cowpuc

Not much progress, waitng in line now to see a cardiologist. Can sure tell the medical field aint built around 1st gen phylosophy of moving fast! More inf o soon as i get back to my laptop. Thanyou to all for thouhts n prayers. Stay warm! Puc

Tip and I are walking out the front door, headed to a 9 AM pow wow with an "Otolaryngology"(s) - (SPELL IT? I CANT EVEN PRONOUNCE IT!!!).. OPEN THE GATE N GET OUT DA WAY, ITS MONDAY AND ITS THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN vrs PUC'S LEAKY BRAIN!!! We would really appreciate any thoughts and prayers ya'll can muster as we continue CTFWing in the search for answers!! Thanks gang Puc ps,,, thanks Fool for shutting off the machine so we could make this appointment - I owe ya one bro!!

Troublemaker as in, Raggy is a

I dont know bro,, calling someone a Ding Dong in the middle of the night might not be in your best interest... I think the answer to your question is best handled with Private Messaging.. When you send a PM, it goes to the persons e-mail as well as thier inbox here..

If there were a way,, if there were ONLY a way to KNOW that gas was gonna stay half the price of diesel, I would strongly suggest looking at gas powered.. I rented a V-10 Ford U Haul van - U Hauls biggest - one time, hooked a car hauler trailer on it, filled the rig with complete furnishings for a buddies house, tossed a 4x4 on the trailer, grabbed my son and we headed for Kent Washington.. That sucker pulled like a freight train, thru mountains, across some very hot desert region.. Did good on fuel too - like 5 mpg if I recall.. Raggy,, Tip and I have talked a lot about doing what your talking about.. I have a couple good friends that own and operate their own Semis that have been schooling me about things to watch out for in dealing with Diesel powered Motorhomes.. I know from yakking with them that certain tranny/engine combo's are the ticket.. I also know that maintenance on the diesel stuff seems to be more intense... Might wanna hang out in some Motorhome forums a little before ya bite into it..

Me n Tip,, we got wings:337:

Sales

I can still recall the last words spoken by a friend of mine as Tip and I pulled out of his driveway to begin this journey.. He looked at us, looked at Tweeks and than inquired - "So, where you two loafers headed".. When I told him we were going out west after a quick trip down to the Alamo and Big Bend he shook his head. This person is truck driver that goes down into Texas on a regular basis so I wasnt really surprised to here him say "you aint gonna like it down there. The Alamo aint nuthn but a bunch of ol buildings in the city", to which I replied, "We are going in search of a FEELING more than to see something - I wanna feel the patriotic soul of Crockett and Bowie".. As we left Dennison I set my internal CTFW compass in a south by southwest direction with the hopes of skirting around a place I had heard about called Dallas.. I knew that San Antonio was south of there so I figured we could take advantage of the gorgeous Texas back country in the out lying areas and do like Santa Anna did and sneak up on the Alamo.. It wasnt long before I discovered that the name "Dallas" actually means "INESCAPABLE CITY"! As we picked our way thru acres of concrete slabs and big Texas buildings I thought to myself,, "it seems like sooner or later the need for more of these huge buildings would run out" - obviously that was going to come much later cause the building construction activity down there was UNBELIEVABLE!! As we pulled into a suburb of Dallas called Waco (no offence to my Texas friends but it sure seemed like thats the way it was - all one big city) to get gas, Tip was asking me if I still intended to stop and say hi to BikerJohn.. I stood there putting gas into Tweeks, telling her that BikerJohn said he didnt get out of work till 5ish and we were gonna be a little early,, maybe we could stop at the exit John told us to pull off at and give him a quick jingle regardless... "BikerJohn" is not Johns real name, John is John's real name but I only knew John by "BikerJohn" because that was the screen name that appeared in the Private Message I had gotten from him before we left to go CTFWing. I had never actually met, or spoken to, BikerJohn before this time period so I only knew him as "BikerJohn" .. He and I belong to this internet gathering composed of the biggest bunch of lop eared varmints on the web.. A smathering of misfits, scallywags, troublemakers and ice cream devouring bike fanatics who, one by one - at one time or another, happened to visit a wonderful website called "VentureRider.org" or VR for short, found a sense of belonging, a familyness, and never left.. I had posted something on VR about Tip, Tweeks and I intending to meet up with a bunch of these misfits at a 2014 Rally in a placed called "The Dalles" which was kinda our way home from the Alamo.. BikerJohn and another VR varmint known as "CMCoffey" were also CTFWing in the direction of this particular gathering and they invited Tip and I to stay on a campsite with em if we all made it out there.. The message in the PM that BikerJohn had sent me said something about "it would be nice to meet you folks before we camp together" - which I took as "I wanna know what I am getting myself into so I can change my plans if I need to" (that BikerJohn - he is one smart cookie).. I turned Tweeks right blinker on as we came to the exit ramp leading into Round Rock Texas, where BikerJohn told me to stop.. I noticed right away that the idiot light (thats kind of an insulting thing to call a neat little light) on the dash didn't flash at its usual speed,, not that I go around timing little flasher lights on dashboards but,, I really did remember that particular one blinking faster.. I leaned back and let Tip know that Tweeks was not feeling good and that we may have a major issue happening.. As I slowed down, I could feel Tweeks engine rhythm go into a spasm in lower rpms, I told Tippy that I thought we may have a stator gone.. I am no mechanical genius but I have been down the road of Stator failure before, a couple of times on these old Yams and a number of times on other bikes.. What happens is the stator, whose job it is to induce an electrical current that, among other things, supplies juice for recharging a battery, decides to go on vacation.. Usually, not always, but usually, when a Stator goes on vacation they like where ever it is that Stators take their vacations and they never return to their jobs.. We coasted into a Burger King that just happened to be right off the exit, Tweels stalled and a push of the started button revealed that, sure enough, her battery was dead.. Tip went inside the BK to get something for us to drink as I pushed Tweeks into the nearest shade (thankfully they had some - it was perfect weather for riding but a little warm for rebuilding a bike in a BK parking lot). I was digging into Tweeks maintenance department (right saddlebag) to get my handy dandy little Harbor Freight Ohm Meter when Tip returned with the Ice Tea.. She walked up and asked why I was staring at all those parts and tools that I had spread out over the parking area next to Tweeks.. I told her that a gremlin had stolen my ohm meter.. She smiled as I selfishly gulped down the last drink of tea and bit into an ice cube.. I handed her my wallet and told her to just by a cheapy meter if she could find one as she headed off (there was a mall not far away).. I removed panels and pieces, checked the Stator terminal I had replaced not long ago, checked battery connections and fuses.. Tip made it back with a meter just as the clock said it was time to call BikerJohn.. I called John and told him we were in the area but were kind of in a pickle as far as meeting up with him.. He asked where we were, I told him and he said - stay there - I am two minutes from you!! A truck pulled up beside us that had Texas plates on it, the driver was a friendly looking character with the biggest Texas smile you ever did see.. BikerJohn shook my greasy hand without giving much thought to the grease (we gear heads are like that), introduced himself, said hi to Tippy and than asked what was happening.. I told him I had just checked the Stator with the ohm meter and the Stator was indeed,, gone on vacation.. John (now I can call him John cause we were now official brothers) asked if there was anything he could do.. I said,, well,, point me in the direction of someplace to buy a battery charger and a car battery. I would then wire Tweeks up, skip the Alamo and we would head to my Son-In-Law's in California and fix Tweeks there.. John got a funny look on his face, as if he had just picked up a little of the voltage Tweeks stator had left behind on its way out the door to vacation land.. He said "hold on a minute here, I know someone who may be able to help".. He jumped on his phone and called this guy named "Squidley".. I recognized the name "Squidley" from the website, VentureRider.org, that I had mentioned earlier.. John smiled and handed me the phone and said "Squid wants to talk to Puc (thats me)".. A cheerful voice in the phone said "hey,, Cowpuc, how are you,, whats going on?".. I told Squid about Tweeks symptoms and that I had ohm'd her stator out and it didnt look good.. I also told him about my immediate plan of running her off a battery to California and fixing her there.. Squidley said,, you can do that but - I have another idea,, I have a spare 1st Gen setting here that I am sure has a good stator that I would be happy to remove and then help you fix Tweeks - I about hit the concrete!! Squidley continued with his offer,, he said,, I could tear this one down tonight, have the parts/tools and garage space ready for you to pull in and work on Tweeks tomorrow.. You could spend the night there in Round Rock, get a battery charger and charge your way over here, fix your bike and say hi - we would be GLAD to have you!! I could tell by Squidley's voice that he was sincere in his offer and that he almost seemed like he was hoping we would accept it. GREAT people this VentureRider.org group is, with BikerJohn and Squidley being perfect examples of why I can say that. We charged Tweeks battery off Johns truck, Tippy climbed in the cab with John and I packed some of our belongings around her feet.. I could feel Tweeks giggling as we followed them into the direction of Johns home where his wife and children would be subject to visiting with a couple of tired CTFWing bikers from Michigan.. That Tweekers gets us into so much adventure!!! REGRETFULLY,, IN THE MIDST OF ALL THE CHAOS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS BREAKDOWN - I ONLY TOOK A COUPLE PICS TO SHARE ABOUT THE TIME I SPENT WITH JOHN AND HIS LOVELY WIFE FOR WHICH I APOLOGIZE! I DO HAVE VIDEO AND PICS OF JOHN AND I IN OREGON, SAMPLES BELOW, THAT I WILL BE POSTING!! THE TIME WE SPENT WITH THEM WAS PRICELESS, IT JUST ALL HAPPENED WAY TO FAST FOR PICTURES I GUESS.. After introducing Tip and I to his family, Tip stayed and vistited with John's wife - Maurey, while John and I headed into town to find a Battery Charger.. Squidleys house was about 3 hours away and we needed something that would keep Tweeks battery up enough to fire the ignition off the charged battery.. After locating such a critter, we headed back to Johns where we wired Tweeks up with an exterior wire connected to the positive post on her battery.. As we stood on the slab out front of Johns house working on Tweeks, John hauling tools and electrical supplies out, me pulling fuses to things I wouldnt need for the trip,, I apologized for Tweeks breaking down and causing such a mess.. John actually laughed and said,,, "I AM GLAD YOU BROKE DOWN HERE - I HAVE HAD MY NAME ON THE "I CAN HELP" LIST AT VR FOR EVER AND I NEVER GET TO HELP ANYONE - THANK YOU FOR BREAKING DOWN HERE!! We laughed together like a couple brothers just having fun as I ran the wire through a vent in the front of Tweeks fairing and wrapped it around the vent. As a momento of that occasion that wire is still hanging there to this very day - LIFE IS GOOD!! John loaned me an extention cord for the trip, one that he had gotten from his father.. He tried to convince me to just keep it but I told him I would return it at the rally at The Dalles Oregon that we were all suppose to be meeting up at,, kind of an insurance program on my part that he would still speak to me there (glad I did this - I had fun playing with that cord during our travels - you will see some pics of it later in the story).. After finishing Tweeks prep for the trip to Squids on the next day, we cleaned up and took the ladies out on the town for dinner.. John and Maurey had a pretty good handle on where to eat in Round Rock Texas, it was late but we all had a good dinner.. Instead of tossing the tent up, John insisted we sleep in their air conditioned home. After visiting with Maurey's mom and the teenage boys that make up the parenting part of John and Maury's life, we hit the hay. Tweeks slept under her cover outside, Tip on the couch and me on an air mattress on the floor at the home of our Texas Hero - BIKERJOHN.. The next morning, we hugged them all as they prepared for the business end of raising a family in Round Rock Texas.. We thanked all of them for their hospitality and headed for another adventure that awaited us 3 hours away.. It always seems like the discovery of some of the most gorgeous country comes about by getting lost,, or,, in this case, by having a breakdown.. As we followed the directions to Squidleys house that John had provided for us, I couldn't help but notice the beauty of this part of Texas.. Regardless of the fact that we were riding into a potential problem (running out of battery out in the middle of Texas where they probably dont have 110 volt outlets mounted along the road), we chose to relax and enjoy the beauty of the day.. We stopped along the trail, recharged Tweeks battery, visited with folks who asked if we were ok and enjoyed each others company like it was just all part of CTFWing.. Squidley had warned me that his driveway was kind of a motocross track - sounded like my kind of back country riding!! We stopped near his home for a final recharge just in case Tweeks had one of her "I feel like stalling in the middle of this driveway so you have to run a cord all the way out to me cause you cant push me" attacks.. I got to what appeared to be Squids driveway, and found it to be perfect for motorcycling.. Ok,, a little tricky but nothing that was uninviting!! We motocrossed our way up to Squids garage.. Found the keys in exactly the spot he said they would be.. Unlocked the door on his garage, and SURE ENOUGH - PARTS - TOOLS and a perfect place to fix a bike.... I commenced to repairing my motorcycle, in a garage owned by someone I had never met, after he had left the keys to his house - garage and vehicle hidden in a place that only he and I knew of... Adventure at its finest...

lnclusive

wheel

Has Diesel stayed high everywhere else too?? Sure looks strange on the signs around here, gas is 2 bucks, diesels 3.75... Maybe cause of heating season,,, or semi usage.. Sure looks weird though..

easy

red

pan

Yea,, that is kinda tricky aint it.... Kinda makes ya wonder if that list of info is just saying that with a bike license an out of state licensed Slingshot can travel in Texas...

Fool's

freakin snow sorry,,, less snow

Harley's

State: Texas Operator license required All you need is a Motorcycle License to ride a Polaris Slingshot or a 3-wheel motorcycle license (M3). Can I use the Polaris Slingshot to pass the skills test? Yes, if you do not have a Motorcycle License, you can use the Polaris Slingshot to pass the skills test and get your operator license. Can the skills test be waived? Yes, the skills test can be waived if you have successfully completed a rider training course approved by your local authority. Can I obtain a motorcycle learner's permit? Yes. Pass a Knowledge test at your closest DPS / Driver's License Div. office and be riding the same day. DMV Info: DPS Website

Hmmm,,, I thought Texas's info thingy was filled in and they accepted it as a bike.... Maybe I misread it...

Oh come on you guys,, I waited long enough,, TOP

over the

It almost does look like North Carolina doesnt allow them cause their thing is blank.... You wouldnt think they could do that,, if the Federal Government has approved the Slingshot it seems like the States would have to produce laws to allow it - the Feds pay for the roads we drive on dont they?? Folks at Polaris have gotta be ,, especially if they had people in North Carolina who put money down like Larry did:confused24: