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Seaking

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  1. Seaking
    yeah.. ouch.. I now use bungee cord to hold them closer to the bike when working with the cover and avoiding the risk of self-inflicted injury ; )
  2. Seaking
    Ok, can you guess why I have a short red line welt across my face the other day? geesus.. pulled the cover off the bike and wondered what that bright glint of metal was swishing up towards me as the cover let go of the overly bent antenna.. WHAP right up into the face.. When my eyes stopped watering and I picked myself off the ground, I looked around to make sure no one saw me.. Red faced and feeling foolish.. I forgot I had antennas and stowed for the covering of the bike. fun.. embarrassing but funny.. had to share.. (my purpose in life is to make people laugh, hopefully not with too much pain)
  3. Seaking
    Having that deep 4 car buffer zone is great but when it's a quick stop at the booths there's not much choice in the matter.. it would be nice to be able to pick and chose who is going to be behind you.. However, an EPass or passenger coin dispenser is always great..
  4. Seaking
    Rider training here is done with bikes without mirrors which forces you to do over the shoulder checks when you come to a full stop.. But when you get your own bike on the road with mirrors, you should learn to look in them AND over your shoulder when possible.. and always leave the bike in 1st gear for that jack rabbit 'git outta way' jump in case something happens.. Last year while traveling near Ottawa Ont, I came up to a construction site on the road and stopped behind the car in front of me.. Behind me, at a distance was a Mac Truck coming in.. And we waiting for the dood to change the sign over so we could proceed.. And all of a sudden the hairs on the back of my neck exploded and I did a quick look into my mirror and saw the word MAC (only backwards).. All I could do is pop the clutch and steer the bike to the side as the bike catapulted to the ditch as the Mac truck slammed in the car that was in front of me.. No kidding, I was almost mooshed between a truck and a car.. I don't know if it was the Mack truck's bow wave of air that touch the hairs on the back of my neck or my guardian angel yanking on them that got me out of there so quickly.. The Mack driving was half asleep at the wheel.. The car in front of me saw him barrelling in and was in the process of getting his car into gear to get out of the way (Mack truck approcahing fast speed when he should be slowing down is scary!) Everyone survived with minor injuries to the car driver.. and a clean pain of underwear for me.. Having said that, when *I* come to the tolls at our bridges, (if I have to dig for coins) I put the bike in neutral, kick stand down and tap my brake pedal while the 4 ways are flashing.. and I keep a jaundiced eye to the rear in case someone is asleep.. But that's me, and that's how I feel safer doing it when I don't have my E-Pass. As they say, ride defensively like they are out to kill you.. because they are without knowing it.. ; )
  5. Seaking
    Quite expensive but I'm sure it's worth it (?) .. But the main pic doesn't show a lot of road clearance, that trailer would be dangerous around here.. hate to be in a turn and catch a pot hole on the front frame of the trailer.. ouch My buddy's trailer uses an old old honda wheel and fender, not sure the year model kinda thing but it looks cool.. Cheers
  6. Seaking
    A picture is worth a thousand words.. Many thanks for sharing!! Cheers
  7. Seaking
    Here's one for you to consider.. There are two bridges linking our twin cities and you have to pass through the tolls.. You can toss in your coins or use an electronic pass. If you use your coins, you have to come to a stop to pull out your coins and toss them into the basket.. If sure those who have gone through tolls appreciate the annoyance of doing this, so the electronic pass is always better to use.. Last night two of our friends were stopped at the tolls to put in their coins and were hit from behind by a 5 ton postal truck who apparently did not see the large 2008 Venture (a couple of weeks old) with two people on it.. Hit them hard enough to write off the bike, toss him off and pin his lady passenger under the front axle of the truck. Though shaken up, neither were seriously hurt. She was relatively OK and even asked the rider to take a photo of her legs sticking out from under the truck for prosperity while waiting for the EMS to pull her out. She tells us she only received minor scrapes and bruises but is OK. Now, this is why I prefer to use my electronic pass as I don't have to come to a complete stop at the tolls, and the days I do forget my pass and need to stop to use coins, I turn on my 4 way flashers and pump my brake pedal a lot to get the cager's attention. My brake light is insanely bright and if some cager doesn't see it and nails me, he better make sure i can't get up cause he'll have some 'splainin' to do of his blindness. So just a heads up when coming to the tolls.. make yourself SEEN by the blind for your survival..
  8. Seaking
    I installed Baron's risers on the new Venture, easy to install, comfortable riding position now.. However, now concerned about the shroud / fairing's rubber mounts not touching the bars, basically leaving the top of the fairing unsupported.. Is there any real concerns about this or did I miss something in the installation process about those rubber mounts? Cheers!!
  9. Seaking
    I've got the ball hitch type ordered, not for a single.. I just heard back from TIAB and yes, what I was hoping to be able to do with their trailer is easily doable.. Use it as a bike hauler (as intended) and use a narrower cross beam for turning it into a bike trailer with a car top carrier or other 'carrier' on top. So instead of having to register and pay taxes on 2 trailers, I have one but convertable.. At least, that's the plan. But dang.. Single wheel.. Hmmm Cheers
  10. Seaking
    Thanks for the info Jack and others with links etc.. indeed very helpful. Another option I had been toying with was picking up a "Trailer In A Bag" http://trailerinabag.com/index.html This would serve you well in two ways.. you have a bike hauler in case you needed one and you can convert it as a biker trailer by putting on a cartop cargo carrier (travel bin etc) on top of it.. Heck, you possibly could haul another bike with your bike.. ? ! Just a thought.. Many thanks to all who shared info and links.. I didn't realize there were so many out there.. I think I would prefer pulling a single wheel simply because of it being narrow as the bike so you don't have to worry too much about the wheels being 'out there' and catching on things.. Can you imagine, you sorta brain fart and forget you're hauling and catch a wheel on something while going around a corner?? ergh. Alrighty then.. more fun.. Cheers
  11. Seaking
    Hi guys and gals.. I'm rather new to the Venture with only 6000 miles in 2 months on my 06 midnight (bought used this july) I have a hitch coming soon and though I wasn't planning on towing anything this year, my friend has started building bike trailers, very nice looking.. 75 lbs, single wheel, fiberglass with a square top lid latch. Looks sharp I must say.. As far as trailers go, is there a preference to towing single wheel over 2 wheels? The only disadvantage to a single wheel trailer, to me, would be when you unhitched it.. how do you support it?! But when pulling these trailers, is there a diff in the handling? I typically ride solo but am also a photographer and would LOVE to haul my lighting system on road trips with the bike instead of taking the cage for this purpose.. I don't camp, hotels are fine for this guy.. sorry ; ) All I would need to do is now find a suitable trailer to hold the lighting system.. I did see a set up that was vertical in nature over the top of the hitch, say big enough for your golf bag etc.. that one looked interesting but exceedingly expensive.. I guess one of those set ups are only limited by the tongue weight? Interesting set up..
  12. Seaking
    I'm actually going to leave that Hyundai part on the bike.. it looks OK and I know it isn't going anywhere with the lock washer in place =) I did a 500 mile highway / back roads combo trip this past weekend after having retightened everything loose on this bike and wow, what a difference that makes. It doesn't take much to start a vibe anywhere.. nice.
  13. Seaking
    What part, you wearing a thong? What EVER you do.. don't make it frilly or overly sexy.. it's hard to explain should some bad ass bikers see you.. ; )
  14. Seaking
    1St Gen Snob.. sheeesh!! No worries, I just realized that this was supposed to be a seperate thread but didn't make it to the new side.. Hmm go figure..
  15. Seaking
    I dunno, it must be me.. But I suffer from the "things falling off your bike" curse.. You'd think I rode a harley.. People who wash their bikes sometimes do it for alterior motives.. It not only keeps your bike clean but it also allows you to be hands on with many parts of your bike to check for loseness and so on.. Coming off the highway yesterday I couldnt downshift because my shifter was not where it should have been.. it can come off the stud and sitting behind on my floorboards.. Ooops, that's not gonna be fun.. But I managed to pull in and through the lights into a parking lot while in 5th gear. The bolt holding the shifter on had decided to be one with nature and flew off.. Luckily, a Hyundai dealer across the street was able to fix me up with a sutiable replacement part, lock washer and all.. at no cost.. (Nice people, I wrote their manager a nice thank you note.) Tonight whilst installing the Polk speakers, I checked for every bolt and screw again for looseness and sure enough, a lot of the rear trunk and guard installation bolts were loose.. Gees, go figure, I might have found the main cause of my vibes.. Once I got some Blue on the bolts and tightened everything down, I'm just now waiting on the weather to test this all out.. So.. Just a PSA about bolts and things that fly off your bike.. Know your bike, be one with your bike and periodically check your bolts..
  16. Seaking
    Everyone knows that the brakes on a Venture and Road Star sound like hell after a while.. noisy, metal on metal noise and no matter what you do, the dealer tells you it's normal and you learn to live with it.. Mine was making that noise and it really bothered me to the point that I would not use the front brakes when pulling into a crowder parking lot.. I took someone's advice and attempted to use some squeal remover compound behind the brake shim but ran into a problem where one of the 4 retainers looked damaged.. (there are 2 per caliper on which the brake pad shoulders slide back and forth across, sorry can't remember the proper nomenclature).. However, the part looked like it was making contact with the disk.. When I put everything back together again, the sound was even worse but you could actually see how it was cutting into the disk now. So I ordered new ones.. at $20 each.. sheeesh!! hopefully gold plated but no.. Anyway, long story short, new pads, new shims, and new clips and the front brakes are quieter than a squished bug on your windshield. Most likely a combo of new shims and pads.. However, if your brakes are making more than the normal amount of noise, give these parts a look-see.. you never know.. Cheers
  17. Seaking
    Here's my exeprience with the problems you're describing.. Though I've only owned my 06 Midnight for 2 months and 6,000 miles, I've done some serious hauling on this bike thus far and previously on my 1100 VStar. Some of this related to both.. Typically, around here it may not be as hot as where you are but it's freaking humid.. ranging from 90-100% humidity and it sucks when riding in the heat.. On the Venture, I have one of Rick Butler's seats which he's done his mods on it. Now THAT took a lot of pressure off the back of the thighs. I've also added highway pegs on the engine guard to make my legs more comfortable and it also positions my legs more comfortably for those long ride where I can actually sit in a more stretched out manner. I'm only 5'9" with a 30" inseam but I loves to ride stretched out. The back rest is used to lean back against to take the weight off your lower spine. I tend to sit upright in the city but will hunker down stretched on the highway or backroads.. Generally speaking, the back rest helps towards reducing rider fatigue.. Now why does one's buttucks hurt after a long ride? Tis cause your tender skin is sitting on vinyl all day.. and it sweats and doesn't get to breathe so your skin then gets irritated and then causes you a pain in the assets.. nice eh? Clean clothes help. Think that's funny? Think about how many people ride with the same 'comfy' jeans all week long.. You take them out of the wash and by the end of the day they are comfy again.. but you don't wanna wash them cause they won't be comfy again until you've worn them.. but, if you rode all day on them, even if you don't notice it, the seat area is sweat soaked and has all the active ingredients to cause your monkey butt isssues.. (I'm sure everyone changes their underwear at least once a day..) Some people I've met along the road wear thongs.. Not just the ladies, but some of the burliest looking men riders.. I tell ya, it causes you to do a double take when you see some mean looking biker roll past you and you catch the flash of 'thong'.. But they'll tell you it's VERY comfortable and prevents monkey butt. I dunno, it's not for me. Prickly Heat or Baby Powder by J&J work great to keeping your skin dry and comfy.. You put a little foot powder in your socks and sprinkle your bottom before dressing up.. And it does work.. Just don't let your friends see you do it.. see previous paragraph as to why lol.. SheepSkin.. From what I hear, people swear by it.. They absolutely love it.. So I have mine coming in.. A doc friend of mine passed this on to me about this condition.. When you get off the bike to fuel / rest, go to the washroom for a pee break, undo your belt and open your pants and let the damp air out of your pants.. Sounds strange.. but just standing there fluffing your pants and re-arranging your underwear help also.. Just be seen doing it cause it's hard to explain what you're doing.. Its basically getting some fresh air in there.. Its all silly little things some people do to keep their butts happy and it works for most people.. of course your milage may very well vary but hey, give it a try.. Cheers
  18. Seaking
    I've installed the Polk 401db speakers in my 06 Midnight tonight.. Man, there's a job ya only wanna do once, especially in the trunk!! But was well worth it.. I don't think the volume is any higher than the clarion speakers but the quality is better to my ears. To my ears.. the Polks at volume 20 is like the Clarions at volume 17 or 18-ish.. Not sure.. One of the rear speakers on mine was damaged so I had to replace it.. I find these speakers to have a better quality sound, a deeper and richer tone to them.. Tomorrow I'll find out what they are like on the road..
  19. Seaking
    But with a fast 8G card you can also load your photos for 'show & tell' while entertaining.. I have the 450 ZUMO and keep a lot of my portfolio on my Zumo (and iPod Nano).. always helps when meeting cute girls along the way who want their photos done up nicely =) YOU should see my splash screen hehehe.. Cheers
  20. Seaking
    Egads.. the silliest of things.. ergh.. A while back I reported that my 4 way flashers ceased to work and that I couldn't find the darn relay to have have a look at the system.. Well, here's what fixed my problem. The relay is located under the front shroud / fairing to the right side (looking from rear to front). What had happened is that while some wiring repairs were being done (previous owner's wiring had gone bad), the erhm connector plug became undone.. Basically, the system was unplugged.. So.. erhm... ahh.. yeah... watch what yer doing when in there.. ; ) System works.. when it's plugged in.. ooops
  21. Seaking
    Having JUST changing my headlamp bolt, you are better off to split the shroud/fairing. However, if you have tiny hands, go in from behind.. The Stebel horn.. I have one those but it's not the chromed versions, so I stuck it in behind the shroud/fairing.. And it's that loud, a life saver.!! Leveling links are a great idea, however, you might want to try to pump up your rear suspension.. I topped mine up to 45 lbs and it really makes the bike handle nicer.. A couple of my fellow Venture rider friends saw my pump and asked if I could do their shocks since they were 2 up that day, and without even mentioning about the handling to them, they both came back saying the bikes rode better, 2up or solo.. much nicer.. Sweet eh?
  22. Seaking
    Thanks M8, the ones I bought from ebay come with the laser cut brackets and colour instructions.. Used pair of pipes but in good condition.. That reminds me.. I have several sets of pipes to sell from my VStar lol..
  23. Seaking
    Thanks for the heads up, I wasn't aware how close Newark and such were to Manhattan (10-13 miles).. Found a few locations at about 1/2 to 1/3 of price of near the river.. Cheers M8
  24. Seaking

    VR Siting

    Seaking replied to 2RDLX's topic in Watering Hole

    Can ye make a face like him? Maybe we know him..
  25. Seaking
    Thanks M8.. I think it's more about the rumble and tone than volume right now.. But I'll keep that in mind if they turn out to be a wee tad too quiet.. Cheers
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