cowpuc

Winddancer,,, I am sure it was a new tire - very possible it was new OLD Stock though,, place that sold it to me was a back country small town joint that just happened to have something that fit my bike, got me back on the road!! Matter of fact,, I think that tire is still on one of my "parts" bikes (my wore out bikes become victims),, because it did wear so well I may very well slip it on my current bike when I head to the desert this year - like you mentioned Dancer,, they do wear extremely well!! Dancer,, what do you run for a car tire on the back? I have never gone that route BUT by the sounds of things maybe I will give it a try.. Hey Bill,, probably oughta listen to Dancer,, sounds like that Texan may have gotten the best of me in that one:rotf: I get a chance I will snap a pic of the Commander 2's profile on the parts bike in comparison to the new Metz I just stuck on my rider.. Got me curious now.........

really nice Dave!!

Hey Kev,, THANK YOU for your service too!! Its an honor getting to hear from you guys on this board!! Now,, is there any chance you could put names to those chopper numbers?? Are we talking "gunships", "Hueys" or something? Kinda let us in on some of your pilot nick names for them if applicable.. Talk to this old geezer like he was one of your pilot brothers,, after all,, I have Piled a lot of It in my life Good stuff! Puc

Hey Bill,, While not exactly the same application cause I have never owned a RSTD, I have been down the Michelin Commander 2 road on one of my 83 1st Gens.. I tend to go thru a lot of rubber touring the desert regions. Got talked into trying one on the rear of my bike out in Texas one time, was told by the guy at this little bike shop that "their all we use out here", paid $135 for mine (not bad for a desperate desperado).. After spending time on that tire I could see why the guy sold a lot of them out there.. It wore like iron compared to the Dunlops/Shinko's/Pirelli's and Metzlers I had ran before.. Definitly a high mileage tire,, HARD rubber tire.. The down side of it was, to me,, though I didnt end up with rubber all over the back of my bike like in the past, it hated cooler pavement - had to be very careful on the mountain twisties AND on wet cooler pavement I HATED that tire - look in a Websters under SLIPPERY WHEN WET and you will probably see that tire listed.. One thing I noticed right away with mine was it didnt appear to have the tread depth when new that other brands I had boughten had,, like I got shorted half the tread depth.. May have just been my imagination but it really appeared that way.. I KNOW the harder rubber definitly affected the cornering and wet weather handling but I always wondered if the lack of tread depth didnt increase those issues... Also,, the profile of the tire was different,, it didnt have the same "crown" as I was use to, it sat flatter (a little closer to going to the dark side) than the other tires... Bottom line: Wear factor +10 All other Factors +3,, maybe,, depending a lot on how hard it was pushed.. Just my 2 cents.... Puc

Congrats Suds!! Hope you put down a deposit cause more and more folks are finding out what they be missing by not owning one the fastest, easy riding, problem free bikes on the planet... You dont want some sneaky Venture rider coming in and cuttin ya off! ENJOY YOUR NEW BIKE!! Puc

Well put Turtle!! I had NO IDEA of the implications of that very statement until I started riding this bike.. Learning to ride a foot clutch, hand shift, hand spark advance has taken me all the way back to learning to ride my first bike - a 59 Sears/Allstate 2 speed moped.. It is AMAZING how after 50 years of motorcycle riding or all sorts, riding something like this is like starting all over again.. DEFINITLY promotes the "young at heart" feeling!! Only now if I fall it hurts :rotf::rotf: Glad you caught that name on there Shmily!! THAT is indeed AMAZING!! Doesnt surprize me that those military manuals still look the same,, blunt -straight forward - no colored pics to look at - just vital info.. Your a CHOPPER PILOT?? HOW COOL IS THAT!!!:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::thumbsup: Can you say what model you fly or will you have to kill me if you do?? I have a son inlaw who is a tech sargent out at Travis Air Base.. Took us out on the flight line,, looked at me and said,,, I know your tempted but if you walk across that line they will haul you away..:rotf: Oh,, and beyond the coolness of what you do,, THANK YOU for your service to our great country Shmily!! Puc

Hey,, Spanky,,, ,,,,,,, BUT,,,,, forum rules dictate,,,,, couple some of those with a massive ride report PLEASE ,,, I have heard some really great stuff about those puppies!! Congrats! Puc PS... when/where is that "Big Toms Rally" thingy... Is that open to the "public" or only to dignitaries??

Thanks Orlin, I really appreciate that! Now doent be surprised if you wake up some morning and find a tent set up on your porch and a old guy cooking hot dogs on your grill:rotf:

You say it has new tires, did it start doing this after the tire install? Might be rear bushings/spacers in placed in wrong place/axle(s) not cinched correctly......

Your welcome my friend!

Prayers Up, Blessings Down,, Nite Neverland...

Dont worry Gary,, those sneaky moderators aint about to close this thread over a little sunday school lesson.. DragonSlayer is wayyyy to crafty for em.. He (and others) have done tried every other nasty trick in the book to get this puppy closed,, bribery, politics, threats, name callin,, even beggin em and NOTHING worked.. Knowing DragonSlayer, I have a hunch he planned it this way - the heart of St. Judes beats in his heart!! Soooo,, here's where we are.. Puc looks around the auction room,, amazed at all the discussion taking place about what that meek young lady and the originator of this auction have proposed.. He looks back over at his shadow and sees his shadow smiling at him.. That Bongobob,, he isnt really a bad guy,, just likes to needle people,, kinda like Puc himself..... He smiles back at Bongo and then turns and looks across the Auditorium.. His eyes are searching for the high bidder of the Auction at this point... Before the auction got side tracked Puc swears he heard someone mention a high bid of $200.. Thats the person his eyes are searching for.... He grins back at Bongo as he approaches the high bidder at this point,,, reaches over and pats the bidder on the shoulder,, a likeable chap named Dingy.. Puc says "Dingy,, I really like your attitude,, you stepped right up and bid $200 bucks toward helping these kids in trouble,, I like that,, ya know what,, I am gonna kick my $40 bid into your pot to help guarentee you get crowned as "Master Thread Killer"... Then Puc looks back at Bongo and smiles an evil little smile that only Bongo himself could possibly understand... Dingy,, heres to the winners,, those PRECIOUS little ones and the official MASTER THREAD KILLER - DINGY!!:clap2::clap2::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot: DragonSlayer,, your a genius!! Everybody else,,, ya'll aint gonna take this laying down are ya?

set of push rod cover seals for my Harley.. Made ya look didnt I:rotf: Anyway,, got almost 700 miles on this old Harley that lets me ride it.. Sweetest old flathead ever built,, its a dandy.. Got enough time on it that I thought I would get busy with some real fun and adjust her valve clearances.. While running around today I pulled into the local Harley shop,, went to the counter and said "gotta pick up some parts for my Harley", parts guy said "not a problem,, what model and year",, I looked up from looking at the price on a new Ultra sitting next to me and said "42 WLA",, he lifted his glasses and said "come again",, I said "its a 1942 WLA Harley".. He laughed and said "we only handle non-obsolete parts":rotf: Told him I was about to set the valves in the old timer,, just looking for push rod tube cover seals,,, probably have to make a set.. He laughed and said "or, if it leaks after ya set em just let it leak".. Got home and pulled the book that the previous owner gave me for it.. I was pretty sure the specs would be in there.. Book is amazing in itself and I thought you guys might enjoy a peek at it.. Definitly a step back to simpler times.. Every gearheads bathroom in America should have reading material like this stuff!! Enjoy!! Puc

You betcha brother,, see ya than.. Oh yea,,, didnt say where ya were headed so I thought I might give ya a heads up,,, if your coming from AZ and headed my way ya might wanna bring your winter long johns along,, still winter here!!! God Speed Puc

:rotf: Not laughin AT you my friend,, laughin with ya cause I have exactly those same ailments,,,,,, probably why that old bike still speaks to me Old Goat!!!!

That analog meter has got to be over in the "insane" readings Bongo.. I mean, really,, no person in their right mind would walk into an Auto Zone AUTO PARTS STORE for a can of carb cleaner like I did today,, notice they had a few spin on oil filters for motorcycles sitting on the shelf,, take 30 minutes of a salesmans time sweet talkin him into doing some research into whether or not Auto Zone could get oil filters for a 1st Gen... Of course,, being crazy has its advantages,, that same salesman told me I am the first person that he knew of that bought oil filters for that old bike for 5 bucks each AND am having them shipped to my door for free :rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf:

Sooo,, still tweekin on Tweeks gettin her ready for another great season of fun.. Todays tweekin was gonna be a simple a matter of finishing up stickin in the Progressives, dropping in some plugs and tossing a carb sync at the old girl.. As usual,, nothing ever goes as planned when playin with a very tired, ridden to death, 83 Venture.. 1st off,,, Tweeks exhaust system has been hit by bolders, logs, salt and hailstones so many times that there is no way it will ever quit backfiring and popping... I did notice what seemed to be a much more abnoxious attitude for doing so, so I thought I would dig into that a little too,,, also thought I might be able to help Muay with a little more advice if I found something weird.. Well,, I did.. Once I got the bike back in after warming it up, I hooked the gauges to it and noticed some really strange readings.. Many many miles ago I had diaphram problems on the road and I stopped at a Yamaha shop and picked up a tube of Yamabond to try and do some back yard, road trip fixen,, worth a try right??.. I had checked that old repair several times over the course of time,, always looked great, and thought maybe my diaphram had finally stretched its last stretch.. Popped the cover,, still looked great... Decided to check the other carbs too.. Well,, I found the culprit,, I had a very sticky slide that didnt want to close all the way.. I found that where the slide slips into the throat of the carb, stuff had built up enough that it was holding the slide open and my vacuum gauges couldnt get a good reading.. Carb cleaner on a rag over my finger, a little scrubbing and than a good internal spray down and all was well.. I have extra diaphrams and thought about putting a new one on the bad one but decided I would continue my Yamabond test for another 20k and check it again,, stuffs amazing.. Finished the tune up.. Guess what,, yea it still pops and growls like it always did (cant expect miracles) but repairing that slide helped, A LOT!!! Even had enough time left to push new fluid thru the old girls hydraulics.. Getting ready guys,,, little by little:backinmyday: Puc

Tell you guys one thing,, if my daughter in Sacramento wasnt taking a week of vacation off after the Dalles Rally so her and I can go ride the west coast I WOULD beat foot it back to Orlins and set my stand right on one of those plates!!!!!! How come summer has to be so stinkin short:confused24:

Sheesh DragonSlayer,, what a tuff crowd,, can sure tell these guys didnt watch Batman having a dialog with the Riddler much:confused24: Ok,, I will splain it to ya,, been waiting long enough.. Jesus brought Lazerous back from the dead - Lazerous was "resurrected"... I took your reference of throwing dirt on a thread after it was 4 pages out as meaning it was dead.. People have been bringing back dead threads (resurrecting them) - (like the Y thread) all winter and I cannot tell you how many times I have got caught responding to them before I realised that someone had "resurrected" yet another one!! I got so wrapped up in responding to "dead" and than "resurrected" threads that I felt like I was stuck going round and round in in one of those revolving doors (turn style) - first I think its "alive" (current), then I find out it was "dead and buried" and had been "resurrected",, over and over again,, round and round,, alive/dead/alive/dead/alive/dead/alive/dead,,, like Lazerous caught on an alive/dead turn style.... Didnt mean to confuse ya brother,, this stuff just pops into my head and I put it out there,,,,, got in lots of trouble in my life for that:rotf::rotf::rotf:

You betcha Kirby!!

Gotta say Silvr,, I test rode a Vision 8 ball one time and couldnt get off the thing,, its rideability was off the chart!! I told the rep - AFTER MY 3RD TIME OUT WITH IT - this is the most amazing motorcycle I have EVER ridden - I nicked named it the "Weeble" - as in weebles will wobble but the wont fall down... Have never rode one of the aluminum framed wings but someday.......... Its fun just going from demo ride to demo ride just a playing with da bikes

Indeed Larry,, that is a HUGE step - but an awesome one!! I have been fighting that arthritis thingy for a few years now myself.. Hands, back and feet mixed with cold, wet weather = down for the count - know how ya feel. They said these coming years were gonna be our Golden Years,, good on ya for not waiting for the Gold to sample one of these fine bikes!! All the best in finding some badges, getting her tweeked to your liking and than riding the socks off her!! Welcome to the site of century!! Puc

Right on!!! Gary is right on the money,,, CHECK THIS FIRST - and tire pressures!!

where I was seeing all these great deals on Ventures I kprt commenting about over the winter.. If I remember correctly my response was,, most out of California but lots out of Florida.. Heres a prime example of what I was talking about.. Now given,, the auction aint over and it will be interesting to see where it ends BUT still,,,,,, this economy is gettin old fast.... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-Royal-Star-2008-yamaha-royal-star-venture-16-k-miles-no-reserve-/111333359633?forcerrptr=true&hash=item19ebfc4011&item=111333359633&pt=US_motorcycles