MonsterBiker

Just ordered a Clearview XXL windshield for my Venture. My wife and I just returned from a 5 day 1,000+ mile ride. The bike performed flawlessly, but it became abundantly clear that the 10" dark tinted windshield the previous owner put on the bike has to go! It directs the airflow directly into the top of our helmets and the wind buffeting at 75mph literally vibrated my eyeballs and gave me a raging headache. Not to mention the noise made it all but impossible to talk even with the intercom system. I also do not care for the dark tint.....it prevents me from seeing the road immediately in front of the bike. I will have to say, however, that Yamaha hit it out of the ballpark with the pillow-top seats on this '08 Venture. In 5 days neither one of us had a single complaint abut a sore rear-end. If it wasn't for the wind buffeting we could have easily kept going almost indefinitely. It is far and away the most comfortable motorcycle seat I have ever sat on.

A few weeks back I ordered what I thought was 4 LED Taillight/Brake Light light bars. When they arrived this week I discovered that I had ordered 4 2-Packs..... Well, more is better, right? Got them mounted on my saddlebags. They are all wired through a BACKOFF module that pulses the brake lights. A couple of weeks ago I installed a pair of Feniex T3 strobes under my trunk. They are the ultimate "I am stopping, don't run over me!" lights.

Yeah, the VEPR really is a hoot to shoot and I am very pleased with it's performance. Unlike the Saiga it is not finicky and will eat any ammo I feed it. Recoil is really not bad (for a 12 gauge) due to its weight and the muzzle brake I have on it. It is a heavy gun. Unlike the Saiga which is based on the AK receiver, the VEPR is based on the heavier duty RPK machine gun receiver. Heavier gauge steel = more weight. With the muzzle brake I have to give warning before firing if anybody else is on the firing line. If you are standing anywhere nearby you can feel the concussion. Not uncommon for guys to walk down from the far end of the firing line just to see what kind of Howitzer was going off. 😁 Accuracy is excellent for a smooth bore. This is a 5 round group with Winchester PDX1 Defender slugs at 50 yards off a bench rest using a non-magnified red dot sight. Yes, the Kimber Micro 9 is pretty much a miniature 1911 in 9mm. It is also a very nice shooter. Both my wife and I shoot it more accurately than we do our M&P Shield 9's. The Micro 9 is also more compact than the Shield. Here is a comparison with it sitting on top of my Shield. The Kimber has a 7 round magazine in this pic while the Shield has a 7 round magazine that has been converted to hold 9 rounds. Here is a comparison of how the Kimber fits my paw vs. how the Shield with the 9 round magazine fits my paw. I have since upgraded the Kimber with an 8 round magazine, which fits me better.....but it is still my wife's gun so that doesn't really matter. And my Shield rarely makes it out of the safe now since I carry the 686.

I wasn't far from you in Cypress this week. No bike though, I was in town on business. The way I dealt with the cold weather was remote starting my rental car from the hotel room and waiting 15 minutes before going outside. 😁

This thread looks fun! Ok, I'll play, here is a sampling of the toys in my house: First, my Scary Black Rifle (Savage MSR-15 Patrol) and my Full On Evil Communist Bloc Shotgun (VEPR-12). This is my Howa 1500 chambered in .30-06 with a Nikon Buckmasters II 4-12x40 BDC scope. I rescued the rifle from the used gun rack at a local gun store: My wife's EDC, a Kimber Micro 9: What was bought as a toy but has become my EDC, a Smith & Wesson 686 Plus .357 Magnum 3" The 686 is a real sweet shooter, especially with .38 Specials. After some research I bought these to carry in it for self-defense: Got to shoot them for the first time last weekend.... Wow! They sure pack a wallop! Even in that heavy L-Frame you know you have a tiger by the tail. I would be real hesitant to shoot them in a J-Frame....that would be brutal. But at least I have confidence they will get the job done in the unfortunate event I had to use them.

I have found that leather chaps make a big difference on the legs due to their wind blocking properties. My personal cut-off temp for riding is 32F but that is just because I do not care to go ice skating on a bike.

Glad I read through this thread, it answered some questions I had about my new to me RSV ('08 with 26,000 miles) compared to my last bike. I could tell just from riding it that it preferred higher revs but I didn't know if that was bad for the engine. Now I know not to worry about it. My last bike had a ton of low end torque, so it will be a little adjustment in riding style. I was also wondering about regular vs. premium since my last bike was 2000+ cc high compression monster that required premium. I am very pleased to discover that I can run regular. I have not checked mileage yet but I have a 5 day ride coming up in a couple of weeks that will be a good opportunity to do so. I may run some Seafoam through it first.......just because....