cowpuc

WOWZY WOW WOW WOW BROTHER - TERRIBLE THING THAT GOING PARALIZED BUSINESS IS:no-no-no:= SOOOO GLAD TO HEAR YOU ARE ON THE MEND MY FRIEND!! :clap2: thoughts and Prayers Up as you continue your PT and work toward a full recovery! I had a very similar experience and can tell ya first hand,, that is simply NOT a picnic. Now though, looking at the scars on my back,, I stand (pun intended) in constant amazement and awe at the Neuro Doctors and what they are able to do with pardiciments like you find yourself in.. Not being able to move those lower extremities isn't the end of the world but when you are as active of a person as you have been thru the years it sure can seem like it. You done good getting it taken care of Earl, now focus on that PT - give it time to heal - spend those hours sharing your amazing knowledge and skills with us lop eared bone headed varmints and it wont be long and you'll be right back to normal.. Well,, as normal as,,, never mind,,, I aint pickin on my brother while he's down

,,, in that I am one of those tight wad, only play the Lotto when it passes the 500 million mark and only by 1 ticket even at that,, if/when that happens this year Jack YOU and our VR Family will know about it,,, instead of Hot Dog's for everyone it will be new Scoots for all :guitarist 2::happy65::beer: Will have to rename "Puc's Meet Greet and Eat Meat" outings to "Puc's Meet Greet and Ride A New Bike Home"

Soooo sorry and deeply saddened to read this @HermanK84VR !! I want you to know that you and your family have my deepest sympathy at such at great loss.. Prayers Up for each of you as you work thru the grieving process at the loss of your Father In Law. Thank you for sharing of the peace and comfort you "Dad" found in The Lord as they took the journey thru the Valley together. Your sharing here meant alot to me my friend (not that I would wish this NASTY STUFF ON ANYONE = I HATE CANCER!!) = THANK YOU for sharing!! My brother is as comfortable as possible, hospice has brought in a special bed which really seems to help in pain management and general ease of life. I wish I could report to my brothers and sisters here that things seem to be improving but that would be a lie and I cant do that,,, it's really not lookin good and it's hard watching my little brother go thru it all.. I would not wish this Bone Cancer stuff (or ANY form of Cancer) on anyone,, not even my worst enemy - how can flashes of pain even appear thru being fully morphined,, nasty nasty good for nothin rotten stuff I tell ya. Thanks again everyone for you continued thoughts and prayers! Your gracious and endless support is greatly appreciated! Puc

WOWZY WOW WOW WOW!!! THANKS YA BUNCH OF LOP EARED VR MC CLUB PARTYING VARMINTS!!! My Birthday was filled with life in the fast lane!!! Where do they get energy from,,, :scratchchin:were we ever locked in 4 wheel drive this In spite of the hard times of what my little brother is going thru,, The Lord blessed me with one of the best Birthday's ever!! Thanks gang for well wish here!! Puc

I/we do Sly, beyonds words or any other form of explanation, I/we do my brother!! My youngest and her husband are in the process of moving into their new home this week and a month ago Tip and I, way before we got the news about my little brother, had made plans to watch Birdie (Sam, our 2 year old Grandson) for the week while they made the move. When the news broke about my brother last weekend, my daughter called and all but begged me to let them find another sitter. My reply was NO WAY,, that I felt even though it was going to be a tough week that Birdies presense may just be an answer from The Lord about feeling His presence and fighting the gloomies over my brothers condition.. Guess what,, all the prayers are being answered, it's working and so is The Lord (quadruple time!!)!! Today is my Birthday, I/we are celebrating by spending the morning watching Micky Mouse with Birdie then to my Son's for Birthday lunch of grilled steaks (YUM), then I am heading down to my daughters to drop off a BUNCH of tools (spoiling my Son-In-Law rotten on my Birthday = dont get no better than that) and then to back to my brothers side to pray with and comfort him the best I can. I may try to share the pics below of him and I on a cross country trip bike trip out along the east coast many years ago with him if he is up to it. It's been a rough week for Doug, the Morphine is definitely helping control the pain but the mind can only handle so much of the stuff.. Thank you again EVERYONE for the thoughts and prayers. As my brother and our family continues to take this difficult journey. your consistent and fervent thoughts and prayers are definitely felt and appreciated! Your friend Puc

Indeed those MK2's are completely different than our MK1's Snipe,, we got the easy way out for changing rear tires - especially when needing to spoon on a new one on the side of a hiway.. I never ever did have a Mk2 apart like we are talking about here but I have been told that instead of dismantling everything to get to the real wheel assembly, there are just a few bolts to remove and the whole rear luggage assembly can slide off the back as a complete unit. No idea if its true or not but the guy that told me about it had ridden em for years and seemed pretty serious about what he was saying.. Now where those few bolts are,, I have no clue but I would definitely do some digging and figure out if that is possible before I started tearing it into a zillion pieces...

Not that I am anybodies mother and that this will work for others but this is what has worked for me over the years: I have used a small weight scale to do the final set on my bikes for many years - scales the shooters use to measure hammer or trigger pull (have used em for double duty thru the years,, I'm a cheap bugger = multiple use of specialty tools = another flaw in my character) but the method has served me well. What I have done on both my MX/Harescrambling race bikes, street bikes and even quads/three wheelers is as long as I know I have good bearings in the steer head and its lubed properly I will run the bottom spanner nut down and torque it to 5 ft pds, move the forks from lock to lock several times to displaced any grease from between the bearings/races, retorque to 6. Then put the spacer (some are rubber, some are steel) over the bottom spanner and spin on the upper. I like to hand tighten the upper as tight as I can get it and then finish it off with a nudge with a spanner so the spanner notches between top and bottom align. Reset the upper, toss on the stem nut. Center the bars so the front wheel is point straight ahead (dont have to be perfect). Take a tie wrap and zip it loosely on the end of each bar. Hook my trigger scale to the tie wrap and at a perpendicular angle to the grip lightly pull and watch for movement in the grip. I like to see movement at about 12 ozs of pull in both directions off each grip.. If its lacking I take the upper cover back off and tighten the upper spanner nut by one notch to realign again (hold the bottum nut with a spanner to nudge against),, if its tight I back off one notch = then check it again. I know,, all sounds really old schoolish but the above has done ok by me... Cheap Chinese Scale that would do the job? Something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/50KG-5G-Han...IAAOSwd0BVwtEo

BEAUTIFUL! Thanks Vic!! Permission to read at my brothers funeral if/when the time comes?

IMHO, weak or sacked fork springs can add significantly to that horrible loose front fork feeling. I know all my 1st Gens the OEM springs that I pulled from them looked like Ink Pen springs.. After tossing in a set of Progressives with an inch of preload they become a different bike.. Not as easy to take corners at speed as Maggie my R1 but definitely an improvement over stock - even 2 up and loaded down for CTFW in the mountains.. I also found that 12 weight oil and using a syringe to get the oil levels to match between forks helps too.. I also check the fork bushings when doing the swap to make sure there is no play there as well - even a little wear in those puppies can cause a lot of loose feeling at the grip tips..

Sorry I am bit late on this but oh yeahhhh,, another Amen to this one! Bunnies is for eatin,,, Easter is for rejoicing over the empty tomb and the freedom we have because of it.. I aint much of a religious man either Unc but facts are facts and it's always best to face the facts sooner than later IMHO..

:sign yeah that::sign yeah that: Another example: around these parts when I was much younger, Easy Rider Rifle Racks were very common. For those not exposed to such a time in life, that is a gun rack that we would mount across the back window of our old pick up trucks and open carry our long guns every where we went.. That practice went out of being cool as more and more folks around here lost guns because of the simpleness for a person with no self respect to bust a window and grab a gun. Personally, I LOVE traveling the West where that practice and side arm open carry is still common (pretty cool to walk into a Walmart and see people walking around with shooters on their hips IMHO). While I know thats a little to American for some lop eared varmints, I personally enjoy being around it but yea, times have changed and I gotta agree with ya'll on this..

Ready I dont know if you folks are coming across on the Ferry and/or gonna be traveling the west coast of Michigan but if you are and need a spot to drop a tent, our yard is always open for such and if we are home you are more than welcome to camp inside with us - several club members have done so thru the years and the ones who did are still in one piece so that offer comes with references:big-grin-emoticon:. If you are pulling a travel trailer and need "Full Hookups w/ dump station", one of Michigans nicest State Parks are located within a stone throw right down the road from us too so there's that.i Also keep in mind that Michigan's State Lands and Federal Forests are still considered owned by "We The People" and you can legally pull off the road and camp on those lands for free. As a result of being spoiled a little by such traditional American freedom (I am a native Michigander), over the decades of CTFW I can only think of a couple times that I/we ended up needing to grab a motel as those always tended to be a little to confining when compared to tenting for my likings but I do know there are several of them also in the area. I have "State and Federal Lands" camped in all 48 of the lower States and have only been kicked off of our U.S. property a couple times and those couple times were in a State far from where you will be traveling (California). It might be in your best interest, especially if you will be traveling with camping gear in tow, to plot a course over State/Federal Lands cause there are many GORGEOUS sights and sounds that are often missed by modern day travelers.

I tend to be a little more about my opinions than I should be at times and as a result I ended up getting some messages sent to me over my opinions on a bike. The authorities suggested that I probably should, among a few other life style changes, be careful about putting personal information out in cyber space so I reluctantly followed some of their suggestions and am currently running a covert operation as a result. I am still me and still here though and am always willing to help someone in need. If you do need help and see a guy on a beat up old stickered covered 1st Gen pull up to assist you I suggest that you dont reach into your riding jackets pocket to pull out a Hot Dog to attempt to bribe me with as I have been practicing my quick draw and have gotten pretty good at it:Laugh:

Thank you again folks,, your thoughts and prayers and continued thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated, the familiness and brotherly love of our club never ceases to amaze.. Sly,, you dont have to make any form of apologies nor do anything to change in your me over my in both written or verbal form.. While I do understand your point and know that it came right from the heart,, let me let you in on another part of all this that I think you will really appreciate,, it has to do with a brothers love and deep connection with one another: While tossing memories and sharing the roll down of lifes treasures with my brother,, he looked at me and told me that as his brother, I had the responsibilty of sharing/speaking at his funeral.. While I have done a small amount of Public Speaking,, my brother KNOWS that I get pretty nervous even thinking of doing such a thing, BUT - being my brother who I love dearly,, I made the promise that I would do so. After making the promise, I asked if there was anything special that he would like me to attempt to address.. As he was thinking (he was/is living on Morphine for pain control = he has PLENTY of pain to deal with as the Cancer that is taking his life is now in his bones = TOUGH STUFF:95:), I asked if he would like me to share the Gospel, he shook his head no and said the Pastor will be doing that. He said he wanted me to share memories of our lives together, how connected we were and how important family is,, that kind of stuff.. After saying that, he stopped crying, wiped his tears, looked me right in the eyes and said BUT,, I DO NOT want an 1 1/2 hour Funeral though,, I dont want you to .. We both got to laughing so hard we were bothing crying,,, mixed tears too (joy and sorrow)!! After getting beyond those tears,, I looked right back at him and asked just exactly how much time he wanted me to speak,, 2 minutes,, 5 minutes,, 10 minutes, 45 minutes? He smiled and said = 10 minutes.. I chuckled and promised him exactly a 10 minute tale of two brothers who adored each other at times but also did their fair share of ... Wanna hear another something that happened? Lots of people dont know this side of my brother and I but we (I much more than him) have always been, and will always be Willie Nelson fans. Willie and I go wayyy back.. One of Willies songs that can, by itself, bring tears to my eyes,, is titled 7 Spanish Angels - ever hear it? I will post it here if you haven't.. As I was riding my bike, I started singing that song only, for some reason, replacement words for some of Willies lryics flowed across my lips.. I almost had to stop my bike as I got crying so hard while I sang (to the tune below) that I could not clearly see the traffic in front of me.. Here are those words that brought the tears: Doug looked deep into my brown eyes,, and said say prayer for me,, I threw my arms around him and said God has set us free,, he could hear the riders coming and said this is my last fight,, when they take me to Fruitport (our home town),, they wont take me back alive.. There were 7 Spanish Angels, at the alter of the Son, they were praying for my brother, in the Valley where it's Won,, when his fighting stopped and the pain cleared, there was thunder from God's throne,,, as seven Spanish Angels took my little brother home... I think my 10 minutes is going to amount to 1 minute of talking and 9 minutes of

Just wanted to post a quick note that I sent to my brother as we are walking out the door here to pick up Birdie.. This is in response to some of the discussions that took place over my visit with Doug (my lil brother who you are all so faithfully praying for): Little brother, remember yesterday when we were talking about that feeling of "wow,, the world didnt stop going on after we are shut in for periods and then go outside and see people going about their everyday business"? The thought occurred to me that I wonder if that feeling happens as a result of brushing with, having a momentary contact with the entrance of the Valley of Death. We know that, as people who have accepted Christ, when we die we are instantly part of the Great Cloud of Witness's and when we are fully functional here below we dont tend to think about how close we all are of taking the short trip thru that Valley - maybe when we brush past the entrance into that short but real Valley God is giving us a taste of reality of the fact that all things here below are gonna be ok and that He is going to continue taking care of our loved ones even when we are gone.. What do think? I love you Champ, always have! YOU are the best little brother a big brother can have!!

A HUGE thank you for ALL the thoughts and Prayers Up on my Brothers behalf!! He is resting peacefully this morning. We are on our way now to pick up my Grandson as my Daughter and Son-In-Law are closing on their new house today. We are going to have that 2 year rascal for the week while they move in. Just an FYI to all that if I seem a little out of breath and vacant for a tad around the club house that dealing with my brothers struggle and having my Grandson (God's way of maintaining some form of around here?) too may be hard on this geezer.. THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR THE PRAYERS UP!! Group Puc

After being given the 5 year prognosis and fighting hard for 8 years in his fight with Cancer, our family has been given notice that my little brother is in the 2 week window. Doug is a true blue fighter (always has been,, even as a kid 3 years younger than I he could hold his own against his bigger brother's ) and continues to fight with everything in him against this horrible stuff. He has chosen to pass at home in his bed, surrounded by family (has 4 girls and a wife, Mom, and 6 siblings there with him). Hospice is doing a good job of keeping him comfortable (nice way of saying keeping the Morphine flowing). While the fights not over till its over and our hopes/prayers are that God blesses Doug with total healing, God's perfect will doesnt always align with our wishes and God is the one who ultimately decides when to call His children home. Doug accepted God's free gift of eternal salvation found in Christ alone and has lived a fruitful life due to this and is fairly well at peace with facing death due to this. He and God are square but, of course - I don't wanna lose my only little brother but also know how this all works and am there for him either way (gonna be hard without him but I'll see him again soon when it's my time). If you have a second and don't mind,, please send Doug/us warm thoughts and if your a brother/sister in Christ please lift Doug and our family up in prayer as we work thru these days.. Thanks Puc n Tip

Yeppers,, and then if you toss in clutch fiber clutch plates and constant shearing taking place if the engine and tranny share fluids,, things really get more complicated as to what oils you can get away with using long term = especially if talking touring thru various environments (sitting in traffic in Vegas at 112 degrees creeping forward occasionally so you cant shut the bike off and then over the Rockies in an ice storm on the same day) that happens frequently on touring bikes.

Seeing your cause for edit VAz,, I aint never been much for takin from them there lop eared grammer cop varmints (be they self imposed or not) so simply put,, I still think learning to ride nekid and occasionally reaching back for the water bucket hanging on the side of the scoot to dump water over ones nekid body is definitely the way to go in surviving that glorious desert heat while out CTFW .. Knowing you probably aint about to do that, I want you to know that I really appreciate all your effort in keeping us VR varmints sane throughout the long winter we just suffered thru.. Your amazing ride stories and 's here have been greatly appreciated and your efforts will be paid back 10 fold as our 2019 ride season up north unfolds my brother:thumbsup:!! Hope to see you folks soon at MD, if we are able to make it (still got a HUGE wedding to go thru) and you are too, where - even if it be by other means than ,, we shall at least have a chance to once again!!! Puc

Ahhh yes,,, definitely a step in a totally different direction for the Polaris Indian model Big Twin Line. IMHO, it looks like an overhead cam, chain driven top end engine similar to a Polaris Scout motor on steroids.. At first I thought maybe Polaris had took some direction from HD's now defunct V-Rod (good power, good motor) but seeing this picture says no, definitely not V-Roddish.. If this is whats coming it is definitely a step in a different direction then that which we were told Polaris was headed with their Indian repop while out at the unveiling at Sturgis back in '13. Their intent then was RETRO with push rod air cooled being their thing. This is DEFINITELY off that path. Our local Polaris dealership still has left over Indian models all the way back to 2015, apparently they didnt sell well. Hopefully this new design gives them a boost in sales as, like @djh3 mentioned, management at Polaris probably won't let their Indian's idle for to long and then, POOF,, they'll shut em off just like they did the Victory (which was a shame IMHO).. Our local HD shop just swapped owners and they had an Open House today. While down there chomping on Hot Dogs I watched em roll out a Road Glide (fixed fairing) that looked like a Street Glided (no trunk) model of a Road Glide.. Not being able to see the back side of the Spy Photo (THANKS DON!!), I wonder if this new model of Polaris is that theme - like Mom Yam is doing with the Eluder,, or maybe Polaris will do both models,, with or without the trunk.. I know that the Street Glide idea has been a HUGE hit for HD and their top seller of a long time.. Exciting and interesting times for motorcycling for sure!

Pretty cool!! I cant help but wonder if Polaris is headed this way due to EPA Regs as it seems, IMHO, that most of their followers tend to follow the HD crowd road of enjoying the Air Cooled scoots and chasing a piece of the HD pie. The guy that used to own our local HD dealership was telling me that that is the main reason that HD took the risk of loss of sales and did the water cooled heads routine = to be able to comply with EPA regs with the more efficient water cooled engine. Polaris still does not release actual unit sales numbers so there is no real way of knowing just how many of their Indian line they have sold but I wonder if this new one will increase their following.. VERY INTERESTING for sure Don - thanks for posting this!! I tried to find a spy photo of the bike,, nothing seems to be coming up in google. Got a link to one brother? Would LOVE to see it!

I suppose you know that now that you posted the above, some lop eared very observant varmint is gonna come hopping along (Easter Sunday is only 2 days off) and ask you and Carl what kind of plotting,, I mean,, plans did you come up with to trick,, I mean invite us normal club members into getting in involved with.. That said,, I too would be curious of same. :stirthepot::stirthepot:

Looks good Dancer,, I am definitely seeing a float valve in the pic = good on ya.. Any chance you tested the floats for saturation by floating them in a bowl of fuel before buttoning the carbs up? I dont see new floats so curious how they looked/floated.. Also any chance that the left over washer was suppose to go under the float valve body to seal it against the carb casting? I know on some carbs the manufacturer uses such and missing that will not only mess up the float height adjustment but will allow fuel to actually seep around the float valve body and into the bowl.. Make sense? Same goes for some mainjet applications.. Miss a washer/seal and fuel can flow around the body of the main jet allow fuel to by pass the orvice of the main, IMHO of course..

IMHO, triple check the frame connections where floor boards and the like bolt up.. Look for disfiguring at weld joints and the like. If you find a dented/tweaked spot = instant total = new bike.. Better to find it now than have it discovered after the fact brother! All the best in healing fully and full recovery of your scoot!! Puc

:scared:WOWZY WOW WOW WOW Duey = NICE SCOOT !! Definitely brings back some EXCELLENT memories of days gone by!! JUST BEAUTIFUL!! Thanks for sharing that one brother!! Back at that time a guy riding a V-65 pretty owned the highways, wasnt a whole lot around that could keep up (talking production vehicles) - definitely a HUGE advantage if/when on road problems with other drivers arose = someone dont like bikes and starts with the games = bye bye time.. PLUS,, wickin em up is SOOOO MUCH FUN .. I still giggle when people say,, "how can you stand to ride something like that = its a ticket getting machine" to which I always reply - "just cause you got all those ponies under you doesnt mean you have to use em all the time and I would rather have em sitting there waiting for me to call em into action than twist the throttle and have no one home to answer the call" = strange breed we V-4 lovers are I guess . Also noticing the rest area your sitting in,,, also my kind of joint = I always called em quick stop camp grounds GOOD ONE DUEY = THANK YOU FOR SHARING!! BEAUTIFUL BIKE!!