cowpuc

Wow,, this thread makes a good point,, it would be interesting to hear how families handle/handled kids birthdays who were born on Christmas.. Never thought about that one... Anyway, happiest and grandest of birthdays to: DragonSlayer ronkeen Doc Wade Cosmo bkupmstr clmillsaps ArticusMedicus May your year have very little and lots of tearing along the dotted line!! Puc

Understanding this is a motorcycling site and this all happening years before the first 1st Genner, he was probably hauling that Refer on the back of his Harley, probably a Shovel/Pan.. That being said, he is fortunate to have ONLY broke two of those eggs!! Your brother would have LOVED the Ventures - could have done the trip in 2 days and all his eggs would have made it!!! On a more serious note, thoughts and prayers for all those without power!! THAT is not good!! Puc

Indeed! Merry Christmas to you Don and every one of our family members here on VR!! And may all of your 2014 touring ad-Ventures be safe, warm and dry! Oh yea, and remember, if a couple of old people on a beat up old 1st genner go flying by ya, weeds hangin from the pipes - water jug hanging on the side and tent flapping in the wind,,,, that life is as it should be. Live everyday like its Christmas!! Puc n Tippy

Man ain't that the truth!!! And lots of those good ol ALLIES are still wonderful Allies/friends today, like "family" in more ways than one.. Being "family" = we can have our struggles between us (like brothers and sisters) BUT, mister bad guy:no-no-no:, at the sign of outside the family troubles we WILL drop our struggles and have each others backs!!!

PCism (being forced to refrain from offending someone politically) is just another way to get "we the people" to quietly surrender more of our freedoms found in the very "roots" of the original idea our founding fathers had... Tell you what, those founding fathers offended a TON of people in what they did, and what they did is STILL offending many many people!! Maintaining their ideals has not been easy or cheap. Many many people have spilled their blood to begin and insure that our way of life, defined by the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution, is something that will be available for many generations to come.. I, personally, am thankful for each and everyone one of our military guys/girls who have/are willing to defend our constitutional rights and the continuance of our Democracy. Due to our 1st Amendment (freedom of speech/religion), I love this time of year, I can openly celebrate my faith and I get to proclaim Merry Christmas at will.. To me, when I do so I am not just celebrating Christmas, I am also celebrating our Constitutional Rights,, kinda like I do when I shoot my gun during the 4th of July, ride my bike to a rally to protest something I dont agree with, vote in elections, or go to bed at night KNOWING that "authorities" cant just break into my home while I am sleeping and search my home.. So, that being said, I wish everyone a MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A FANTASTIC NEW YEAR!! Oh yea, dont forget to VOTE IN THE 2014 MID-TERMS,,, maybe even reread the Declaration of Independence/Constitution/Bill of Rights before ya do - it is REALLY interesting!!!!!

IMHO, Jim,, and others, hit the nail on the head.. PCism (being forced to refrain from offending someone politically) is just another way to get "we the people" to quietly surrender more of our freedoms found in the very "roots" of the original idea our founding fathers had... Tell you what, those founding fathers offended a TON of people in what they did, and what they did is STILL offending many many people!! Maintaining their ideals has not been easy or cheap. Many many people have spilled their blood to begin and insure that our way of life, defined by the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution, is something that will be available for many generations to come.. I, personally, am thankful for each and everyone one of our military guys/girls who have/are willing to defend our constitutional rights and the continuance of our Democracy. Due to our 1st Amendment (freedom of speech/religion), I love this time of year, I can openly celebrate my faith and I get to proclaim Merry Christmas at will.. To me, when I do so I am not just celebrating Christmas, I am also celebrating our Constitutional Rights,, kinda like I do when I shoot my gun during the 4th of July, ride my bike to a rally to protest something I dont agree with, vote in elections, or go to bed at night KNOWING that "authorities" cant just break into my home while I am sleeping and search my home.. So, that being said, I wish everyone a MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A FANTASTIC NEW YEAR!! Oh yea, like already mentioned, VOTE IN THE 2014 MID-TERMS,,, maybe even reread the Declaration of Independence/Constitution/Bill of Rights before ya do - it is REALLY interesting!!!!! Puc

WARNING - THIS EPISODE CAN CAUSE NIGHTMARES, HILARIOUM, FEELINGS OF DISORIENTATION AND OTHER TRAUMA - VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK!! In this episode of 2013 Vogel our VR group finds out first hand why most state/national parks have laws about food storage/cooking and disposal.. We learn that bears are not the only critters with good sniffers.. There are also - BUBBA's, thats right,, BUBBA's - roaming around out there!! Bubba pops in, steals the mic from Fozzi, starts nosing around, diggin in this bag and that bag, huggin women, glaring and staring at innocent bystanders and generally causing trouble.. Thankfully, Fozzi Bear overcomes his fear (watch carefully, not sure but I thought I detected a little fear on Fozzi's face) and collar's this loveable creature and sends him in the right direction - toward food.. [ame] [/ame]BUBBA WE LOVE YOU!! PS... thanks 86er puc

I am with you Lewis, yea,, dont put it in your spare screw drawer.. Or.. Up in garage working on a kawasaki 100 carb, pull the bowl to clean the jets, one of the bowl screws has a stripped head, walk down stairs, remove new screw from drawer, walk back up stairs, clean glasses, sit down with new screw to put in bowl,, arrrrgggg, toss that "anti-tamper screw" in neighbors yard, say a couple words you shouldnt say, walk back to get nuther screw..

Ahhhhh,,, so we got a yes, a no and an explanation of why they didnt BUT we still dont have a real answer for this one... I mean,, come on you guys, after all,, these are OLD bikes and there has to be someone out there that has collected a stock pile of these bikes that has run across the answer to this little trivia.. Bets still on at two :stirthepot:

The year is 1983, you left the dealership on your new Yamaha Venture, got a little second gear wheelie as you left the place (young and stupid) - put a big smile on your face cause you KNEW it was BYE BYE time for your buddies wing.. Later, as you watched this buddy disappear in your right mirror you felt the horrible feeling of a bike running out of gas You pull over, do a little digging for a fuel petcock,,, ahhhh,, saved by grace there it is,,, now,, the big question,,, does your 1983 1st Genny have an actual "reserve" petcock like ALL bikes should have??? :stirthepot:

I knew I was dealing with a rough crowd but,,, yea,, didnt even get off the ground with that one!! Hats off to Pete and Carl for straightening the curves on that one,, I still think its a conspiracy - maybe to sell more tools.. Got to agree with Carl about Harbor, I LOVE them for speciality tools,, remember years ago when I guy had to beg his dentist for old dental pics and jewlers lenses were out of sight (pun).. Ok tuff guy Yammer, getting tired a bumpin heads with ya,,, think I will start another trivia thread, just to see how intellectually savvy you guys really are,, I'll see your NEXT? and raise ya wo :stirthepot:

You got er Ragtop!! He is at almost 63% now,, a good ways ahead of the competition, must say though, he does have some pretty good competition there!!! Interesting stories! Thanks for posting this. Puc

Aint it the truth!! And it is amazing how quickly our country responded with all that armor once everyone realised that tyranny was upon us and our constitutional freedoms were at stake.. I think once they figure out how to set up a functional, user friendly website (Freebird could do it and probably for a lot less than 650 million) the next move should be a website set up so the American people can vote on house and senate bills, monitor how congress/senate are voting on these same bills, have a running blog so our Senators/Congressman can explain why they didnt vote the way the people did on a regular basis.... Kinda like a system by the people for the people...

You choose the title.. Anyway,,, while responding to another thread about putting rebuilt diaphrams in I suddenly remembered a question that has popped into my mind a number of times... Have you ever noticed on a 1st gen carb that 1 of the four screws that hold the slide cover on has a special screw head?? I have thought about this a lot over the years while crossing the country on these bikes (oh come on, ya'll have to have gotten bored once in a while too)... Its kinda like the old lug nut lock to keep people from stealing wheels,,, only I dont remember a time when Carb Covers were valuable enough to get beat up for... Any thoughts? I should have searched this, knowing you guys, a masters thesis has already been written about it...

DONT DO THAT!!!!! My wife still talks about the "meaning" of your name - thank you for your service to our country you ol sea dog!! You were just talking to an old biker with a build up of wind noise/moskeetoes/ceecada's and pine needles in his ears - and all that background chatter didnt help - man those yahoo's could talk!! :rotf: Coining Robin Williams: I DONT CARE WHAT YOU PLAY,, JUST PLAY IT LOUD!!!!

Went back and listened to the ol beater,, I think what you guys are hearing is an exhaust leak, lord knows it has a couple of those Running shy of a cylinder or two isnt beyond its nature though,,, few years ago the wife and I went up to Kalkaska Mi to look at it (wore out our previous 1st genner). Nice bike with 28k on it, guy said he had owned it for a few years, I rode it - definitly running on 2!! Came back, asked him if he ever noticed how doggy it was, said no - it always ran good and had plenty of power.. After spit checkin the pipes and showing him two were cold he looked at me like I was nuts:rotf: I told him I would give him his $650 bucks for it anyway.. Rode it home on 2 - ran 70 on the highway no problem, pulled the carb covers, 2 diaphram sets came out in pieces!! Dug into my "spare parts" from previous bikes, put in two sets I had put together, back together and yeeeeeehawww

Trader I have used almost the exact trailer you are looking at for many years, 12 inch wheels, 4x8, 1750 cap. The one in the picture below originally came from Tractor Supply but I know at the time Harbor sold the same trailer. Guy bought it, bolted it together, used it twice and couldnt stand how flimsy it was - you could stand on a corner and almost touch the ground with the corner of the trailer.. I bought it from him for a 100 bucks.. Bought a sheet of wolmanized 3/4 plywood for decking, got the welder out and welded all the crossbeams and corners, bolted the plywood down on cross members and side rails, mounted a bike loop on it. Found it still a little flimsy, bolted 2x6's along the outside edges - thru the frame side rails and into the cross members - that did it!! I have towed literally hundreds of bikes (everything from Ventures/Harleys/choppers/) on this thing thru the years all over the country! Plus quads, lawn equipment and lots of trips moving kids to college dorm rooms all over the country.. Also, before I broke my back in 03 I was an avid dirtbiker, KX500/gas cans/gear strapped on many many times.. We also use it all the time for our 12 foot boat - bass killing!! It has also rescued lots of stranded bikers in the area!! If you look closely at the pics you will see a Ford Festiva (gone now) that did the pulling up to 3 years ago, 5 speed - EFI.. Sold the Festi and started using our Kia Spectra (see pic), its an auto.. The Festiva worked better (stick) cause it maintained good economy even with a full size bike on it.. The Spectra will still maintain 26ish MPG going cross country loaded up but the Festi did much better.. If I were you I would make sure the trailer has tilt.. I have found the tilt on them really comes in handy.. Mine is a singe tounge and noticed the one at Harbor has dual.. It may or may not be tiltable.. It actually comes in handier for unloading than loading - especially if your alone - undo tilt/climb on bike/lean forward and release straps/lean back an roll off - have done it many many times!! Another little trick I have learned using these lite trailers with lite cars for pulling is getting a good balance on tounge weight.. 150 pounds is to much! Thing pulls great with 20 or 30 pounds on the tounge.. I have used everything from a gas can to a car battery strapped on for adjustable ballast to obtain this.. Also, you can find spare wheels/tire assemblies for these things all over CHEAP!! I have replaced the bearings in this one a couple times and gone thru a couple sets of tires BUT again, it has seen many many miles!! Toss on a set of bearing buddies.. Hope this helps Puc

Got a buddy that runs them in all his bikes, he has a lot more spare $$ than I do...

Looks Twingleish....

Heres looking at you Kid, Merry Christmas!!! I wish Tippy (my sheela) and I were on ride-about in your out-back, we would climb in our swags (AussieAnnie/Quickstep educated me on "swags") and watch Santa fly between the stars!!!:cool10: Puc

My pleasure Larry!! Your welcome!! Yea brother,, THAT was fun!! Puc

Hi Aharbi!! That is amazing about your grandparents, I bet they had some really interesting stories to share!! We LOVE the Manistee area,, although I really enjoy the whole Lake Michigan shoreline, there is something magic that happens from Manistee going north.. They sure picked some gorgeous area to settle in!! You can always tell people who love biking,,, even when they are "caging" their hearts are with the bikers... Amazing to bump into them AND recognizing each other two days later and STATES away.. Thanks for the kudo's on the thread!! Puc

In this episode from Vogel 2013: ETCSWJoe does his best to break the highspeed roll that Carbon One (and wife) are on BUT they dont take it laying down!! Than RandyR uses some low end torque to take over only to be cutoff by a quick shiften YammerDan.. Than, catching Yammer sleeping at the throttle, RandyR jumps right back in and creates yet another great gain for the "other table"... :rotf::rotf: Seeing our friends from down under (Aussie Annie and Quickstep) in this little video also brought back some great thoughts of them.. To come all the way from Australia, ride the USA for the summer (not all perfect riding weather either), taking time to share their lives with us,,,, you two are some very special people....

You too Annie, you too!!! That was soooo much fun!! You and that Hubby of yours are AMAZING people!! HEYYYYYY,,, another neighbor!! Right on brother!! Northern Wisconsin is GORGEOUS,, and LOTS of places to drop a tent!!! Hey Duey, you ever come up and ride the Lake Michigan shoreline around the lake thru Michigan - Tunnel of Trees, Sleeping Bear, M-22?? Beautiful!! Still gotta watch those Wisconsin cagers though. Do you remember the really bad accident up by Fon Du Lac that those guys from Michigan were killed in,, kid crossed the center line and took out 10 bikes... My neighbor was in that group, he wasnt killed but will never be able to ride again.. We rode over to pay respects,, here is a shot of the site.. I do agree with ya though,, there are some areas that seem to have more cagers that hunt bikes than others,,, riding I-5 and 99/Sacremento comes to mind - I have a hunch that disrespectful bikers out there may have something to do with that though (lots of cagers hate bikes)..

Funny,, I somehow thought you rode barefoot Yammer YES SHE WAS, and what a GORGEOUS Trike she rides!!! And,, if you look closely at my bike in the video, I now have a sticker on it allllll the way from Australia - signed by Aussie and Quickstep,, its my pride and joy (along with my the Australian Flag sticker it wears on the windshield!!).. What a super special time it was down there!!! You said, and I repeat,, COWPUC ROCKS,, its recorded so you cant take it back ,, naa naa dee boo boo And thank you for pointing out how that goofy camera even compromised my good buddy Cuda (making you look fat) ,,,, cant wait to try out the camera I won at Vogel this summer - maybe it will be a little more careful what/how it records :rotf: I doubt it.... Puc