Venturous Randy

Ya done good.......with a little coaching. As you said, "Been there, done that". What you encountered is fairly common on the 1st gens and it is a lot more common when the temperature drops. This is just one of those things that falls into the preventative maintenance category that no one does unless they have a problem. This is one of those things that folks should put on their winter projects list to do every few years. If you think about it, it is amazing how long the original lubrication lasts. RandyA

I miss you too and only wish that when you and Al were here that you would have had your bikes and could have spent more time and ridden the mountains of east Tennessee. RandyA

Charlie, I hope you have a great and memorable birthday!!! RandyA

I hope you had a great birthday Craig, I would have loved to have given you a party. RandyA

After having to go back to the eye surgeon and having to deal with a detached retina, instead of seeing some improvement, it has got worse. I called the Dr's office yesterday and they told me to come in immediately. It has now been determined that my loss of sight in my right eye is due to a lack of adequate blood flow. Unfortunately, this is not fixable. And, this goes back to being type 2 diabetic for 30 years and not always doing a good job keeping it in good control. After my marriage separation and divorce and losing about 50 pounds, I was able to get my diabetes in such good control that I had my A1C in the 6.4 range, which is very good, and that was after going off insulin. After my last A1C creeping back up to 8.3, I have now gone back on insulin. I have gained a few pounds back, but with this eye problem, loosing my job and dealing with some depression, I have not been getting the exercise I was getting. Now, my primary concern is to try to keep the other eye healthy. RandyA

I hope we will be able to put together an Asheville event for this year. RandyA

According to two different GPS's and measure mile markers at 71 mph, my 1st gen, 28 year old bike reads 70 mph, so I am one mile per hour off. Sheech, is that another one of those improvements(?) they made when they made a 2nd gen? RandyA

I think you have the title of this thread all wrong. It should be more like; "I am so fortunate that I get to settle with someone else's insurance again". You need to give Yammer Dan some lessons. RandyA

You have already done the hard part by pulling the dash out. But, it still does not sound like you got grease into the bearing area. If you do it from the outside, it will take high pressure like you would get with a grease gun as you are forcing grease around the bearing, which is a tight fit. If you take the speedometer out and put grease on something that will reach the bearing from the inside, it will work in from the top. I have fixed at least four 1st gen Ventures with the squeal and all of them were fixed with putting grease in the bearing area. I still don't think you have a cable problem. RandyA

When you say you pulled everything, did you pull the speedometer and grease the bearing from the inside or just the cable? RandyA

This is a typical problem on a 1st gen and it usually pops up more often when the weather cools off. The problem is the bearing in the bottom of the speedometer where the cable sticks into. There are two ways to fix the problem. You can take the dash out and remove the speedometer and lube it from the inside, or you can put grease in from the outside and since the hole where the cable goes into is a blind hole(does not go through), you cannot just squirt oil in the hole. I made a fixture that has worked well and you can see it in the attached post. If you keep riding the bike with it squealing, you will destroy the speedometer. RandyA http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36254&highlight=lubing+speedometer

If you have a loud squeal or whine, especially when it is cold, it is usually the speedometer needs greasing where the bearing goes through the backside of the speedometer that the cable sticks in. This really needs to be greased from the inside of the speedometer and if you let it continue squealing, you will destroy the speedometer. RandyA

I can sure vouch for the wine being real good. RandyA

Hey big guy, I hope you have a really great birthday!!!! RandyA

Well, my 10:30 appointment got moved up to 8:00 so that sped things up a bit. This time I was awake more than last time, but did OK. One of the differences this time is the doctor did not do the air bubble as he did last time, but filled my eye with some kind of oil. I started to ask if was the "energy conserving" type, but I figured he would not understand. I know that all that I can do is follow directions and wait, but I wish I had a bit more optimism about the final outcome. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers. RandyA

The VA sends out surgeries as serious as mine to a retina center. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers. RandyA

Well, after steady progression on my right eye, with everything doing good, I had a setback this past weekend. I went to the VA eye clinic Monday morning and they did a review and set me up with the eye surgeon visit this morning. After a review there, I am now scheduled for surgery tomorrow. It appears I have a detached retina and macular edemia along with some scar tissue. When it rains, it pours. At this point, I can not see anything with my right eye other than a very bright pin point light. I hate to be pesimistic, but I do not feel good about what vision I might get back. RandyA

Sweet, sweet, warm memories. Thanks for posting this. RandyA

You will probably have to use the vise grips on the other screws also. RandyA

Andrew, as far as the headlight, that is a typical symptom of the CMS in the middle of your dash needing resoldering. How do your sparkplugs and plug caps look? RandyA

It is about 45 degrees and very rainy here today after several very nice days. RandyA

Wow, this is just one of those posts that you don't want to see. Dano, for sure, is one of the good guys on here and means a lot to us. We will keep him in our thoughts and prayers and hope for a good recovery. RandyA

The following is a cut and paste from a local article on the Dragon. I thought some might be interested in the article. RandyA Dragon's toll: 17 in 6 years By JOEL DAVIS The Daily Times (Maryville, Tenn.) Advertisement http://oascentral.hosted.ap.org/RealMedia/ads/adstream_lx.ads/hosted.ap.org/bottom/APress/winstar_pop_2011/Tracking_WinStar/1? http://analytics.apnewsregistry.com/analytics/v2/image.svc/AP/RWS/hosted.ap.org/MAI/tn0832-2011-10-23T0100Z/E/prod/AT/A MARYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- They had names. Call up the Tennessee Department of Safety, and they'll tell you that 17 motorcycle fatalities have occurred on "The Dragon," the storied stretch of U.S. 129 from Tabcat Creek to the North Carolina state line, during the past six years. But the numbers don't tell the whole story. They were people, after all. They had faces. They had friends. They are missed. Dwight R. Woodard, Michael Andrew Mercer, Tamara Fuller, Albert Green, Carlos Suarez, Kevin Austin Crigger, Kelly Brown, Stevie Ferrell are a few of those who drove willingly into The Dragon's maw and never went home again. Woodard, a 45-year-old Christiana man, was the latest casualty. On Aug. 3, the veteran rider was traveling The Dragon southbound. Unbeknownst to him, a northbound tractor-trailer had crossed into his lane as it negotiated the curve. He struck the left side of the empty flatbed trailer being pulled behind it. Lifestar was called to fly the severely injured man to University of Tennessee Medical Center, but Woodard did not survive. Touring the highways and byways on his Triumph Triple Speed motorcycle meant a great deal to Woodard, who had been looking forward to the August trip to Deal's Gap for months. In a video posted to YouTube in February, he talked about planning the trip for his motorcycle club. "It's an awesome ride experience. You can't get much better roads anywhere in the country than right there. It's very beautiful. The touring is good. The scenery is nice, and the people, too." Woodard died a year and a day after his friend, Michael J. "AmBush" Cupp, was killed in a single motorcycle accident at Deal's Gap on Aug. 2, 2010. The day before his death, Woodard and his friends held a memorial ride for Cupp. Timothy Moore, a member of Woodard's motorcycle club, said that "Ike," as Woodard's friends called him, was something special. "Ike was one of those people that once you came in contact with him, you knew that you'd never forget him," Moore said. "... He was just one of those people, if there were more out there like him, you know the world would be the better." A loving father, Woodward was also a very caring man, Moore said. "He was very compassionate. He was just one of those all-around good people who never did anything bad to anybody. He was always soft-spoken and had great demeanor." As soon as the story detailing Woodard's death hit The Daily Times website, expressions of grief and condolences began pouring in from friends and fellow riders. "You will never be forgotten, Dwight `Ike' Woodard," wrote Ashleigh Hill-Owen of Nashville in Facebook comments. "You touched so many lives and we will continue to carry those memories of happiness with us each and everyday. You were taken from us too soon and will be missed. One love! And our hearts go out to your family." --- Single truck fatality Although this has been the only motorcycle fatality involving a tractor-trailer in the past six years, the circumstances of Woodard's death have inspired a drive to ban commercial vehicles from The Dragon. It's a change that other members of the motorcycle community, such as Ron and Nancy Johnson, owners and webmasters of (http://Tailofthedragon.com ) , have been pushing for years. "Since we stared in 2000, we've been pushing to get trucks off," Ron Johnson said. "... You don't have much time to react when you see a truck on a curve. It's pretty hairy if you're caught just at the right moment." With its 318 curves in only 11.1 miles, The Dragon does not offer the most hospitable environment for a tractor-trailer. It physically impossible for them to travel The Dragon without crossing the lines on just about every single curve, said Lt. Randy Ailey of the Blount County Sheriff's Office. "There is no way to keep semi-trucks off of the road because of its federal designation, but we can write them (truck drivers) a ticket every time they cross the yellow line." Veteran motorcyclist Harold "Monk" Hood, 71, who has ridden The Dragon at least 100 times, said that the curves simply aren't designed to accommodate vehicles that large. "By rights, the cops could stay at one end of The Dragon and then give the trucks 318 tickets," he said. Under the circumstances, Woodward would not have had any real opportunity to avoid the accident, Ron Johnson said. "I went out and looked at where it happened. That motorcycle rider didn't have much of a chance. He saw the truck way too late and tried to put on the brakes and lay it down, but didn't get it done." --- Other roads worse While the Tennessee Department of Transportation has the authority to bar commercial traffic from that stretch of roadway, TDOT Chief Engineer Paul Degges said that an analysis of traffic accidents on The Dragon does not justify taking that step. "While any one fatality is bad, the data does not show that." Despite the publicity surrounding the various motorcycle fatalities that have occurred on The Dragon over the years, it remains far safer than the numbers might indicate, Johnson said. "There are more motorcyclists killed on other roads in Blount County than on The Dragon. Motorcycling is not a super safe way to get around. For the hundreds of thousands of motorcycles that ride it, I think we have a pretty good safety record."

When I started texting, I realized how anal I am. Not only did I spell the words out, I also had to punctuate. I down loaded IeSpell a long time ago and it works good for me. I don't think some folks realize how easy it is to go back and edit/correct a post after it is posted. RandyA

I have been micro waving corn in the husk for a long time. I have not cut the ear off and slid the ear out, as I just peel it back. It usually comes clean of the silk real easy. RandyA