Venturous Randy

This was a tough day, but I am very glad that Linda and I came to Dan's service. One thing I can sure say about Dan, he had a very big family. I never realized he had so many kids and grand kids and great grand kids that he had. It was good to see Skid and frogman(?) and their wives, but I did not get to visit much. Linda and I meandered cross country just putting along thru the West Virginia country side and it does get very remote. We visited the New River Bridge and drove down to the river and I have to say, this is an amazing engineering feat. This sure does make you think about getting older and how precious life is. Randy

I just booked a room in Charleston, WV at the Budgethost Motel for Friday and Saturday night. The reviews were pretty good and it was a bit less expensive than most motels in the area. This is about an hour south east of Ivydale/Clay WV if anyone is interested in staying in the area. Their Phone # is 304-952-2592. Randy

Thanks puc, just trying to wrap my head around this as all this is just so surreal. I wish I had driven over and met them Saturday morning. I was about half way through replacing the water pump on my Miata and just gave up on trying to make the two hour trip. I could have taken the Infinity, but just wanted to take the Miata. I regret so much not meeting them. It is interesting how different stories can come out of this. One guy that I spoke with near where the trike is stored said he heard that a turkey vulture was feeding on some roadkill and was startled and flew up into Dan, knocking him off the trike. I checked on the weather for this weekend and it is going to be about 90 degrees in that part of WV. Randy

Went to Harrogate, TN today and talked to the guy Dan bought the bike from. He had not heard it was Dan that crashed until yesterday and was very torn up about it. He found out when he got a call from Progressive wanting the bill of sale info. This may indicate that Dan may have put full coverage on the trike. I went by the place I was told the crash happened and the only thing I could see was some score marks on the rusty guard rail. No telling where they came from. This was on a pretty much straight section on a four lane with a grass island. With a suggestion from the seller, I did find the trike. The lot was closed and I took this picture with my phone and as you can see, there is very little detail. There is damage to the rear fender, the right side of the fairing and maybe some around the engine guard. I was at least 75 to 100 feet from the bike shooting thru a fence. Randy

As we go thru life, we will sometimes meet one of those unique people that just adds to your life. Yes, if there was ever anyone that was always willing to help, it would have been Dan. I have been blessed by knowing him and the sorrow I feel is overwhelming. I had been very anxious about this trip as I knew he had probably gone 24 hours without sleep. The last message I got was about 2AM Sat morning with him telling me that he would call me when he got home. But ya know, I can't help but visualize Yammer standing at the Pearly Gates having an argument with St Peter over something. You can now ride free Dan without the pain and hurt you have been dealing with. Randy

Dan had contacted me a couple days ago about a Venture Trike that he had found near Middlesboro, KY, just on the Tennessee side. He was so afraid that he might loose the sale that I offered to go give the guy a deposit to hold it, but after talking to the guy he was told that he would hold it for him. We even talked about me meeting him there for a quick visit, as I am two hours away, but I was in the process of replacing the water pump on my Miata. In a conversation with his wife, she said that when they picked up the bike that she was in front and their son-in-law was behind and that they had only gone about four miles and he drifted into the guardrail and he went over it and the trike continued on and never turned over. They talked to him for a few minutes and then EMS showed up and they Medevacked him to Knoxville, TN. Dan was so excited about getting this bike and had probably been awake for 24 hours by the time they had gotten down there from West Virginia. He had been complaining about a buzzing in his head and headaches and I wonder if that may have been part of it. There is no doubt that Yammer will be missed on here. He was a very special character. Randy

One of the things I received was that white drone. My son has been playing with it and it does fly. Not sure about any pictures yet. The battery does not last very long. Randy

Wow puc, looks like you did it the right way. I was waiting until I received some of the stuff and no doubt, most is Chinese quality. I have now found another site that has some of the same stuff, but much more other stuff and it is not a bid site. This will also give you some ideas of what is out there. wish.com Eandy

As you can see, I posted this two weeks ago and did not get one damn comment. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?135707-Sidestand-check Randy

WOW :happy65: Randy https://biggeekdad.com/2017/04/trumps-new-limo-driver/

This was on MSN today. Randy https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstocks/harley-hints-at-sharper-turnaround-plan-to-spur-bike-demand/ar-AAwhhMs?ocid=spartandhp

I have had good success with taking the drain screw out and taking the air box off and then the rubber hoses to each carb and blowing air into the hose connection. This will clean out the needle valve real good and is pretty easy to do. Randy

Okay, possible campsite update; I went back to KOA east and looked at the campsites up on the hill and think we have a good alternative to the pond. First of all sites 11, 12, 33 and 34 are not good sites. They are going up the hill and are stepped and kind of dug out. The best sites for us would be G 22, 23, 24 and 25. G21 is good too, but it does not have electricity or water, which also means it may be cheaper. The price of these sites are about $40, so there is some savings there. This upper level is very level and there is plenty of room and there would be room to throw in some tents most likely. The first pic is the low end, G11 and 12 and the other pics are on the upper end I am suggesting. As of now, all these sites are open for our time. Randy

I have an 85 in the garage that is serial# 5000+ so it will not have the 2nd gear problem. Trying to not make it a parts bike. Randy

Glad to see you back. Yeah, some of us are not riding anymore either. I have not been on my bike in almost three years. But, instead of trying to do the trike thing, I picked up a Miata for my GF and then one for me then son and grandson and we are really enjoying them. So, if you want to have that wind in your face experience with power steering, A/C and other comfort amenities, you should consider them. Randy

One thing to watch out for is the ratchet wrenches. It will show a whole pack of wrenches, but when you click on it and expand it, it may only be a 12mm wrench. Last night there were two guys in a bidding war where the picture showed a packet of like six metric and six SAE, but when I opened it up, it was for one 11mm wrench. You really need to read about what you are bidding on and it is real easy to get into the bidding, especially if you have paypal. Randy

I ran across an online bidding site that seems to be pretty good. I have bought several things and I guess I will see what the delivery and quality will be. Do be careful as you can pile up a lot of stuff real quick. tophatter.com Randy

Well, I just paid mine and I have not been on a bike in going on three years now. Randy

It is time that you should check your side stand, either while leaning away or on the center stand. Move the tip up and down and if you have more than an 1/8th play, you need to look at what it will take to remove the play. These side stands will take an enormous amount of abuse as long as they are kept snug. But let it get loose and you will be breaking things. I can assure you that it is not fun to be on a trip and have a side stand failure. Randy

Took a 200 mile ride yesterday to lunch in the Miata with the top down at 80 degrees. Raining today and tomorrow is supposed to be 47 and a low of 32. Yeah, where is spring? Randy

Was married 41 years and eight years ago went thru a divorce. There was nothing amicable about it, but in the long run I came out a lot better than she did. She wanted to fight over everything it cost her a lot. I am very happy now and wish I had Linda in my life a long time ago. She is a sweetheart. Randy

We will give it a shot and see what we can do. Randy

Yep. Randy

Okay, took an 80 degree ride over to Asheville in the Miata with top down for lunch and to review the campground. They are making a lot of changes and it is definitely going to be different. From about D-9 down to around the pond all sites will be RV sites and will be $50 a night rather than $31 a night. They will not allow a tent on an RV site and I asked if we could put my little camper along with a tent and the lady did not think so, but we could ask the owner. If she did allow it, it would be $60 a night. My old site, which used to be D-21 is either D-19 or D-20. D-22, which Woody usually gets is about one or two sites farther down than before. They are currently installing the water spigot hookups, but have not started on the electrical boxes yet. While there, I looked at some other areas, but I did not like anything that was as good as where we usually have stayed. There are more sites up on the hill if we don't mind giving up the pond. I will try to attach some pictures that we took today. The 1st pic is old D-21 and probably now D-20. The next pic is looking at where I believe D-22 will now be and the last pic is between and now D-21. I am saying I believe these are the site numbers as the folks at the campsite don't know for sure. We can make this work probably, but is going to be a lot different, The days of building a village are gone and given these will now be RV sites, they will be a lot more strict. I am also disappointed that is going to cost about $100 more than before for less desirable sites. There is still some time left and there could more options for the Asheville area. I have read the reviews for Asheville WEST, but lots of complaints about I-40 noise. Randy

On Any Sunday was a very special movie and Malcolm made it. Yeah, Steve McQueen was good too, but old Malcolm made the movie. Even though the movie is almost 50 years old, it is truly about the love of motorcycles. Randy