LilBeaver

No, the Ketchup, I suppose, went with the appetizer I had before the ice cream... Since I hadn't eaten all day. But, since I don't usually use sauces, it just sat there and became a prop for the picture. By they way, that was the 'small dish' and it was REALLY GOOD. Thanks again Jack, it was great to meet you in person

Well I am glad to see that you haven't left yet. As I was getting ready to saddle up and hit the road this morning for the final leg of my ride, I saw that there is some REALLY nasty weather through the Dakotas, Iowa, etc. and had been wondering if you had been on the road yet or not. Hope your ride is safe and only eventful when you want it to be.

I cannot comment on the weather in September, however, a few days ago I pretty much did that ride. There was a lot of traffic and lots of slow downs through the little towns, but if your plan is to take a few days to make the ride, then you'll be fine. Down that stretch I had a temperature range of 45 F to ~90F or so, in the same day (again, just a few days ago) - so being ready for anything is probably a good way to go. I'll be posting some pictures that I took along the way sometime in the next few days, but I need to filter through all of them first. Beautiful ride, but I gave up before I got to the OR/CA border because I was tired of the 'stupid' traffic. Meaning folks that either didn't know how to drive their RVs or just weren't paying attention, cars that didn't stay on their side of the double yellow, etc. The point of my trip was not to drive down the coast, but was mainly to sortof take a survey of the area while I was 'riding through' and see if it would be worth going back. If I lived closer to that area, I would probably ride sections of those roads on a routine basis - especially if I knew when the least amount of traffic would be on it. As for hotels and places to stay, there are many of the big chains all along there, but there were also several 'mom and pop' type places. The 'big' chains (including Motel 6 and super 8) seemed to go for quite a bit more - but since they are right on/near the ocean front and there is a lot of tourist demand, it is probably 'reasonable' for them to charge that. But, I drove inland by about 50 miles and got a place at 1/2 the price AND got to ride an awesome highway though the mountains. If you want any more specific information, or whatever, just let me know -- if you post here and I don't get back to you just PM me and I'll get on and check. I'll be quite busy the next week or two and my not catch all of the new posts on here because of it. Good luck, have fun, and take your time!

Looks like I beat you to it Jack, although I don't have pictures to prove it... Condor was nice enough to meet up with me as I passed through Sacramento, CA to where I stopped for the night [just north east of Sacramento]. He had ice cream while I had dinner.... then Ice Cream - which was very VERY good ice cream, by the way. I had a 'small dish'... Just wanted to say that it was a real treat meeting Jack in person and he seems like a great guy. Thanks again Jack. If you ever get through Lubbock, or nearby - let me know you are welcome anytime

WHAT?!?!?! This video is totally fake. You cannot possibly mount a car tire on a motorcycle rim. Sheesh. What kind of crap is this that you are spreading anyways :no-no-no:

That buy it now price + what they want for shipping + cost to have it painted is STILL way cheaper than I have ever seen these lowers... I'm actually considering buying it and just hanging on to it, just in case someone needs some at some point... Hey what about squidly/cupcake -- What kind of parts has he been needing?

Interestingly enough, I think my fuel economy was the best through this particular stretch of my trip... But that is a different debate for a different thread. I'd say don't worry about it and let-r-rip.

Two weeks ago I rode through yellowstone, big sky, etc. I think peaked altitudes of somewhere between 8 and 10k ft. The bike did fine (mine is all stock). I ended up with a nasty headache, but, that could have been from a number of other things too. Just don't forget that it is okay to wind the bike out a bit in 3rd and 4th going up some of those hills Have a safe trip.

I was having similar thoughts as flipping through some of the pics of the U.P... I just heard from a good friend of mine that she was headed up there in a few weeks to go camping. Boy, I sure do miss the SUMMERS up there. I am really glad, for your sake, that the weather eased up as you made it to the Keweenaw. Presque Isle park in Marquette is nice, but, no fun in the rain when you are just going to get back on the bike for a while. With as many times as I have been up to Copper Harbor, I never did get pics of those signs at the beginning of US-41. Sounds like, for the most part, you had a great trip [minus the trailer troubles]! Glad to hear it!! Oh, by the way, try doing the Mac in the rain, wind, AND on the steel grate. Good times...

Might I suggest disabling the 'mic-mute' system to see if your problem goes away? If your clicking goes away, you can be pretty sure that it is, in fact, something with the mic-mute thingy. If that is the case, maybe it would be worth-while contacting the folks that make mic-mute (I'm pretty sure they are a member here, I just do not recall their name right now) and see if they can come up with a way to test the little box itself. Without having access to a circuit diagram of the unit, I really can't be much help. That and I have never used or seen a mic-mute system in person. Sorry, believe me, I know how frustrating electrical issues can become. Hopefully you will get this figured out relatively quickly.

You've obviously never been to a NASCAR race...

Dam 20 INCLUDING S&H!!!!!!!! Too bad it is my left one that is cracked...

I don't know... I'm pretty sure I don't want to get flashed by that. So yea, passing lamps would be good - blind the oncoming driver before BLINDING the on coming driver...

http://planetsmilies.net/vomit-smiley-31.gif I'd like to see you show up at Sturgis like that. Well, not personally SEE/witness it, but, see people's reactions...

Wow. Looks like I might make a few adjustments to my ride back to Texas from BC... Thanks for sharing!!! Looks like a fantastic day for it too! Continue to be safe!

Like they are going to answer/admit it now!

At least it has a good taste in motorcycle... I always knew there was something fishy about those folks that ride the RSMV That ought to :witch_brew:

Don't know if any of you saw the thread regarding the ride in BC yesterday but I will repost some of that info here as well as a few pictures. SilvrT and his wife Nina, Dr_Bar, StuD and myself met up and went for a ride yesterday. Despite complications with me leaving the lab at the time that I had anticipated (thanks to my boss - although he covered a few hours for me so I guess I shouldn't complain too much I still feel really bad for being so late for the M&R&E - not to mention Dr_Bar may or may not have made it to work on time ) That aside, I met StuD for the first time. He rides a 1st gen that is a really good looking bike. Seems like a great guy, although we didn't get much time to chat as we were all riding... I [finally] left the lab around 145 or so and headed straight for SilvrT's place. I arrived and took enough time to dismount, shake hands, mount up and take off. So we departed Burnaby around 240pm or so. Got on Highway 1 north to Highway 99, continued north for a stop near a mine (Pic. # ). Chatted some waited for someone to finish shopping at the rock store. Mounted up and headed up the road to Shannon Falls. The pictures don't really do Shannon Falls justice - it is quite large, purdy too. Next stop was Squamish for lunch. StuD's time was up and had to head back, so we took a group photo (us in the handicapped spot), StuD hit the road and the rest of us went in for dinner. Finished eating around 6 at which point SilvrT and Nina headed back home while Dr_Bar and I headed north a wee bit more; destination Whistler. Arrived in Whistler around 7ish. Parked and walked around for about an hour or so. Saw lots of 'healthy' people, pretty scenery and a neat little town/resort area. We looked into taking a tram up to the top of the mountain, then one that would go in between the two peaks there and back down, but for 50 bucks and only being able to spend 10 minutes at the top (not to mention we would be out of time on the parking meter) we decided to skip it and continue on. We started a ride back around 815 or so, with a quick top off for fuel, we rode the rest of the way. Lots of great scenery and my batteries died about 1/2 way back. So some of the most beautiful scenery (with the sun going down over the water/mountains/etc) I did not get (but may go back before I leave), but that's okay - it was a great ride anyways. Around 945 or so we parted ways, I took my exit over the Lionsgate bridge and headed back to the lab. I was amazed at how much activity there is down Granville street after 10 on a Sunday. Lots of 'healthy' people there too, by the way. Got to the lab to check in with the boss man and found some stuff that I needed to take care of, yippee. But, after the great day of riding another few hours of work was no sweat. On a lighter note, putting my bike through its paces on some of the steep grades, I did not once feel my clutch slip - so I am guessing I need to drain some fluid out/bleed it. I am quite confident that if it was slipping like I thought it was, it would have gotten worse through my ride - since it didn't I'll drive home and replace it when I get home (thanks for the advice Earl, I'll be in contact regarding the parts sometime within the next week). Here is a link to the route we rode: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Burnaby,+British+Columbia,+Canada&daddr=Shannon+Falls+Provincial+Park,+British+Columbia,+Canada+to:410-1200+Hunter+Place,+Squamish,+BC+V0N+3G0,+Canada+(White+Spot+Restaurants)+to:Whistler,+British+Columbia,+Canada+to:16+Ave+W+W+to:16+Ave+W+W+to:Triumf+Research+Centre,+British+Columbia,+Canada&hl=en&geocode=FWV67wIdnJGr-Clzg5whqHeGVDFpsVKHc3IK3Q%3BFbjV9QId4q-o-CFEkbLI3wBc7w%3BFTtq9gIdh-Wo-CHgO7lTv4USyynDGNuXPviGVDGBwMYzeozsOg%3BFUi2_AIdwcmr-CmHe5UDsjyHVDH2z_V16EG3Sg%3BFYKf7wIdtvmn-A%3BFeef7wIdiOOn-A%3BFfRz7wIdeqOn-CmpvZgLKnOGVDGHDJdU4pAUEQ&mra=ls&via=4&doflg=ptm&sll=49.681585,-123.116545&sspn=1.642085,4.938354&ie=UTF8&z=8 I hope that works. So, I have put some pictures here to give ya'll a flavor of what it looks like up here. Pic 1-5: Highway 99 north of Vancouver Pic 4: DR_Bar Pic 5: SilvrT, StuD Pic 6: Off of Highway 99, near the mine(s) L to R: Dr-Bar, Nina (SilvrT's wife), SilvrT, StuD Front and center: Me Pic 7: Hwy 99 Pic 8: Shannon Falls Pic 9-10: More Hwy 99 between Shannon Falls and Squamish Pic 11: In Squamish before dinner L to R: Dr_Bar, StuD, Nina, SilvrT, Lilbeaver, StuD's Bike, My bike Pic 12-13: Between Squamish and Whistler Pic 14-16: 'Village' of Whistler -- I really wanted a picture of my bike and me infront of the rings, but we figured the police might frown on it... Pic 17-21: Riding back Enjoy!

I am jealous. I just had some put on a few weeks ago, and as stated earlier in this thread, they are both 07ish. After my complaints to the dealer, they called and checked with their supplier, and the supplier said of the few E3s [in that size] they had left, they were all sometime in 07. Oh well.

Did you actually CLEAN the connectors or just put in some of the di-electric grease? The di-electric grease does not clean the contacts. It is actually an insulator and limits conductivity, but the idea of it is to help keep moisture off of the contacts as to prohibit (or at least slow down) the corrosion process. If you didn't, it would be worth getting some QD Electric contact cleaner and soaking the connectors really well, unplug and plug them into each other several time, blow out with compressed air, give another shot of the cleaner, and plug & unplug some more. Let them air out, unplugged for a few minutes (or shoot them with compressed air again) before reassembling. THEN, put a small dab of the dielectric grease on each and hook-er all back up. I'd check for a loose ground where the CB is actually grounded to the bike. (I believe this is accessible by removing the passenger seat without removing the trunk - but I'd have to go look. The handlebar controllers seem to go for around $200 form pinwall + s&h of course. The CB units I have seen, on occasion, go for ~300. Unfortunately, there is not much else that you can do to test it. If I was closer, I'd say lets get together and switch handlebar units to see if the problem stays with your bike or 'transfers to mine'... Maybe you can find someone close enough to do that with. By the way, with your kind of mileage, It wouldn't surprise me if either of the unit has finally [started] to bite the dust. That is A LOT of time spent outside, in the elements, and lots of bumps.

I won't quote the law since you want it exact, and I do not have my IVC in front of me and you are just as capable of doing a search on google for the Illinois vehicle code on properly functioning lighting and signaling equipment. Granted if I was at home I would simply reach over and grab my handy-dandy code book, since this is one of those that is bookmarked for convenient use (that is before it got memorized). As for the second part or your statement/question/frustration, I know that in the few years that I worked the job I pulled a lot of folks over, wrote a lot of warnings, searched plenty of vehicles, seized plenty of drugs, illegal IDs, arrested several drunks, caught a handful of illegals, (my list could go on, but I won't) thanks to people not maintaining their vehicles. While the probable cause for a stop is for the 'busted tail lamp' or whatever, since it is a major safety issue, if I wasn't busy on calls and saw one of those (and it was safe for me to do so) I would initiate a traffic stop just for that reason. Just because you see a lot of people with broken lamps driving around doesn't mean that they aren't getting stopped for it. Think about the 'Law enforcement that is available to work traffic enforcement' vs 'general number of people on the road at any given time' - that ratio, my friend, is AWFULLY small. I also share the frustration that you have about folks that do not maintain their vehicles and endanger the public with careless driving, etc. I am glad that I was able to do a small part to help get some of them off the road. In a few years I will likely be back at it. I wish everyone would take care of their vehicles and respect each other. But if that were the case we wouldn't need laws or LEOs to begin with...

Another MD for you to not come to, eh? :stickpoke: Jerry: I'll most likely show up too... I may or may not require any actual maintenance at the time, but I like to think I make a good supervisor.

What kind of bike is this? When you say it 'takes out the odometer and the cruise control' do you mean that the odometer turns off, stops counting, trip odometers reset to 0, or what? Squeeze's notion of the speed sensor sounds reasonable. I'd also check for loose connections to ground.