cowpuc

Glad they are both ok Huggy and it wasnt worse!!

We are not to far from Fargo,,, matter of fact,, I think we are right on your way thru VentureFar.. Got LOTS of left over Thanksgiving smoked Turkey, Chicken and I think even some pie... Just a minute,,,, nope no pie,,, Tippy said she would make one up real quick if ur coming this way (she wont be making another for me for a while - I am all fattened up).. Enjoy your trip and hope ya get to say howdy to someone up there brother!!!

And than out to sea - right? Or,,, send it down to EasyRider and Condor,,, now THAT would be interesting... Just in time for Christmas!!

:Laugh:

HE KEEPS BRAGGING ABOUT HOW FAST THOSE 1ST GENS ARE,, MAYBE BEING ON CRUTCHES WILL SLOW EM DOWN A LITTLE ON HIS ADDICTION....http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/venturerider/17552d59.jpg HMMMM,, DONT LOOK AT IT CAUSE SOMEONE MIGHT KNOW WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT BUT,, MY GOODNESS THAT IS A PRETTY LITTLE BLONDE,, MAYBE WHEN MY LEG GETS BETTER AND I CAN WALK AGAIN I CAN TALK THE WARDEN INTO LETTING ME FILL THAT LAST LITTLE PARKING PLACE WITH ONE JUST LIKE IT!! http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/venturerider/PA210002.jpg Lots of ammo,,,,,,,,,

Yea,,, when it comes to biking,,, the ride of the Century starts out east at PBJ's, swings under the Big Mack and continues out west and ends right in Puc's backyard!!!! Unless of course,, ya wanna catch the car ferry across the pond,,, in that case - skys the limit!! They do however charge tolls and fees for that though.... Indeed Mike,,, hmmmmmm,,, come to think of it,,,, after all that grub I ate over Thanksgiving,,, I feel like I could surround the world alone right now,,,,,, I could put the camera on auto click - set it down and take a group picture of myself... What da heck,,,, must be up north playing on your snowmobile there Raggy!!

Indeed,, just plain NUTS!!

Man I miss AZ!! Gotta say David,, that sure is different than the 89a that I know coming out of Flag,, you passed lots of nice little camping spots though - gonna have to check that route out one of these days!!!! THANK YOU FOR THE VID Mr. Video!!

Hmmmmmmmm,,, a whole new supply of ammo!!! THANKS BOSS - YOU DA MAN!!

Why,, does anyone REALLY know why?http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/venturerider/IMG_6290.jpg

Awe ,, thanks BT,, I really really needed that!! Sure sounded that way to me Yammer,, just gotta figure out how to pick the lock on Don's freezer.. Hey,,,,, you or Skid have any dealing with handling lock pickers in your colorful backgrounds of dealing with crooks?

Here is another little tid bit of info that I picked up from George S. (if memory serves me correctly),,, at least some of our bikes - not sure if it pertains to all of them - came out of production with to much metal being taken off between the rear gear and the drive shaft housing.. It seems like he mentioned that one of the symptons of this malady was a sticky rear brake (it torques the rear wheel assembly just enough to off set the rear caliper).. I have never followed the path of checking this out,, might be something to PM George (hopefully it was him who was mentioning it - if not he will probably think I am crazy or something) about and pick his brain a little... It sounded like a pretty simple check, put it together, loosen the 4 bolts on the rear end at the swing arm/shaft housing and seeing if it separates 10 or 20 thou.. If it does,, it seems like a small shim placed in that gap was all it took to straighten it out... Hope this helps Sarge!!

Holy burned up rear brake piston there Batman!! Personally, because I know how hard you ride Coff,, I am really not surprised at how quickly you lost those pads.. I am an avid front brake punisher, very seldom even take my foot down to touch the rear brake BUT,, depending on the conditions - mountain/back road riding still can go thru a set on one quick trip out west,, or down south to places like the Dragon... Another thing I know from experience,, at least on my 1st Gens,, ya really gotta keep track of the calipers as they do tend to get sticky.. Without fail,, I usually end up cleaning the pistons on mine at least once a year.. Not always enough to even notice that they are sticking,, sometimes its just enough to make em drag a little... Any chance the rear calipers on Genesis and Exodus are interchangeable?? I may very well be able to come up with a caliper for you if so!!

Indeed,, THAT is a lot of bikes!! And it is AMAZING how that number has in some way affected most of our lives! Back in 72 I was working for a local Honda dealership spinning wrenches... I was heavy into racing at the time, MXing and Harescrambling.. Had a tricked out Yam 250 that I had been racing for 3 years... Ordered a brand new 1973 CR250M Elsinore thru the dealership I worked for (GREAT PEOPLE),, ended up with the 1st Elsie in West Michigan.. Flat out AMAZING bike!! 5 gear wheelies at the twist of the grip,, just a sweetheart!! A real piece of art work and definitely a winner!! Honda has always had a way of producing winners after winners,, from that Honda Cub,, CL77, MiniTrail, SOHC 750, The Wing (early models were nothing compared to the Venture), Crotch Rockets and that aint even touching the 4x4 quads or two fiddy R 3 and 4 wheelers... AMAZING COMPANY THATS FOR SURE!!

Why is it that everytime Big Tom and Bongo get together the water in the Watering Hole gets all murky (almost typed "things go south" but last time someone wrote that about 3 thousand suthna's instantly replied with heyyyyyyyy,, why ya draggin us into this)?? Glad you and Taters are OK out there Tom!! Hopefully FlyinFool got a Deer while he was gone so he is in a good mood when he gets home and he spends the rest of the winter processing his deer instead of harrassing us with more White Wash!!!

Thanks Don,, one of these days when you least expect it,, you will be awakened by what will sound like your trash can rattling,,, you will wakin your wife and say "dad blame coons are in the garbage again"! You will probably slip on that ol pair of Harley boots you use for slippers - grab the flashlight and head for the garbage can out by the garage.. As you peek around the corner of your garage and focus the beam on your flash light you will find that the rattling you heard was actually the stalling sounds of a sticker covered beat up ol 83 Yamaha Venture that had just deposited a couple of homeless looking ragga muffins onto your freshly cut lawn... Please remember you invited these troublemakers as they smile and proudly announce "We're Here"... Thanks for the compliment and for the offer Don,, Tip and I are also looking forward to getting to shake your hand some day!! HOPEFULLY WE AT LEAST GET TO MEET UP AT A VR GATHERING THIS YEAR!!!! For fear of and causing hard feelings,, Lord knows I dont usually interrupt conversations between good buddies,,,,,,,, I just cant refrain in this case.. Dont know if this has any implications here Big Tom but I received an email from Don that said,,, well,, let me just copy/paste it so as not to mislead anyone... "Puc - Just so you know, I was serious about having you stay in our Guest House... The keys are located on top of the right front tire of my garden tractor out back, feel free to use them if we are not home when you arrive.. The fridge is normally stocked with Coke and sandwiches, help yourself.. Unfortunately, we have to keep the freezer section of the fridge locked at all times as there have been occasions that we have come home and found all of our ice cream eaten... There was also an occasion where I had 8 packages of Klondike Bars stored out there, the bars were gone and there were wrappers blowing all over the yard... This was shortly after I had heard rumors that a group of riders out of New York may be passing thru our area.. While never proven that the incident involved them,, I highly suspect a certain individual who is known for his inability to resist the calling of ice cream.. Because no one has accepted responsibility for this action and the guilty party has never been proven (pretty hard to prove anything when the evidence has been eaten) I now carry the key to the freezer on my person at all times..":detective:

Prayers Up - Blessings Down,, been a great day for it!!

Prayers Up - Blessings Down on this person in need!!

BEAUTIFUL BUCK THERE BEEMER!! Yip,,, that boy of yurn is a hunter!! Tell em ol Puc said congrats!! GORGEOUS EAGLEEYE!! CONGRATS!!

You hit that nail right on the head Neill!! THANK YOU my friend for the thoughts, prayers and the thoughtfulness in making this wristband!! Those thoughts/prayers and this gentle reminder of my Dad now hanging on my wrist are working wonders!!

Sure can!!

Not long ago I got an email from one of my brothers and dear friends here on VR.. Venturefar had contacted me to let me know that he and his lovely wife were out of town on their wedding anniversary but were thinking/praying for Tip and I at the loss of my Dad.. Included in his mail was a picture of him, with a wristband that he had made for me while visiting the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican!! Venturefar is a VERY talented rope manipulator (twists, weaves and forms ropes into some really cool stuff - there is a name for this art form - cant remember what you called it Neil).. Later, I received this little green, hand woven wristband in the mail with a special note from Neil sharing his condolences and best wishes.. It is people like Neil and the many many others who shared thoughts, feelings, prayers, stories of their own losses, heart felt condolences at a time like we just went through, who make Thanksgiving Day truly special!! I also KNOW and can FEEL many many others out there in cyber land who read our shared writings and,, for one reason or another,, dont put their thoughts on display - I AM THANKFUL FOR THEM TOO!! What a great summer 2014 was,, getting rescued down in Texas by BikerJohn, his wife/kids and than getting to meet up with and be taken care of by Squid and SweetNothing (still dont get that name Lonna? - should be "NothingButSweet").. Meetin ALL those new friends at VentureWest, getting invited to stay onsite by CMCoffey and BikerJohn, sharing space with them and the Shuttlebugs - what an honor.. Meeting such cool people from out west and Canada!! Flinging ice cream with EasyRider and his family and having Condor there to help me hold my own... All those thousands of miles with NO rain - talk about being blessed!! Being welcomed by Raggie (RagTop69) and his wife Jeannie at their Meet n Greet was a whole new thrill and blessing and VERY THANK WORTHY!! Meeting more great friends from our site, getting to advance my supervisory skills by rubbing shoulders with the group there as we supervised the highly talented mechanic - Carbon One and having Raggie adorn Tweeks with a new flag all help in creating reasons to be thankful today! Come home to find a little package from Kickshot with a patch from Bonneville that we looked all over for and couldnt find!! Surviving an overhead tornado in Indiana,, a safe trip down to Alabama for a short stay at the International,, getting rescued down yonder by our dear friend ETCSWJOE, having him lead us to the Hosting Yam shop where Tippy won the drawing and made Barrycuda jealous cause he waited all day for it,,, getting to meet allll kinds of new friends down yonder, camped with some GREAT southern folks and met a few more great Canadians too!! While I believe in living life cause this really is NOT a rehearsal,, I am also thankful so many of you understand that belief and like mindedly share in it too!! It is sooo much more fun and life is so much more fulfilling when we are surrounded by those who understand, care and share in a VR family kind of love!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! Puc

Why am I stuffed and why did I eat all that stuff BEFORE it was time for Thanksgiving Dinner!!

Don First of all, I too want to thank you and Eileen for your dedication and hard work in providing this SAFE, secure and family oriented cyber platform that so many people from all walks of life interact on.. It is a rich blessing for Tip and I to be able to share as part of the family here.. Your transparency, openness and timing of the letter you wrote is amazing! We truly are a blessed group here to have you at the helm my friend and what a great time of the year to be able to share that truth!! I too have been in small business for many years and watched my bike shop go from a "hobby" as I was also working in Manufacturing Management full time, into a full blown shop - full time operation.. Than watched as life changed, sold the business and went back to the fun of hobby building bikes... I am all to familiar with the difficulties in making decisions like you shared.. THOSE are some of the hardest decisions a man and his wife have to make in life with the reason for that difficulty being because you care!! It is that caring spirit that you possess and apply to managing VR that helps make our site what it is today! I have personally not had the pleasure of meeting you but I have had the honor and pleasure of walking beside you as a friend here in cyber space.. I have had the opportunity to meet many people on here who know you personally and, without fail,, all of them have shared in my take of you as one amazing person and Tip/I KNOW from being married and operating a small business (24/7) that your wife is just as amazing!!! I want you to know that as life goes on and things change like they always do,, whether or not you sell the site, come to your senses in your choice of motorcycle ownership or pack up and move to warmer climates,,,,,, come what may,, you got a family out here who loves ya and is PROUD of you and your accomplishments!! And, good or bad,, you got a friend in ol Puc:big-grin-emoticon:!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

WOW!! That sounds VERY familiar Joe!! I must be a little low on the self sealing component cause mine has had a problem sealing for a good while now... Funny how a runny nose can mean a lot of different things! Glad yours sealed up,, wont be long and mine will be too and away we shall ride come riding season of 2015!!! Thanks for the encouragement BEAUTIFUL PIC TOOCH!! Thank you!! I looked all thru Olivia's Maintenance Manual and parts book and could find nothing that cutter,, I kinda figured what you found was probably the case.. I bet if the truth was known there were allllll kinds of stuff that those GI's did to these bikes during those horrible times that have long since been forgotten.. If it werent for the few remaining old hero soldiers who remember those days it would be lost forever... CHEERS to those Allied Soldiers!! KEEP IT UP PB!! YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT OL PUC NEEDS MOST,, LITTLE RIBBIN,, LITTLE GOES A LONG LONG WAY BRO!! Truth is though,,, Tweeks has known nothing other than the Antique plates and registration that has adorned her for good while now,,, she is PROUD to be a wore out ol scoot,, especially when she goes flying by all this new fangdangled stuff,, tent flappin in da breeze,, Tip and I lapping up the wind as that new American flag that Raggie stuck her waves a gentle greeting to all those dotted lines disappearing behind her... Squids stator keeping her lights shining brite,, all those stickers and patches bearing the names of folks who are also there in spirit,,, some of who are antiques just like me and Tweeks... HOWS THAT FOR A LOVEABLE RESPONSE?? THANKS DAN!! I always KNOW I can depend on ya bro,,, after all,, you and I - we KNOW all to well where the REAL Yamaha Venture heart resides :dancefool::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot: Got that right Bongo,,, but cha gotta admit,, those great big gorgeous Harleys are sooooooo much fun to play with while out riding a Yam.. Stick with me Bob and maybe you can pick up on something that will fix ya up without having to go thru all these crazy tests,,, and needle poking,,, I feel like a pin cushion,, now I am leaking everywhere!! If they come up with some special epoxy or something I will definitely save ya some!!