cowpuc

Yep,, we got a warning from a California Motorcycle Officer that turned out to not be a warning that cost me 500 bucks for Tippy wearing a white helmet that looked significantly like that yellow one you posted above Dj only it was white.. The officer really didnt like it because it looked to much like a CHIP's hat.. After we got the warning, instead of buying a new hat - we went to Wally World - got some black paint and painted it - saw the officer numerous times after that (he patrols the area where one of my daughters lives) and got the from him so we thought we were good to go.. Didnt find out till 3 months later (got a letter in the mail after returning back to Michigan after ride season was over) that California officers do not issue warnings - at least according to Sacramento Superior.. Also didnt realize it at the time but do now - there are only 2 states in the union now that have not signed onto a "joint extradition" thing where - even for an out of state unpaid parking ticket or seat belt violation - you will lose your license and will be arrested by your home LEO - our local judge here in Muskegon explained the reality of that to me.. His words were - if you get a ticket out of state,, PAY IT no matter whether you think you did wrong or not - the headaches of getting your license back from the citation issuing state (apparently, when you are "extradited" (arrested) by your home state LEO's for an out of state violation - your drivers license is sent to the state where the citation was issued and WOWZY - according to the Judge,, people have waited for over a year to get their license back even after paying all the fines and court costs... Sounds crazy but ALL true!! Life in the fast lane... Puc

Sorry WR,,, my feeble attempt at owning/riding and spinning wrenches on the Ventures has strickly been 1st Gens and I think I must have responded to your questions here from the main Forum shortlist and didnt realize I was in the 2nd Gen tech - my bad.. Here is good example of what I have used for years (click on link below).. I can search ebay for a battery for my 1st Gen and come up with hundreds of examples of wet cells under a variety of model numbers.. The key to buying cheap, IMHO,, is to shop a little ahead of time when its not a crisis cause,, it just seems,, that if its a crisis - Murphy steps in and the prices triple - way it happens to me anyway I picked up a similar Battery pack to the one in the link for 30 bucks last winter and its setting on the shelf waiting for real ride season and us to head west for couple months of touring with a new battery intact.. Sorry,, sometimes I talk to much, here is the link - not sure it will help you though cause of me being such a dork: https://www.ebay.com/itm/WPS-BATTERY-W-ACID-C50-N18L-A-PART-C50-N18L-A-NEW-490-2250/231517834166?epid=171229427&hash=item35e789cbb6:g:6ZQAAOSwvfZaTcj2&vxp=mtr

Now that you mention this 40,, I dont recall ever having a 1st Gen where that cotter key your talking about wasn't on the inside - I got a hunch it might be some engineers idea of a safety thing:think:.. I dont take no crap for errant cotter keys though... I would just take long needle nose, grab the cotter and wiggle it till it either came out of broke off, pull the pin and knock the remaining cotter key inside the pin out of with a drift punch if it did indeed break off...

,, WOWZY WOW WOW WOW Pab,,, THAT is gorgeous!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: You done used up a once in a life time deal thingy here,,,,, might not be a bad idea to think long and hard about where you go from here IMHO.. How many miles on the scoot? Bring a tank of air to air the tires for loading,, bring a good rubber mallet and a couple feet of 2x4 in case you have to rap the calipers to free the brakes up to move it.. Dont forget to take a flashlight, kneel down at the front of the bike on the right side - turn the bars to the left and look under the fairing at the neck and double check the numbers on the title to the bike just to make sure your toting the right title. Ya did SUPER Pablo - a HUGE congrats and looking forward to your adVenture of getting that amazing BEST OF THE BEST highway eating machine back on the road where it belongs! Quick side note Pab - you can get bore scopes (endoscopes) for CHEAP on E-Bay = way under 20 bucks..

Bandit!!!

Honeymoon's over: :big-grin-emoticon::big-grin-emoticon::big-grin-emoticon::big-grin-emoticon:

BEEEEEEUUUUUTEEEEEFUL! Absolutely gorgeous Snype!!!:clap2::dancefool::dancefool::dancefool::dancefool: And that Tinker is pretty cool too

A major CONGRATS to you and Charlotte Yamster!!! One of only a few non Willie Nelson songs that we sing while CTFW and one by one my whole family has learned the words to

Yep,, this geezers with Fool on this one... Have had the best of luck with the wet cells.. I buy em cheap (last few off Ebay for well under 40 bucks shipped) and dont bother looking for the battery monitor hole - just tap thru a resistor to knock out that obnoxious red light.. I used to use all Walmart batteries cause I LOVED their warranty and the fact they were EVERYWHERE if ya needed a replacement BUT they done got pricey.. Besides what Jeff is saying,, another thing about the wet cell is that they seem to loose effeciency slower so you get a little more time to get the new battery in.. This is HUGE IMHO because even one slow hard turning event off a dieing battery can ruin a starter... Keeping in mind (again,, IMHO) that a poor battery is probably the hardest thing on an expensive starter motor = keeping a GOOD, new, fresh battery in the scoot is more important to me than trying to get long life out of one.. On another note,, I got a really good friend who invests heavily on his scoots,,, he spares no expense on them so spending the big bucks for Lithium Batteries = no problembo... After leaving his 30k dollar gorgeous HD stored with the battery on tender over winter he was SHOCKED to find what he called "Chernoble" when he pulled the seat to find out why it wouldnt roll over.. HUGE melt down from a tender that was MADE for Lithium... Just an FYI..... Another FYI,, if ya go wet, dont forget to run the vent hose all the way down and also dont forget to periodically check the acid level... I have purchased them REALLY inexpensively without acid = like 25 bucks and under cheap.. If you do this,, acid is available at most auto parts stores,, when ya fill make sure you let the battery set for an hour or so after initial fill and then check it again - it should drop and need more acid.. Complete fill with acid and then do a full charge before placing in bike.. I am sure you already knew all this but just in case someone on the outside may be following this thread and they dont know,,, maybe this will help them too...

Also,, I have restored numerous scoots in my day and,, personally, if I am dealing with a bike that has sat for a good while, I always appreciate the previous owners NOT trying to start em for me.. I like to get oil in the jugs and across the cam(s) for a prelube before I spin em up.. I have seem wayyyyy to many perfectly good old motors ruined by being run dry even for a split second.. Aluminum Cam journals are very prone for this - once they get even the tiniest gaul started - things can get nasty.. I wouldnt use the starter,, maybe - if anything - a rock back and forth to see if its free BUT - even that can cause ring damage... I know,, I am WAYYYYYY hard core and sound anal about this stuff BUT - the above has worked great for me thru the years...

First things first Pablo = Glad you found us!! Concerning the scoot,,, I have heard many similar stories to the one you tell about why the P.O. stopped riding that amazing bike.. Frankly,, those stories almost make me ... Top rate fix is 100% totally doable and not that bad - the shop manual shows step by step how/where to jumper to test the control valves and on the Venture - all that stuff is VERY easy to get at compared to other touring bikes of that time.. Personally though,, I wouldnt even of fooled with it,, those bikes came with what I call "Ink Pen Springs" in the forks right from Mom Yam and ALL of those original springs needed replacement (fact of life).. The easy peasy cure was/is dropping in a set of 90 dollar Progressives, 1" of preload, fresh Belray @ 12.5 weight and you now have almost as good of a front boingering in for off roading as you have on your KLR (have had numerous KLR's too - FUN BIKE for cross country touring and dual sporting along the way - OUTSTANDING MPG!!!) and guess what - you NEVER ever need air in the forks again!!! Swap the rear out for manual adjust (have thousands of miles 2 up and touring packed with the manual adjust - I LOVE EM!!) and NO MORE FANCY SMANCY AIR RIDE ISSUES (simplicity is a wonderful thing IMHO). This bunch of lop eared Venture guru varmints has got cha on the right track as far as whether or not you should grab it.. I just might add by asking a question.. You ever the short story that Pat Macmanus wrote that was titled "Never sniff a gift fish"?? Well,, personally,, I wouldnt fool around to long sniffing a gift motorcycle either cause if you do that gift could end up getting swimming away... A Venture WITH a side car BOTH for 500 bucks:scared:... NEVER EVER EVER sniff a gift motorcycle!! Puc

Have heard great things about them :thumbsup:and nothing really bad that I can think of... Being an old geezer I have had numerous spoke wheeled scoots for both street and dirt and personally,, if I had my rathers at this point in my life - I would steer clear of them for both maintenance and tire changing purposes.. I also feel the same way about belt drive vs shaft though (I really appreciate the low maintenance shaft drive bikes cause I am tired of working on stuff) so take that for what its worth considering the source.. Dollar wise, not knowing what kind of money your talking but just an FYI - the Honda CTX1300 has been a very hard sell around here and last time I was in the Honda shop (David Allen Racing - Fremont MI) up North they still had NOS CTX's and I believe they were stickered at 9800... I also know for fact they would REALLY like to see them gone so a guy could probably do even better than that by walking in with a pocket full of cash and telling em what you would pay...

RATS!!!!!!!!! Being a capitalist,,, I briefly thought I might have been onto another business opportunity = :missingtooth:building diesel motorcycles just for the Canadian market!!

Very interesting,, THANK YOU for the vote and also for the commenting Sy.. Here Stateside I know that the new Ventures are not covered by the actual factory warranty for 5 years (I think the 2nd Gens actually may have been) as the actual factory warranty runs out at 1 year but then Yamaha includes a 4 year service plan after that,, it sounds like you folks to the North may be getting the better end of the stick = good on ya!!!! An interesting tidbit to that,,,, I remember reading about a dealership that was including Lifetime Warranty/extended service contracts on ALL new bikes they sold here in the States - I think they were in Wisconsin.. I am not sure that is still going on but I thought it was amazing when I seen their ads a while back....

Ya know what,,,, it's lop eared thinkin ahead varmints like you Sky that give us "if it ain't broke don't fix it" hammock lovers a bad name

So is diesel cheaper in Canada than in the States??? Also,,, Steve or any of our other club members who are thinking of Venturing north of the border,,,, you may find additional info in this 2 minute vid helpful...

Perhaps part of the blame for the joy I find in that video has to do with the science behind that guys method of proving his point = he's the extreme .. Wayyyyyyyy to much "this will do that because I say it will" going on these days instead of the old school routine of "watch what happens when I do this" ... AND,,, after a bunch of longggggggggggggggg,,,,, days/weeks/months of having to blow that white wash of yours out of my driveway,,,, over and over and over and over again,,,,,,,,,, doesnt the comment about my redundency lean heavily into the pot calling the kettle black section of "The Code"?

"My trigger finger's gettin tired!!" Watch for barrel glow and notice its that area where she finally blows out.. Coolest, prettiest snap shot IMHO is at 14:49 where 6 ejects are hanging in the air - just GORGEOUS in my opinion!!! What a shooter the mighty AR is!!!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSizVpfqFtw

"My trigger finger's gettin tired!!" Watch for barrel glow and notice its that area where she finally blows out.. Coolest, prettiest snap shot IMHO is at 14:49 where 6 ejects are hanging in the air - just GORGEOUS in my opinion!!! What a shooter the mighty AR is!!!!

Tune #2 to hang on Charlottes web!! Dedicated to my new brother of the road,, "Johnny Yamster" and his new RED SVTC!!

I usually keep an xtra can or 2 of that spray carb or brake cleaner handy for that DanL'...

FYI brother,,, careful when loosening up those pipe unions connecting the water heater cause to much twistin on those puppies can wakin Murph's cousins in the kitchen/bathroom and even them cuz's who camp out side near the outdoors water spickets and encourage those cousins to cause leaks out in those far off regions too... Ya gotta sneak up on those pipe repairs IMHO Rodney....

So good so far IMHO,,, just might add,, if your home state offers Enhanced Drivers Licenses and your a good guy (not an axe murderer or the like) then I would grab one.. We been using the socks off em for a good while now and for trouble free Cnuckian border crossin - find em to be the cats meow cause all the info is sittin in front of the gate keeper long before you pull up = easy peasy.. If your an axe murderer though,, your probably better off with the old fake pass port method and using distractive motions (like excessively swatting at those blackflies even if your inside) to disorientate the guards. Have a great trip! Puc

Welll,,, it might,, I guess it all depends .. I am no guru but love bike issues so before one of the club electronic guru's gets here 13 - maybe I can give ya something to:240:over. You dont mention when the lites do their dimmin and brightnin,, when those guru's do finally show up and see this thread - it may or may not help them to know exactly when the flicker flack is happening.. For instance,,, does it happen when the bike is not running - just got key on and your moving the bike or something on it? Happen while engine is running at an idle so the bikes electrical system is running off the battery? Happen only when the R's are above 2 grand so the regulator is regulatin? Does it happen when the key switch is wiggled?= If so,, then my peanut brain says ya,,, possible on the bypass?? I would say that 60% of the time when Murphy's been playin with my bikes electrical system and its making with the consistent intermittent brightening and dimmin its a sign that my voltage regulator is having problems with decision making or possibly a stator issue.. Could be as simple as a dirty terminal associated with either or one of them is getting ready to apply for retirement.. Maybe a good thing to do would be inspect/clean those terminals and also double check battery connections at the time too cause a simple loose/dirty cable therein could probably cause the situation too.. There, that'll give ya something to do while waiting for some real help

I have ALWAYS liked the looks of the Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager for exactly what you point out here CA!! Just something about the fairing design and the dash that takes me back to those iconic - muscle car days... http://motorcycle.com.vsassets.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2009_Kawasaki_Voyager_Nomad__MG_3864.jpg