cowpuc

Smokin chicken in the rain,, perfect time for PRAYERS UP, BLESSINGS DOWN!!

Man,, I am with you a 100 percent Lenny,, a more talented, creative bunch of rascals have never been found.. I had a mentor back in my early twenties who said something that has stuck with me all these years,, went something like this "when someone is explaining something to you, no matter how crazy what they are saying might sound, look for little nuggets of gold, keep em and toss the rest,,, if you do that you will become rich in what is important in life".. This place is infested with golden nuggets!!! Oh,,, by the way,,, not all gold nuggets are made of bike fixin/tinkerin type elements.. They come in an endless variety and THAT fact is what makes a family like VR sooo special, everyone matters!!

Hi Bio, Sounds to me like you have gotten a good amount of respectable advice going here,, as always.. I, like most of these other elbows, have experienced high speed wobbles too and can understand your concern - THAT IS A HORRIBLE FEELING!!! There are many number of things that can cause that wobble.. Checking the tires is the first place I would start. Check air pressures making sure they are to spec, rub your hand over the tire tread on both tires, feel for any abnormalaties. Also, check around the rim and make sure the tires are seated properly (there will be a small rubber ridge on the tire where it meets the rim, if mounted properly - this ridge will be exposed all the way around. Also, on some tires there is a SPOT on the sidewall that is suppose to be lined up with the valve stem while mounting the tire. You might even check to see if its inline. It might not be a bad idea, if you have the time, to lift your bike up off the ground and give it a good shake down.. Besides checking the neck bearings, check your wheel bearings (had a friend who complained of what your dealing with and was heading to Tail of the Dragon - I shook it down and found a front wheel bearing GONE - day late for the Dragon BUT), check for front caliper brake drag, check swing arm bushings, spin the tires and make sure they spin true (no belt slippage).. Also not a bad idea to give the forks a close look, check for spring sacking and fluid levels/freshness.. I have noticed many times that different pavement surfaces can also create wobbles and movement too.. If you happened to be on a sweeper that had rain grooves, that will do it.. Does this happen a LOT or just on certain roads? While never having actually ridden an RSV (I am a 1st Gen Venture "Sport Touring" kinda guy) I can attest to the RSV's capabilities as a result of both following them and leading them thru many many twisty situations.. A good example - CMCoffey, Tip and I put our bikes (his RSV - an 02 named Exodus) thru the paces up on Mt. St. Helens and his boards were never more than a 1/4 inch from the pavement - BEAUTIFUL!!.. I have owned several sport bikes (Kaw, Buell and Yam) thru the years and I am almost certain that Coff comes from the same background.. I can attest to the fact that these bikes are NOT sport bikes = apples and oranges. Besides totally different in design, the weight of these big bikes is a huge factor in ripping up the twisties.. On the same token though,, they are remarkable and totally capable of awesome lean angles and cornering.. You just HAVE to respect the amount of weight your carrying thru corners, judge the corners a closer even at slower speeds.. Confidence on and in your bike comes from riding it - its like anything in life, the more time you spend at it - the confident in its abilities you become.. I know that Coff is a MAJOR iron butting crazy guy who spends a LOT of time on his bike and it shows! I also have many many friends who ride that either dont like riding a lot or doent have the time to.. Just recently I was leading a group on a cruise up the lake shore here in Michigan.. About twelve bikes with a variety of rider skills represented.. One of these people, who - by the way - had taken the State Training, HD Beginners and Advanced Classes and got her license a couple years ago, was at the end of the group and rolled off into a field on a corner - YIKES.. We really were not going that fast (I was trying to pace the group considering we had beginning riders with us).. When talking to her about it, she said she was afraid to lean her bike in the corner and just rode it off the roadway instead of turning. Another person in the group blamed me for going to fast - thusly causing the other rider to miss the corner.. Whenever I am Ride Captain I ALWAYS remind people to "Ride Your Ride".. When the girl who missed the corner heard the other girl make the comment that it was somehow my fault, she immediately said - "It was not his fault - I was simply not riding MY ride.. IMHO, while I really really like the idea of these rider courses being offered and LOVE to go down and ride the Local Harley Course in my spare time for practice, I still think that there is nothing like real world practice when it comes to building confidence and skill levels.. I think the courses are a GREAT place to start but it is ONLY the beginning.. For me, personally, the beginning was many many miles ago and I am still enjoying the learning curve, still building confidence, still learning to judge corners to determine speed levels, still caught off guard when I hit rain curves and get that feeling of having a flat or something and on and on... Its all part of biking.. Hope this all helps in some way!! Puc

I mean sheesh Flyinfool,, give a guy a chance to finish typing will ya

May be a fuel pump diaphram, seems like most chainsaws I have worked on have a little vacuum operated fuel pump built into the carb,, kinda like the tillotson carbs on the old snowmobiles. Diaphram may be cracked or the orfices that feed it get plugged up.. The little primer push button bypasses the pump and shoots fuel directly into the carb, sounds like its burning off that fuel and the carb itself isnt getting any.. Another thing is, because those carb orfices (Hi and low and fuel inlet) are so tiny, when a chainsaw sets for a long time and is not used the gas will dry up leaving a gummy 2 stroke oil paste left behind.. Checking all those lines for cracks as mentioned is also a really good idea as is checking the line inside of your tank (should be a little weighted screen on the end of it). You could try removing the air cleaner and holding your thumb over the carb throat, give her a couple pulls an see if you can get fuel moving before ripping it all apart. If you do remove the carb and rebuild it make sure you have all the gaskets and diaphrams ect lined up properly.. There may be little passage ways thru them that will have to be lined up for air or fuel flow.. I had one once that gave me fits and found out it was crank seals that were causing the problems (causes loss of vacuum and it messes up the fuel/air mix/ WILL burn it down from running lean if you run it like this).. Depending on age of saw/how much run time - this is possible.. Come to think of it,, another newer saw that I worked on once used pressure inside the tank as a means of forcing fuel into the carb,, hmmmmmm,,, maybe check the o-ring on the tank cap and see if its sealing good if yours is one of this type.. Also, remember when tuning it after you get it running to replace the air filter assembly before you tune it.. They have a tiny carb throat and the filter will cause it to richen up a little.. Those little suckers can be finicky BUT,, sure beats a hand saw when cutting wood!!

ROCK ON DAVID - those were sweet hearts.. Actually,, the Scrambler was an awesome bike and they still bring good money BUT,, that road racer,,, BIG BUCKS!!! Hear is a shot of a 67 Yamaha 350 I redid (pic was before restore),, crank bearings and seals, freshend up the top end and it ran great.. It actually came with that windshield on it INTACT!! Not a high pipe street scrambler but still way cool!!

That was one of my favorites too! I had a K0 back in 69, 1st year model with the electric start, CV carbs, coolest front fender bar/brace, Gold in color and could it wheelie!! I always ran a 460 Chen Shing full nob on her and trail rode/hill climbed that old Moto Sport with the best of em.. I took it over wayyyy to big of a jump one time and both carbs came right out of the intakes - it was a heavy old girl but it ran good!! Starting with the K1's Honda dropped the CV Carbs and the electric start.. Had a few of those thru the years that I redid for resale but only one other K0 (a red 1970).. I sold the last SL350 to a collector with a bunch of parts bikes when we cleaned out the barn, brought big money even in an unfinished state.. Speaking high pipers,, 4 years ago Tip and I were out cruising.. Rode past some kids pushing a little 67 Suzuki 100 around their yard with NO tires on it.. Stopped and told em I would trade em a running minibike for it.. They talked to their mom and BINGO.. Bike cleaned up really nice, 1st over piston and did that little sucker run!! Really neat little bike that a guy came all the way from Pennsylvania to get!

YOU GO GIRL!!! Think of all the shrimp, pizza, hot wings and rum balls you could pack in the trunk on that puppy = YEEEEEEEEEHAWWWWWWWWW:cool10:

AWESOME!! Hope the two of you have a BLAST Bongo! :draming:Tip and I are really looking forward to your updates (with of course:fingers-crossed-emo), thanks my friend for including us on this special time! Now,, ol Don Hoe use to sing,, "Dont let the sunlight get in your eyes,,, or you'll never go home":no-no-no:,,, please dont forget those sunglasses for each of you cause WE WANT YOU GUYS BACK!! Tell those Hawaiian VR folks howdy for us! Congrats on the 25th! Tiny bubbless,, Aloha Tip and Puc

I have ALWAYS had a passion for scramblers myself... There was always something special about em.. I really really loved the sound of the Yamaha 125 YAS1C - it was soooo cool! I remember vividly back in 73 our local Honda shop ran a sale on the CL350, great big sign out front = CL350/$395!! Those things were all over the place!! Funny thing, last one I redid sold for close to 3 grand! Still amazes me!! Tell you one thing,, we beat the living daylights out of those little bikes (werent so little when we were kids)!! I am with ya Don,, I would far rather have a "Classic" look and feel if it were me.. Its funny this subject came up,, I was helping a friend with his sporty not to long ago, he asked what I thought of his new "Patriot Pipe".. I told it was cool but if it were my bike I would HAVE to find a set of high pipes for it - make it look like a REAL motorcycle!

Heyyyy,, Hi Cowboy!! Assuming the RSV's doen't have a sealed beam headlight, any chance you are picking up moisture internally in the headlamp? That could do it if the moisture gets on the bulb.. Another thing, any chance you happen to notice it getting brighter just before it blew - that could indicate a regulator problem.. All the other lights on the bike ok? Glad you folks are out there eating up the miles brother = HAVE FUN!! Puc

I totally missed this whole episode of "The Life and Times of Smiling Joe" - DOG GONE IT!! That sure looked like a purdy bike my friend.. Pretty cool that you had a chance own and experience one of the new Twin Cam Ultra's - you folks deserved that opportunity!! Have a fair amount or time on a couple of the newer ones (2010 and 2012 Ultra Limited's - close friends bikes) and found they didnt fit my ride style either Joe.. Harley has come a longgggg ways and sure build a gorgeous bike though!! I think, probably for most us - you included, that we are pretty spoiled.. Covering all the miles that you have on a Venture kinda permanently forms the body:rotf: (I have no idea what I am going to do when there are no more 1st Gens to wear out - hopefully it dont happen before I am physically unable to ride). Just a heads up, I was at a dealer a month or so back and noticed they still had a left over RSV.. I am almost sure they were selling it for under 12.. If I run into any more of them in our area should I let you know brother? Be glad to do it, even if you decide to go a different route - let me know and I will keep my eyes open for you! Kind of paying you back for rescuing us at Micky D's :bighug:and for that AWESOME sticker for Tweeks:cool10: Looking forward to following you folks down the road again NO MATTER WHAT YOU RIDE!! Puc

And also TENACIOUS Our buddy George dont take no lip from NO machine NO HOW!!! Glad ya figured it out my friend and THANKS for sharing!! Puc

Your welcome,, I call em as I see em!! Early CONGRATS on the one thats coming in February too!! Plenty of room on these Yam's for 3 up ya know!!! :cool10: And tell those Parents you can ALWAYS get a side car if you need to = room for 3 more easily (WOULDNT THAT BE A BALL!!)! Oh yea,, about that lil one having you wrapped,,,,,,, as it should be my friend,, as it should be!!! Spoil em up good and send em back to Mom and Dad whining,,, no no I dont wanna go... :rotf: Your gonna have to give that Grand Girls Daddy a Membership to VR for Christmas to go with the bike ya know!! Get him on here and we will be of great assistance in making sure those lil girls are getting all the riding out of that 86 1st Gen that they deserve!!!

BEEEEEUTIFUL - NOW THAT IS LIVING KIC!!!!!! WHAT A CUTIE!!!:cool10::cool10: Lets play "caption the photo",,, I will go first The first photo = "Papa,,, I thought the color of these flip flops you bought me were suppose to match the color of OUR bike?" Second photo = "You dont actually plan on taking me off this bike without taking me for a ride do you?" You are TRULY Blessed Kic!!

A few miles a day on a 300 horse bike is all the injections I would need !!! :cool10: My pleasure Barry! If only the readers of that quote could have been there Dan - that quote of yours is descriptive beyond words!! I wish I could figure out a way to get more of those quotes in my sig,, you gangsters say the derndest things!!! Its heart breaking to have to remove them to rotate in new ones, I am proud of em all!!

Wow Pmelah,, sounds like you have had a rough summer!! Sure glad things are coming around and that your back on.. Condolences on the loss of your friends/family my friend!! Never easy stuff thats for sure!! Thoughts and Prayers Puc

:rotf::rotf: Sure would hate to lose the last 6 hair on my head over a sticker though

Sucks gettin old Few more years of tweekin on Tweeks and I wont even to be able to put gas in it without a shop manual :rotf::rotf: YamaGrl, its people like you that keep people like me humbled and growing!! Your a keeper - keep up the good work!! Puc

Ok,, just going from memory here on my 1st Gens,, sitting on the bike, left rear is No. 1 and left front is No. 2, right rear is No. 3 and right front is No. 4.. No. 1 is master, No. 2 is set to No. 1, No. 3 is set to No. 2, No. 4 is set to No. 3 Never owned a 2nd Gen or worked on one,, are the carbs linked that much differently or am I having another oltimers attack here?

Chipmunks wreaking havoc in garage, Prayers Up, Blessings Down while patiently waiting for Chipmunk to stick head out of hole under sidewalk!!

The email says, "festivities down at Hot Dog Harley, 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, be there or be square".. Hot Rod HD is our local dealer that we nick named "Hot Dog Harley" cause they used to occasionally have a free Hot Dog day and there is nothing like a free Hot Dog.. Anyway,,, Tip and I got up wayyyyyyyyyy early Friday (8 a.m.) because of the excitement that I knew was coming.. The person who sent me the email has talked and talked for years about wanting a new V-Rod and another neighbor had fallen in love with the new "Free Wheeler" trike at a demo ride we had all went to the week before so I KNEW something heavy was up!! Sure enough,,, we got down there and there sets my buddy with his arms wrapped around a new Black V-Rod.. Real pretty bike!! Traded in his 07 Sporty (we had spent a lot of time building on it, last dyno showed 103 horse) that I was sad to see go!! That new V-Rod is purdy though.. Sitting there yakkin and I get the news that the other neighbors were on their way down to pick up a brand spanking new Trike.. This belongs to the lady that we had trike converted the Sporty for a while back, some of you may remember me posting that project.. She enjoyed playing on that Sporty enough that she pulled the trigger on a new "Free Wheeler".. At about 8 grand less than a full blown Ultra Trike, this new model is really pretty cool.. She is a new rider with only about 2 thousand miles on the triked Sporty, was intimidated by the size of the bigger trike and this one fit her well.. Besides the bigger motor (103 "A" motor, 883 Sporty) she also got REVERSE and cruise control.. Her hubby let his Nightster go for trade (kept his 2012 Ultra Limited) and, as she pulled out with the Free Wheeler he looked at me - smiled and said "now,,, about your idea of converting that Sporty Trike into a 350X with paddle tires and piggy back shocks" ... Our other brand new neighbors right next door just picked up a used 1500 Wing.. They rode with us this past weekend and really seemed to enjoy themselves.. I have no pics, YET, of their scoot but its a beauty!! Folks say fences make good neighbors,,, I say motorcycles do:rotf:,,, what say you? Puc

Yea Brian, THANKS for the great post!! Tell ya one thing my friend, done built me a fair amount of choppers in my day but NONE OF THEM produced the kinda ride you guys got out of the one you were riding!!! NICE - really really NICE!

So,, years ago my second born daughter (the one who sang this song with me = ) and I are camped on the rim of the Grand Canyon,, mostly 2 tracks to get there and a mile or so of single trackin.. The two of us sitting on the rim, tent all set up, feet hangin over the edge, beat up ol 84 Venture with a couple hundred thou on it,, rattley ol bike with no second gear that her and the other kids named "Beeg" - short for Big Girl.. Anyway,, sitting there watching the sunset and all of a sudden her eyes get big and she says "Dad, what if the bike breaks down out here?".. I said,, "listen carefully cause you are about to learn another valuable life lesson", her eyes rolled back in the usual little girl fashion that, in her way, signaled "not another one of your lectures".. I said "if I cant fix it we will just give it a decent burial, grab our clothes and stuff, catch a bus back home and buy another one :cool10:" ,, than I said, "that would be pretty hard to do if we owed 20 grand on it - think about that sweetheart":detective:!! I am weird like that too Lenny!! Sure do LOVE em all though and LOVE to sample em all!!!!

Believe me you guys,, I TOTALLY get the point,, I spend an enormous amount of time on our Helix (basically a Ruckus built for 2 Bill ) and we LOVE to putt on it BUT... If I had that 300 horse bike I would make 4 little marks on the happy grip.. 0 to 1/4 throttle = acting your age Puc, 1/4 to 1/2 throttle = (in my best Jimmy Durante voice to kids on crotch rockets) "go away kid ur buggin me", 1/2 to 3/4 throttle = time machine, for those days I feel like being 17 again and last but not least.. 3/4 to full throttle = I could go visit my kids in California every weekend, stop for lunch at Nellis with my son CMCoffey and still have time to pick Tippy up at the Airport when she got there:rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf: