AKRefugee

What a silly question. The answer is none. Venture riders don't have to change bulbs. We let the GW riders stand there and hold the bulb up in the air cause they are sure the world revolves around them.

The wife said she would pay to see that if: . . . You did that on the Merritt . . . During rush hour And all this time you thought I was the sick one

Those were probably not crows they were probably Ravens. Ravens are so smart that people who study them are happy if they can trap 5 or 6 a year for banding. They are smart enough to pull up windshield wipers up off the windshield, pull the rubber off and then place the wipers back on the windshield.

I'm up for that. Would allow me to knock out 2 more National Parks.

Moderators!!! Is there a Moderator in the house!!! This kind of unsightly photography is offensive and scary!!! Please make it stop!!!

Paypal sent for 2 of the 2nd Gens. Thanks

I would do two of those

I ride with my Maltese's at times. I have a metal carrier that I built that sits on top of the trunk rack. I like that type because it allows my dog to hide behind the seat back if the wind gets to be to much for them and it will also protect them if we should ever go down. Search Google for "motorcycle carriers for dogs" and you will find many options.

When I was 18 I showed up at a girls house to pick her up for a date. her Dad was sitting in his easy chair cleaning his shotgun. The entire conversation was this (as he continued to clean his shotgun without ever looking at me) Dad: Going out with my daughter huh? Me: Yes Sir Dad: When you plan on being back? Me: About 1130 Dad: Yep 1000 will be just fine Me: Yes Sir 1000 will be just fine It worked quite well. I had her back by 930 cause I didn't want to take any chances. That was also the last time I dated here. Not taking any chances here I wasn't, no not me!

Well hope you enjoy the Southern California area cause you'll be riding with me for those missions. Thanks for your participation in the PGR glad to have you with us.

Got to agree on the F4. Got about 12,000 mi on mine now and it is as good as the day I got it with no scratches. I use a squeegee at the pumps to clean it and away I go. Yes you heard righ a squeegee. The optics on it are quite phenomenal as well. I will NEVER put anything else on this or any other bike I may own in the future.

When I press the accelerate I have found that I can not just "tap" it like I do in a car. I have to firmly press it until I feel a "click". When I do this it accelerates quite well. If not it doesn't work.

RandyA I am sorry to inform you but you are sorely mistaken. You can not dislike "Rap music" because Rap is not music. I believe you might mean Rap Noise.

Maybe I'm a bit uneducated here but uhmmm I don't think I have an "injection system" on my bike I believe I have a carburetor. Was the mechanic talking apples to oranges?

Go to a nearby parking lot and get use to dropping it . . . er I mean get use to the low speed handling. Get rid of the stock tires immediately (Avon's or Dunlops). Have them grease the rear end while they are in there. Nut and Bolt everything you can get a tool to. Do a light bar add-on to the rear end. Check the steering head nut and adjust if required. Practice smiling all the time cause when you ride this one that is what you will be doing all the time.

Yeah they heard us completely. They got rid of the whine but now we we will have to put up with a groan!!!

We did highway 240 at exit 131. It is called the Badlands Loop and brings you back out on I90 at Wall SD. so you can see Wall Drug as well. Loops takes about 45min to an hour and WELL worth it. Wall Drug is a cool place to stop and they have the best patches as well as decent food. Several constructions zones on I90 between Sioux Falls and Rapid City but it moved very well. Enjoy the ride and if you stay in Sioux Falls meet with Daryl and Sheila, great folks.

Wife and I will be leaving Kansas City on Sunday 28 June going to Sioux Falls SD On Mon 29JUN Sioux Falls SD to Rapid City SD On Tue 30JUN to Rapid City SD to Casper WY On Wed 01JUL Casper WY to Rock Springs WY On Thu 02JUL Rock Springs to Salt Lake City area Any one plan on being in the areas on any of these dates let me know and maybe we can meet up and ride together.

I got the F4 and let me tell you I LOVE IT. I got the tallest screen they have and it is wider than stock. First off the wider screen will dramatically reduce the back buffer. That 2 extra inches on each side really calmed down the bike when behind a truck and even more important when meeting a truck on a two lane. My wife also has noticed less head buffer for her in the back. Of course that my also be due to the increased height. As for rain I have had zero visibility problems looking through this windshield. I use RainX if I think I will be riding in rain. I have ridden the screen two times in rain. Both time I had RainXed it and both times the rain was very intense. Both time the water beaded off beautifully and I had no problems seeing where I was going. The only problem I had was that I had to lift my face shield because it was beading so bad. Once I lifted the face shield I had no problems. The optics on this screen are phenominal. I have had no problems with refraction or image distortion no matter what the conditions have been. As for keeping it clean . . . don't cringe now . . . I use the squeegie at the gas pumps and a papertowel. I do not apply any pressure and the bugs all but fall off of this thing. Scratches? Not a one yet. So far I have about 3500 miles on this screen and have been all the way from desert sand to high mountains, to farm lands (talk about bugs) to the seaside. To say I am pleased with the F4 screen would be an understatement. Also when I ordered it I was close to a deadline and needed it rush shipped. They quoted a shipping price that was less than the actual shipping price and rather than calling me back to correct it they ate it themselves. I call them on it when I found out and they refused to accept any additional monies from me for the difference. As they said "we stand on what we say". Great people, Great Service and a Great Windshield. I would recommend the F4 to anyone. My understanding is that the Goldwingers are loving it on their bikes as well so it is acquiring a good user base.

Let me explain what has happened so far. Wife and I rode 3200 miles from CA to NC at the very last stop of the trip before our destination we came out from lunch and found a puddle of fluid below the drain tubes near the rear shock. The wife thought it was water but when I touched it there was an oiliness to it. From then on the ride was rough and the bike felt low in the rear end. Once we got to our destination I checked for dealerships nearby and found Forsyth Motosports in Winston Salem. I called them and spoke to the service manager named Alan. He "sounded" like he was familiar with the Venture so I took it up there. That was on Thursday. On Friday I had not heard from him so I called him. He stated that he had aired up the shock and it was holding air. When I asked him how much air he said 7.0 psi. I told him that was the limit (actually 7.1) for the front shock and that the rear was 50 something. He said that 7.0 psi is what the service manual said. I told him that 7.0 was wrong and that I would look it up and get back to him (should have been my first clue). I have an electronic version of the service manual (thank you for having posted that on this forum) and I pulled it up, read it thoroughly than called him back. I gave him the reference page (2014) and he read it. He than he told me which page he had gotten his information from (3046). I read it and noted to him that the psi was wrong because how could it be 50 kpa on the front and 400 kpa on the rear yet the psi was lower on the rear. I had to explain to him that it was an obvious misprint (should have been my second clue). He than agreed to pump it up and see if it held. On Saturday I called him again and he stated that it had not lost pressure and that the was no evidence that the shock was bad. By than I finally figured out that I was wasting my time and needed to get my bike the hell out of there (thanks to those who replied to my earlier question). When got there and talked to him he stated that he had removed the boots (bs cause I have a tie wrap holding my air horn line that would have had to been cut and was not) and had not found any evidence of oil and that the oil was actually from the air box. When I aked him if there was ANY air in the shock before he pumped it up he said yeah very little but that when you took the air pumpoff you always lose a few pounds (hmmm must not have correct air pump tool as I don't ;lose any with my progressive pump). When I asked him where the air (I travel at 42psi) had gone and copuld it have displaced the lost oil he gave me a blank look and said "oh that could have happened". He also stated that he did not want to do the work and find out the shock was not the problem an have Yamaha bill him back for a new shock and the labor. At this point I got my bike and got the hell out of there. I will say that he did not charge me for adding air to my blown shock. I stopped in the parking lot and checked the oil level. It was at 3/4 of the glass. The exact same as when I changed the oil before the trip out here. I also checked the boot as best as I could and found a small trace of oil on the left side (keep in mind that we rode another 175 miles and through some very heavy rain after we found the puddle). On the way home I noted that the bike rode hardern than usual (I have 32,000 miles on this bike so I kind of know it. So here I am in NC and still needing to get back to CA riding two up. This shock is blown, I have spoke with my friend Rod in San Diego and he confirms it. I have posted a question on the tech forum and the replies also confirm and lastly I have ridden this bike and that confirms it. i am to the south of Winston Salem and must find a dealer nearby that will use some common sense and get this shock replaced so I can get back home. The following dealerships seem to be my choices Great Western Motorcycles in Statesville, NC Midway Yamaha in Thomasville, NC Interstate Cycle in Cornelius, NC Ridenow Powersports Concord in Concord, NC Any one have any dealing with any of these dealers service departments and how do I convince them that this shock is blown and needs to be replaced. Thanks for your assistance on this. I want to get back on the road and get on home before the summer is over if you know what I mean.

If the rear shock has puked out oil will it still old air pressure? I am almost sure that the rear shock puked its oil and have the bike at a dealership. They said they pumped are pumping it up and seeing if it holds air. Want to make sure they are doing it right as originally he only put 7.0 psi in it because that is what the service manual said. Fortunately I have the E version of the service manual and was able to educate him. He said he would pump up to the 57 psi and see if it held. If it will hold air with the oil puked out how do I convince them it won't hold oil and it is shot?

Think it's fixed now. Thanks

Well got everything done on the bike. Now all I have to do is pack the clothes and we will be ready. We are really excited about the ride and can hardly wait to get going. I have created a blog space for this trip for anyone that would like to follow along. When we can we will be updating it in the evenings when we have internet access. We will provide commentary about what we saw and the people we met. We will also include pics. The blog site is www.pirateriders.blogspot.com We hope you will join us on our trip.

I don't think of mine as a Red Headed Step Child. Rather I think of it more as a rarity, a True and Real Red Head. When I make a meet a LOT of people stop and look at her. Real Red Heads just make men do that.

Fishnet type underwear and chaps, no jeans. Nice airflow where you want it all the time. But word of caution here, don't speed because the officer might not ummm appreciate you fashion selection . . . or so I've heard.