cowpuc

We arrived home from out west to greet my daughter and she was there waiting for us. Becky (daughter) announces her plans to only stay for the day. Got up the next morning and told Tippy I was bored, she said, me too - its still summer - LETS RIDE SOME MORE!!.. I told here about a place/thing/item called "Vogel" I had read about on Venturerider.. I also told her that even though I had spent a fair amount of time on that website I had never actually met anyone from there and it would be fun to see if anyone associated with that site actually existed.. Changed the oil, checked air pressures, bike was still packed from months on the road out west so away we went.. Toured the Red River Gorge area on the way - BEAUTIFUL! Made it all the way to Pigeon Forge by 2 a.m.. Found a slab of concrete behind a Shell station that wasnt occupied, dropped the tent on the slab and nodded out.. Next morning I went inside and thanked the Shell station attendant for not calling the cops on us.. He laughed and said the cops had checked on us 3 or 4 times during the night to make sure we were ok.. Gotta love southern hospitality.. Toured the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the way to Deals Gap.. Crowded, slow moving but real pretty!! Headed down the Foothills Parkway (NICE) to 129 (Tail of the Dragon) with hopes of bumping into some other Venture riders from the site who may have a clue of the whereabouts of a thing called Vogel.. Shortly after we headed east on 129 we came across some folks with bike troubles.. It was getting later in the day and I pretty much knew if I stopped to help we would run out of time in finding any of those VR folks soooo,, of course I stopped, what the heck we had a tent and theres always tomorrow.. The stranded riders were a couple of local guys.. They were HAPPY to let me work on their bike, found out it had a bad connection out of the stator and ran out the battery.. When they found out where we were headed they started warning me about unfriendly cops along 129 (been there several times before,, had more problems dodging kids on rockets than cops..). No sooner did the conversation start than up pulls a cop The officer turned out to be a real nice guy, he even stopped traffic for us while we bump started (pushed) the broken bike.. Rode the Tail and pulled into Deals Gap Store... I noticed a few Ventures and people standing around talking !! After filling the tank I walked over and asked the gang you see in the pics if they had ever heard of VentureRIder.org.. Couple funny looks and they all shook their heads no,,,, they started laughing ( "Dokow" - Dana and "Wingman" - Jamie,, careful if you bump into these two when they are together)... I could tell right away these were my kinda pranksters and these two would later prove just how jokerish they could be!! When asked if they knew what a Vogel was, they invited us to join the tribe and find out first hand.. Having no idea what we were in for or even where we were headed, we just followed the group.... Somewhere along the way we stopped for FOOD at a place called "Zaxby's", finally some FRIED CHICKEN!! The "group" was in a hurry to leave Deals Gap, no time for intro's there BUT did at the resturant.. I am TERRIBLE with names, didnt take any pics (my bad) but it was really GREAT to finally put faces with names!! Of course, there are some faces/names one can never forget, trauma has its way.. I know that YammerDan was there cause someone mentioned his name and when I asked out loud who he was everyone pointed at a different person, thereby leaving that linkering question of - "who IS the real YammerDan" forever lodged in my brain.. I think (feel free to correct me, add to, subtract from) Frodo, Skid, GeorgiaWildcat, Missy,,, are some names that come to mind argggg - brain strain.. After we ate, Wingman and Dokow walked over and said, if you have never met anyone from VR than you have never met Dragon Rider right? Thats right, I replied (I could tell something was brewing).. They said, well, we want you to somehow call him "Fozzie Bear" when we introduce him to you at Vogel.. Now,,, I dont have any pics of this so you, the reader, will have to imagine this one,, at the same time they said "Fozzie Bear" their hands went up above their eyes and there fingers made long eye brows.. Hmmm,, whats ol Puc got himself into this time,, let me think about it guys, OK, sounds like fun.. Of course, having suffered the results of jokes gone wrong in the past, I inquired as to the orneriness of this particular "bear" and got reassured, if he turned mean it wouldnt be towards yours truely, good nuff.. Turns out that "Vogel" is actually a beautiful State Park down south, somewhere in Georgia as I recall (just as bad with directions as names)... We pulled into Vogel, there were bikes all over, a lot of them looked like the bike I was riding, minus the grime, antelope horns and stickers of course.. I could hear the old 83 saying "thanks - I needed this" as we pulled thru and waved (still having withdrawals from sturgis?).. Typical of all bears, Fozzie had chosen a Den up on a hillside that was no small matter to get to, much less park at,, little trials riding, finding a 6 inch high rock to keep the bike from falling over and,,,, we walked into Fozzies Den........ :stirthepot::stirthepot:

Why?? He dont ride a Harley does he? :rotf:

Could you imagine falling asleep in your hunting blind and waking up to that,, HOLY HAIR CUT TIME BATMAN!! :rotf:

61 bucks a day Skid,, definitely sounds like a King Crab lunch and T-Bone for dinner routine to me... After you eat your fill, pull those stick on hair attachments out of your pocket and stick em on, dance around the parking lot all the while proclaiming you got a belly ache and bingo,, voucher for a nice motel so you can sleep off all that food... :rotf: Better hope some of your buddys aint already ate there though,,,,, the motel you end up in may be the type with bars on the windows Have fun!! Puc

y What PUC knows about Dan,,, it is for good reason that a group of 5 or 6 people standing around talking, when asked "which of you are YammerDan" will instantly and without hesitation point at each other.. Here is the best pic of who I suspect is really YammerDan... Because he rides a 1st gen this should be a very recognizable picture to anyone who doesnt ride one 1st gen riders,,,,, look for the pony tail...

You guys are lucky you have Donna doing this,,, in the mind of Puc this is what I come up with.. A tee shirt with a picture on the BACK of it of a 1st gen with attached trailer . Strapped on the trailer is a Harley.. On the front of this shirt is a nice pic of a 2nd Gen in all its glory - no trailer needed.. On one shoulder is a picture of YammerDan trying to get his bike out of a tree and on the other shoulder is a picture of a shirtless Puc (me reading between the lines here -yes Donna, hard to believe it but that body is still in existence). The shirt is designed to be worn backwards so the 1st gen is out front even though its pulling a trailer with a harley on it.. Sales should easily exceed a million shirts.. :rotf:

Yep, just like everything else in life there's a "natural" order that must take place in all living things Grasshopper.. I have never met Donna but she sounds to me like the type of person who would never disrupt this normal flow, I think she gets the concept of faster means first and slower means second.. Besides Dan, I dont know anyone who would wear a shirt that shows a second gen in front of a 1st gen....

You gotta take Craigs for what it is, just another tool and like most tools can be used for good or bad. I have successfully sold a lot of stuff thru Craigs too BUT always get my fair share of scammers. Like mentioned, you gotta take the good with the bad. Learn to sort em out, in a very short time you can identify most data collectors pretty easily. One of the really nice features of Craigs is its FREE!! I have also met lots and lots of really great folks thru craigs and only a couple losers. On the same token though, there are some really bad people out there (scammers) that would be fun to do a burnout on.. I was also an avid ebay seller thru the years but had some major business issues with them after they bought Paypal. One of the things I learned in life and college about the free enterprise system is that the market sets the value, in other words - it doesnt matter what I think an item is worth, it only matters what people are willing to pay. That said, now I use Ebay a lot for market research, just to see what the "real" value of any particular item is. I have found that pricing a little below a simular item selling on Ebay on Craigs brings pretty good results.. If you use this strategy though ya gotta remember that lots of folks use credit when purchasing thru ebay (paypal,,) so this can change the target market considerably. This goofy economy seems to have brought a little shortage of cold hard cash..

Well,, just to make sure your an honest Beast I did a google search and found out your not exactly shooting square with us here.. Think I'll be stickin to the old 1st Genner a lil longer.. 2014 RS Venture http://cdn-9.psndealer.com/e2/dealersite/images/newvehicles/2014/nv352622_0_400.jpg

taint no way taint no how, taint never been nuttin built even close to a 1st gen here we go again....

Didnt know that, I thought Porshe was only in on the V-Rod design and in looking at the new 500/750's I can see Porshe design in them...

AND, if he keeps tinkering with that 2nd gen he will have it permanantly running on 2 cylinders and than he will have a real Hardley,, minus the cam gear wear problems... You know Dan, if you did that with Sugar you could probably even still put a whoopin on a stock HD...

THAT is mind boggling... I wonder if air displacement noise is part of the equation? Maybe an silent electric motored HD, fully streamlined with an on board recording of a straight piped old sportster blairing is in our future What is motorcycling becoming You know, considering the point you made here Brian, now I understand how Yamaha got away with the clutch whine, they focused on super quiet exhaust and spent their allotment for noise on straight cut gears for the clutch.. Thats just crazy Brian...

Thats gotta be a classic Randy!! FORTUNATELY MR. BEHM wasnt hurt in this whole incident, man what story!!!

Good point Brian, I havent had someone else work on any of my bikes sense,, well,,, never.. I have a tendency to forget that not everyone does that.. Your pricing of having it done sounds logical (no idea what shop rates are now but they gotta be in the $100 an hour range). Hey Brian, you forgot to include locktite in your pricing on doing it yourself,, lots of locktite :rotf: Thanks for keeping me honest!! You know, for the life of me I still cant understand why/how HD, after spending all that time and $$ developing the TC motor decided to use that stupid little cheap plastic shoe.. They should have went gear driven in the first place... Thats an interesting point Oldodge. Even though the newer ones drop the rear cylinder (electronically) when warm and idling, its still an air cooled motor... Hmmm,, certainly something to consider if your looking at a Police bike.. I like the RK's too,, I still love the looks of the Heritage Special, Fat Boy and the old FLH's with the dull aluminum nacelle..

Now your thinking Barry.. Thats an interesting comment, "not wanting to drop more cash and than resent it".. Seriously, from my experience with HD that goes against their corporate philosophy, kind of an oxymoron. Your suppose to like spending your cash on your bike.. Local HD dealers around here have regular test rides, also the manufacturer puts on some awesome test riding of new bikes (a BLAST).. The renting idea sounds like a winner too - last time I was in an HD shop that offered rentals it seems like rental rates were very reasonable.. Something else I have noticed.. I have seen a number of high mileage HD Twin Cams around and always yap with owners when I can (love to yap).. These high mileage bikes always seem to have a common ground - they are totally stock bikes, had maintenance done and got ridden regularly.. There are some HD folks who have learned to be happy with 67 horse and just enjoy the ride, good for them!! By the way, the cam tentioner replacement on these bikes is NOT a major job and not that expensive to do (I think I paid 65 bucks for the last one I bought), its just a matter of doing it.. Not even close to the job to replace tentioner guides in say,, an old honda 750.. Send some heat this way buddy, PLEASE

You know, its that pedal on the right that ya step on and go faster...

WELL PUT KIC!!! Oh, by the way, the "no brakes" comment in the vid also makes perfect sense to this ol 1st gen rider,, fits perfect

Donna, does the trailer have to be on wheels (see pic)? THANKS FOR YOUR HARD WORK!!!!

oppps, forgot pics,, Also, thinking about pricing and all that Barry... Here is an ad locally for me where a guy has an 07 dyna for 7 grand, only has 8000 miles on it.. I know its not an RK but its a good example of what I have been seeing newer (compared to 02) go for around here.. There are TONS of newer HD's around and that seems to be driving the prices down... With that being said, something to consider with these modern day HD's is the HD warrantee.. If memory serves me correctly you can still purchase an HD warranty for older bikes, dont know how far back thats offered.. That being said, it would be cool if you could by a used one and put the warranty back on it,, something to think about... Puc

Hi Barry Yep, have owned, modded, resold and ridden several of them.. Also helped repair lots of them on the sturgis route touring over the years. Although NOT an expert on HD by any means so I am sure others will have different opinions.. Here is a pic of one I did up with a supercharger on it.. NICE BIKES!! Very rideable! Handle the twisties just great - lots of fun!! If its a stage one it would probably dyno in the 70 horse range. Good brakes. GREAT dealership support cause its a Harley - LOTS of dealerships all across the country.. That being said though, being an 02 there are parts that are probably already obsoulete - especially tuners and such.. I have found that the twin cam motor from HD is the most durable motor HD has made to date. Yours would be the 88 inch motor, cant remember if they offered a carb model back than, its probably FI.. Back in that time frame (and I think it was before the 02's) HD had troubles with the FI, than they switched to Delphi. If its not carbed I am sure you are getting the delphi.. Weak points,, the cams and oil pump are chain driven. There is a small plastic shoe that serves as a tensioner on this system. This little shoe has caused alot of grief for lots of folks, mainly folks who don't believe in real maintenance.. As the shoe wears it can contaminate the oil.. Also if not replaced on time it can cause catastrophic failure.. I worked on three HD's year before last that had this happen out at the sturgis rally - none of the folks I helped even had a clue of what happened.. In my opinion this little shoe is the achellies heal of the twin cam.. They are usually good to 25 thousandish and it sounds like the bike your looking at is under this BUT I would replace it soon if I bought it.. Personally, I think the aftermarket gear driven cam setup being offered for this is the ultimate solution (that blower was gear driven) but its pricey - about 550 bucks - and makes a whine (sounds like our clutch noises).. The TC motor and tranny is also now "modular". The evo's/shovels/pans had the engines separated from the trannys - held by a backing plate. The TC trannys are bolted onto the engine BUT there is still a primary chain that drives the tranny. HD now uses an automatic adjuster, again with a small plastic shoe on it. That system has caused some issues too and I personally know guys who have gone back to the old manual adjust system with good success.. One of the really neat things about HD is the VAST amount of performance parts and pieces available for gear heads.. They are VERY buildable BUT I have found out that if left alone these TC's are very capable of thousands of miles!! Puc

I just got off the phone with my daughter in California, they are getting some of that cold snap too Brian.. She grew up in Michigan and is very familiar with how cold climate homes and businesses are built totally different than warm climate homes.. Natural disasters come in many forms.. I feel sorry for you folks out in the warmer climates that are dealing with this stuff!! It aint no fun. I KNOW from touring the west that there has to be many many folks living in the desert climates who really need our thoughts and prayers right now (homeless, indian reservations, back country dwellers AND metro dwellers).. Life can get disasterous FAST when your freezing and have no water cause of frozen pipes... People can die! Anyway, my thoughts and prayers go out to all of them.. Puc

Happy Birthday Carl!! Hope you have a GREAT day! Puc

Thanks for sharing your awesome Christmas present with us Daitan. THAT is beyond cool!! Hoping your time of reuniting is filled with joy and blessings for you and your Mom!! Amazing! Puc

Hey,,,, another Michigander,, not necessary at this time BUT thanks Ragtop for the offer!! Sure looks like fun though dont it?? Be a blast crawling around in the woods on that puppy and than showing up at the blessing of the bikes all covered in mud! Thanks again for the offer! Puc