cowpuc

It was my Son-In-Laws rig up on his property in the Sierra Nevada's. The "driveway" going up to the top of the mountain/south border of his land had suffered a lot of erosion and wind damage over the winter/spring months but he still wanted me to see the view from the top so off we went = cutting downed trees and working our way up to there closer to Heaven.. The driveway erosion gave out on that way down and thats how we slid in.. Thats actually not a come-along brother but a "Farm Jack". The boys attached it to the push bar on the front of the truck with cables and attached the cables to a big tree at an angle to try and give the front end a fighting chance of not sliding any farther into the canyon before backing it out.. It all worked great and the old man didnt have to spend a night in the mountains living off burnt squirrel and fighting those youngens for the water supply

It might not hurt to take a peek under the top clamp and see if the bar "perches" arent actually held on with nuts/lock washers and pins and are not actually bolts... Of course,, I might be wayyy out in left field in my understanding of what we are talking about here.. If so,, please note how thankful you lop eared varmints should be that you never had me in an actual class room cause I never was much at following along and paying attention Thanks for waking me up @videoarizona,,, this hot/muggy Michigan weather has this geezer varmint snoozin like sleeper Dodge Dart with a 440 stuffed in it

I know absolutely nothing, zero, nadda about the 2nd Gens but can tell ya,, if pulled a set of plugs out that looked that good I would definitely reinstall and take the $$'s I saved to buy my good friends and dear sweet lop eared ice cream loving brother varmints an ice cream cone Now if we were :Im not listening to1st Gens I would suggest replacing the plug wires with wire Wires (as they came OEM) and steer clear of any form of resistance creating carbon filled wires. At a minimum I would do as earlier suggested and at least do a quick clip to ensure a low resistance contact point. I would also replace the caps and slip in a new set of standard OEM NGK plugs.. Here is a little video of some fun I had with Tweeksis not long ago.. Hey VAz,, looks like you are doing an excellent job of not over chocking that gorgeous 2nd Gen of yours,, those plugs look GREAT!! Good on ya brother - GOOD ON YA!!

It's kinda goofy but it may help:

HI YA DUEY!! Doing pretty good all things considered! How bout you brother,, gettin any time in these days? Thanks for the well wishes and I hope you know they go both ways my friend!! WOWZY WOW WOW WOW,, I didnt know about Mom Yam actually making shims like that = pretty cool Duey!! YOU DA MAN = THANKS!! I wonder when they started that? My first 1st Gen was the one I ended up having to shim out to get the brake pads to wear correctly and that was back in '87 and ended up having to cut my own.. A tapered shim = WAYYYYY COOL!! I LOVE how you think!!! Personally I 100% agree with you that Mom Yam shoulda got on the band wagon many many years ago and slid a new Venture under our backsides to wear out for em but,, it seems life don't work like that in the real world - it's ok though cause their inaction didn't seem to slow us down at all and riding a new scoot may very well of brought about less real world off camber adVentures:guitarist 2:.. Concerning Hyundai,, I think their business model is pretty much the same as Mom Yam's (for profit) in that to date, I have sold 4 new cars for them (our road is starting to look like a Hyundai new car parking lot) and have yet to received even a thank you from them BUT, that's ok cause Tip and I LOVE Trooper and are having a blast putting him thru the typical Puc/Tippy CTFW(s) paces!! I also think Mom Yam may be kinda mad at me for my straight forward honesty about what she pulled with the new Venture and all that happened therein.. I think I might me a little to opinionated for her even though I am one of the faithful few when it comes to her amazing v-4's... Ya know,, maybe ol SlowrideWV was/is correct,,, in the end,, I am nothing more than an Old Hippy just trying to fit in:hihi::

Hero's,, that's what them boys of mine are = HERO's!! I have spent my share of overnighters in the woods because of being stranded or lost (even had to hike over 20 miles at night once in the Paiute Mountains due to a KTM 400 tossing its counterbalance shaft) but that was back when I was a youngen. Thankfully, this part of our adventure ended with us escaping what could have been a disaster. Those California Mountain canyons are deep and can swallow a vehicle with out so much as a burp,, not this time though,, not this time!!

There was a Polaris Indian dealership (closed now) not to far from us who was regularly hitting up the auctions purchasing used HD's for their showroom and actually doing a better business on the resale of the used HD's than on their new bike floor plan. Back then (no idea if its still happening) the ploy for Polaris Indian was to grab the used HD's off the used bike market and claim them (to the public) as trade-in's in an effort to show that ton's of HD riders were jumping ship to Polaris. The money was good on the resales of the used bikes but not sufficient enough to maintain the Dealership and in the end, they closed. Here in America (at least in Michigan), used bike shops do not have to pay sales tax on the bikes they take in as long as they are for resale (inventory). The consumer does pay sales tax when purchasing the used machine from them though. You have to have a business license to do this, if this is done in private sales it is referred to as "jumping titles" and is not legal but is still a common practice by many people who consider the sales tax placed on the scoot when purchased as new as the only "legal" taxation of a product.. Its crazy when you think about it,, we seem to still be fighting the taxation battles even years after the Boston Tea Party

Well,, ammo casings are not exactly made of gold by they do have a golden look to them and they are a treasure to a geezer going shooting with his son's!! Speaking of treasures, make sure you check out the Humming Birds at the end of this video. We have Humming Birds back in Michigan but NOTHING even close to the size of these creatures = they were HUGE!!

Oh yeah,,, I'm a star all right,,, a very dim one of the sort that twinkles on and off in the night sky amoungst all those bright shiny ones in a night sky full of shiners but a star none the less ! Thanks for the :bighug:Kretzy! Speaking of stars,,, yeppers,, old Pucster and company did indeed invade Commieland with all sorts of amazing (but 100% CommieFornia approved) shooters and we did manage to get the folks who wear the Star called on us for tossing lead. They were just checking up on us though to ensure we were valid. Come to find out, even in that far off land where high cap magazines are a no no, the 2nd Amendment of our great Constitutional Republic still stands firm. Being from a State where the sounds and smells of tossing lead is a daily occurrence on the Federal and State properties that "we the people" still own and have claim to, I think more of the silence in the Sierra Nevada's needs to be broken by the beautiful sounds of 22lr's, 9mm's, 45's (both long colts and acp's) and the mighty 308's flowing gracefully toward their targets as soon to be seen in upcoming Puc Video's ..

During the process of my sons (one who has earned the nickname now of "Paul Bunyan" for the way he tosses trees around) chainsawing our way to the top of the property I noticed several times that erosion had taken its toll on the long gravel drive leading up the top of the mountain where the property line ends. On the return trip back down the mountain to the gorgeous spot that we would spend the rest of the day shooting, the driveway gave way and the truck started its descent into the canyon below us!! Thankfully a tree was there to catch us!! Quick thinking along with some hard work, a huge tree, cables, a farm jack and a motorcycle tie down that assisted my sons in rescuing us so we didn't have to spend the night in survival mode!!

We have always enjoyed making new friends in our travels. As my sons and I were traveling up into the Sierra Nevada's of California to a piece of property that one of the boys purchased for family fun (we were headed out for some father/son guy time of target practicing) and ran across a yard sale where I noticed a meat smoker at the yard sale. Of course, we stopped!! The star of this little video (man selling the smoker) and I hit it off HUGELY!! Turns out, Les (the star) is one of our nations finest (a Navy Vet who served during the Vietnam War, a deeply patriotic person and a man of great faith. THANK YOU again my brother for your service to God and Country!! YOU are one amazing person!! Also,, THANK YOU for the great deal on the smoker - it will come in real handy for years to come!!

We may very well be related brother!! If so, it is DEFINITELY thru your fathers side of the fam :rotfl: THANK YOU for the spot on advice!!

My experience with brake pads on my scoots is that I really like to use organics as I like the feel and performance they offer. They do seem to wear out a little quicker, especially on dirt/MX bikes where they are exposed to a lot of dirt but they always seemed to be easier on rotors. I also found them to be considerably cheaper and pretty much a break (no pun intended) even on cost per mile. I also liked them a lot as they smell funny when overheated and the odor will tell me if I happen to have a sticky caliper piston. No idea if what follows will work or applies to the Gen 2 but I was wondering if anyone else is in the habit of checking the axle/rear end alignment during a reinstall of the rear wheel? One of my 1st Gen's had a habit of wearing the pads at an odd angle and I found that the axle alignment into the swingarm was considerably wacko. To check this I simply looked at the axle location on the smaller diameter as I slid the axle in from the right hand side and after it was captured by the axle journal in the rear gear case. I was amazed at how far out of alignment the assembly was and corrected it by shimming it between the rear gear case and the swingarm that is captured/tightened down with the four acorn nuts located on the front of the gear case/end of the swingarm on the left side (where the driveshaft runs thru). A simple check for this alignment may also be to just loosen those four nuts up after putting the axle in and tightened down with the brake pads backed away from the rotor, if you loosen those nuts and a gap appears between the swing arm and the rear case assembly simply measure the gap and take up the gap with a shim to bring the entire rear end into correct alignment = bingo,, no more funny wear on the pads = as long as the pistons are kept cleaned and they are not sticking..

That Cha is probably out doing what we should all be doing,, taking full advantage of this White Wash Free summer spectacular of a summer we are having = out CTFW Thanks for the thoughts and prayers on my mom's behalf Patch - they are greatly appreciated!! I knew that my brother,, I knew that = those prayers are working so please keep coming!! Mom is doing a little better each day and continues in Rehab. As of today, looks like only a couple small med adjustments and then continuing in rehab mode for a while. Always good to hear from you Neal,, hope your summer is going super!! Love ya!

Thank you BT for keeping us updated!! Prayers continuing for my friend and brother BongoBob and Becky as the health issues continue. The Lord loves you Bongo and so do I/we, Prayers Up my brother!!

Flawlessly Sly,, flawlessly!! And very accurate!! As you know, I shoot a Ruger MK1 22 A LOT and was amazed at how instantly comfortable I was with the Luger. The only real cumbersome part of the whole operation IMHO was operating the action to load it. Because of the limited grip area to get ahold of the action to pull it back - ya really had to pinch it (if you are a 1911 shooter and reading this - picture yourself trying to lock n load er with just your thumb and index finger print - totally doable but not as easy as gripping with the whole hand). Very very well made Slyvester.. I may have a video of actually shooting the thing coming up,, just an FYI!! I also may have a vid of playing with a modern day Garand (SOCOM 16).. WAYYYY COOL TOO!! Mom's doing pretty good. She is in Rehab and it looks lik will be there for a while (4 weeks possibly) as she is continual improvement mode = they told me yesterday that they would keep her there for as long as she is showing continual improvement. Her stroke has effected her cognitively and very very little physically. She did not recognize me right away when we walked in but she did Tippy.. I spent a few hours with her going thru a photo album and I would say she is a 20% on recognizing people/times and places. We lost my Dad a short time ago and then my little brother last may, her brother a couple days later and a nephew she loved in between them - thinking the stress and grief may have been a contributing factor to the stroke. She is smiling again thru her fogginess and openly admits/remembers the sadness/grief she was in over the death of my brother and her brother/my uncle.. I know that the Lord has it all under His control, answers prayers (thanks brother Sly and all who are thinking of/praying for her) and all that but I am now wandering if her current state isnt actually somewhat of a blessing cause I remember her clearly saying that she just wanted to "follow him home" after Uncle Chuck died,, now she is eating again and even doing some smiling again.. A real blessing in that I still have my Mom (could have been a LOT worse!!). Monday is planning day for her extended care = prayers appreciated! These golden years are definitely not a cake walk and require a fair amount of looking up and leaning on Him - that is for sure!!

I spent yesterday swapping out a faulty plug cap on Tweeksis's #1 that was causing a low speed stumble and irratic idle. After the swap we did run her about 250 miles following a large group of HD riders along the lake shore and that's Tweeksis was right up to par - back to her usual self. Now today I gotta drag her back out the garage and make sure she aint changed her mind about accepting the replacement plug cap by hauling us two lop eared hungry varmints to the local Chinese feeding traugh.. ,, now I gotta ... Seems how Carl is a Mod here,, isnt he technically working on his family day:think: Just thinking outloud,,, :witch_brew:

We live in West Michigan and have gotten plenty of rain this past spring but were amazed to see the amount of water that this area had also received. We have ridden the Salt Flats numerous times on both bikes and in cars (even camped a few miles out on the Salt a few times) and to date, have never seen it this wet. A quick stop at the Donnor Pass rest area revealed some of these cool little catfish swimming around in the high mountain pond there. The water was ICE cold (or as my 2 year old grandson would put it - "COLD AS 'LASKA") and it was interesting that those catfish were as active as they were!

,,, I'd NEVER shut up about owning such a great big gorgeous scoot like that sweetheart... I would spend hours and hours and hours in the penalty box here for to much about it but even then I would be seen talking to myself about it .. I wouldn't even shut up as I was riding it !!! Somethings in life are just not shutting up material:thumbsup:.. She is a BEAUTY Rich and I look forward to hearing wayyyy more about her and perhaps even seeing her IRL!!

It was tricky to get used to pulling instead of twisting to make er go but guess what,,, she would still outrun most everything out there in the touring class of scoots even with no twisting for forward motion.. I was actually tempted to pull it apart and see if I could adapt the push cable over to the pull cable position to complete the trip but found the vise grip trick to function well in a bad situation and besides,,, the challenge of pulling on the end of a broken cable was more fun so I went with it

:scared:NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

I had the pull cable on the throttle above the junction box fail once and ended up coming home from a cross country trip by pulling on the broken cable with a pair of Vise Grips. I would suggest lubing the cables with a good synthetic bicycling chain lube before putting it all back together again. I have been doing that since I broke one a longgg time ago and never have had a failure since..

I got an aftermarket Progressive for an 83 XVZ1200 that I would be willing to part with. I am not sure if it will fit your bike though as I am pretty certain that Mom Yam did not start production on the Yamaha XVZ mono shock Venture till 83. If possible, it may be prudent for you to stick a pick up of your bike so we could know for certain which model of scoot you have?

:clap2::dancefool:!! Decided to go with the faster one did ya? Can't wait to see it Rich!!

This Lincoln Monument at a rest area along I-80 stands as a wonderful testimony to Old Abe and his love of freedom! What a beautiful country we have inherited from those who came before us! Troopers DCT gear ratios combined with his final drive ratio allows for him to slumber along at 100 mph at 3100 RPM. It is amazing how well his little 1.6 liter engine performs even at these higher speeds even while still delivering an average 50 mpg while doing so (this still amazes me, non of the motorcycles I wore out thru the years gone by could even come close to this). I can't help but wonder if this is partially due to the Atkinson engine design that lies therein? Seeing mountains is something we never get to see in Michigan - much less snow covered ones during the month of July!!