LilBeaver

Fantastic. Rick: PM Sent. Nothin like a fast turn around on this deal!! Thanks a bunch and to all that hopped in to offer suggestions and such too! What a bunch of stand up folks we have around here!!

PM Returned.

Thanks a lot Larry. I was thinking about bugging you, as I recall you had mentioned that you had helped out someone else in a similar fashion. It looks like I have a line on one from within BC. BUT, if that falls through for some reason, and nothing else comes up in the next couple of days, I'll definitely take you up on that. I can travel some with it -- nothing else really wrong with the bike other than the windshield is gone. I don't mind wind in my face for a days ride (just not 2k miles in 2.5 days ). The other trick would be finding time for me to get away from the lab to come down to meet you. I guess worst case, I meet up with you on my way back south... But it sounds like this might come together well before then anyway. Thanks again for the offer, and if need be, I'll be in touch. By the way, the next meal is on me. Rick M.

Gary: Thanks a lot! I don't know how I missed your post. A few scratches here and there are no big deal. If I can find one a little closer that would be good, BUT, if you wouldn't mind shipping it, that could work too (OBVIOUSLY I would cover any incurred expense). I assume that shipping WITHIN BC would be faster than trying to ship something across the border. I'll definitely be in touch. If something doesn't come up within the next couple of days (say Monday afternoon), then we can go ahead and make the appropriate arrangements. In terms of proximity, you are right, 4.5 hours is not THAT far, keeping everything in perspective. Thanks again! This place rocks :bowdown::bowdown: - Rick

Terrific! Thanks again.

No no no, you are mistaken my friend. That stuff is located about 730 miles west of NYC in a little place called Chi-town Hope you enjoy your trip!! Hope everything goes well

Thanks a lot Rick! When we get to a 'normal business hour' I'll call around a bit more today. New from a dealer is out of the question (between the fact that they want 250+ and can't guarantee that I'll have it in a week - no thank you). For that I'll go with another clearview (meh) or F4Customs, and deal with the stupid customs crap. I think I have a line on one from back in the U.S., it is just a matter of getting it across the border in a reasonable amount of time, so I'd like to continue to feel out the 'local' options first, if there are any. And, I too hope this string of... whatever it is... is over. Although, considering what has happend, I think I have been quite fortunate overall -- 1) Tread separation on tire #1 - caught before I was on the road and in the middle of B.F.N. 2) Sidewall issue Replacement tire - caught before I was on the road and in the middle of B.F.N. 3) Electrical issues (no power to bike) - occurred outside of the lab I work at, which is basically a giant physics lab - full of all sorts of resources; and didn't happen while I was driving; I am very thankful that I didn't loose all electrical power when I was winding through the mountain roads at 11pm through Big Sky Montana. Most of the roads I was on were barly 2 lane, and certainly did not have a shoulder. 4) Went down in the parking garage, snapped off windshield - Makes me wonder if the shield was about ready to come off anyways. I know several others have had issues with the Clearview shields 'setting free'. That could have been bad news at 70+ MPH. Total damage: Windshield needs replaced, Front crash bar bent & scuffed a little (was bent by previous owner), I have already bent it back mostly where it was - a little more work will put it back in place, L front lower cowling cracked - but no more than it was already (thanks to the squirrel or whatever it was that I got a few months ago). Left rear crash bar scuffed a little. Pluses: I am fine, left arm is a little sore, but I was so ticked off when I went down that I just sort of heeved the bike back up, not thinking about it that I think I stretched something funny in my left arm. Other than that I am unharmed. Anyhoo, thanks a lot Rick. Hopefully we can come up with something. I guess at this point, my biggest concerns are 1) Water getting in the main fairing where the windshield would have protected it - now that it is open. However, no rain in the forecast for the next several days 2) The ride home without a shield would be rather long, tiring and not something I would be looking forward to. My other thought is shipping to someone just south of the border and going down to pick it up/install it. But, time is quite valuable at this point so if it is a matter of a few extra bucks to have it shipped across (or FROM somewhere in Canada - to avoid the delay at customs), I can handle that. I also wouldn't mind a few hour ride to go pick one up from someone, if that was an option as well. After all, it is a bike and I have ridden plenty of times without a shield - I don't mind the wind in my face and the bugs in my teeth. Anyways. Thanks a lot Rick. Now to get back to work for a little while... So much for this being a relaxing and easy trip...

Thanks Gary. The tricky part is trying to find something that someone would have on hand already IN Canada, so I wouldn't have to mess with the across the border shipping, b.s. (and get it in a REASONABLE time). I'll definitely check out the show chrome ones though. I'll check them out. I'd still be open to a used one, or if someone in Vancouver was thinking about switching to a different one, I'd be happy to offset the cost of your new one (again, it is a lot about timing, which is unfortunate).

I have to agree 1000%. I can deal with a broken windshield. The fact that I some how managed to get my butt off the bike before it went all the way down, I STILL don't know, but, not even a pulled muscle...

This is certainly a possibility, although, I think I'll call it more of a last resort, since I'm not sure I'd want to risk the shield coming apart in my face at 70 mph... I have a 3/4 helmet and a plastic face shield that goes on for long trips. So I suppose that would be better than getting whacked directly in the face. Thanks for the ideas.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I sort of wonder how much force it would take to break the shield off like this. It doesn't seem like just falling would be enough to do it... After all, think about how much force is on it when riding at 70 mph with a 20-30 mph headwind?! Lots of stress on the shield... Anyways, called the local Yamaha dealer they said, minimum 1 week, and that couldn't be guaranteed.

Yikes...

1) They WILL be. But I am needing to be back on the road, riding back home departing the 29th, and I would prefer to not do that without a shield. I figured if I can attempt to make arrangements now, maybe I can get one here before I leave to go home. (Not to mention the gap where the shield goes is open to the weather now.) 2) I was thinking that but why would you go and say that outloud?

Howdy folks. All was going well. I was on the way back to where I was staying from where I work so that I could drop off my stuff and go get a bite to eat. There is a ramp that goes down below to the parking garage area. Someone decided it was a good idea to wash off the concrete and not tell anyone (one of the housekeepers just doing as they were told). Well, for a 4 wheeled car, it would have been no big deal. For someone on 2 wheels, I might as well have been driving on ice. I'm fine, but my windshield snapped off when the bike hit the ground. The front crash bar was bent a little bit, but other than that, I don't see any other damage (some how my mirror got twisted around too). While I was standing next to my bike and looking around, the little housekeeper comes sprinting across the garage and puts down a 'caution, wet floor' sign right next to my bike. Thanks for the warning lady. Ug. SO, if anyone nearby has a windshield they would be willing to let go for cheap, let me know - I'm more than likely interested. EDIT: By the way it is a 2001 RSV

Realistically, a few MSR bottles partially filled with gasoline is a really good way to go. Those things have a great seal on them -- THEY ARE DESIGNED FOR FUEL, granted they are typically used for campfuel but that is what they are designed to do. Won't let water in or fuel out. Good stuff.

Well folks. I have failed on providing day by day action as I had intended, but, I have over 300 pictures to sort through, most of which are crap, but several that are quite decent. I just need to figure out a good way to get them up, or select a handful of the better ones to post here as to not hog a bunch of resources. I still intend on giving a daily summary of my driving/riding and I will... Eventually I had a little scare two nights ago. It was about 1am, and I was on my way out to the bike to head to bed for a few hours (had to be back by 4am). Put the key in, get lights but no speedometer. I thought I was seeing things so, I turned the key off and back on, all was fine. Pulled the choke out a little, pushed the starter, heard a reasonably loud 'pop' and all went dead. My thought at this point was 'awesome'. (Those of you that don't know me, I have a rather dry sense of humor, so this was definitely a very sarcastic expression of joy). Turned the key on and off a few times, listening and looking for any sign of life and no luck. I have noticed for the last few weeks that the bike started a little harder than usual and occasionally the radio would cut out when I turned the key from 'on' to the 'acc' position, as well as occasionally when I would use the engine cut-off switch. Once or twice in the last couple of weeks my trip odometers and clock have reset themselves as well. So, of course, my thought was 1) Ignition switch or 2) main fuse. I was leaning towards the main fuse since everything was dead (including the radio). So, got out the flashlight and my tools and started tearing things down. As luck would have it my multimeter was sitting in my hotel room (I had kept it in my saddle bag liner, for ease of transporting stuff) but since I am at a national Physics laboratory I basically have access to just about any type of electrical component, tool, connector, etc (we even have our own machine shop with some very very good machinists), so I wasn't too worried. None the less, I finally got my way to the main fuse to see that it was still good, wiggles a few things around while shoving it back in and heard another pop (I assume an electrical arc), turned the key and powered up. So, I jostled the fuse around quite a bit, cleaned out the holder and other wires nearby quite well, and drove back to the hotel (a little over 1 mile away - so no big deal). As I was rolling into the parking garage, I put it in neutral, drop the side stand and turn the key off. Turn it back on and get absolutely nothing. At this point, I just went to bed and figured that I could troubleshoot later. So, I left 'ol reliable' in the garage and spent the next day at the lab working and thinking about possibilities. Thanks to dingy for the exceptional work with the wiring diagrams, it made my electrical troubleshooting/diagnostic trip quite easy. Basically pinpoint a few points that could cause the symptoms that I had - that is an intermittent complete loss of ALL electrical power. This whole time I am thinking that I just want to snip the ignition wires, install my switch and be done with it. But being the scientist that I am, I decide to take my time, do it right and make sure that I can identify the ACTUAL problem before hitting the road (in two weeks) for the 2000 mile drive home (most of which will be on back roads/state highways). After a full day of work, I decided to skip dinner to take some time to try to pinpoint the issue with my bike so back to the garage I went. Pulled the seat and tank and started probing around with my meter. First thing I measured was 7V across the battery terminals. This, of course, was interesting. I tested again touching the battery posts instead of the cables and got 12.8 volts. So, I found one of the problems. Tightened up the loose screw on the battery cable (both positive and negative sides were loose, but it was the negative one that was more loose and arcing when under heavy load - ie pushing the starter button; I confirmed this by trying it a few times and watching it happen). Since I am standing there with extra wire, a heavy duty switch, connectors and a meter, I decided to go ahead and make sure that my switch was okay and install the bypass, just in case. Well, Pulled the wires off the switch and checked for continuity then measured resistance. The simple continuity check was fine and the resistance measured was negligible. So, I have a bypass switch wired up, just in case, but I had that already. Lastly, I went back down to the main fuse and checked the two points where the cables actually connect to either side of the fuse. BOTH of those bolts were loose. I tightened those up, turned the key on pressed the start switch and it fired up in about half a second - just like it used to. Anyways, I have not been able to do any additional riding, as I have been working basically non-stop since I got here (with exception to a 30 minute break for lunch and ~60 minutes for dinner and a few hours to sleep). But things have eased up a little bit as my experiment is under-way and working like it is supposed to, so yippee. I can't believe how lucky I am that this pseudo breakdown happened here instead of somewhere along one of the highways I was on just a few days before, in the middle of the night, in pitch black, on roads with nothing but cliff on one side and a mountain on the other. How awesome would that have been to be going up or down one of those steep grades in the dark and have your electrical system go kaput on you?! NO THANK YOU. Anyways, just thought I'd post an update. By the way, since I had a few hours tonight, I have gone through most of my pictures and have chosen and compressed the ones that I would like to share, but, like I said, I need to come up with a way to post them. I may just pick a few of the ones of my bike and the fancy scenery, and skip the 'action shots' so I can post them in this thread instead of putting up a link to some where else. But I'll figure it out and git-r-done. Just bare with me. Hope all is going fine with everyone else, and when I get out for some riding, I'll take you along (eventually) with pictures and the words to go with them, as it happens (or when I get time). By the way, I have the Radientz 32 LED tail light (not the 39). I think mine came from BikerHiway along with my stebel air horn and something else. Oh, when I decide on a return route, I'll post up my route for anyone who would be interested in meeting up or riding along along the way As for you Vancouver-ites, I'll be messaging you next with my approximate schedule so that we can see about a mini- meet and eat or meet and ride or meet and B.S., whatever it turns into Thanks ya'll. I promise, pictures will come soon enough P.S. Word has it, Larry (Silverdeer) "NEVER" Washes/cleans his bike. I'll hand it to him, whoever he has that does it for him does an absolutely AMAZING job. I cannot believe how clean his bike was!!! Mine got washed a few times in the last couple of days... But rain water doesn't count. Although, I did wash and wax it before I left... which is the first time I washed mine since... um... I waxed it 6 months ago...

I've got some ocean front property in Arizona for sale if anyone is interested... I have no experience with this product and would definitely have to review the contents and chemical structure before I would put even an ounce of it in my tank... Especially if it is claiming to be a 'substitute' for gasoline. But that's just me.

Not to mention the caravan of 58 Nomad wagons I saw earlier too... This car was complete with a guy old enough that it may have been the original owner...

First and foremost, I have made it to my final destination. I rolled into the lab around 415 or maybe 430ish (Pacific time/Local time). I was walking down to the room where the experiment is run from and realized that the others may apprciate it if I didn't walk in to this room [that has a great A/C unit (since it is filled with very sensitive electronics) but rather poor air circulation] and smell like I just rode all day... So there we go. Worked a little, got some dinner, then tried to work a little more and now I am done for the evening. Back at it tomorrow morning. Don't worry though, I am putting together a 'quick' daily summary complete with pictures (in fact it will mostly be pictures because I like pictures). And I'll get it posted sometime in the next couple of days. I am quite happy with the photo itself, I just got a chuckle out of it because I thought that it sort of looks like it is a fake backdrop or a not so great 'photoshopping' effort. Thanks again Larry (and Danette) for taking the time to meet with me for lunch (and of course thanks for lunch!) It certainly was a great visit and I enjoyed meeting the both of you too! If you ever make it down through my part of Texas (or where ever I am at the time) don't hesitate to give me a call (you've got my number). !!!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!! More to come later or in the next few days, I promise.

Laramie, WY to Belgrade, MT today. 580 miles total (I think) 500 of which were on state highways/backroads. I have a headache from heck and it has been that way all day. I have no idea why and never get headaches, so it beats me. Anyhoo, most of my ride today was good. I will give a much more detailed account with lots of pictures (took 143 today - only a handful are any good, but I'll sort through them at some point) when I have more than 6-8 hours per night stop Bike has been running great. Met a guy from Sacramento on a royal star classic (?). He put Millenium venture saddlebags on it, it looked pretty nice. I've got a picture of it somewhere. That's enough for tonight, goodnight. By the way, how fake does this picture look?

Got into Laramie, WY a few hours ago, bike has been great (except for two tanks of fuel out of the Panhandle - yikes, 120 miles then switching to reserve...). Sat in the hot tub for a while, then grabbed some dinner. Now, finalizing a few things for tomorrow, then off to bed. Considering the overnight low is in the 40s, I think I am going to adjust my departure time by a little bit... The first 600 miles was nothing but cruddy, cloudy weather that looked like it was going to dump buckets any second... Somehow, I managed to stay ahead of it for almost the entire way. I think a total of maybe 30 minutes, if that, was spent actually riding in the rain/wet roads. In light of that, I don't have too many pictures, but by tomorrow night I should have a bunch. That's about it for now, I am quite tired (didn't sleep last night). I will have a much more thorough update sometime in the next few days, especially if I get some reasonable pictures. IT WORKED. Now, don't undo them until... Well, how about the first week in August. Larry: Thanks!! So far everything is running fine, but, a lot can happen in the next 1k miles. I'll keep you posted and shoot you a message Saturday night, when I get in, regarding my plans for Sunday - that way you'll have an idea of when to expect me to come through and/or we can coordinate a little bit. Looking forward to meeting you. - Rick Sounds like a plan, thanks for the input!! Yea... I saw that. Gross. When I left home this morning my thermometer said 62 or something like that... But I think that whole tropical storm thing had something to do with that. Okay. Off to finish decided when to get my butt up and on the road, then to bed. 'Night Ya'll.

New rubber on and so far so good with it. I am packed and ready to go. All that is left is sliding my pooter into its case and dropping it in the trunk. Do the final balancing test and shift tools around as necessary, then bed. So long as my final walk around in the morning checks out okay, side-stand goes up around 5AM and I am outta here. :happy65: Tomorrow at this time I should be kicking back in a hot tub somewhere in Wyoming... Well, actually I will probably be in bed, but AFTER the soak in the hot tub. Someone keep your fingers crossed for me. At this rate, I'm going to need it.

Replaced by dealer, no additional cost to me other than missing a few more days of my vacation and now 2 days of work. But, that is how it goes. New tire on, rubber is still stamped 07, but I'll probably replace these tires again by the end of the year anyway (due to mileage) so, big whoop. Anyhoo, new tire looks good. Perfectly balanced with no weights. It surprised the installer as well as myself. I didn't believe it, so he showed me. Re-greased everything and checked my bearings. Mounted the wheel and took a test ride. Everything seems fine so far. It was wet out AND I have not scrubbed this sucker in yet, so I took it real easy, but it rides fine, no funny vibrations or noises and best of all when I got home and put 'er back up on the jack. Looked over the tire real carefully and no splits, cracks, etc. - JUST LIKE IT should have been the first time. Thanks again for all of the input folks. Over and Out.

Last I checked, PartShark had an OEM shock for around 450 after shipping. Remember that any shock 99-2010 WILL work on the RSV. The ones that are 2004 and older seem to be much more expensive than the later years. Also, dealer pricing varies quite a bit store to store. In the case of my local [yamaha] dealer, the price varies depending on which person you talk to... One told me 615, the next told me 800. By the way, Works claims that you should expect a 2-6 week 'build' time. It too me 7.5 weeks to get mine. The shipping time was only 2 days. The best I could tell by the last person that I talked with (which was BY FAR more helpful than anyone else I dealt with) said that he was personally responsible for ordering the spring that goes on it and someone had dropped the ball in letting him know that he needed to order one for an RSV. So, I guess I should have been a little more aggressive in bugging them to figure out where my shock was. I know that several folks on here have had good experience with them, and I am quite happy with the shock, don't get me wrong, but the customer service (at least the first two people I talked to) left quite a bit to be desired. Also, I haven't taken the time to look for it, but someone has posted within the last week or so saying that they just triked their bike (249 miles on it, if I recall correctly) and had a shock to sell. You could do a little searching and possibly have one in hand for a reasonable price in the next week or so. EDIT: Found the thread - better jump on this REAL quick if you want an OEM replacement yesterday. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49683&highlight=shock

Haha, we'll see. My return route was going to run me down the left coast a ways, then cut back over to Texas. I need to be back no later than 6/Aug to catch a flight out for another trip so, we'll see how I feel come the end of July - I might just crash your 'little' party there.