cowpuc

Good question! Short analogy - guy owns a basket ball court, the only balls, shoes, shirts he allows on the court are ones he provides. He is also one of 5 courts in the world to play on.. YOu love to play ball but REALLY dont want to wear his shoes.. The next closest court is 600,000 miles away.. So you comprimise - wear his shoes and play ball cause you love the game that much.......... Get it?????? BE THANKFUL to get anything!! Few years back our home got busted into and we lost over 30 grand of stuff.. I had been with the same insurance company for over 24 years and NEVER filed a claim with them (always felt like I could replace broken windows and such and save MY insurance company money).. They beat us out of the claim - disgraceful!! Read some of the stuff from Hurricane Katrina!! THOUSANDS of people lost everything - some of the biggest insurance companies in the world sent agents in to tell people the damage was from flooding NOT from the hurricane and BINGO - raked em,, again disgraceful but,,, they own the court..... 'Puc

Ok Rod,, you asked so here ya go.. You are seeing it raw,,,, please remember that.. Also gonna try to include a shot of a couple chops I did... The white/green one sold to a guy in Fargo (personally delivered) and the blue one went to North Carolina (I delivered it personally to a guy on the big Marine base on the South/East corner of NC). I have been building since I was a kid (I remember drawing chops in Kindergarten - no kidding!!!) and have been full time since 97.. Anyway,,,, enjoy and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 'Puc

Wellllll,, I aint much of tv watcher of any sort.. I am more of gearhead type and extremly hardcore in the biker sense of the word.. Therefore, for my Christmas present this year I went and bought a 1961 Harley Softtail framed - Shovel engined - converted belt drive primary connected back to a 4 speed tranny.. Hot that AWESOME old school left over chrome swingarm on her --- even has one of those old school double striped white wall tires on the back!! Old fat bob twin tanks are in ok shape - need some repair but still there!! Its a total basket case and ready for the magic to take place... SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cool and SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Cowpuc!! Drove all the way from Michigan to Fon du lac just for me to get my present... hahahahahahahahahh I am still on cloud nine as it hasnt been taking space in my garage for more then 36 hours yet!! Thats my story and I am sticking to it!! 'Puc As always, Pictures to come if anyone is interested,, if not I wont waste the bandwidth.....

Sometimes in life you run across a person who IS you and IS able to say what you want to say and just dont know how to say it..... THANK for this post,, it means alot to me!! And Don, YOU are da man and these Moderaterators are an awesome bunch of fellow contributors who make this board a very special and safe place to hang.. In the spirit of THumper1's quote - MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!! 'Puc

Just another little something to think about Dex,, how familiar are you with hot humid muggy summer days?? I have lived in Michigan all my life but have done lots of traveling.. I also have a daughter who lives in Greenville SC and have visited many times.. While having totally enjoyed the biking down yonder I cant say the same for the non-biking days.. Other then working in an air conditioned environment,, I simply cant imagine working down there in the summer time - that would be unbearable.. Cant breath..... If I were looking for heat I would Venture (had to get that in here somewhere) somewhere west of the Rockies - like western Colorado or Utah or Nevada or Arizona,, someplace where the humidity is below 50 percent,, like they say - its a dry heat.... Just a thought.. 'Puc

Oh my gosh,, do you really want to do this??? Are you sure you want to go here?? Here is sneak peak at my life.. I VIVIDLY remember drawing choppers when I was in Kindergarten. I started riding in 1963 on a 59 Sears Allstate Moped - I still have the frame to the old girl.. Between 63 and 73 (when I graduated High School) I had owned over 15 bikes. I worked VERY hard for my machines and purchase all of them with my own money except the Allstate - my dad spit that $50 purchase with me - it took a whole summer of paper route money to pay my half. Through the years I have raced trials, motocross, harescrambles, tt, cross country, hare and hound, poker runs, ice bikes, drag race, hill climbs and wheelie contests.. In 1973 I purchased the first brand new Honda CR250M and cleaned house with it.. I bought another brand new on in 74. I still have the worn out 73.. Also during that year I upgraded my street bikes to a XS650 Yam and I also bought a brand new Yam 250 Trials bike and owned a 250 Enduro too... I have owned Harleys, Maicos, Huskys, bought a new VOR MX400 with a gear driven top end and a cassette tranny in 2000 - I was 45 at the time - the bike was $10,000. Last year I rode my 83 Venture out to Sturgis.. On the way out, my riding buddie and I just made it into a resturant in Murdo SD - 2 minutes before closing.. Just as we sat down a brother walked in with a shirt that said "Harley Davidson - I got mine in Iraq".. As he sat down I told Chip (riding buddy) that the dude wasnt gonna get serven and he didnt.. He shook his head in disbelief as the waitress told him she couldnt serve him.. As the guy started to walk past my table I stopped him and inquired about his shirt.. He proceeded to tell me that he had gotten home from 19 MONTHS in Iraq 2 weeks ago and his family had delivered his brand new Heritage to him on base.. He followed them home to Pennsivania in a long convoy and got the heros welcome he deserved - he is a Major in the Rangers.. As he was telling me all this the waitress came with our dinners and I told her to give him mine.. He said I cant do that.. I said "yes you can and you will cause I aint gonna eat it!!!! I am NOT going to sit here and eat dinner in front of one of my brothers that just got home from Iraq NO WAY!!! As he ate my dinner we talked for a long time.. Then I invited him to ride with the two of us.. I explained how we traveled - ride till tired and sleep behind a barn, in a field, under a tree, in a cemetery what ever.. He said it sounded like just what he needed.. He followed me (this was my riding buddies second trip with me and his second trip ever on a bike so I was leading the whole trip) out across the prairie and we finally landed about 1 am in a Ghost Town out in the middle of no where.. During that trip the three of us rode sturgis, the black hills, down SPearfish Canyon and CROSS COUNTRY on two tracks into Wyoming and up to Devils Towers.. Anyway,, we became best friends on that trip and Ranger Major Smith from Pennsylvania and I are now the absoulute best of friends.... There,, there is a story.. you want more?? I dont have time and neither do you.. Current bikes,, if you look carefully there is a 1969 Factory Bultaco hill bike in here, there is a 84 Honda Magna, 71 Yamaha XS650 Hardtail chop, 69 Honda Mini Trail, 68 Honda Mini Trail, 71 Honda CT70, 72 Rupp Roadster, 69 Scat Cat, 84 Honda CR60, 81 Honda PC50, 70 CT70H (4 speed), 66 Honda CB77 305 Superhawk, 72 Suzy TC185 HI/Low e start, 1966 Yellow Honda CT90 that I ride daily as a moped (16 dollar sticker for 3 years - no insurance reguired and no helmet necessary).. Thats just one barn and part of the garage - I have 4 other outbuildings hahaha.. Total count of my collection right now is just over 130 bikes.. Its a disease but a gooooood one.......... 'Puc Oh yea,, here is a pic of the three of us riding cross country out on the backside of the Badland National Park - out in Indian Country in the middle of nowhere - 105 degrees and eatin up the highway!!! Dont get no better then this folks!!!!!!!! This is 6 days into a trip with no shower - ok,, went swimming in that river that flows through Chamberlain but that only counts as a bath,, not a shower.... OK,, looks like my files are to big.. Someone say they are interested in seeing pics and I will go thru the hassle of downsizing them,, otherwise forget it hahahaha

The reason we have sooooo much extra time is cause our Ventures produce it.. If we need a little extra time we just go for a ride,, these bikes a sooo freakin fast if you leave the house at 1pm you will arrive back home at 11am the same day...

Welllll,,, my Blonde 84 Royale has 192000 on her and she is fully retired and sitting outside dismantled under tarpage. She spent over 50000 miles of her ending life with no second gear and me short shifting her.. I bought her with 22k on her and crossed the country on her back MANY times, usually with a kid on the back.. Her carbs, seat, rear floor boards, low cut windshield, radio/intercom, engine guards, progressive fork springs, fork brace, mirrors and cruise are now on my 83.. It would take some digging to unbury her carcass from the snow and uncover her just to take a couple pics in the dark so you will just have to trust me.. Oh,, wait a minute,, just found some pics of the dismantle process.. Hey,, this sure brings back some awesome memories of an AWESOME scoot - THANKS FOR ASKING!!! 'Puc

Sheesh Ruff,, you really had me going for a second there.. Due to the title of this thread I actually thought you had eaten some light bulbs and was having a hard time passing them... On the same token,, if that would have been the case it would have explained your screen name... 'Puc

I love those kind of places,,, the ones like you are talking about that take anti-Christmas action are my favorite places this time of year.. I go out of my way to stop at those places - as I am walking in the front door I tape one of my ready made signs on their front door notifying their customers that the Management of the establishment is against Christianity and that everyone is encouraged to say Merry Christmas to all the employees in the store.. I then proceed inside, walk up tothe counter and tell them I didnt really need to purchase anything but just wanted to stop and tell them Merry Christmas... My wife get mad at me for my antaginistic ways sometimes but heyyyyy,, needling peoples what I do... hahahaha 'Puc

12 years ago I was shipping KZs, H1s and H2s back to Japan in shipping containers on a regular basis.. I had a buyer who was Japanese who said those bikes were not allowed in their country for many years... Sounds crazy but true...

Cut the windshield, stuck on the driving lights, lowered the frame, built the pipes AND run it 99% of the time with no trunk.. Here are some shots from a 6 week road trip this year.. Sorry I couldnt find any pics of just the bike....... Hope these help anyway.. Puc

Chabi,,,, WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?? Did you take the pic and/or know the story behind it?? That is unreal!!!!!!! Almost looks like some kind of African species or something.. At first I thought Kangaroo but they dont have those big ol hooved toes on all their feet do they... Hmmmmmmmm....

Yea I know Ken but the old hog I have my eye on is a mint Duo Glide and the old guy that owns it wont take a dime less then 28 for it.... Its actually pretty amazing how new bike prices have gotten more reasonable, few years ago I bought a brand new left over Wide Glide from a shop in Indiana.. It was Concord Purple and they couldnt sell it.. I bought it wholesale and Ebayed it for 4k over MSRP.. Guy that bought it from me said he would have had to wait a year and half to get that specific color!!! Now its all changed and you can get some REALLY good deals if you want to shop a little... Which it sounds like you did.. By the way,, how much snow you guys got down there?? I am up on the lake shore in West Michigan and we have about 6 inches on the ground.. Keep that new Harley on ice (pun intended) till the weather warms up and then ride the rubber of er bro!!! Oh yea,, not sure what your dealer told you about riding in cooler weather but on my old Shovel I dropped to straight 30w below 45 degrees and it worked awesome.. YOu probably are on top of that but just a reminder to check with your dealer/owners manual...

Needs a set of pull backs, adjustable forward controls and a good backrest with a padded sissy bar to lean against.... Then a set of upward slanted "FISH TAILS" like Captain America and I would really like it... Oh well,, not bad for a first try at a custom bike I guess... I would like to know who started this idea of calling ergonomics that separate the riders shoulder blades while they ride cool in the first place?? The whole cruiser fade is stupid from that perspective.. I thought that back when I bought my Harley FX LowRider back in 78.. Gorgeous bike that came with straight drag bars that you couldnt ride more then an hour without stopping and putting your blades back in your shoulders.. First thing I did was put a good set of pull backs on er...

opppsss,, Sorry Ken,, I didnt realise you had already addressed the pics issue....

Oh yea,, by the way,, you know this thread is worthless without pics dont you??

Congrats Bro - those Ultras are a gorgeous piece of motorcycling history for sure!! If I could afford one I would be right beside you,, welllllll,, maybe not,,, I think I would opt for an old Duo GLide myself but hey, doesnt make any difference cause ol 'Puc aint got the xtra 28k around anyway... Now after the daughter gets done with Med School,, hmmmmm,, maybe... BE CAREFUL OUT THERE - you are at the most dangerous time of any new bike owner!!! As hard as it is DONT give in to riding it in the snow - these great big heavy two wheelers dont even flinch before your on your face!!!

Tex,, them aint chops bro,, here is a shot of an old schooler that sold/hauled to fargo and another of my Santee Honda.. Now THOSE are choppers!! Regardless though,, I too would LOVE to add those three scoots in the article to my addiction.... 'Puc

I just buy the cheapest two man tent I can find, the one I have now is about 4 years old and I have never set it up.. I usually just crawl inside of it in its collapesed state and go to sleep.. If its real rainy I will roll it around my sleeping back so the bottom of the tent keeps the rain off.. Also,, I have had several tents wrecked from camp fires, lost two from being blown off the rim of the grand canyon, had one stolen off the back of my bike so I dont buy expensive ones anymore... Besides,, your not suppose to make a home out of your tent,, thats what the highway if for.. Mine is the house you see first,, my cousin in the background with his is a perfect example of an unseasoned rider.. This is only his second 6 week cross country trip with me so he hasnt quite got it figured out yet.. Anyway,, you get the point.. 'Puc

Wellllllll,,,, probably not exactly what you had in mind but here ya go anyway.. My wife hasnt been snowmobiling with me for years.. I purchase a "new" 2 up sled, rear handwarmers, back rest, feet rests, e-start, reverse, the works... We go out and have a blast.. Next evening I am out playing on it without her.. There is a small section of dirt road near our home that has about a 10 foot rise in it that,, back when I owned my race sled, I used to acutually get air off of.. About 11:30 at night, on this little 500 two up classic and I think to myself "wonder if this little sucker will go airborn".. About a 1/8th mile run is all you can get at it,, I nail it and go off the top - no air but a small wheelie - not bad I think - bout the time I have the words "not bad" in my mine I catch this movement coming down from the sky,, this Deer lands right on top of the front of my sled while I am doing a good 70 miles an hour off the back of this hill!!! I had NO TIME to react at all - all I had time for was a quick tilt sideways of my head - I felt it hit my helmet as it went over the sled.. The sled instantly died and started sliding all over the roadway - I kept it in the road and up right.. When I got it stopped, standing there in the dark I pulled it a few times to try and start it - the deer hit with such force that it literally bent the plugs over!!! I fumbled around and found one xtra plug in my pocket - put it in and rode the sled home on one plug with no lights.. When I got to the garage I discovered that the Hood had EXPLODED on impact, plugs bent over, windshield - mirrors GONE and then I noticed the rear backrest where my darling wife had been sitting the night before!! OH MY GOSH - that frickin thing had DESTROYED that backrest - bent it up like a pretzle - if my wife would have been back there she would have caught the full force of the deer in her lap and upper torso!!!! Guess you know old 'Puc was thanking God that Cheryl had stayed home!!!! Anyway,, here are the pics...

Hey Blues,, THAT is way cool.. Honestly I like it.. Only thing I dont understand is the price.. Are the houses putting the squeeze on the little guy 50,000,000.00 dollar homes and up? Is there something besides location that is giving the market agency some idea that the little guy is worth that - like,, ummmmm,, at one time Queen Elizebeth lived there...

Popeye: I do a ton of business on Ebay - mostly selling bikes I have built.. I have run into your exact situation many times.. I have a "pay one price - talk all you want" telephone service and incorporate the telephone with all my sales for 99% of the commucations - just hearing the voice of an honest seller tempers a lot of problems.. Also,, you can take pictures of your bike with closeups of ID numbers or any other ID items and send them to him. Then have a child (I used to use my kids all the time) get on the phone with him and let him direct the child to any place on the bike and have them read/describe what they are looking at.. Another way is to have a local bike shop who's name is in the yellow pages of the local phone directory do the same thing.. This really works well if you happen to know the bike shop owner so they can also vouch for you - I have also done this several times. Yes there are a LOT of scammers on Ebay, and the internet in general, BUT there are also a LOT of really great folks out there - I have done business with and met some of the greatest folks on the planet thru my business dealings with Ebay.. Personally,, I have had wayyyyyyy less issue with the people buying/selling on Ebay then I have with Ebay itself.. Their lazy idiotiotic way of handling scammers and mishandling of people who are just trying to use their auction services as a business tool is atrocious,, the owners are filthy rich and they could care less about their customers -- but that is a different subject...... 'Puc

Man I hear ya bro,, I am soooooooooooooooooooooo glad I got my snowmobile ready when I did cause IT IS TIME to ride!!!!! Bikes are all put away for the winter and I already have over 300 miles on my sled.. LET ER RIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have yet to get to this point on one of my Ventures but here is a whole new thought.. On lots of other watercooled stuff I have worked on there are air bleeder locations - located in areas that cant purge themselves.. If these areas are not purged they will create hot spots and do exactly what you are describing.. I do not know if our bikes have an air bleed to get fluid into areas like this BUT it would be something I would look into if I were in your shoes.. Also,, if your carbs were not torn down and the jets physcially cleaned with a jet wire - not just sprayed off with carb cleaner - there is a good chance you are running lean - this WILL make an engine run REAL hot!! Also,, any air/vacumm leaks can also do this..