cowpuc

I think this is SO COOL David!! :thumbsup: Thank you and God Bless each one of our Military folk (past/present and future) for their service in keeping the bell of Freedom ringing!!:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:

Actually I highly doubt that many of us really would go buy a new one either,, I know I for one will probably never out live the abundance of and love for the 1st Gens. Shoot,, I have yet to move up to the MK2,, much less even beginning my journey into experiencing the awesome 2nd Gen world. I am kind of counting on being found out in the mountains of western Montana at 90+ years old with another worn out old 1st Gen (I am sure Tweeks will be long gone - she is getting pretty tired) that I will properly name "Music" = she lays with ol Cowpuc n Tippy,, there by her side..:2133: Of course, you never know,,, if the cash flow is there (I dont do the debt thing), if our health holds out, if there is any left after marrying off the rest of our off spring and keeping Grand Kids in Minibikes....... then YEA... could happen.. Way I figure it, it doesnt hurt to and with Mom Yam just in case

IMHO, all is not lost! Tip and I bumped into a person by the name of Terry Hershner a couple years ago. Terry was just outside of Moab at one of the few gas stations we found in the area. He was on an Iron Butt headed to some kind of an Electric Motorcycle Meet in Ohio. The fuel at this station was over 5 bucks a gallon giving us a total cost of fuel of over 20 bucks just for that tank. Terry's "recharge" at the station was free (about 1/2 hour to recharge) and good for about the same mileage as Tweeks on a "refuel" running 75/80 mph. His bike also has a top speed of 140 mph - of course, just like a dino fuel scoot - the harder ya push it the more fuel it takes. Some folks are aware that Tweeks, Tip and I LOVE coasting, our record non stop coast is a 29 minute/36 mile downhill into King's Canyon. After getting caught carefully examining Terry's "Zero", Terry asked about our bike and I explained some of our journey's and told him about our love for coasting. In a strange way, we connected because of the quietness of Electric Bikes and the same being in coasting. We were amazed at both Terry and his motorcycle. One of the reasons why came about when he pointed out to me how quickly his bike recharges and explained how easy it was to find places to do so - actually far more places to recharge (any where with a 110V outlet) and how most places "charge" free of the other kind of charging. Another point of interest came about when I mentioned how many times we had slipped past people while coasting without them even realizing we were there, I LOVE doing that BUT it can have a not so good side = if a driver doesnt know your there bad things can happen. I actually asked Terry (who is from California so has ridden many very busy highways) about this to which he replied "its a problem whenever I am in traffic - gotta ride those sections of ick-spressway very carefully".. I mentioned maybe putting a loud speaker system on board with the recording of a straight piped Harley being played on it.. He said he had actually considered doing exactly that!! Terry and Craig Vetter (remember Vetter Fairings of yesteryear? thats the guy) are very good friends. Craig actually designed the Streamliner kit for Terry's bike!! I was fascinated by all this and still am!! It has two wheels, handlebars, is completely capable of running some awesome speeds, cost almost nothing to operate PLUS - if I were riding one of these things I could honestly say my motorcycle really has a MOTOR and would not be misconstruing an engine with a "motor" all the time:big-grin-emoticon: Here is a REALLY great article about the man and his machine - IRON BUTTIN!! http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1094483_first-iron-butt-award-for-electric-motorcycle-terry-hershner

,,,, now that cha point that out Bill,, we did the same thing,,, ahhh ohhh,, wonder how many 1.3 million dollar baseball cards we went thru too and my back side still hurts from getting caught for stealing my neighbors clothes pins

:95:never even did get hear or even see Silver,, close but no cigar:95: :lightbulb:you could make a quick video of her idling, I would be happy to give ya free learning on putting it up on Youtube and then linking her here

Gotta agree with ya Mab,, how the Honda Wing came out so far ahead in sales in the touring war with Yamaha back in the 80's is beyond me too.. Having owned, ridden, bought/sold both I always felt like the Wing was a "residential" grade bike back then and our Yams were "commercial" grade (probably sounds goofy but I remember actually saying that to customers back then). The Yam was way more comfortable (far as I am concerned, aint nothing shy of a purpose built Chopper that seats like a 1st Gen), would run circles around the Honda and get way better MPG's in the process. I think Yamaha kind of shot themselves in the foot by holding back in the ad campaigns back then. I can still remember the words to the Honda song they used in the ad's,, "hills, tree's, flower's and bee's all looking like a picture post cardddd,, get chur self a Honda..." = Honda went all out, Yam - not so much.. In the end, Yamaha lost it's shirt in sales and never even came close to catching up. Thinking maybe Yamaha remembers those days and, with current economic climate,, dont wanna risk another losing battle - thinking the modern day Wing folk are some very loyal enthusiast (why not - those new Wings are AWESOME machines). In a reverse of that, I also remember how Yamaha dethroned the mighty V-65 Magna big time with the V-Max, grabbed the title of the most powerful Muscle Bike - scored a major hit that, like Honda did with the Wing, became a "cult" bike. Never really got dethroned (as far as "muscle bikes" - not the same as a "sport bike") as far as an affordable muscle and maybe Yam was thinking that when they turned out the new Max. Problem there-in is I wonder if they should have taken a close look at what has happened to the whole "muscle bike" idea - all they had to do was check out sales on the HD V-Rod (their number competitor in that market) = horrible sales.. Just not a lot of interest.. Sure fun to yak about though aint it:big-grin-emoticon:

Still thinking Trike at all @rickardracing or ya gonna stay with two wheels? Either way, gotta agree with ya, those HD's are sure enough flat out GORGEOUS:guitarist 2:!! Some thing you might want to consider is shopping winter sales. I know a couple years ago I was in our local Harley shop during a summer sales event, goofing off as usual. Got in a discussion with the sales guy after noticing the Street Glide was the same price as the Electra Glide Classic = the Classic had wayyyy more goodies on it so I asked why and a fairly lengthy discussion took place about why they were priced the same (Street Glide = basically a stripped down version of the Classic).. Long story short, was back in the same shop in January and noticed the Classic still sitting there. Same salesmen I talked to earlier walked up and asked if I wanted to "steal a left over". Price was now down almost 6 grand and even more if I would pay cash! Just thinking you may be able to buy new during the off season as you would pay for used during the season. Of course, talking CVO,, might not make any difference cause those CVO's are .. So, what is your favorite color combo if you dont mind me asking (if it's a secret,,, pay no attention to the crazy man behind the puter screen )? Also, what are your thoughts about the "new" water cooled exhaust valve system,, seems like the year/model your talking was water cooled wasn't it? We test rode em a number of times (recalling the trike riding you told me about - thinking that was probably water cooled?) and both Tip and I thought there really was an improvement in rear jug/head temps - over all a really nice feature, especially if riding 2 up in high tempts, IMHO. As always, nice chatting scoots with ya brother!

This definitely has that soul speaking sound as well,, at least to me anyway,, a little lower on the idle and it would take 1st place IMHO .. WOW thats purdy!!!

Yea but it seems like 6 years back when we were younger is like 2 years now,, at least my aging body thinks so..

WAY COOL Arc!!:clap2::thumbsup: Nothing like riding and fellowshipping with a large group of "Heaven's Angels" = true 100%ers :big-grin-emoticon: Looks like you folks got double blessed with a great turn out and good weather to enjoy while also sharing some time in Worship! THANK YOU for not forgetting the pics - they are a Blessing!! Puc

Good question Mike. My wife Tippy and I have asked the question of "will Yamaha ever come out with a new Venture, maybe using the new V-Max motor?" all across America. The most often response we have gotten is "probably not" and usually when pushed for more, that answer is backed up with "if/when they do take another serious shot at the big touring market it would make more sense for them to use the Strat/Roadliner platform to build on".. I got into an extensive discussion about the whole thing last year while out at the rally in Sturgis S.D. waiting for other VR members at the Yamaha shop. One of the sales guys there noticed our older, slightly used 83 and said "looks like you folks are due for a new scoot" . While I could tell "Tweeks" (our bike) didn't really care for his comment - it did inspire a very good discussion when I replied with "just waiting on the new V-Max V-4 powered Venture". He shot from the hip and said it probably wont happen for a number of reasons. Main reason being, the major trend in the touring market being the huge draw to much lower powered, belt drive V twin motors.. Mentioning the fact that everyone even remotely interested in building a touring bike to sell in today's U.S. market is basically chasing a piece of the Harley pie. Then he mentioned something else that I had not even considered,, he was telling how much of a hard sell the new V-Max has been,, less then stellar according to him. He asked me how many of them I had seen on the road - had to admit, in all the thousands of miles we have covered riding cross country I have yet to actually see one on the road.. He made the point that the target market of the new Max is really slim, it does not fit into the Sport Bike market, the Sport Touring market and the cruiser market is flat out owned by under powered Harley's (he was comparing a 75 horse HD to 175 horse Yam Max) or their clones (like the Strat). Bottom line, could see where/why Yamaha would be hesitant to intro a new Venture when it would probably face some similar dynamics in its own way. A real bummer for those of us who LOVE the Yam V-4.. So, what is a person to do.. Definitely see your point with the Kaw's and Honda's,, GORGEOUS.. I also really like what Harley has done with the modern day Twin Cam - getting it down right dependable now that they got the cam chain tensioners ironed out. The new Indian is and the Victory line has also came a long ways from their catastrophic beginnings. Rode a newer Beemer a while back - talk about amazing MPG and good rider in its own right.. In the end though, knowing the prices of all the afore mentioned,, I still think I would do some serious shopping for a new "left over" RSV and expect to not pay a dime over 12 for it, just going with my gut that they are still hiding out there somewhere. I know this may sound crazy but I look at it this way,, I know these Yam V-4, shaft drive driven scoots are good for 300k. That would be 300,000 miles for 12,000 dollars.. If I had to spend 24,000 dollars for a new bike (that is not that unusual if you price em out) then I need to see a verifiable 600k motorcycle with no major work like swapping out expensive drive belts or replacing crank shafts. I LOVE threads like this, thanks for posting it!! Puc

Rock on GW!!! :guitarist 2::banana: Actually I spent a fair amount of time playing on the ice with my KX500 back in the day, it did a great job and was a ton of fun BUT,, I actually think ol Crud the V-Max would make even more chipped ice for the snocone party afterwards - look at the trench that puppy makes Looking/listening to that Youtube vid, sure looks like familiar pipes - :think:even sounds familiar:cool10:! Thanks brother!!

I usually leave at least one scoot in the garage upstairs all winter for those "just in case" moments. Thinking it might be the V-Max this year

Also may get ahold of these guys and see if they know of a small shop in the area who work on older Metric street bikes. Never know.. By the way, all the best to your neighbor on what ever he decides Eck! http://huntsville.craigslist.org/mcy/5288195054.html

Sad to say cause those were really fun bikes but I am with Carl.. If it has to go to a shop and have the carbs gone thru it will probably not be cheap. Something he may try is checking out Craigslist in the Motorcycle Parts section. I know around here there are back yard mechanics who advertise in there from time to time - of course you usually get what you pay for, gotta keep that in mind.. Could even run a quick ad "Looking For Mechanic To Repair Honda V-45 Carbs" - ya never know.. Also, something else to consider about putting a lot of money into it. A lot like our early 1st Gen Yamaha's and the second gear issue reducing the value of them, Honda had some issues back then with top end problems - cam failure in both the V45's and the 65's that may or may not affect the final selling price of it. That was a shame too because they had hydraulic lifters which should have made for a great high mileage scoot.. On the same token though, if it is an extremely low mileage scoot and in perfect condition, who knows.. Just some thoughts..

Yo hoooo - Mama - time to stop watching those muscle bound bikers on the Street Glides and turn again. Oh yea, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but we gotta charge for this service (nothings free in Water World ya know),, for my portion of the collective fee for this friendly service please pass on the info of where in Ohio that picture was taken - definitely looks like my kinda place:stickpoke:

Tip is standing here doing dishes,, in my own defense I read her what you wrote Steve, she laughed and said "tell Steve that I still think my position on Tweeks as Navigator is pretty safe"

and a little more on EagleEye's super sharp new scoot!! Brother I LOVE those side cases and the protective engine/tank guards - nice stuff!!

Your more than welcome Steve, glad I could help out! Now that you got that gorgeous V-Strom with its excellent fuel economy maybe you will let me lead us to the next gathering we attend together:missingtooth: Hey,, as long as your in Ohio would you mind stopping at East Side Honda in Maumee and grabbing a new Wing for me:Im not listening to:big-grin-emoticon: Check this video out,, pretty cool memories of when our friendship was more than a one way friendship

To which the Warden gently and tenderly replied "NO - but now that I know that's what your thinking - it does mean you can knock off this silly Detective business and get back to work on the new property AFTER you go find Don and Eileen and return their plane tickets to them".. The crowd listened intently as Yammer explained all this to Squid while searching over the huge gatherings of vehicles, attempting to locate the Freebird families new Avalanche. Remembering the Warden's last words and unable to locate the Avalanche, Yammer restarted the Blue 1st Gen, turned the lights back on and took off in hopes of locating Don and Eileen at the local Dairy Queen. Little did he know that Don had spotted him at the Meet and Greet and was now

Hokey spamokey,, ya got that right brother!!! Glad your ok 10spd!!!

Phew,,,,, OUTSTANDING to hear from you Steve!! Must be two great minds thinking alike cause you posted this as I was typing out my note asking folks to keep an eagle eye look out for you:big-grin-emoticon: WOW ZZZZZZZZZ WOW WOW WOW that bike is GORGEOUS:178:!! :clap2::dancefool: Congrats again on the find my friend! CAN NOT WAIT TO SEE YA ON IT NEXT SUMMER AFTER ADD EVEN MORE GOODIES TO IT:big-grin-emoticon:!! Tip says hi, thanks for the well wish, sorry she missed ya and apologized for not being up to give ya good directions. I am just happy you made it home ok and happier then a 1st Gen crossing the desert that you stopped by and showed me your new scoot Beautiful brother,, just flat out gorgeous!!

Doorbell went ding dong real early this morning, went to the door and there stood one of my long lost dear friends and fellow VR lop eared varmint member - @eagleeye. Had a great visit!! After yakking bikes for a while Steve announced it was time for him to head around the pond - that must of been,, sayyy,, ohhh,, about 10ish (a.m. - that is a morning hour for those who didnt know). Before he left he asked me for directions back to U.S. 31. I started to explain some secret direction's around Chicago that I know like the back of my hand but EagleEye said "if you can just get me back to 31 I can find my way around the Windy City". So, I showed him the road beside our house, pointed down the road and said "go to that stop sign and turn right - when you come to the stoplight turn right again and that will take you to U.S. 31". Quick hug between brothers and he was off.. Walked inside, got yapping with Tip, told her we had a good visit and I gave him directions home. She gave me her stare,, wondered why and then it dawned on me, I had given Steve the wrong direction - it was suppose to be the SECOND stop light - not the first one,, ahhhh ohhhh!! I knew he had turned his phone off cause it's battery was low so I jumped in the car, went and looked and looked and looked and could not find my friend:95:.. Got back home, Tippy scolded me cause she know's how I am with directions - double that when I am giving them - and then asked why I didnt get her to tell Steve how to find the hi-way (and to think, we actually still have friends that think she is always with me on the bike just cause we love each other). Then she said not to worry about him cause he always seemed like a person who was pretty level headed and good with directions and she was sure he would find his way back to Wisconsin ok. She reminded me that EagleEye had safely gotten both of us (he and I, Tip stayed home) down to Don's MD earlier this year and had done so in less then 8 hours, a trip that would have surely taken me 2 days to complete. Reminding me of that settled me down some. Until now.. Now its gotten dark out and I havent heard from him since this morning. I thought it would be best to post this on here and see if any of you maybe got a glimpse of him? I am including a pic here of my buddy, the only thing is he was not riding his RSTD this morning - he was driving a redish colored truck. Please be on the lookout for him, thank you!! PS - sorry about that Steve,, if your still in the area and happen to still be looking for the hi-way, stop back here - Tippy and I are eating fried chicken and have 2 pieces and some califlower here for you:fatsmiley:!!

Here you go Gary!! Great info with some awesome pics - that @GeorgeS saves the day again,, THANKS George (and Freebird for posting this many years ago..) http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?3365-Anatomy-of-a-Muffler

So he dont do like these guys do..