gunkylump

Tell Sonny that Randy gave you his e-mail if you contact him, might help you.

I know of one here in the Windsor area, a 2000 MM. I know the bike and the owner, it has been very well taken care of. Not sure of the k's on it.....but is in good to excellent shape. Sonny has become a "bionic man" these last few years....too hard for him to ride. I can give you his e-mail if you want it. gunk:shock3:

To all that replied/commented on my original post, THANK YOU! I appreciate you doing so. All of your comments are much appreciated. This is a big step for us.....and we aren't there yet so to speak, but will be heading down next week. I'm quite tired of the 600-700 hours of overtime each year in my present position. I am thankful that I have a job, but feel that life is passing me by rather quickly. My best friend from high school was laid to rest today, only 56 years young. He has left behind 3 darling children, 8, 10 and 12 years old, and a loving wife. Pancreatic cancer is such a horrible disease. There were at least 300 friends and family at the service to see him off....I'll miss him terribly. 41 years of a close relationship with someone is very hard to give up. Once again, thanks for your insights in to New Iberia, learning a new language...cajun....battling mosskweetooos the size of B-52's, humidity, corrupt cops and all. And thanks for the best wishes too! I'll keep y'all posted on how things end up. gunk:shock3:

Heading down to New Iberia, Louisiana on March 28th, job interview and flying back home on the 29th. Hopefully Cargill likes what they see, make a decent offer.....and we'll look at relocating way doooooown south......we'll see how it works out, there is a lot of unanswered questions and variables right now. Anyone have any insights into the New Iberia area? Good area? Quality of life in that area? gunk:shock3:

Our sincerest condolences, enjoy the memories and celebrate the time spent with him. randy and beth

Looks like the same one I had on my 04. Works well, but it does cover up the speedo to some extent...I relied on my gps after installing the bag.......had no choice in the 40 kilometer to 140 kilometer or so range. I did not fasten it to the windshield...I just pinched it between the windshield and the fiberglass frame of the bike. Worked well, I kept earplugs in one bag, sunglasses or sunblock in the middle, and my garage door opener and other "stuff" in the 3rd. But that was just me...... gunk:shock3:

Hi Brad: Merry Christmas to you and yours! When I installed the Dyna in ours, it did make a difference. Another member of the Southern Cruiser's club that we rode with had an '04 Midnite, exactly the same as ours. Beth and I were on ours, he was riding single on his....his riding name is "Wildman"...should give you some idea of his style......he could not come close to our bike with his, I was running approx. 85,000 k's, his about 24,000. Sure, could still be lots of variables...but still the same bike. Gas mileage? It was not uncommon for us to get low 60's, 62,63 mpg with ours if we ran in the 80 to 90 kph range, say for instance a ride to Port Stanley and back.....would get back home with over 2 gallons in the tank remaining. If you can control the "wrist/grin factor", your mileage went up. I also ran K+N air filters, the Harley pipes, and synthetic oils in the engine and rear end, and fresh coolant with water wetter added as well. The bike ran like jack the bear, would give awesome fuel economy if my wrist let it, and in my opinion, for what that is worth, the Dyna made a difference. gunk:shock3:

Hi Don and Merry Christmas! I have endured GERD for some 35 years....taking various kinds of acid suppressants over the years. When I had my physical done for the salt mine 5 years ago, the doctor asked me if I was taking Vitamin D daily to supplement for the bone calcium loss created by taking Nexiuum. At that time, I had no idea what the ant-acids were doing. They actually have been proven to create bone density loss...I take 40mg to 80 mg's a day of Nexiuum. Since then, I try to take 1000 units of vitamin D daily, and hopefully it will make a difference. I will say that it does seem to help "mood" wise on the dark days of winter, seems to help pick up the spirits if you will. There have been a lot of studies....both pro and con on the effects of vitamin D and how much to take on a daily basis.....I hope that it works for you! gunk

Ah yes, Thessalon.....1700 people, 1699 of them friendly Used to spend a lot of time in that little town.....played baseball in a snowstorm the long weekend in May one year, bought my first Polaris snowmachine there....even married a girl from there....but that was long ago and a lot of water has passed under the highway 17 bridge since then. You're in a great spot for riding, some truly scenic roads. Wish I could add more to what Dingy told you, but he has it pretty much covered. gunk:shock3:

Hey Dan: I second the water pump idea for a starting point. Last time coolant changed? I used to add "water wetter" to mine, helps it to run cooler. Not all will agree, but it worked fine for me in the bike and my cars. The water wetter, and using synthetic oil really helps to "cool running". Hope all is well my friend, stay warm! gunk:shock3:

Had one of those days as well...but it got deleted. gunk:shock3:

A friend of mine who retired from the salt mine was chatting with a friend of his about bikes. He knew that they were searching for a newer bike. Bruce gave Barry and Donna my telephone #, and contact was made. Well, they came over Wednesday night, had a look at our 04 midnite, and fell in love. Took it for a spin, had a friend check it out and came back with big grins on both their faces. They called after dinner tonight, and said that they were waiting word from the bank and wanted the bike. They currently have a 1st gen...it's an 85, and it has over 100,000 on the odometer. So, they wanted another, newer Venture. We had a nice visit....it was great trading "Venture" stories. I guess to make a long story short, looks like Beth and I are soon to be bikeless. I bought my first bike when I was 12 years old, a 50cc Bombardier, and except for a hiatus while raising my boys, riding has been a passion for me. But, in all honesty, I have lost my lust for this sport.....truthfully, the accidents this year have really hit home, and probably have had some impact on my decision. Once I get on the bike, it's just like home, the problem was getting my leg swung over the seat in the first place. We have decided to try to "look in to our future" so to speak. I'm tired of the cold and winter, and we have a desire to retire on the water somewhere warm.....so we have purchased a Bayfield 29C sailboat. We will try this out, and if Beth can handle the "motion of the ocean", we will sell the 29 footer and move up to a larger sailboat closer to retirement, outfit it the way we want to, and then, as the saying goes......sail off into the sunset. We have made a lot of great friends here on this site, and we will miss each and every one of you. We do plan on continuing to attend local meets and eats...er greets when my work schedule allows us to do so. I want to say THANK YOU to all who have helped me through their posts working on my bikes, who have actually worked on my bike, who have directed me to sites to purchase new safety chrome and other accessories for our ride. It would have been so much harder to dress the bike up, have the confidence in it's mechanical abilities to just get up and go for weeks at a time. Before finding you all and this site, I couldn't do most of the repairs/updates that I've done over time on both my 96 royal star and the Venture. Changing out a clutch slave cylinder, doing the brakes, adding lighting....the list goes on. I'm still going to pop in on the site now and then to check up on everyone...wouldn't miss the enjoyment of reading all the posts and updates here on the site, seeing who is getting into "trouble" with the mods..., what's new in everyone's lives. Anyways, good luck to you all....Gary and Mary, you're just a half hour away, we'll drop in now and then, Monty, good luck with the boys overseas, Freebird, keep fighting the big "C", you are going to completely beat the beast, Ponch, keep up the good fight, we're all in your corner pushing you on, Yammer Dan...buddy, you keep the site interesting!!!! IBents, we'll see you at the wine party and get you out for a sail next summer I hope. Carbon One, keep those ideas rolling and producing accessories for these great rides. Squidley, Lonna, Kregerdoodle, Gunboat and the rest of the Houston gang, we had a blast down there last year, we'll not soon forget that ride! A ton of great memories, awesome times, great friends! gunk

Dan and family are in our thoughts......what a rotten year for the Venture.org family... gunk and beth

Safe journey and good luck to your boys my friend, the year will pass quickly, although it may not seem like it today. gunk:D

Not real common...but it does happen. Mine did that, found that the "Y" shaped pin inside the tranny had fell out.....in where the shift lever goes....dang it, wish I had better terminology....but anyways, it's not a difficult job they say.....the most difficult part is finding the "Y" shaped pin that fell out.........you'll have to do an oil change as well, apparently, if memory serves me correctly, you'll lose most of your oil when you open it up....take the inspection cover off. Mine happened 7 years ago....there might be a write up on this in the archives...do a search, or you might find some info on the delphi forum at Royal star venture and tour deluxe. Hope I didn't confuse you too much. gunk:smile5: