Venturous Randy

One of the things I do occasionally when I am playing around on the computer is to go to Google Maps and go to an area of the country I have never been and pull up the map and drop the little gold man down on the blue marked roads. It is amazing how you can drop down on a road in the middle of nowhere, or stop by a quaint little town and go up and down each street and see the houses and places where people live. Sometimes I will go to the Rockies or the Bad Lands and just ride along. Sometimes I will go to places I have been, such as Okracoke Island on the NC Outer Banks. It is so neat to ride around the little village and see neat houses and curvy wind blown trees. Sometimes when I am looking for a place to take a ride, whether on the bike or in the Miata with the top down, I can still find a road that I have never been on not too far from home. I can look at intersections and landmarks to help me on my adventures. Sometimes I will click on some place to eat or spend the night and check the reviews to see if I want to make that part of my adventure. Sometimes if I am looking for a particular address, I can go to street view and see the house or business and maybe get an idea how best to get to it, as sometimes my GPS will take me to hell and back if I just follow it, especially if I had it on "shortest distance" If you have not spent any time doing this, I think if you will, you may enjoy it. Randy

saw $1.72 in Greeneville, TN yesterday. Randy

My 83 with 160,000 miles on it had what I suspect was the typical 1st gen whine. It was a little noticeable, but not to the point of being irritating. Before I replaced the engine, I ran some Rotella 15-40 for a while and it did seem to make a little difference. Since I had picked up another 83 engine with 30,000 miles, I decided to put the 2nd gen trans I had bought in it and see how I liked it. I did not have the original clutch basket that came with the 2nd gen gear set, so I used the one from the low mileage 1200. When I got it together, I was surprised at how loud the whine was from about 2,500 to 3,100 RPM,s. I then pulled it apart and used the clutch basket from the high mileage engine. The noise was reduced noticeably, but is still too loud for me. The amazing part to me is how much change there is from 3,100 to about 3,200 RPM,s in how much quieter it is. It just does not make sense that it could change SO much, given that the same set of gears are still in operation. I did some research on gear whine and read a lot about frequencies and stuff, but not anything that I found as useful that I could use. And yes, I have also thought about sacrificing a clutch basket to a Dremil grinder to see if it made any difference. Randy

The best trick to a good retirement is doing it with someone you really enjoy being with. I really lucked out with finding Linda as we are so much alike and enjoying doing so many things together. I have put over 150,000 miles on my Venture and Linda and I have enjoyed the time on it. But, this past year, we have put a bunch of enjoyable miles on our two Miatas. I put a hitch on the 96 and it did a great job taking the Time Out camper to Vogal. It has been a lot like the Venture in that about every time we stop somewhere, someone will make a nice comment. Another great thing about Miatas is they are like old Ventures, having one that is 25 years old can be very dependable and pretty easy to work on. If you look around, you can find one for about the same price as a decent 1st gen Venture and later on, if you want to sell it, you can get your money back. My biggest concern with the Venture is I am afraid I am going to hurt Linda over something minor. I still enjoy riding it, but in all honesty, at this point in my life, I think I am enjoying the Miata more and I never thought I would ever feel this way. Randy

Linda and I ate at Shatley Springs about two months ago. It is for sure that you are not going to leave hungry. It is a good thing I had the top down on the Miata or I don't think I could have gotten back in it when leaving. BTW, this post is over six years old. Randy

How long did it take to go from a 1st gen to a 2nd gen Venture, about six years? Given that, we may have a while to wait. Randy

On my 83, I have a stock filter, even though mine is chrome. I have not changed the O'ring in the last 120,000 miles. The reason for this is I found an O'ring that was part of a GM 350 turbo transmission that fits perfectly into the groove and is cross-sectionally square. When it is seated, it sticks up just a little above the filter housing and has never leaked, so I don't change it. When I tighten the bolt, I just get it good and snug. Randy

My kid sister drove a blue and white left hand drive BMW Isetta to high school in the early 70's. She ended up with a designated parking spot up in front of the office because the guys kept carrying it off and hiding it. It was fun to drive, but impossible to miss a bump. Randy

On the end of the shaft that comes out of the engine cover, there will be a mark that lines up with the slot where the lever clamps. Make sure the slot and score mark always stays lined up. Once you determine this is not moving, look at the end of the other shift linkage on the back side of the engine cover. They also have a mark on the shaft that lines up with the split where it clamps. I have a feeling that if you line all the marks and linkage splits up and have all the clamping bolts tight, it will fix your problem. Randy

When I bought my 96 Miata, it had a key broken off in the trunk lock. My grandson took the ring cover off the lock that had a spring cover and used the dental picks that I had picked up at Harbor Freight and was able to pull the key out. Randy

I have to respectfully take issue with this. If the bushing/sleeve/bearing is already squealing, WD40 will only make it worse and it will not last long enough to get any lubricant from the cable into the speedometer. As far as using grease in the bearing area, I have put wheel bearing grease and lithium grease in the bearing and it works fine and lasts a long time. My bike has over 170,000 miles on it and it has been many years and miles since I either put grease down inside the bearing, or used pressure to push grease from the outside and this has been on several bikes that I have done this on. As far as using thick grease on the cable, no, I don't recommend that. I think the last time I put lube on the cable itself, I used a film of 90w oil and it has also worked for many years. Randy

Ok, let's get real here. Is there anyone here that has NEVER passed traffic on a double yellow line with traffic that is going significantly below the speed limit and there is no oncoming traffic with good visability? It is not something I do very often, but sometimes it is safer to get away from the traffic backup, either by passing or pulling off to the side of the road and taking a break. I have seen people behind a tractor going 15mph that will not pass because there is a double yellow line,even though there is NO oncoming traffic and the biggest danger is getting ran over from behind. As far as this particular video, it was quite apparent that the guy doing the video had been going much faster than the couple that got crashed. Randy

I looked to see if anyone had posted this and I missed where it had been posted. Randy

http://news.yahoo.com/video/video-shows-texas-driver-swerve-170014738.html http://lanesplitter.jalopnik.com/driver-who-swerved-to-hit-a-motorcycle-i-dont-care-1737184460 There are a couple of links that show all that was recorded. Randy

I also have a V-Max final drive on my 83. The driveshaft on the MKII, V-Max and 2nd gen will only work with these final drives because the driveshaft has a seal that goes into the final drive coupling that the MKI does not have. Randy

Eck, Linda and I have talked about taking some time to visit the Gulf area, or even going across the top of Tennessee and then come back across the bottom. If and when we do, we would love to stop in and visit with you and Konnie. Randy

"Purist members"....WOW, I don't think I know anyone around that might fit that comment. I don't think you have anything to worry about here. We ride all kinds of bikes and it DON'T matter. :biker: Randy

If you have not done it yet, check tire pressures. Also, on the RSTD, look at the final drive and to see if there may be a shock post that may have been sawed off. If so, you may have a V-max drive. Randy

Linda and I took the little Miata on a vacation that started Tuesday a week ago and we got home yesterday. We were in dire need of a vacation as we had spent most of the spring and summer getting her house ready to sell and getting it sold. We spent much of our time there with it raining and very little time riding with the top down. We started in Okracoke and meandered down the coast to Savannah, GA. We did get in a nice ride home with the top down yesterday, but it must have hit hard behind us because places like Spartanburg, SC got flooded. We did get to watch the first part of the eclipse while spending one night in Myrtle Beach, then the clouds covered the rest up. We had a great time, but am glad we came home when we did, especially with what is happening down there now. I really missed being down there with the Venture, but this one of those times it was best to leave it home. Randy

Hey Eck, I was going to ask if your wife has been on a diet and if she was she needs to quit it. randy

The thing that I was having a problem was all the "script" stuff. Someone suggested I google "no script" and download a program. I did and it has REALLY helped me. Now, when something new is clicked on, it will ask me in a little box at the bottom if I want to allow it. I check yes and from then on, I am good to go. Sometimes when I check on that box it will also show a list of what is forbidden and it is literally a foot and a half long. Like I said, this has really helped me. Randy

Ditto on the carb sync. One other thing could be that your stator mounting screws could be a little loose. If the stator has been changed, it does happen that if the screws were not tight enough or not locktite in, they may work loose. Randy

Need more information. Is the clutch disengaging? Randy

This was one of those kinda special ones....this one was the BIG 65. I spent my 60th at ADC Arthur's and had a party with the muffins and a bunch of others, along with Linda, which included an overnight in Okracoke, which also included getting caught in tropical storm Nicole on the way home. I also spent my 63rd at Okracoke and just spent my 65th there. This time I have been in more rain than a tropical storm. We are in the little Miata and drove around Okracoke in 4 to 6 inches of water in the street. We are currently in Morehead, City, still on the Outer Banks of NC. The 2.5 hour ferry ride here was a bit rough. But, given that Highway 12 going north out of Okracoke was closed due to high water, at least we are off that island. Thanks for the birthday wishes. It does mean a lot to me. Randy

On the screws on the master cylinders covers, I found that if I used one of the Phillips head bits and held it with Vise grips from the side, I could take a small hammer and peck on the top of the bit while slightly turning it. I have had some that were in pretty rough shape, but I have always gotten them out that way. I replace the screws with Allen head screws and have never had a problem getting them out. I remember many years ago I was trying to get a clutch slave cylinder out and after messing with it for a while, I let go of it and it fell out. There is a bit of technique, but they do come out. Randy