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OUTSTANDING!!!! Now THAT is what I am talking about!!! Man I miss you guys,,,,, and gals! VR family is by far THE BEST MOTORCYCLE CLUB FAMILY IN THE WORLD! Thanks for the pics @uncledj!!

A few pics....

As one of the old long distance riders used to say - "You can only have too much gas if you are on fire." If you are riding one up, I suggest going to an auxiliary gas tank mounted on the passenger seat. It is easy to plumb in by installing a T between the petcock and the fuel pump. Gravity feed. I had a 5 gallon spun aluminum tank mounted on a board (was actually cut from a support board under the belt from an old treadmill). Drilled holes to mount U-bolts that clamp around the passenger grab handles. Solid as a rock.

I have a utility cap on my truck so never had the hard cover personally. But last week at work we needed to move some chairs and had two pickups with the hard covers (sorry I don’t know brands of covers). The dodge cover didn’t work so well as it didn’t flip all the way open, I want to say it had three sections but the section nearest the cab didn’t flip up, rendering a third of the bed useless. The Chevy did fully open and had prop rods to keep the cover up against the back window.

Thanks @saddlebum! and Ben,, me thinketh thou knoweth me to well LOL

Nice write up Puc When did you ever think about stirring the Pot @cowpucSeems to me you just plain can't help yourself .........Yup you been missed.

Isn't beer supposed to compensate for all that?

🥵 you could get over heated fast

This is why I wanted to get together in May instead of June.

Twist the throttle and determine which one is primary and which one is return. That should tell you which one goes where. Put the carb bank back into position but not all the way. At this point connect the cables making sure that the primary cables does not go on the outside of throttle shaft, even though it may seem that there is a nylon spacer for it to slide on. Put the primary cable on the inside of the shaft. Make sure that the cables are free running and then push the carbs into place. Do the return cable first if I remember correctly. Hope this helps.

@cowpuc I always appreciate your feedback on these issues! So to answer some of the questions. I am out of the country right now and can't look directly at the bike but I believe I am at about 43000 miles. I replaced the fork springs with progressives right after I got it almost 6 years ago as the original seals were shot and I rebuilt the front. I've put about 4000 miles on it. The oil leak looks like it comes from the area of the shaft but I really haven't torn into it to be sure. It usually leaves me a spot on the garage floor about the size of a quarter after riding. As far as the carbs, I haven't had any issues. It runs like a top!

I have never been an owner/operator of a 2nd Gen so no real clue what the differences are thru the years. I do know there are some things to look for when buying and if I were thinking of going that route I would want to know what they are. I never was an owner/operator of the 89 either but have swung the leg on the 83/85 MK1's a few times and gotta say if I were in your shoes and you like your 89 I would put a few hours of time in it and some cash to bring it up to road worthiness. I have criss crossed the country and most of Canada on our 83's numerous times and have always had great success with their reliability with very few failures thru the years. How many miles on your 89 @rpep1982? How many of those miles have you put on it and how long have you had it? I have no idea if yours has the 4 brush starter in it but all my 6 MK1's ran the 2 brush starter out to retirement of the bike and did that simply by taking the starter off when it started showing sign of doing what you mention and cleaning the carbon brush dust out and off the interior of the starter. One I actually did "feel" a looser armature bearing in and I replaced that. I also found that keeping a good battery in them helped with starter longevity as it keeps the starter from getting hot. If it were mine and it has the white, three wire stator terminal on the left side about 1/2 up the frame I would undo that terminal and ohm out the stator to see if the 3 legs match in resistance. If so I would use it as is and HARD WIRE that connection and do away with the terminal but thats only cause I had my fill of issues with that terminal early on in ownership. I would also drop in some Progressive springs in her forks if that hasnt been done. Doing so and you got a new bike right there! Are you sure on the shift shaft leak? Where are you seeing the leak? At the shift shaft under the cover where the shaft exits the internal block? There are numerous things that can cause oil to gather under there is why I ask. I would definitely take a look at the carb diaphrams too and make sure they are worthy no matter how many miles on it BUT, I would do the same thing if I sprung for a 2nd Gen or any other used bike that had CV carbs on it that I was going to trust with my kids in tow or even riding alone cross country. All that said, if you just want to ride something different than heck ya, I would opt for a 2nd Gen,, they are cool and definitely earned a reputation as 3rd place for the best of the best all time touring bikes BUT you already have the 2nd place title holder for that class with the 89.. 1st place still goes to the mighty 83/85 MK1 Puc

I have a fishing boat and a pontoon we can fish from, as long as the wind is calmer next year.