cowpuc

Heyyy,, Hi Cha!! If you were to ask Tip the question you asked here, she would probably tell you that I have a little bit of a heavy hand on the throttle - especially in those wide open desert regions that you, Tweeks, Tip and I LOVE so much!! Back when Tweeks had a working speedo we were cutting along out in the open desert, Tip tapped me on the shoulder and said that touring at high speeds made her a little nervous. We had a really good discussion while camping that night out on the desert about it all. I asked her what her "comfortable" speed was while touring out in those wide open spaces. I was surprised to hear her say that she was good with 100.. From that day until Tweeks decided she didnt need her speedo anymore I tried my best to stay at 100 or under out in those places where its wide open and endless.. Since her speedo went south I usually hang around 5200 r's for long distance open country touring - right where Tweeks is just starting to really beg for more.. Keep in mind that we are talking about OPEN country touring - LOTS of high temps (like you experienced). None of my 1st Gens ever seemed to mind the higher all day speeds in high temps - just always sat back, let er buck and watched the scenery go by. Also amazing how easy it is to get above 1000 miles a day riding sun up to sun down doing so, plus its amazing how much country you can see out there.. Problem with all that is that one does get used to floating along at those speeds and, ahhh,, when I get into any kind of traffic after a week or so of that it takes some doings to refocus my attention to speed,, different story of course.. For ick-spressway riding I choose to ride just a little faster than the traffic as it gives me the feeling of being in control. I am FAR from one who tailgates or battle others for position in bottlenecks or what ever. Instead I "sandbag" until the traffic clears and then I resume my "control" ride style. I know I present a very unpopular perspective on all this BUT, as a result of my unpopular perspective you can be rest assured that I know from experience what these 1st Gens are capable of as far as handling extreme desert temps at higher R's for long periods of time.. Onto another subject,, in another thread I think I recall you asking if anyone else has ever ridden "The Loneliest Highway In America" (50)? Just wanted you to know that indeed, Tip - Tweeks and I LOVE that road and have ridden both directions from I80 to I70 = Fernley NV to Salina Utah.. We can attest to its loneliness but we have done our part to keep it from being so lonely.. I actually wrote some about our experiences on 50 in a ride report (with pics of course) in 2013, found here http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?80470-on-the-road-again&highlight=salina+utah THANK YOU CHA for letting telling of that experience you had and for also doing your part in helping Highway 50 not feel so bad!! If we ever get a chance to meet IRL - Tweeks would greatly appreciate your signature on her "50 sticker" (see pic) and let me shake your hand brother. Sounds like you had an AWESOME time out there CTFWing - congrats bro!! Puc

I dont see those plugs as being that far off in their colors, they do look like they could use replacing but nothing severly blackened or way to light like you been running her lean. Maybe you just had a plug fouling and thats why number 3 is wet - it does happen.. It wasnt pouring rain when you dropped that cylinder was it Drone? I would probably start with a plug swap, check the bowl overfull hoses for recent activity just to see if I had bumped into a stuck float - look carefully at that number three hose and see how it compares to the others.. If they look like they have had recent activity I always like to pull them off the backbone of the bike and locate them temporarily to a position where I can keep an eye on them.. I have done that and left them hanging by my leg for lots of miles (until I trust that I not overflowing fuel). Maybe drain the bowls and see how much, if any, garbage you get out of them - again watching that number three carefully.. I highly doubt that you taxed your electrical system down to where it caused your issue by using your fan motor BUT - gotta ask - did you by any chance notice the bike running strangely and notice a difference in its performance when you switched the fan off? I would also be curious to know what brought about the need for a remote fan switch in the first place?

Hmmm,, is this a "new" bike to you Midi? Maybe the previous owner never used his front brake.. I know it sounds crazy but there a lots of riders who actually fear the thing and use the rear brake for all stopping.. Another possibilty is that someone used different pads on the front only (right side) than on the rear/front (left side front) linked brakes.. Seems like Organics will wear a LOT faster than Kevlars or what ever.. If all the brakes are working (good stopping power for your style of riding), you find no sticking calipers or mushiness in the brake systems or fluid loss issues,,, sounds like you should just ride that puppy!! Its funny you mention the uneven wear on the rear sets and how that is normal.. Until I got in the habit of always pushing the pistons on the calipers out just a little past new pad distance (just the distance of the pad itself), wrapping a brake fluid staturated strip of cloth around the exposed piston(s) one at a time and cleaning them, making sure that they were nice and clean, squeezing them back in and then repeating that until I got no visible lines on any pistons showing drag --- I used to get uneven pad wear. Since I have been doing that every time I swap out brake pads I cant recall the last time I got normal uneven pad wear.. I just replaced rear pads on Tweeks before Dons MD and they were absolutely perfect in there wear depth.. Another note about that though.. I got into a discussion with GeorgeS while we were out in Oregon last year.. He had asked me if Tweeks still had original calipers on her and I told him she did. I also told him about my process for cleaning pistons that I had been doing for years had, IMHO, at least been partially responsible for her still having stock calipers - pistons and seals.. He got telling me about some of our Ventures not being set up correctly on the rear pumpkin. Apparently, some of our scoots came missing 15 or 20 thou worth of material between the swing arm (the part where that incases the driveshaft) and where that swing arm attaches to the Pumpkin.. He said that he (or others?) have found that by resetting that gap (shimming it) - the uneven brake pads disappear.. I have never needed to do that on any of my 5 fairly high mileaged 83/84's to achieve matching pad wear on the rear but, I found Georges info and knowledge amazing and have no doubt that what he was discribing could cause such a malidy..

TOTALLY AWESOME BROTHER!! Gotta LOVE that State and alllll its shear beauty!! By the way,, may be missing something here but something is missing.. Lets see if someone can come up with a word picture to help joggle my pea brain into thinking of what I am thinking is missing:witch_brew: HAVE A GREAT TRIP YOU TWO CTFWers!!

Didnt you spend some time in a lot of water down in Texas sonshine? How is the rubber seal that covers the bulb when its installed Coff? That seal is suppose to protect the bulb from moisture which, if present, can also cause premature bulb failure.. Might wanna take a look inside of the fixture too to see if there is puddled water in there and clean that out real well if there is...

Dont let em fool ya Volman,, those 2nd Gen's are just as fast, just as durable and just as down right pretty as our 1st Gens,,,,,,,, according to some folks opinions that is.. Its just that PB, myself and a few others around this joint hold a higher esteem of our own and each others opinions.. Even though we KNOW we are right, that still doesnt remove those 2nd critters right to hold their own opinions,, even though PB, myself and a few others know they are wrong... Hope that makes sense...

Thinking it all depends on its care for those 77k Volman.. I would say if the scoot has been properly maintained and ridden frequently thru the years (oft times just a quick "loaded" question to the previous owner asking if has been ridden at regular intervals every summer will help you find that out fairly easily). Actually, if I were buying any vehicle, car/bike/boat or swamp buggy, I would rather have one with a few more miles on it that I KNEW had been used regularly than a super low miled garage queen that has sat for 10 or 15 years.. Down time, in my short lived experience with the stuff, has always proven to be a scoots worst enemy BUT, that has just been my experience.. As DJ mentioned, if properly maintained - 77k and the ol girl is just getting started...

No idea if thats a good thing or not brother BUT, the first thing that popped into my mind when I read that was that hopefully its cause all those knots and pains are tired of fighting with the body of a lop eared ornery ol cuss like yourself and they are trying to find their out of their relationship with you!! Still Prayers Up and Blessings Down my friend!

Well, I went to Youtube, found Ichiban and one of his more recent posts - ironically about making thermite I left a message for him there, would LOVE to add one of his stickers to Tweeks ever growing collection- lets see if he responds!!

Indeed, that is awesome Van!! Kind of reminds me of a Red Green Show specifically for motorcycle gears heads.. Years ago I stretched the power bands in my KX500 while hill climbing which caused all the smoke to leak out of my CDI Box. I still have those powerbands and leaky CDI downstairs somewhere. Think I will send them to him, see if he can fix em and maybe, just maybe end up with one of stickers to put on Tweeks - lord know's she LOVES stickers!! THANKS for the excellent thread @VanRiver:clap2::dancefool:

I learned at a very young age to live within my means (left home at 15, lived on the street and all that nonsense) and that has followed me thru life. Bought my first home for cash when I was 23, a real deal fixer upper.. Got the tools box out, gutted the place, new windows/doors/floors/roof, added on a garage, got married, had kids and then spent a few years with the kids when they were little completing the project (them little kids had a BLAST helping me). Bought and sold several thru the years (houses - not kids ) and never did end up having to borrow money - even a morgage, never had a credit card.. Fast forward to about 15 years back, my side kick son and I were out goofing off doing some flying around on some really cheap airline tickets (seeing the country hopping planes just for kicks) we ended up in Chicago, ran out of cheap fight tickets and needed to rent a car. Pulled out my debit card, place wouldn't take it.. Had a heck of time finding a place that would except my debit card and NO ONE would accept cash - even tried to bribe em with triple the rental cost - didnt work.. After that ordeal I decided it was time to get a credit card just for such emergencies.. Got turned down by ALL major card companies because I had never had credit - they had no idea who I was. Our local bank, who had I dealt with for years, told me it would take years of borrowing and paying back to get established because (their words) "never having had credit is far far worse than having even severly bad credit".. I told them I felt like I was being punished for having learned and lived the philosophy of = if I could not afford it I didnt need it and that I was pretty sure I didnt need to be part of the debt world, walked out and never looked back. Still have never had a credit card and never been in debt.. Have we gone without some stuff,, heck ya .. Has having done so hurt us as a family,, I really dont think so BUT, we have been stuck having to ride beat up ol Yamaha Ventures for our cross country touring needs for many years.. Thankfully those Yamaha's have proven to be very reliable. Because of that, I havent had to try using my debit card again for a car rental - pretty sure if we did those same companies that said NO to my Debit Card years ago would still say NO today and laugh as Tip and I began a cross country walk toward home,,, and it is a mighy longgggg walk from places like Stewarts Point California to Muskegon Michigan

BEEEAAAUUUUTTIFUL RAGGY!!!! I was gonna pick on about that group of turkeys you were trying to raggle into the fry pan in that other pic but this took the wind right out of my sails!!! THAT IS GORGEOUS!! Keep em comin buddy - you are taking to a whole new level!!

Couple things here, if your front end is bottoming there is a chance that the springs are actually sacked out. The springs being sacked will also push oil past the seals. If these are new progressive springs - did you remember to add the spacer on the top when installing them? I personnally run 3/4 inch spacers in Tweeks (my scoot) because I do a fair amount of off roading with her BUT - I would say 1/2 inch of spacer is normally adequate. Also, if you have good progressive's you really should never need air in the forks - IMHO. ANother issue, you mention this "dent" in the tube.. Look at it closely and see if the dent resembles a small "crease".. A crease could indicate that the tube is actually bent. I have seen many tubes thru the years that have been involved in bike crashes that, to the untrained eye appear to be just fine but to the trained eye who knows what to look for (not saying I am one of those "trained" types - lots of folks around here that know wayyyyyy more than I about this stuff - hope they chime in) the tube may actually be bent and need replacing.. Many times finding that is as simple as finding the crease you may or may not be referring to.. Another issue you may be dealing with is fork fluid quantity/height in the tubes. Although sacked springs raises the fluid height and puts pressure on the seals - improper quantity and balance of that quantity can/will result in fluid past the seals. I like to use a fork oil guage (its a syringe with a long metal tube that you preset the height of the oil in the tube with) as well as a measuring cup for getting the new oil close.. Hope this all makes sense and helps in some small way.. Puc

Well, was never much of a boat guy - never ever did get to ride one of those jet skis before Don BUT - I can say this, after spending many many years chasing around the Michigan forests during the winter time on 3 cylinder water cooled 1000cc Thundercat Snowmobiles - just seeing the pic of that motor you had to almost pull to fix the seal made my eyes tear up :dancefool::178::178: Stick with it my friend (and I KNOW you will) and it wont be long before you and Eileen will be rippingggg across the water!!:thumbsup:

Old post or new brother,, its a good one!! With ya TOTALLY on the Mom and Pops of America my friend!! Only problem about Tweeks pulling a trailer is that her 300k miles have consisted of a fair amount of snake trails, sandy two tracks, gravel roads and picking her way thru the bush to get to the back door of those Mom and Pops - not necessarily motorcycle/big rig type of stuff . Maybe after she decides to retire and some new fang dangled ride with no stickers finds its way onto her hitching pole there will be a trailer attached to it.. On the same token though, that new ride may end up with "JEEP" written across its fairing and have full capabilities of going down all those hidden two tracks in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming all while pulling a motorcycle trailer so it dont have to carry a tent and sleeping bags on its back:big-grin-emoticon:

Yep, no doubt about it @Flyinfool,, pie has a way of turning even the grayest of days into pure sunshine!! Sorry for hijacking your thread @Chaharly, still wanting to hear more about your 756 mile ride brother..

This is a confirmed chiming in @VentureFar!! Puc and Tippy soon to be official Pie Butt 26.2 riders!!

StanG And thanks for the well wishing brother!!

Heyyyyyyyyy,, that maniac man-i-kin sitting on the Indian in the first pic is wearing out my bike!!!!!!! AWESOME SKIDDER!!!:clap2::dancefool: Best of the best to the new dealership!!

Now we're cookin bent chicken lips in hot axle grease!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AWESOME PIC RAGGY!!!:clap2::clap2::clap2::dancefool::dancefool::dancefool:

Hey Brum, I am a good ways from you so probably not able to be much help with your first Sync.. I will say this though, our Michigan mice LOVE to chew on air breather material, cant imagine your Texas mice would be to much different. Might not be a bad idea to check and see if the element in your air cleaner (s) (dont know if you have one of two - never worked on an RS before) is complete with no major holes in it.. Place to start anyway.. May also try a tank or two of Seafoam additive and then change your plugs.. Best wishes finding someone to assist in your first carb sync too!! Puc

Now I wonder if the relay bypass may have failed,, far better it than a key switch if it did..... Be interesting what the shop finds MiRider..

Now dont that just sound absolutely fantaboliscally scrumshaliosis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got cha Fool!! Thanks for heading that off my friend!!! Sounds like a REALLY REALLY GREAT IDEA!!! Guy could probably use a relay from an Autoparts store?? Or would one have to chase down something special? Wonder if one of our member vendors sells a plug and play kit for accomplishing the task (knowing you, ya probably got one in your pocket )

Tell ya one thing for sure,, THAT is a very good suggestion considering the fact that when things happen they always seem to happen at the most inappropriate time. I had the same thing happening years ago with our 79 Chevy Starcraft Conversion van and, after happening twice while traveling long distance in it, wife and little kids headed west, I took the second switch apart and found it DEFINITLY unworthy of the amp draw it was expected to take.. I did as I think Eck is suggesting and put a bypass on the switch with a "hidden" button and switch under the dash.. Wasnt long and Tip had learned to used that bypass fluently!! Another thought concerning the matter, I wonder how many folks who have had ignition switch problems on their 2nd Gens carry a lot of extra stuff on their key chains - not good - extra weight/movement on that switch may be inviting trouble. Just a thought.. Hey MiRider, along with the switch and the fuse thoughts,,, could also be one of the terminals wasnt "snapped" shut or pressed on all the way and it just wiggled loose.. Maybe pinched wires (hope not). Please let us know what they find my friend!!! Puc