cowpuc

Heyyy,, hi Gary!! Wassup my friend - you n the misses getting in ride time in?? Hope so,, Tip, Tweeks n I are firing a few shots while we can brother!! You make a VERY good observation there on the new one Gary,, IMHO = A VERY IMPORTANT ONE TOO!! Yep,, I noticed the lack of protection right away and did indeed ask about it at Sturgis.. Was told = ya aint suppose to crash em = good enough? If your like me,, NOT so much! Frankly,,,, I was never impressed with Mom Yam sticking all that stuff under the lowers on the 2nd Gens like they did.. I know,, I know I know - having the stuff under the fairing on all these 1st Gens I have had has been a royal pain in the butt BUT - at least when I did go over and bend a crash bar or two (you can tell I dont agree with the Yamaha Tech at Sturgis - maybe we aint suppose to fall over/crash em BUT - sooner or later,, we ALL do - dont we?) I like to be able to bend my crash bars back out and at least make it home - you go destroying those electrical or brake components out in the mountains of Utah and its a longgg walk to anything... Like you,, I was shocked at no protection Gary,,, makes no sense to me either.. Of course,, I am just as much in SHOCK about Mom Yam going after HD (with whom they can in NO way compete with and they should know it after the poor sales of the Strat/Roadliner/Raider) with this whole Air Cooled V-Twin belt drive business instead of chasing the real serious touring shaft drive, 6 cylinder, water cooled, fully covered Honda Goldwing - sorry,, headed off the deep end again In case anyone is wondering what Gary and I are talking about,,, below are a couple quick shots of the new one compared to an old 83 Venture.. Notice the lack of protective bars around the engine and the saddle bags between the two - if you look closely you can see the extra pegs I placed on the rear crash bars on Tweeks for Tip to be able to move her feet back during those long ride days (works great). Another point for the REAL observant - also notice the HD sitting next to Tweeks (its owner is signing our bike) - notice that even HD at least offers this vital option for their scoots,, perhaps they too know that a few of their riders have a tendency of tipping over occasionally like I do and they should have the choice to be able to protect their investment in such an event... Even though Mom Yam didnt listen to our advice on building this thing,, maybe they will see this and those crash bars will appear in next years accessory catalog? Ok,,, lets see,, I ran Venoms = 6k in our ride style,, didnt care for their odd tread pattern - once they "squared" and lost their radious they became really strange in the sound on hard corners AND they also developed a strange "feel" in the same. Spent the big bucks on a Michelin Commander 2 a while back. I am good friends with a local bike tire sales guy who has been in the business MANY years. He sold me the expensive Michilin with the advice - "its my best high milage tire Scott BUT - be warned - its hard rubber makes it iffy in the corners if your aggressive like I know you are - just be careful and let me know how it works in the 110 degree desert tempts - should be awesome". It was just under 200 bucks.. When Tip n I finally arrived out there Jack we had just under 6k on the tire - it had some left in it but DEFINITELY not enough to make it home = THAT is always a problem - if the tire cant complete a 12 thousand miles round trip (that has been our longest for a western journey) then paying the big bucks for a high end tire is pointless.. Ended up swapping out the Commander out there and went back to low end.. Still havent tried the E3's and probably wont unless I can get a really swinging good deal on one.. After my experience with the Michilin - I would be TICKED if I spent close to 300 bucks for a rear tire and it ended up with not enough rubber on it after chasing around the desert and arriving at my daughters house in California and I had to swap it out.. Ya gotta understand something here,,, first of all (and I KNOW you know this,, you have a LOT more experience in the deserts than I do) that hot tarmac EATS rubber,, all one has to do is put their foot down at an intersection in a place like Vegas, Death Valley, Bakersfield, Phoenix (where lots of riders like videoarizona wont even ride during the summer - it does get that hot out there) and you will slide as the rubber on your shoes/boots is being melted.. That rubber WILL end up all over the back of your saddle bags, like it has mine many many times, and that hot tarmac could care less what the compound seems to be IMHO.. Then,, if you trust the high end tires to make the trip the rest of the way around and they dont,,, guess what - 99% of the bike shops where you end up looking for a new tire while your on the road and at their mercy will no more match internet pricing than the man in the moon,, doesnt work like that... Plus,,, because Murph respects no statelines (in my experience) - you will end up standing in a smokin hot uncovered parking lot in 110 degree weather laying on that HOT tarmac trying to remove the cotter key from that nut on the end of the axle so you can remove the rear tire to spoon off that 300 dollar high mileage tire cause that dealer with the air conditioned shop will want 400 bucks to do it in there where its cool... It's whole lot easier and wayyyy less expensive to just stick with lower end, less mileage tires and KNOW one in and one out... Now,, that all said,,,, I have looked FOREVER for a car tire to try.. Reason being,, may sound simple but car tires do not have the radius on the tread that all bike tires do - in my line of thinking and experience its a simple matter of loosing that radius and the center of the tire having to carry the load and bear the heat damage.. Makes sense to my pea brain that the wider contact patch of a car tire would really help.. I would LOVE to test one and would gladly pay the higher cost of doing so just to find out.. That said,, I still do question the feasibilty of swapping out a car tire on the highway with my spoons should I cut a sidewall (I gotta hunch Murph even knows how to handle car tires).. If I could find one that would fit - I think I would spoon it on instead of having it installed just to answer those questions..

If it were mine I would get Tip to get out the hot glue gun and, while I carefully held the latch in exactly the position it belongs, I would have her "tack" it in position with hot glue like a welder tacks a piece in when fabbing up a job. Then I would take some of this new product I recently discovered called E6000 and let it run over the whole area where the breakage is. I repaired the gas fill cover on my Bike and an open hole in my right saddle bag with the stuff before a recent brief trip out west and WOW did it work awesome. E6000 is an adhesive that sets up like a very strong rubber - almost like the rubber on a car tire. Of course, as in all things including actual welding, prep is manditory = clean the area real good before doing anything - get rid of even oil from touching the parts.

Hey Rave,,, aint never had the honor of owning an RSTD but when my tired ol 83's get like that it usually indicates the need for an oil change.. Something about the oil loosing viscisity and the discs in the clutch stickin together because of it and it having that early morning 1st ride attitude .. Another possibility could be a need for changing fluid/bleeding the hydraulic clutch. Could be ya just aint getting enough movement on the slave for the first pull in the a.m... Maybe try pumping the lever a few times first thing before ya drop er in gear and see what happens.. Come to think of it, I normally do that every morning on mine because I am as happy as a Robin pulling worms out of the fresh cut grass just to get to ride one of these V-4's again - maybe thats why I never really notice my clutches doing what your talking about

THAT is wayyyy awesome!! Ave - YOU DA MAN!! Aint never heard of such a thing - learn something new EVERYDAY = WAYYYY COOL!!!:thumbsup::bowdown::clap2:

Here is a shot you might enjoy of the morning after the lost hat incident Ty - indeed, that Tippy is sweetheart... Speaking of not knowing one wouldnt get arrested, many many years ago while traveling out to Sturgis on my 1st 1st Gen with my second born daughter in tow - been a while cause she was only 8 years old - we came upon a small airplane flying along "90"' We cruised up beside it and paced it - my little girl and the pilot started sharing waves back n forth.. As we pulled off the highway to get fuel, the pilot banked the bird - landed on the prairie and idled over to the gas pumps to fill his plane.. He walked over to admire our scoot and we chatted about what in tarnation he was doing landing a plane like that.. He fessed up that he was in fact an LEO and was monitoring that section of roadway for bikers with issues.. After looking at our scoot and noticing how we were packed up (then as now) he asked where we were camping for the night.. I sheepishly said,, I dont usually admit this to Cops but, for years and years of coming out here - I just drop the tent on the prairie or under and abandoned gas station over hang if it looks rainy and cop some zzz's.. He chuckled and then informed me that people have long forgotten that South Dakota - like most western states - are "open camp" states. Then he pointed to the prairie beside the gas station and said "that land is as much yours as it is the farmers who hay it - unless its fenced - you can camp on it freely.. Pretty cool eay? My home state of Michigan is exactly that way also and LOTS of folks have forgotten that.. State n Federal lands belong to "we the people" here in the States. There is no such thing as an intenty being the "State" or "Federal" being that owns the land and Michigan has always been an open state just like the officer was trying to explain to me about South Dakota. It used to be that Deer Season from here in my area in mid Michigan all the way to the Mackinaw bridge consisted of thousands of people hooking onto their trailers and heading for the lands they owned (people make up "State" and "Federal" intity) to camp on (for NO charge) and hunt on... Deer Season use to be HUGE here.. Now adays,, people come to the "State Park" here in my back yard on Lake Michigan and "camp".. It looks like a city here during the summer time and you know what - most of those people dont know that they could drive a few miles to State Land that they own - set up camp and not have neighbors an arm length from the side of their trailer.. I always found this kind of strange but never - until that officer in South Dakota informed me of it - did I even consider how it applies to other States - pretty cool too cause we go 48 of them puppies down here in the lower 48 - lots and lots of great open camp camp grounds out there brother...

Back at cha Sylv,, glad you enjoyed the vid!! Thing was a BLAST to drive and WOWZY - I just could not get over the build quality. Definitely being built by some folks who really care about our industry - bunch of lop eared gear head varmints if there ever was... Thanks for the kind words brother! Puc

Tinkering tinkering,, always tinkering.. If I aint out CTFW I am tinkering... Sometimes I just cant help but get caught up in the act of tinkering even while out CTFW!! If you are at all interested in the Polaris 111, you might find this interesting... Maybe,,,, maybe not buy maybe...

Tip washed it, hung er up to dry,, got her in the mail earlier today brother!! Track number is 9505 5121 2688 7227 1054 39 USPS - please let me know when it arrives - should be there by day after tomorrow.. Looking wayyyy forward to seeing you flying the cape at Vogel Superman/DragonSlayer and THANK YOU for loaning the suit to us - WORKED AWESOME!!

When ya tent camp while CTFW - ya tend to ride sun up till sun down cause the sun will bake ya if ya try to camp while the sun is up - make sense? Probably not,, I know,, I get hard to follow sometimes.. Their is what I call "Magic Hour" which is the last hour of the normal day after being in the saddle all day - its a time when that sweet smelling sweat shirt (made sweet by the magical odor that permiates the fabric from cooking inside of the glass clam shells during the hot ride day) gets put on and the memories of really good ride are bouncing around in your head.. Then, as soon as its dark and ya cant see the hills or prairie no more its time to look for a place to drop the tent.. Usually by 1 a.m. we are counting the Harleys we passed during the day as we drift off to sleep.. It's wayyy easier now to find camp spots with all the cell towers being up.. All ya gotta do is look for the little red flashing light wayyyy out there somewhere and ride to it.. Ya cant camp inside their fenced areas but their driveways are ALWAYS open to camp on.. Lots of times the fun isnt over even after darkeness sets in.. Here's a short vid of one of those times after a good 17 hour day of riding

Or,, take that hood off and hang it in the garage!! Its a motorcycle,, all rules governing cars and the has to have therein are right out the window with one of these puppies!!

Ya know what Ty,, I wayyyy hear that brother!! The worst off I get physically and the older I get,, the window of tolerance to little things like weather changes seems to be getting narrower and narrower.. For me though the desire and love for the open road = camping behind gas stations or out on the prairie - spending 16 hours in the saddle being a normal day - speeding up to stay dry in a really good rain and all that is the same as it always has been but this physical body stuff - not so much.. I keep remembering hearing people say things like "I cant wait till I get older and retire so I can go out and do that kind of stuff".. Now that I am at that retirement age - when I think of that I shake my head and say to myself - I am SOOOOOO glad I did it all when I was younger cause there is NO WAY I could even begin to do it now - almost time to unplug it, sell/give away all the bike stuff,, get that 4x4 and make the change.. Gonna be different around our area,,,,, maybe I will keep my R1 just to go out and with the youngens and keep the heart pumpin though

Its funny you say that Vaz cause I ask specifically about the weight limit and the tech (who refused to allow me to record ANY of our conversation) said EXACTLY that..

Ummmmm,, thats not need,,,,,,, ,,,,, ,,,,, never mind,,,, trying to explain this one would be like a dog trying to explain why he HAS to hang his head out the window of the car when its going down the road..

Nope brother,, alll that stuff that creates those kind of things went bye bye with the grapefruit sized tumor/cancer - nothing left.. Pretty nasty stuff that cancer bug BUT - way I got er figured - I got off a lot better than I could have - could be pushing up daisies and not getting to play with the new grandson or watch my bucketlist R1 break 170 or fly thru Sturgis with a Superman outfit on or run off another tire on Tweeksis with Tip on the back.. God is good and today is AWESOME!!

Puc dont do Trikes,,, well,, wait a minute,, take it back,, I had a RIOT back in my MXin days goofing off on 350x's and 2 fiddy R's - wayyyyyy more fun than the quad stuff - up on two wheels,, sliding em out,, endless wheelies were simple childs play... Then I did help build a Sporty trike for a friend a while back - WOW did I have fun on that puppy before we dropped the body on it.. Rode it like a 350x = BLAST!! But for touring? Probably not,, if I get to the point two wheels dont work no more its 4x4 truck with a topper time,,,,,,,, feet hanging over the tail gate up on the Grand Mesa (12 miles of gravel to get to that one - been there a few times on my 1st Gens) over looking Grand Junction - watching for aliens and listening to the coyotes cry.. Think I got a vid of the Sporty we did for my buddies wife... Just a second.. Yep,, here ya go.. Strange,, its the only one left of the Sporty trike we did coming up on You Tube - had a BUNCH of on there while riding it.... Hmmm,, maybe I got beyond some kind of limit on my vids LOL

,,,, you think someone who would do this instead of sleeping in a AAA Motel or even a campground really cares about mic drops :

Picked up this paper while out in Sturgis for the rally a few days ago.. Found it pretty interesting and thought a few of you may too.. Like most of you, I vividly remember the hanging and burning of the metrics out there on main street in days past,,, I also remember the coning off at exits 30 and 32 on the ickspressway with bikes backed up over a mile just waiting to get into town (being familiar with those back roads sure came in handy back in the days of yesteryear) - people camping along the highway and all that... Times have certainly changed and this article brings up some interesting discussion of when/how the slow down that has been happening will end.. It would interesting to hear some of your thoughts on why things are slowing down, both in the rally attendance but even more so, in the industry itself.. Anyway,,, here's the article:

Back at cha brother!! Prayers Up for a quick and full recovery on the shoulder my friend,, hope all works out for nothing but the best!! Tell Lonna hey for us,, Tip n I send our love n hugs alllllllll the way from Michigan!!!

You are more than welcome Kretz, glad to help.. And thank you for following the Sturgis fun = glad someone is enjoying those pesky meanderings.. I know a lot of people find that kind of stuff as foolishness but, IMHO,, its far better than setting around watching tv for retirement while knowing crazy stuff like thatkind of stuff is happening.. Back at cha brother!!!

At this point in my life I am just happy to be able to still get out and enjoy some type of CTFW - physically I am wayyyyy past the riding horses point.. I grew up in a fairly large family (7 kids) and my sisters (I have 5) had horses.. I spent some time breaking em for my Dad and training them all the way to neck reining.. Frankly,, while my sisters LOVED the beasts, I could never stand em.. I ALWAYS enjoyed my dirt bikes wayyyy more for my early days of off road exploits and would far rather case a KX500 on a 100 foot jump on a Motocross track than I would spend time in the willies with a horse = mule even worse.. I know,, been around LOTS of bikers who compare themselves to modern day Cowboys - not me,,, while I cant even imagine what the early settlers of our great nation went thru crossing some of the areas Tip and I have seen while mounted on Tweeks back - I certainly would NEVER want to have lived that - besides,,, horses smell funny. Speaking of that,, we rode thru a valley outwest where a huge horse camping area was at - shoulda smelled that valley = 108 degrees and whewww eeeeee - bout made my eyes water just riding thru it..

Here ya go Kretzo,,, hope this helps: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?117492-USA-map&highlight=signature

GOOD POINT BROTHER!!! I have no idea where one would get rubber for one but I do know I am GLAD it aint me standing in line at the service desk out in Moab Utah with a worn out tire on my Venture - out there, they wanted just under 200 bucks for a 404 Dunlop (exact tire that I payed less then 80 bucks for and spooned on Tweeks before we headed out - also the WORST of the WORST mileage = got way less the 4k miles out of the bloody thing). I know my buddy just paid 300 bucks for a new rear tire for his Harley (tire got old,, dont think it had over 1000 miles on it - poor thing just sat there and aged out) - probably a 500 dollar tire in Moab if its the ONLY one produced ... Something to think about.. Ya know Jeff,, was looking at the new Polaris Indians at Sturgis.. This topic came up with one of their sales folks about the lack of dealerships nation wide and especially in Canada.. Apparently, those Indian riding Canucks only have 1 dealership per Province up there.. Cant help but wonder if any of them are owned by scammers who wouldnt be afraid to jack up some prices on parts if a person decided to tour their lovely country up there and got stranded... Yea,,, tire every three weeks,,, used one up touring the east coast back in June (you EVER get out there = ride "8" thru the Adirondacks = WOW!!), one going to California in July, one coming back from same and one on the Sturgis run we just got back from - could probably have saved some on that Sturgis run cause it aint that far from home to the Rally BUT - those dog gone mountains (FLaming Gorge) of Wyoming/Utah/Colorado got talking to my heart as long as we were half way there and POOF - there went another tire... I gotta slow down,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,NOT

Awe,, THANK YOU for the continued concern brother - I KNOW it all comes from a pure heart of just being worried about your buddy and his wife - THANK YOU!! I assure you, NO ONE monitors tire air pressures as I do - I run em to spec as stamped on the tires - and always at PSI for max load. I have been touring for many years now going all the way back into the 70's and have experienced several flat tires on loaded touring scoots due to puncture from road debris (both front and rear) - including a few on my 1st Gens and can attest - NO ONE also wants to experience those any less than I do cause riding them to a stop is a exciting BUT not fun = I hear you my friend.. First let me follow the "you need a trailer" thought: 1. We do a LOT of off road stuff where a trailer simply would not work. 2. Years ago I had a buddy who got into a situation on a corner at speed where he had to brake hard and he had a small 300 pound trailer behind him. The trailer forced him into a freakish slide that he explained as "it took control of the rear of my bike". One of the things I learned early on (another flaw in my character) was to examine closely the results of people I trust when they experience stuff like that and try not to emulate = no sense in rediscovering the wheel. Another example of this is why I ALWAYS carry a styrofoam cup in my cup holder - lost a friend many years ago when the sealed water bottle he was carrying in his cup holder jumped out when he hit a bump - they found the water bottle lodged between the triple tree and the frame = locked up his steering = ol Puc NEVER carries anything but Styro Foam since that time. 3. To me, having a trailer would mean ending up carrying more junk - dont need more junk and certainly dont need to encourage who ever is in the rear seat to do more souvenier shopping either LOL.. About wearing out tires: Years ago while crossing the country in the desert on my 350 Honda, Chopped Yamaha 650, Honda 750's, 78 Lowrider = all none touring bikes and all being ridden 1 up - it was a tire out to the coast and a tire back, about 5k per rear tire even back then in my case and NO burn outs (not that I dont LOVE pulling hole shots, just never liked watching all my cash go up in smoke) = life taught me the hard way that that hot tarmac that melts your shoes when you try to stand on it does the same with scoot tires.. For me and my style of riding (I do a LOT of close to/or triple digit cruising and a fair amount of aggressive canyon carving even with a rider onboard (Tip has me rev limited at 100) - I have NO doubt this plays part in tire wear.. Concerning the load I carry - Ya gotta remember that the bedroll that you have always seen on the back of my bike is simply a couple sleeping bags, a piece of egg foam Hospital bed covering to take the bite out of rocks and branches that may find themselves between us and the ground while camping on places like the rim of the Grand Canyon, and a Tent = weight is NOT an issue back there AND - you would be shocked at how little the bike is pushed in heavy cross winds with it! In the end brother,, after over 1,000,000 miles of torturing these 1st Gens out in the lands where tires disappear like the sweat from a naked chest (yes,, I also ride A LOT with no shirt on out there in the deserts I love) I will probably never own/tow/drag or utilize a trailer in my biking needs (notice I said "probably" - gotta leave a little room there cause one never really knows what tomorrow brings). Long before you will see that, you will probably see Tip and I with a small 4x4 pickup, a topper on it with a small air conditioner - about the size of the one Dana and Misty had cooling their bike camping trailer at Vogal - built into the wall of the topper, a small generator mounted on a platfrom slid into a front hitch on the truck, with a bed in the back of the topper so I can sleep during the day (a HUGE issue we are finding in our current bike touring is that I still have to be able to lie down and sleep at any given time - was warned this was gonna happen by my Oncologist - some kind of Cancer Fatique thing) any time - any place.. Notice in that I STILL said NOTHING about towing a trailer? Thats cause there are two tracks upon two tracks in far off places out west in the mountains of Utah, Montana, Wyoming and the like where even Tweeks couldnt carry us and we just GOTTA find out whats out there and dragging a trailer into those places just would not work for us - even with a 4x4 truck....

Thanks Boss on the compliment of our report, really appreciated but actually - the pleasure was all mine LOL.. I had NO idea these things even existed when we were out there - just happened to be in the same place at the same time.. I had no idea who made the motors - one of the other test drivers mentioned something about Elios being involved here - that they had taken all the cash they were forwarded for their cars and gone this route so I suspected some off shore built motor - especially at the price point of one of these things =VERY reasonable IMHO = was expecting Chinese.. Just found this much higher quality vid produced by Jay Leno (he didnt have to do the little 35 dollar camera routine like I do,, I gotta hunch that Leno actually has a camera crew of some sort) where he explains in detail all about the motor - turns out its GM!! If you watch this vid you will hear a lot from Steve Hall. Steve was at Sturgis and I yakked quite a bit with him about the price point and the build quality. A REALLY great guy and VERY approachable/down to earth.. Had I of known who he was I would have certainly videoed my conversation with him.. I have NO DOUBT that the Polaris folks who produce the Slingshot are on this one.. Good ol American Free Enterprise System = the competition has GOT to work in our favor as consumers = maybe that Sling Shot will come down below 20 large in cost.. I got a vid where Tip n I tested that out there too - LOTS OF FUN!! Anyway,,, here'sssss Leno (wait,, that was suppose to be Johnny )..

Yes,, it counts IMHO.. Fact is,, one of the most painful crashes I have personally ever had was on a bicycle when I was a kid. Wanna hear the story? Ok,,, here's what happened.. The founding fathers of the village that I grew up in decided that it would be cheaper and easier to just build sidewalks around the big oak trees that lined our streets rather then removing the trees to make a nice straight pathway for people to walk.. I used to LOVE to ride my bicycle down those early twisties - talk about perfect training for days to come... One day,, while out carving the curves the thought crossed my mind that I had ridden those corners enough that I could probably ride them with my eyes closed.. I started at the corner - eyes open and counting the turns of the crank of my pedals that it took to get me to the first corner, then the angle of the turn of the bars and the pedals to complete the turn.. I did this several times to insure I had it all memorized.. Finally, after much practice - I put my front wheel on the crack in the sidewalk where my adventure was to begin,, closed my eyes and took off.. I counted successfully the cranks of the crankshaft attached to my pedals as I increased speed and made my way toward the cornered concrete that led around the big oak tree that I had ridden around many many times in my young life.. About the time I thought it was time to adjust the angle of my handle bars and start my peddle count to proceed around the tree I saw a "flash" of light and remember opening my eyes to a small group of adults who lived in the area looking down at me as I lay there in the shade of the mighty oak.. I turned my head and notice my bicycle had a severely bent wheel and my head hurt pretty bad.. One of the adults asked what had happened, back then,, having not learned the "Code" yet,, I explained to them what I had done.. I learned that day that, YES,, even bicycle crashes count AND,, I also learned how important it is to study the bikers Code book about when to tell ALL the truth and when to with hold somethings for posterity sake = its the code.... The End