cowpuc

I am with Zag (goes without saying = I LOVE the "Beast" (his bike) = that wild eyed Beast scoot just SINGS to my heart!!),,,, if your gonna do it = JUST DO IT!! Ground up personalized custom build er and ride that puppy till the cows come home!! Create something that is YOURS and YOURS alone!! Now that said,, I have never met Zag in person but just from his gorgeous 2 wheeled piece of art that he built with his own two hands I can pretty much tell that he is probably not the kind of person who is gonna attack Mom Yam if his throttle sticks on his bike the Beast while he and the Beast are crossing a creek and they run into a tree and takes off one of his legs.. I got a gut feeling that Zag knows that building his own scoot makes him the one responsible for what ever happens... I know,, pretty hard core outlook but, coming from a lifetime filled with what Zag was probably trying to say with his initial comment of "Geesh" = thats the way I see it too...

Heyyyyy,, ,,, wait a second here Lenny,,, speaking about going crazy,, something is really missing in this thread = you forgot 's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You know the code,,, no 's,, it didnt happen:big-grin-emoticon: Now ya gotta run back down to that bike shop,, humble yourself and tell them you FORGOT to take 's!!! We will wait here for you and patiently wait for 's!! :missingtooth::missingtooth::missingtooth::missingtooth:

I laughed right out loud when I saw that Honda put all that time and effort into the new Automatic Tranny in this Wing... My mind went back to the 70's when they brought out the Automatics and how we laughed at the things and said = no self respecting passion filled bike loving biker would be caught dead on one of those boring things.. Funny cause, back then, those automatics flopped like a dieing carp tossed onto a weed filled lake shore.. Honda did it again not to long ago with the 700 line and I was in a local dealership here last fall who still had two of the things (cool looking scoots but that automatic still made no sense), think they were 2014's,, that simply had no sale interest to the young or old bikers in our area and now those bikes can be had for $4500 BRAND NEW = and they still cant sell em!! Now seeing this "DCT" Wing and reading about it, of course I said to Tip, flipping worlds done gone crazy = that will never sell,, what in the wild world of sports are they thinking!! Now I have been watching the Wing forums and guess what all the Wing faithful are doing? Thats right,, going CRAZY over this new breed of bike that you dont have to fool around shifting, just put er in gear and let the bike do all the work = just makes no sense.. I always thought part of the thrill of owning and riding a scoot involved the shear joy and pleasure of actually riding the thing = being one who's skill in clutch/throttle/brake control was what it was all about... You really struck a nerve here with your comment about "big brother" Len,,, 1/2 the country ready to turn it all over to socialism or even o.k. with shireeeahh rule to escape the personal responsibilty that comes with freedom may have something to do with it all = I here ya brother... Makes no sense... Frankly,, sometimes I think the whole world really is just going down right nuts...

Staying tuned Vaz!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They as good as the Tour Masters? I LOVE my Tour Masters brother!! Cant wait to hear a full ride report from ya on the 777's!!!!! Puc

If this sells for under 3 grand someone is getting a LOT of bike for a very good price... Sure wish I felt better and it was closer..... WAYYYY PRETTY!!! https://www.ebay.com/itm/2007-Yamaha-Royal-Star-Tour-Deluxe/302620416783?hash=item4675951b0f:g:D5YAAOSwfphab0bf&vxp=mtr

Wayyyyyyyy wayy way cool Lenny!!! I can not WAIT to get to see the new Wing in person = from all I have read and seen from the pictures - it almost looks like those Honda folks took a step back in time and got some aspirations from 1983 Yamaha (way before "Star" took over and the Ventures started being designed in America).. I know I am an odd duck but I have grown to LOVE my clam shells, smaller trunk and narrowness of my old '83's and I see a LOT of that represented in the new Wing in their effort to enter into the Sport Touring markey = I have always said it,, the 83/84 Ventures were the 1st "Sport Touring" touring bikes (funny they were unwanted then but now Honda and Beemer are both headed down that alley - perhaps its an effort to attract younger blood into the market?).. Another thing = they FINALLY went 4 valve - OUTSTANDING and WOWZY WOW WOW WOW,, being an old conisour of girder front end long bikes,, I LOVE what they did with those front forks = NOTHING SHORT OF BEAUTIFUL!! On the other hand though, maybe I am still feeling the off balanceness that Mom Yam created in me by the shock of seeing a Venture with an air cooled motor in it last year at Americade that started my "this makes no sense" feeling about these new fangdangeled machines but, in all honesty,, this new Wing (and the new Beemer Grand America) actually has magnified that "makes no sense" feeling to this beat up, worn out grumpy ol has been.. Seeing all the "Sportiness" both Honda and Beemer built into those awesome machines,, then I feeling just like I did at Americade when I read that Honda placed a 112 mph speed limiter on the new Wings and Beemer set theirs at 101... For some strange reason,, in my feeble know nothing pea brain,, 160 Horse of freshly created Sport Touring motorcycle with a high end price point of 25 to 35 large and aimed at pulling in new riders who are young and restless + limiting that same scoot to a point that even a kid a big moped scooter or a putzy 45 horse 1987 HD EVO Electra Glide can out run it just dont add up = none of it makes sense to me.. I know LOTS of folks who totally do not agree with, or understand the point I am trying to make.. Even some of the guys I hang out with here will say stuff like = your senile Puc, 101 or 112 mph is wayyy faster than you can legally go anyway - you make no sense Puc.. To which I will reply while pointing a finger at each of them = but you bunch of lop eared varmints LOVE carving the twisties as much as anybody dont cha (bunch of bald old grey beard faces nod yes).. Then I remind them that carving twisties = 99.9% of the time means you are speeding (nods continue, I set em up - no biker in his right mind finds much thrill in taking a 25 mph posted corner at 25 mph - if that were the case,, "Tail of the Dragon" and the like would just be another slow riding contest filled with Trials Bikes).. Then, when I remind them that, IMHO, we are basically frogs in warm water with all this speed limiting nonsense and that with very little effort those same folks who are behind this speed limiter business can set up the ECM's to talk to built in GPS's and make it impossible for us to go any faster than +2 over the legal speed limit in ANY situation = end of story,,,, our bikes have just become nothing but another form of getting from point A to point B...

Cause I know VentureFar wont beat me up for his thread here again,, and while we :icon_lurker:wait for him to get permission to share his Luder ride (as mentioned in my other vid,, I still got a hunch that he took that great big beautiful new bagger and headed right for Death Valley - I know I would have and him be my brother and thinking like I do... Cant wait to see if I was right..), I feel obliged to tell you the story about that hat Drews = Tip calls it my "miracle hat" and heres why...

The day Tweeksis came to her new home..

Spot on Sky I couldnt get Tweeksis's carb to tune out right and suspected some jet/circuit blockages from sitting while Carbon_One was storing it for me after he got her from DenDen.. The day that I picked up Tweeksis at Larry n Joyce's house, ragtop69gs was there and I heard thru the grapevine that Raggy asked Larry how long he figured I would leave Tweeksis alone before I dolled her all up with all my memories plastic.. She was GORGEOUS so I figured Raggy probably thought Larry would say something like a year or so but I heard Larry said something like "knowing Puc,, probably as soon as he gets home" .. Those two are really funny .. When I got home I started the project and,, while I was in the process of swapping out plastic stuff,, I also went ahead and pulled Tweeks carb bank figuring that would be wayyy easier on my Dupuytren infected hands (at that time my right hand was fully closed) and when I did I found out that my diagnoses was spot on.. That was also the key to Tweeksis being named Tweeksis cause she now had Tweeks heart so she became Tweeks sister.. Time went on and it became apparent that Tweeksis wasnt running as strong as she should have been. I pulled the diaphrams and found they were wearing pretty thin again.. To the point that I could see thru the fabric that the rubber is vulcanized to.. I pulled the diaphrams that were still in Tweeksis's original carbs before repatching Tweeks diaphram and WOWZY = nice stuff!! DenDeb did a TON of work on Tweeksis long before Larry or I ever got her = that guy was/is AMAZING (never met him like I am sure some of the folks on here have BUT I do have the "book" he kept on all the stuff he did and it is an absolute JOY to read!!) and among lots of other stuff like a Marks collector, all stainless hoses, repaired 2nd gear, full Barnett clutch and on and on,, she also had newer diaphram/slides... I know it probably sounds kind of cheezy for me to have sent my brother Zzz those old slides cause they do have a lot of miles on em and they did show some wear BUT I figured better than nothing and certainly better than what he had by the sound of things.. I was actually amazed at how good of shape the slides themselves were in.. All sounds CRAZY don't it:240:??

:rotfl::rotf::rotf::rotf::crackup::crackup: :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

You are very very welcome Zzz,,, I always enjoy helping so the pleasure was/is mine my friend and, as a matter of fact, letting ya in on a little secret here, knowing that some of Tweeks +300k miles parts are still out there CTFW really does my heart good = a win/win if there ever was one!! Little by little I am feeling better (THANK YOU for the health well wish = always appreciated!!) but if I were back to my abnormal normal self I would push Tweeks remains into the basement and pull the fuel tank out and send it to you... I do think you are on the right track with pulling it and sealing it Zzz - you definitely got the right idea there!! Fact is, same as you I am sure, I have :stickpoke:with rusty tanks many times and have found that trying to filter out those tiny rust fragments NEVER works.. That said,, I have also done many forms or rust removal and sealing thru the years including some pretty crazy stuff like making my own sealant out of "Seal All" (worked pretty good). In the end I found this stuff: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Red-Kote-Quart-Coat-Gas-Fuel-Tank-Sealer-Liner-Gas-Oil-Diesel-NEW-FREE-SHIPPING/263165371552?_trkparms=aid%3D555017%26algo%3DPL.CASSINI%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20150817211623%26meid%3D7e6d366e40394c8db68b6b9e2f290d7a%26pid%3D100505%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26%26itm%3D263165371552&_trksid=p2045573.c100505.m3226 to be the absolute BEST of the BEST!! It even works extremely well by coating directly over rust - no joke - it's like it forms a brand new tank inside of a bad tank.. I did an old Honda tank once with the stuff that had 1/2 the bottom of the tank rusted right out and there wasnt enough of the tank left to weld to.. For kicks I took some tin foil and duct taped the foil in place and then coated the tank internally with Red Kote right over rust and all (I LOVE a good "science experiment).. That stuff sealed open pin holes, formed a new tank to the tin foil and I actually used the tank for 4 years before I sold the beat up old bike it was on.. I showed the hack job repair I did to the new owner and he was very impressed.. Anyway,,,, always something = continued best wishes in your ongoing repair brother!! Keep the faith!! Puc

Wayyy cool Spence!!!! Couple years ago Tip, Tweeks and I were out CTFW in the outback of Utah and bumped into this guy crossing the country on his electric scoot.. After admiring his machine and telling him how fond the three of us are of coasting long distances and the similarities of the quiteness between coasting and electric bikes are - he seemed to take a liking to the three of us and invited us to sign his machine (after he scratched Tweeks back with a marker).. Terry is from California and was headed to a Ohio for some competition that included the likes of Craig Vetter from Vetter Fairings (Craig designed the streamliner for Terry's bike in the vid).. Terry is in the Guiness for accomplishments on electric bikes, the one in the vid will do 140 mph and cruise a steady 80 mph for 1 1/2 hour = pretty cool.. After hearing Terry was from California and having experienced California traffic on many occasions,, I asked him whether or not the silence of his bike created dangerous situations.. He said "ABSOLUTELY!!".. I suggested mounting a set of speakers playing a recording of an open piped HD singing it song!! We laughed and afterwords he half jokingly said "thats actually not a bad idea!!"...

,,, ,, ,,,,,,, I know,, I know I know I know that that lop eared varmint @Flyinfool keeps tweekin on The Wisconsin White Washer across the pond because I keep getting the over spray from it too and that that goofy Punkseequanteee bucked tooth Philip said we got 6 more weeks to go Randy but,, ya gotta remember that we do have both those varmints against the ropes!!! Fact is,, it wont be long and you might be needing that gorgeous Blue RSV really really really bad to once again:

WAKE UP AND STOP COVETING THE PIPES ON Zzz's BLONDE 1st Gen - page 983,, rule 603829.44 in the Code says "thou shalt not covet they brothers bikes pipes and coveting his bikes chrome front fender is also not good"

Wait for it,,,, wait for it,,,, waittttt for it,,,,, patience is a virtue Puc!!!! What da heck,, while I'm waiting I may as well

Right there with ya Raf!! Rode all the way out there once just to go Tidal Bore hunting = had an absolute BLAST!! LOTS and LOTS of awesome off road camp spots out there - few skeeters, Bears and Mooses too but wayyy cool riding and those Kanuckians are super friendly out there too!! Would LOVE to read trip reports from Mike and the boys out discovering Scotia,,, living off clams they dug and all that.... BrakePad!!!!!!!!

Yeppers,, that Bongo brother of ours is always in just the right way to keep us all on our toes in a grand effort to keep these amazing scoots doin their thing!! :sign Rock On: Bongo!!!!

:scared::scared::thumbsup::thumbsup::clap2::dancefool: and away weeee gooooooooooo!!!!! OUTSTANDING SWEET BROTHER OF MINE = WISH I WAS THERE TO :stickpoke: AND THAT GORGEOUS NEW SCOOT WITH YA!! WHAT A HOOT!! Pics Neal,, lots of 's.. Also,, if you can,, give us a sit and idle (like you were stuck in traffic) motor temp opinion.. I know I have read comments that the new ones being air cooled possibly have a built in fan unit controlling engine heat.. We test rode the Venture at Sturgis but really do not recall hearing or feeling a fan come on BUT - didnt really get anywhere near the chance to "test" for one either... Engine heat (burning the passengers legs/feet) is a hot topic IMHO.. Maybe you could share some real life, unbiased opinion in this area.. Another one is the question of tire wear.. I know my nephew has a Strat (close to same motor) that was a rear tire eater because of the "THUMP THUMP" high torque... He actually experienced worse tire wear on his Strat than I have on some of my low end rear tires while tormenting them with high desert heat = 3500 miles per tire not unheard of in his world. Wondering if this new wide, low radius rear tire on the Luder/Venture will wear better.. Maybe a quick shot of the rear tire condition as well as total miles on it? Ohhh man,,, have fun out there brother!! LOTS and LOTS of fun!! Be careful riding something your not 100% familiar with but HAVE A BALL!! ,, cant believe I am the only one coming up with ??'s for ya to look for... You been grumpy around the clubhouse while I been down Neil?? Naughty naughty PS -just thought of something else,,, MPG? THANK YOU Puc

INDEED!! Thanks for keeping us in the loop Mike!! Thoughts and prayers as you continue to improve = the summer of '18 finds you right back out there CTFW my friend!!

,,, I'll grab my pick ax, compass and strap on headlight,,,,, you grab your M-16 and a few of those Tater Mashers with the little pull pin in em and cover my back while I go to diggin... We'll dig er up,, drag er home,, toss in a bore job, reset some new crank bearings, do a quick 3 grind on the valves, toss on one of the Wardens couch pillows for a seat and we'll ride that ol Beezer till the cows come home bro!!!!! 46? Was that Plunger frame? Man I LOVE the looks of those old plungers (loved those Amen Save Your Back chop frame plunger spin offs of the 60's = 1/4 inch of travel but WOW were they purdy).... Yea,,, I'd dig for a 46 Beezer DanL'!! ,, remember the cases on those old scoots?? They were made of this strange pot aluminum that was almost sponge like.. I swear,, things would "sweat" oil right thru the cases :banana::banana: Now THOSE were some off beat days of metalurgy I tell ya:happy65: I betcha @Hoss out there in Brookings, South Dakota could verify that which I speak of... I happen to know he loved and rode some of those older Brit Bikes... Just a minute here,, let me see if I can find a video of one or two he still has!! Oh my goodness,, I LOVE this Video!! This club of ours is FILLED with amazing people and that Hoss is right at the top of that list IMHO..

,,,, ,,, ya know Raf,,, now that mention it ,, never noticed that before but I gotta say,,, yea,, I get your :witch_brew: drift here.... Good thing our bike club aint one of those 1% outfits cause if it were,, :stickpoke:MOTOR MUTINY would definitely be in the makings... Now dont get me wrong here,,, I totally understand your comment about the 2nd Gen thing too BUT,, I am not so sure those 2nd Gen riders seen pulling trailers in the vids below wouldnt say something like = 2nd Gens pulling trailers :banana::banana:,, 2nd Gens being pulled in a trailer and there is more of them then there are of us so,,, well,,, so maybe just changing the pic over to,,,,,,

Hot Dang Stang = TOTALLY 100% endlessly AWESOME!!!!:clap2::clap2: You definitely had Tip, Tweeks and I in total with this one brother!! Wayyyyy cool!! Cept now all the three of us wanna do is go back to in a bold attempt to picking up the dream where you and that gorgeous scoot of your left off = CTFW!!!!!! Soon mate,, very very soon!!! Thanks Stang!!

Hey Roller,,,, her name was Olivia,, :95:,, I ,,, ,, miss her soooo much.. Here,, just to satisfy those wanting pics and I total respect for your inability to provide such because your viewing is being done via T.V.,, I will supply those varmints with pics BUT - it's hard cause I do miss her endlessly:bawling:.. But I still got lots of Pics n vids!! 20k for a WLA is actually a good, fair price from my experience.. I actually had a Harley shop offer me a brand new Ultra even up for Olivia but didnt do it cause I was planning on keeping her for ever but,, then life happened.. Ended up pretty close to the number you are seeing in the Auction which worked out ok for me I guess cause I still have access to her from the guy that bought her and lives down by Dons (thinking you may have met him at that Steak House during Maintenance Day?).. I had a LOT of interaction with Mid-America Auctions out in Vegas years ago (probably the predecessor of the "Mechum" deal happening now).. The Vegas Auction was always the benchmark for antique scoots and they produced a "blue book" of activity that most of the country's builders lived by in assisting for determining expected ROI for builds.. I wouldnt doubt that the same thing is going on now but I have no facts to support this as I have been out of the trade for a while.. I also used to deal with "Walnecks" A LOT back then.. Walnecks produced a regular monthly magazine that was laid out somewhat like the Auto RV book of today that you may or may not be familiar with?? The Walnecks magazine was sort of pricey though (I think non-members paid 10 or 12 bucks magazine) and was never a freebie like Auto RV.. I advertised regularly in Walnecks and did very very well with them.. During my shop years, when Walnecks sat on the center table in my office,, I know that a person could easily find exactly what they were looking for by just shopping a couple mags seperated by, say 3 months of time = ANY THING and EVERYTHING was available!! I think Walnecks sold out a few years ago,, not sure,, but it may be worth some leg work into them in an effort to locate the 350GTO you are looking for.. Speaking that Bridgestone,,, I also LOVED those scoots!! When I was a kid there was 1,, yes ONE Bridgestone in our hometown = it was a little 100cc two stroke and baby - did it FLY!! The struggle for Bridgestone in my area was they just didnt have the shop support.. The only dealer we had in our area was a Hardware store that basically sold lawn mowers as their only other gas operated machinery.. They had no repair facilities of any sort, while other metrics, European, HD's and even Sears/Montgomery Wards/J.C. Penny's and other mail order joints had some kind of service shops and parts houses = not fair but the way it was.. I am VERY familiar with the 350 though = WOW they were GORGEOUS and,, if memory serves me from a couple I had many years ago,, they were rotary valve motors like the Kawasaki's which made for a very performance orientated scoot.. I used to play around with modding the rotary valve (like port timing a conventential 2 stroke) on those scoots = make em pipey as all get out but WOWZY when they hit = HANG ON!! Anyone who has ever ridden a properly modded Kawi H1 or H2 triple will know what it took to hold em on the ground... Brother Roller,, I dont out much these days but every once in a while .. Will DEFINITELY keep a weathered eye out for that 350GTO for ya to spin wrenches on my friend!! Ya never know what may show up around this joint!! Pics n Vids for those lop eared varmints who cant read...

Hey Doc,,I clicked "like" on this comment of yours not because I glory in your suffering but because I LOVE talking bikes and LOVE reading about progress like it sounds like your making with your machine.. Sounds like little by little your getting that puppy sorted out and before long,, she will be ready for endless cross country Chasing Of The Front Wheel (CTFW) like it and you deserve!! Much like I did when you first inquired as to how you should approach the question of to buy or not,, I am gonna respond here with what I would do concerning the clutch slip.. Once again,, please be reminded that I have never owned a 2nd Gen like yours BUT - have fired a few shots with the 1st Gens so maybe - or maybe not - this will help.. If that bike were mine and I was experiencing clutch slippage the first thing I would do is look closely at the hydraulic resivore/master cylinder up on the clutch perch.. I would move the bars up to get that res as level as possible, put rags under and around it to protect the area from fluid spill (stuff is nasty) and then I would pop the top on the master... Looking down into the master and staring at the bottom of it I would locate the two holes in there.. Knowing that the forward most hole (toward the headlight) is the return hole for the fluid, I would gently and carefully and softly squeeze the clutch lever and release it (takes a little finesse cause this action can result in a SQUIRT right into the eyeballs so be gentle - practice makes perfect here - sort of like locating a vein for sucking blood from a patient) looking for reactivity from that forward return hole.. Having experienced a slipping clutch because of the return hole being plugged - I wouldn't leave testing this area until I KNEW that all was functioning properly here.. If the fluid is browned (water soaked and cooked to a crackly crunch) and/or there was an accumlation of garbage in the bottom of the master I would proceed with a clean and bleed with fresh fluid - doing so on a regular basis actually insures many miles of smiles and can keep you from having to do this out in the middle of nowhere and borrowing fluid from the other resivores on the bike to get you out of the woods so to speak - make sense? Also,, if the clutch master is nastyly contaminated - more likely than not = all the masters are and ya may as well do em all - I would.. If this doesnt clear up my clutch slip, I would proceed to redoing the clutch.. If the clutch has been spun it is probably glossed from being spun on so I would just order up new plates as well as the new spring (on the 1st Gens = multiple springs that look like valve springs,, your scoot may be a diaphram spring that consist of one big circular spring).. Having done clutches both ways,, by replacing the little half plate with a whole plate and also going back to stock by replacing the half plate with another of the same,, I would opt for going right back to OEM - I like the "feel" of the stock set up and I especially like where the clutch lever ends up in engagement (perfect for my style of clutch/throttle/brake control for slow riding) but that is my personal preference.. My current bike has a complete aftermarket system in it and YES,, it holds SOLID all the way thru all its gears and all the way out to top speed while all geared up for touring BUT - the engagement spot on the clutch lever is right out at the end of the lever throw and it takes an extremly sensitive touch to maintain stop/go slow riding without duck walking the bike. There,, thats my lecture,, now lets once again see what the real guru's advise here .. Thanks for the chance to again though,, felt good,, felt really really good!! LOVE THE SCOOT DOC!! Puc

Cory,,, if it were mine this is what I would try.... If the key is broken off in the switch and I needed to ride it like it is to get to my toolbox I would carefully take a flat head screw driver and see if I could place it into the switch and get a good enough grip that I could rotate the switch into the on position so I could start the bike. The broken key inside the switch should be holding the tumblers open and allow for this.. Before I would go thru the hassle of removing the entire switch to fix it, I would dig out a couple of dental pic's (available cheaply at Harbor Freight if you dont have a set) and, with the switch in the off postition, carefully contact each side of the broken edge of the key and lift it out.. I have done this many many times and it works great.. Be careful once you have the broken piece out that you dont lose it.. I would take the broken piece to a lock smith and have him cut me a new key from the broken one.. Something to remember about that ignition key is that all the locksets on your scoot are probably keyed to it = all take the same key.. Another thing to consider is that these keys are not steel (brass under chrome) so you cant use a magnet to remove the broken key - just gotta use patience and those pics.. Puc