uncledj

That first time that I get to ride every year feels GREAT.....Makes me remember why I enjoy riding. Just wish I had more time to ride whenever I want.

Lisa, myself and the babies got home about 5, safe and sound. Thanks Ron for setting this up, had a great time and would like to do it again next year. I've a few pics and will post when I get a minute. Great to see everyone and catch up. Thanks again

Getting ready to head out. See ya this afternoon.

Will be there Friday...not sure what time.....don't know if I'll be able to do the Hannigan tour or not.

Sorry to hear that. You're in the same place we'll all be eventually. I'm just hoping that when I have time to ride as much as I'd like, (retirement) that I'll still be able to do it. Wife and I have been talking about a Can-Am....Might eventually pull the trigger on that.... Best wishes for a positive outcome for you and the wife. Hope to see ya at a rally sometime.

Haven't been to a lot..maybe a half dozen, but I kinda like the WNY Rally...Lotsa good folks, campfire, band, and that uh...wonderful...hooch that Starfan brings from across the pond. Love Dons' MD, cause it's close and gives an opportunity for some wrenchin' and socializin'... I'll be retiring in 5 or 6 years and hope to be able to attend more frequently then.

I thought YOU WERE the Hoodlum.....

Booked a cottage for Lisa and I for Friday and Saturday night. Will probably trailer the bike..not sure yet. Lookin' forward.

Not sure I understand the question....Could you re-phrase???

You are crazy and you need to see your doctor.

Love it....750?

Finally had time to get it back together. I ended up cleaning the carbon off of everything, didn't see a need to grind / seat the valves...Put a new carb on and I did notice that the old carb (1 year old) had a tiny bit of corrosion (rust) on the spring that keeps the choke shut. The choke is simply a needle that pulls away from an orifice when the choke knob is pulled.. They call it an "enrichment valve". I think this all came down to that valve not closing properly. I adjusted the valves, and the exhaust valve was a few thousandths tight, but other than that I put it all back together and it seems to run pretty well, albeit throttle response seems just a tad slow, but not a problem. Further found a bent rod in one of the control arms. Straightened it as best I could (actually straightened out pretty good_) Looked like someone nailed a tree or rock with that wheel. Changed control arm bushings, ran it around the property for a bit, then put it away. Now lets get that old TT600 freshened up.

Since we're braggin' on our tractors....My 1957 Ford 800 with a Sherman backhoe was one of the first ones built to be used specifically as a backhoe. It's a real POS. lol.... Smokes, vibrates, leaks oil, power steering fluid and air from the tires that are so bad they had to be banded. I have to go out there and sand the points to get it started, and the generator is shot so I run it off a 12v battery. It's missing the sheet metal so it looks like a mechanical monstrosity. I may have to post a pic. With all it's failings, it still beats diggin' by hand. I'll be looking to sell before much longer....any takers?....

Very nice !!! I love building stuff like that too ! I got a similar hoist and built a lift that attaches to roof hatches to pull motors and compressors up on roofs. Works like a charm !

Happy Birthday, Don. A great day for all of us to let you know just how much you're appreciated. Many HAPPY Returns

Pulled the head off and found it really carboned up, but saw no evidence of damage, or anything leaking through the valves. I cleaned it up and really don't think there's an issue with the top end. Cylinder walls look good,...no scoring, no ridge at the top. SO...The 50 psi compression reading is within specs...(50 to 90) The carb was put on just last year. (Chinese), but I'm wondering about the carb....non adjustable, except for idle...but running rich wouldn't explain popping back through the carb. Maybe a bad ignition control module...weak coil???... dunno...SO For right around $100 I was able to order a top end gasket kit, another Chinese carburetor, an ignition coil with wire and plug, and an ignition module. This stuff is crazy cheap. If I clean up the carbon and throw all these parts at it, it's GOTTA run right.....right???

Found a manual that says normal compression should be 50 to 90. Compression ratio is 9.2 : 1, but there's an automatic compression release that I was not aware of. Either way, ...popping thru carb and backfiring, combined with a black (carbon) spark plug tells me there's something going on. I'll see if I can figure out this compression release and see if it's working before I tear the head off. I'm still betting on valve issues.

I've an old Polaris Trail Boss ATV. I keep it around for yardwork and to ride around at a friends farm. Anyhoo It started running poorly last year so I put it in storage with ethanol free gas with seafoam as a stabilizer. Pulled it into the garage and did a compression test and it was really low. Around 50psi. I put 5 or 6 drops of oil in and checked again with the same result. Been a while since I've done this, but I seem to remember that if there's no change after adding a bit of oil, it's most likely the valves. I'm hoping I can just pull the head off and give it a valve job. Don't want to put too much money into it. So...As the compression reading didn't change after adding oil....can I be confident the problem's with the valves? I'm guessing burnt.

At $7.67 per gallon of gas WOW....and I've been bitc**ng about $3.19 a gallon. Our 2 vehicles are gas hogs, so we may want to start riding more as well. Won't be taking the motorhome out much either.

Congrats on your find. I've done some basic mods to my First Gen, MKll, (clutch, progressive springs and replaced the fuse holder...don't remember if I did the ignition switch / relay upgrade on that bike or not, but never got so ambitious to make the changes that you mention. There's still a few old timers around that should chime in with some advice. Those old Ventures are a BLAST to ride.

Reserved one of the cabins for Lisa and I for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Couldn't find where the specific cabin is located. On the lake, no bathroom sorta thing. We were gonna bring the motorhome, but with current gas prices, it was cheaper to rent a cabin. Anyhoo, we've a reservation.

I'm not NEARLY as knowledgeable as some of the "Old Timers" on here, but I can't help but wonder about the health of the ignition coils or the ....what is it...???.....TCS module?. I seem to remember that the coils can become cracked and act crazy, and the TCS is a mysterious black box...

My head hurts.

Put the plow on the 4 wheeler, but haven't had enough snow to be worth plowing yet. 700' of driveway make it a necessity if we get a heavy snow, and I've only had 2 winters in 20 where I haven't needed it. ......I hope this will be the 3rd such Winter.

When I was a teen growing up in Youngstown, there was a pretty cool van club. It was Steel Valley, or Steel City vans....something like that. Those folks came up with some pretty cool and unique conversion vans. I remember a van show at least once with the vans on display throughout the Southern Park Mall.