LilBeaver

Hey hey, that is some good stuff right there. I'll get up tomorrow and take a gander at that at various points throughout the morning and see how it goes - that will help a lot! Thanks!!

I never said I didn't believe it, I just said I wouldn't have gone as far to make any mention of a lady's weight. That said I'll guess # 1, Trabek. At least that would have been my pick.

I understand now - thanks for the heads up this is some good info. I will definitely make sure I plan that well enough to either drive around it, as suggested, or shift my 'moving' schedule several hours one way or the other.

It will be a bit of a cruise, but that's okay. After the meet, I'm headed west to Vancouver for 3 weeks of work, then I get to ride home, so, I'm cool with that. I have not driven Denver during rush hour. I have driven Chicago (plenty of times), Atlanta, Nashville, Louisville etc. during rush hour though - so I'm not too worried about it. My plan would be to get north of Denver by 530 am though, so I will intentionally miss it anyways. Thanks though! I have NO idea WHAT-SO-EVER of what you are talking about

Yamaha added the vent hose to the shock in 2005.

That is a rather sweet ride. Don't forget Highway 203 between Houghton and Calumet. No problem. Hope you have an enjoyable trip. ^^^ This is good too, this will ad some time to your ride though, but if you are out to enjoy the scenery - this is another good one for that. Here are some U.P. 'teaser' photos. SPOILER ALERT!! #1: In Eagle Harbor, #2 Copper Harbor, #3-5 Upper Tahquamenon falls (there are 2) #6-9 Presque Isle in Marquette, #10 Sugarloaf 'mountain' overlooking Presque Isle (about 3-5 miles north of Marquette off of 550) #11-12 bridge at Agate falls (Impressive water fall there too)

Hope it all goes well for you and ya'll are real productive! Maybe I'll drag some of those little fellas up to Canada with me, see if maybe the cold with get them to behave! If not, at least they will be Canada's problem

It is the part of the panhandle with the nice cool summer weather and all of those mountains... Oh yea, and the people talk funny, eh?

Walked out of my local dealer this morning - $105, out the door for the Dunlop E3 tire (opposed to the $113 from Dennis Kirk).. Will be mounted and balanced tomorrow as soon as they get the tire (told me should be done by noon, since their truck usually shows up by 1130). Got my rear from the same dealer for $125. I guess I am sort of lucky with the way these folks operate, price wise, but thanks for the suggestion. I had thought about this too, but, figured I might be better off sticking with the local shop that I know, can trust, and can go back to right away if there are any issues at all. That and I've already missed two good days of it, I'd rather make it there for sure and get 1 good meet day out of it, opposed to running the risk of being stuck in some town somewhere (either with something that I did not order or some goofball that would charge me out the wazoo due to the circumstances) because something got screwed up with the shipment or installation. As it goes right now, I should be able to pick up my mounted tire tomorrow by noon, I'll have it back on the bike ready for a short (50 mile or so) test drive around here, then if all goes well - lock up and take off for Nelson. I'll probably only make it up to Pueblo, CO tomorrow night though (which is fine because I would much rather cruise Colorado in the daytime anyways). Then a stop over somewhere around Billings, MT, then 700 miles to Nelson and I'll be there - tired and in need of a shower, but ready to ride on Saturday. Unless I get hit by a bus or something... It is going to be a tough run, but, I really want to make at least one day of this meet :- / If for some reason the tire install is delayed tomorrow, I'm going to have to call off making it to Nelson for this year, and I'll end up delaying my departure for another few days.

!!!!

DUH. Holy smokes, I AM an idiot. I actually have one of these somewhere. Now that I have ANOTHER day, maybe I'll go find it...

OH, for cutting across the U.P. - especially since you are going to be passing through the Sault, I would highly reccomend buzzing north through escanaba (on 41) until you hit M-28, then take that east. It is a MUCH nicer drive than along US-2. Far fewer people around, along lake superior, and quite frankly, a much prettier drive (in my opinion).

The shop in Clovis, I have driven by a few times, they seem to be there but the few times I have tried to call them (maybe 3-5 times in the last year, including yesterday) I get a busy signal or a message that says the phone number has changed or been disconnected. So, I figured it wasn't worth driving out there just to be disappointed. As for good luck at watts... Well, the prices are outrageous, they usually go MSRP then bump it up by 25 to 50% (opposed to family powersports that seems to go MSRP and cut it DOWN by at least 10%...) But I will say that there was ONE guy of the several I have dealt with at the parts counter that was actually reasonable. The rest of them are the typical 'punks in the yammi jerseys'. I have only dealt with the service department twice. Once when my rectifier went out, I went in to ask a few questions and was not impressed but not completely turned off by it either. Second I went in a few days ago to see about getting a tire mounted off the bike and they told me that it would be 50 bucks and got pretty pissy with me when they found out that I bought the tire elsewhere, so I'm done with them unless I absolutely need to be. Don't get me started on the sales people... sheesh. Glad you had a good experience with them though, maybe I just keep getting the same bad d-bag at watts... But, I suspect not based on other people I have talked to. Oh geeze. I guess by now though, I cannot say I am all that surprised. Sad, but so true.

Maybe she'd ride longer if you let her get on and off the bike herself instead of 'throwing' her up there. The real test is when is the next ride for the two of you? Glad your new shock is working out well for you!! 110 eh? That took some cohones to post her estimated weight. I don't care if it is a far underestimate or not... I too was quite surprised with the immense difference in the handling characteristics of the bike.

Tech Tip #1: Line up the edges and push firmly in the center to ensure that much of the excess air is pressed out and to form a good seal around the edges of the container. This will help keep the freshness.

I do enjoy riding my motorsickle It is A LOT of fun to be able to share the enjoyment with someone else that [actually] likes riding them too... As for the pictures: Well - maybe. I like to ride in areas with no one else around, so often times it is difficult to find something to prop my camera up on. I'm sure I'll get some eventually. Especially when she gets her bike too! Sadly, you'll have to wait until ~Aug 2nd or so +/- a few days... maybe even all the way to 15/Aug.

Hehe - I wish I could say something like that was all that ticked me off this week...

+1 to taking 294. It is about 15 miles longer to go around on 294 in comparison to the shortest route which is the 'skyway' (that happens to overlook a rather dumpy part of the city). The end of last summer the department of transportation actually finished the several year project of rebuilding, repaving and expanding the section of 94 north of where 294 and 94 come back together and it is now 3 lanes (each way of course) all the way to the Wisconsin border. It is actually quite nice now. As others have said. Avoid rush hours, and expect a slow down +/- a few miles from the Indiana/Illinois border where 94, 294, 80 and 65 come together/split off - that is almost always a zoo. People drive fast but the police have speed cameras up now (that work - just ask my brother -- it is hard for him to drop my name and get out of a ticket now that those are all automated) So in some parts that has helped with the speed some. Just keep 'er in the right lane and if you really want to be safe, pace your self at a speed that is slightly faster than the SENSIBLE semis (that is the ones that are not weaving in and out of traffic) and you'll be fine. Keep your eyes peeled and your brakes covered, there are some crazies out there. By the way, Exit 26 (go south) in Indiana off of 94 (the Valparaiso/Chesterton exit) has a reasonable selection of restaurants and fuel stations and I have found it to be a very conveinent place to break before hitting the racetrack around Chicago and also a good way to avoid the ridiculously over priced 'over the road' conveniences not to mention the fuel is much cheaper there. Exit 12 (Sawyer) off of 94 in Michigan has a nice truck stop that is also handy. Between Exit 12 (Sawyer) and 60 (Paw Paw) (on 94 in Michigan) there is not much - maybe 1 or 2 fuel stops if I recall correctly. Oh, there is a nice little restaurant in a hotel off of Highway 50, a few miles into Wisconsin off of 94 called the Chancery Pub. Stop in there for a bowl of "Beer Cheese Soup with a big pretzel" It is quite tasty

I will say that my local Honda shop is awesome. Two of the four service writers greet me by name when I come in there. Now, I have referred a lot of business to them (and they know it because a few of them I walked back to the service area with since I was their ride to or from the shop). Not only do they have fantastic prices, they can get my Yamaha parts faster and less expensively than the Yamaha shop in town. But most importantly, the parts counter, salesmen or service people have NO PROBLEM saying that they do not know something, then ACTUALLY go through some effort to figure out whatever it is or get a hold of someone that does know. There have been a few times where I had either been looking for a part or asked a particular question about a component on something that they needed to look into a little more to give me an informed answer - I left my number and they called me back and spent the time discussing whatever it was that I had inquired about (this has happened a few times now). Just about anything I have needed from them, if they didn't have it in stock, came next day. Unfortunately they are not open on Mondays, which is why I tried the Amarillo shop. So I'll check it out tomorrow and hopefully find that they have one in stock. As for the E3's in the size of 150/80-16 they actually do go on a handful of bikes. RSV, Goldwing (GL 1800), I believe one of the the kaw. vulcans as well as one of the bigger Suzukis. But, I realize that in this area at least, there are not very many folks that ride enough to burn through one or two tires a year to stock a ton of these puppies. I'll keep my fingers crossed for my local HONDA dealer to pull through for me, yet again. And if they can't get me one tomorrow, I'll try the Suzuki dealer. If still no dice, I'm sure I can count on the Honda dealer to have me one and have it installed by late morning on Wednesday.

No freaking kidding! I have absolutely NO problem paying for good service. I obviously don't want to get raked over the coals or anything, but if a business consistently shows good customer service, good business practices, puts out a good product (or service) then they've got my business and recommendation - even if they are more expensive than the guy next door. I kicked around the idea of e-mailing a few of you Amarillo-ites, sending a quick message of sorts, or a simple phone call but the guy I talked to on the phone really had me convinced that I had bought a tire from him - so I figured there was no sense in bothering any of yous. That and I was so focused on getting the tire today so I could have it mounted and balanced first thing tomorrow morning (which my local honda dealer does for me for around 25 bucks TOTAL - including tax and the nucence fees not to mention they don't care where you buy the tire; but quite frankly their prices beat all of the online sources I could find). For a while I was considering selling my 01 for a new bike so I would have the convenience of the warranty but between my local yammi shop and the next closest one in Amarillo, I would have to head to Dallas to get any work done, so forget that! And good luck to you on managing decent enough relationship with those folks to keep up your bike on the road until that warranty runs out!! Although with your shock ordeal it seems like you could just go in and ask for your parts and do the work yourself, which is actually not a half bad way to go. That is good to know so I don't waste time calling them for anything else... Ever. Good info here too! My local honda shop (Family Power sports) will mount a tire off the bike for ~25 out the door. ON the bike (for our tourers) Front for ~42ish and rear for 70 (50 if you take off the bags). When I got my last rear Avon replaced under warranty, the mechanic actually came out when I picked my bike up and pointed a few things out that he had noticed. He also mentioned that while he had the wheel off he greased everything up for me 'since it was off'. Oh now that just brings a tear to my eye.

What else could they do though? I'm not going to get a check for my travel expense and time and I sure as heck will not be giving them any of my business again. So, oh well. It is done and over. Hopefully no one else gets 'had' by this guy (or the rest of the dealership if they are all like that).

Sounds good as well. Good info here too. I felt the EXACT same way about my Shadow 1100 A.C.E. I'd get up to about 55 and feel like I needed to shift again. Needless to say I did not have that bike for very long. This is going to be her (my friend's) bike though, so I'll just be around for advice when requested, technical support and of course, a riding partner. I'll too keep you in mind if she finds that she likes that particular bike. I'll keep that in mind. NOTHING is going to come together until after she takes the class at the end of July, so this is something that will be a ways away. But I'll certainly keep this in mind if she finds that she likes that particular bike. When I ordered the shock I gave them my weight, measured with gear and such (my weight + 5 lbs) and told them that I ride with passenger and travel gear totaling 200 lbs 15% of the time. They told me I ended up with the 1200 lb spring. With a passenger (and no extra gear) the bike rides GREAT. Very smooth, handles great, etc. By my self with no gear I sort of feel that it is a bit stiff but I am getting used to it (again, my old shock may have been pooched for a long time and I have not ridden another RSV long enough to really have a good handle on what it ought to ride like or what it rides like with a brand new OEM shock). I do think that when fully loaded with my travel gear, it will ride very well. Now, on to the second part of your comment. This 'relationship' is simply a friendship, nothing more. I went into it that way to begin with and do not intend on taking it any further. Lastly, 'HAD' is, in fact, the appropriate word... For some time now. But that is water under the bridge. Good lookin' out though And they do get very expensive, typically not worth it either. But I don't go for those kind of shenanigans.

Caution: :rant::rant: I'm pretty honked at this dealership and they know it, the several customers that were in the store knew it and the manager didn't really seem to care. After finalizing the checks on my bike before my upcoming trip, I saw that my front tire had gotten MUCH worse than it was - cracking in tread has grown significantly, etc. So in the interest of saftey, I figure it is probably best to put a new tire on before I go. Which is unfortunate because a few weeks ago when I had made arrangements for my Rear tire to get replaced the front one looked just fine - about half worn (based on measurements) and no cracking. So with all of the dealers in Lubbock being closed on Monday I called around and found the next closest that claimed they had 3 Dunlop E 3s in stock in the appropriate size for my bike (all of this so that I can have it mounted and be on the road tomorrow or Wednesday). I called first to check to see if they had one and then a second time to verify and buy it. Business concluded on the phone and I was out the door. 2 hour drive later (135 miles one way) arrived at the dealership and pumped to pick up my tire so that I can be on the road in a few days sort of as planned. Went up to the parts counter and asked to pick up my tire and they asked what I was looking for. The guy went back to the back and came back with a meltzer in hand (which I believe was not even the correct size) and said that is all they had. I inquired a little further as to what I had discussed on the phone and what happened to the 3 E3s that they told me they had ON HAND and the ONE that I bought (or so I thought) and the guy shrugged and said that he didn't know. Coincidentally (very sarcastically stated) the price of the meltzer was the same as what I was quoted for the E3. When questioning further he looked up what E3s they had on hand and the answer was NONE. They didn't have a single E3 ON HAND, they had some on order, but none ON HAND. And this doofus verified it by telling me that the meltzer was just as good as any other tire, blah blah blah. At this point I am so honked that I don't ever care about the tire so much as the principle here. I spent 4 hours in the car, drove 270 miles round trip, all based on this salesman that told me TWICE (two separate phone calls) that he walked back and put his hands on the tire that he sold me. All to get up there and find out otherwise. Now, I am a very calm and patient person, I did not raise my voice at all - I spoke sternly when we started going back and forth, but I am a firm believer that yelling at someone gets you no where in a hurry so I almost always maintain my composure and deal in a rational, logical and considerate fashion. A few minutes into this ordeal a guy that introduced himself as the parts manager asked what was going on (while doofus # 1 was back looking for my tire) and I explained the situation to him. When doofus #1 came back, the manager looked at the doofus and just walked away. No comment to anyone, nothing further to me, not a thing. At this point there were a few other folks that were waiting around the parts counter and no doubt hearing everything that is transpiring. I give a quick call to my CC company to see if the dealership charged me for the tire and the answer was 'no', upon that I requested that nothing be approved from that dealership and that if anything fishy starts happening with that card to cancel it immediately (also gave the name and number of the parts guy at the dealership that took my CC info). After I hung up with the CC company the parts guy asked if I 'still wanted' the Meltzer. At this point I asked if he had listened to any part of the conversation (that WAS a two-way conversation) that him and I had just had and said you will not be getting my business, now or ever again and walked away. The other few people that were waiting at the parts counter followed me out the door and also left in/on their respective vehicles. What a rip. 270 miles and 4 hours, down the drain - all because of what: 1) Sleezy sales practices 2) Negligence or 3) incompetence 4) honest mistake (multiple times in a row)? And what can I do - nothing but pi$$ and moan. I'm out vehicle/travel expense, still don't have a freaking tire, and now am probably going to be another day or two late to Nelson. I guess a lot of this is my own dumb fault anyways. I guess that is what I get for getting my hopes up, not having a spare tire laying around, or trusting that voice on the phone. Maybe you folks in Amarillo have had good experiences there, maybe not. I don't know. Just figured I would get the word out to those that may trust these folks the same way I did. Thanks for listening. I'll go sit in my corner now.

Looks like a good looking scoot there! If she finds that she likes the vstar, I'll go ahead and mention it to her. It would only be a 1700 mile round trip to go get it too!

For something a wee bit less expensive, there are some more ideas here: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48662