baylensman

I think another factor is the number of young people not driving at all! Forget motorcycles, with the advent of ride sharing services like UBER and LYFT more and more young people aren't learning to drive. In my day it was a right of passage whether you were going to get a car or not. Now lots of them aren't bothering. Also the younger set wants "COOL" bikes not cruiser or tourers. Of course they want full blue tooth and smart phone compatibility. GPS and what not. As auto drive expands with lane warning collision alert self parking. I'd fear to see some of these young ones attempt a motorcycles. On the other hand I see some of the older gens in our park are buying spiders and trikes, that never rode before! So I don't know for sure if the "INDUSTRY" is declining or changing. I guess time will tell. In my case I'll ride till I can't hold the bike up anymore at an intersection. On that day I buy a convertible!!

I've got 8 trucks on the road, with guys leaving lights on, or the battery getting weaker and they don't tell me till they break down, usually two counties away. So its call mobile mechanic which will take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours unless i have another truck a sales man in the area. then nobody has cables so to avoid the sitting around I keep 2 jump boxes in the office fully charged. I can send one of the shop guys out in the Little escape and get there faster and cheaper than the mobile mechanic, or if someone says the battery has been funny i let them take the other unit till i can schedule them in for a repair. I love them. Even kept my phone charged here in the office when the phones and power went out during a storm. I bought mine in the $100 range.

Unusual to loose everything except the radio. I'd try a little WD40 in the ignition cylinder then work the key back and forth few times. If you have dash lights and radio, i'd look at the kick stand switch and the red off button on the right hand bar. One last thing make sure both battery cables are tight and corrosion free, they can loosen up, especially if the PO (Previous owner) was in the habit of disconnecting the battery for storage or removing it completely to charge it prior to sale. The history of 1st gen etc was outlined earlier. There is now a Third gen called the Venture but its a V-twin and some of the purests here don't like that, they would prefer it stayed a v-4. There was also a predecessor called the Venturer based on the XS1000 bikes. Welcome and good luck with the electrical issue.

Prior to "slipping" wheel stands and burnouts? On my old one I broke the drive shaft first. Never lost second, I slowed down a bit after that.

Back to the original poster. I sold SEARS craftsman mowers for years. I eventualy ran the lawn and garden department. Every time I heard a salesman make the statement "use Premium fuel its better" I'd send him upstairs to the training room and have him reread the module on Mower care. They'd always come back and ask why, I'd explain what I'd heard. They would look sheepish and say Okay I understand now. The slower burn rate of Premium and semi premium fuels are especially apparent on engines with out adjustable timing. The biggest problem is that some unburnt fuel is trapped after the power stroke and before the exhaust valve fully opens leaving SOOT on the valves and cylinder head. I've actually pulled motors apart that the exhaust valve wouldn't close completely allowing oil to drip into the cylinder during storage. The problem is similar in bikes. Most motorcycles engines are "static" timed and not adjustable. Now higher performance cars with Higher compression ratios often require premium fuel to prevent detonation during the compression stroke, and to allow for more initial advance in the timing signal to the plug. meaning the explosions at maximum power on the down stroke of the piston. to accomplish this the "burn must start sooner in the up stroke. To dispel another myth Premium Fuels do contain Ethanol in most places ( two or three states ignore the federal mandate and don't require ethanol) in the US unless labeled Ethanol free. I understand the in Canada it varies by province, in some Premium does not have ethanol in others it does.

WHAT HE SAID IN SPADES!!!! WHENEVER SHE SAYS "IT DOESN'T MATTER " IT DOES. WHEN EVER SHE SAY "I DON'T CARE" SHE DOES. WHEN EVER SHE SAYS "WHATEVER YOU WANT" IT MEANS DON'T BE STUPID YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT I WANT BY NOW!:amen:

Actually here in Florida it is legal to make a u-turn in an intersection, unless otherwise posted! You must however obey all the traffic signals at the point of the turn. So it can't be done on a red light or red left arrow.

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It was an interesting read. When I have time, I'll look up the 20 page report and the raw data. One category I'd like to see is the very day driver versus the hobbiest driver. I remember the first time I saw the t-sift slogan "$20,000 and 20 miles don't make you a biker" The only truer words were spoken by a guy 2000 years ago and they crucified him. I'm not be littling any body or trying to start a flame war. But to some of us the bike is daily transportation, to others its an escape. To some its a hobby they enjoy. All are welcome in my opinion. I'll admit that i've dropped every bike i've every owned at low or no speed. I really wouldn't consider that a crash or a near crash. Crossing a white line especially when going around a r/h corner, again not really a crash or near crash, most lane stripe are not followed by anyone let alone bikers. Several years ago ( as we get older that number gets bigger so it may be 10 years or more ago) I read an article calling insurance data into question, because they had collected information from police asking if the speed of the vehicle has any bearing on the damage or injuries reported, not on the casue of the accident. So in almost every case the answer was yes, well duh. Insurance Companies used this as a reason to raise your rates if you get a speeding ticket. So I for one won't draw a whole lot of conclusions from the article, but its a start and I'd like to see more of those type of studies. Perhaps even someone draw several of the studies together and synthesis the data (Doctoral thesis anyone?).

I went on Bay and got a bar (made in china) and a set of chromed plastic look alike hi way lamps with visors or eyebrows (made in china).Similar to this set up http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chrome-Motorcycle-Driving-Passing-Spotlight-Light-Bar-Turn-Signals-Cruiser-/321755798151?hash=item4aea23da87:g:LDgAAOSwwvZZR~Bb&vxp=mtr I pulled the bulbs and replaced with L.E.D.S, I aimed the R/H lamp to the right so it hits the brush about 25-35 yards ahead of me, then aimed the L/H lamp to fill in just under the headlamp ( that darker area btycomparison) It works well for me and I think the whole set up cost less than $50. As far as the quality goes. I've got a couple of HECHE CHINA parts and some HIGH DOLLAR US chrome on the bike. I'll say this the China stuff still looks good. The 2 year old polished USA stuff is already pitting and discoloring even with washing and waxing twice a month.

In my old shop I had a big blackmax system. In Florida where the humidity is in the 85% to 90% every day, once every year i had to replace the POP off valve. Now I had a 175 PSI system so that may make a difference. I've had several be bad right in the box. Took them back to the local warehouse they replaced them no problem. evidently the spring plate can go weak just sitting around

so HAGON us list the shock as $474.00 while Hagon UK list the shocks at 299. pounds sterling which at current exchange rate is $385.00. still looking for a good used one to throw in the shed. Mine still works holds air and doesn't leak. Maybe the PO had it done under warranty? Have to look closer one of these days

In my time on this rock i've driven a lot of stuff. besides cars truck and bikes. How about you all Tractors 4 wheel and tricycle style farmalls, combines and corn huskers, skid steers (bob cats), small dozers, front end loaders, fork lifts, rubber tired boom cranes, straight truck both flat bed and box van thru 32ft, Semi's from cabover single axle thru twin screw KW's. But by far the weirdest to drive was an Advent rear steer street sweeper with a Hiway gear. this thing would turn on a dime, but it was real finicky like pushing a shopping cart from the wrong end. With the brushes down it would move at around 3-4 mph. You could lift the brush and shift to "HIWAY" gear, I guess it was meant to travel at part throttle across a parking lot or back up the center of a street or road at 12-15 MPH or so. However, you could bully the throttle past the lock out and it would move out!! Oh my though, if you over corrected on the steering it would spin around so quick on that single rear tire, it would almost through you off. Needless to say a few of us, on third shift one night took turns seeing who could cross the lot fastest while going around the cones. Let's just say at one point we parked it back in the maintenance shack where we found it and let some one else explain the huge dent in the front of the dirt bin:whistling:

According to the press release, Williams, traveling north, entered the intersection on a green light. But because of heavy traffic, she became held up in the intersection when another car “entered the intersection traveling south, and made a left turn in front of William’s vehicle, causing her to stop advancing through the intersection to avoid a collision.” During that time, Barson’s light turned green. Moments later, Linda Barson drove through the same intersection on a green light and T-boned Williams’ vehicle, the press release states. As this happened here in FL i'll weighing. A recent news story featuring a COP and a lawyer, the law is very clear about entering and intersection. the way ahead must be clear enough to allow the vehicle to completely cross the intersection before proceeding. that means all those people who fill an intersection and stop waiting for traffic to clear can be ticketed! Police have begun doing that around here over the past couple of weeks, if the lane or lanes ahead are filled with stopped traffic it is illegal to enter the intersection. If the light turns green you must assess the condition before entering. Both the cop and the lawyer agreed that in cases like heres (they wouldn't comment on hers) that the person who was already in the intersection would not be considered at fault. The traffic code never really grants a right of way but will tell you when you should yield the right of way to another person or vehicle. This would be the case in the following circumstances: When you enter the roadway from a parking space; When you drive on an unpaved road intersecting with a paved road; When you turn left at an intersection, yielding to pedestrians, oncoming vehicles, etc.; When a crossing vehicle has already entered the intersection; When you arrive at the through road of a T-intersection; When pedestrians enter a crosswalk; When disabled persons attempt to cross the road; At yield signs.

We have a lot of posts that veer into the subject of license and endorsements. What does your state or province require for Motorcycle, trucks over 10000 gvw, motorhomes etc (not talking commercial use which is entirely different). How about boating and off road vehicles. In florida you need an endorsement for motorcycles. The've kicked the can back and forth on boating and age limits, but without issuing boating licenses its tough to enforce age limits. When I lived in PA there was talk about snowmobiles being 16 and up (not other off road just snowies) don't know if that ever happened or not. My thoughts separate test for motorcycles, RV's either 5th wheel class C or class A and recreational boating should be limited to 16 years old or older and a license should be issued (maybe add and endorsement to the driver license like the motorcycle). Twist and go scooters/golf carts and mopeds operated on the street require a license! and keep them to secondary or non-divided secondary roads where the speed limit is posted at 35mph or less.

opposite I had a neighbor who bought his rig for just that reason, he wasn't going to spend money to sleep in someone else sheets! Evidently his daughter and a few friends all worked at our local seaside resorts (some big chains) Sheets are not changed every day even at the high end places or even when a guest checks out. Other than ripping the sheets off the bed and throwing them in the tub and calling the desk and complaining of stained or smelly sheets canyon be sure.

Get a "Good Sam's" or other membership, helps with tires on the road. Keep up the maintenance and the rig should be good for 200K miles no sweat. Check the battery hooks ups, are the coach and chassis batteries separate but chargable? Some of the new systems will charge both but keep the chassis battery for starting the rig only, others will allow using the house battery to augment the start. Check the Exhaust on the" on board generator" its a known wear point on most units. Make sure you have keys to all the compartments!! make sure all of them lock, if not convert them. Most rigs are well built these days but all can benefit from a little hangman ingenuity. Things like the drawer sliders can be stiffened with 1/2 molding, Latches for drawers are a big plus. Know your rig, many sites have drain hook ups for gray water only. Do you know which valve dumps which tank. Binder style paper clips on lamp cords and toaster and what not help with clutter. Have a small tool bag by the door, not a full tool kit. Just a few screw drivers with the heads you need for your rig (robertson, posi-drive ect) Extended reach tire guage. A few box wrench Ball hitch size for one. Keep a duplicate Sam's card, fuel card, KOA card ect in a small wallet near the front door just in case! Get your self a check list for "EVERY" start up. Chocks stowed? Tip outs in? Jacks raised? Antenna lowered? Awning stowed away? Cords and hose detached? I've seen guys with years on the road forget the simplest things. A good bike lift on the back!

Actually it looks like he tried to add an "Auto reset" circuit breaker. I had one for a bit on my old bike because the PO had hacked the wire harness. I spent months chasing gremlins. Never overheated the fuses or the wire It was always a momentary short. Having the breaker reset in about 60 seconds was so much better than tearing into to get to that fuse. Some of the harness must have been awfully short because they took some sharp bends around bit and pieces so the bike had a lot of chaff points. I eventually got them all re-taped and went back to a slow blow fuse never had an issue after that.

Wow that reminds me of the time. I was driving a 32ft straight truck with a 4+1 over 2 (+1 was a granny gear that had a seperate lock out on the gate) I made a delivery to the SUN refinery in Philly, a piece of 42" schedule 80 by 10 ft long and a gate valve to match. They wanted it close to the new tank. I drove the old IH over the dike down in the pit, they came in with a front loader to unload the pipe and valve. I went back up over the dike, the foreman flagged me down and asked if I could tow the front loader back up! too much wheel spin in the gravel with no load on it. I said I'd bring the loader up without a tow. Hopped on and backed it up the hill with the bucket up over my head. They were amazed! all that fooling around on the farm in my youth, did pay off!

JUST HOW OLD ARE YOU? The automatic transmission was invented in 1921 by Alfred Horner Munro of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and patented under Canadian patent CA 235757 in 1923. (Munro obtained UK patent GB215669 215,669 for his invention in 1924 and US patent 1,613,525 on 4 January 1927). Being a steam engineer, Munro designed his device to use compressed air rather than hydraulic fluid, and so it lacked power and never found commercial application.[1] The first automatic transmission using hydraulic fluid may have been developed in 1932 by two Brazilian engineers, José Braz Araripe and Fernando Lehly Lemos; subsequently the prototype and plans were sold to General Motors who introduced it in the 1940 Oldsmobile as the "Hydra-Matic" transmission.

I know some of those old jingle still pop up even though the product is no longer or its was local to Philly and I'm now in FL but they just run through my head at the weirdest times. Does any one remember "Princess mattress and bedding"? I think they had a continuous lost my lease sale for around 10 years. Or perhaps the Frankin mint "collectors series" of commemorative plates? Or who can forget the owner of Carvel Ice cream doing his own voice overs, My god that man must have smoked 42 packs of cigarettes a day to get that voice.

I've been flabbergasted this week. I have a crew of 13 guys here. I have a fleet of 6 Chevy vans, all v-6 autos. I have 2 NPV diesel box vans and 2 ford picks up all with automatics. I also have an '02 escape with around 250,ooo miles on it with a stick shift. Well several times this week I had to send one or the other of the guys out that wasn't riding in an installers van. I gave them the keys to the Escape and told them to go here of there, 5 minutes later, they're back in the office saying they can't drive a stick! These aren't 17 year old kids but most are men in their late 20's early 30's. I just don't get it. when I first learned to drive, my old man made it clear I was to learn on a stick shift with out power steering or power brakes, before I drove anything else, we had an old 66 impala with a 3 on the tree 6 banger that passed thru each of us when we learning. Most if not all of my contemporaries ( class of '76) also learned on a stick. Even though most of us ended up with autos with PS and PB, They were the cheapest and most plentiful of the used cars at that time. both of my kids, who learned to drive in the early '00s, I made them learn on my 5.0 Capri with a 5 speed, just so they would learn to be a little more conscious of rolling to a stop sign and taking off when it was clear ( I sold it right afterwards, so I didn't have teen drivers with a high performance car in the drive way) Asking around at the park all of the guys and most of the women who drive also learned on a stick shift. Is it just me, and a select group of people or is it a trend I failed to notice.

I couldn't find anything from mother Yamaha about MPG other than this little snippet The Star Venture features a huge 6.6-gallon fuel tank for generous range, easily reaching 200 miles between fuel stops. Riders now have the freedom to journey further than ever. if the bike only gets 200 miles between fill up that's 30.3 MPG however, "easily" could mean with 30, 40 or even 50 miles left to go which means MPG could be as high at 37.88 MPG or if it doesn't count say 3/4 gallon as a reserve feature maybe between 33 and 42 MPG have to wait for real world production bikes to be available for testing.

They're claiming 126 ftlbs with the the venture! that 13 over the new "Milwaukee 8" in the Harleys. I see that HD has reducted the fairing sand engine fins to cool the exhaust output, to level out the power band a bit. I'll report on that later as my little bro just traded the 2016 for a 2017 yesterday! (well he did have 40,000 miles on it already, two motors and a front end rebuild for i guess it was time) I see the Yamaha claiming to run at 75 MPH at only 2700 RPM also, that takes a lot of torque. Notice the suspicion advertises a "Remote preload" for precise feedback what ever that means.

Had the same issue with mine mine looks showroom and has lots of extras. I got offered $5K and they were going to take and addition $1000 of the raider if i bought that day. in cycle trader locally (200 miles) between 5 and 6 for the few left out there worth having. Got to remember its a 10 year old carberated bike. Everyone wants EFI.