videoarizona

[TABLE=width: 558] [TR] [TD]Oops....moved to video folder. Sorry, Don[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Yikes!!!

Agreed. Though I'm not a huge fan of country music, I do like the older songs and singers. Wonder when the pendulum will swing back to good ole country music??

Thanks, Don. So @cowpuc....I'm going to re-order my "retired" business cards and add our site info so not only will the person have our website info but also my name and numbers to call with any questions. Think that would work...your thoughts? david

I was thinking about doing something again with this company. Have my "Retired" business cards from them...thinking of ordering more and adding our logo and web site address...if @Freebird approves. http://www.vistaprint.com/?xnav=logo

On the 1st gens, it is somwhat common for the collector to break apart inside and rattle. Fix is in older posts, but basically you cut it open and weld.

I've seen a number of RSVs in Arizona the past month. Have not been able to catch one. Saw one today, intersection of I-17 and rt 260...Verde Valley. We were riding a loop to Payson, the long way. I'm on the VStar.... He was going the opposite way as we pulled out after a break..... One of these days I do hope to catch one!! No pics of ride... Having to much fun and kept forgetting!

Mike... Thanks for the link. I just ordered one as well. Cheap enough!

You lost me after Emmylou Harris. Who are the rest? Never mind... I'm go back to my cave.....

I stopped sailing in Sept of 2012. Boat spent remainder of 2012 and five months of 2013 in the Southern Arizona weather where I was now living. Moved to New Hampshire and lived there until March 2014... Then back to AZ. Boat went along. In November of 2014, took boat to lake after checking everything out. Well.... Motor wouldn't idle worth C*@p... even though it ran fine week before. Took boat back to storage in Southern AZ. Last month brought boat back to Phoenix... And today decided to run motor. Took fresh gas and Seafoam in tank, about 6 ounces to 2 gallons of gas... flushed fuel line with mixture... Let sit for a few hours. Went out and pulled cord. Darn little 6hp Tohatsu started right up on first pull! Wouldn't idle... But I kept it running giving Seafoam a chance to work is way around tiny carb. After about ten minutes, darn motor would idle again!!!! Started and runs fine now. So moral of story... Don't give up on Seafoam. Despite a frozen winter, long time without running... It simply worked. That stuff is good!!!

James, it was our pleasure to meet with you today!!! You are correct in the great people we have at our Venture forum! You are at the top of the list!! Safe travels, my friend. See you back here in July!! Love that selfie, grins!!!! David

Sent PM

James, wish I would have known earlier. I could have brought up my lift and tools. I'm up in phx for week! Are you going to be around for a while? I'll be going back and forth for next week or two.... Also have a newish windshield as I just replaced mine with a larger one with vent... @KIC, I think he's in Lichfield Park area... If memory serves.

@saddlebum, nice work! Re: MD As one of the newbies, I've yet to make a long trip to an event. Been two years. But things are progressing on the personal side, so this summer may hold promise for me. Plus, even though I know I can still put miles on a scoot, I'm hesitant to spend two weeks on road. So I'm not sure I can commit. But will make up my mind soon..... I really don't like sitting on fence. As far as this year, Don... That really is your call. I can only imagine the effort you both put in to making your home available for a whole bunch of idiots like us!! So if you say not this year, then so it is. And if I do decide to make a trip.... And MD is cancelled... I'll just change directions a tad more West and have hot dogs with PUC and Tippy... And try to meet VR members along the way!!

Found this article this morning. Lot of similarities to our Venture Royales! From exhaust handling to air shocks, this little 650 really looks like a small cousin and test bike for our 1st gens released the very next year! http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/yamaha/yamaha_xj650_turbo.htm Enjoy the read... david

Steve, gotta tell Ya...I had tears in my eyes from your writing. funny as heck!!!!

Can't comment on that little scoot @cowpuc but can relate some weird stories on bikes from my past. Storytelling time! Riding the Honda 160 from college in Boston to home in New Hampshire one winter day. Gotta tell ya...when we stopped at a coffee shop to warm up...I had to slide my hands off the handlebars...I couldn't uncurl my fingers. Boy did they hurt when they started to warm up! Or... riding a Norton SS out of Providence one day...hit the freeway north to Boston and opened her up. Speedo needle climbed so fast, I got off at next exit, turned around and went back to friend's apartment. Friend sold that scoot to a numb nuts who decided to saw a telephone pole in half in North Carolina a few days later. The bike was still in friends name so he got the news. Or... Picking up my first new scoot, the Yamaha YDS-6C from Boston Yamaha. The chief mechanic was on the Daytona race team and when I asked him to changed the rear gearing so I could cruise more comfortably on the highways, he said "Why?" "You can't break that motor...just let her rev. She will do 75mph all day long." So off I went after break in and went across country to Mississippi to help a friend build a house there for his in-laws. (on way, got a ticket for passing on the right in Parsippany, New Jersey. I was walking the bike along the right side, motor off, to a gas station where I parked it to wait out a traffic jam. Didn't want to overheat with that motor! Got out of ticket since a lady I was dating at the time...her mom was a judge in Parsippany. One phone call.) From Mississippi, I rode out to Arizona where my love affair with this state started in 1969. Riding the beautiful two lanes in the mountains and desert was like a dream on two wheels. Oh...on that trip out...riding near Tucson at night on I-10....it was a bit spooky. This was new country for me...No one on the road....and I could see shadows of "things" to my right on the edge of the road. Lordy...imagine my surprise when something appeared to jump out at me as I whizzed by! Then another....and soon another! Well...I slowed down and saw what was causing my young heart to beat like mad....a dam Saguaro cactus, tall and lean with arms hanging out!! By the side of the road. They stood 10 feet tall and sure looked menacing to my tired eyes! Needless to say I got a good laugh out of that. But one other thing that stands out as I crossed Texas, is how the towns were always off in the distance. The freeway bypassed most of them. You could see the town glow from miles away....and then had to take the by-pass exit if you wanted food or gas. Dam lonely country on a bike back then out in the West! Or... Riding a BSA 441 Victor in the Agua Fria riverbed outside of Phoenix one nice day. We were riding the sand and dirt...jumping the little hills there that are left from erosion. One jump I do remember vividly was when I crested the top and looked ahead...there was no top...just straight down. Well...needless to say, the 441 was a bit of a nose heavy beastie and down I went. Was able to ride home but have no idea I or the scoot weren't mangled. Got rid of that scoot quickly. Or... The first time I twisted my right hand after I got my 89 VR. Such a rush! Pure, smooth power from 25 mph to over 90...and this was on the entrance ramp to the freeway! Hit 5th and said "WHOA!". Speedo was at century mark....Yikes! Many more stories and great memories... but it's time to head to Phoenix to help with mom-in-law....so who's next?? Happy Easter to all and be safe out there! david

Interesting how many of us have had the VStar 650 Classic or Silverado in our stables at one point in time. I must admit, I sure did like that scoot. But sold it to buy the 950 Tourer. Now wishing I didn't have to sell the 950 as I love to ride it. But 3 scoots is to many for this kid..... even though they are all paid for...!Grins!

Put me in the column to change oil and filter. Acids form in the oil from useage and sitting will accumulate in the oil and make life harder on filter and engine. Dino oil really never goes bad...only the additives get used up. Once used up, you are running straight oil. Not bad, but there is a reason for the additives....such as they are. But let's not go there... Change the oil. And filter. Feel good about protecting your investment.

Wowsers! Wish I had one of those little enduros today....be fun to tool around the neighborhood!

Found it...

I bought my YDS-6C in 1969 and promptly rode it to Mississippi. Spent the summer there helping a friend build a house for his in-laws, then rode it to Arizona. Somewhere around my boxes of "stuff", I have a reprint of a road test.....somewhere...but that's another story.

Scott, the YDS-6C was a 250cc street scrambler. Sold to the public in limited quantities only to satisfy the racing requirements at the time. The 250 put out 30hp on a 300 pound frame. Motor was a street version of the Daytona Racer. (supposedly) I could keep the front wheel off the ground until I hit 5th gear. Fast enough for a young college idiot like me! Thanks, for kind words!

1969 YDS-6C VStar 650 Classic 2009 VStar 950 Tourer - Sold. Sigh. Loved that scoot. 1989 Venture Royale - Still have 2005 Royal Star Venture - Still have

Oh boy. Sad to hear. But understood as we are all reaching that point in time. Sigh.... david