Venturous Randy

Wow, what a great post. Sorry for all you have gone through, but is sure sounds like you are on the right track. Sounds like you and your Venture have come back from the almost departed. RandyA

Is home living with you? RandyA

I know this is about 2nd gens, but while out the other day on flat ground on my 83, I took my bike all the way down to 15 mph in 5th gear and powered out of it smoothly as long as I did not give it too much throttle. As it started getting faster and I could give it more throttle, it was surprising how much harder it started pulling. I know my bike is a little different as I have a V-Max rearend with the stock 1st gen engine gear ratios (for now), but this is still a testament to the range these engines have. With the rev limiter set at 6,300 rpm's on the 2nd gens, to me on my bike, that's about when it starts to pull the hardest. At about 8,000 rpm's on my bike, I can begin to feel the pull starting to flatten out some. My bike has 164,000 miles on the engine and I am sure the valve springs are getting a bit tired. I really think that those of you that ride a 2nd gen without a tach, learn to get a feel for where the engine is at in different gears. Run the engine up to the rev limiter as you are NOT going to hurt anything. These engines are designed to run a lot higher than 6,300 rpm's. I think a lot of 2nd genners would be surprised at how much power their bike have if they would stop lugging them around. RandyA

As far as colors, you would think that yellow would be one that would be the least likely for your mind to not see. Have any of you increased the size of the balls and been surprised at how big you can make them and they still disappear? This just goes to show you that riding a big yellow Goldwing may not help. One thing that I did notice for me is since I had this before I lost the vision in my right eye, it still works for me the same with just one eye. RandyA

One other thing that is interesting is to increase the size of the yellow dots and still have them disappear. Also, focus on the green dot and after the yellow dots disappear, very slightly tilt your head and see how instantly the yellow dots reappear. RandyA

' Years ago I was in the right lane with a car in the left lane slowly passing me. A car pulled to a stop on a side road and was watching us(I thought), and just before we got to her, she started pulling out into my lane. The ONLY thing that saved my butt was my Loud air horns. It really scared me that she almost killed me, as I had my headlight on bright and it was a sunny day. Why did she not see me? After seeing this video, I realized I was a yellow dot to her and she was watching the other car to see if he was going to change lanes and to her, the other car was the green dot she was fixated on. I simply disappeared in her mind. Just like if you move your head a little, the yellow dots will instantly pop back up, slightly weaving when coming up to an intersection or coming up on a driver in a situation like I did, the slight weaving is like moving your head to the other driver. This also works when you are the person waiting on oncoming traffic. Don't let yourself get fixated on one vehicle, or the other ones can simply disappear. I really do feel like this mental phenomenon is a major contributor in people saying; "I did not see them". They became a yellow dot and disappeared. It is also fun to play around with this and change speeds and other things. RandyA

I have seen on the news lately that the happiest states started with North Dakota and South Dakota. I wonder if they talked to any motorcycle riders? RandyA

Actually, that is on my bucket list. RandyA

We have already had our first local motorcycle death due to a woman turning in front of a 23 year old guy on a motorcycle. He hit the passenger side of her car. I know we all REALLY look forward to those first rides of the season, but keep in mind that the general public has not seen a motorcycle on the road in a while and they are NOT looking for them. If you have to feel that burst of power, do it on an isolated road and don't over drive your bike. If you are in traffic, be extra aware of what traffic is doing around you. Run your headlight on bright during the daytime and try not to put yourself in other people's blind spot. Make yourself noticeable, weave a little when coming up to an intersection. Also, make sure your bike has a LOUD horn. These first rides are great, but they can also be deadly. This is one reason other people do not see us: http://www.msf-usa.org/motion.html RandyA

To me, a blown head gasket is a pretty rare thing on these bikes. I wonder if it could be a stuck ring allowing a lot of blow by. How do you know that it is the right front cylinder? How does the plugs look? Welcome aboard and don't be shy. RandyA

Hey, if she would like to be a host at Asheville, we could start something new. We never had a real host there before. RandyA

This is KOA East near exit 59 on I40 2708 US Highway 70, Swannanoa, NC 28778 Reserve: 800-562-5907 If you are going to camp, we stay from D-21(mine) to about D-25 and we have never had a problem with adding a tent or two and the campsites are very big. They also have nice cabins. RandyA

It would be great to see you again Craig, we would love to see you at Asheville. Just make sure you are careful getting gas. RandyA

Who wants to be with a bunch of fuddy duddys on trikes when you can come down and have a blast with us? RandyA

Just try to set your other travels to have August 14/17 free. RandyA

I was feeling sorry for Cooper.............until the end. RandyA

Puc, you just have a way of telling a story that makes me feel like I am right there beside you, and sometimes I have visions I cannot get rid of, no matter how hard I try. RandyA

As Carl noted, you can only adjust the CLASS with the key on ACC. The biggest problem with these units is cold solder joints on the circuit board. You can pull the unit apart and look at the solder joints and usually see one that looks different. Use a small solder gun, like one of the pencil ones and let it get real hot and touch the joints. You may want to put a little solder on the point first. You want to make sure the tip is real hot as you do not want to stay on the solder point very long. This is a fairly common problem with these old bikes. As far as the bump, the best fix on that is to install a set of Progressive springs. I'm sure your old springs are worn out. You may also be low on shock oil. I have to say that I admire your enthusiasm, but it would scare me to take off on any bike without knowing any more than you do about this bike. I would at least change out all the fluids, check the brakes, look at how old the tires are and are they properly inflated, does the bike still have the old fuse block? I have 164,000 miles on my 83 and know it pretty good inside out and would still do a good going over before I would take off on a trip and always carry a lot of tools with me. Good luck on your trip and keep us posted. RandyA

That should have come from where I used to work at, here in Johnson City. RandyA

I agree Bob and I figure from this point on that it will just get worse. I wonder how much of the original car you would have to have left to still be able to say it is still that car? RandyA

They now have retrieved five of the seven Corvettes that fell in the sinkhole. RandyA http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/1403-five-of-eight-corvette-vehicles-pulled-from-sinkhole/photo_04.html

Is going for the 14/17 weekend good for you? If it is, we will go for that weekend. Linda says I gotta do everything to keep you guys happy. RandyA

On both ends of the clutch line, there is a rubber hose for flexibility. Between these hoses is a metal section. This is where I had the problem with mine getting clogged up. I think I ended up having to push a wire up into it to break it loose. RandyA

I also carry the little yellow pump from Harbor Freight and a tire repair kit. I have twice fixed a flat and pumped the tire up enough to get to a station. I also use the pump to fill up my rear shock and with the gauge on it, I can put it exactly where I want. I have a digital air gage that I to confirm and it is always where the pump gage reads. The coupon page from Rider magazine sometimes have these pumps for $5.99. RandyA

Happy Happy Birthday and we would love to see you at Asheville!!! Randy & Linda