dynodon
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Everything posted by dynodon
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Supposed to warm up the next few days, if dry I will get out. Put a new to me used Ultimate King seat on my Wing this week, need to give it a try to make sure it will work. Have a 4000 mile trip planned for this summer! YEA!
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Bubber and Oldrider, thanks for the tips, I will follow up on them. I would love to put the Wing or VEnture on a track, but it is a car convention, and I have one of the cars (Ford Taurus SHO), so unless the car dies or something, that is probably what I will take. But if the weather is near perfect, I might defect, and take the bike, but I doubt the insurance we have for this event would let bikes and cars mix.
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My son and I are working on a car convention for Minnesota this July. Host hotel is in St. Cloud, and we are looking for great driving roads and motor enthusiast attractions in the area. Restaurant suggestions are also wanted. We are renting Brainerd, so if you or others you know would be interested in a track day (sorry, cars only) contact me. We could use some help in getting enough cars to pay the bills. any and all suggestions very much appreciated.
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congratulations. I have three, and each one is treasured and unique. Middle one is the only grandson, and at 10 YO he is a budding pro hockey player. Here is a picture taken recently. Last sunday he almost got another hat trick and is skating through the entire other team with regularity. Grandkids are LOTS easier than kids! (love the kids though, without them there wouldn't be any grandkids to spoil!) Sorry about the bad picture, using cheap camera phone.
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Peoria doesn't have any active train depots, but they do have a nice old one that used to be a restaurant, and in Mackinaw, there is a nice older one that is now a curio shop. But we have snow in the forecast for Monday, so might be Wed before I can get out. Also have a couple courthouses I would like to post if I can get to them.
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Does it have to be active? Or will an old one that has been turned into something else work? Just asking.
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GREAT shot! Thanks for posting, never hurts to put a nice picture up. Must have been a nice ride too.
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Randy, while it is true the Dragon is tight and technical, it is a destination and worth doing, but do check out other routes in the area. Cherohala Skyway is more relaxing, you can enjoy the scenery a bit more, but do the Dragon. Beware of traffic, stay away from the center line, and I think doing it earlier is better, beat some of the traffic. Be sure to stop at Deals Gap and see the tree of shame, and don't contribute to it! My son and I did the Dragon in a car a couple years ago and had a blast, and enjoyed having lunch at the gap. Watching traffic come and go is a fun. Get a souvenir while there! Enjoy. There are so many good roads in the area, get a good map, google the net for other routes and have fun.
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Muay, if this is your first visit to this thread, then WELCOME! (or WELCOME no matter what!). I would encourage people to send in pics of a courthouse even for a while after it is found, these are almost always interesting buildings and monuments to the industrious people of the state/county they are in. I have a historical one in mind that I will post at some point. Can we assume that the courthouse doesn't have to be active? many are historical sites now.
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Looks good to me Danoh! If nobody objects, then pick a new target!
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Bobby, I have the answers to most of your questions. First, the engine on the miata is a cleaance engine, NO danger of bent valves if the belt goes. A friend of mine has had a few, and races them a lot. He says the belt should be changed around 105k, but they usually go a lot longer than that if you aren't racing them. Also, they are pretty easy to change, but if you pay, it should only be a few hundred, and replace the water pump and belt tensioner at the same time to save future trouble. They hold their value pretty well, but also there are a LOT of them out there, so you can find bargains. Check the price guides on-line and look the car over, and be realistic. These are really fun and dependable little cars. Mazda did it right, and even older ones still look current and modern. Parts are easy to get and not expensive. Eddie, there are lots of ready to race Miata's out there, check with SCCA, local tracks, Hemmings, and you are bound to find some. Right now is a good time to buy, people are dumping their last years cars to get something new for the coming season. Miata's make great and cheap race cars, although NO real race car is truly cheap, but for a racer, they are at the very low end, and lots of fun. Always a bunch of cars in the class though, so you have competition, and as usual, to win, you have to spend more money. But just to compete and enjoy, it doesn't take a lot. As for the price, Randy was pretty spot on, $5000 retail for a dealer is what Edmunds says. That is based on the 10th Anniversary edition with the 6 speed manual, the base car is a bit less with a 5-speed. An automatic would be a tiny bit more. Retail for private sale is closer to $4000 and a bit more for an outstanding condition. So $7,000 is a bit high, but if you print out all the various price guide prices, (Edmunds, NADA, Kelly) and negotiate a bit, but a really nice car with some accessories (assuming you like the wheels and such) then $5 or $6000 might not be out of line. Good luck, if there is a four-wheeled motorcycle, the Miata is about it!
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Joe, that is a beautiful shot, but at sea level. I want something from some height, again, doesn't have to be thousands of feet, but something looking down on the scene. I will update the comments above to emphasize that.
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OK, next target. This will fall under the category of "I will know it when I see it" kind of like porn, but no, I am not asking for that! The new target is: You and your bike, and a beautiful overlook scene. A view from some height. It doesn't have to be real high, but there should be some elevation where the shot is taken, looking down on a scene. There is a small river valley in our area, and there are several places where you may only be a hundred feet above the valley, but the view is eye popping. In Iowa, there is one overlook where you can see for miles of a valley floor with farms dotting the landscape. Of course a view from a true mountain would also work. Doesn't have to be huge, or miles of view, but it should be interesting and make others want to visit and see for themselves. Sometimes these types of pictures are hard to get that convey the full drama of a scene, but we will allow for that! so find that overlook, scenic view and get a pic! This should apply to almost anywhere in the country, or any other country, even tall sand dunes! Enjoy.
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Yea, I thought about that while sitting fiddling with the phone. several cars slowed and looked, but I assumed they were just concerned that the old guy on the bike might need help!
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OK, took an hours ride today, and ended up in front of the new Middle School for our town....."Washington". so here is a sign/building honoring George Washington, in the city of Washington, IL: If these pass inspection, I will set a new target!
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Update on the Niehaus cycle Hot Winter Nights STAR event last night. I had a bad experience with the service manager at this place and vowed to never spend money there again, but they had nice mesh summer jackets from STAR on sale at half price (about 90 plus tax) that actually fit my body! I also bought one for the wife so we are now twins. They had free food, free blackjack for fun and a few door prizes, and there were a couple hundred people there with STAR vests on. hadn't been around the leather group for a while, but it was kind of nice. Rained all night, but someone actually rode a bike to the event! Be 40ish and sunny today here, so I can go hunting for something to do with George Washington in Washington IL. Next someone should ask to find something to do with Ronald Reagan (I live 6 miles from Eureka College where he went to school!). Easy pics if I can just remember to get the shot! Happy Super bowl, 5 hours of pre-game and what? less than an hour of actual football? Oh and Madonna...I know I can go to the garage and change some oil for halftime!
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TWEEET! I may call a foul, Bob, this was supposed to be a picture of YOU and your bike etc. The passenger may not count. On second thought, a picture of you would just be scary! (poke back). Since I live in Washington (Illinois) I may be able to find something with ole George's pic on it, but it will have to quit raining, and my shoulder will have to heal up a bit from Bob's poking at it! Sounds like you had a nice ride today, keep up the good work.
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Good hunting Bob! Rain today where I am, but no snow in the forecast. Bunch of us caging it to the STAR sponsored Hot Winter nights at Niehause in Litchfield, IL. I don't care for the jerk running the service dept, but they have free food/drink and I can meet up with lots of other STAR folk. And see what they have for bikes. Have fun on the ride today, and stay strong on not bringing home a stray (bike OR pet!).\ P.S., quit poking at me, my shoulder is sore!
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The trunk on my '86 VR was rapidly becoming three large pieces! Entire bottom was breaking off. Be sure to look under your pad for the mounting area because the damage can sneak up on you! I heard about Plastifix here or another motorcycle site, and I bought it, not too expensive, but it looked like a lot of work. I borrowed a dremel tool to do the grooving (had to swallow a little at doing that, but it makes the repair permanent!). My breaks were all out of sight, so I didn't bother sanding and painting, and the repair has held. No need to use fiberglass, and I agree, it probably won't hold anyway. Before using the Plastifix, I tried all sorts of glues and epoxies recommended by others, but the Plastifix was the only one that worked, and the last one I tried. Chances are you can just do the inside and it will hold. The crack on the outside can be touched up or ignored. If you want perfect, the use the Plastifix on both sides and sand smooth, then have a body shop paint it up. here is a link, do yourself a favor and check this out: http://www.urethanesupply.com/PlastiFix/
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Tief..., You asked about carb float stuff. I have not had the carbs on my VR apart, but a car carb float should work pretty much like a bike float. The float has a tab that contacts the needle valve that shuts off fuel flow INTO the bowl when the fuel gets to the correct level. If the float is set too high, it could overflow and flood the engine or worse. If set too low, the fuel won't be pulled out of the bowl properly, and you could run lean. To set the floats on every carb I have seen (again, maybe the Yamaha floats are different, so someone correct me if I am wrong) you turn the unit with the float and needle valve attached upside down so the float is pushing only with its own weight on the needle valve. The tab that touches the float is the part you usually bend to get the float level right. most car kits include a measuring device the measures the right height from the surface of the carb body to a given point (usually the pinched seam) on the float. While there make sure the float does not have any fuel in it, they can develop leaks if hollow, or they could soak up fuel if old enough and not hollow. Most are brass, some are plastic. I hope this helps, and If the Venture carbs are a lot different, I hope I didn't screw you up! -
Just a reminder for everyone to be looking for that animal shelter! I may be able to get one today if I remember (getting harder and harder to do that!).
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If you are under warranty, then yes, take it to the dealer and get it replaced. If not, then this is the best stuff I have found. Made my (almost) three piece (should be two!) trunk on my '86 VR solid as new again, and wasn't near as much trouble as it looks at first glance. http://www.urethanesupply.com/PlastiFix/ Don't mess with glues, epoxy etc, I have tried most of it and it won't work, Plastifix is a real solution, and not that expensive.
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Was going to say another example of riders beyond their ability in a curve, but one witness says they were at or under the speed limit, (35 mph she said). Sounds like the lead rider just lost concentration? Distracted? Really bad. I was out yesterday, roads in Central IL were wet with condensation, so I took it real easy, and stayed off main highways so I could ride slow and safe on country roads (looking for traffic coming up from behind as always when I go slow). Everyone, ride safe out there!
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Dan, I love seeing those "little" drag strips. So few are left, bet people have a blast at that one during the season. Good catch. Now to see if I can remember where that shelter was near Pekin! And hope the snow/salt goes away from the roads. We had a lot of salt on the roads till last week when we got a nice rain. Then some good riding for a few days, and then two nights ago we got less than an inch of snow and the salt trucks came out like, well, like salt trucks coming out for less than an inch of snow in Illinois! should be nice the next few days, just stay away from the piles of that white stuff if I can! Enjoy your ride everyone!
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I would second NOT converting the mower! A real kart kit won't be that expensive and you might be able to re-use the lawn mower engine. On the other hand, if the mower is still useable, you may be able to sell it for most of what a kart kit would cost. Google Go Karts (spell it cart also just to see what comes up) and start asking questions. There has to be several on-line forums/sites for Karts, and some for beginners. Make sure you have a safe place to run the kart. If you have a local track, time isn't that expensive and it is a lot safer, and I think more fun. I remember the heady days of Karts in the late 50's early 60's. One guy had a home built with three engines. I think he got killed doing near 100 mph on public highway one day. DON"T do that!