cowpuc

WOW, what wonderful way to fulfill that assignment Taylor, very very well done young lady!! I know your Grandma has already spoken to your heart to say this but I will say it anyway, indeed, the "play" is farrrr from over - the Eulogy that her Grand Daughter wrote proves that!! Your message speaks volumes of what type of person your Grandmother was and how she is loved and missed by so many!! In her honor, here is that much deserved standing ovation for her as she takes that bow of which you speak!! :clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2: Darrin, Lori, Taylor and family: Condolences at the separation from Lori's Mom that you folks have suffered.. Hopefully the fabulous memories (some of which were mentioned in that fantastic Eulogy) of "Grandma" will sustain each of you until the day when you are all together again in the presence of God! Puc

Now here is something very very interesting.. About the forth paragraph down in my post here http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=87387&highlight=movie my young daughter describes her love for riding in almost those exact words!!! VERY WELL PUT PETE!! I loved her description wayyyy back then and I love your description now!! DITTO!!!!!!!!!! I am all over that Drone - sounds like I am a Drone clone!! Actually,, here in Michigan the "Antique" status is more lenient,,, been running Historic Plates for a long time and love it!!

Sooo,, getting back to the Polaris Indian thoughts.. While goofing around trying to figure out where the heck the Salmon are,, Tip and I got distracted and stopped at our local Victory shop (looking at bikes is more fun anyway).. I asked if they (the Victory shop) was going to eventually handle the new Indians.. The owner of the shop explained that Polaris is being extremely cautious with the Indian Franchises.. While he handles Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and Victory,,, all mingled in together,, Polaris will not allow the new Indian to share floor space.. He said that they inquired (and wanted em) about the Indian line but were told that in order to fulfill the requirements, they would have to alter their current building with a separated show room, the Indian showroom requiring a minimum of square footage and (not uncommon) an entrance door of its own.. He also said that Michigan was slated for a max of 4 dealerships. That last comment kinda caught me off guard,, I asked if being a Polaris Victory dealership afforded them access to Indian parts or tech support if his dealership happen to have a customer in a crunch.. He said no,, they literally cant touch em and can not purchase or sell parts for them,, they are relegated SOLEY to an authorized Indian Dealership.. He also said that violating that agreement with Polaris could cost them their Vic franchise.. IMHO, while a little disconcerting,, this is an interesting marketing strategy to say the least.. Harleys move to put a dealership in every town to support their products has certainly worked well and they have succeeded in selling a LOT of bikes.. I can see Polaris's perspective of wanting to keep the Indian marquee something "special" (it is special) and wanting to give the buying public the "feeling" that if you ride an Indian - you are wayyy above run of the mill joe bike rider.. I can also see them wanting to protect and glorify their creation - IT IS BEAUTIFUL!! On the other hand, being a cross country touring person with a few miles under my belt has taught me some things.. First and foremost,, I dont care whether its a Harley, Honda, BMW, Yamaha, Kaw, Suzuki or Indian,,,, if its a motorcycle and its headed to parts unknown - sooner or later its gonna break AND they always break at the most inopportune times... That being said, IMHO,, I am not sure that the marketing strategy of planned extreme minimal dealership opportunitys is conducive to the motorcycle touring industry.... If it were as simple as a growth curve - needing time to establish dealerships - that would be different... But,,, it appears that is not the case...

ME WANTUM VOLCANO DOG TOO,, XTRA PINEAPPLE ON MINE PLEASE!!! HOPE YOU TWO ARE HAVING A BLAST!! :cool10::cool10::cool10::cool10:

Caught what ever it is that is keeping Dan awake,, Sandman should retire!! PRAYERS UP - BLESSINGS DOWN!!

:bawling:I WANT TO SEE RAT RODS AND HANG OUT WITH ERIK BUELL!!! WOW V n D,, THAT looks like quite a show!! :bawling:I really want to meet Erik Buell,,, THAT IS SOOOOOOOOOO COOL!!! Guess we are square now on me costing to you that 18 bucks earlier,,,,, paid with my misery:stickinouttounge: About the pics,, go back to your original post here, click edit, click "advanced" under the copy (going from memory here), click on "manage attachments", click first box on "browse", find the pic you want from your pics library, click on it and you will automatically go back to the "browse" box selection, click on next "browse" box for next pic.. when you have all the pics listed in the browse boxes, click on "upload".. As the pics finish uploading you will notice the pics names appear below the browse boxes in blue color text.. Now look at the top right corner of the box where the browse buttons are - click on (close window).. You will now be back at the edit of your post and the blue text names of the pics should appear.. click "save" found under the text pic names... You could also just start a new post (like I am doing right now), scroll down just under the smiley icons, click on the "manage attachments" icon, then do the browse clicking as mentioned earlier.. All the problems I have EVER had with posting pics here have been due to trying to upload to big of pics.. Size to 480x640 (think thats right) and they work great!! For vids,, I post em on Youtube then copy/paste from the URL of the working vid on youtube into this area that I am writing in right now.. Fairly easy to do... Does that make sense? Hope this helps cause I am DIEING to see some pics and vids:fingers-crossed-emo

CONGRATS PHONEMAN!! :clap2::clap2: SNIPS AND SNAILS AND PUPPY DOG TAILS!!! :cool10:

OH MAN SARGE,, now THAT is heavy,,, hmmmmm,,, any domestics fly into Nellis? That would be soooooooooooo much fun!! :backinmyday::cool10:

Bull,,,, laying on the beach,, soaking up the sun with your best friend,,, brother - THAT sounds like a PERFECT vacation,, and THAT is no bull!!! Hope you folks have a BLAST down there!! Puc

Hmmmm,,, Dixie,,, under the circumstances I gladly transfer all claims of responsibility over to Condor for causing you to waste your money... On the other hand,,, some great reading in this thread and I LOVE that buckle!! As innocent as a 3 day old baby and as pure as the driven snow!!! Puc

Actually Kat,, oil accumulation around the plugs and stuff is usually caused from valve/tappet cover gaskets,,, a blown head gasket usually shows its evil face via white smoke that smells of hot anti-freeze out the pipe or anti-freeze in crankcase oil or oil mixed in the anti-freeze in the Rad... Those kids didnt run it out of oil and collapse some lifters did they?? It is VERY conceivable that those really are the original plugs!! These "modern" day high energy ignitions will arc across some amazing resistance (gap) but when they do - they lose all manner of effeciency, especially on an engine that is tired... Betcha that puppy will feel alot better with some new plugs.. Tell Mike I said, shooting the messenger aint gonna fix the car,, trust me I know:stirthepot:

Tip really liked that thought and replied "awe,,, thanks man,, thats awefully sweet,,,, tell him I said its mind over matter,,,, and that being married to someone who still acts like a teenager kinda helps too (her laughing)" ... My personal thought about her comment?? Hmmmmm,,, not really sure what to think of that one,,, I guess I like it as long as I don't lose any of my geezer discounts!!

Really appreciate any insight you can shed from a visual on it Coff - THANKS!! Thanks to everyone for the thoughts too!!

Hey you guys,,, I have a person interested in doing some bike swapping - he has a 99 RSV to use for fodder.. Guys way north of us, thus far its all just chatter - told em I would think it over and get back to him.. Having never ridden one, Tip and I went down to the local Yam Shop and sat on a left over (part of Tippy's most excellent Birthday Party yesterday ).. She really really did not care for how high the rear seat sets or its "feel".. This may sound insane to some folks but I KNOW it wont to Coff and pretty sure it wont to Yammer... If there is ANY chance that one of you two troublemakers has the seat off your 2nd Gen and happen to have the seat off your 1st Gen too,, could one of you guys set the 1st Gen seat on the 2nd Gen and see if you think it could be adapted.. Even a pic of a 1st Gen seat resting on top of the seat on a 2nd Gen may help.. What the heck,, never hurts to ask right.... Anyone else have any thoughts or experience on this,, I would LOVE to hear your input, especially appreciate any pics of one if someone has done this..:stirthepot:x2

Tippy says THANK YOU to everyone for the B-Day wishes!! Squidley,,, a belated :Happy Birthday::group cheers: to you brother!!! Puc n Tip

How cool is that Jack!! Besides a great read,,, I LOVED the ad for California Side Car - white one mounted to a white 1st Gen!! Thanks for posting this up!! As a reward, here is some more GREAT read that popped up from a google search of "V-Daze International",,,,, http://books.google.com/books?id=9_kDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=v-daze++international&source=bl&ots=hNXsGylFDl&sig=PBofQpnE1dKx74PHmolGFFtKCHY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6fY6VJ_vHc-SyATOm4H4Dg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=v-daze%20%20international&f=false

What in the wild world of sports is going on out there Pete? Is this a first? Aint never heard of such nonsense:confused24: Hope and pray everyone is ok!!

:Happy Birthday::Happy Birthday::ice_congrats-vi6886:ice_congrats-vi6886:ice_congrats-vi6886:ice_congrats-vi6886

Kat,, what kinda shape are the plugs in (gap and color) that Mike has removed? Sounds almost like those plugs have been in there a very long time - usually evidenced by way wide gap - maybe even burned off electrodes... If this is the case, he is definitely on the right track.. I am not familiar with the Pathfinder,, enough to tell you what tools you will need to finish the job.. Some cars its easiest to remove an inner fender or even loosen the engine mounts up and lift the engine a little to remove plugs and stuff... On the other hand, having a set of ball head extentions and a swivel or two on a good ratchet will do it... Most stuff is available at Harbor Freight = not the best tools but better than nothin.. If he is breaking the porcellin away on the plugs, he needs to get a plug socket with the insert in it that slides over the end of the plug to keep this from happening and to keep the any broken porcellin held withing the socket,, he dont need that stuff finding a way into the combustion chamber.. Also,, if those old plugs are coming out extremely hard, it might not be a bad idea to: Using compressed air and carb cleaner, spray around the with compressed air, spray around plugs with carb cleaner than redo the compressed air again.. Break a plug loose, spray a fair amount of penetrating oil around the plug.. Screw it back in, screw it out a little farther,, do it again.. Keep working it until the plug is out.. Doing it this way may keep him from pulling some threads out with the plugs.. Also will help in getting the new plugs in.. Remind him to use anti-seize (sparingly) on the new plugs.. Any chance the vehicle messed up because it got wet?

Star Fan and I have some pretty close opinion thingys going on here... Mine is probably even more extreme in the economics side of things.. This probably sounds stupid but I still use the "cost per wear" factor that we learned about in Business College (guess that could be stated "cost per mile" with vehicles)... Thats actually how I got started with my 1st 84 Royale way back in 87... I picked that bike up for $1200 out of an estate auction with just under 20K miles on it, lost stator at 23k, tranny dropped 2nd at 46000, short shifted the rest of the fun out of it and it had a crank failure at 230k.. I vividly remember the statement being made at the auction when I purchased it that if it would have been a Wing with the same options, it would have brought 3 times that price - that was as accurate then as it is now, IMHO.. Even back in its earliest days, the Venture has never been a good seller and I am not so sure that the reason for this had anything to do with the lack of accessories.. I think it had more to do with the connection between the name "Honda" and the masses preception of what that meant/means in the way of being "cool" (this is really not uncommon - Harley still sells way more Street Glides than they ever did the Electra Glide Classic - offered at exactly the same MSRP.. All the Street Glide amounts to is a stripped Electra Glide Classic:confused24:,, proving it is NOT about add ons,, still dont get it, who wouldnt want 3 grand worth of extra HD parts for free)... Some interesting FACTS about the 83/84 1st Gen Yams compared to the Wing of the same vintage that I know of from experience: Yam would blow em away - almost like the Honda had its brakes on.. Yam got a good 10 mpg over the Honda.. Yam was a lot narrower at the knees, had much more foot space where the engine stuck out on the Honda.. Honda had big stator problems too, had to pull the engine to repair.. Yam looked like a "commercial grade" bike and handled like a sport bike.. The ergo's on those 1st year Yams were amazing in comfort, stock - 16 hour/800-1000 mile days two up, for days on end = NO PROBLEM.. Those sheep skins, water seats, gel seats and beaded seat covers back then were accessories made for the Wing cause they needed em!! All things being equal, the Yam should have ended up being the "cult" bike.. But when it comes to the buying public all things are never equal and that didnt happen.. They were as unwanted than as they are today and it showed vividly in sales and in resale value.. Honda smartly took the earnings from those cult following folks and invested it in R n D and finally came out with a real piece of art in the 1800 (IMHO).. Think about this one,, another perfect example was the Suzuki Cavalcade,, 1400cc V-4,, suckers FLEW and were great riders, fabulous economy!! They were wayyyyy ahead of the Honda Wing in design and technology, the "standard" bike was above a Wing "Aspencade" in accessories.. They had fewer issues too.. I owned a couple of them thru the years (restore/repair for resale) and can say, about the only issue they were known for was loosing the plug in the forward gear shaft causing loss of fluid.. Very easy repair.. Even though it was probably the best bang for the buck and way ahead of the competition, the bike was rejected by the consumers and died a very early death (only made em a couple years) - they just did not sell, no one wanted em.. I bought a gorgeous one back in 92 for 700 bucks, less than 25k, did the forward gear update (original "plug" was still in it but I install the new aluminum plug anyway), cleaned carbs, spotless bike that I almost had to give away to get rid of it - NO ONE WANTED IT:confused24:.. Frankly, I am still surprised the Yam didnt read the writing on the wall and do that with the Venture... Dont get me wrong, I AM GLAD THEY DIDN'T cause I love them but if no wants em (except us VR folks) and ya cant make money on em........... Bottom line, I think I have a flaw in my charector, I have owned a few bikes valued at over 30k, several in the 20's and a number of them in the 10's,,, all of those have been "investment" bikes (how I made my living).. I can see that $$ value in something that has "irreplaceable value",, kinda like Olivia The Warbike... For an everyday rider,, something with 2 wheels and motor that Tip and I are gonna take out and possibly have to leave laying upside down in the desert,,, hmmmmm,,,, no way on God's green earth am I gonna pay double just cause its "New" - yep Jonas, I agree,, to me it would be tossing money out the window... On the other hand,,,,,,, I wish Yam would re-introduce the 83/84 1st Gen Standard Venture, NO accessories, upgraded tranny and clutch, leave the clutch whine as is so it sounds right and the unknowing slower bikes can hear ya coming, sell em out the door for 7 grand - THAT I would be interested in,,, AWESOME RIDING, LITTLE MOTORED BIKE (by todays standards), AT A FAIR PRICE!!

TO THE BESTEST BEST FRIEND AND CROSS COUNTRY RIDING PARTNER THAT A MAN COULD EVER HAVE!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART, ENDLESS BLESSINGS ABOUND WHEN YOU ARE AROUND!! THANKS FOR BEING BORN AND CHOOSING ME TO SHARE YOU BIRTHDAYS WITH!!!!! I LOVE YOU GORGEOUS! Your Puc :ice_congrats-vi6886:ice_congrats-vi6886:ice_congrats-vi6886:Happy Birthday::Happy Birthday::Happy Birthday::Happy Birthday::Crazy_139::Crazy_139:

I am told that when I was just a lil Puc that I had a nasty habit of "Pre-Christmas Present Opening"... During the process of raising our kids it became "normal" for them to hide their gifts addressed to me cause I would shake - sniff - squeeze em and figure out what they were - leading me to the conclusion that what I had heard about my early life impatient nature may be true.. Having outgrown impatience is something I am very proud of BUT, that does not preclude a distaste for timelines not being met in items that are important to me, especially when that timeline involves a good friend of mine.... WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON,, I THOUGHT CARBON ONE WAS GONNA BE RIDING HIS NEW SLINGSHOT IN OCTOBER,, I HAVE BEEN CHECKING THIS CRAZY FORUM EVERYDAY AND HAVEN'T HEARD OR SEEN NOTHING ABOUT IT,, I FEEL LIKE A LITTLE KID WAITING FOR CHRISTMAS MORNING LARRY,,, ITS BEEN OCTOBER FOR 11 DAYS NOW:rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf: hmmmmm,, I hope it wasnt all a dream and I didnt just make a complete idiot of myself,, again

Wearing stocking cap, below freezing again here tonight.. Prayers Up - Blessing Down!!

Wow,, that would be a BLAST,,, unfortunately November 15th is opening day of Gun Deer Season here in Michigan so you can probably take the invitation to people from The North down :rotf::rotf: Pure harassment Karen,, best wishes on your Meet n Greet down yonder!!

JUST FLAT GORGEOUS SONSHINE - PREACH IT PREACHER:backinmyday:!!! Can't wait to see Exodus (and Genesis too) in person, hopefully during next summer!!