cowpuc

Seems like every year we go out to Cali we end up having to ride thru lots of smoke.. It wasnt very long ago that the Donnor area was really really bad!! Oregon too,,, couple years ago coming out of Red Wood NP and heading across Oregon was mile after mile of back road, bandana across the nose riding - not a good thing.. Hopefully all that rain/snow will cut way down on this years wild fires... Also be really neat to actually see green grass across Cali instead of that yellow earth.. Dont get me wrong, that yellow field grass is pretty in a way but it always looked wayyyy to vulnerable to fire for my personal liking.. Heyyyyy,, you Cali lop eared's,, @Condor - you will probably know where this is.. Heading north toward the Oregon line - cant remember if it was before "Weed" or after,,,, we rode past a HUGE lake area - thinking it was probably a resevoir or something.. Anyway,, it was a really deep spot on both sides of the road where a lake was suppose to be.. You could tell by looking at it that at one time it was full of water - docks and all that were like 100 feet or better above the area where the water was at the time.. Place was EMPTY of water,, still a few boats playing around wayyyyy down in the bottom of the place where the little bit of water was still seeable.. Question for you guys,, will that area fill back up from run off of one really good year of rain/snow like you are seeing now? I may have pictures,, will have to see if you guys cant figure out where I am talking about...

What da heck,,, gotta agree with ya Randy,,, the guy on the bike just sat there in a clearly marked "NO VEHICLE" zone and let the truck run over him - plenty of time to get out of the way,, cant help but wonder if there wasnt some form of road rage going on there - like the guy on the bike was with the truck driver ... On the same token though,, the guy in the truck definitely had to have known the guy was there.. Thinking both parties should have their drivers licenses examined - and maybe even their gray matter... Just NEVER a good idea to play around with Semi's when traveling,,,, especially if your touring on a scoot (IMHO)... Man that was a terrifying video - seeing that child go under that rig was AWEFUL!!!!

WOW,,, WHAT A CUTIE PIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup: Bring Millie along when you come to Michigan for a Hot Dog Silv and I will get one for her too!!

Now YOU are a varmint after my own heart Red!!:thumbsup: The pic below is from a situation almost exactly like your talking about brother!! Running a dog gone 404, 3600 miles on her and pulled into Moab Utah - tread getting really slim - ONLY tire I could find in alllll of Moab was another 404 - guy wanted 215 bucks for it .. Made a few phone calls and found the closest next shop was Richland,, or Richfield or something like that.. Told Tip that I would rather risk in and keep heading west.. Got lost in the mountains, 2 days later pulled into Richland, all they had was another dog gone 404 BUT - 95 bucks so I bit.. They said they wouldnt be able to fit us in till the next morning,, said no problem - I will take it cash and carry and borrow your parking lot for 1/2 hour or so.. They said, if you can pull it we will mount it free - COOL!! That 404 was gone by the time we got to Cali,, 404's are TERRIBLE as far as mileage goes (IMHO).. REALLY nice to know that the side stand on the 2nd Gen is worthy!! Have used it on other bikes (dirt bikes mostly) in just such a way.. Knowing that, if we ever do get the honor/pleasure of owning a 2nd Gen I will DEFINITELY be carrying a small sissor jack just for such an occasion! If the side is worthy, I bet a varmint could also use the same arrangement (side stand/sissor jack) to swap a front tire too - or other lifted scoot needs for that matter.. @videoarizona David - GOOD THOUGHT TOO BROTHER and certainly NOT beyond something I would do.. Gotta say though,, getting a little older sure makes my back side ache just thinking of trying to get that puppy back upright.. Wanna hear something crazy? On a trip out exploring the Utah Mountains a few years ago my cousin and I got our bikes sideways on a mountain. He on his Virago and me on one of my 1st Gens.. We were able to get his Virago straightend around with only a forward peg broken off but we had to roll my Venture over in order to get it upright.. Took a windshield (was ok - it was one I had cut down to about 4" anyway) and a mirror in the process - was running "baggered" so no trunk.. As we were rolling her upside down I laughed and said "too bad I dont need to do a tire swap cause this would be easy!!".. If any of you lop eareds ever decide to try this (or probably even Davids suggestion for an emergency tire swap) after doing so it is probably best to NOT try to start your scoot till the oil has a chance to return to its proper places.. Just let it set for 15 or 20 minutes.. GOOD INFO GANG!! THANK YOU!!

OUTSTANDING @jfman!! :dancefool::dancefool::dancefool::dancefool: And THANK YOU Bert!! Jf,, did you lose a water pump seal? Those last couple pics look vaguely familiar.. You ok out there buddy?

Hey Cruiser,, thinking @B2MOM and Dad lived not to far from where your talking about down yonder.. Maybe she will notice this and give ya some thoughts.. Never did live down there but do know that are a LOTS of great folks down there!! CONGRATS on your upcoming retirement Cruise!! THAT is AWESOME!!

Might not be an easy thing to do George but, for some of us,, it seems like an easy thing to have done to us

In my case Dan, I always figured what happened to Roller and has happened to me on numerous occasions is part of the adventure of chasing the front wheel.. Its not a matter of if, more a matter of when and where.. There are a number of places that Tweeks like to drag Tip and I to that tend to be "out of the way" and I REALLY like knowing I can get the back tire off if I need to.. How about this you guys,, is the side stand on the 2nd Gen strong enough that it could handle the weight of the bike resting on it if you lifted against it? Is it centrally located on the frame so a person could place a small jack on the other side of the bike and lift against the side stand or is it forward mounted like a Harley? Maybe a small, collapsable "scissor" jack (like one found in a compact car) stored in the bikes Maintenance Dept could come in handy if things went south when riding out west...

Just like that new TV setup,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, :big-grin-emoticon::big-grin-emoticon:

Had JUST put a brand new tire on the scoot before we left, about 700 miles on it before the pic above happened... Down near Johnson City Tennessee when - BANG - INSTANT FLAT!! Just about had the wheel off when my first possible ride into Johnson City stopped.. Guy parked, walked up and ask if we needed help, said he would be glad to take me and the wheel into town - LOTS of great folks out there but not all have a bike trailer with them and most cars have a trunk big enough to haul a bike wheel.. Guy stood there and a "rattle" as I spun the rear wheel with the flat new tire on it.. He says,, you got wayyy more problems than a flat tire my friend - you got a wheel bearing gone - hear that rattle? I said, nope,, what ever punctured my new tire is still inside of it - thats what your hearing rattling.. Took the wheel into "Jims" in Johnson City (GREAT GUYS!! sold me a brand new Dunlop for $110 installed and gave me the grand tour of their facilities - WOW you should see the bikes they got upstairs in that place - LIKE A MUSEUM!!!) and THIS is what the guy who swapped out the tire found inside of it - looks like a split rim clamp off a semi or something... I do carry tire plugs, 6 dollar Habour Freight air compressor, set of tire irons and all that in Tweeks Maintenance Dept but things like this do still happen,, thankfully not every trip BUT I still like to be able to do something if it does...

Yeaaa,, some of them do,,, but not all switches, light bulbs, clutches, tires, brake pads, fork seals, carb syncs, stators, fuel pumps, wire terminals, valve stems, wheel bearings, float valves, slide diaphrams, shift lever linkages, rear shocks, ignition modules, fuse boxes, main jets, oil changes, water pumps, drive shafts, forward gears, second gears, header gaskets, fuel tanks petcock, valve lash shims, fork springs or even key switch for that matter get to complete the full 300k with the scoot.. :lightbulb:THE ONES THAT MAKE IT CAN SURE HAVE CHARACTER WHEN THEY GET THERE - IMHO OF COURSE:big-grin-emoticon:

You guys got some kind of trick? Was looking at the GORGEOUS 2nd Gen that Don just posted up - WOW is that pretty - and it occurred to me that the 2nd Gens dont have a center stand.. I read somewhere a while back about taking a newer Wing and laying it on its side to swap the rear tire in one of those road side emergency situations that some of us have incurred.. Any tricks like that you 2nd Genners have come up with for handling roadside tire swaps?

How did you get to see a second video Rand:confused24:? Got a link or something... Yea Silv,, THAT was terrifying!!!:bang head:

That second pic gives me the Hyena shuttersss, glad you corrected that Flied Lice!! Glad to hear your keepin the scoot brother, best of the best in gettin sweet Marilyn to stop - hopefully she stops at my house some day :big-grin-emoticon:

Dont let 7 (1+2+4) or Roller get to ya Huggy,, jealously comes out in strange ways.. You just stick to your guns and KNOW that your ol buddy Puc would never play with your mind!! When it comes to needlin people I leave that to others

:sign yeah that:

GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW ZZZZZZZ WOW WOW WOW do I like that too David - that is AWESOME:clap2:!!! Cant wait to see and ride beside that thing at night sometime - a light show happening right beside me - talk about being SEEN!! Man thats nice!! Sorry for the Sho,,, just got swept up in the moment...

or,,,,, like VR lop eared varmints LOVE Hot Dogs

What da heck bro,, could be riding my Venture here too if it were one of these.. http://images.sleddealers.ca/17028/70097/yamaha-rsventure.jpgYamaha Venture Snowmobile"> Aint heard hide nor hair from Tx in a while either.. Thinking he got to riding that Ural of his and aint looked back.. Might check over on "Soviet Steeds" if you need em...

Talk about eye candy Kev - she's a beauty!! I thought Yamaha quit making the 1st Gens Blue - that sweetheart is a BRAND NEW BIKE!!:178: 3800 for a brand new 1st Gen = GOOD DEAL!!!! WOW ZZZZZ WOW WOW WOW is THAT pretty Cen - :ice_congrats-vi6886 You did GREAT my Italian brother!! Wishing you nothing but the best in the great times you and your new sweetheart are about to have!! Thank you for the pics and ride safe out there!!! Puc

Yep.. Matter of fact,, put it together - ride er up here for a "Pucs Greet - Meet and Eat Meat" and I will get ya Hot Dog and a give your scoot a free synceroni to boot 10spd!! Indeed,, anytime your fooling with carburation on these puppies its best to finish up the project with a sync - IMHO of course...

Well Kiwi,, thankfully at least ONE of these varmints had the decency to jump in and stick up for me:2143:.. I aint mucking with ya at all,,, it's all true... Now that you got my attention though I may as well tell ya the rest of the story,, some corraberating evidence of what my theory is based on concerning why I think the whole Gremlin Bell thing is based on fallen Harley parts.. I have been doing the Sturgis Rally for many years.. A long time ago my brother in law (great guy - you would love em) decided he wanted to try a Sturgis Rally with me. This was back in the day when Harley riders were pretty hard core and they would take metric bikes and hang them from trees during the Rally.. After a pre trip discussion of how Sturgis works and how much fun it was gonna be to pick up old Harley parts (and hats/gloves/bandana's) along the roadways during the rally (get it - these were pre-Gremlin Bell days), my brother in law (I nicknamed him Tobe) did a little and began to show a sign nervousness about it all cause we were both riding Yam's - I remember him looking at me and saying "tell me more about this hanging business" - I told him not worry cause those ol shovelhead HD riders would have to catch us to hang us.. I have camped on the prairie during the rally for years (still do), I have a special spot not far from the Buffalo Chip that is a couple miles out of town. This was the day and age before Law Enforcement had a good handle on the surrounding areas and the roadway leading into Sturgis from my campground was a literal drag strip covered with thousands of bikes seeing who could get into town first - sooooo much fun:stickpoke:.. About the 3rd day we were there, we headed into town and I noticed the typical mixture of parts/pieces/clothing collecting along side the road and a really cool leather cap caught my eye - time for souvenier hunting to begin.. I stopped to go shopping but Tobe didn't notice me stop and he kept on going.. I put the hat on and re-entered the race to see if I could find Tobe.. I may have stopped and picked up more stuff too, cant remember that for sure but I do know that "the Gremlins" caused Tobe and I to loose a whole day of riding together cause we could not find each other in the mass hysteria known as "Sturgis".. The End On a side note,,,, Tobe told me later that he looked EVERYWHERE for me.. He said he even went to the Cop Shop (what we called the Police Department back then) and asked if they had seen me.. He said the officer at the front desk looked at him and said "we don't usually file a missing person's report until 24 hours has passed" and then asked Tobe "when was the last time you saw your brother in law?".. Tobe said he told the officer that the last time he saw me was in his rear view mirror and I was standing on the seat of my bike going no handed in a crowd of other motorcycles.. Tobe said the officer did a ,,, a little and said "hold on - I will go see if we have him" Ohhhhh how I miss those pre-Gremblin days..:usa::usa: The End For Real...

:crackup: did it again Huggy :rotf: beat me to it.. I was gonna jump on here and say something along the line of,,, I used to know where all of em were but its been a longggg time so I cant help much with this one

THAT is gorgeous David!!! Very very nice!! :clap2::dancefool::dancefool: Those rear lights are shaped like a ,,,,,:big-grin-emoticon::big-grin-emoticon: