cowpuc

and all my local buddies ask me why I LOVE the center stand on old Tweeks so much... In the crazy wide world of motorcycle touring and touring motorcycle tool kits, that center stand has become my favorite tool!!

Hi Dad and to VR!! It is possible that hooking the battery condition wire directly up to the positive post of the battery to make the warning light quit flashing could be your problem. What you did is not uncommon but doing it properly requires putting a resistor between the battery and tci as the voltage from the battery is higher than the tci can sometimes handle.. I say sometimes because I have ran many miles with my battery indicator light hooked up as you are speaking and never had issues with it BUT - others have so I know damage is possible. All that said, I would do some testing and see if you have other things happening here. A couple quick questions: Why did you replace your battery in the first place? Was your bike not charging correctly and your battery was going dead? Did you do any testing of the charging system before you put a new battery in it? Go out and remove the connector from the battery - it will hurt nothing to run your bike with the battery warning light flashing. Check your connections at the battery carefully to make sure everything is connected properly. Fully charge your new battery. Turn your key on and listen for your fuel pump to cycle thru (you will hear it clicking down on the left side of the bike just below the passenger foot peg). Turn the key off and back on again and listen for the fuel pump clicking.. Keep doing this until you hear the fuel pump clicking slowly and come to a halt - this means the float bowls on your carbs are full. Now start the bike and see if it will run as normal. Look carefully at the volt meter on your dash, slowly rev the bike up to 3 grand and back down and see if the volt meter comes up to above 13 volts? Also watch your tachometer while your doing all this is see if it is acting normal - one of the signs of a failing TCI is a strange acting tach because it is electronic.. Report back here what you find as you try these things..

In chat talking about it,, you guys read the small print on the auction? WOW ZZZZ WOW WOW WOW,, TALK ABOUT ADD ON FEES!!

check this out - one of ours has his head on the chopping block CHEAP!! http://auction.repocast.com/details.cfm?ID=2624682

Sorry to read this Goat, having something like that happen is NEVER fun.. I have heard of this malady on several occasions but Randy's and now this one are the only two confirmed incidents (knock on wood) that I know of.. Might wanna take a really close look under there and confirm that it is in fact a broken frame. The reason I say that is that, to my knowledge - Yamaha never made a Venture that did not have air adjust on the rear shock - if its not a Royale with the compressor control panel up on the right side under the bars - it should still have a shrader valve to get air into the rear shock and dampening adjust down on the left side - you might just be dealing with a broken shock if someone happened to have stuck something in there for a shock instead of oem. Randy, is there an area we should be looking at on our MK1's that we would see evidence that she's gonna be a problem (gonna go back and reread your article, if this ? is answered there dont bother doing a bunch of typing here as I will find it:checkeredflag:)?

See your from Iowa C Dub,, you folks ever scoot up and ride the Black Hills of SD? If so and if you rode that gorgeous stretch from Rushmore around to Needles Hwy (Iron Mountain Road/16A) you will have lots of experience similar to Smokey Mountain hair pins.. Just a thought....

is simply PRICELESS!!

I KNOW lots of folks who will and over what I am about to say Trader.. I KNOW I am about to put my neck in a noose and risk being called a shameful Motorcycle Abuser but I gotta tell you.. I can TOTALLY understand where your dealer is coming from.. Tweeks has over 300k miles on her and never had her valves done:doh:.. She is number 5 for me, all of the others made it to well over 200k, a couple over 250K before being sent into retirement and none of them had ever had valve work done to them either:doh: and NONE of them died of valve failure:happy34:.. In my own defense and something to be understood about my experience with the 1st Gen Ventures, the main reason I have ridden Ventures all these years is because of the low initial cost of a very rideable machine (I still say that even though our Yammies ARE the best Touring machine EVER produced - they never had a following that drove up the costs) making it possible for me to raise a family of four kids and still be able to afford such fun.. I was never much into concerns with oil leaks, clean chrome and all that - just basic maintenance and chase the front wheel till it dont spin no more and buy another.. Personally,, if a person wants something to be concerned about when dealing with MK1 1st Gen's, I would say the second gear issue would be a far more interesting thing to wrap the worry gears around as that is almost a garunteed issue.. On the same token, even that can be over come for many many miles simply by going "click" and skipping 2nd gear making even that issue a non issue if a person is so inclined

I LOVE this place!! I LOVE our family!!! Thank you WildBill for your insight!! Something you mentioned: ""No frame rails under engine/transmission You'll need to build a cradle to jack-up an Indian, "I Did"."" really caught my attention.. I have personally experimented with "integral" engine designs in bike building and have also experienced that design on several scoots thru the years and can say that - IMHO - there is nothing like the security of full frame mounting when it comes to large torque/high horsepower machines.. I had no idea that Polaris chose to go that route with their new scoots but did a little digging - see this link https://www.cheapcycleparts.com/oemparts/a/ind/54c964f987a86507241e234a/chassis-frame-asm-all-options - and sure enough, you were right on the money.. Bill, this is the kind of info that is GREAT to be aware of before any of us put our money on the table.. Being knowledgeable upfront about what we are buying is always a huge plus and I thank you for stepping in here and sharing with us!

Sky is right on target!! Not to long ago I was reading on a Slingshot site that @Carbon_One told me about. There was a TON of chatter on there about Polaris Dealerships upcharging things like shipping and prep to over 3 grand in some instances. This modern social media day and age really hurt some of those Dealerships because there were also Dealerships selling at MSRP (or even a little below) with NO extra fee's.. As time went on there almost became a "movement" consisting of new buyers driving a few hundred miles to get their new Slingshots when the dealer down the street from them refused to be realistic.. Pretty cool to see people band together and refuse to be taken advantage of.. Sky brings up a really good point here IMHO!

IMHO, anywhere you go in those mountains down there you are gonna run into tight hair pin turns and the dangers associated with such roads are always present. The only real difference between the Dragon and other area's is that it, the Dragon, is highly marketed. The cops actually make that beautifully scenic section of roadway a LOT safer in that they do a great job of patrolling it and it is well known they are watching closely - hats off to em! The Cherahola Highway is BEAUTIFUL, Cherokee and that section of the Blue Ridge Parkway is amazing - there is a viewing area on the Parkway not far from Cherokee that yielded the second farthest coasting opportunity for us so far (seconded only by a record set for us going down into Kings Canyon) - IT IS AMAZING UP THERE! Another area well within a days riding experience from Gatlinburg is the Red River Gorge area. That area tends to be a lot less visited and offers some amazing motorcycle touring.. If you folks feel drawn into the Smokey Mountains National Park, Cades Cove and all that,, here is something to think about. The loop around the park is one way - once your in your in.. 4 of the few times we have done that park the traffic around the loop was pretty bad. Bumper to bumper in a couple of those instances. While there are a couple cut acrosses so you can get away if you need to, some of those cut acrosses and escape routes are gravel/dirt roads that arent well care for - definitely bikeable but not your everyday ride opportunity unless your into such nonsense.

Hey Socks,, this is probably gonna sound crazy but this really is true.. Late last year I was goofing off in an Indian shop and got offered a new left over at a savings of almost 3 grand off MSRP PLUS the left over came with a 5 year - unlimited miles factory warranty.. I also had that same thing happen with a left over Victory.. I am not positive but I am thinking both Indian and Vic are currently 2 year warranty scoots.. Might be a way to save a lot of money and get over twice the warranty if your not stuck on having to have the new model Springfield..

who love riding bikes and

Yep,, dealing with a dealer - especially if it's an actual Yamaha Dealership like it looks like at least one of those dealerships your working with is - I would at least work out a deal where I could get a new shock at dealer cost if ever needed - minimum..

Another thing we could do is try to drag @WildBill1 into the discussion.. As far as I know, he is the only one of our group of lop eared VR varmints who has actually owned one of those beauties. Hey Bill,, got any advice for our brother? Personally I found the new Indians to be down right appealing! http://www.cyclenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/indianspringfield-accessorized-group-1.jpg

THANKS MAMA - LOVE YOU TOO SISTER!! That @Marcarl is gonna have to get busy if he expects to even stand a chance in this years accumulated hugs contest I tell ya!!

cause its fun to play!!!

Both sharp scoots in their own right.. Looks like the 03 also has a hitch and appears to be a pretty clean bike too. Thinking if it were me and I had any interest in towing a trailer in the future I would lean toward that one.. On the same token though, a trailer hitch could mean that it has been towing a trailer and not everyone is equal in their trailer pulling skills - clutches and brakes could possibly suffer from this.. :think:Kind of like buying a home with swimming pool - some folks consider em a must have - others deem them as a detriment... If I were in your shoes, thinking that no matter which one I picked I would try and work out a deal of some kind of warranty on the rear shock. At a minimum, take a peek under the scoot and make sure you dont see any sign of dampness indicating a blown one.. It just seems like I have read a lot of stories on here about shocks going south and I would at least take a shot at covering the possibilities of that happening. Never hurts to ask:guitarist 2:!! Both are low mileage gorgeous scoots Irish! Gotta a hunch that no matter which one you choose you will find many many miles of smiles ahead of you!!

:scared:WOW ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ WOW WOW WOW is THAT PURDY!!!:178: Sort of has a Shelby Cobra look to it:cool10: I also LOVE the smile on your face Godlover - I'd be right there with ya brother!! Man that's sharp!! :ice_congrats-vi6886:ice_congrats-vi6886:ice_congrats-vi6886:ice_congrats-vi6886:ice_congrats-vi6886

OUTSTANDING STORY RANDY!!! By the way,, in case anyone is interested - 1842 knots seems to convert to 2119.925426953 Miles Per Hour... That SR-71 must be a 1st Gen

but still see a parade..

Hate you? Not a chance!! CONGRATS on the new scoot Shmily!! Beemers are really really cool scoots! I happen to LOVE em - especially the ones I get to see pictures of:scratchchin:.. Speaking of pictures ,,,..

Hey,, take a read on this link - thinking you might find the info your looking for therein.. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?104283-Compeled-To-Talk-About-the-Second-Gen-Braking-System!&highlight=proportioning+valve

Oh heck ya Socks,, I LOVE the Indians!! Tip and I flew across Montana while we were out chasing the front wheel and made it to the Sturgis Rally just for the unveiling of those gorgeous new scoots!! There were lines of folks waiting to test ride em out there so we waited till we got home to test ride.. We found them to be amazing bikes - I LOVED THEM and thought they were everything they were advertised to be. I thought they handled beautifully and the new 111 motor had great umphh for 2 up riding. The only complaint I had about them at all was that my backside kept getting warm and I didnt find out till much later (think it was @billmac at one of our Hot Dog outings who told me this) that the heated seat on the Indians are automatically ON when you start the bike and that you have to turn it off if you dont want a hot backside - dahhhh... I was also sort of disappointed to hear the announcement that Polaris Indian had already raised the original costs of them by the time they unveiled at Sturgis. Had they of stayed 3 thousand dollars cheaper their comparable HD scoots like they thought they would offer them for instead of going toe to toe with Harley on their prices I think they would have sold a lot better.. Polaris made the choice to up the initial prices and now it seems there are a number of left overs sitting around at really good prices.. Probably not one of the Springfield's though cause its a new release.. About the only complaint I have heard to date about the new Indians is the relatively small dealership network available to service them should a person have troubles on the road. Polaris chose to isolate the breed from current Victory Dealerships which amounts to current established Vic dealers not being able to service them or to even get parts for them.. Something to that may or may not matter to some folks. Bout all I know,, hope it helps somehow!! All the best on your test ride,, hope you have a ball!!

Why of course he does,,, Jaybird is family!!