Freebird

This is absolutely the one that I will be using if the time comes that I need one. I may even do it anyway at some point.

Actually, there IS one already. Right beside the UK one under Standard Smilies.

Looked briefly yesterday and didn't find what I needed. Will find something soon.

Eileen and I would love to come by but she is going out of town in about 30 minutes and won't be home until Saturday afternoon. Just bad timing.

I won't drag this out because Cowpuc has never complained to me about the text issue so I assume that he isn't too torn up over it. Just so that our new members know though. Trial members do NOT have access to members profiles. The reason for that is exactly because of such as issue as this. Anybody at all can sign up for a free 60 day trial membership and that is more than enough time for them to browse our members profiles and write down all the phone numbers of those that have them listed. Only paid supporting members can access the profiles. That being said, the primary reason for phone numbers in the profiles is so that you can contact a local member if you have an issue while on the road or simply want to meet a member if you have to be in their area. I can tell you for a fact. If any member looks up another members phone number simply to harass them about a difference of opinion or anything along those lines and you wish to report it to me, I will take whatever action is needed to put a stop to it. I try not to tread heavily here but some things just can't be allowed and that is one of them. In the 14 or so years of running this site, I can tell you that I can count of one hand the number of genuine members who have been banned from this site but that is something that would likely get you banned. When I say "genuine" members, I mean true participating members of our group. There have been MANY spammers banned. Sorry, not trying to get this thread off-track but just felt that I needed to address this issue since it was the first I had heard about it. You may now continue with your regularly scheduled program.

I agree that carb sync is the first thing to do. There were also some issues with some of these bikes where there was a bad weld on the exhaust. Most were on the left side right where the two pipes merge. Pinhole leak that allowed them to suck in air and cause them to do that. With it idling, you can usually feel if there is a leak there. If so a simple solution is to clean that area with a wire brush and put a little JB Weld on it. It's on the back side so doesn't show.

Maybe. My problem with that though is that I find that the new "state of the art" tires still require balancing. If it was only the rim that needed balancing, there would be no reason to ever change anything. Once the rim is balanced, it would be the same forever unless a weight came off or something. Every time I balance one, a different amount of weight is needed and not always in the exact same place. My current tires were installed about a year ago. They are Dunlop E3. One required no weight at all and the old weights were removed from the rim. The other required more weight than the old Avon Venoms that were removed and not in the same place. That proves to me that it is the tires, not the rims. Not saying that the rims are perfectly balanced but the tires make a big difference also.

I will first admit that I have never tried the balancing beads. I guess I'm a bit too old school but I tend to stay with what works for me. I am not trying to sway anybody from not using them. Many here report that they work. For me though, I like using the traditional wheel weights where I can actually see that they are balanced before I ever put the rim and tire back on the bike. I know it is balanced and don't ever worry about whether or not those beads are doing their job. Just my personal choice. Now using that logic, I realize that I should probably being doing a lot of other things the old fashion way but the tire balancing is just something that I prefer to stick with to with the weights.

I always struggle with this decision when the family specifically requests that flowers not be sent. That was the case in this instance. They requested that people make a donation to a local church of their choice. I'm always torn between sending flowers anyway, against their specific request, or just doing as they ask. For that reason only, flowers were not sent this time.

No, I have never used one but will see how it feels. Don't know that I will like it but wasn't going to turn it down.

Well, I completed the trade today. Installed a used stairlift and we finalized the deal on the Kimber. He also had a brand new Savage .223 rifle with a nice Nikon scope that he offered to trade along with the Kimber. It had been shot just enough to sight in the scope and looked brand new. Walnut stock, looked to be a parkerized black barrel, very nice gun. I just really didn't need it so declined on that one. I already have a Ruger Mini 14 in .223. Anyway, he bought the Kimber brand new. It is an Ultra Crimson Carry II. It has had about 1/2 box of ammo shot through it. He bought it, 5 boxes of ammo, and a nice Bianchi leather inside wasteband holster. It was his only .45 so he gave me the 4 1/2 boxes of ammo that he had left plus the holster and the original plastic case. He also included the extra magazine that he had bought. Very nice gun. First one I've owned with the laser sights and I'm sure I will try it out this weekend.

I just finished adding Kevin Smith to our "Memorials" page. http://www.venturerider.org/MEM/index.php It has been weighing heavily on me that the passing of our friend and member Kevin, aka revks, was a bit overshadowed by the loss of our friend Yammer Dan. I want to apologize to anybody who may have had similar feelings about this matter. Yammer Dan was always front and center here, attended many of our events, and was very well known among the members. Kevin, on the other hand, visited the site often, was better known by some of our members in other parts of the country, and just sort of quietly went about his business. I didn't know Kevin very well at all but from all reports, he was just a wonderful person. Having spent much of his life as a mechanic, Kevin later attended St. Paul School of Theology and was a pastor at United Methodist Church. In today's society, it is not always easily quietly going about doing the Lord's work. Many of you have heard the story of Yammer Dan showing up at MD with his tent but forgetting to bring his tent poles. He got a lot of ribbing about that. So this year, a set of tent poles was put up with Dan's picture attached in remembrance of our friend. Dan was often present at my MD so it is understandable that he was on the minds of many here but that does not excuse me for not honoring the memory of Kevin at the same time. I feel bad about it but I can't go back and change the past. All I can do is say that I am sorry if anybody was offended or hurt by my oversight and promise that I will try to do better in the future. In the meantime, let me just say that losing any member from our ranks is a sad day for the VentureRider family and Kevin, you are missed and I can promise that your wife and family are in my prayers. God Speed our Friend. We will ride together again.

Just a notice. I have added the 1983 and 1987 owner's manuals to our tech library under First Generation parts and diagrams.

1983 Owner's Manual 1987 Owner's Manual

If it's in really good condition, I would say that is a pretty good price. A quick search of my local Craigslist showed them from 2800.00 - 3500.00 with miles between 13,000 - 16,000.

OK folks, we are getting off track here. All these Craigslist ads being posted and within a few weeks, all these posts will be doing nothing but cluttering up the site as the links to the ads will be gone.

Yes, I had the Commander on my '99 and also on my current '05 and it never caused any issues like that.

Well this is a long shot but I suppose worth mentioning. I'm not sure where your switch for the passing lamps is located but on the Venture, it is on the inside of the fairing. There have been numerous cases where the wires going to the switch get pinched in the notch on the triple tree. If your wires are routed similar and past the triple tree, trace it out and make sure that the insulation hasn't been pinched on rubbed through on the wires. Now that USUALLY results in a blown fuse but if it is just chafed a little, maybe it is just getting a partial ground and causing your issues.

Does the bike still have the original fuse panel? They are notorious for giving problems. If it hasn't been swapped, that is the first thing I would consider.

Well, after riding a second gen for the most part of the past 19 years, I finally decided to give the air horn a try. I had dual Fiamm's mounted inside the fairing of the '99 and in spite of the fairing perhaps muffling them a bit, they were pretty loud. When a door prize ticket was pulled at MD with my number on it, I chose @Carbon_One horn bracket and wiring harness that was on the prize table. So, decided I may as well order a horn. Ended up going with the Stebel. Installed it this morning and it was very easy with Larry's kit. It is indeed loud. Now to see how long it lasts. I'm happy with it though.

I've used them and they worked fine. I really couldn't tell any difference. They will probably last longer but I'm reluctant to leave a plug in that long anyway because I'm afraid it won't come out. I guess with some anti-seize it would be fine.

First thing. The chrome ignition cover surround is aftermarket. They all come with black plastic ones. I know of no aftermarket ones except for the chrome one that you have. I'm sure that somebody around here has a stock black one though. I actually should have one, if I can find it. The speedometers are indeed optimistic. I've never seen a second gen speedometer that wasn't around 8% off. Many of us have installed speedo correction devices. Some just use their GPS or whatever or simply remember that it's off. As for the harmonic sound you are hearing. I would indeed look at the tires first. Run your open palm along the very edges of the tread and see if you feel any scalloping. It could come from the front or the rear. It doesn't take much to create such a sound. If that is the case, it will probably be worse when you are in a slight lean. I've had it happen and even going straight, you can hear it clearly if you weave back and forth just a little bit. As for the cruise control. Check your clutch and front brake lever. Is there any fringe added to the levers? I've seen the wind cause the levers to push back enough to cancel the cruise. Even without any fringe, check that the levers aren't a little worn and loose. One way to see if that is the issue is to maintain a little forward pressure on the levers to make sure they aren't causing the issue. Also, if you are pulling a hill or something and in too high a gear that causes the bike to lose speed, it will turn off if the speed drops a certain amount below the set point.

Somebody did that for whatever reason. Certainly not right.

Got a call this morning from a gentleman who said that he really needed a stairlift but couldn't afford one. Asked if I had any used stairlifts and if I had any interest in firearms. Just so happened that I did have one used unit that would work for him and we struck a tentative deal. I will install his stairlift on Tuesday and give him an already agreed upon credit for his gun, pending it being in "like new" condition as he says. Haven't seen it yet but it's a Kimber Crimson Ultra Carry II in .45 caliber. 3" barrel. Here is what it should look like.

Well, I just ordered the chromed Stebel. I was lucky enough to choose the carbon_one mounting kit and wiring harness with a winning raffle ticket at MD so I'm all set. Should be here early next week.