pbjman

So I went out for a little solo ride today; probably about 70 miles with temps in the mid 40's but sunny. I wore non-insulated boots, flannel-lined jeans, non insulated gloves, and my leather jacket with a sweatshirt hoodie underneath. Due to the good wind protection of the Venture, I was quite comfortable just cruising around with the radio on.

I'm going to post in the normal section only. I know I'm pretty new here, but I'm glad we now have somewhere where the weirdo's can't go!

Now this is a great example of how the intangibles can factor into a purchase. I agree with you that the seller definitely added VALUE to your situation above just the bike. The showroom condition, great documentation, and open test drive situation really add up to make it an excellent purchase.

Thanks for the pics. Those are great but if I can't get them, any ideas what to put there? Maybe decals or reflector tape cut to a nice fit?

Randy, that bike is making me....randy! I'm digging the purple flame look!

On the parts diagram, it is # 4XY-2847A-00-00 Mine looks blank; can't find a good pic on the web. What is it?

Is there a thread where people have posted what kind of bike they have and what they paid for it? Might be a good 'used bike price' reference once it gets built up. I found mine through a CL posting, late season purchase (just 3 weeks ago). 99 RSV Purple/Silver 21,900 miles $3200. Pretty clean, ran good, everything works, tires good, trunk and rack were detached so I had to put them on myself when I got the bike home. No extra bling such as driving lamps, luggage rack, chrome saddlebag rails, etc. Both passenger footboard rubber pads are missing, but I have them on order from boats.net for about $23 including shipping. Had to go 95 miles to get it. Thinking I got a pretty good deal, and I'm building my wish list for rear lights, driving lights, ignition relay, bike lift & adapter, etc.

That's a good thing to know!

I figured that Freebird is working extra hard right now, so he deserves his $12! Keep up the good work, Don.

I can't access classifieds on here right now. Not on the desktop PC and not on my Iphone. I guess it's to do with the new forums? (I don't have an ad there anyway.) Anyway, it is on the detroit craigslist. Search "maxim algonac" (I won't put the link here in case it's not permitted.)

Sorry to hear that but glad to know that he knew The Lord!

I wouldn't ride pillion on a motorcycle with someone called "Tippy"

Happened to me a long time ago.... #1. Most accidents happen close to home #2. I didn't even SEE the motorcycle I was coming home from work at the end of the day; summertime; plenty of daylight. On MY OWN street, whipped the wheel of my P/U truck to turn into MY OWN DRIVEWAY and WHAM! What the heck was that! So I got out quickly and there's a dude getting to his feet and a motorcycle laying in the street by the side of my truck. I had apparently suddenly turned left right in front of him. I remember him throwing his helmet on the ground and sayin "What did you do that for?" My answer: "I didn't see you? Where did you come from?" He was pretty annoyed but a decent guy, non-violent, and a fairly little guy on a smaller bike. It was a residential area; low-speed crash, he wasn't hurt. His headlight left a round imprint on the side of my old truck and his front forks were bent back so the wheel couldn't move anymore. I remember a regular tow truck driver just wrapping his boom cable around the bike and driving away with it dangling off the back. I don't even think I got a ticket even though I deserved it. Now that I ride; I see all motorcycles when driving my cars. Sometimes I even have the urge to wave at them if I have been riding recently. Also, when I ride, I am always watching for someone to do something dumb like I once did!

Hey Blue Mtn Jim, Good to hear no worse injuries than that. Can you say any more about what happened? Anything you did or didn't do that others can learn from?

Hope you get a chance to ride it; being a late season purchase. I'm in MI too and just bought the RSV 2-1/2 weeks ago. Anyone know how many Michiganians / Michiganders / Michiganites / Michiganese we have here?

You made me feel silly

He pulls the reigns and says giddy up, silly

Well I did 420 more miles 2-up on the RSV this weekend, going from home to a tour around michigan's thumb. Our first overnight trip with the venture! Likes would include: 1. This thing has legs! The two up comfort and large gas tank means we break much less frequently. I filled up after 191 miles and put in 5.03 gallons. The reserve trip meter had 27 on it. 2. The bike feels so sure and sturdy. The thumb has lots of open farmland and with most travel being north/south the crosswinds can be nasty. (They put wind turbines all over the region for this reason) and the rsv held its ground in the crosswind 3. Large luggage capacity 4. Power! I love it's smooth cruising power whether passing trucks or pushing through headwinds. I like the gearing, too. Because of my history on the maxim, I'm accustomed to letting the motor spin a little. So it feels about normal to keep her in third cruising at 50-55 and in fourth right up to 65-70. OD feels like its best suited for 70+ Lovin this bike!

Well I won't be too upset if the Max doesn't sell. At least not until after I get to my other bike : 1979 XS11 Special with touring package. I've never even ridden it cuz it's a project but I suspect that will be my "spare" bike once I get it running and roadworthy.

Freebird- I had a CL350 too. It was my first road bike about four or five years ago. Only rode it for one season but every time I went somewhere I would get comments from guys saying "oh look at that scrambler" or "I had one like that, seeing that sure brings back memories" Madcow - yeah my wife likes this one a lot more too

I recently got a 99 RSV. Rode about 100 miles to bring it home and have now accumulated just over 500 miles on it. So I was looking at my other bike the other day, a 1982 Yamaha 650 Maxim that I have had for 3-1/2 years and put about 14,000 miles on it....and decided I should take it out to top off the gas and add some seafom since I probably won't ride it anymore this year. Now I would have expected it to feel small, and even though I know that I like the RSV waaayyyy better, that I would at least feel comfortable/familiar on my Maxim. NOT!!! I was just shocked at how different it felt. I felt scrunched up on it. I don't like the way it goes. I don't like the way it stops. I missed the brake pedal twice. I don't like the way it feels or sounds. I can't believe that less than a month ago, I rode two-up for 810 miles in 2-1/2 days and went 300 miles away from home on it! I mean, it's still a good little bike and treated me well, and hopefully it will be a good beginner bike for someone else soon with it's cute little fairing and cute little trunk. (It is for sale now. Hopefully to raise $ for driving lights, rear light bar, maybe a hitch and tag-along trailer!) Anyone else have a similar experience?

Well I double checked for wire bundles in the way and they were not, so I trimmed 1/4" of the plastic tab off with my multitool and it went in snugly on the first try. Thanks to all who replied!

Hi this is my first post for help. I have already had other questions, but found the answers with the search function. I took off the rider and passenger seats to hook up the speaker/antenna wires to the trunk. (Previous owner took off the trunk, can you believe it!) I know this sounds really lame, but I can't get the tab on the driver seat to go into the bracket. Yes, it's the original '99 OEM non-pillow seat. It looks like the previous owners couldn't either, because the bottom of the tab is all mucked up from scraping on the top of the bracket. I tried like 20 times and whenever I think I got it and the bolts are in the holes, the tab still didn't catch. What's the trick? I already have the idea to maybe trim a 1/4-inch off the tab and add a reverse bevel to the end, and see if it does the trick. I can imagine it's just barely missing it under there. thanks for your help