Venturous Randy

Linda and I have had a really good summer using the little Time Out Camper this year. We camped at Mt Pisgah on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville for our rally, Lake Greenwood in SC, Hunting Island State Park, SC( right where Matthew came ashore a week later) and Fall Creek Falls State Park in middle Tennessee that has 20,000 acres and the highest waterfall east of the Rockies, last week. We also had wonderful weather and had the Miata with the top down. So, what's the rant? I know there are a lot of dog lovers on this site, but to me it is so damn irritating to be camping in a beautiful quiet place except for two campsites up the campers have three dogs, all less that a foot high and they are CONSTANTLY barking. And, their barks sound just like taking a piece of chalk and banging it on a chalkboard. Why do these people never understand that those little ankle biters that they think are so cute are not so cute to everyone else. Do they really think that everyone else enjoys the constant racket? OK, I'm done. Oh, one more thing; Get off my grass!!! Randy

Hey Dan, that 150 mile round trip would have paid you over $56 at 41.5 cents a mile and a $3 deductible for each way. For your two trips, that is over $110, enough for a fill up and a couple of nice meals. I'm retired, I have plenty of time to fill out the paperwork like Bongo stated. I also think you have 30 days to do this so you should be able to get reimbursed for your last trip and the future one. Yeah, we know you are stubborn as hell, but if you will do it, you can send me the money and I will be internally grateful. Randy

Hey, I just got home from camping for five days and I have a question for you Dan. You mentioned driving for 150 miles and I want to ask do you turn in your mileage? I don't get to charge mileage as I only live about three miles from from the VA. Yes, as mentioned, a urine analysis can provide a lot of information, as do a blood test, so don't automatically assume it was a wasted trip. Randy

I know I getting old, but I can not seem to not get a little irritated when I tell someone "Thank you" and I get one of those guttural "No problem" comments back. Why does it seem to be a problem for me to thank someone, usually a younger person, when I feel it is appropriate to thank them. Last night, Linda and I ate at a fish restaurant and had a real cute dimpled young lady as a server. When she brought me another tea, I looked up and said "thank you'. She then stated "you are very welcome". She then stepped away, but when she came back by the table, I stopped her and told her how much I appreciated her comment and how I despised being told "no problem". She said I know what you mean and said that if her momma heard her respond back with a "no problem" comment, she would be in trouble real quick. When we left, I left her a good tip and it wasn't just for her cute dimples. Randy

Been around Norris Lake several times over the years. You are not that far from me as I am in Johnson City, a little further east. Welcome to Tennessee, especially the eastern part. It is a great place to live. Thanks for the update as I have wondered what happened to you. Randy

To add another note on starting my 83, I do not give it any throttle. If it has not been started for a while, I will increase the choke as I am cranking it until it hits. Sometimes it will start and run at that point and sometimes I have to repeat. Randy

Common Tools Explained To the uninitiated, the workshop can be an intimidating place, full of tools you may not know what to do with. To help, here's a helpful explanation of common tools and their uses. DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted vertical stabilizer which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it. WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned cleco calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, "Oh [censored]!" ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age. SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short. PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters. BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs. HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes. VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand. WELDING GLOVES: Heavy duty leather gloves used to prolong the conduction of intense welding heat to the palm of your hand. OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub from which you want the bearing race removed. TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity. HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper. EIGHT-FOOT LONG YELLOW PINE 2X4: Used for levering an automobile upward off of a trapped hydraulic jack handle. E-Z OUT BOLT AND STUD EXTRACTOR: A tool ten times harder than any known drill bit that snaps neatly off in bolt holes thereby ending any possible future use. BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge. TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect. CRAFTSMAN 1/2 x 24-INCH SCREWDRIVER: A very large pry bar that inexplicably has an accurately machined screwdriver tip on the end opposite the handle. AVIATION METAL SNIPS: See hacksaw. PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids and for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads. STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws. PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part. HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short. HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. MECHANIC'S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use. DAMMIT TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling "DAMMIT" at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

When ever you are starting your bike and you turn the ignition on, you should hear the fuel pump click several times. You should then cycle the kill switch on and off and each time you will hear the pump click again. Once the carbs fill up, it will quit clicking, or just barely click. If my bike has been sitting for a while, I may have to do this up to ten times. As far as loosing fuel pressure, these bikes only have a little fuel pressure and that is when it is running and just enough to keep fuel up to the carbs. It does not maintain any fuel pressure when the bike is turned off. Randy

Last week we spent about a week in South Carolina, with a couple days in the middle of the state at Lake Greenwood State Park and then four days at Hunting Island State Park, east of Beaufort, exactly where Mathew is at right now. It is amazing what difference a week makes. We did get a rain on Monday night that was about four inches and it flooded a bunch of campsites, but we were OK. Randy

Hey, I go away for a week camping and look what happened. Well, it sounds like you are making some progress in getting in a better state of tune and that has got to help. Keeping you in our thoughts and prayers. Randy

The first thing you need to do is to make sure the engine is not rusted and locked up due to airbox being off. I would take the small side cover off where the stator is and put a socket on it and see if the crank will rotate. You might want to pull the plugs first. And, you will most likely have the 2nd gear issue to deal with. Randy

You sound like you already have a good handle on knowing what you will need, what to expect and some of the frustrations of being the boss. This is one of those things you may regret later if you don't do it as it may be a good opportunity. Couple things to consider. If the economy does drop, many people won't be buying new or newer cars, they will be getting what they have fixed. Another thing to consider is being able to stay up with all the electronics in newer cars with the knowledge and equipment required to fix them. Another thing to keep in mind is the legal side of running a business, from regulations to taxes and dealing with the public. Other than all that, it is a piece of cake. Randy

I use Firefox and am not sure if this matters, but if I go to settings, then security, then logins, then on the remember logins for sites, I have it checked. Is this what you are talking about? My Firefox is locking up on me and I am having to do a reboot to do anything. I also have the Malwarebites premium and did a scan and nothing came up. I have also did the disc cleanup because laptop has gotten real slow. Thanks Randy

I have CCleaner installed and want to know how I can use it without loosing all my passwords. The last time I used it, I spent a bunch of times going thru the process of replacing or getting new passwords. Anyone know about this that can give me a little guidance? Thanks Randy

I'm afraid you have a parts bike, at best. Randy

Sometimes in the past when I changed my oil and it was drained, I would turn the ignition switch on and see if the oil level light icon came on. It always did. Randy

Ditto, that is what it is for. Randy

I love the Blue Ridge Parkway and have spent a lot of time on it, as this past Wed we drove from Asheville up to Skinny Dip Falls, going south about 4 miles past highway 276 and hiked to the falls. The southern part from Asheville to Cherokee is the best as it is much more open and the views are magnificent and it is the highest part of the Parkway. It is 469 miles from the Cherokee end to where it ends at where the Skyline Drive starts. Once you get above Boone, NC, even tho a beautiful ride, you are mostly riding thru the woods and there is not as much to see and if you have not stopped much, it can get tiring. The way to truly enjoy the BRP is to take the time to stop and see some of the sights. There are some great waterfalls, hikes and little interesting towns along the way. There are many things to see and great places to eat. An example is the Little Switzerland/Spruce Pine area. LS has some neat little shops, a big Inn with a restaurant and just down the hill a good place to eat in the curve. At the Spruce Pine exit, there is a mineral museum, a Walmart and a few miles farther a Western Sizzlin that has a great buffet. What I am saying is the BRP ride is very good, but spending the time to see some of the things around it is what makes it great. Randy

When I was in the Air force, I had a female dentist. I told her the worse part was getting my teeth/gums numbed. She suggested I try getting fillings without being numbed, which I did and did that for many years. Only a couple times did I get a tooth numbed because of hitting nerves. I will say that what really helped was using nitros. Randy

Wow, I was hoping that was going to be Hot Springs, North Carolina, which is just across the mountain from me. Yeah, we know that if you had to raise the subscription for this, it would only to be for our benefit. Randy

I have say that the thought of not looking forward to getting on my old Venture was a scary thought. Now, I have to say that the thought of getting on my old Venture is more the scary thought. Now, when I get in either of my Miatas, I have to say that most of the time I have a smile on my face. They are so much fun, are very reliable and not very expensive. Down south, you can pick up a pretty nice, rust free Miata for $2,000 to $4,000. In your area it is a little harder to get a rust free one. And, for those tired of shifting gears, both mine are automatics and do great. Randy

Another thing to check is the by-pass valve behind the radiator. If in the wrong position, it will by-pass the thermostat and can run too cool. When looking at the face, the top of the letters should point in the 5 o:clock position. Randy

This thread gives some detail on what I did to never have to worry about the YICS, ports, plugging caps or anything else ever again. I recommend everyone do this to their YICS as the system is way more trouble than it is worth. Randy http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?86100-Plugging-YICS-ports

It's a shame you did not stop by the KOA East in Asheville on Sunday as Woody, Katrina, Linda and I stayed over and left Monday. We would have loved to have been able to meet you. Randy

Linda was on her computer (this one) looking at recipes and got a box popup saying she was blocked and to call a phone number. I immediately shut it down and did a restore to an earlier date, which was unsuccessful. After I restarted it, when I tried to pull up Firefox, I would get a box saying Could not install XPCOM. I ended up having to uninstall Firefox and reinstall it and it seems to be working OK. This looked like another one of those ransom viruses. Randy