cowpuc

I know,, I have an odd way of thinking about scoots,, more of function over form kinda varmint - that said, try to stick with me on this one cause I know it sounds out there a ways.. Few years ago Tweeks got lop sided up in the Utah mountains and I had to roll her all the way over to get her feet back to planted cause between we couldnt get enough umph to upright here pushing uphill.. Ended up doing damage to her left saddle bag - LOTS of spider web like cracks.. I drilled the cracks at the ends to keep them from going any farther, then drilled holes along the cracks and "stitched" the cracks together using tie wraps - having done this many times with dirtbikes - I had pretty high hopes of it being successful.. Fast forward to this past June when Tip and I took Tweeksis (she has Tweeks bags on her) out CTFW on the east coast.. We hit some extremely hard storms out there in NY - flooded highways that the water was so deep it knocked Tips feet off the rear pegs and broke the front fender mud flap clean off!! Couple days later I noticed water leaking from Tweeks maintenance department (right bag) - opened it and a bunch of water came rolling out.. Thats when I found a 2 inch open hole that I did not know was there - similar to yours, I had lost a fairly good size chunk of glass from the bag itself.. Not one to give up and knowing that almost NOTHING works for repairing these bags in a permanent way, I set out to figure out the repair. I ended up drilling a few small holes around the hole and, again, along some cracks that were present. I tie wrapped again across the hole and pulling the tie wraps tight to draw it all together. Then I took clear fuel line and wove it into the tie wraps. Next I started searching for the perfect filler.. I ended up trying this product called E6000 Adhesieve.. Turns out, the stuff is AMAZING!! It drys like a VERY strong rubber and is bonding beyond belief!! I patch the hole, covering all the tie wraps including the stitching from days past. I carry about 70 pounds of tools and stuff in that bag, we just finished over 15 thousand miles of travel since I made the repairs with a fair amount of rain days, a few hail days, LOTS of extreme heat. I have checked the area several times (My tire spoons are in the maintenance dept - lots of times to check the hole) and it remains rock solid and very secure.. I purchased the tube of E6000 from a local store called Meijers but I am sure Walmart or even Auto Zone would probably carry it.. Tell em Puc sent ya,,,,, what the heck - may be good for a laugh or something..

We were to find out later that indeed,, my ears were not decieving me!! Under 30 grand for a boosted, hand built, made in America trike = from what I have seen out there - THAT is a lot of machine for the money!! Hats off Vanderhall in Provo Utah = GOOD JOB IMHO..

We didnt get told anything about the mechanics of the steed we were riding,, the short riders meeting was more about getting in and out of the trike and some tranny info.. As we rode I thought I heard something I REALLY liked the sound of.. I should have expected it could the little trike REALLY came alive as you revved it up thru the gears - I did it again and sure enough,, that familiar sound happened and a great big smile came over my ugly mug as I pictured those guys in Provo saying things like - oh yeaaa - we GOTTA do this!!!

The riders meeting was VERY brief.. I chose to leave our little "MG" like, hand built trike in "Manual Mode" so I could run it thru the gears manually.. What a ball Tip n I had - like a couple of youngsters in a little sports car of yesteryear...

We were impressed enough with them that Tip and I thought a short wait for a test ride would be worth it!! Finally it was our turn!!

I thought these little MG like Trikes were sooo cool.. Enough so that I could not help but explore them and find out exactly what they were all about.... WAYYY COOL hand built in Provo Utah machines,,, amazing how much trouble an ol biker and his pretty wife can get into simply by CTFW a little..

*** Where's the beef? *** Corn needs to be knee high by the 4th of July *** So broke I cant pay attention *** we used to walk uphill both ways to school *** I am tired of being told what to do, I am joining the Marines *** Dont forget to wind your Timex *** Fine as frogs hair *** She's got bats in her belfry *** This is gonna hurt me more than its gonna hurt you *** Smart as whip *** In a pigs eye *** Goin Banana's *** Now we're cookin with hot grease

Yep,, stuck float, saturated float, piece of dirt in float needle/seat or the needle is toast.. Either way,,, fuel is continuing to fill the float bowl when it is suppose to be shut off and bingo - overflow... I have seen em so bad they will flow down stream thru the carb throat and fill a combustion chamber, contaminate a crankcase and even bend a rod if not taken care of.. Also possible to fill and exhaust system - even have raw fuel running out of header gaskets - having lots of gas soaking going on like that (all from a bad float valve) can be VERY dangerous.. The fix: You can sometimes tap on the float bowl with a screw driver handle or wooden dowel and knock some sense into the float - not a bad idea to give it a try - sometimes a stuck float will just come unstuck and be fine. You can drain the bowls and try tapping on em,,, works sometimes. You can try draining the bowls and filling them with carb cleaner thru the drains with a syringe. I like to pull the slide when I do this (inspect those diaphrams while apart) so I can fill the bowls till I see cleaner coming out of the mains into the carb throat - then close the drains and let em soak - works great.. If your float valve needles are shot (got the ridge) there's not much more you can do besides rip er down and replace em... On my first gens the over flows run down the back bone of the scoot and empty right in front of the mono.. I like to check those tubes and make sure they are not plugged.. I keep an eye on em for any form of overflow (watch for dampness) cause this is the first sign of float issues.. Not sure about the 2nd gen over flows.. Dont confuse these with the carb drains - on the 1st Gen the drain hoses are up above right under the covers for the slides/diaphrams.. Sorry about getting long winded,, its a flaw in my character,,,,, bottom line - DONT let that little overflow fool ya - it IS a crisis waiting to happen = FIX IT!!

and here is a link to our test riding em brother http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?131698-Having-fun-with-the-new-Venture-at-the-Sturgis-Rally

Jack,, see if this helps,, scroll back up to post 18 where the vids of the cutaways of the engine are. Look carefully at the starting picture of vid number 2 in that post.. Without clicking on the video to make it play, you should be looking at the cutaway of the clutch and of the alternator on the left side of the engine. Look carefully right above the alternator and you can see the gasket line to the "primary cover" that goes over that entire assembly. It is painted red. Now go to the 3rd video (last video in post 18 above) and push play. Go to 1:26 on the vid time line and pause it. Now look carefully directly in front of the cam chest cavity - you can see the 2nd alternator with a partial cover over it and the bolts in the remaining cover.. Does this help?

If I had me a great big GORGEOUS motorcycle like that I would take it out and run the tires right off it,,, then I would put new tires on it and start all over again = yeppers,, I would have rubber particles scattered all over this great country of ours!!.. WOWZY WOW WOW WOW is that PURDY!! CONGRATS to you Nado Man = BEEEEUUUUTEEEFUL!!!!

Total list at this time in case anyone was wondering:

Ya know,, I really am not sure why/how they did it cause its ALL still straight cut gears - maybe in the design of the clutch support - new clutch system is on the opposite side of the old ones and directly inline with the end of the crank.. At any rate - absolutely dead quiet from what I experienced.. Has straight cut tranny gears too and WOW does it have a sweet tranny.. If you got to my vids you can see in cut aways on the motor they had under glass all of which I speak.. Bottom line,, DEFINITELY a lot quieter drive train..

Really good question.. Of course Her and I talked a lot about this and I could give ya some cheap shots at what I can remember she said BUT - instead of doing that I think I will interview her and stick up a vid of her answers.. Tip aint one to pull no punches,, she and I talked about the "heat" issue and, comparing to her experiences on my Harleys (she spent a LOT of time on my Shovel and other newer ones) and on demoing the Indians - her thoughts on this one really surprised me... She also brought up some points about the rider backrest I hadnt thought of - also wind buffeting from shield up and down ,,,,, no detail here,, will do an interview for ya Ed.. Got any ??'s ya want me to include? Anyone else got ??'s.. Be glad to run em by her in the interview!!

Thanks Carl,, probably just order up another Shink... Gonna wait till tomorrow though cause our local tire dealer may very well have a bunch of stuff on his end of season rack.. Couple weeks and it'll be September here and touring season will come to an end... WOW did that go by fast!

and some still pics of the new one!!

Another little something I discovered a long time ago,,, if ya pull the starter down and clean the brush dust and other particles off the armature (just clean the internals real well) between all those little grooves and gaps the starter may go right back to being like new.. I am no electronics engineer but my theory is that any way for current to "leak" is a loss so I cleaned a problematic one once and WOW did it snap right back to top condition.. Also gotta be sure those end bearings are good BUT I have yet to wear a set out - always ended up being a dirty starter or bad connections when mine pulled hard.. Something else though,, a GOOD battery is a must!! Another theory that has held true for me is that a weak battery can actually fry a starter - I know,, makes no sense to some probably but low voltage on motor windings tend to heat things up... Dont fool around with weak batterys - keep a fresh one in the scoot..

and in the end,, as always,,,, Tweeksis somehow ends up getting her just due! THANK YOU Mark for your kindness and letting us demo a Boss Hoss - definitely a memory we will NEVER forget!!

and as usual,, I am LOADED with after ride questions about the bike we just rode!

and off we go!! WOWZY WOW WOW WOW = what a machine!!

Ride the red one Mark says!!

Few years ago one of our members and good friend of mine, Monty from Tennessee, hook up at one of Don's MD's and had a blast!! Monty is friends with the Boss Hoss folks and brought a Boss Hoss Kuzy Cup for Tweeks . After strapping it on her front end, Monty signed it.. Monty and I always planned on getting together down yonder and going and looking at those Hosses together but it never worked out.. Fast forward to this years Sturgis Rally and LOOKY LOOKY!! Small world I tell ya!!

That was a cut away of the motor Jack and non operational - it would definitely be covered on the bike - maybe check out some of our test riding vids - should show it covered there.. Oppssss,, my bad Sky,, for reason that question was not on my hand written list.. I beg your forgiveness. THANK YOU for the compliments Bob - means a lot coming from you!! HAD A BALL WITH THE SUIT - double thanks!! Was planning on shipping the suit back to its rightful owner this week after cleaning it.. If it's ok I will hang onto it for a bit, there is a chance yet that we may make the NY Rally and it would be a BLAST to have it along out there.. If that were to work out, I promise to do ya right with even more GREAT pics n vids of Superman hassling the likes of Bongo, Big Tom and that gang!! What say you?

Yep,, they grabbed a bunch of my bladder when they yanked the cancer out me back in January and now I am a 2 oz pee er.. Not so bad but gotta get up frequently to go pee pee - not that much fun but better then pushin up daisies and not being able to give you guys a hard time

jakester was able to make the chosen meet time at the Yamaha Shop in Sturgis during the Rally and we met him there. He had the chance to ride the new machine before we did - EXCELLENT reporting here brother!! If your interested at all in putting a car tire on your 1st Gen ya might wanna check this vid out.. @stanG, or any one else curious about this darkside business, if you start at 9 minutes in, you may be able to glean some stuff that will help you in your endeavor.. GOOD TO SEE YOU MY FRIEND BILL!! Hope ya got home safely and had a GREAT Rally time brother!!