cowpuc

Prayers Up!!! Nite neverland...............

Why do I see the word "eat" in there,, why am I hungry now...

WOW,, that is OUTSTANDING!!! Like I just wrote to FlyinFool,, his days of sending snow over the lake to us are coming to an end,, FAST!! You post just confirms what my bones are telling me,,,, its headed our way.. Pretty soon Tippy and I will be joining the fun you folks are having down yonder...

So my brother in law brings a Honda Spree over to my shop years ago.. Says the motor is locked up, he took it to the Honda shop and they told him 900 bucks to tear it down and fix it.. Asks if I would take a quick peek at it and tell him what to do.. Noticed the oil tank was empty.. Asked his permission to fix it my way,,, says go ahead - I am just gonna toss it cause I aint gonna put 900 bucks in it.. Drained the gas, pulled the mirrors, pulled the battery, pulled the plug and flipped it upside down.. Hooked the battery back up, hit the started and pumped all the oil that had drained into the crankcase out into a pan.. Flipped it back over, put it back together, put some raw gas into the topend, let it spin a little to dry it out.. Plug in and started her up.. Took off down our road,, smoke just a billowing for a block or so, then it ran perfect.. My brother in law says,, you had the same goofy look on your face riding that moped as you have on any of your custom bikes you have built.. Your just a goofy little kid at heart who found a way to make a living off your goofyness... His kid rode that little spree for three more years.. Bottom line Squid,, that aint the first time (or probably the last) that I have heard those words :rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf: Your fightin a losin battle FF, I can feel it in my bones... Could very well be Carl,, certainly something sloppy in there.. It makes no noise while running thru the gears but up on the center stand spinning the rear wheel it sure sounds loose.. I will let you guys know what I find when I rip her down...

Why does procrastinate spell etanitsarcorp if you spell it backwards..

Funny you should ask Angel.. My Nephew, who I call "Cartwheel" (he is one of the kids who I required to ride the woods with me for a year before I would help him in purchasing his first streetbike - got the name because he had a tendency of doing cartwheels on the dirtbike) bought a brand new one their first year out.. I spoke with CW just last week inquiring about his bike.. I had a chance at grabbing a CHEAP Raider (3 grand but needed work) and wanted some input into how his bike was doing (Raider has same drive train).. Johns Strat has almost 70k on it, upgraded to a programmable tuner, pipes, seats, windshield.. He and his wife do a fair amount of touring on it.. He said it gets excellent mpg (mid/high 40's unless you hammer on it). Has yet to replace the drive belt.. I have also spent a fair amount of time on it and can promise ya,, it RUNS STRONG!! Has an amazing torque curve.. Is surprisingly smooth for a V-Twin.. The only weak point that he commented on was the like to eat rear tires (makes sense).. I think he said the stock tire disappeared at 4k,, cant remember what his running now but he is running something that he has almost doubled that... CW is a very big guy and the Strat fits him to a tee.. It is a BIG bike with a BIG sound and BIG heart!! Oh yea,, I asked him about "gearing" for his bike.. I had spoken to several Strat riders over the years and everyone wants a 6th gear.. According to CW,, there is a Harley rear sprocket that will fit the Strat so you can toss some gearing at it.. Apparently, all ya have to do is open the bolt holes up on the HD pulley a little and it lines right up...

Our friend FlyinFool finally stopped sending all his snow over to Michigan long enough for me to drag the 87 parts bike I scrounged back in January out and play with it a little.. Looks like a good beginning!! Here is a short video of how some of the play time went.. And then I thought I would drag you all along on a test ride,, no brakes, holding the camera in my left hand,, out soakin it up... Yeeeeehawwwwww... Enjoy!!! Puc

KIDS GOT TALENT - WOW!! Makes me think about these amazing Trials Riders that do stuff very simular to that.... The only difference is they a least have some gyro affect of the motor helping them balance (still wayyyyy skilled stuff),,, this kid is doing it on a bicycle,, amazing!!!!

Hi TJ - welcome!! Never owned one but I have spent some time playing with the old Gen 1's of which the bike your looking at shares somewhat in its drive line.. I think $4500 is a little above average in pricing for what your looking at, I have seen a number of number of Gen 2 full blown Ventures (got all the extra goodies) selling for well below 5 this year,, matter of fact,, if you peek in our classifieds I think you will see a couple (There was one posted here in the Watering Hole recently for 4550 that I think found its way to the classifieds section of VR).. Ace50 is right about the carbs being smaller.. The newer Tour Deluxes (2002 and later) Yam went back to the bigger carbs.. It will be interesting to see if some of these other guys who have actually owned the bike you are talking about can testify as to whether or not the earlier ones (like your talking about) got better gas mileage, were more torquey (smaller carbs can do that)... If I were looking at it, I would raise it off ground and spin the back wheel and check for slop in the drive train, check the rear shock for leakage, check the rubber carb manifolds for cracking - cant believe I said that (hard to imagine that bike is 14 years old already) , and see if the guy has any maintenance records on the bike... One thing I can vouch for on these V-4's,, they are just getting started at 30k!! Good luck on your endeavor!! Puc

Ditto!! Be a friend,, encourage your buddy to follow the Venture trail!! Not that those ol Cav's arent really cool - I like em - but they did have their issues like already mentioned....

Yea ,, been tinkin da same ting,,, Why is it,, why is it,, and why aint cha And why cant Yammer have illusions of grandeur if he wants em Bubber:confused24:,, he's thoughtful, honest, fair, kind, never picks on anyone,,,,, why cant a guy like that have all the illusions he wants:confused24: I am with Bongo on this one!!!

+1 Eck, now seen on my calendar August 25th, official VR "In Memory Of Ride" day.. Great idea Eck!! Thanks Puc

Peter,, I still think that starting out with a little trail bike like you did and working your way up the latter is the best way to grow n go... I also KNOW I would have fallin deeply in love with flying but for me,, it just was never feasible financially.. Its gotta produce some amazing feelings of freedom too.. A step further,, if I could buzz around like superman I probably would give up biking and spend my time rippin thru the clouds...

That cha did Jeff,, that cha did... Guess we oughta do the brotherly love thing and warn our brothers out east of the coming doom too..

What a gorgeous machine,,, I love the way it just beckons ya to climb on and ride.. Looks extremely comfortable and appears to have real soul... That black bike in your garage is really pretty too.... CONGRATS SQUID!!

Yea but being a cop bike I dont have to stop for lites, stop signs, other cops pulling me over and giving me tickets,,,,,,,, as long as I can conjur up a good siren sound I should get there wayyyyyy ahead of ya!! THANKS A LOT FLYINFOOL!! YOU JUST CREATED THE SHORTEST SPRING KNOWN TO MANKIND - LASTED ALL OF 2 DAYS - high of 27 here today!!! Ya know ol buddy,,, when those southern breezes start all its gonna take to blow all the ice floating off shore on Lake Michigan over to Milwaukee is a slight eastern breeze to go with it,,,, karma's funny stuff.....

That we do Bob,,, that we do.. or,,, "ya see that old coon hound with his head hanging out da window of that car,,,,, go ask him - he can explain it much better than I,,,,, of course - it goes without saying - ya still gotta be smarter than an old coon hound to understand"

I think that is FANTASTIC Eck!! Our own little Memorial Day... Count me in!!!

Super good post here Bay,, sure brought back lots of emotions, memories and describes my life to a tee.. Back in 1960, a little Puc in Kindergarten kept getting himself in huge trouble cause he didnt fit the societal mode of "normal".. Instead of playing with little boys collecting ball cards - playing little league baseball and such,, he was busy drawing pictures of Choppers - collecting motorcycle pamphlets, tearing up his grampa's lawnmower just to see what made it run.. Definitely a problem child.. NO ONE back than understood the meaning of "its in his blood" and the little fellar got many a whoopin to try and drive those "feelings" far from him... It didnt work cause you cant change who or what a person is... Still to this day,,, doesnt matter what I am riding,, be it a moped - dirtbike - minibike or full blown dresser - I still get that same feeling you are describing everytime I am riding.. Yea,,, 11th amendment should have read as follows,,, Government shall pass no laws infringing on the right to keep and bear motorcycles.. All other forms of transportation shall herein be considered secondary and subservient to the above.. In that motorcycles have a soul and provide the means to "the pursuit of happiness" all forms of taxing and harrassing associated with motorcycling qre herein deemed unconstitutional.. Going down that long lonesome highway,, bound for the mountains and plains,, sure aint nothin here gonna tie me,, and I got some friends I'd love to see again,, one of these days I'm gonna,, settle down,, but till I do I wont be,, hangin round.... Sang it for years and still do too DJ!! Gotta say though,,, looking back on my years of "going down that long lonesome highway",,,, I have gotten sooo spoiled by my Venture seats that the thought of the seat on Bronsons sporty for all those miles makes my butt ache

And hear is another short vid of todays outcome.. Man what a fun day,, springs coming!!!

Got a BUNCH in today,,, working on an old cop bike made me think of our friend Skid!!! Prayers Up!!

Crazy aint it Jim.... Drives me nuts too,,, my wife keeps telling me to stop looking back when I point stuff like that out (easier said than done..),, Puc, she says,,,, look at all the fun you had living thru though years,,, yea I say,,, but if I would have only known.. Michigans the same DJ on the plates,, I have several of those Historic Plates and run them A LOT.. Here,, you can get a 15 year "Historic Plate" (bikes gotta be 25 years old) for 30 bucks OR you can get an old plate that matches the year of the bike (like the one on the back of this Cop Hog,, and it DOES NOT even have to be from Michigan) and pay 5 more dollars and have that plate permanently attached to that bike.. Been running em on my Ventures for years and EVERYTHING that falls inside of rules.. This will make ya laugh,, my neighbor says,, cops are gonna take your motorbike away from you for running that fake plate on there.. I says,,, why,, its legal, nothing fake about it... He says,, those are for parades only.. I said,, ya gotta read the rules,, you can be going to and from shows/events,, be working on your bike or test riding after working on it.. I love test riding my bikes,, I always stop at bike events, I am always showing - off,, and I have NEVER owned a bike that I am not constantly working on:rotf::rotf::rotf: Concerning the fairing,, it came with the windshield attached, the fairing was unattached and I just laid it up above the lite to show what it looked like... GOOD EYE DJ!! Not ready to let that cat out of the bad yet Bill,, this one may very well end up on E-Bay and I would hate to have that info floating around out there in Cyberworld during a sale,, could be not good.. Ask me again over a camp fire this summer,,,, man I miss camping.. Ok,, got the first vid up,, this vid was intended for the deceased PO's family (great kids!!) so thats why I mentioned their names.. I promised them I would post one up for them as soon as I got it running.. The son of the PO wanted soooo badly to hear his dads old bike run again but it just couldnt happen in its condition at the sale so I did the next best thing... Gotta love the relationship between a gear headed biker and his machine,, the girl - Jillian - said I reminded her soooo much of her father it wasnt funny... I love bikes but I love people more... Puc

Indeed,, selling for a penny and charging 50 shipping and HANDLING (I call em scammers) seems to be the wave thats been white capping for the last 6 - 8 years... Stupid economy... Oh well,, at least we are all in it together - thru thick and thin... Ya know,, I read something really cool on here a while back.. Somebody mentioned a "Pay It Forward" thing that was done in the past.. What little I know about it, it sounded like a lot fun and a good way to help each other out... What ever happened to that?? Hope I am not opening a can of worms guys, that is not my intent,, just really liked what I was reading... I junked 2 old 1st Gens a couple years ago,, still had a few usable parts and I felt really bad but this stuff can accumulate sooooo flippin fast....

Thats cause he is saving it to get reinvigarated after putting around on his 2nd Gen OPEN DA GATE AND GET OUT DA WAY,, YAMMERDAN COMIN OUTA CHUTE 9:rotf:

Rbig,, I am with Bongo,, to me thats pricey.. Because its missing second gear, the only way I would hand over 500 bucks for it is if it were other wise in exceptional condition or if it were totally rideable and ready to go (I have rode these puppys thousands of miles with no second gear BUT,, thats about what I have into them too) so I could hear, see, smell for myself whats going on internally.. You probably already know this but if second gears out of it its probably got at least 30K on it, plastic water pump has probably dissolved and stator issues, are a given unless already upgraded.. Carb diaphrams and cleaning... Stuff just adds up so flipping fast... I have been watching the market really closely (its how I make my living) and have seen a number of them ready to go for around that $1200 mark and most are still out there.. Personally,,, and this is coming from an area where bikes are plentiful so ya gotta consider that,, I think $250 for a parts bike is fair... On the same token,, if ya need the parts and can off the other parts to offset your costs,,, heck ya... Oh yea,, I parted bikes out on E-bay a number of years back,, did really really well BUT, times are different.. A lot of the stuff that I was seeing 150 - 200 bucks for have been in the 10 dollar range... Good for the buyers but really tough to make a buck at it nowadays.. Just a thought,, hope it helps... Puc