over black Royal Star Tour Deluxe. I'm going back to re-watch ALL of your Venture videos now. I would absolutely love one of your detailed, methodical, and thorough videos on rebuilding and synching the carbs. I realize it's a huge job, especially if your bike is already dialed in. I'm just throwing out plea thinly veiled as a content suggestion. 😉
The tour deluxe is different than the Venture, especially in the air cleaner department. I never even sat on a tour deluxe. But I think you only have one air filter under the gas tank compared to a Venture which has two air filters in front of the knees.
you are going to need a spray can of carburetor cleaner with the little snorkel attachment. You’re going to need a spray can of brake clean. Now is the time to replace the spark plugs, only use NGK spark plugs, only buy them from your Yamaha dealer or some other motorcycle dealer like a Honda or suzuki or Kawasaki shop, or, advance auto stocks them…
I had to put slack in my throttle cable from the handlebar perch, adjustment cable, nut.. that was so I could get the cables off of the bell crank that operates the linkage to twist the bell crank that rotates the throttle plates..
take lots and lots of pictures when you remove the gas tank from every angle so you can see where all the hoses and cables go and how they are routed. Make sure you take good pictures.
when you remove the carburetors from the manifold, make sure you put paper towels in each manifold hole..
outside the house or garage, spray the carburetors with brake, clean to get all the dirt off..
You’re going to need a good sharp number 2 Phillips screwdriver to remove each float bowl..
you must remove the vacuum diaphragms from under those vaccum domes on the sides of the carburetors. They look like little speaker cones.. Carburetor cleaner will damage them. There is also a small O-ring under each dome with the vacuum diaphragm. That O-ring is about as big around as a pencil. gently lift the diaphragm out, and that will pull the slide out of the carburetor. The slide is what controls the airflow through the carburetor. Pay attention to how they come out because you can only put them back in one way. It might be possible to accidentally put them in backwards. I forget…
do one carburetor at a time. Put the carburetors in one of those half boxes that they ship cans in to the stores, just in case, some little part drops off and you didn’t hear it.
carburetors are actually as simple as your toilet at home. There are two jets. You take them out with a screwdriver, clean them with carburetor cleaner, and put them back in. Spray carburetor cleaner in the holes The Jets came out of,and blow them out with air..
then there’s the gas flow path that comes down from the fuel line into the needle and seat, which controlls the flow of gasoline into the float bowl, just like your needle and seat control the flow of water into your toilet tank. That is controlled by a float in the carburetor and in the toilet. When the float goes up so high, it shuts the flow of liquid off. It’s that simple..
you want to take the needle out of the seat, that’s actually the valve that shuts the flow of gas into the float bowl on and off by the float pushing up on it. You want to examine that and clean it and make sure there’s no grit in there for that seat will not fit properly and allow gas to continue to flow into the float bowl, and when it does that, it just flows on to the ground under the bike through a vent hose.
just take your time. When you remove the four screws from the float bowl, smack the float bowl with the handle of the screwdriver. That will loosen it. It always has over the past four decades for me…
It’s not rocket science, it’s as simple as working on a toilet ..
now that you have easy access to replace The spark plugs with new NGK spark plugs that you will buy at a dealer or at AutoZone not eBay. eBay is contaminated with counterfeit NGK spark plugs. Advance auto handles them and they keep them in stock or they will have them the next day. They’re only like two or three bucks apiece.
Your spark plug wires live in a very hostile hot environment. Clean each spark plug wire with silicone spray, and coat, each spark plug wire with silicone grease that you can buy at AutoZone or Home Depot in a toothpaste tube container. silicone grease is also known as dielectric grease ..Make sure to put some silicone, grease inside the spark plug cap where it attaches on the Spark plug. Don’t change the gaps on the plugs they come correctly gapped from the factory unless they’ve been dropped. Never never never use champion spark plugs in anything you own if you can help it. they don’t recover after the first heat cycle to like new performance..
now would be the time to put in a new stock, air filter and fuel filter
Wear goggles when spraying carburetor cleaner inside those carburetors to clean out all those little holes because carburetor cleaner is an acid..
have a fire extinguisher handy. I have been there when two buildings were on fire. One of them completely burned to the ground by fires created by accident .. if you notice, I have three fire extinguishers in my garage in my videos. I also give them to my kids for Christmas every couple years…
don’t mess with the electric wires on the carburetors. Those are heaters. I have no idea what they are for other than the heat something.. I have never seen that on any other motorcycle..
take lots and lots of pictures.
good luck. It’s really not one big job doing anything like this. The way I approach a job like this is, it may be 50 little jobs. Take out the screw, take out that bolt, unplug this, put the screw back in, little chores, it’s not one big enormous job, it’s a bunch of little jobs.
Thank you very much for the thorough and detailed reply Jody. I have a made in Japan rebuild kit em route, and I am shopping for a factory shop manual for this model on eBay. My bike has 22K so while I have the carburetors off I should probably also check the valve clearances. I’d REALLY like to make this a winter project and not waste the good weather. I got exactly 50mpg on my inaugural trip on a twisty, scenic state route, so my feeling is that things aren’t too out of spec right now. The bike had one stuck float when I bought it however, and the previous owner only used non-ethanol during storage. My hunch is that I need to rebuild sooner than later. I’ll take lots and lots of photos, and follow your advice. I REALLY like the toilet analogy. I’d never heard that one.
Keep up the great content. Your channel is a goldmine for this niche of riders. And thank you again.
Two other problems you can experience, the throttle lever could be worn and needs replacing. this can cause your cruise control not to work or to shut off your cruise abruptly. there is a bushing in the clutch lever where the bolt that holds it in place goes into. it can wear out and cause the problem. Take the lever off and inspect that metal bushing pressed inside of it. It is a nonserviceable part so you have to order a new lever. I would suggest you use a small coat of white lithium grease on the bolt before inserting it in the new clutch lever through the handlebars. I had this problem with my cruise and noticed my clutch lever had a lot of play, so I inspected it. Another issue could be in the cancel and accel/decel button. the contacts can get dirty and cause the cruise to work erratically. You can clean them with some CRC electronic contact cleaner. Just push the Accel/Decel button up and you'll see a small open area that you can stick the straw from the can and generously spray the contacts. Make sure to work them back and forth. The cancel button has enough space to spray some in and work it as well. If you also want to, you can remove the controls and spray from the back of the control but doing it while still attached to the handlebars works fine. Mine also got gummed up with grime from years of use. I did both controls and replaced the lever and my cruise works like it did when my 07 Royal Star tour deluxe was brand new. The Tour Deluxe and the Venture share the same cruise control system. I own one of each.
The Tour Deluxe and the Venture share the same system. I own one of each.
Good points. The brass bushing in the clutch lever does have a very high rate of ware when neglected. I did a video last year on changing clutch and brake fluid and testing it with a brake fluid tester that measures absorbed moisture.. I point out in a couple of my videos, without even realizing it, you pull that clutch lever in hundreds of times an hour at times.. you pull the clutch lever in 10 times just shifting up through the gears and back down with a five speed box. yes, I have tried anti-seize, I’ve tried Moly grease, i’ve tried I speed wheel, bearing grease for disc brake bearings, I tried mixing different, grease with copper, anti-seize, and aluminum anti-seize, nothing seems to work better than white lithium EP grease.. I especially can feel it in my front brake lever pivot when it needs greased. It starts creaking. I have that in one of my videos, including the sound of the creaking…
as for the cruise control, the only thing I use Les on any of my voter cycles is the radio which I never turn on. In fact, when I sold my goldwing, I could not demonstrate how the radio worked to the new buyer, because I never even thought about turning it on..
but unlike radios, I do occasionally use cruise control just to give my hand a break. But that’s about the extent of it..
i’ve never had a bike with cruise control that didn’t work. But my current royal star venture was reluctant to stay engaged when I first got the machine. but after a few tries, it finally did stay connected.. because they always work on all my bikes so far, I’ve really never had to dig into them to see how they work, or more to the point, why aren’t they working. They always work, so I never had to dig into them… but I don’t use them much. Maybe less than 10 minutes per year combined
I have experienced those symptoms on my 09 RSV. THREE times after Yamaha dealer service! Seems they dont take the time to properly adjust all of the throttle cables. Most of the problem is the adjustment at the cable splitter, where the input cable, cruz cable, & throttle cable come together in left lower fairing.
I have an 04 RSV and my cruse control went out about 5 years after I bought it. I went through all of the checks already listed and still no power to it. I ended up removing the front cowling and tracing the wires going to the main switch and found a broken wire where it passed under the corner of the tape deck. I had to pull the tape deck out to fix it. I then reinforced the wires in that location so they couldn't bend and break again .
thanks for the update…
when you say the main switch. Is that the single purpose rocker switch that energizes cruise control, or is that the ignition switch?..
also/ was the fuse blown?
was the wire just broken or did it appear to be melted.
thanks for the update. I have no experience working on cruise control.
but I am a retired electrician/HVAC tech, and that’s the first thing i check for is, power..
It was the wires going from the fuse to the rocker switch. The fuse was still good. I think the vibration of the tape deck against the wire and the inside cowling (this is a pinch point) was the cause of the break. The major problem with this repair was getting the tape deck out.
Anyway to adjust the sensitivity¿
Mine go down and up a few miles an hour. Occasionally, it will go down low enough to cancel itself, about 5 under what I had it set at
Thanks for sharing!
Can I put a quick on and off on my saddle bag and tour pack. Tired of the screws.
I am not familiar with the mounting system for bags that are called a tour pack. So I can’t suggest a different mounting system by proxy -I’d have to see it.
but it has been my experience that it is tough to come up with something better than the factory has already figured out for us.. The factory spends millions developing different systems on these motorcycles. Not only do they have to not fail for safety reasons, but they can’t fail for warranty reasons, and they don’t want their reputation tarnished because of things failing… especially with something like saddlebags that you may be carrying your wallet and your cell phone in. I want to make damn sure that thing is securely attached to my machine. Because just think of the predicament you could be put in if you lost a saddle bag with your cell phone and your wallet in it somewhere along the road. And don’t forget we tend to overload our saddlebags. They do put weight limits on how much weight you should put in them max, and I’m sure everybody exceeds that especially on 1000 mile trip…. at least, in my case, I tend to carry more stuff than I ever need, just in case ..most of the time, it’s tough to come up with something better then the factory has come up with, especially when they have an army of high paid experienced engineers designing this stuff.. and they don’t just design this stuff on a CAD system and that’s the end of it. They probably come up with several prototypes, and they actually test them for thousands of miles before they actually go into production… I’m sure they keep a library of failures of certain components, and when they’re designing a new machine, they probably review the failures in the past, so they don’t repeat those failures in the new designs..
I am not at all familiar with any quickchange saddlebag mounting system on other models besides the Venture.. i’d have to see it..
I forgot to tell you that I have a 2004 Yamaha Royal Star Venture 1300 it's the trunk I really want to come off some times . But thanks for taking the time and answering my question. Learning a lot about my bike though you. Thanks
Have you lubed the throttle cables?
of course I moved my throttle cables and the throttle tube. I didn’t demonstrate my llama haul cable Luber in this video but you can see what one looks like if you watch my Kawasaki Z 400 prep video.. I have had that Yamaha cable pressure, Luber since maybe 1979
Ok….so here’s where I’m at.
I get no indication that the cruise control is even getting power. None of the CC lights are lighting up on the dash. So I figured it was the fuse. Checked that, and the fuse is good.
A couple other clues..
When I got the bike, the guy told me that the keyed ignition switch had been changed…so it requires a different key then the bags take.
Other possible clue- the side stand switch would not allow the bike to be running unless the kickstand is in the up position. To be clear…if the bike was on the kickstand, even if it was in neutral, the bike would not start. When I got it home, I started looking at that, and I tried removing one of the bolts holding the side stand switch, so I could pivot the switch so the kickstand would not make contact. With the switch moved, I could start the bike with the side stand down.
something in your daisy chain of safety devices for the cruise control is open possibly. since the ignition switch has been changed, and, the cruise control is controlled through the ignition switch. You need to remove the gas tank, and get a schematic and a test meter. You have to start working backwards from the cruise control switch just above your handlebar perch on your dashboard., and test backwards and forwards, following the 12 V. It could be something like a bad connection in one of the plastic gang plugs… it could be a break in the wire, a wire pulled out of one of those plugs. The previous owner may have used a pressure washer on the machine. I would also test the right handlebar control housing for activating / controlling cruise control, functions, like resume, accelerate, decelerate, and especially cancel. Follow that wire harness from the control clamp around your handlebars at the throttle, all the way into where it plugs into the wire harness. If someone was in there, changing the ignition switch, something got disturbed, possibly..
since that rocker switch above the handle bar perch, which is the on off switch, appears to be the controlling switch for power. See if that switch is getting power, then test to see if the power is going through the switch and coming out to wherever it sends the power..
I am a retired HVAC/security systems technician. Motorcycles are a little simpler because you know you’re only dealing with 12 V...
on a motorcycle like the Venture, the cruise control system has many safety switches wired in the series/path to power the unit. That is called a daisy chain of wiring. if any one of those links in the chain breaks, that stops the flow. You have to start at the point at which you do have 12 V testing through switches, through connections, through fuses to see if the power goes in one hand and comes out the other all the way to that rocker switch above the handlebar perch, then threw the clutch Perch, safety, switch, then through the brake pedal and brake lever safety switches.
but the fact that your bike has a new ignition switch tells me somebody was in there near that on off switch above the handlebar perch. The fact that the lights do not come on at all tells me it’s a power problem, feeding that switch at the perch, the main on off switch for the cruise control. You have to find where are the power path stops on its way to that switch.. I suspect a plug is unplugged, or a break in the wire, or a pinched wire up near the steering head. Where are the ignition switch and other wiring comes together in has to operate in a place on the motorcycle that moves when you turn the handle bars left and right…
One other little thing to check
locate the negative cable on your battery, and follow it down to where it connects to the frame. Make sure you have a good ground from the battery to the frame…
I have seen Yamaha motorcycles that had a corroded ground strap connection, but the bike still ran because of all of the little wire, harness tiny ground connections throughout the wire harness. what would happen is, when the owner of the machine would push the start button to start the bike. There was not a good ground from the battery to ground, but there were good grounds throughout the wire harness. But that was too much amperage to put on those tiny wires. Every time the machine started using the starter motor. And eventually it would melt the wire harness grounds, and eventually they would ruin the wire harness. I replaced two wire harnesses on Yamaha‘s
I don’t think that’s your problem, but do you want to check that box while you’re at it, it will only take you a couple minutes to check the ground from the battery to the frame..
also, your side stand switch should let the bike start with the side, stand down as long as the bike is in neutral, and there is a neutral light indicated on the dashboard..
you know, you have a problem, right there at the side stand with the lockout system from that switch. I would start there you could jump the switch/bypass it. I had a problem with my side, stand switch on a Yamaha FG 1200. My tachometer and speedometer started cycling, going through their start sequence. When you start the bike or first turn the key on, the tack does a full sweep from zero all the way up and then back down to zero, that was going on while I was riding my bike. It turned out to be that side stand. Switch was playing havoc with my electrical system. to fix it, I simply sprayed electrical contact cleaner on and in the switch, and it operated fine after that. But before I cleaned it, pushing the switch in and out had a gritty feel to it. It probably had dirt stuck to grease that I sprayed on the side stand pivot that got carried into the switch itself. That could also happen up at your handlebar purchase for the clutch and front brake and your brake pedal.
but none of those explain why your cruise control lights on your dashboard. Do not operate when you first turn the key on.
I think you’re on the right path, it’s very hard to repair someone’s motorcycle by proxy
electrical is the trickiest problem to diagnose because you can’t see it, you have to test for it with a meter working backwards and forwards, following the path of power, where you have it, and where it stops to find the faulty component or the disruption in the flow of power..
Keep at it you’ll get it… these bikes are pretty simple compared to the newer bikes out today, or the BMW, motorcycles and cars, that you have to marry the dealer when you own one of those things..
it may seem overwhelming, when you look at it as one big problem. The way I approach things like this is, one simple issue at a time, I don’t look at it as A mass of problems all at once. I would start at one place and follow the power with a meter..
find out why that rocker switch that turns the cruise control on is not turning those three lights on your dashboard on. Why aren’t those lights getting power on your dashboard? It’s probably the same reason. Your cruise control isn’t getting power. you could even be the ignition switch, which controls all of the electric devices on that machine. They are all wired through that ignition switch… it’s curious that that machine has a new ignition switch for some reason..
i would like to get my hands on that machine
@@Jodyrides thanks again for the feedback, all your input is appreciated and I’m grateful for the support….I’ll let you know😉
My cancel switch broke, so now mine dont work at all. Haven't tore it apart to see whats going on in there. I hope I dont have to buy a hole new controller
I just checked here on June 3, eBay has several of those Handlebar switch housings used on eBay
@@Jodyrides what is it called for the hole thing?
@@08soloblade
1999/2009 Yamaha royal star venture, start/stop switch.. That one is 30 bucks plus shipping, used, there were two other ones for $55. Each, I believe I included the word handlebar switch with variations of the wording.
@@Jodyrides thank you
On my RSV, it needs to be in 5th gear for the cruise control to engage
that makes sense that you have to be in Top Gear for the cruise control to activate. Thanks. I only use my cruise control when I’m on the highway and I want to give my right hand a break.
Do you know why they made that bike with a fuel pump when it could’ve been a gravity feed ?
Would you happen to know why they have heated carbs? I understand the purpose on aircraft carbs but not motorcycles
I have wondered why they put a fuel pump on the Venture’s myself. I can understand if it had fuel injection the necessity for having a fuel pump, but not with the carburetors..
heaters on the carburetors. I would imagine, I’ve never been told this, but, to help the fuel to vaporize.
@@Jodyrides I wish they hadn’t because I would like to turn the petcock off and run all the fuel with ethanol out for winter storage afraid I might burn up the electric fuel pump doing that
Nice motorcycle it's clean
thanks. I’m not really a bike washer. I’ve actually never washed this bike with water, I don’t think I’ve been caught in the rain on it yet either it’s always been garage kept by the original owner and me. That sun is rough on motorcycles that shit out.. I just use that Honda spray, polish and cleaner, I’ve never taken soap and water to any of my motorcycles over the past 30 years.. I think this machine has about 34,000 miles on it. So far so good …it’s a 2008.
Yamaha has been using this basic engine platform longer than the gold wings have used their basic engine. Yamaha started using this engine in 1983, and I believe they used it up until 2021 in the Vmax. And I have never heard of any common part failures after 1986 when it became a 1300 cc. The early ventures, 1983, 1984, 1985 were 1200 cc.. they were actually the smoothest and fastest, and they had a Low failure rate of second gear. Yamaha had quite a few bikes that had bad second gears starting with 30 Yamaha three cylinder XS 750/850, even the FJ 1100 had a weak second gear design… that is actually the gear most likely to fail in most motorcycles. There is just so much torque behind that shift from 1st to 2nd, all those gears get wind up so fast, and then they get slammed to a slower speed in a millisecond, by shifting to second.at high rpms.. I made it a lifelong habit too short shift from 1st to 2nd on all my motorcycles. I don’t pour on the coal until after I’m already in second.
One other little thing I like about the Venture’s. I don’t have $25,000 sitting there depreciating..
My 2000 RSV will set cruise at anything over 25 mph
I never tried to set the cruise control at anything below 45. Mainly because, I better be doing at least 55 on limited access, highways or i’ll get run over. So usually I’m doing about 65 when I feel like giving my whip hand a break..
that’s about the only time I do use cruise control. Just to give my hands a break. Because I really don’t like long distance travel on interstates unless I have to be somewhere hours away by interstate. Even then I don’t sit there for long stretches with the cruise on not even in my truck or my wife’s car. here in the Northeast, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, there aren’t very many level straight highways. Cruise control can get you deep into a corner a little over your head if you weren’t watching…
One winter night, I got called out on an electrical no power call. I was driving my brand new company, jeep liberty… I had to go about 45 miles to the site.. I got there and found the trouble and got their power back on in the Jeep, it was about 1030 at night, January, it was about 20°. I was on the highway, the roads were clear, but it had been warm enough to melt some of the snow that day, which ran across the highway and re-froze. I had the cruise control on. My jeep hit that ice and I could hear and feel the back wheels spinning up over that ice sheet.
coincidentally, about two months later, a safety warning was on the news to never ever use your cruise control in the rain or in the snow.... when I heard that warning on the news, immediately the lightbulb in my head lit up, and I realized what had happened that night. I never gave it a thought before that happened…
So there are a few reasons to be a little less complacent with cruise control..
@@Jodyrides There is a road thru a state park I ride thru that 25 mph. It seems like it would be about a 45 mph so I always set when I'm on the road. It is radar enforced.