New to me toy.

[Vincent]

Finally got to install my new heated grips with thumb warmer combo. First time I have functional heated grips in two seasons of snowmobiling.! The kit looked to be of good quality, but the instructions were crap. Thankfully I didn't need them. Because this is a non model specific kit, the wires are crazy too long to hide under the steering foam and cover. So I had to run from the factory power and ground wires at the steering back down behind the air box and them back up to the handle bars and thumb. I manage to keep all the wires well secure and organized and you can't see the over 3 extra feet of wires and connectors behind the air box. Also had to cut up the inner right handles as to get full movement from the throttle lever.Although the kit has a five power levels and the handles work "ok" they don't seem very strong. On the other hand the thumb warmer gets stupid Hot. Oh well, it's an improvement over having ugly old heated handles that didn't work. Took 2 hrs to install.

 

[Vincent]

Up to 880kms this season. Did a compression test for fun
Got 128, 130, 128 psi! Not bad. The old 700 is handling all my abuse well.

Decided against changing top gear and chain this season. Seems like my refreshed clutchs are now broken in with my new belt and the max rpms are 8250 to 8500rpms . It always pulls really nice! My latest tune seems to be the best compromise from warm day to cold day riding, so I'll focus my energy else where.

Weather man is announcing warm above freezing temperatures and rain this week. I'll take advantage and pull the sled into the garage as to start dissassembling the front end and rebuilding it. I'll inspect and grease the entire chassis at the same time.

Also compared my speedo to my GPS on a few occasions. Turns out my speedometer is very accurate! A bit surprised to be honest.

To date we have 24 to 30 inches of snow and only mid way threw January. Very good riding season so fare.

 

[4wealn]

That is awesome for you. I am in southern Ontario and we have absolutely no snow. I got out just before Christmas for a 100km ride but nothing since then. I am awaiting some snow so I can get out. I am zelous. I don't think I have had 800 km of riding in the last 3 years put together.

 

[Vincent]

Today I did my first big 300km day trip! Am I ever soar, and exhausted after that! Used 55 L of gas so averaged 15.4 imp mpg. Me and some coworkers took advantage of the Quebec free pass weekend. Weather has been warm and above freezing for over a week so trails were slushy and often terribly rough. Of course I had the most out dated dinosaur sled of the group. My friends have 2013 Artic Cat 1100 turbo, 2015 Ski-doo 800r e-teck Freestyle, and 2016 Ski-doo Xpedition 900 Ace. But thankfully my old iron horse got me threw it all. The old girl ran perfect. Amazing how she withstands all that abuse time and time again. Every one commented how awsome my 700 triple sounded compared to their fancy new fuel injection engines!

 

[Vincent]

After reading several comments about replacing higher mileage clutch springs I decided to do just that. As I've mention before my clutches received a complete rebuild with all OME Yamaha parts this fall. The only thing I didn't replace was the original 14 000km primary (pink) and secondary (green) clutch springs. The OME Yamaha springs were only 35$ each, so why not try fresh ones.

At this time I'm 30kms in the forest testing out these new clutch springs. My intial engagement is 4000rpms and my WOT is 8300 to 8500rpms. Witch is good. Seems to backshift faster then before ( wrapped as before at 80). Probably improved because of the new green secondary spring . For what ever it was worth, it was inexpensive peice of mind.

To date I've accumulated 1500 kms this season.

 

[Vincent]

Last weekend while riding the narrow bush trails, I offered my Venture to my buddy. He was riding his new style Tundra but his main sled is a 2012 800e-teck Renegade with 3500 kms. Anyways I drove his Tundra while he disappeared over the horizon with my Venture. Few kms later I finally caught up to him.

This is the cool part!

I'll never forget the look on his face, when he said " Wow! Is this thing ever responsive and fast! It's instantaneous power when you squeez the throttle. It's more responsive then my 800 e-teck! Did you gear it down alot?"
I replied, "No it has stock gears, but few basic engine and clutch mods." He also commented how smooth redhead triple rev and enjoyed sound!

That comment made be soooo happy! Considering he was impressed by my 14000km, 17 year old 700 Venture!
That compliment would never have happened without this Web site and all its members help. Thank you all!

Also had the opportunity to race one of my Co workers old Ski doo Mach 1 583 with150psi each cylinder and a new 1" 121 track, that same afternoon. The freaken thing is 2/3 the size and weight of my sled. Was surprised to race and smoke him 6 times . The little Lake was only 2.5 km long and packed snow. By the end of each run I was 150 to 200 feet ahead. Surprising because that tiny Mach 1 is so low and light I thought it would be closer race. We both had Alot of fun racing! Thankfully while we raced my buddy trailed behind with his Tundra. Cause if he would have been riding his 800 Renegade, he would have smoked me sooooooo bad!

 

[A couple of bucks]

All that on a 2-up sled to boot.

 

[norwegian]

Try heelclickers on that thing and it will surprise many! My MM surprised most of my village last season and the season before that, and I think I can improve the clutching some more even.

 

[Vincent]

Try heelclickers on that thing and it will surprise many! My MM surprised most of my village last season and the season before that, and I think I can improve the clutching some more even.

I would love to try heelclickers, but I have a home and many other projects to stay on top of.

 

[Vincent]

Just under 2000 km for this season.

Noted a slight increase in WOT rpms in the last few hundred kms. Often I noticed 8600 and sometimes 8700 rpms. Thought my 8dn belt mite be warn. It has 2300km of hard use on it. And yes the three shims are in place on the secondary. Belt measured 1.22" from the original 1.36". So drove out to the city bought a new 8dn, cleaned it and my shieves, and did a proper belt break in for the first 60kms. Surprisingly I didn't notice any real performance difference from the old to the new belt. Rpms still pass 8500rpms about half the time. Would it be normal to need a clutch cleaning so soon after a complete overhaul? I did rack up almost 2k since they were rebuilt and still look clean!

There's been a Vmax 600 triple driving around town with a nice aftermarket can. I just fell in love this sled's sound. It's not ecxessivly loud at all, and In comparison my stock can sounds boring. So in the spirit of experimenting I found a 2" hole saw and bore my stock muffler.
First impression were not positive though. Idle sounded good but the drone while cruising between 5500 and 6500 rpms was annoying. The first 5 kms of slow cruising left me with regrets, t'ill I got to the main trails and opened her up! The next 10 kms of aggressive riding were fun with the new meaner raspy sound. I was still on the fence on weither to keep it modified or buy a used stock can and replace it. After yesterday near 100 km ride I got used to the drone at cruising and got alot of compliments from a large group of snowmobilers I met up with during the afternoon. Everyone commented how bad *** my Venture sounded flying across the lake. So I decided to keep as is for now. But let me just say this mod is not for everyone. I've read somewhere this mod is supposed to gain you close to 5hp. In my opinion I doubt you gain more then 2HP if anything. I didn't notice any performance gains

 

[A couple of bucks]

New clutch springs settling in?

 

[Vincent]

New clutch springs settling in?

Thought that too but when I first installed the fresh primary spring it matched the performance of the old 14k km spring well ( Initial engagement, WOT rpms and overall feel were the same). It still intial engages at 4000rpms.

On the secondary clutch , think I gain a bit quicker backshift with the fresh spring.

Only way is to remove disassemble and inspect I guess.

 

[Vincent]

New toy to me. Part Two!

Happy birthday to me!

 

[Vincent]

Seems the sledding season has finally ended for me.
Yesterday was my last 20kms of aggressive trail riding. So thankful of my old 700 Venture and all it's reliability and consistent smiles per miles. I enjoyed my second full season of sledding, another 2500 kms year! Best of all it ran awsome the entire time! I'd load up pics but haven't had any luck loading anything for a few weeks now.

 

[carey]

Congrats. I was able to run through one tank of gas this season, but my sled worked great..

 

[Millinocket Rocket]

Congrats on the nice sled you've turned this Venture into...I just read the whole thread and really enjoyed reading it, and thanks for all the info... I just bought an '01 700 and am going to start tearing into it tomorrow, new 1.25" Ice Attak XT, slides and driveshaft bearings for now. Eventually looking to go through it all though, so I'll definitely be referring back to this thread for help/info. Love the colors of yours... mine is Gold and looks decent but I've always been partial to the blue. Happy trails!

 

[Vincent]

Congrats on the nice sled you've turned this Venture into...I just read the whole thread and really enjoyed reading it, and thanks for all the info... I just bought an '01 700 and am going to start tearing into it tomorrow, new 1.25" Ice Attak XT, slides and driveshaft bearings for now. Eventually looking to go through it all though, so I'll definitely be referring back to this thread for help/info. Love the colors of yours... mine is Gold and looks decent but I've always been partial to the blue. Happy trails!

Thanks! She's been a wonderful machine. Figured I'd post my latest updated pics of her on the thread that started it all.

 

[4wealn]

Have I missed something. Is that a different skid than the original Venture one. It seems really high in the back. I just long travelled my VMAX and it doesn't sit that high.
Looks great though.

 

[Vincent]

Have I missed something. Is that a different skid than the original Venture one. It seems really high in the back. I just long travelled my VMAX and it doesn't sit that high.
Looks great though.

That is the original Venture skid. It is set to max height (drop brackets and bolt mounting positions.) I do alot of back country style riding so max height is important for deep snow,. I keep the rear shock set to a soft setting cause I'm only 160lbs and it really helps weight transfer to the track. Quick shot of gas easily lifts the skis on hard pack trails.

 

[Millinocket Rocket]

Nice, and a newer Viper seat too! I am going to keep mine as stock as possible, aside from some of the usual engine mods and new track and ski carbides. It's going to be mainly for fishing and a spare sled for other family members or friends. I had a Viper that I modded out with an AD Boivin ZX-2 suspension, Ohlins fronts, triple pipes, SRX heads, Boss seat, Heelclickers, etc. etc. This Venture I just want to get restored back to original with a few improvements...