Venturer Adventure

[Radioguylogs]

Thanks for your advice Deebs.

I bought the bike around 2019 timeframe. It was running, but had sat negelcted for about 5 years. I went through everything at that time (carbs, wheel bearings, steering bearings, brake masters and calipers, valve adjustment, cam chain tensioner, clean connectors, new tires, new battrery, etc,etc.........)

I have not done anything sonce the winter of 2019/2020. The problem may have existed all the time, and it took a long trip to discover it....or something is spontaneously going bad.

I hate intermiitent problems. They can be so hard to find and sometimes you are never sure if you fixed them.

I'm gonna trailer it to the famiy renion in South Haven on Friday, and ride it as much as I can during the week I'm there. If it fails, I have a trailer and family nearby. I hope it completely dies so I can fix it.

[IanDMacDonald]

Awesome, Mike! You know I'll buy it from you ever you ever sell . . .

[Radioguylogs]

Awesome, Mike! You know I'll buy it from you ever you ever sell . . .

Thanks Ian!

I never liked this bike so much as I do after I took a trip on it.

I can't wait for the next adventure trip.

[bikerphil]

Maybe something to check...

I had an intermittent ignition problem once that would drop two cylinders like it was pickup coil wires, but it finally turned out to be loose connectors at the TCI end. Once I tightened up the female blade connectors in the plastic harness plugs, it was back to normal. Took me awhile to figure that one out.

There is also a 5 pin ignition connector behind the fuse panel. That one can cause the same issues.

[Radioguylogs]

Thanks for the tips Bikerphil.

I did check the 5 pin ignition connector behind the fuses and it was in beautiful condition, and I cleaned it anyway.

I did clean the TCI terminals, but based on your advice, I should go back and make sure the female side is actually pinching the male terminals.

I was wondering if I should open up the TCI and examing the solder connections near the terminals plus look for failing electrolytics capcitors (if there are any).

[DEEBS11]

It's all covered in conformal coating and any access would need stripper. It gets messy. To remove the circuit board, you need to strip the coating from the solder joints of the connector and then de-solder.

[DEEBS11]

..........

[Radioguylogs]

Deebs:

Looks like a job that should only be done if necessary, due to the numerous opportunities to screw it up.

Thank you very much for the insight.

I have procured a spare 4RO module and will tuck it in the fairing with the other spare parts whan I travel.

[bikerphil]

Something else I thought of regarding the fuel delivery. Are the vacuum petcocks actually holding vacuum if tested with the mity vac? If they don't, they will still function, but the fuel flow can't keep up and the engine performance will gradually fade and lose power. You combine that with the restricted vent in the fuel cap and even less flow at certain times.

[Radioguylogs]

I have manual aftermarket petcocks.

This problem does seem to behave like fuel starvation. Whenever I had an electrical problem, it always seems to have a more violent, jerky failure mode. However, I am not ruling anything out at this time.

Thanks for looking out for me Bikerphil !

[bikerphil]

No problem brother, that's what we're here for.

[Radioguylogs]

So....now we come to the sequel. Remember I had trouble with the camping trip on the bike last year? I eventually learned it was a combination of a sticking carb float and a gas cap that that didn't always vent.

Venturer Adventure Part II

I had an infected wisdom tooth extracted in July, and the wife had hip surgery toward the end of July. It wasn't looking good for another trip the Michigan UP this summer.

Somehow, a window opened briefly in mid-August and I immediately packed and hopped on my Venturer.



I camped 2 nights about 15 miles south of Munising.





I rode the infamous H58 to Grand Marais. It was a really nice ride with more curves and trees than usual.



Saber Falls is on the way, near Grand Marais.



Took a break in Grand Marais, then rode down to Lake Michigan and all over the central UP.


(continued....)

[Radioguylogs]

(...continuing)

I moved to the Keweenaw Peninsula after that. Couldn't find a campground, so I spent 2 night in a hotel in Houghton.

Some of members of this forum did a rally in this area a couple of times, so I took pictures in the same places for a now-and-then effect.

This is the drawbridge in Houghton:



This is the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse:





It's surprising Fort Gratiot was only occupied for 2 years. It was built after the Indians were relocated via treaty and copper mining was the huge boom. This picture shows about 25% of the buildings:



This picture speaks for itself:



(...continued...)

[Radioguylogs]

(...continuing...)

I moved down near Wisconsin to Watersmeet, where I camped for 2 days:





I had planned to ride to the Porcupine Mountains from this location, but the day I started out it was raining, and it got worse about 20 miles into the trip. I didn't see the point in riding in the rain all day if it was going to be raining when I reached the destination. So, I explored the area closer the campground. Here is Miners Falls:



It cleared up in the late afternoon so I rode around Lake Gogebic before I headed back to camp.

Next day I moved camp to Flowing Well near Manistique so I would be halfway home:





So, after a week, I rode home. It was quite windy when I crossed the Mackinaw Bridge this time. There was construction in some areas where only the center lanes were open where it is a metal grate. It was harrowing with the wind and the grate combined.

I made it home OK.

Big news is that the bike ran perfectly throughout the whole trip this year !!! I rode 1500 miles. Thank you to all who posted their help last year.

I rewarded her with fresh oil in the engine, middle drive and final drive.

[Radioguylogs]

Looks like pages 7 and 8 have the best pictures for the "Lost in 'da UP" rally:

https://xs11.club/forum/rallies-north-america/north-central-and-central-canada/44861-lost-in-da-up-2015-upper-peninsula-michigan/page7