videoarizona

Ride to Rio Rico for breakfast. Got there early Locals were in the booths. This is Nichols Diner. Exit 17 on I-19...a few miles from the Mexican border. http://nickelsdiner.com/4601.html Had nice brekkie..... They are biker friendly. Oh...almost forgot...front wheel rides smooth as silk. Thanks Cycle Gear! $20. now to install all the crap I've bought.....sigh... grins, david

Took scoot back to dealer to check the balance on the front wheel. They added two more ounces of balance beads (total 4). Still didn't cut it. Still not balanced. So this morning I took off the front wheel and zipped up to Cycle gear in Tucson. 30 minutes later, they handed it back to me...balanced with real lead weights. Tomorrow, we shall see. In researching this issue here, found out some guys use 5 to 6 ounces of balancing beads. I'll save that thought for later. Guess I'm old fashioned.... But am willing to try that sealant/balancing goop...if I can find it for sale. Can't hurt having that in tires. david

Rusty, This is a really interesting problem. I'm still puzzled as to what could cause the motor to not rev to full potential. If we had a set of points, I would say the points are bouncing at high rpm's....floating. Remember that well....My Austin Healey would ground out at high rpms...loose condensor. So what would be the equivalent today? I'm following. Ready to learn...

Prayers UP!

Agreed! Thanks Puc so much for posting these videos! I Get to put faces to names!! Good to see you all! And Prayers, UP, Dan! david

This Spring's headwinds about beat me to death as well. 30 to 40 mph gusts! 80mph indicated got me 36mpg. I figured it was the wind more than the speed. Heck...at one point going straight into the wind...I could hear and feel the carb throats howling. Had very little throttle left. That's when I realized 5th gear is not good for headwinds like that. Shifted to 4th, slowed to 70 and motor quieted down a bit. david

Snow in my front yard....It does snow here once in a while. But most of the time it's riding weather!!! BTW, Green Valley is named because the center of the valley is green most of the year. Pecan Orchards. The green roadside pic in earlier post is on East side of GV... I'm at 3K feet elevation so cooler than Tucson and Phoenix. Star...let's get together and ride. This Fall I will be taking plenty of trips to Tombstone and that entire area. Maybe we can get KIC along as well.... david

I think I figured it out...but thanks Patricia!

Prayers up! Wishing for a speedy recovery! david

(Then DragonRider had his stent done yesterday. Yammer Dan dropped his bike yesterday....can I get through the weekend without a disaster? I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm wiped.) I feel the same way. Every time I turn around...something else happens to a long time friend.....Guess that comes with the territory we call aging. Relatives, friends...all passing through the end of life....not fun. Prayers to all this weekend! david

For those who think AZ is nothing but brown desert...here goes some proof... Any other questions? Note to self: mention we have everything except an ocean. If California goes away courtesy of the San Andreas, we'll then have that too! david

Hmmm....Patricia...seems to be my problem. Ok...I'll dig in and see what's changed while I was away! Thanks! david

Geesh..I go away to visit the lady and get back and can no longer upload pics from the computer...only choice is from a URL. Confused puppy am I ... david

I found a site for a company that makes custom hoses....and of course now I can't find the bookmark! I'll keep looking...but suggest you do a search on the internet for custom hose manufacturing....hopefully you will find a company that does make a hose for your application.

I get it too..... But...comparing both my 1st gen and 2nd gen...I can really see the need for the 2nd gen to have a lower final gear ratio. Running much of my time in 4th gear on local roads seems like a waste. Yet, I get better gas mileage...so what am I saying! If I pulled a trailer...then a VMax drive on the 2nd gen would be mandatory. Constantly shifting gears is not fun after a full day of riding the hills...

Not much choice on a 2nd gen. I mounted mine on my 1st gen on the handlebars and that worked well. On the VStar 950. I tried both the handlebars and the engine guard. Handlebars were better. For my 2nd Gen...I'm thinking my helmet unless I can find a way to mount it to the inside of the windshield in center. But the only other place I could find is the engine guard. Would prefer handlebars but would need to buy a RAM mount so I could swivel the camera.....and don't want to spend any more $$ since I've already got lots of mounts for the GoPro since I used it for work as a teeny cam.....it was great for cutaway shots. No clear choice for me! david

I've always gone 81 north to 84...all the way to the Mass Pike. But you could get off at Hartford and take 91 north to Brattleboro, then 9 to 202 all the way to Old Orchard Beach in Maine. Avoiding the 95 corridor in Portsmouth area that can get jammed up pretty bad in summer. I grew up in Portsmouth, and just came back from a year in New Castle. Love the NH seacoast but the traffic on rt1 or 1a...even on my bike...was a pain. The interior of NH though is still beautiful and biker friendly. Just do the speed limit. 81 is a truckers hiway....but I took that even towing my 2 1/2 tons of sailboat...and enjoyed the drive. Especially from Harrisburg north. Road was a little beat up alst time I went through a year ago in places...but doable. 84 into the Hartford area would be the worst part of the trip...but thankfully it's lots of lanes until you get into the city...then straight through with eyes closed to 91 north! I wouldn't hesitate to do it on the scoot. Whatever way you go...try and spend some time in the interior of NH.

Thought I would resurrect this thread. Last week went to dealer and they installed a new Pirelli on the front and used beads instead of weights. I rode to GV, then up to Phoenix, to Wickenburg and back to GV south of Tucson. Not impressed with beads. Either they didn't mount the tire properly or not enough or to much beads. Went back today...they said tire was mounted properly and added another bottle of beads. Take my hand off of left handle bar at 75mph and mirror vibrates enough to make it hard to see! Worse now. I think they put to much in. Either way...think I'm done with beads. Went to order some Ride-on products...but all are out of stock. So...are they out of business? Anyone know? Thanks, david

Just got off the phone with Craig. Ordered the XX Large, clear, with vent. They still have the discount for us. So with shipping...came to: $241.44 I also asked about the 1st Gen shields. He was going to check and see if he had any in inventory. I would order basically the same shield...largest, clear, wider with vent. He mentioned they are considering dropping the 1st gen shield from their line-up. I suggested they reconsider as there are still a ton of 1st gens out there. Anyway...we had a nice chat... david

Craig...thanks for the thought. I was debating going with the largest....I shall order it today!! david

This weekend, lady and i went for a breakfast ride to Wickenburg... 44.1 mpg for 137 miles. 05 2nd gen. Took our time. Regular gas... No additives past two tanks. Getting better mpgs each tank. 65/70 mph with some 50 on two lanes. No wind.

This weekend in Wickenburg. Breakfast ride. Lots of bikes. We had to park on side street. HD Ultra and my 2nd Gen. 44.1 mpg, 2 up...137 miles. More 4th gear than 5th!

Stuart, Search in the archives and the 1st or 2nd Generation read only tech area. I think someone has done an article on replacing the assembly. Could be nothing more than a broken shaft. That does happen. There are pictures in the article as well..... My pinion rear shaft was broken and I replaced the assembly myself. Wasn't hard with the advice and pictures here. I'm not a real mechanic...but it worked! Read here: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?91454-Rear-End-Questions&highlight=ujoint+shaft david

Steering head bearings are loose. Also...an older front tire will also aggravate the problem. (Worn down in center) BUT, remember it is a heavy bike and most of that weight "Feels" like it's really high up. So a high center of gravity makes it feel like it's not going to go straight. If everything is good...then it's your technique...and nothing more than practice and you will get it all together! Check for my posts under the 2nd Gen forum...I've had my 05 for a month now and was fighting same issue. Found some of the problem went away when I tightened the front end bearings by 1/4 turn. Rest went away with a new tire. david http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?102729-More-thoughts-on-2nd-Generation-scoots

(Perhaps I should add, throttle response is slower than my 750 as well. It's not bad, just a tad slow, I had chalked it up to V4 engine and the extra weight of the bike...perhaps I'm nit picking, and if I weren't having the 5k issue I wouldn't even mention it (so when I say a "tad" slow...it really is, just a tad slow to respond to throttle input....perhaps better put not exactly "crisp".) Hmmm. Could be anything from older plugs, plug wires... to carbs. Usually a slight hesitation would be the carb slides not responding properly. I say this since timing is not adjustable. High speed miss is usually plugs/wires and/or a dirty fuel filter and/or fuel float level. Since you've had the carbs checked and balanced. I would change out plugs and wires. Both are cheap enough and available at any auto store or on-line. Research this site for info on wires/caps and plugs. Lots of info. If that doesn't help...then back to the carbs. Find another member nearby and re-sync your carbs. Pull the covers off and check the diaphrams for pin hole leaks. There should not be any throttle hesitation. Now.. the bike won't get up and go as quickly as a lighter bike...but there shouldn't be any hesitation...just flat out acceleration right up to red line! BTW, mine doesn't get moving until around 4K rpm. Then it's scary fast! Hope this helps, david