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Well done bipps, loved the photos, so glad you had a good time even if it was wet and cold! Just got to go back to work now and earn some more money to pay for the next one. Thanks for sharing.

Ah that's a bugger mate! It seems most folks like to think a low mileage bike is better than an often ridden one but the truth is if you make anything a trailer queen or garage junkie then it will have problems just from lack of use. I'm sure once you get the carbs sorted it will be fine but still a sodding nuisance.

Hi mate, welcome back, glad you took the time to come and see us again! All we need now is for GROUCH to turn up and it's old home week.

Oh well done Bips, yeah flinging 250 kilos of metal around can be a bit frantic on occasion but there are benefits to a big bike as I'm sure your finding. Really envious of you at the moment as I'm stuck at home with the bike in small bit's! Take care of yourself and hoping to see LOT'S of photos when you get back.

Hi Garf, welcome to the YOC,

Oh well done mate ! You must be well chuffed to have it running after all that faffing around. Bet you neighbours just LOVE the no exhaust sounds

Hi Gaz, welcome to the YOC.

Best guess, hole in the piston or busted piston rings!

Bloody hell mate, I can hardly keep up with the tdr I have no chance now! Well done fella about time you arrived in the 20th century.

Try here https://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?130047-2018-Star-Venture Or here https://www.starbikeforums.com/forums/78-starbikeforums-help-desk/111898-2018-venture-transcontinental-forum.html Or just type "Star Venture 2018 TC forum" into Google and see what it comes up with? Might not be an actual forum for this bike as it's a fairly new direction for Yamaha bikes. Good luck anyway!

Try Fowlers of Bristol, they are a pretty good source of old parts, they might have to order them from Japan! Won't be cheap tho.

You don't have to do anything, the bike will run fine on normal unleaded. The only reason older 4 strokes need fettling is the valve seats and as you don't have any it will run just fine with the normal 2 stroke oil mix.

Hi and welcome to the YOC. :)

Part 4, told you I would be back! Anyway the seal arrived this morning which is pretty damned quick, I was told 9 day's so pleased as punch that it only took 4. So offered it up to the drive shaft and it's just perfect, so slowly and carefully slide it into place, you have to use a drift to get it on as it's a really tight fit, BUGGER! It pays to look twice and do the job once cos muggings here has now got the seal on backwards, I mean you could not make this shit up. Anyway finally got the thing off and really chuffed that I didn't manage to ruin the blasted thing, so the diff is sitting there in all it's glory now ready to go back on. I ordered the fork seals from Fowlers which also showed up but now I find that I don't in fact need them as when I jacked the bike up I over extended the forks and it was just a dribble of oil from a small piece of dirt that was causing the problem, My SEALMATE fixed that in about 30 seconds. So the forks and head stock will be done in the winter as I have had just about enough of sodding about with this poxy machine. So the moral of this saga seems to be. Just do the job you set out to do and don't go looking for other things to fix when you get a bit of down time waiting for parts. But I have found out what makes the drive shaft work so not all bad news I suppose. :)

Perhaps he's Mook from Crick? Nope ok then!

Well to be honest I'm not completely sure but your best bet would be to have a word with your local Yam dealer workshop staff. They would know for certain. But have you thought about a used set of parts? Usually you can pick up a set of used bit's off of EBAY or somewhere else for a much lesser amount. Any wrecked bike of a similar year will have the parts you need. Just had a quick look on EBAY and you can pick up an ECU for about £90, other bits will no doubt turn up then it will cost you about £150 for an ECU reset company to make it work on your bike. To be honest if the bike your looking at is anything other than REALLY CHEAP then move on.

As I've always heard the Scots are generous to a fault! But thanks for the offer, I suspect that I have spent more than that on the new bloody tools this damned thing has eaten it's way through

So here we have part 3 of this seemingly never ending saga. I have the rear wheel bearings all done, great, I have the rear diff all painted and ready to go back in, equally great, BUT I don't have the one and only oil seal I need! Apparently it's in Japan? Cos most sensible people NEVER need to replace it. So more fishing around looking for things that need doing while I wait the 9 chuffing day's it will take to get here! Fowlers by the way have been nothing but helpful in my hunt for rare parts that a 19 year old bike need. So just by chance I notice a small drip of oil on the floor right by the near side front brake, I now have to replace the fork seals as well! I suppose you could say that "every cloud has a silver lining" cos this would need doing anyway, but I'm feeling hard done by at the moment as every time I sort of finish one job another bloody problem shows up! At least the weather is horrible so I probably would not be out and about but it still sucks. And finally as I will have the forks out why not just do the head stock bearings as well? Seems like a good idea to me! Pretty sure this is not the last time you will see me moaning about the bike. :)

Ok part 2, Rear wheel off, try to take the bearing seal off as usual and guess what the poxy thing just crumbles to dust, oh my! Can't shift the bearings either, 2 on one side and 1 on the other that have practically welded themselves to the outer wheel hub (bollocks!) So onto ebay and order up a set of bearing extractors as I am NOT hitting these things with my usual enthusiasm (san's lump hammer and long drift) So as I have a gap in my schedule thought why not take the diff off of the swing arm and give it a bit of a birthday? New paint and a bit of a polish will not hurt, little do I know, the thing is supposed to come out with a bit of a wiggle and bob's you uncle job done, yeah right, this thing has I suspect been on since it was built in 2001. 2 crowbars and an hour later I have half of the thing in my hands, the other half, actual drive shaft is stuck in the hole. having ripped the final drive oil seal clean out of the housing. So with lot's of swearing and some lost skin I finally get the last part out, it's as rusty as f**k! Splines are fine just never had a dollop of grease or oil I suspect since first built if then. It's all repairable and will all go back nice and easy eventually but what price a simple swipe of grease at the factory? So at the moment neither job has been done, when it should have taken at most 2 or 3 hours I'm now at 3 day's!

Hi Nev, welcome to the YOC.

Does this help? Found it on http://xjbikes.wikidot.com/carb-specs Good luck. Years & Models: XJ900 model 58L Carb Manufacturer: Mikuni Carb Series: BS36 Carb Model ID: 58L00 Main FUEL Jet Size: #107.5 Pilot FUEL Jet Size: #40 Main AIR Jet Size: #45 (non-removable, in carb throat) Pilot AIR Jet Size: #160 AIR COMPENSATOR Jet Size: not used Starter FUEL Jet Size: #35 (non-replaceable, in float bowl) Main jet NEEDLE ID: #5FZ62-3 Main needle JET Size: #Y-0, style #318 (the main needle JET is also known as the "power valve" or "emulsion tube"). Float Valve Seat Size: 2.3mm, uses a shorter float valve needle and the needle is clipped to the float arm. Fuel Level in float bowls: 5.0mm +/- 1mm (.118" +/- .039") Idle RPM's: 1,050 rpms Although not part of your carbs, your valve clearances should be considered as part of your "intake system", so here are those specs, too. Note that valve clearances should be measured with the engine "cold", meaning 70-degrees Fahrenheit or less: Valve Clearance Intake: 0.11 - 0.15mm ( = 0.004 - 0.006") Valve Clearance Exhaust: 0.16 - 0.20mm (= 0.006 - 0.008")

HI Simon, welcome to the YOC, Good luck with the Draggy.

Hi Dill, welcome to the YOC.

Ok so finally got round to replacing the front wheel bearing on the bike, I have if I'm honest been thinking that the MOT bloke who did my bike way back in April was having a bit of a laugh when he said that the front and rear bearings were in need of doing. So finally got the time to slip the front wheel off, knocked out the first bearing and it was ok'ish a bit grumbly but not what you would call knackered 2nd bearing comes out and f**k me there is half the cage missing AND one of the balls is no where to be seen! I mean how can a ball bearing be missing? Counted those in the other bearing and sure enough I have one less in the off side ball race! I have been riding on this since April cos I thought I knew better, just goes to show no matter how many times you think the MOT guy is taking the piss they might actually be right. I am going to do the rear bearings tomorrow and can only wonder what horrors lay in wait. Oh and my new ABBA lift has been christened "STANNAH" in honour of your comments about my age and mobility, see I can take a joke tho I suspect some of you buggers weren't joking

Oh thanks Dutch! You are SOOO going to pay for that :)