CaseyJ955

I wont lie, riding season is a big factor in my search. I want some winter, just a bit less. I went through Alamosa yesterday, really like it, to Ft Garland, which I also like quite a bit. I was reeeally liking the 160 heading east out of Ft Garland. Im glad I took this trip. I made more friends in CO this week than I had in SD in the last 10 years. I did notice a tremendous amount of trafffic and people, even in Hartsel, which on paper looks quiet and remote. The traffic didnt thin out sufficiently until close to Alamosa. It is within range of gentrification, which may be a dealbreaker, more thought needed. There was an event but that still doesnt explain the massive amount of people on the road for such great distances. The incredible beauty of the place might be the only thing that kept me from going into a meltdown haha. Perfect weather and breathtaking scenery, really awesome ride. I stayed in Fort Garland last night, had a great time with a few locals and a couple off-gridders. Really enjoyable and VERY enlightening. I think its the right place if I can get at least 20 miles out of town and away from the pavement. There appears to be a bit of a meth problem in the area but I dont think that is unique to much of rural America anymore. Its still a cool town, like Alamosa. Im sorry I couldnt stay a couple more days or dip down into AZ and NM, but this recon trip was a striking success. I think I have most of what I need to make a choice of area, thanks in part to the information given here. There were several other cool towns but I'll have to review my GPS tracks and put it all together. Ft Garland has some awesome mtn views, thats what I cant get out of my head. I could easily wake up each day. Ill probably get home tomorrow, then I can think about all I have learned. Darn this has been a really fun one!

I suppose the kindest way to say it is im non-CA compatible. I do visit the middle states alot and nobody wants to endure californication. My best cuz lives in Boise/Nampa and he says its become so insanely liberal with the massive influx. Lots of places are suffering, lots. Ive even been dissed when I was living in Seattle, the WA plates are not much more welcome than CA plates. I cant blame anyone for fleeing from CA, I would flee, then deny I was ever there (kinda what I/we did). Im in CO right now. Been in the seaddle all day and have really enjoyed the interactions with locals, actually made a couple new friends today. There is a lot of positive energy here. This is my next home, I can feel it in my bones, it just feels right.

I'm going to interpret that as sarcasm haha. There is such a long list of reasons why I would NEVER return to CA (or WA) or anything on the W coast. I'm the guy that WANTS Trumps border wall, but I want it around CA instead of the US/Mexico border. I've always liked red states better but SD is so far backward that its beyond red, it's like glowing blistering white-hot orange. SD is as red as CA is blue. CO seems sort of purple and folks there seen pretty chill, besides CA does NOT do libertarians and is severely overcrowded, overlegistlated and overtaxed, and chock full of liberals. Its really a challenge to live around so many uptight folks, not much fun at all. West coast is out haha. I love the coast but I'm unaware of any state that touches the water that is not seriously overcrowded like CA. Just the thought of going to CA literally knocked the wind out of me and gave me a moment of elation as I realize I'm no longer there. I have noticed many libs in CO but it's never been a theme, at least not during my visits. It seems like a good mix of all things so far. It sort of lacks the high-strung element I have noticed in CA and the Pacific NW. Almost ALL our SD local and state politicians are a disgrace, there is enough scandal and corruption here to tickle a Clinton. We have won countless awards for most corrupt state (that says a lot) and the lowest level of gov transparency of all 50 states. CO feels happy to me. I just cant be in this much red anymore, the older I get the more I pay attention to how my tax dolars are used and SD gets a lot less attractive when that happens. I just got a PM that may send me into NM and AZ after all. I may change my route up to make some time for this. On a side note, if it weren't for the winters I would be looking exclusively in the mountains of MT. CA is my very last choice haha. Thanks, that it is, and if this 30 year old beast holds up it promises to be a great trip. It seems to be running to well, does that make sense? Regardless I'm stuffing the bags now. I'm glad you mentioned that, I was studying the map and I really want to see it. I assumed it would be a long and maybe technical ride and my only reservation is how the weather may bite me in the ass at this time of year. I have been thinking in the back of my head to just head in and out on the 71, at least until clear of Denver/CO spr areas, which I DO NOT want to get caught in. My city days are long over. I expect and hope that I will never see Denver again. I guess when I drop in on top of Ft Collins, the weather will make the determination. I see it's getting close to freezing up there at night. I was really leaning toward buying in the southern/easter part, only because the cost of 10-20 acres south is about the same as one acre around Cripple Creek. Besides there is something therapeutic about vast wide open spaces, especially with the mountainous backdrops.

I cant rhyme like Zep, but I'm jumping on the Venture tomorrow and heading into CO, It does sting in many ways because I am going with the intention of buying a patch of acreage, or to at least doing recon to decide which part of southern Co I want to live in. If I like it I have several specific acreages I can look at. I swore I would never leave South Dakota, right here in the west with the Black Hills it's amazing, but growing, fast. I have always loved SD for reasons of sparse population and fantastic scenery in the west. Also cheap living, which is changing fast as the population explodes. The nearest town to me is over 75k pop, and Noem could be our next governor, so obviously it's time to GTFO! It sucks in ways, I love this state but I think it's time to put it in the rear view mirror for good. I think it's time to start moving towards CO where there is money, culture and opportunity. I have visited CO several times over the last couple years and I'm always surprised by now nice people are, same in NE, but not so much WY or SD. Maybe I look like an outsider haha! If anyone here lives in/familiar with southern CO, feel free to drop me any suggestions or ideas. I'm planning on staying several days if I like it. I may even check out the high deserts of AZ and NM, but given the time of year I have to watch the climate and make sure I can get back home again, so none of my aimless indefinite tours. Was gonna leave today but by the time I installed a phone charger socket in the trunk and pulled the Garmin off my KTM and mounted it on the Venture it was noon, so leaving tomorrow. Damn I'm excited! really stoked to see it after so much reading and research on CO and what I want to do with a patch of land. On paper it's a perfect match, I have never been very far south of Denver so this will be new. I'm going to cut west and go around the metro areas to drop south. I'm not sure why I'm so much more excited than I should be. This will be my first real trip of the year, and pretty likely the last depending on weather. I hear it gets cold down there but I suspect it's got nothing on South Dakota winters which can range from mild to quite extreme. It looks like the weather will hold, but going up towards 10k' elevation does have me apprehensive on a bike this time of year. Even if I have to change routes and stay lower it should be a kick.

There could be tinkering on a decades old bike, but it is hard to match the comfort without spending big $$. It is the most ergonomically correct (for me anyway) and comfortable bike I have owned to date. I might add that these bikes handle much better than they have any business too. As mentioned we'll need to see some pics! Congrats on the new steed!

If all MKII are 14mm then an 86+ should work or did they not go to 14mm until later on in MKII production?

When I delinked I left my MKII MC alone, it's enough, even with the R6 calipers, if you get all the air out it should be about perfect. I have insane stopping power. If I could have fit it into the budget for this bike I would have used Skydocs brake delink kit which inludes new lines and the other bits but I ended up reaching into a box of lines and robbing a splitter off a parts Vmax for the front line split. If I had to do it again I would buy the kit though honestly. I say try it first, then if you cant get it right the MKII MC should work great. Now is a great time to throw on some EBC HH pads too!

She seems to be holding, I made the 3 hellish miles of my driveway and another 75 in the hills, then the 3 mile driveway again. If the seals were about to fail my driveway would beat them into submission in pretty short order. The 10w fluid works pretty well, seems to work with the progressives nicely. I'm still aiming to get another fork upper and hopefuly lower, I cant help but feel I have not heard the last of the fork issue. I will tempt it, in a couple days I'm going to ride it to southern Colorado to search for land and explore the region. This summer has been far too short!

It looks great. Nothing brings piece of mind like knowing how to field strip your scoot!

Thats a little different than what I used, but Plastex sounds pretty solid. I used up the last of mine so I'll snag some Plastex when I head to town. I like to keep plenty of stuff handy to avoid trips to town. Not sure why I didnt think about drywall tape, awesome idea. I have a couple rolls of the mesh tape, which I always preferred to the paper tape when doing drywall work. Since I rarely ride 2-up I suspect it will last awihle. Thanks!

I decided that while my bike is up with the forks being almost done I would try and find the leak in the trunk, and while I'm at it I might as well reassemble the trunk light correctly and put in a LED bulb. The light worked but it was all loose and rattling around in there. When I took the mirror box/light assy off the inside of the upper lid I found about an 8" split horizontally about an inch above the rear edge of the case. It actually runs between the two hinges and was enough to see daylight through the split. Somehow I feel like I'm not the first one to have this issue. There were also some stress cracks almost through just above that where the seat back hinge assembly mounts. I'm guessing this happens if a large passenger throws/leans their weight against the backrest causing the plastic to stress. I thought of reinforcing with a plate, rivits and sealant but I decided to take a stab at this Devcon Plastic Weld stuff I had laying around. It's a 2 part, like JBweld for plastic. I cleaned the split and surrounding areas with alcohol, also got into the stress cracks and generously slathered this plastic weld stuff into the crack. I flexed the trunk lid to open the stress cracks and worked some of the plastic weld stuff into those as well. Now that it's drying it feels pretty damn solid! I used this plastic weld to fix a water cooler once and I was impressed by how good it is. I'm wondering if anyone else has successfully done these repairs in other ways? When I reassemble the backrest and mirror box I'm planning to dab a little RTV or 2B around the bolt holes for a better seal, even though the rubber gaskets are still intact, they are old as dirt. I'm going to put up a pic or two after I get my phone charged.

If a GS boxer fell into my lap and I could justify the purchase I would do it in a second! Not sure where else you can find a full size competent touring bike that does not fear the end of the pavement. Lots of nice middle weights out there but there is really nothing on the market like a GS. It's in a class by itself. Thats not to say that I would sneeze at a KTM 990 or 1190 Adv bike. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY does a Vtwin like KTM (or Ducati for that matter) If your used to the soul crushing weight of a Venture then a GS should be doable. From what I can see, most of the folks that ride them are height challenged relative to such a statuesque steed. Lowering kits and seats abound on the aftermarket. I would love to have a boxer, even in an RT. I'm biased, I prefer parallel and flat twins to Vtwins. Although Vtwins seem to run fine if the jugs are spread out to 60 or 75 degrees, but there is nothing like a boxer. I cant tell you how many times my wallet was circling the drain as I stood before a GS12 ADV, it has happened more than a couple times in the last 10 years. If I had to choose just one bike for the rest of my life it would likely be a GS12ADV. I totally think you should do it if it fits within the budget! We should be taking our bucket lists seriously.

Congrats!

If you have a known good upper for a MKII, Im in! PM sent.

The tube is nice and consistently chrome with no streaking or abnormal wear showing. I am moving to a fork oil in 10w, thats the heaviest I could get off the shelf locally and I see 5w was OEM. Next time I think I'll try motor oil, I was hoping to try 15 or 20w. I replaced the bushings and pistons when I got the bike awhile back. Thats the part that sucks, it all looks so clean and proper. One thing I'll do differently is I'll get a proper fork seal tool. The homemade one only works with the upper tube off the bike. I'm also going to add a little less oil. Both sides were holding out fine until I hit giant pothole hard enough to cause the bike to bottom out, even with Progressives. After that nasty pothole is when the leak resumed. I was golden until then. It's already together, I'm going to get a proper seal driver to RO any issues with my homemade one. Next time it comes apart there will be pics of it all. My judgement is telling me to replace the upper in spite of any visible issues but availability is silly on Ebay. I'll go find an appropriate seal driver and get her back on her feet, and hope for the best. BTW, off the top of anyones head, what size seal driver do I need for a MKII (1989), I think it's different than the MKI. Also has anyone used one of those adjustable fork seal drivers and are they worth ordering or should I just get one in the correct size? Thanks again all. I'm bummed to see that I'm not the only one with fork oil on my hands recently.

I have to agree, thats a hefty chunk of change for an old bike. IMHO Ventures just aren't rare enough to command that price, regardless of condition. Ya never know though, the right buyer might just see it.

I decided to fix her and keep her, I have other priorities that trump replacing a bike at this time. I went and got a couple seals, only fixing the one leaky side and keeping a spare in the trunk, along with a few tools. I checked the upper with a straight edge, it appears to be straight as an arrow (using my daily cliche point right here) and smooth as glass (tomorrows cliche point used here) with no snags using the panty hose trick. Prices for uppers on Ebay have gotten silly, and most appear pretty knackered, so I'm going to try this again. New seal, different 10w fork juice and probably less by .5". I hope to have it assembled today with a test ride and then be on my way to southern CO on it tomorrow where I will spend several days looking for land and intently watching that fussy seal. I would sure feel better if I could see even something slightly wrong with the upper fork. Time to clean her up and try again.

G'mornin! Blue is indeed the fastest color. Enjoy!!

They are really no more expensive than a decent quality traditional lid. Which would prompt me to ask how they measure up in terms of quality. I like the AC idea, pretty co... er, I mean neat.

While I am disappointed that the new Venture was a very different bike than I thought it was going to be, I do get why folks rave about it so much. That being said I would never own a silly ol' Venture if I could have one of these. I guess I better keep on saving my coins or polish up my fabbing skills if I ever wanna be cool like this!

Sound like decent tires, I have not tried them on a bike but they do make a damn fine car tire. I have not bought a Pirelli product since I saw their 2016 wall calendar. For those that have not seen it be forewarned, some things are better left unseen.

Glad your okay, glad you had the gear, glad you have another great touring bike!

I'm pretty sure if we're all being honest just about all of us that have been doing this for enough years have a gravity storm or two on our resume. Glad it was slomo and no casualties other than pride.

I still think a set of downdraft baby Dells would rock for this application.

Congrats! Nothing in the world better than that new bike smell!