1985 ROV newsletters

1985-86 RoV newsletters

Already in 1985, long before Internet made it all easy, a group of USA/Canada XZ550 or Vision riders started to communicate and had an RoV-newsletter.

As this early enthusiasm is now more than 20 years old, it is worth to record.

NightVision of the ROV-forum has some early newsletters. He scanned the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 6 and mailed these to me. The first issue already discusses stators and starter clutches! In number two is a discussion on the (in)famous Vision stumble (they called it Vision lag in those days).

I expressly want to thank don_vanecek (who preserved these old issues and sent them to NightVision) and of course NightVision who send me this and other information and who suggested to me to make this information available to anyone who is interested.

I will proceed as follows: the first ROV Newsletter, of November 1985 has 6 pages. I will publish the first issue completely. Later issues I will read for interesting information and I will publish the information I consider as interesting. Anyone wanting the complete content of the issues 2, 3 and 6 can ask me (XZv2@hotmail.com) or NightVision.

At present, at the end of May 2006, the # 1, 2, 3 and 6 Newsletters are ready. If there are any more numbers around somewhere, it would be great to have the complete set here available for anybody interested.

XZv2

Vol. 1 No. 1 Riders of VISION Newsletter November 1985

Welcome to the first issue of Riders of VISION Newsletter.

It started when Torn McKaskle wrote the following letter which appeared in Cycle Magazine.

"I was pleased to read your comments on the Yamaha VISION in the April issue. I certainly enjoy mine. The looks may not appeal to some, but at least it doesn' t try to look like something it isn't (i.e. a Harley). Form follows function. 1 would like to hear from other owners who are interested in starting an owner's club."

Tom (now Rider of VISION#1) received many letters expressing an interest in forming a club. Unfortunately, Tom was not able to continue in his efforts to form a club due to unforeseen circumstances. He asked me to fellow through.

My name is Paul Robinette (RoV#028) and am very enthusiastic about a VISION club. At the present time I have no idea where this is going to take us. I say "us" because a club of any kind is never made up of an individual.

You are the club.

What we do now is up to all of you who receive this first newsletter.

At first I was stumped about what to do or write. Tom sent me your letters and it was your letters that gave free the insight on how to proceed with this VISIONary endeavor.

What to do was to start off with a newsletter, according to your letters.

The best news to write for a newsletter is your letters!

It is your letters of enthusiasm, ideas and questions that we will share with our fellow Riders at VISION.

From Tacoma, Wash. Brian DeFrees (RoV#019) wrote Tom, “I read of your interest in beginning a club. I just purchased a new '83 VISION in April after, having relished ownership of one for years. I am pleased to respond to your invitation. Boy, 1 surely do love this bike”. That says a lot because I've owned a Suzuki GS1000 shaft, '82 Goldwing and an '83 Nighthawk among others.

I sincerely hope you become deluged witte responses for the club -- nationwide.”

The responses have been more than nationwide. Toms' letter has generated interest among our brother Riders of VISION north of the border! Paul Moore (RoV#014) wrote from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, "Please count me in if you want to form a VISION owner's club. My VISION bas given me hours of enjoyment during the last three seasons and with a little luck, many more. Yamaha built a great bike in the VISION and it is a shame more people don't know about it. Please write me as soon as possible. I am willing to help organize the club on this side of the border.”

Ok Paul, this is it! What we need is more enthusiasts like you to join us!

Everyone receiving this newsletter is a member of the club. You owe no dues and your membership number was determined by the date that Tom received your letters. Your RoV# is marked on the mailing label used to send this to you.

The only requirement at this time is participation. You all showed an interest and willingness to make a VISION club work. By taking the time to write again you will obligate me to at least publish one more RoV Newsletter. What you write in response to this newsletter will determine our future course.

One of our Naval members is Bruce Rodgers (RoV#021) of the U.S.S. Guadalcanal. He offers some guidelines for forming the club. "First establish how big you want to go. As small as the Yamaha 'T' Register or as big as the AMA (the American Motorcyclist Association). We need to find out how many registered owners Yamaha has.

Second, find out what the potential members would like to sec offered from the club. Maybe a questionaire would be appropriate.

Third, establish a baseline for dues ....”

Bruce also discussed patches, t-shirts and affiliation with the AMA.

Everything is open for discussion at this point except dues.

Why? Because I feel responsible for this organization that Tom has entrusted to me. I do not want to mislead anybody about the future of Riders of VISION. Clubs come and go and only time will tell if WE make this club work. So no dues. Contributions will be accepted to defray the cost of postage and miscellaneous expenses. If you wish to contribute money, just address it to me at the return address on the envelope that you receive this newsletter in. You will receive credit against any future dues that the Club decides upon (the Club wilt decide that -- not me!).

For the future record 1 nominate Tom as President of the Riders of VISION Motorcycle Club. Do I hear a Second?

Bruce also volunteered in the military tradition to submit technical articles about the VISION based upon his expertise gained at various mechanical and motorcycle schools. We'll all be looking forward to your articles Bruce'! Thank you.

David Kimmey (RoV#013), of North Miami Beach, Fla. writes that he is involved with County Wheels News, a local motorcycle monthly newspaper. He writes, "I would like to see a sort of semi-monthly newsletter published which would hopefully provide VISION owners with much needed tips and information. Individuals who are experiencing problems in certain areas could write to the central address for information."

Dave also suggested letters to motorcycle magazines to announce a VISION club and possibly paid advertising in the magazines.

I like his ideas and look forward to see how the rest of you feel about them. (Well, except for semi-monthly maybe ... unless I get some help. Say Dave, you're a journalist ….) Seriously though, I am willing to go as far with this as possible. We would need somebody more mechanical than I am though to act as an "Information Center". With enough contributions (letters, letters, letters!) our newsletter should prove invaluable for VISION owners.

From Olrleans, Ont., F.L. Baldwin says he is owner #675 of VISION and that he is also interested in organizing VISION owners.

He writes, "I intend to proceed by contacting the main magazines, identifying an organization is being developed and request owners contact me with a few relevant facts such as 1) name and address, 2) year and serial number, 3) where purchased, 4) likes and dislikes, 5) other bikes owned, 6) history of problems, 7) type of riding/usage, 8) options/accessories and 9) misc. info."

R.L. feels the information he hopes to compile will be useful for all VISION riders and is the minimum needed for a VISION organization. Baldwin asks if anyone is interested in helping and offers to put anyone into the listings.

I am unclear at this time if the writer plans to go it alone or wants to be considered a Rider of VISION number Three. Until we hear otherwise we will consider our Canadian friend RoV#3 and I for one will send the information about my bike up North. Address any letters to: R.L. Baldwin, 6029 Vineyard Drive, Orleans, Ontario, Canada KIC 2T7

Dr. Luther Leake, (RoV#023) of Arden Hills, Minn. asserts, "VISION owners seem to be an ideal group to organize since the bike had such a short production life, appealed to those 'special few' and is just such a great motorcycle. Also I think VISION owners need a voice in dealing with potential part-, and accessory problems.

Did you get the VISION belt buckle mailing list from Yamaha? I bet they would give a club a good deal on them, and they could be offered with club membership."

No, we don' t have the VISION belt buckle mailing list from Yarnaha. Yes, they would be a great offer for the membership. I hereby appoint myself to check further into this idea and wilt let all of you know the results by the next newsletter. I do need to know how the general membership feels about the club getting involved in offering merchandise to its members and prospective members. (Again -- letters, letters, letters!)

From a little further south by east Jim Gentry (RoV#022), of Walterboro, S.C. writes about his experiences riding a VISION at the AMA convention held in the mountains of Virginia.

"The above mentioned convention was great! I mean I had a fine time. My wife had to tag along and she does'nt ride. She has sort of like a phobia where she says she can just feel pavement sliding across skin.

Out of all the motorcycles: there (Viginia ‘85) I saw only one VISION. It was ridden by a Motorcycle Safety Training Instructor with whom I talked.

Said he had been riding his VISION ever since he got it in '82. Also said he had seen your letter in the magazine.

Of interest: he solved the mushy front brake problem with a braided metal (brake) hose.

The main purpose of this letter is to say that if you think we should have a club I' me for it"

It would be fun to see more VISIONS at a run. As Jim, found out it can also be educational. (We ‘ll hear from Jim again.)

Carl Mailander (RoV#007) of Webster City, Iowa wrote on the subject, "I am writing in response to your letter that appeared in Cycle magazine. I love my VISION too and would be interested in hearing front you if you can get an owners club started. I think it would be a lot of fun to have a VISION Bike-In sometime if enough people are interested.”

Front Carmel, Calif. James Perkins (RoV#030) said, "Let me know as soon as you have a VISION Ride-In organized. The Monterey Bay Peninsula would be perfect for a ride-in with all the tourist attractions and sights here.”

A ride-in certainly would be fun. 1 for one would love to see what Riders of VISION have done with their machines and exchange ideas with them. This is the time of year to plan such an idea .. but it may be a bit premature at this time. Let me know (letters, letters, letters!).

Going on long rides seems a natural for VISION riders. Bernice Miles (RoV#006), of The Dalles, Ore. Writes: “I've owned a 1983 VISION since March 1994 (got it “new"} and so far I’ve got 17,000 miles on it with no troubles. My husband and I took a 6,000 mile trip last sommer across Canada to Lake Superior, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado end Arizona. The only trouble I had with the VISION was a big knot on the front tire that 1 noticed in Page, Ariz. at the end of the day. The tire had 24,000 miles on it then.

There was a motorcycle shop in Page that had only started up six months before our arrival that took care of the tire while my husband and I had breakfast."

Outstanding! My only question Bernice is what did your husband ride on your tour? 1 hope it was a VISION! Please write again about your tour (and other VISION experiences too!). Another VISIONary tourer is Frank Moore (RoV#017) of Austin, Texas. Frank has rode his VISION over 25,000 miles in sixteen months! His travels have taken him from Key West, Fla. to the high Sierras of Chihuahua.

“Returning from Key West and the Everglades I was on the east side of Lake Okechobee when the right front exhaust pipe came loose from the engine. Loud! ! ! A fifteen year old boy at a garage replaced the two metric bolts in ten minute for five dollars.

Then in the rural boondocks of eastern Mexico the rear battery connecting bolt came loose.

I couldn't see the problem because the rubber boot hides that terminal. Again a fifteen year old boy came to the rescue. The young local rode by on a bicycle, and soon jump-started the VISION with a truck battery and two pieces of baling wire!

In Mexico the common people were overwhelmed by my Yamaha. One KZ750 owner noticed my YPDS belt buckle matched the bike! They all asked the price of the bike and 1 modestly gave them the lowest retail quote. Because the displacement isn’t stated on the side, even bikers assumed it was at least a 750.

I think VISIONs have the potential for being a “cult" bike, so let's start organizing the right kind of cult!”

He went on to say that he was headed to Manitoba for August and to let him know what was happening with the club. Sorry Frank, by now you’re back and really wondering -- please blame it on your editor, accept my apologies and write us about your Canadian adventures! (right -- letters, letters, letters!)

Frank also wrote about his mechanical experienes with his VISION.

"Luggage racks: YPDS makes the best VISION rack. It's custom, fitted close to the seat over the rear wheel. Even a full tail trunk won' t let the bike be unmanageable going down a mountain fast -- which I’ve done.

Saddlebags: the black bags by Yamaha with white and red horizontal stripes are excellent. You leave two webbing straps mounted on the passenger saddle.

The fastex buckles on the straps and on the bags are easy to use. But you can't carry the bags and a passenger. I put the bags in my puptent when I get to the Campsite.

Tal trunk: small or medium trunks will fit on the factory luggage rack (but not the larger trunks). 1 never got a top-rail for my trunk because I believe the load could be top top-heavy.

Tankbags: even a 24 liter Bagman fits (but that much will crowd you).

Tires: My '82 VISION has no clearance problems with the Dunlop MP90H-16 Tour Elite or the Conti Supertwin 425/B5V-18 on the rear wheel. A Dunlop 110/90V-18 Sport Elite tire fits on the front. Unless you should have bought a GPZ or Interceptor the tread compounds of the above tires will give you plenty of cornering power. 1 thought the Tour Elite handled better than the stock Dunlop.

Alternator: The early VISIONs (and Ventures) need to have their stators replaced. I recommend having it checked out during the last month of warranty. The new parts are improved.

Crash bars. Essential! If a VISION falls on its right side the sharp edge of the brake pedal punches a hole in the side case. Do not start the engine if anything falls inside the case. A factory case only costs about sixty dollars."

Thanks Frank for your information. Sharing ideas and experiences help make a club, according to Dick Richardson (RoV#029) of Omaha, Neb.

"I bought a new '82 VISION (gray) the other day and so far certainly enjoy it.

But, there are several changes that can be made to the '82s in the suspension area. It would be nice to know for instance, which changes do make a difference. Also, my bike has the new carburetor kit in it but there is still a flat spot at the low end. Possibly the carbs need a good cleaning?

Questions, answers end experiences with fairings, suspension, rear dampeners, tires, gasoline and touring and traveling help make a club!"

Right you are Dick. I hope this newsletter will help answer some of your questions. (Yep. Letters, letters, letters!).

Karl Retzlaff (RoV#010) of Waukon, lowa also wrote about a lean spot in the carburation of his ‘82 VISION. He says that he hasn’t been able to find anyone that knows a fix for the problem. I am sure that one of our Riders of VISION will accept this challenge.

As I promised earlier (remember Virginia ’85) we'Il hear from Jim Gentry again. In his second letter he offers some mechanical experience.

"Have you had any trouble with the starter in cold (40 degree or less) weather? In case you haven't I'm going to tell you about mine so that you will know.

I was cranking the engine last winter and all of a sudden the starter began free wheeling so that I thought the “bendix" (as in car starters) was broken. I don't have a dealer within fifty miles so I took off the case cover and made a rig to pull the flywheel. For my trouble I found there is nothing to break in the VISION starter mechanism. It consists of a little gear on the starter and two reduction gears, the second of which is on the crankshaft and has a collar that projects into the flywheel.

When this is rotated by the starter it carries three case-hardened rollers forward until they jam in the slanted cavities of the flywheel when the engine is turned.

What I think happened was that the last reduction gear picked up cold stiff oil and carried it to these rollers and they stopped getting a "bite". I decided that if this problem happened again the thing to do was to put the bike in fifth gear and push it backwards a tad. This would rotate the flywheel backwards and tend to jam the rollers.

A few weeks later it happened, I did and it worked!"

im also gave some of the reasons he likes the VISION, "I think the VISION is a great bike. I like its large capacity gas tank, the heel rests, the place for my knees to fit, the good mirrors, the eager engine, the 1985 (!) styling, the flat comfortable seat and on and on and ...

Hope I haven't bored you too much. Yours truly, James D. Gentry."

Not at all. I hope to hear from everyone again. Please write soon.

Now it's only fair to tell you a bit about myself. I bought my VISION May 5, 1984 and have since put on 18,000 miles of commuting and touring. I belong to the AMA, the SRRA (Sierra Road Riders Assoc.) and the Ft. Ord Fog Busters Motorcycle Club. 1 am a civilian, my wife Mary is in the U.S. Navy and we ride our '82 VISION with the Fog Busters on many poker runs in the SRRA.

My other interests include Ham radio (KF6X0), science fiction and folk guitar.

We love our bike and have tried a few changes on it. Our favorite modification is a touring saddle from Corbin. I put aircaps on the fork, but frankly they don't hold enough air to be reliable. I tried an Easy Streets luggage rack to hold a trunk but that was less than successful also. Next rack (on order) is an Amco.

A Touring Elite on the rear and a 110/90 Sport Elite on the front has eliminated the "bicycle" handling of the stock tires.

In eighteen months I have tried three different "fairings". A simple handlebar mount windshield worked, but I wanted more. Next I tried Yarnaha' s Sport Fairing and was very pleased with the way it looked. Now I have Rifle's Sport Fairing and I am very pleased with the way it works (looks allright too)"

That's it for now, fellow Riders of VISION. Ride easy and remember, letters, letters, letters.

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Riders of Vision

Newsletter No. 2 February1986

Happy New Year and welcome to the second issue of our newsletter! I ‘d like to start this issue with a BZ for our U.S. Navy Rider of Vision #21 Bruce Rodgers (Bravo Zulu is “Navy Talk” for congratulations on a job well done). Bruce submitted two technical articles for our newsletter and was responsible for sending us the FOR VISIONS ONLY catalog from Dyersberg Cycle Corral.

Speaking of new members, we have tripled our membership since the publication of “FYI” in “Road Rider” and “New Clubs” in “Rider” magazines for January. ……. As I write, we have over 90 Riders of VISION on our membership roll.

Care and Feeding of a VISION

Welcome to 1986 and the year that your VISION gets another year older or have you been following Yamaha’s recommended service procedures? (Bruce discusses the normal maintenance that should be done, and that the Yamaha and the Haynes Workshop Manuals will “provide a very good PMS [Planned Maintenance Schedule] for you”)…….

Kenny Steinberg (RoV#17) writes: “Maybe other members have solutions for the only problems I have. First, I have found excessive helmet buffeting on the highway with the original screen on the full fairing. Second, I find the 1983-height bars a bit too low.”

RoV#10, Karl Retzlaff answers: “One modification I did to the bike was to cut the windshield down about two inches. I traced the original shape of the shield two inches lower using a compass with a felt tip pen in it. I then took an acrylic knife – used for cutting plexiglass – and scored the line until it was deep enough to break the piece off. I used sandpaper to smooth the rough edge down. Now the buffeting is all but gone.”

Karl says further that he has very few complaints about the VISION

"The main one being the carb lag and the fact that, in my opinion, it's geared too high.

It would be nice if the bike could be geared to turn, say, 4600 RPM instead of the 5300 it does at 60 MPH."