BratmanXj

All 3.0L have the alternator at the bottom-rear of the engine. I replaced the Alternator about 2 yrs ago on my '06 Mariner 3.0L AWD and its something like 11hrs book time (buddy was a service writer at the time). It was a spare car at the time so I fixed it over the course of a week, get frustrated and walk away for the night and come back the next day. This car also had some pretty wicked ground-strap issues a few years back. Chased it for a long time as I kept moving "down the line" as I'd fix a system. Battery cables were replaced on both this car and my mother's old '08 Mariner due to corrosion.

The frame is pretty much gone on that Jeep, the rear control arm mount has torn away and most likely the rest is not structurally sound. That thing looks like it was given a full salt bath multiple times. I've fixed a few early TJs in the Chicago area and usually don't see them that bad from just typical road salt. Either it was driven HARD with no general maintenance or came from out of state with a sand blasted underside and the rust was able to take hold real quick. That truck is probably worth less than half the asking price for the donor drivetrain and scrap metal. Also, around here it hasn't so much been the snow but the regular freezing rain that we don't typically get.

Be careful you don't find something that is sand-blasted from a dry area. Buddy picked up a clean '80s Chevy K20 in Texas and brought it back up here to have it rust-out in 2yrs flat. The whole underside was sand-blasted and rust took hold from the day he got it up here. I remember my Uncle talking about how IHC scouts were pretty much delivered as rust-buckets new since they stored the steel outside before it was stamped. Sadly, that's just going rates for Full Size Jeeps now...the Wagoneer & Grand Wagoneer have become the "Retro Rancher Cool" vehicle to have. I've even seen clean, low mileage 90's XJ Cherokees hitting $15-$20k.

With the CT 2-up the bike was fine, when solo is when I would get the wobble. The Hagon H.D. rear shock raised the back end around 1/2" when I'm solo, so I'm not against loosing the height with a different tire. I also have a Stratoliner 18" front wheel with a 130 tire. I ran a 777 Shinko on the rear both before and after the CT with no ill handling and recently put the new Dunlop E4 out there but have NO miles on it since. I'm not against running the CT, and like oil threads there are so many options and opinions out there. I have every intention of trying it again with a different tire. I believe someone else on here went to a CT and had a high-speed incident. I wanted to put the information out there so you wouldn't be caught off guard when you do get out on the interstate.

I ran a 165/80-16 CT for a few months. I put the tire on in the fall and had a few miles of local roads before a very snowy Toys For Tots motorcycle parade in Chicago. In snow I had more traction that most MC tires do in the dry, it was crazy how stable that tire was. You had to "hold" the bike in a turn or else it would try to straighten up but that was really the only downfall.... until I tried to commute on the interstate. The bike would get a high speed oscillation at anything above 75mph, almost feeling like it was going into a tank-slapper but never did. I have a Hagon HD rear shock and Sonic front springs so I believe it was something specific to my bike's setup. I was able to pick up a 2nd rear rim and I may try the 155/80-16 BFG Radial TA in the near future. With a slightly lower profile and different tread pattern I'm hopeful it may smooth out the wonky high speed handling.

The Chicagoland area is going from a low of -27 overnight with a -50+ real feel with wind chill to 52 deg high on Monday.... Who pissed off Mother Nature?

My AIR jacket was purchased off Craigslist for $35 used and I've had it over 10yrs now...that alone was the reason for buying the FLEX 3 when it showed up on close-out for $89 new. One of my new riding buddies asked me about buying a full suite like my matched AIR pants and jacket. Found him a used FLEX pant and jacket off eBay for $55.

South side of Chicago had 4" of snow this morning, 1-2" more during the evening commute and Wednesday is -14 as a high with 30+ deg windchill. I agree with Flyinfool is only 60-80 miles north of me; I agree that I'd rather have the snow than the heat.

I've had a Tourmaster Air jacket and pants set for many years and have always liked the fit and finish, especially for the price. My biggest hang-up with the jacket is that the wind/rain liner goes INSIDE the mesh jacket. While always warm and dry the jacket would get heavy in the rain, or it was a pain to take the liner in and out on the side of the road. I recently picked up a Tourmaster FLEX on closeout as Tourmaster discontinued that line. It looks very similar in design to the Joe Rocket jacket linked here. The outer shell is the wind/rain liner with zippered vents, you then zips off the shell for a 3/4 mesh jacket. I always wore the pants with the internal wind/rain liner and did pants or shorts depending on the weather, so that part never bothered me much. I still have the 2nd thermal liner and have worn the suite into the single digits. Based on these experiences and the sub-$100 clearance price I bit on the FLEX jacket. I haven't had much time on the bike since the jacket came in at the beginning of December, so no real word input yet.

Well, that's the usual spot anyways....

I bought a sidecar rig 2 months later so I could take the kid with me...I'm to cheap to buy a toy new at $25k+

My mother has a small cottage in central Indiana and there's a HD / Yamaha dealer about 15 miles away on my usual route down. I stopped in on my '99 RSV on a Friday after work while the wife was driving down with the rest of the family. I was thrown the keys to a new demo Venture on the floor, told the sales guy if I left with the bike it wouldn't come back till the end of the weekend. I wonder what the wife would have said if I pulled in on the new bike?

I went this route with a dremel tool, notch the lower race slowly until you can "crack" it with a punch. I was trying not to grind into the machined head.

Just got home tonight from visiting old friends in Lexington. I did make a few stops while in the vicinity and came home with: Wild Turkey - Russel's Reserve Rye & Rare Breed Buffalo Trace - Sizerac Rye & E.H Taylor Barrel Proof Last time down there I brought back: Blantons Weller, Weller Special Reserve, and Weller 107 Woodford Cherry Oaked My go-to for Mixed Drinks is usually Buffalo Trace or Woodford I almost always have a bottle of Eagle Rare floating around the house Bartons 1792 isn't a bad drinking bottle Basil Hayden regulars tend to be to "buttery" for my liking but the Two by Two blended rye has a nice spice If you like smoother "wheated" bourbons Rebel Yell tends to get you close to the Weller/Pappy flavor and usually being readily available Evan Williams is what I grew up drinking, and usually have a bottle at my mom's cottage, so I'm not always high end stuff If you're willing to venture away from the Kentucky bourbons High West has some good stuff as well as Breckenridge.

Till you shove it in the back end of a small, light weight hatch https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/classic-cars/videos/a28945/ford-festiva-shogun-jay-leno/

I put 412 Heavy Duty shocked on my Virago a few bikes back to improve the 2-up handling, but neither of us are small people. You don't say what Year or Model Sportster you have so I don't know stock shock length to help you pick a length. I know most standard height Sportsters of the 90's and 00's used a 12" shock and the air-adjustable touring shocks are a direct replacement that can be had on the used market for a good price.

I have two buddies with tastefully modified late model warriors and they are great bikes, my opinion was they were the bike H.D. should have built rather than the V-Rod. I've had both bikes on long-term loan and they are fun 2nd bikes, but I don't think I could live with one as my only bike. Modified with an intake, shorty exhaust, tuner and remove the Star badges they are great cruise night bikes yet still reasonably comfortable for a day of riding or throwing around a few curves. They are long bikes with a big 200 out back so don't expect a hard-core canyon carver but it will hustle through the sweepers pretty good. I haven't looked in a few years but the used market for the was really hard pressed and you could pick up a clean, low mileage bike for well under $5k around the Chicago area. I think $10,500 is high, but $8k with a factory warranty if it is new wouldn't be bad. Known issues: Jack shaft: The trans is a right side output, there is a jack shaft behind the trans that transfers to the left side belt drive. Both these bikes had the trans side sprocket loosen because certain years had to low of a torque specification on the nut. There's a TSB out for the repair, you can also swap out the lower RoadStar gear for a little big more highway legs. Body Panel Fatigue: Big inch twin vibration does take it's tole... The usual lock-tight everything but it's known to crack the metal and plastic body panels over time. Rear Spring Rate: Tends to be soft from the factory, it's a "sportbike" style under-slung coil over shock and springs are easy to swap.

My 5 yr old was constantly asking to go for rides on the RSV and ended up going the same route and now he has his motorcycle and I have mine. Now it's regular dinner conversations of: "Do you want to run some errands with me tonight?" Can we take my motorcycle? Mommy, we'ere gonna take my motorcycle. Daddy, get my helmet and jacket! He's already won a 3rd place car show ribbon with HIS bike...and we didn't even enter, just rode there.

Just purchased an E4 rear for my '99 after a few Shinko 230 Tourmasters. I liked the Shinkos for the 80 load rating (992lb) vs the E3 at 908lb or Commander at 827lb. The Shinkos were soft and only got 10k miles out of a rear. The new E4 has 992 lb load rating...will report back in a year or so on mileage.

Down here on the south end of the lake we only got a minor dusting. I was talking at dinner last night about snow coming and my almost 5 yr old had a full fledged meltdown because "Daddy lied to me" when there was no snow on the ground by 8:30 last night.

I have the TD mount on my Venture, the both mount the same. The TD does not have the mounts for the "wing" air deflectors that I never had when I bought my bike used and you'll probably want to cut off the upper bracket that would mount to the TD headlight bucket.

The 18" 1900cc Stratoliner wheel is a direct swap with a 130/70-18 tire that helps lighten up the steering on these big bikes. The Stratoliner has a cast wheel while the S model has chrome. The floating rotors and 4 piston calipers are a direct swap as well. Rear is a tough one because of the shaft drive.

"4 car" garage, 2-1/2 car over-sized and a 1-1/2 car heated and insulated workshop. I'm gonna have to modify the double doors that I ride the Venture through so I can get the hack through as well. The shed usually has the John Deere during the summer but I keep it in the workshop when set up for winter duty so it doesn't freeze up on me. The wife ALWAYS has a spot in the garage, my work beater sits outside, and my father's SUV that I kept when he passed is usually in the other 1/2 of the garage. His SUV has been on loan to a few family members this year so I haven't seen it much and kinda got use to having the extra space.

The 5yr old always asks me to go for a ride when I pull the bike out. I've taken him a few times out on the country roads when I'm out at the family cottage but just don't feel safe with him on the back around heavy traffic of Chicago....so I went a bought a new "family" toy. '07 with 5,900 miles (it might only be KM?!?) for about $3k less than the next lowest advertised in the region. Female cop tore some ligaments in her shoulder and just can't ride it anymore. She was happy to see it go to someone who's going to get some use out of it. So I have the Venture in the workshop, the John Deere with snow thrower (that I have to fix the bearings in the thrower), I was given an 80's Honda Helix 250 with title if I wanted to fix it, and given an '83 Suzuki Quadrunner with carb issues. The problems you have when you like to wheel-n-deal.

Grandfather had a rabbit farm and I had a small one growing up as well, that is a smell I know all to well.