AKRefugee

That was so cool

If any of you want another hand for the clean up let me know. I am fully available to assist in any way I can for how ever long you need it.

Oh great, now your gonna go and get BoomerCPO all excited about that louisaneer food which means the pigmy's will show up and then who knows what will happen!!!

If anyone needs to get out of dodge or just protect their gear we have a garage and you are also welcome here in Charlotte

Thanks Brian. Don't feel quite so stupid now. Just wished I had noticed it before I started tearing it apart.

Okay, so I am an idiot. Nothing wrong after all. I went out to turn on the 4ways to see what it did and SURPRISE it was already on. Instantly I knew what had happened. A few months ago the 4way stopped working on the right side. After doing a continuity check and all I figured out that it was the 4way flasher unit. Since I don't really need the 4ways I decided to just leave it. Since the 4ways take precedent over the turn indicators and the right side of the 4ways is inoperative it appeared that the left turn was stuck on. As soon as I turned off the 4ways all was normal. I know there is a "I dropped it" fee but I wonder . . . is there an "I'm an idiot" fee??? BTW - I took the switch completely apart and unless a wire is broken or a contact got stuck and the fuse failed and the contact got burned in place the only thing I found that could break was one spring. No diodes, no resistors. In my opinion the chances of that switch ever being a problem is very slim.

Last week I was riding home from running an errand at about 430 pm. I was merging from one highway to another. Merge one is the on-ramp I am on going from two lanes down to one. Merge two is onto the highway as a left side on-ramp (three lanes now), and merge three is another on-ramp from the left as well, now making the highway four lanes. This all occurs in less than 1/10th of a mile. AFTER I reached the end of the two into one, this guy came flying up the shoulder (about 20 mph faster than traffic) on my left, all the time talking on his cell phone, and then went into the left lane of the now four-lane highway. As traffic continued to move, I was being squeezed up to his rear quarter panel when all of a sudden he decided he needed to be in my lane. I started to move to my right but was blocked and had traffic right on my butt, so I could not hit the brakes, so I hit my horn. The talking driver moved back to the left, looked over his shoulder at me, gave me the "you're number 1" sign, and then violently swerved at me. Fortunately the traffic on my right had seen what was happening and had slowed down to give me room so I was able to swerve over one lane to the right very quickly. The guy then slowed down a bit, then sped up and came alongside me and performed the same maneuver. Again I had room to the right because traffic had again slowed down to give me room, and I went to the right again. By now I am trying to figure out how I can get away from this guy as he was starting to do the same thing again. I wanted to get over one more lane and get to the shoulder to get away from him. All of a sudden there is a big SUV up behind me flashing his lights, and I can see the driver enthusiastically waving me to the right. There was a small break, so off I go to the right. The SUV pulled up between me and the crazy driver, and lit up his lights and siren. Man, was I ever thankful. I pulled over to the shoulder and stopped and watched the crazy driver get pulled over. I waited a few minutes and then pulled up to the officer and talked with him. I asked him if he was going to arrest this guy for attempted homicide or something, and he said no. When I said that this guy had tried to kill me with his car, the officer said that 1) he did not have a camera in his vehicle so there was no proof, and 2) that he had not actually touched me. Needless to say I was amazed and dismayed by this news and even stated to the officer, "What, the guy had to actually hit me and take me out before you can arrest him for this???" The officer said he was sorry but that was how this worked but don't worry, "this guy would be written up for lots of stuff like reckless driving, improper lane change, failure to yield, distracted driving, and whatever else he could think of in the next ten minutes, because this guy needs to just sit here for a while." I thanked him and got out of there quickly because I did not want to be around when that guy finally was allowed to leave. Gotta tell you it was a very scary few moments, and I was never in my life more happy to see a police officer. I have reviewed this incident many times over in my mind trying to figure out if I could have done anything different and strongly believe that I did all I could have done. I monitored my mirror during the first lane merge specifically watching for someone to try to do the squeeze play until the lane was totally gone, and I had to focus all my attention on the next merge. As traffic slowed I tried to stay away from him as much as I could and was watching both him and looking for escape routes. The way that traffic merges there is nuts anyway, with essentially three merges in the space of less than 1 tenth of a mile, and with the beginning of rush hour traffic my options where few. Thankfully other traffic was watching and giving me some room to maneuver. I also know it would not have done me any good to have something to throw at him (i.e. marbles, steel ball bearings, lead etc) because it was happening so fast that all I had time to do was control the bike and work the situation. Some folks are just plain crazy, and to experience one of those and get away from it intact will make you go "whew". The one "good" part of the whole thing was that I could see the crazy driver when the officer lit him up, and I will never forget the look of "Oh, crap!" on his face.

My left turn signal is stuck in the on position in the following condition Left Turn on and flashing Will not cancel automatically Will not cancel manually Will not change to right turn Turned off then turned on and still flashing Ideas thoughts or suggestions??? Thanks

Bucket List Item

It' s Black and it was shoot in Volo IL

Try this thread for bolt size info

How about a rattler in the jacket? Now that's something!!!

The Rooster

I queried Avon directly about tire pressures. This link will take you to the thread with their response.

Congrats you two. It is nice to see two wonderful people such as yourselves find each other and join as one.

My Sweetie and I have been thinking about a trike but neither of us had ever been on one so we were not sure if we would like one or not. Last week we finally had an opportunity to take one out for a ride. Since i had never been on a trike before I call up Bongobobny and picked his brain (don't say it). He gave me excellent guidance about riding one and his advice really helped. We tried out a 2011 Harley Tri-Glide. I started out by myself to get a feel for it. Bongobobny was right by telling me not to try to lean, just let your body react, spot on words. When I tried to lean I felt like I was fighting the turn, once I learned to relax it was easy. Took about 5 minutes to get used to it. After about 15 minutes I went back and got my Sweetie and we were off. So what was the ride like? Like any Harley when it was at idle you felt the Harley shake but once you got moving that went away. The acceleration was very smooth and very quick, getting up to 70 mph was very easy. It was easy to hold the lane position at highway speed and it was easy to relax and enjoy the ride. We did notice that below about 60 the wind buffeting on the passenger was less than the Venture but above that speed the buffeting for both of us seemed worse. The noise in the cockpit area was noticeably less than the venture at all speeds except idle. For highway driving it was a very enjoyable ride. Now for the secondary highway ride. On 45 mph and 50 mph roads we both found the ride to be very uncomfortable. The front end tracked well and went right where I wanted it to go with no problem. The rear end however was a different story. It kind of felt that the back end was swaying back and forth to the point that if I was susceptible to seasickness I might have gotten it. It wasn't a greatly pronounced sway but it was there non the less. It sort of felt like the bike was trying to track back and forth on the ridge between the tire tracks but since I did not feel it on the front end I can not be sure if that is what was causing it. Since we had never ridden a trike before we can not say it that is a characteristic of a trike or just this one. I will say that on the rough sections of road the ride was not jolting like it would have been on two wheels which made for a smoother ride. The braking was very smooth but it took me a few stops to learn to use the rear brake more than the front, opposite of a two wheeler. Also it only had to remind myself a few times to not put my foot down at a stop before it became "natural". The heel shifter required you to really lift your heel quite high to shift but I think that would be very easy to adjust to. I have 35 inch inseams and the leg room was adequate however highway pegs would still be a must for me.The heat from the engine was not totally uncomfortable but I definitely noticed enough to comment on it and remember it. So what was our conclusions? Well my hips were very tired out after the ride (about 35 minutes), I attribute that to constantly fighting the swaying sensation. My Sweetie did not like the sensation on the back either. Like any Harley the seats would need to be replaced for any riding beyond about 1/2 hour. While this would be a great for interstate riding we do not feel that it was very good for other than that. Still not convinced that a trike is not for us. Until we have the opportunity to test ride other types the jury is still out on that, but if we do decide to go with a trike this one will NOT be on our list.

I have lived in states that have the helmet laws and I have lived in states that do not have helmet laws. I have lived in states that did not have them and then got them and I have have lived in states that had them and then got rid of them. No matter where I lived I have ALWAYS ridden with a helmet. A short ride or a long ride doesn't matter. Close to home or far away, it doesn't matter. In town or on the interstate, it doesn't matter. If you go down your helmet will reduce your injuries PERIOD. When I was 11 I got a hold of a Honda 50 mini trail. My folks didn't really like that I had bought it but they knew I would ride it with or without their permission so they relented. My dad only had 1 hard rule, no matter what I had to have my helmet on before i even started it. One day I went to move the minibike from the front yard to the back yard and I started towards it without my helmet. My dad seen me and made me go get my helmet (grumble gripe complain stupid parents it's only a few feet etc). As I was coming around the back corner of the yard the dog ran out in front of me and i swerved to the left right into a chuck hole. I went over the side and my head struck a rock about the size of a cantaloup. I was going so slow that I could have almost walked faster than I was riding. Anyway my head struck that rock and my helmet split, no not dented or cracked, it split from front to back. Lesson learned right there. A six foot fall onto your head can take you out for good. It is not the speed that does it it is the "sudden stop". A helmet will absorb a lot of that 'sudden stop" and save your noggin.

If anyone within 400 miles of Charlotte NC is planning to do a valve adjustment any time soon would you please let me know. I would like to come up and watch someone do one before I try to tackle it myself. Thanks all

Was blessed with the opportunity to spend a day there last winter. What an awesome place. If you go make sure you visit the outside exhibits. The C141 used to carry the POW's out of Hanoi will make you proud of those men who paid such a high price.

If you need a part ran up from Charlotte I can do that for you.

Hey Brad, You looking for another bike or something. That might just have got you the green light. Well done. Note to self: Get Brad to write something like that for me when I want another bike. Oh yeah, :ice_congrats-vi6886Now get a room.

You could keep a watch on them and if they start to go down hill you could order a new tire and have it shipped to a location 3 days ahead of you and then pick it up and have it mounted there. Might even be someone on the assistance list that would let you ship it to their location for you to pick it up. That way you don't order it until you need it and by doing it 3 days out you shouldn't have any delays on your trip.

My Sweetie and I did that ride a few weeks ago, didn't know it had a name. it is a ride that is not for the faint of heart or inexperienced. You climb up and over 3 ridges that take you as high as about 3100 ft to the valleys at about 1100 to 1200 ft. Corners are 15 to 20 mph. You had better know how to use your engine as a brake or you will boil your brake fluids. Met a couple of Harley riders that were pulled over letting their brakes cool. I was told the scenery was spectacular by my rider but I was so focused on the road I did not get to see much of it. Of course i didn't mind because I love riding tight twisties. If you have ever ridden in SoCal around Julian it is similar to the Banner Grade but not as wide and some of the corners are a bit tighter.

"See, looking busy ain't all that hard"

Go ahead and try to deny it We have the evidence. I'll post the link for the video later.