CaseyJ955

The solution is pretty easy, but I have not seen it yet. Instead of motorcycle cops riding overpriced obsolete lumbering obese roadblock bikes we give jurisdictions fleets of modified H2s and special training/riding courses, or deputize already adept sportbike riders for pursuit. The age of CHIPs is long gone! The guys in this story have a whole level of wrong doing, well beyond eluding police or being dicks in traffic. Felony charges seem richly deserved in this particular incident, at least from what is sprinted so far. Here is another great argument for a concealed pistol for self defense. Dont get me wrong, I have no moral issues with eluding police, at all. I do have issues with placing the public at risk though, besides the exhibition that seems to make motorists hate us even more. I find the best way to deal with cops is to NOT give them a reason to hassle you. The sad fact is that sometimes the bike alone is reason enough, and they can be quite hostile for seemingly very little reason. I understand why some folks run, I really do. Guys that do it just to be dicks and show off, not onboard with that at all, whatever they get is what they had coming. This is why I believe that we should rethink the liabilities of high speed persiut vs the benefit to the safety of the motoring public. To catch a Gixxer takes a Gixxer, yes? So far they are doing this with virtual impunity, so what else can be done? Could these guys have been caught if the officers had the right tools and training? Are there enough cops in a locality like that to cover the huge population in the first place? I see only two choices, 1. Fight fire with fire (fleet of police H2s) 2. Watch the fire burn (on youtube haha)

"Someone is going to win Power Ball, but it wont be you and it wont be me." ~ Tom Leykis This has been my experience, but if I do win (chances are much less for me as I dont play) every active member here gets a new scoot to park beside ol' reliable.

You can take it to goodwill in the off chance that some hipster will fall in love with it, you know it may be broken, but may not. If it is broken before the next owner takes deliver then you only you get 3.5 years as an accomplice. If it remains whole until it is owned you are are off the hook.

A spectacular choice!

I got about 30, tried everything to get it up to the 40-ish reported by others, the thing that got me there was the needle drop kit that Skydoc sells. Thats what worked, never did the performance wane much regardless of MPG. I think my emulsion tubes are worn and thats why dropping the needles further in helped. Of course I'm not going to replace them, it's working and the MPG is about right, done! I see another response here about dropping the needles, you can try the kit out, I think it's only a couple bucks and takes only a few minutes to install.

I can feel when it's time to synch and I dont mind doing it, it's quick and easy, but I know not everyone shares my enthusiasm for it. A common plenum intake design should alleviate to a large degree the need for individual throat synchronization. It's hard to beat the OEM rack from a performance standpoint, but I know not everyone has the time and patience to do said maintenance, and maybe not the $$ to pay a shop every time they get finicky, and they do. I've read so many posts in which folks were at the end of their rope with carbs and fuel management problems, folks that I know just wanted to ride, a nice easy kit like this might have some benefit for those who dont want to hassle with the OEM carbs, they sure have a learning curve to tune, or a pretty large expense if someone pays a shop for the labor. What I reaally want is to see some dyno runs including power and tq curves, and actual MPG data. It's impossible to judge if it's a worthy compromise when we still dont know what the real world compromises will be. While I'm in agreement that the OEM carb rack is about as good as it gets for these bikes, I think there is some value in sorting out an alternative for those that prefer to avoid the hassle and expense of the OEM rack. I'll bet that a properly chosen and tuned performance oriented non-progressive 2bbl would operate well enough that the average rider would be hard pressed to feel much compromise, maybe a little at the pump. Carbs like Weber and Dellorto offer a great deal of tune-ability, even different size drop-in barrels to change the MM spec. I have little doubt that one could be tuned to work correctly on these machines, but not necessarily at a great savings over the OEM rack rebuild. I'm thinking that intake design is at least as critical as carb choice. It would be slick to design a single plenum upper manifold to bolt right to the OEM intakes. As I'm typing I have a mental image of my Vmax with a pair of 36 DRLAs on a custom intake haha.

I really like this. I'm going to give him props for taking something on that MANY have discussed, including myself. I have totes of old VW manifolds and Weber carbs to give it a throw, just have no good place to do it until I relocate. I'm still unconvinced that a single barrel is ideal, one or a pair of non-progressive 2bbl Dellorto or Weber carbs I think would rock the house, but drive up the cost considerably from what the guy in the video has done. I'm thinking that the 4 carb system is ideal when it works right, we cant argue it's pretty darn good. I know there are many folks that own 80s model Yamahas that may not have gobs of wealth, and just want to ride. Even if the carb conversion is a little bit south of the performance I can see a market for it for those that maybe dont want to take on the expense, rebuilding/dialing in the CVs. Getting the factory CVs dialed in can be a serious pain in the ass, we have seen more than a few people struggle with getting the bikes right while fighting the OEM carbs. That many more on the Vmax side too. I can definitely see value in an easy to maintain, no synch necessary, slightly less awesome, much cheaper, easier, more reliable way to just get out on the bike and ride. I think this would be a hit if it does that and still gets acceptable MPG.

We're just wrapping up permittless carry in SD, we have had open carry although very few invoke that right it's an important one to keep handy just in case.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-guns-sanctuary/defiant-u-s-sheriffs-push-gun-sanctuaries-imitating-liberals-on-immigration-idUSKCN1QL0ZC Saw this over coffee, I'm already in a state with pretty fair gun laws so this doesn't effect me beyond a positive precedent for my fellow firearm owners living in the blue or over-legislated states. Looks like this might take off, I sure hope so. I'm all giddy now haha! Enjoy!

This truck is already neutered by an abbreviated box anyway, might as well finish her off haha. I spect' a whole lot of truck owners could get by just fine with the cargo space afforded by a 3-series. it's a fashion thing, and it does look pretty darn good. From the pics it does look pretty well made too.

Glad you and your son are okay. Good news is you got your gravity storm out of the way with no serious injury. Hope you guys heal up fast.

I wouldn't wish the dirt nap on him, but had he lost a little skin and gained some experience and better judgement then I suppose that would count as a win, especially for him. Your right, he bargained for whatever might have happened there. I'm just glad he was there to make sure motorists continue to loathe us . I would not have stained the seat, I think there would have been a pucker-sized chunk missing if that were me.

Sounds like it would be prudent to get a full breakdown of all fees and charges before going, maybe have them email the contract and fee schedule so it can be reviewed carefully before hand, so no surprises later. Trying to tack extra charges on at the end is just bad business, but a pretty common practice unfortunately. Use of a credit card for stuff like this offers consumer protections not afforded by debit cards or cash/check. In case the statement does not match what you were quoted going in. Nice extra layer of protection, just sayin'.

The year F150 makes a difference, live axles are a whole lot easier to work with but I'll assume yours is newer. if it's been around awhile the rears are probably sagging a bit, especially if you use it like a truck. I've been a Ford guy forever, and the leveling kits are a reality from Rangers all the way up the F series range, or used to be. I got a kit for my Ranger that was 2" rear and 4" up front, it sat just about right after that. Since that nosedive does effect front end geometry you may feel a difference in handling after this, albeit probably inconsequential. There is a slight chance that you may get some driveline vibration, prolly not but it could happen when the drive line angles change with lift. I doubt your lifting enough to worry about that. Make sure you check for vibration on your test drive, get the fronts locked in and see how she feels. For a daily driver I can sure see why leveling it would be preferential. We left our work trucks with the Ford nosedive, when loaded they level out and ride just about as they should.

I used a Vmax splitter, universal lines and R6 calipers, which I had to go through before use. IIRC, I cut a ~4" x 1" slab from some 1/8" aluminum stock, then drilled one end for the VMX splitter and the other to bolt to the front lower of the steering tree, mostly to just get it to where it's position was natural for the brake line lengths. I cant recall where exactly I bolted it and cant seem to find the pic, but I did use some blue loctite to make sure it didn't wiggle loose over the miles. It's been a couple seasons and it does just what it should. It's -12 deg right now and the bike is outside under cover, I can get a pic as soon as the weather breaks a bit. If you take the splitter and start looking around the front of the forks where it has to go I think you might see what I'm talking about. I like Skydocs kit, it just didnt fit within my self-imposed budget for this machine. Now if I had a source for universal steel braided lines locally my life would have been a whole lot easier, as it is I used what I had on hand, which included aftermarket lines for all 3 fronts and the Vmax splitter. I had too use aftermarket lines as the OEM lines did not fit properly onto the R6 calipers, which I also installed at the time.

Trying to get my front wheel off the ground is like trying to wheelie a Road King. Not sayin' it's slow like an RK, shes just awful respectful of gravity with all that heinous girth on her, especially up front. Maybe you got some Vmax components or a lower final drive gear (VMX gen1). My gears are stock and bike stock-ish, and it rolls right on out too, but no lightness up front.

I pulled the proportioning valve out and plugged the other hole, left the OEM rear hose in place.

I think you and I would get along just fine bruddah!

I was immediately effected and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it, so I sure understand. I think my baby girl is probably going to go forward with it. I'm glad you mentioned the courses, I'm sure she will still see the sense in that. Shes wearing a jacket and full face lid even though we have no adult lid laws. She has been paying attention. SD is pretty good about not engaging in over-legislation. Perhaps they remember what happened last time they did try to put adult helmet laws on the books here haha. I know she will take the course because it's a good idea, thankfully it's not required by law. Putting a law like that on the books would be a bit much IMHO. They do require a rider to show competency on a course before being awarded an endorsement though. I think riders who do take the course get a break in insurance premiums too.

Did it sit with any ethanol? A couple years sitting with a belly full of ethanol and carb removal should not be taken off the table just yet. Glad your feeling better and getting back in the saddle.

Gunk and corrosion tend to accumulate where the HT leads plug into the coils. Also have a look at the spark plug caps. There is a writeup on that and testing pickup coils and ignition coils in the first gen tech section. I would also inspect all the grounds and electrical connections, faulty grounds can show all sorts of strange symptoms. Keep us posted.

Love that, had a Schwinn like that, complete with banana seat, sissy bar and shifter mounted between the knees. Mine did not have that cool wheel though. It's interesting to see all the valid points about how many of our great grandkids will not likely be avid motorcyclists. It really bums me out but change is constant I suppose. I've considered getting off the bikes just because of how terribly dangerous and distracted motorists have become. I just cant do it though. At age 14 (1983-ish) my parents and I were doing asphalt shakes on a local detectives home, he had a badly faded and weather checked 72 CB350, stored obviously outside forever. It was leaned against the shed with the kickstand proudly waving in the breeze. Of course I climb down and ask about it, he fired it up with a few kicks and said "brakes here and here, throttle here, clutch here, cyaa in a bit." He later said he would throw it into the roofing deal but parents said "no ****ing way buddy!" I did not seek permission, in fact I was in a hurry to test it out before they noticed what was going on. I cajoled, I threatened to stop going to school and experiment with drugs, and get someone/s pregnant, and run away. I pulled out all the stops, I had never wanted anything so badly, it dominated all my waking thoughts, and many of my sleeping ones too. See, I might have put me through a wall for the behavior I was exhibiting, lawd knows I'da had it coming. Eventually they relented and I got the bike. At age 14.5 in SD one could get a learners permit, and a full license at 16 IIRC. But with a bike you did not have to have licensed driver with you as with a car, you did have to ride solo and daylight hours only. FREEDOM! Not HD advertising campaign freedom, real freedom! It's been a burning passion ever since, even still I ride knowing well the increasing dangers other motorists pose. I guess there is no way to describe that "first ride", there is no learning or teaching the state of mind. It's either present or not. I never tried to tell my kids, I have actively dissuaded them from getting into bikes even though they grew up seeing me ride daily. My son wanted to buy a cruiser and he was already an adult. He's past it for now I think. My daughter wants to buy a Bolt or Scout now. She has a friend with a bike, now it might be hard for me to stop it. Shes just like me, she will do what she wants and make no excuses about it. I obviously understand but I'm super not happy about it. I guess even as an avid motorcyclist myself, I'm part of the dynamic in some small way. Riding has become infinitely more dangerous since my first time out, if someone is not already hooked then the risk is just far to great IMHO. I do agree with the above posts, it's not about the risk or danger. It's just too difficult to text and be glued to a screen if your on a bike. I think that may be one of the main factors right up there with some younger folks not interested in motoring at all. I do suspect motorcycling will make a small comeback when petrol becomes cost prohibitive in the coming years, but it wont be the same.

I used a JB weld "Plasticweld" recently, a lot like the one in the link. Damn good stuff!

All excellent points, I was more throwing things out there that might kill the MPG/performance of a hybrid VMX/XVZ bike based on doing my own research and tuning on a Vmax (my own, with plenty of help from guys on the Vmax forum) but since I'm planning on building a hybrid like this I'm definitely interested in learning more. I've gathered great info from others here who have gone before me, and others on the Vmax forum with hybrids. Getting deeper into exhaust theory is healthy. With the Vmax we have availability of premade systems. Some are known to lack backpressure, kill power and just be obnoxious while others are known to perform quite well. There is no such thing for the Venture. I recall learning a bit about this with the Veedubs. I played with different intakes/rockers/carbs/ spark curves and of course, exhausts and stingers, while I got the basics there was more to learn then, just as now. I think I learned about back pressure and scavenging the same way every 14 year old kid with a Sawzall does though. Since this project will essentially be a Vmax +100cc and 300lbs, designing an exhaust system should be less dark art and more reflection on what works with Vboost equipped Yammers, or so I hope.

That would put it out of my reach, but too bad. I hope it found a good home! Maybe I'll get lucky and find one like that before mine goes under the knife.