cowpuc

OUTSTANDING!! GREAT read and AWESOME PICS Cage! I love the looks of that ol sporty brother and I, personally, LOVE the fact that you used it! Best wishes to you and your riding partner as you work closer to getting back on the open road together! Your ending salutation goes both ways my friend!! Puc

that is a fact!

Looks like I was right,, that got me to a sign up sheet for a Yamaha demo ride.. Next your gonna tell me they probably have one of the new V-Maxes to demo,,, now THAT would really tan my hide!!

Hey EasyRider,, I dont think that link works properly.. Could be a bad connection between Elk Grove and Muskegon though.. Its probably something I am gonna kick myself for leaving when I did anyway cause it appears by the link data that it has something to do with a demo ride??

Lotta stuff going on west of you Fool,, we spent some time in North Dakota and Tippy noticed a couple signs at a small truck stop, think it was at Baker that read HELP WANTED, all positions, with a longgg list of employment ops included several engineering positions.. I am sure it had something to do with all the oil/gas stuff going on out there. Sure had us talking that night about moving out there!! One of my really good friends just moved out to Helena MT, was an engineer for a shop here, got hired as an engineer out there.. You could make all kinds of snow out there,, their low temps were -40 last year.. As you know though,, their summers are second to none!! This economy stinks dont it.. Our area has been hit really really bad too.. Lost a lot of really good friends and, even a couple of my own kids to it.. People moving all over the place to find work.. Something that I noticed in employment,, at least for me, is that it seems easier to find another job if your already working.. Might send out some resumes before you end up in the unemployment line.. Just a thought.. Best wishes with it all Jeff! Puc

Hey Craig, just a little north of Kolob Canyons which is the northern part of Zion Nation Park is a small diner called "Top Spot".. Ya gotta try their burgers and fries!! We are talking shaved ham on top of hamburger and very special home made fries - place has amazing food and not a bank buster!! Sounds like you folks are planning a really fun trip,, please take lots of pics for us!! Ride safe and have fun! Puc

I get asked from time to time how I can just jump on my bike an leave for extended periods of time and "dont I worry about the house and lawn care".. To answer that question in text,,,, why of course I do.. I really do.. Folks that know me personally know that when I am out on the road I lay awake at night wondering how my lawn is getting along and so on.. As a matter of fact, my home state of Michigan is known for its ever changing weather that directly affects the plant growth throughout our gorgeous winter wonder land.. Some years my old beater lawn tractor does its thing only a couple times during a grow season.. Other years its once a week!! We have had winters that I literally have ridden our forests on my dirtbike all winter long with a mere 6 inches of snow being the total accumlation.. This last winter, thanks in part to a developing friendship I have with FlyinFool over in Wisconsin, we came in with over 10 feet of snow for the season PLUS some whopping spring storms that the combination thereof caused enough chaos that I thought ol Tweeks may never get out of the corral.. Well,, as May started coming to an end and the basement started drying out, I drug the ol beater tractor out of hibernation,, fought with the carb on it enough to make it run, cut my grass down to point it looked like I was actually mowing the root system of the lawn instead of the lawn itself, it was brutal.. Carefully I pulled tweeks out of hibernation and pulled maintenance on her.. Tippy and I quietly snuck off to chase the wind so we wouldnt wake up any dandy lions that may be sleeping amoungst the freshly exposed lawn roots.. Got news for ya,, it worked!! Laying awake in my tent worrying about my lawn while attending the VentureWest Rally at The Dalles in Oregon, my daughter called us (cell phones - blah) and informed us that my lawn was almost to her knees (thankfully I hadnt killed it!) and that one of my neighbors stopped by and said "what kinda trees did your dad plant in the yard - they look like some sort of dandy lion tree".. I got nosey neighbors.. On the way home a couple days ago, as we crossed over the Missouri River at Chamberlain SD I found my pea size brain doing some wondering.. The landscape on the east side of the river changes greatly which causes my mental processor to do funny things every time I cross it going east.. By the time we crossed into Minnesota and noticed how high the corn was in that lovely part of the country, my thoughts had fully switched gears to worrying about the condition of the root system I had irresponsibly left behind with no fertilizer or even active sprinkler system... It wasnt until I got home that I was fully aware of how much time I had wasted laying awake at night worrying about my poor lawn.. Never again I tell myself,, never again.. I will NEVER again lay awake at night worring about my uncared for lawn.. I am writing a new oath to be included in Pucs Biker Code Of Ethics,, I WILL NEVER WORRY ABOUT MY LAWN WHILE TOURING THE COUNTRY ON MY MOTORCYCLE - IT CAN TAKE PERFECTLY GOOD CARE OF ITSELF.. Watch this little video and you will see that my lawn did just fine!! Now stop worrying about that lawn,, its summer,,, lets ride!! Puc

Thanks Pete for covering my back on that one! By the way, JCMOTORS were great folks to deal with. Tire came nicely packed, quick ship and had those nice cardboard spacers that make bead setting a whole lot easier for us back yard mechanics who do their own tire swaps..

Ooppsss,, my bad,, read Petes response below, once again one of ol pucs buddies has his back.. Thanks teach for the info! Anyone else got input? The classroom for ol puc is ALWAYS open,, this ol dog LOVES learning new tricks!

Hey Cagie,, glad you enjoy the writings,, just tellin it the way it unfolds my friend.. As you know from your experiences from your 30 day adventure,, the wind does carry some interesting critters and experiences with it!! Reading your response brings back one of my younger year hero memories.. You ever watch THAN CAME BRONSON?? Tippy and I sing the theme from that ol show a LOT while riding the last 3 hours of a long day on the road... Aint nothing like it brother,, favorite song, favorite ride partner, best part of the ride day (I call it magic hour) and GLORIOUS sunsets... Man Cage,, now ya got me wanting to head right back out!!! Though make believe (tv show),, Bronson did the sporty thing.. I too have since owned many sporties over the years (non of the newer ones - I hear they are very dependable and good riders).. My last one a 59 XLCH that I built a chopper out of was a fun bike but about 50 miles a day was max for me on that ol hardtail!! Got a pic or two to share with ya for your musings.. What year of sporty did you run? Set up for touring or were you one of those young crazies running no shield an stuff tied on with rope and the like... Got any pics to share?? Your ol pal Puc

What da heck Coff,, you gonna eat this burger I just cooked for ya or not?? ANYTIME BROTHER,, ANYTIME!!

Oh yea,, here we go,, the tire has 71H on it Carl,, I suppose that means less load capacity? Learn something new everyday if it does! It also does have mu85 on the sticker and on the tire.. I know I read in a manual many years ago that this was the tire designated for the 1st gen,, kinda always followed that rule.. as a follow up question for my teacher/friend in this case,, MiCarl, do you happen to know if Full Bore makes a 75 or 77H as well as the 71H? I only ask that cause it seems like I gave the guys at Jccycle, folks I purchased the tire from, the actual part number off thier web page when they looked the tire up.. could have easily been a miscommunication on my part.. Thanks for your assistance Carl, this is VERY important stuff to know and YOU are a great teacher! puc

GOOD POINT,, I would love to give one a shot,, anyone out there know what tire brand and size will fit a 1st Gen? Certainly NO WAY would it hurt any image I have!! Good question Andrew!! Unfortunately, after 244256 miles and many many lube jobs on Tweeks speedo - including one earlier this spring, as we pulled into Dennison Texas my speedo did a huge wind up thing where the needle spun and went BOING and parts/pieces landed inside her speedo.. Unfortunately the odometer went too so I have no way of accurately knowing a mileage count.. I get some time I am going to get some kinda sorta figures from our fuel reciepts and than mapquest it off them.. On another note,, I really didnt want to let this cat out of the bag (about the speedo) online here because Tweeks won the "farthest distance traveled" award at the VentureWest Rally out in The Dalles Oregon. There were two lop eared varmints who was in charge out there, a couple of sly critters justly named King Lone Eagle and King Condor - NOT RELATED.. One of which used his Kingly powers to appoint himself as a court Judge for all contests, that would have been King Lone Eagle.. I kept my lips sealed during the contest awards about the speedo after Tweeks was awarded her just due cause I knew there would have been an investigation afterwards that may have turned into a dismantling of my bike to see if she had actually rolled to the rally - simular to a contested NASCAR race.. You would had have to have been there and experienced the motley group in attendance to understand that call on my part.. If I had to guess at this point I would between 3 and 4 thousand miles.. Ah ohhh,, think ol Pucsters about to get some schooling here... Never paid attention to those numbers,, I know it had MU85 or whatever it was on the tag which matched the original factory tire spec.. Gotta hunch my buddy MiCarl is about to tell me that the 77H/75H on these tires mean something... Ya know what,, I stuck part of the sticker from the tire on the back of tweeks trunk,, gonna go see if its still on there and snap a pic,, I will also roll er around and see if I can find this 77/75 number and take a pic of it too.. PAY ATTENTION HERE FOLKS,, BOUT TO CATCH OL PUC IN LEARNIN MODE..

Oh man,, thanks Rick,, I almost blew it BIG TIME!! Tire mounting is always easier if your eating ice cream while your swapping tires.. I like to drip a little ice cream on the bead just before laying the spoons on the tire,, makes great tire lube.. Not to much though cause ya never wanna waste to much ice cream,, specially if its Banana Nut,, now Vanilla,, you can waste that stuff but not Nana Nut. Better? And hey Easyrider,,, sounds like you owe King Condor an apology,,, calling Carmicheal California a dusty backwater town,,, according to him some place right in his neighborhood IS where those World Famous burgers are!! I was only part way there with my cheese covered Shimmy burger or what ever it was.. I havent had one yet BUT I betcha that Condor is correct,, judging by the way he drank down all the fries and gravy up by Mt. Hood THAT MAN HAS GOT TO KNOW HIS BURGERS!! Dem was good fries and gravy werent they Jack!! Specially the special price ol Puc gottem for us for!!:rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf:

Carl, you can chalk up a genuine tour bike to your list now brother! That tire worked awesome! I gotta add, we hit hole in the concrete out in desert temps at high speed that sent tippy against my back and startled the daylights out of me.. it was a situation where I never saw it coming, I dont go lookin for objects to hit and normally am able to thumb steer around even the slightest abnormalities,, this was a bad one! right after hitting it I told tip that we HAD to have just lost our cheapy Full Bore tire.. Slowing down the tire felt good, told her to sit still we were gonna be riding down another flat.. got down to around 20, where a flat starts the process of putting ya sideways,, NOTHING! Stopped the bike, tire looked like new, no rim damage.. Looked the tire over closely, no apparent belt damage! Few days later we touring Glacier and Canada with that tire preforming flawlessly! Them Koreans got a believer with ol Puc! Its a m-66 touring as you mentioned. What you quoted is exactly what the tech at jccycle quoted.. here are some pics off the tire itself.. I dont know if the book is wrong or the tire stamp but I can assure you,, it did a fine job on 2 up, packed up tweeks right out on the desert floor! Got any vendors that need tires beta tested Carl let me know,, maybe we could work something out:rotf: As long as they aint metzlers of course,, me an Squid,, we know that routine!

BROTHER YOU NAILED IT ON THE IOWA BUGS STATEMENT! That corn they grow is HUGE, I suspect those bugs just grow right along with the corn.. Reminds of something though Bob.. number of years ago my daughter and I were crossing Nebraska back country roads, bugs thicker than aunt jemimas syrup, we stopped on the side of the road for a potty break, swattin bugs,, stepped into da bushes and found a monument marking the Chisolm Trail! It was wayyyyyyyy cool! About Tippys arrow... We were crossing into texas from oklahoma,, caught a glimpse of 5 pinto ponies being ridden by what appeared to be 5 Comanche warriors,, Tweeks let out the strangest sound as an arrow brushed her rad, tippy reached back an unhooked her back off whip (thanks venturfar)... 5 warriors learned a lesson they will never forget from a skinny little dutch girl riding on the back of a tired ol Yamaha that day! She is an awesome riding partner, a great wife and a mom who tamed 4 kids and one Puc.. She went thru those 5 Comanches like a Texas dust storm! No idea how to get that arrow out,, we been using it to hang wet clothes on to dry,,,, spose we oughta check into an arrow removal process eay... Not sure that tip will go along with having it removed though,, since its in her back, I have to do all the laundry cause her arms dont bend that way,, she is really enjoying watching me do laundry for a change.. No idea what that is... Puc

I know most of you have already found the perfect tires for your bikes and stick to what ever brand that may be and I TOTALLY get that.. I tend to enjoy living a little more dangerously, another flaw in my charector, and like knowing first hand whether or not things are as advertised, yep, even in tires.. That said, I have had my share of flat tires, know first hand that sick feeling of a flat tire on a loaded tour bike, have had to change tires in some less than desirable places with less than desireable tools BUT, thats all part of the adventure we call motorcycle touring.. Also,, I have had to pay the price of being bent over by some out of town bike shop ripped off artist charging 3 times the price for a stinkin 404 too, not fun but thats life on the road.. Of course, I also have had the privilage of dealing with places like Jims in Johnson City tennesee who sold me an E2 at dealer cost and gave me the grand tour of their upstairs bike museum cause they felt as bad about the piece of steel going thru my brand new Shinko as I did,, or maybe they just liked Tippy n me... Good with the bad makes for a GREAT trip,, especially if you focus on the good and let the bad take care of itself, a mind game some folks cant win. If your still reading this commentary your probably a little like me and interested in whats out there in less expensive, good value tires... Or,, maybe your some sicko waiting to hear about some wacko biker who fell on his bike cause he chose to try another cheap tire,,, lord I hope that aint the case! Regardless of why you are reading this PLEASE READ THRU THE ENTIRE STORY BELOW, DONT QUIT HALF WAY, THIS IS IMPORTANT! I stuck a brand new metz 880 on the rear of the bike just before heading west back in May. I have made several trips to the west coast and have NEVER had a rear tire survive the torture of my desert touring.. One tire out, one tire back has been my experience.. I have used everything from Avon to Pirellies and they all seem to come in the same,, no tires I have tried seem to like the desert heat like I do! The Metz was amazing in its wear. By the time we got to Sacramento it still had 1/3 of its tread left! I was VERY impressed. Now,, knowing I had to go back home at some point I did get another tire ordered BUT, I was confidant enough in the metz that I chose to complete our tour of Oregon and Washington on the metz before swapping it out.. just before leaving The Dalles VentureWest Rally, I checked both my tires and my dear friend, Sargent Coffeys tires, cause I love em. The metz looked good with very little additional wear on it.. Tip n I came back to Sac the long way, got lost a little (had fun!), did ride some more HOT pavement.. What I discovered when we got back GAVE ME THE CREEPS! That metz shedded its outer core like a dog sheds water! NO WARNING! PLEASE REREAD THAT AND REMEMBER WHAT I JUST WROTE! You ever saw those chunks of truck tires laying on the highway? I was always told they come from retreads.. that being said, and judging from what I saw under the protruding tread of the metz I gotta wonder if metz and retreads are synonomis.. Shortly after discovering this I posted some pics of what I had found.. A very close friend of mine and person with outstanding mechanical ability responded to that post with a learned warning about Metzler Tires. Squidley commented about an experience he and Lonna had had that sounded almost life threatening.. He also commented something along the line of staying away from Metzler tires permanently.. I gotta say,, I am there with you Squidley,, that was one ugly situation developing with that metz! Before I left for The Dalles, I jumped online and looked for my next tire to torture.. I noticed this brand called Full Bore at a very reasonable price. Seems like 75 bucks shipped is where it fell.. I called and talked to the folks at JCCYCLE, I inquired about the load capacity of the 140 touring tire from Full Bore. The tech told me that the book stated 903 pounds, sounded good! Got back online and ordered one.. when I returned from Venturewest with my retread coming apart the Full Bore was waiting. I had to use a wedge and a sledge hammer to break the bead on the metz, stay away from the wheel if you ever try this, assisted by c-clamps.. Opened the box with the new Ful Bore and immediatly discovered that the load capacity on the tire stated 756 pounds,, bummer dude.. tire looked beefy,, made in Korea (better than china IMHO),,, WHAT TO WHAT TO DO....Decided,, what da heck what da hay,, give it try.. The worst that could happen is it will fall apart from the heat and I will be stuck paying 3 times the price for another 404,, OR,, maybe find another Jims! I kept a VERY close eye on the FULL BORE! From the heat of the Utah desert to the elevation changes of Glacier, thru the back country dirt roads of Montana and up the twisties of the Black Hills,, IT DID GREAT! I checked air pressure every morning cold and it was consistant. I was and am impressed! Sitting in the garage now, after completeing its mission, it has less tread on it than the metz had when it came apart, it cost less than half of what I paid for the metz, it handled the twisties really well (I dont ride em like some of you harder riders but do tend to lean er down once in a while) and it got Tippy and I home safely from a very fun ride! I know your all bored to death now BUT, I gotta put a plug in here for these cheap Conti Tours too.. I had a chance to grab a couple front mount Contis this spring for about 70 bucks each shipped.. GLAD I GRABED EM! Stuck one on the front before we left.. WOW,, that front tire went thru all that and is showing no sign of dipping, cupping or funny wear.. held the road great and still has some of its little mold nips between the tread! AMAZING! Dragonrider,, if you read all that you probably know I typed it on the tablet,, sorry for any mistakes,, feel free to correct any typos ya find.... Tips n my daughter took the laptop away from me... Get out and wear out some tires folks! Puc

hmmmmmm,,,, if I knew and told you wouldnt that make it scripted VentureFar? I do know one thing though,, this grass cuttin, kids car fixin, summer chore business is for the birds... Gotta find time to replace the back tire,, again,,, and change oil,,, again,,, on Tweeks.. My trigger finger is just ichin like crazy!!!!

A HA!! Soooo YOUR the one draggin up old threads and tricking ol Pucster into getting involved.. GOT CHA THIS TIME YOU OLD SEA DOG YOU!!! Wish you the best on doing the Clone if you decide to go there Seadog! Personally I LOVED the looks of the Pali!! I wish I were wealthy cause I would have an original of all the one year, special addition bikes Yammy,,,,, and all the other manufactures made....

Yep,,, place can be addictive cant it Mech!! Just like any addiction, a person can overdose.. Take that Marcarl for instance.......................

Oh,, by the way Bikenut,, that sure looks like a picture of one of the most gorgeous places on the planet,, Crater Lake.. A man could get lost in his own thoughts just looking at that pic!! Maybe wrong but I just hadda ask! If it is,, did you guys bump into any greedy lil chipmunks and funny looking birds up there?? You know,, the kind that take every cracker ya ripped off from Wendy's to stave off starvation and leave nothing but a squeek in the way of a thank you... BEAUTIFUL PICS!

WOW!!!! Again,,, WOW!!! Your beginning report here makes me ache to get out there, make more great friends, feel the heat of the desert again and SMELL the fresh mountain/desert air!! That smiling face in the picture of you working on your bike tells the real story of the ride unfolding into a true, epic adventure!! You folks DID IT and WHAT AN ADVENTURE it sounds like you had:clap2:- WISH WE HAD A STANDING OVATION ICON THINGY CAUSE YOU HAVE EARNED ONE!! Thank you Bikenut for describing in detail for us readers how flexible a cross country touring "Bike Nut" must be in both their attitude, gratitude, schedule and even eating habits.. Personally,, I cant do the BBQ thing cause it gives me heartburn so I gotta cook with natural skin salt BUT,, dont sound like a bad idea for those who can tolerate it - an interesting thought though really,, seeing you riding across the desert coated in BBQ sauce would make for a great story,,, a person could have a LOT of fun with just a few pictures of that!! Hmmmm,, wonder if my riding partner would be willing to...... THANK YOU Bikenut for sharing with us and THANK YOU for the pics,, sharing the memories of your outstanding adventure mean more to us out here than you can possibly know!! I look forward to shaking your hand someday and hearing some stories in full detail! Until thats possible, ride safe my friend!! Let er buck! Puc

THAT IS GORGEOUS COFF! Kinda pricey BUT, if it happens to fall into your birthday month THAT would be a keeper! From the pics it looks as though it really does only have 20k on it and been stored properly... makes me shake my head when I see a gorgeous bike like that and know of its suffering by not being ridden though,, I can just hear it whimpering... if anyone could rescue it, it would be you. Just like you did with Exodus! Hope it works out! Puc

Now THAT is flat puurrdy! CONGRATS SHMILY!

Careful what you wish for my Dear Friend,, look what happened to BikerJohn! Doug, it was a REAL honor and pleasure meeting you and our mutal friend Dale at VentureWest this year. Tip and I really enjoyed the time you two shared with us! When,, notice I said WHEN, not if, we make our way across your great country to go explore Alaska we look forward to checking in with you! One of the reasons we made our way into Alberta while up at Glacier was to test our Michigan Enhanced Drivers Licenses to see if they actually worked as PassPorts.. Your in big trouble now Doug,, they worked perfectly! Thank you for following my crazy rants and for the kind words! Until we meet again, ride safe as you chase that gorgeous Canadian wind! Puc