Venturous Randy

Bob, I think a big part of the lower gas mileage is the increased acceleration is so addictive. First gens can be pretty quick, but a well tuned first gen with a V-Max final drive can be almost scary. Just be ready to shift quick in first or you will be deep in 8,000 RPM territory before you know it. There was one place near here where if I nailed it coming out of a green light, I would be doing 55 mph as I passed a speed limit sign with the stock gear. When I put the V.Max gear in, I would be doing over 60 mph. I was gaining about 10% in speed in that short distance. You also had to be careful as the front wheel came up much easier. I tried this the other day in my Miata and when I passed the sigh, I was doing about 35 mph. Randy

Not sure what trick you are looking for, but it will be noticeably quicker out of the hole. But, if you want to run highway speeds, it gets tiring. You will be wanting one more gear. There might be a different plastic dust cover needed. When I changed my 83 to a V-Max rear, a new dust cover came with it and I put it on. I don't remember if there was a difference. You should be able to use your MKII driveshaft. If you really want to make a great gear setup, put a 2nd gen trans in your 87. You will be about 10% lower in 1st, 5% lower in 2nd. 3rd and 4th the same and about 5% higher in 5th. This makes highway cruising so much more comfortable without that feeling you need one more gear. I have a complete spare 2nd gen trans if you know anyone that wants one. Randy

Well Dan, At least you should get mileage for your trip. I only live three miles from my VA, so I never pursue mileage. Hope everything is going to be okay for you. Randy

Local news said over the mountain in NC around Hendersonville that they got up to 18 inches. We were lucky. Randy

Gary, I know what you mean. I have my 83, my son has an 86 and my grandson has another 83, plus I have another 85 Venture. I also have two Miatas, my son has one and my grandson has two. Hey, I hope you are enjoying your Time Out Camper as much as we are. We put a car top carrier on top for more storage and hook it to my Miata and have a blast camping. I never bought the extended room, but we do have a screen room that works great. We also have a 5K BTU A/C that we can carry in the trunk of the Miata for hot weather camping. Us seeing yours at Asheville was what got us buying one for ourselves. We camped at Hunting Island State Park near Hilton Head the week before hurricane Matthew went thru and when looking at some of the pictures posted on Google, there sat our little camper with a comment about never seeing a tent with an A/C before. Who ever posted it did not know it was actually a camper. Randy This is the picture posted on Google.

Yep, we are in the snow band and my yard is white. We are supposed to get from 1 to 3 inches. Looks like no top down riding in the Miata for a while. Randy

The older I get, the faster they go. Randy

The thing I also noticed was the use of two different date formats. One was month first and the other was day of month first. That struck me as odd. Randy

Wow, that's over $4 bucks a gallon. You folks must make a lot of money up there in Canada. Randy

Our local Walmart is $2.19 with some of the local stations being up to $2.29. I was cleaning up some old emails the other day and ran across one about gas being $3.50 in 2008 around here somewhere. Oil prices have been creeping up to about $60 a barrel from the $40's and I keep thinking we may see a big jump soon. It seems that Russia may be becoming a bigger player when it comes to setting output with some of the middle eastern countries and they are all wanting a bigger slice of the pie. Randy

I must be missing something, or the 2nd gen is different from he 1st gen. I remember taking off the metal line and the rubber line off my 83 and all I had to take off was my middle gear cover. Randy

An interesting side note on this is I put a 2nd gen transmission in my 83 with a V Max final drive and it is as perfect of a setup as you can get. Comparing it to the stock 1st gen setup, it is 10% lower in 1st, 5% lower in 2nd. 3rd and 4th are the same and 5th is about 5% higher geared. The 5th gear ratio makes cruising at 70 a lot more comfortable and I don't have that constant feeling of needing another gear. Randy

Hey, give the guy a break, he was doing this on the edge of an airport runway. Randy

The perfect combination for gear ratios is to use a 2nd gen gear set and a V Max final drive. 1st is about 10% lower, 2nd is 5% lower, 3rd and 4th the same and 5th is about 5% higher geared. This gives you better lower gear acceleration and makes running at higher highway speeds much more comfortable. It is not a big deal on putting a V Max final drive in a 1st gen, but in a 83/85, you will need a MKII driveshaft. An advantage of that is it has the spline lubrication that is part of the gear grease. I think the V Max drive on a 1st gen uses a different plastic dust cover, but I'm not sure which one it is. I just remember that when I received my V Max drive, it had a new dust cover with it. In using the 2nd gen gear setup, you will need the entire gear assembly with the forks and gear tumbler. Another advantage with this is the gear tumbler does not have the pins that are prone to come loose. It is a one piece unit. These gear assemblies come up occasionally on ebay, usually from Pinwall. but I have not seen Pinwall breaking down 2nd gen engines like I used to, but I also have not been paying attention. I have a complete 2nd gen gear assembly if anyone is interested. Randy

This is the primary reason I parked my MKI after putting 150,000 miles on it. Things can happen way too quick and I am just not quick anymore, especially healing up. This is kind of ironic that I had just received a call from Farm Bureau Insurance from a crash I was involved in back in January. I was in my I35 Infiniti merging onto the interstate with a lot of other traffic when the car in front of me slammed on his brakes and I could not get stopped in time. It is real typical that while merging and adjusting speed that you see a lot of brake lights. But in this case, the guy in front of the guy I hit was in a pickup and had a 10 foot fiberglass ladder come out of the back of his truck. I did not get a ticket for following too close, but it was noted on the accident report that I was. My call this morning was to advise me that my case went to arbitration that it was ruled that 80% cause went to the pickup driver and I would be getting a check for $200 that went toward my deductible. I had full coverage and they totaled my car and I bought it back. I spent $550 and found another black hood, headlight and bumper cover and it looks as good as before. I made about $3,000 on the deal. Pardon the thread drift and I also wish you good luck in healing up. One suggestion I do have for you and others on a 2nd gen is to practice doing panic stops. It seems to be a common thing for riders locking up their rear brake and before they realize it, they are down. I know a lot of people don't like the integrated braking system that the 1st gens have, but for me it saved my skin more than once. Randy

Wow, kretz, after sharing memories of my Chevelles in post #5, you post a picture of a 1962 Anglia. My first car, which was the one before the Chevelle was a 1961 Anglia. I learned to drive on the road in my mom's 1958 Anglia. Yep, that brings back some memories too. frandy

Wow Blue, that brought back a lot of memories. In 1968, while in high school, I bought a 64 Chevelle 327 four speed car. It served me well thru four years in the USAF and later on I picked up a 65 Chevelle that had a 4:10 12 bolt posi. I had built a very warmed over 327 as I was getting out of the AF and moved it over to the 65. That was a pretty quick car. I later on rebuilt the 327 and put it in a 72 240Z that I had already put about 50K miles on with a 350 Chevy. The 327 has been rebuilt again to a 331 and is now in my son's 65 Chevelle. He is now 48 and bought his 65 when he was 16. I have now picked up another Chevelle project car. We also have six Miatas in the family. Randy

1st of all, that was a steep, sharp curve. Given that, the biggest problem was the 1st rider did not keep his speed up and appears to have bogged the bike down. As noted, the bike in front did appear to do the "go where you look" thing. As far as bikes loosing traction in curves, I learned a long time ago to stay off painted lines, especially when they are wet. Randy

Sad day to finally say that you are done. Like I noted earlier, my Venture was a very big part of my life. But, I also know that with putting 150,000 miles on it and having some very scary close calls, I know I was very lucky. I also feel lucky that I have been able to channel much of the fun and adventure over into the Miatas. Yeah, there are times I miss my bike, but it was time and I know it and you do too, and you know what, that is not always a bad thing. Just because you are not riding does not mean we shouldn't get together sometime. Randy

Linda has two grandsons, 15 and 18 and they are staring at their phones CONSTANTLY, I mean CONSTANTLY. If they are awake, they are staring at their phone. I have tried to show them things about a car and when I look up, they are texting. The older one was over the other day and the whole time Linda was trying to have a conversation with him, he was texting. The younger one spent the week with us and I did several things on Linda's van he is driving for the week and I had asked him to help me replace some shocks, but he never came out to the garage. His other grand parents gave him a Chevy to drive and in a 25mph zone he went around a curve, sideswiped a guardrail and center punched a telephone pole. This was a week after Linda had loaned him her Miata that I insisted we get back as it also has my name on the title. I had bookmarked three Miatas that were fixer-uppers, like one had a blown engine and we have three spare engines, but after this week, forget that. Please pardon my venting, but to me it is SO RUDE to try to have a conversation with someone while they are texting, or playing a game on their phone. Randy

That url expired. Here is an update with him in the hospital. I don't know how long it will last. This is mostly with him in the hospital, so to see the crash, you may have to start at the beginning a couple times. Randy http://www.katc.com/story/36621755/motorcyclist-speaks-about-after-being-run-over-by-a-texting-driver?clienttype=smartdevice

[TABLE=class: tborder, width: 100%, align: center] [TR] [TD=class: alt1]This was posted on Miata.net Randy How no one was seriously hurt is unbelievable. It would make a great commercial to discourage texting and driving. The motorcycle rider is in the hospital and the local media has photos of them together, she was the motorcycle riders girl friend and was driving the truck. https://video-dft4-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/...80&oe=59E81B2A [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: alt2] [/TD] [TD=class: alt1, align: right][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

I wish you were closer as I have a very heavy duty hitch I used on my 83 that I would give you. It is all welded together so it would be way too costly to ship. Randy

Okay, I just tried Don's recommendation and after a shutdown and restart, it did not come back. I did some research before coming here and there were too many websites that came up and I don't trust any of them. Thanks don and condor for your help. Just another reason I have been here for a long time and not even riding now. Randy

Every time I turn on my laptop I get a box with VCRUNTIME140.dll download not installed. If I click on the X it goes away and everything seems to run fine. What do I need to do to SAFELY get rid of this? This is on my good computer and I don't trust many of the download fixes. Thanks, Randy