Help - 1998 Yamaha Venture Modifications

[Wolfwasp]

Hi,
I'm new here and am hoping that someone has some advice that will help
me improve the performance of my machine.
1998 Yamaha Venture 500 Liquid.
It works great for what it was built for, touring, pulling a sled for
ice fishing etc, but I am hoping I can trade in some of the speed for
more pulling capacity.
I use it nearly every day as I live in the bush. (Crowrock Lake, south
of White Otter Lake, Northwestern Ontario Canada).
We had a great beginning to winter. 6 inches of ice after freeze up.
Now we have a little too much snow and there is slush everywhere. Is
supposed to get cold this weekend and it should freeze.

I have heard a lot of stories about changing gears and modifying the
clutch and suspension but nobody up here knows for sure.
I would like it to be more of a work machine if possible.
I installed deep snow ski skins this year and they are great. They
really keep the front end up. The original skis were narrow and plunged
through on slow turns and I spent a lot of time getting un-stuck.

I would like to stud the track. I think it would really help in slush
and other places but i don't have a clue how to start.

I have a few questions that are bugging me.
Is it possible to gear it down? If so, do I have to do or change
anything else?
Is there some special spring or anything else that I can change in the
clutch that would help?

I also have a 1980 Yamaha ET 340 T. It is a long track 340. Its been a
great bush machine.
When I bought it I asked if the motor was different than a regular 340
and the sales guy told me that it had 2 head gaskets. Something about a
longer stroke. He said it would pull better.

Would it help to put 2 head gaskets on the Venture?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as I am out of experts
up here.

Kind Regards,
Ted

[Sully]

Hey, yeah Ted, I've done a little mod to my 98 Venture 600, but that's
to make it go better in the pow when pulling a towload or going to play.
A little easier for me, since the Ven 600 and MM600 are the same
critters pretty much, so I used that as the guide. Now it's a 600
VentureMax. :-D

Biggest single thing? Went from the OEM trail track to a 1.5" lug. No
getting stuck like used to happen all too often, even though I learned
the hard way many times to quit burying it when it started to spin up.
eBay - 136" 2.52 pitch for cheap. Changed the bearing while I was
there, which was a good thing because it was done.

Got rid of the stupid steel skis and plastic skins and bolted on the
5.5" wide pow plastic skis. Another eBay find.

Then I jumped into the clutches. I had 2500 miles on and most of that
was either 2-up or 2-up towing a load. I had plenty of wear. Had to
buy the grunt tool because nobody around here had one. Replaced all the
plastic buttons and sliders, primary and secondary.

After that, I geared down and clutched. Gearing: RTFM! It'll tell you
what gear/chain combos you can use. Same thing for clutch. You can use
the shop manual as a guide for where to start, but it depends on what
you're trying to do. I wanted something that would get up on top quick
and pull hard, and wasn't worried about losing some top end. You might
want to get ahold of Aaen's book and read up on clutching theory. I've
read it a dozen times and understand about 10% of it, but that's 100%
more than what I understood before. ;-) You can change springs and
weights and helix angles until the cows come home, but if you don't have
any reference, you'll end up pissed off and the sled will go like crap.
Get the shop manual if you don't get anything else and look at the
clutching charts. If the clutches are in good condition to start with,
you can gear it down. Stock is what, 21/39? Try 20/39 and the 68L
chain should still be fine. You'll get into the power a little quicker
and lose a little off the top end. You'll get a little better launch if
you change your outer rivets from the 13.3 steel to the 10.3 aluminum,
but it'll raise engagement ~100 rpm to 4,100. Shouldn't have to change
any springs for that. If you need to go beyond that, 20/39, change
primary spring to Y-P-Y, no rivets in the weights, and set your
secondary spring to 60 degrees (3-3). Engagement should go up to ~4,200
rpm and you'll lose a little more off the top end. If you don't like
the result from a change, you can always go back to where you were before.

Suspension, well, I did a few things. Went through and replaced all the
bushings. A couple were through, and a couple more were on their way,
so I did the whole lot. Next time, I'll know which ones are the likely
culprits and go for those first.

The rear shock was shot so I replaced with an Ohlins. Limiter straps
were pulled up too tight, so I dropped those to get more of the track
down where it could do more work.

I'll defer to other guys on studding, but I'd venture that studs will
help more with ice and hard stuff than they will with slush. IF that
stuff freezes though, hey studs will help keep you from spinning, eh?

Now the Venture is a fat pig in stock trim, so I got rid of the nice
cushy comfy Caddy chair and the recliner rocker backrest and put on a
single seat. And 31 pounds went away. Lost a few more from the skis.
Kept the eStart and reverse. BTW, the reverse actually works pretty
good with the 1.5" track now. Before, reverse would just get me stuck
worse. And I figure there was no way I was gonna lose 35 pounds even if
I quit drinking beer and rinds, and since the wife rides her own sled
now, I lost another 125 pounds, so I'm coming out pretty good on that deal.

Have fun.

Post by Wolfwasp
Hi,
I'm new here and am hoping that someone has some advice that will help
me improve the performance of my machine.
1998 Yamaha Venture 500 Liquid.
It works great for what it was built for, touring, pulling a sled for
ice fishing etc, but I am hoping I can trade in some of the speed for
more pulling capacity.
I use it nearly every day as I live in the bush. (Crowrock Lake, south
of White Otter Lake, Northwestern Ontario Canada).
We had a great beginning to winter. 6 inches of ice after freeze up.
Now we have a little too much snow and there is slush everywhere. Is
supposed to get cold this weekend and it should freeze.
I have heard a lot of stories about changing gears and modifying the
clutch and suspension but nobody up here knows for sure.
I would like it to be more of a work machine if possible.
I installed deep snow ski skins this year and they are great. They
really keep the front end up. The original skis were narrow and plunged
through on slow turns and I spent a lot of time getting un-stuck.
I would like to stud the track. I think it would really help in slush
and other places but i don't have a clue how to start.
I have a few questions that are bugging me.
Is it possible to gear it down? If so, do I have to do or change
anything else?
Is there some special spring or anything else that I can change in the
clutch that would help?
I also have a 1980 Yamaha ET 340 T. It is a long track 340. Its been a
great bush machine.
When I bought it I asked if the motor was different than a regular 340
and the sales guy told me that it had 2 head gaskets. Something about a
longer stroke. He said it would pull better.
Would it help to put 2 head gaskets on the Venture?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as I am out of experts
up here.
Kind Regards,
Ted

[Wolfwasp]

Sully,
Good Man! Thanks a lot.
That is exactly what I needed.
I believe you are right about the track. A deep lug would be better in
slush. Never considered it. I'm just sick of getting stuck.
I'm going to print out your message and take it down to the local guru
and see if it wakes him up.
A shop manual is on order.
By the way, another thing that really gave me a hard time was the mud
flap, of all things. When I got stuck and put it in reverse I could
only back up a foot or two then the back end got sucked down and I was
stopped. It took a few times to figure it out but the flap was turning
under and getting caught under the track, which would pull the
suspension down. I fixed it by attaching a bungee from the rack to a
small hole that I put in the (new) flap. This is the first year that it
works so I back up all over the place now just for the he** of it.
Its going to take a month or so to get the machine in for mods but I
will post to let you know how it works.
Thanks again,
Happy sledding and Merry Christmas
Ted

[Sully]

Have a look at where the flap is riveted to the end of the tunnel. If
it's riveted at the lowest part, there should be 4 more holes already
drilled up toward the top. A couple inches will give you some extra
clearance. 'Course you'll throw more roost on your towbehind from the
deep lug track, but you won't tear up the flap any more. And it'll keep
guys from coming up on you from behind a little better. Gives a guy a
little warning if he's coming up on you in marginal visability
conditions (is the way I conveniently rationalize it). ;-)

You only get a couple feet out of reverse because the back end of the
track doesn't have any approach angle like the front does. It can't get
up on top. Then with the short lugs, you'll spin. Reverse used to be
pretty much worthless unless I was on a well packed trail. With the
deeper track, you'll be able to get more traction and push through stuff
that would otherwise get you buried. I used to back up until I hit
snow, which would push the flap against the track - then when I went
forward, the lugs would catch the flap and it'd ride on the track and
get torn up. Not any more....

About going to the deeper lug track, the thing you'll want to be
concerned with is track clearance. I have 9 tooth drivers, same as the
MM600, so I knew the clearance would be the same for the VT as the MM,
and that the 1.5" lug track would work, b/c that's what was on the
MM600. I believe (but you should check) that the VT500 is exactly the
same. I'd change to 8 tooth if I was going to try a 2" lug. You might
want to measure to make sure you'll have enough room around the track
sprocket and top of the tunnel when the suspension is fully compressed.
Make sure you don't come close to heat exchangers or coolant
hoses/tubes. I don't think you'll have any issues with it, though.
Have fun! Traction rocks!

Post by Wolfwasp
Sully,
Good Man! Thanks a lot.
That is exactly what I needed.
I believe you are right about the track. A deep lug would be better in
slush. Never considered it. I'm just sick of getting stuck.
I'm going to print out your message and take it down to the local guru
and see if it wakes him up.
A shop manual is on order.
By the way, another thing that really gave me a hard time was the mud
flap, of all things. When I got stuck and put it in reverse I could
only back up a foot or two then the back end got sucked down and I was
stopped. It took a few times to figure it out but the flap was turning
under and getting caught under the track, which would pull the
suspension down. I fixed it by attaching a bungee from the rack to a
small hole that I put in the (new) flap. This is the first year that it
works so I back up all over the place now just for the he** of it.
Its going to take a month or so to get the machine in for mods but I
will post to let you know how it works.
Thanks again,
Happy sledding and Merry Christmas
Ted

[UPoutdoorzman]

Sully,
Could you pass along what make/model those plastic skis are? I have a '99
VT700 triple that I've been looking to add wider skins over the existing
setup but with no luck. Might just as well replace the whole ski if the
price is reasonable. I too find myself blazing thru untracked snow (a)
because it is way fun and (b) I'm usually leading the pack on our rides and
I love to EXPLORE.
Thanks.
Rob

Post by Sully
Hey, yeah Ted, I've done a little mod to my 98 Venture 600, but that's
to make it go better in the pow when pulling a towload or going to play.
A little easier for me, since the Ven 600 and MM600 are the same
critters pretty much, so I used that as the guide. Now it's a 600
VentureMax. :-D
Biggest single thing? Went from the OEM trail track to a 1.5" lug. No
getting stuck like used to happen all too often, even though I learned
the hard way many times to quit burying it when it started to spin up.
eBay - 136" 2.52 pitch for cheap. Changed the bearing while I was
there, which was a good thing because it was done.
Got rid of the stupid steel skis and plastic skins and bolted on the
5.5" wide pow plastic skis. Another eBay find.
Then I jumped into the clutches. I had 2500 miles on and most of that
was either 2-up or 2-up towing a load. I had plenty of wear. Had to
buy the grunt tool because nobody around here had one. Replaced all the
plastic buttons and sliders, primary and secondary.
After that, I geared down and clutched. Gearing: RTFM! It'll tell you
what gear/chain combos you can use. Same thing for clutch. You can use
the shop manual as a guide for where to start, but it depends on what
you're trying to do. I wanted something that would get up on top quick
and pull hard, and wasn't worried about losing some top end. You might
want to get ahold of Aaen's book and read up on clutching theory. I've
read it a dozen times and understand about 10% of it, but that's 100%
more than what I understood before. ;-) You can change springs and
weights and helix angles until the cows come home, but if you don't have
any reference, you'll end up pissed off and the sled will go like crap.
Get the shop manual if you don't get anything else and look at the
clutching charts. If the clutches are in good condition to start with,
you can gear it down. Stock is what, 21/39? Try 20/39 and the 68L
chain should still be fine. You'll get into the power a little quicker
and lose a little off the top end. You'll get a little better launch if
you change your outer rivets from the 13.3 steel to the 10.3 aluminum,
but it'll raise engagement ~100 rpm to 4,100. Shouldn't have to change
any springs for that. If you need to go beyond that, 20/39, change
primary spring to Y-P-Y, no rivets in the weights, and set your
secondary spring to 60 degrees (3-3). Engagement should go up to ~4,200
rpm and you'll lose a little more off the top end. If you don't like
the result from a change, you can always go back to where you were before.
Suspension, well, I did a few things. Went through and replaced all the
bushings. A couple were through, and a couple more were on their way,
so I did the whole lot. Next time, I'll know which ones are the likely
culprits and go for those first.
The rear shock was shot so I replaced with an Ohlins. Limiter straps
were pulled up too tight, so I dropped those to get more of the track
down where it could do more work.
I'll defer to other guys on studding, but I'd venture that studs will
help more with ice and hard stuff than they will with slush. IF that
stuff freezes though, hey studs will help keep you from spinning, eh?
Now the Venture is a fat pig in stock trim, so I got rid of the nice
cushy comfy Caddy chair and the recliner rocker backrest and put on a
single seat. And 31 pounds went away. Lost a few more from the skis.
Kept the eStart and reverse. BTW, the reverse actually works pretty
good with the 1.5" track now. Before, reverse would just get me stuck
worse. And I figure there was no way I was gonna lose 35 pounds even if
I quit drinking beer and rinds, and since the wife rides her own sled
now, I lost another 125 pounds, so I'm coming out pretty good on that deal.
Have fun.

Post by Wolfwasp
Hi,
I'm new here and am hoping that someone has some advice that will help
me improve the performance of my machine.
1998 Yamaha Venture 500 Liquid.
It works great for what it was built for, touring, pulling a sled for
ice fishing etc, but I am hoping I can trade in some of the speed for
more pulling capacity.
I use it nearly every day as I live in the bush. (Crowrock Lake, south
of White Otter Lake, Northwestern Ontario Canada).
We had a great beginning to winter. 6 inches of ice after freeze up.
Now we have a little too much snow and there is slush everywhere. Is
supposed to get cold this weekend and it should freeze.
I have heard a lot of stories about changing gears and modifying the
clutch and suspension but nobody up here knows for sure.
I would like it to be more of a work machine if possible.
I installed deep snow ski skins this year and they are great. They
really keep the front end up. The original skis were narrow and plunged
through on slow turns and I spent a lot of time getting un-stuck.
I would like to stud the track. I think it would really help in slush
and other places but i don't have a clue how to start.
I have a few questions that are bugging me.
Is it possible to gear it down? If so, do I have to do or change
anything else?
Is there some special spring or anything else that I can change in the
clutch that would help?
I also have a 1980 Yamaha ET 340 T. It is a long track 340. Its been a
great bush machine.
When I bought it I asked if the motor was different than a regular 340
and the sales guy told me that it had 2 head gaskets. Something about a
longer stroke. He said it would pull better.
Would it help to put 2 head gaskets on the Venture?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as I am out of experts
up here.
Kind Regards,
Ted

[Gary C]

Post by Wolfwasp
Sully,
Could you pass along what make/model those plastic skis are? I have a '99
VT700 triple that I've been looking to add wider skins over the existing
setup but with no luck. Might just as well replace the whole ski if the
price is reasonable. I too find myself blazing thru untracked snow (a)
because it is way fun and (b) I'm usually leading the pack on our rides and
I love to EXPLORE.
Thanks.
Rob

Rob, people have been raving about SLP Powder Pros, for your need.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=review+SLP+powder+pros

[Sully]

Rob, they're just OEM plastic skis off the Mountain Max (Mountain SRX,
too). Yamaha p/n 8DP-23711-00-00 is the ski, and you'll want all the
stuff that goes with. No reason they won't bolt right up, other than
you'll want to put a longer bolt in if you want the safety of a cotter
pin. Look for the ones that look like these:
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/accessories/acscitemdetail/5/214/563/2545/all/2/2274/0/detail.aspx

Usually there's a set or two on eBay. Not today, for some reason. I
got my pair including all the hardware (saddles, handles, carbides,
etc.) for just under $125 ($104 plus $20 ship).... Just be on the
lookout for a pair of 8DP skis with all the fixins' and you'll be good.
New, they're ~$300 by the time you get saddles, carbides, handles, etc.

Post by Wolfwasp
Sully,
Could you pass along what make/model those plastic skis are? I have a '99
VT700 triple that I've been looking to add wider skins over the existing
setup but with no luck. Might just as well replace the whole ski if the
price is reasonable. I too find myself blazing thru untracked snow (a)
because it is way fun and (b) I'm usually leading the pack on our rides and
I love to EXPLORE.
Thanks.
Rob