dynodon
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Everything posted by dynodon
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GWRRA....thinking of joining, any thoughts on this group?
dynodon replied to 1BigDog's topic in Watering Hole
I have an '86 VR and NO "wing". I am a STAR member, and a member here, and I also joined the local GW chapter and national after seeing that they met in my home town every month. I was welcomed from the start, even though I wore my STAR vest to the first few meetings! I have been to a few meetings, and am going through some of their safety/ride captain sessions. But I mainly go on their local/area rides. I may go on a longer ride with them at some point. I am glad you joined up, as you have read, there are differences between all sorts of groups, but mostly any group just wants people to have fun with and bike make/model is not much of a deal. If you decide your aren't into the meetings, don't go to many, choose the rides you like, nobody said you have to do everything! I have always been greeted warmly, and people always like to see my "old" Yamaha. This group locally is somewhat older than I am, so a benefit is that I feel young! But don't assume they let grass grow under their tires. First few rides with them I had to really crank the throttle to keep up. Those wings fly! The Gold Book is a valuable tool, and the benefits are real and worth much more than the membership fee. -
Finally found a way to download maps into my Garmin. Google Maps works, so I am a much happier camper today. Thanks for the help everyone..it made a difference.
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The starter on my '86 VR will drag a little when hot. Give it 20 minutes to cool a little and it starts great. Starts great cold, just when the bike is good and hot, even on a coolish day (50's) and you stop for gas, it will drag a little, and maybe stop, but then hit it again and it goes. Sounds like the starter to me, I wonder if a local shop that does a good job on car starters can clean/re-build this one?
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I have worn my STAR vest a couple times, I have even worn a car club jacket that I wear on some rides. I bought another vest to use with PGR rides etc. As a non-vet (and PGR folks have always made me feel welcome, it is a great group) I won't wear some of the patches that people have earned the right to wear, but I can still put some of the other stuff on. I ride to specifically honor my cousin who was a lifer in the Navy, a Master Chief and all around great guy, and everyone else that has served. Wear what makes you comfortable and safe. I have seen all possible combinations, and as long as you have respect for those that serve, it really makes no difference. Thanks for being part of the PGR.
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As for speakers/mic on the Evoline, I had mine done by Wingstuff.com They actually taught J&M how to put the system in that helmet, and have better prices than J&M. They will install in your helmet or you can buy the entire thing from them. J&M for some reason would not sell their system to me to put in myself, they had to do it. Wingstuff also beat J&M's install price by quite a bit. When I saw how it was made (interior doesn't come out real easy, some plastic bits where the speakers might go, I decided a pro install was better than none. The mic is a small one on a small flexible wire so it is there with the chin bar up or down. Works well.
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My great day was Sunday where I went with the area BMW guys to breakfast at a small town in the country. then I gathered my wife and oldest son and we rode till it was time for lunch.....ride to eat, eat to ride! LOL Beautiful morning in the 50's early and maybe a touch of 60's in the afternoon before some clouds rolled in. A few scattered drops of rain on the way back from lunch didn't dampen (pun intended) the ride. The leaves will be gone probably by next weekend, and this may be one of the last really good riding days here in N.W. Central IL!
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Target is fine, give people a chance, sometimes it takes a few days, or even a week or two!
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I don't know about leather shops in NC but I would recommend you probably pay a little more and find a good leather shop in your area. You will be sure it fits and know what you are getting. Most "discount" leather and clothing I have tried has run several sizes too small (OK, I am a big guy, but hey, after so many X's it ought to be BIG, not just large!) And quality is minimal. Again, you get pretty much what you pay for. As far as helmets go, I am a big supporter of Snell, and believe you do get something for one with that rating, but I can go with a good DOT for a motorcycle. I got a Shark Evoline modular helmet recently, it is the best helmet I have had so far. Not only is it a great winter full face helmet with great wind control, but it can be ridden as an open face with the chin bar flipped all the way back. It will be my 3 season helmet now. (fall, winter, spring). Worst thing is that it is heavy, but really, it isn't a problem. This helmet does run a size small, so order on size larger than normal. I found it very comfortable.
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I will let the person that set the target make the decision, but I say it is a bike, the owner, and a dragon. Target acquired, let Josh set a new one?
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Give it a little more time, the dragon should not be THAT hard to find. I do believe that I could find a cut corn stalk close by though, just in case you do change it! LOL
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Just got my tourmaster heated gloves today, now to wire them up and take on the freezing weather! I bought them from Wingstuff.com Good price and good service. Also had them install the headset in the new Evoline Shark helmet I bought. Best multi-purpose helmet I have ever had, will make riding in winter a lot better.
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Was a nice day yesterday (Wednesday 10-21) almost 70 here in Central IL. I went looking for a dragon in Pekin like I mentioned earlier. Well darn. The Dragon Dome is for sale and there are no signs around it now other than the for sale sign. The Pekin HS "Dragons" don't have a sign out front with a dragon and I wasn't going to go riding on the school property during class. All the oriental restaurants with dragon in the name around here have some symbol, but no dragon...so I got a nice ride, but no picture. Thought I would mention it if someone else saw my note and decided to ride a long distance to Pekin IL! Let's get this one, and move on.
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I notice that it is usually the crotch rocket riders that make fun of the "wave". Mostly I see people trying to wave without getting their hands torn off in the wind, so they go down or out a little where there is a pocket of still air. I tend to just lift my left hand off the bar enough to be noticed so I am ready if I need to grab the bar! If I am under cruise control, I will wave with my right hand behind the screen, nice and calm air, and a little different. Was a warm day yesterday and on those really nice days inbetween a week or more of lousy weather here in Illinois that even the rocket and HD crowd wave to almost every rider. Even had a HD rider talk with me at a stop sign, although I couldn't hear what he was saying with my full face helmet on, still I nodded and smiled. Hope he wasn't putting my "ricer" down! Wave however makes you feel good, don't worry about style.
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Never had the occasion to plug a MC tire, but I had a racing tire on my '89 SHO at an autocross one time, got a nail and someone there had a corded plug kit, and plugged the tire (in the tread, typical roofing type nail size.) I intended to replace the tire, but since it was on the back I forgot about it. The tire was plugged in 1996. Was a BFG R1 DOT legal race tire. I used that tire, rotated all over the car front to back, side to side, and never thought about the plug again. I used it at autocrosses up to 60 mph, but more to the point, at road courses for driver eduction/track day events at speeds up to 120 mph! Those tires never did wear out, I finally replaced them just because of age in 2007, that is right, 11+ years old! Plug was still in the one tire, and it never lost any more air than any of the other tires. YMMV as they say.
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I wave at any rider; scooter, bicycle, ricer or Harley, BMW etc. I get waved back at most of the time, sometimes I get ignored, sometimes they just don't see, and some just don't wave...I don't let it bother me. I ride PGR missions and have never been laughed at or bugged, but if someone threw rice under my bike, I hope I would be quick thinking enough to laugh at that! (thanks for whoever told that one, now I will be prepared!). I have ridden my '86 VR to several Harley dealerships and never was asked to move or leave, or given any guff, but maybe Central US and small town dealerships are easier going? I have several friends that have a Harley, most also have a different brand in addition. Most agree they actually like the "other" brand better, but love the image of the Harley and the events etc. I have tried to talk myself into an Ultra Glide and would like to own one some day, even if just for a year to see if I can figure out what they are all about. I am also a member of the GWRRA and all my "Wing" friends appreciate my Yamaha and are just glad I am riding with them. I proudly have the GWRRA sticker on my bike along with the Venture Riders, STAR and any other club I decide to join, most want your money, and the better ones want you to be with them in person. Most don't care what you ride. I have seen more acceptance of Harley's on this site than the other way, but if someone gets upset at those kinds of comments, then they have the choice to leave, I appreciate that management wants everyone to get along, but hey, stuff happens. I don't take the Gen I bashing to heart, so if I ever get a Harley, I expect to be able to live with the few odd comments at that time, and if not, I can go elsewhere. Till then, I am happy to be here (and a few other nice places too)!
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I had the same type of reaction to my first ride on a '09 Ultra glide at a test ride day at the local dealer. Was decent, but the first stop sign I came to, my vision blurred as the thing vibrated! At almost any speed it was decently smooth, and I liked the protection of the close in bar mounted fairling. Power? I felt it was close to my '86 VR, and certainly enough for me on any reasonable ride, but with two up and a trailer, probably not. Got back on my VR and felt like I was on a powerful sewing machine...so smooth in comparison. I wave at everyone, most Harley guys wave back. Makes no difference to me, I like to ride, and enjoy it even if some others have to make a "statement". I don't feel it is against any rule to grin and smile and have a good time.
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I normally wear a size Large helmet, but the guy at the STAR auction event said that the Evoline ran a size small, so the XL I bought fits just fine. So plan on buying one size larger than normal, be sure to check with whoever you buy from just to be sure. As for pictures, I don't have any of my helmet, but check out this site for a good review and pictures. Mine is plain black. http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/shark-evoline/dot/ I feel this helmet will be one of the quietest/warmest three season helmets I could get, and it can be worn summer also if you want.
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Joe, I will give that a try (holding the BACK button). You are right that would eliminate one frustration! Agree on the suction cup mount. Had it fall on me in the car yesterday, have a RAM mount for the bike with a secure cradle and my homemade cardboard sun shield. (put about 3 coats of paint on it so it is pretty waterproof).
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Had my 765T for a couple weeks now and we used it on a long cage trip to Detroit (800+ miles). It is useless to find things like gas/restaurants in a metro area. You try to call up a list, and every time you go by an exit, it recalculates and you have to start over at the first screen, and it also calls up stuff you have gone by, so getting to something in front of you is frustrating! You have to stop to locate anything (this all assumes you have a second person to run the thing, I would not try to find stuff on all these screens while driving!). Also, the maps don't show town names, and it is hard to get it to show route numbers, just street names! The requirement to go "back" through every screen to get back to the map is also maddening. I am sure this is a good GPS, and every brand has its problems from what I see, but for me, a paper map is still much better, and much safer. I may eventually get used to this thing but I may toss it out the window first! Got my power cord (hard wired) and mounts from the Mount guys (just google the name). NOTE: I am pretty sure if you use the hard wired cable, you lose the Traffic feature because that FM receiver is in the cig. lighter power cord, but then the traffic was so behind on our trip to Detroit and going through Chicago twice, it isn't much use. My son's cell phone had accurate traffic info every time, but my GPS was useless for that. I guess I am just not a fan of GPS. In a big metro area with turns every few hundred feet the thing hardly keeps up and you can easily miss a turn. Plus when I get where I am going (and it does that pretty good) I still have no idea where I am because I can't see a big enough map to place myself in space like with an atlas or paper map. So I will still carry both on important trips, and keep my "analog GPS" (paper map on a special folder so i can operate it with one hand) on my bike tank cover.
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in my area we have a local High School that has "The Dragons" as a nickname. Pekin, IL. the city used to have a railroad history, and some chinese people that came with it, the HS used to be nicknamed the "Chinks" and had a little fellow like the guys in that Disney movie with the pointed hats. Well, that was deemed racist several years ago, so they are now the dragons. Might be able to get a pic of their HS sign if it ever stops raining here! Farmers are real worried about getting their crops out before the first real hard freeze. Probably 98% of corn and beans are still in the field here in N. Illinois.
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Welcome Sleepcheater, I have a very similar story, except I weigh a lot more than a rear tire, maybe a dozen of them? LOL I would make one BIG change to some of the advice. Do NOT go out alone for your first rides. Don't do a huge group ride either, get a couple friends that have ridden for a while and have them help you in some initial stuff, and have them there for your first highway ride, they don't have to be real close, just close enough to help if you do go down. Keep it slow, keep it on empty roads and you will do fine. I bought my '86 VR (looks a lot like yours) about 4 years ago after 25 years off a bike. My last one was a Honda 750 SuperSport 4 cyl. Big bike for then, but not for now! I can't really flat foot it either when sitting on the seat, so don't hesitate to slide a little forward or just stand up at a stop till you are secure, then if the road is level, you can lean a tiny bit and flat foot with your left foot, and h ave your right to hold the foot brake so you have both hands for taking off. cutting the seat foam down a little will help and I agree that you may want to go back to the stock pegs for a while so you have more room for your legs when stopped. I putted around in my driveway a little, then with two friends I met here, went out for a couple short rides. they were also along for my first long ride, and from then on it was no problem. I did lay mine down a couple times, once when moving it around in the garage, and once with my wife on it (no harm, no hurt) but if you know the technique, you can get it back up yourself, or just wait for a little help. The red face only lasts till you get going again, then the grin comes back. My bike intimidated me for only a short while, now I love it and it is easy to ride, and turn. Don't worry about the braided brake lines, if yours are not cracked, the braided lines aren't necessary, just a minor upgrade. My brakes with stock (probably original) lines work just fine, even in emergency stops. IT is more important to have fresh fluid and keep them bled properly, do the line upgrade if you want to or if the lines have cracks. Check the pads though, to make sure they have some thickness (bike pads aren't as thick as car pads so don't replace them till they get real thin!). Chances are your bike has been stored indoors properly, and won't need any major work, but check it over carefully for age wear, especially on the tires. My tires were 13 years old! and I rode on them for almost 3 years before they started getting cracks, and I just replaced them. Probably should have done that sooner, but I kept a close eye on them. the new tires are nice. I went with Dunlop Elite 3's, and love them. Good luck.
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Put the J&M CB on my wife's Shadow Ace Tour, and it works and looks great. Has weather radio built in, you can get single rider or two rider versions, has separate controls for anything you plug into it, like a CD player or an MP3 etc. Good quality and distance. Get the 3' license plate mounted antenna for the best range.
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Got the 765T and used it the last few days in the car and on the bike. Only weird thing is I would save a route and later call it up and it would be reset to something really close by. did this twice. Any thoughts on what is going on there? Made a sunshield out of cardboard to see if it would help, it doesn't help much, but will try it out some more. Heck if it never gets wet, it will work as well as any of the twenty buck items.!
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The "Maximum" pressure notation on the side of tires is the absolute high limit for cold pressure when loading the tire to the limit also. It isn't meant as a pressure to run all the time. IF the size is correct for the bike, then run what the owners manual says, or if you can get a specific recommendation from the tire MFG, then go with that, but most of the time when you call the MFG, you get someone that is guessing, or maybe has no clue, or has the wrong info? I run 32 front 40 rear for Dunlop Elite 3's on my '86 VR one up (I am a big guy, so I count for two skinny people!) and a fair amount of stuff in the bags all the time. No problems.
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Nothing wrong with the Taurus in general, any car can rust out and all of them do eventually, even those with fiberglass or aluminum parts, there is steel in there somewhere. I know lots of people that are alive because the Taurus is one of the highest rated cars for crash safety, and they do protect well. Of course if the car is allowed to rust (and it is the owners fault, not the cars...understand I am not assigning blame in this case to the buyer, since the rust was done long before he bought the car!) then all bets are off. One real word of caution, there is an epidemic of rusty BRAKE lines on all makes/models of cars in the rust belt. I hear from body shops/mechanics that it is the excessive use of that new liquid ice melting stuff they use, lots worse than just rock salt. Check your brake lines, if there is that much rust in the body, then unless they have already been replaced, your brake lines are probably ready to spring a leak. Look everywhere, but especially in the back. Oh, those sway bar links (I think that is what you were trying to replace) are notorious for rusting in two on the Taurus, but again, only on rust belt cars with some time on them. A 2002 though, really should not have this much rust, I wonder if it was a flood car, from a salt-water area? Might want to do a title search and see if the car was re-titled or had enough damage to be totaled out. You might have a case then. In that case, pay to have an attorney check it out and send a letter.