Semi-retired

You funny guy, Carl!! If I went YOUR route.....I'd be sure to post pictures of either my passenger seat or my trunk/speaker enclosure......or BOTH going up in flames! (I know YOUR tricks; you just want me to buy a new.........3-wheeler!) Now, seriously......SilveradoCA.....a.k.a. James.......I like the way you think. i.e. I can take my pick of either fiddling and farting around with a 'standard' box wrench....or I can break open my piggy bank and buy a gear wrench to make things a LOT easier. I'll buy that! (ANYTHING that avoids having to remove ANYTHING from the bike.......fender, trunk, seat,....simply to get at the head of a simple little 10-mil bolt!) Thanks, buddy.

Lately, it seems I've done nothing but tighten up that row of bolts between my trunk/beerbox and my saddle bags. After spending $13 to replace just THREE of them that actually had the nerve to loosen off completely to the point of falling out, you'd think I'd have learned to have a tube of LocTite at the ready at all times. But, some of us learn things slowly. Here's one I haven't learned at ALL...yet. The bolt that secures the back end of my right passenger hand-grip (see pic) is loose enough that I can wiggle the grip. (Sorry, just noticed my pic is rotated 90 deg counter-clockwise...but, you know where it is.) BUT, do you think I can get a wrench on it? No way! So here's the question: to GET a wrench on the little 10mm baby do I have to remove the trunk? Or take off the passenger seat? Or buy some long-throw open-end or swivel socket thingy??? Least work tips greatly appreciated. (It's too hot to work hard, as you know!) :-)

No offense intended, but, I hope (for your neighbours' sake) your db's didn't go up more than about 15%. :-)

PICS?

Not a big job...but VERY significant outcome/benefit. Can't believe I've ridden for so long without having my phone Velco'd to my tank bib with Waze running. Best GPS/cop warning/traffic alerts/routing aid since having a chauffeur! LOL Finally back to being "civilized". Have a good week, guys and gals!

That would be the "right" side. (Unless, of course, you ride looking backwards! :-)

Love the way you think, Carl. I KNOW I'm part Scott-ish......but I've suspected that most bikers come with a Dutch chromosome, as well! (IF you know what I mean. And I know you do! :-)

Wow! That's the steal....er, DEAL of the day!

I believe we LOVE IT...IF you're talking about NAFTA2...AND I'm not mistaken (which CAN happen😉).

Oh, and I meant to jump in a lot sooner here and agree wholeheartedly that the site ought not to digress into an embroiled state of political quagmire over divisive issues as diverse as immigration, boycotting China, reopening the economy, etc, etc. I MEANT to jump in a lot sooner...but I got all involved in a neigbourhood bleach injection party!

Oh YEAH! And did we say "Sorry bout burnin' down the Whitehouse in between there! 😁

Hey, buddy....I don't believe we've had the pleasure to meet (at least I don't think we have!)....but I DO like the way YOU think! I especially like that you have an appreciation for the "subjunctive mood". (Quote line #1 , above). Not many people use it these days. In line 2, however, you've violated the conventional "polite" construction of putting the "other" person first. i.e. One would normally have said "My wife and I". And for your/my last quoted text.....don't forget the famous Al Franken author, comedian, political commentator and (possibly a long-lost-cousin of Mark Twain), who wrote..."Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them"! Be well, my friend. See you on these pages.

YES. They ARE "both regular acid filled". BUT, when you say "check acid levels", are you talking "fluid levels?".......or SPECIFIC GRAVITY readings, which might be a more "noteworthy" element of the actual condition of the cells. Also, when you said "let em fully charge".........THAT'S THE KILLER QUESTION TO WHICH I SEEK THE ANSWER..... What IS fully charged??? Is it 12.5......12.9.......13.2.....13.4 Volts.....or what????? Just what IS the READING I should cook these little "shortbreads" up to before taking them to their mother-ships and strapping them in? Anyone? Anyone?

Gotchya on the full fuel bowls, thanks,.....but, I never.......EVER use my kill switch (it's against my principles), and when the ignition is turned ON, on the RSV gen2, the fuel pump is famously loud and long about filling her fuel bowl buddies. So, in short, no problem there, thanks~

Good on ya! I can't think of a more rewarding and restful destination. Mother Nature knows we've had enough crap to think of for the past several weeks; time for a little communing with Mother Earth! Go for it!

Bertha (Gen ll) and wifey's V-Star have been in a shipping container/storage place 5 miles from home all Winter. I'm hoping (if the weather stays HALF-WAY decent) to be picking them up this week to bring back to OUR garage......now that she-who-must-be-obeyed's car can be parked outside. Quick question: Both our bike batteries have been happily sitting doing NOTHING on my wooden workbench, INSIDE the house all Winter. I've taken voltage readings off both of them, monthly, (since Nov 6th) and they've been rock-steady in the 12-point-something range every time. (Right now, they're both reading exactly 12.42; it's as though they're TALKING to each other. LOL) I have an ancient, reliable Torcan, 2-Amp, metal box charger (you've seen 'em) that turns ON...or OFF. (actually not even a switch; you either plug it in or you don't) If I pick up the bikes on Thursday, 2 days from now, how long and to what reading should I charge these babies? (I WILL have my car and a set of jumpers there as back-up...but would like to give the bikes/batteries a fight chance to perform the rites of Spring "naturally", if you get my drift! LOL)

Absolutely!! Just like OUR mom and dad used to say...(why WERE they so darned smart!! LOL)......"EVERYTHING in moderation!" Or as I love to say: "Better to have one and not need it than to need one and not have it." (Learned that one from the Calgary Revolver Club back in the '70's, where it was their club slogan.) AND it applies to almost everything in life, if you think about it: Cold beer! Sunny days Beautiful mates Fast throttles Dependable fuel injection Yummy pizzas.........ha, ha......the list goes on forEVER!! Cheers, Michael

Agreed. I'm sure it's a good thing that he's "done with it". When you look at the list of "music greats" who once "used", though, it gives you pause to wonder what role, if any, the "evil weed" played in inspiring the germ of talent that got some of our extraordinary talent off to a "head start". (Pun intended!) Louis Armstrong David Bowie Natalie Cole Elton John Keith Urban Jerry Garcia Ray Charles You can't really name a musical genre that doesn't have it's marijuana-using (albeit and/or ABusing at at least SOME point in their lives), giants. Not condoning or condemning here...just sayin. Some move TO it....some move THROUGH it...some don't seem to want it or need it. I just thank my lucky stars that neither I nor any of my family members has ever had a habit or an issue. (There but for the grace of Mother Nature, I guess!)

If anyone is looking for an effective means of looking cool, staying warm....AND being safe while out and around on their bike in the next few days and weeks.....here's what I'm using. Believe it or not, these "face-guards" are actually produced by a FISHING gear company. They have an amazing assortment, do a ton of online order fulfillment and are very reasonably priced! (Mine were 5 for $20 plus $5 shipping.) I ordered my package months ago before all this virus crap got underway...and now they're multi-tasking. (I'll be happy to add their web address...as soon as a moderator tells me it's OK to do so. I don't have any financial interest in the company, but I don't wanna be breaking any rules regarding 'online commerce', either.) :-) P.S. Freebird says "Go for it" (thanks, Don)...so here's the link: https://safishing.com/product-category/face-shield/ P.P.S. I know SOME of you guys may have seen, ordered and/or worn these babies already...and some may have seen (as I did, a week after my initial order!) an even better price of 5 for FIFTEEN bucks. Regardless, with riding weather AND the dreaded virus being "upon us"...I think there's no better time to give these "Multi-use" shields a try!

Yeah. It's that phrase "relatively small number" that kills ya. Cause if/when the virus "only" kills, say, 2% of the world population......that's "ONLY" 150 MILLION people! A buddy of mine used to say "You can drown in water that's an AVERAGE one inch deep." The devil is in the details. Those "relative numbers" and "averages" will kill ya! Doh!

Sounds more like a Guinea pig than a fish when you put it that way! If I can still remember we HAD this conversation spring by the time Spring rolls around, I'll let you know!

Just getting ready to put Bertha away for 4 or 5 months and plan on oiling up all the chrome bits. I'm usually VERY careful about NOT getting oil on anything but the chrome....but I may not have TIME to be as careful this year. How bad would a certain amount of WD40 overspray be on the tupperware?

Out of curiosity, Don, what IS the auto-logout timer set to?

Well now.........you're warning certainly seems to match your avatar.................!!! LOLOL I guess what your TRYING to tell me is that our saddle/trunk bags/luggage.........are all made of ABS???? Who knew! OK. Gotcha. I'll have a look and make sure it ONLY got to the threads of the involved screws and bolts. If my plastic panels start to dissolve.........at least I'll know why! Thanks for the "pre"-explanation! :-)

After a couple of good nights' sleep, I went at it again, and.........amazing what a little lower frustration level will do!! I DID have the three screws on the UPPER end of the bracket (that screw into the LID of the trunk) undone and, YES, that allowed me to jockey the entire bracket/slide assembly into a position where the screw-head of the "errant" Philips screw on the small, rotating bracket attached to the slide/guide was then (barely) visible and accessible for tightening. Trust me.....I put a BIG DOLLOP of LOCTITE on EVERYTHING!! :-) Thanks, guys for helping me 'get calm' and win!