LilBeaver

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

Glad you got it fixed! Thanks for letting us know

The previous owner had these on my bike when I got it and I still have them on. I can't say they are all that useful, but, I haven't spent the 50 cents to buy regular valve caps either. $20 for a pack of 4?!?! Yikes. I swear I saw a set at walmart for about $5. I don't really know if they work appropriately or not because I tend to check my tires at least once every couple of days and they are never that low... I do know that the little deals pop up because every time that I take the caps off to check the tire pressure the thing 'flags' me as I unscrew it and the valve stem closes thusly reducing the pressure felt inside the cap. One thing I do NOT like about these is that while these are installed the valve stem is compressed so that if something happens to this cap the tire would deflate. Summary: In my opinion, don't waste your money - especially $20 worth.

Well. I'm home, finally. Actually I got home a little while ago and have had time to shower and make and eat some dinner. I suppose, since so many of you seem to be enjoying this, I'll continue to post about the recent events. I got back into town Wednesday afternoon. Got a new tire and had it installed, along with doing a bunch of other PM type items on the bike, I had the bike ready to go and out for a very short test ride (20-30 miles) on Friday to make sure it was going to be reasonably safe for me and a particular passenger the following day. I guess I'll just sort of walk through the happenings. Friday (yesterday) I heard a knock on the door to my lab and chatted with my friend. She was up for a ride the next day (today, Saturday) so we set a time - 0645 and to be back early-ish afternoon, to avoid much of the heat. I finished up worky-type items at the lab and went home, finished up the stuff on the bike and then took the aforementioned test ride. Worked some more, yippee. (exciting, I know). Got to bed real late, but no big deal, as I slept pretty well. Up at 5:30, final check over bike and collected a few items for the ride (camera, water bottles, jackets, liners, extra set of rain-gear, tools, etc). After a quick breakfast I was out the door by 0630 and at hers by 0645. She was out waiting. Handed off the extra crash jacket and helmet, reviewed the dos and don't while riding and then had a quick chat about where to go. This is the part that surprised me. She suggested we ride out to New Mexico via a new route, full well knowing how far it was seeing as this was not the first time. So, we saddled up and took off. As the sun was cresting the eastern horizon into the clear blue sky, we rode on, enjoying the emptiness of the open road around us and the sky above us. The temperature was a rather pleasant 70 degrees (F) or so to begin with. 120 miles later, crossed the NM/TX border and stopped for fuel and further discussion of where to go... I suggested a few routes one being we round our way back to Lubbock (which was followed by a snarl and statement of "I didn't get up at 0600 to turn around NOW!") So off we went. Stopped around 10 or 11 (central time) for Brunch, fuel and another 'turn around or continue on' type discussion which ended in us continuing on North/Northwest (different route than before). Drove through some of the hills some, picked up a NASTY head wind on I-25 and then started to head back. (Drove through Santa Rosa, NM, Las Vegas NEW MEXICO, and a few other small towns). Hit a pretty awesome thunderstorm (surprise surprise) on the way back - and I mean that it was actually pretty neat. The hail hurt but the lighting was SWEET. That rain was actually quite a relief as it had gotten quite humid. Although about 30 miles from home, rain stopped and we hit a wall of heat. I dropped her off around 1945 or so and yet again she said thanks a lot and wanted to know when we could go again. All in all we did a LOT of riding and I am confident now that the bike is all set for my next couple weeks of riding (my new E3 rode real nice and Rick Butler has saved my tailbone BIG TIME). Other notes. She has signed herself up for a MSF basic rider course the last weekend in July (I think). I am really tired (the wind and t-storms which included wind really beat me up pretty good) and my face hurts a lot (I got a pretty sweet sunburn) but had a great day. Unfortunately I did not get nearly as much done today as I wanted to, but, whatever. It was worth it. And of COURSE as RoadKill ALMOST correctly predicted :thumbsup2: She was happy at the end of the ride and admitted that she was a little tired (although she attributed that to getting up an hour before her normal time - I think the ride had something to do with it too) but was really excited, wanted to go again and wanted to know when I would be available to take her again (as I have already said). :happy65: So, this is a little bit of a scrambled version, but, there you go folks. Another great day and hopefully more to come! Oh, and of course a few pictures. (Some random dude offered to take a picture of the two of us, but he was a little too excited to grab for the camera so I decided to forgo that opportunity as I did not really want to donate my camera to some random guy - it may have been fine, but, whatever). Sorry there are not any more pictures; quite frankly, we just did not stop that often 'til next time... :Venture: or I suppose: Platonically, of course.

By the way she must not have been too fond of that 'spare bike' of yours if you only went for 250 miles :witch_brew:

Ooooo Purdy. Thanks for sharing!

Isn't that what chains are for?

Alright folks - at least those of you that were tuned in. Two weeks is up (and as it turns out it was a little more than two weeks) and we are headed out somewhere tomorrow morning. Picking her up at 645am and then off to . Then plan is to be back by early-ish afternoon to try to avoid some of the heat, but we'll see what happens. This ride is to serve two purposes. One, she asked to go again when I got back and two the decent test ride to make sure my new tire is up to snuff, check out the newly modified (by Rick Butler) seat, as well as some of the other jazz I have done in preparation for my upcoming trip. So, there you go. If all goes well I will update sometime tomorrow evening when I am back around. If all doesn't go well, then, I'll update when I get a chance to. Forgot about that. ... Oh wait, I meant I will make sure that I have a charged camera with me and maybe I'll remember to give it to her and ask her to take some pics while we ride. Well, yes it has. I guess I should have been more specific with 2.5 weeks...

Oops.

Have you decided/gotten on a set yet? If not I have a set of the Yamaha ones in the classifieds - great condition. http://www.venturerider.org/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=2912&title=saddle-bag-liners-for-99-10-rsv282nd-gen-29-2c-05-10-rstd&cat=7

Just in case anyone is looking for some, I just put a set of Star Bag Liners for 99-2010 RSV (and I presume 05-09 RSTD) in the classifieds. I have only used them a few times and there are no rips, tears, marks, etc - zippers work flawlessly. I am selling these because I have recently picked up a set of Beer30 liners (thanks Gene!) and no longer need these. $50 - to your door via USPS in the Lower 48. I will consider shipping to Alaska, Hawaii or Canada however I will need to look into the additional cost to do so. I will also deliver to anyone in the Vancouver area (or any one coming to the Kruisin the Kootenays), however, you'll need to let me know you want them by this coming Wednesday 30/June/2010. I'll certainly consider other offers so if you have any questions or think my asking price is too steep, just let me know. Yamaha Part Number: STR-4XY73-90-00 http://www.starmotorcycles.com/star/accessories/acscitemdetail/5/4/83/406/all/1/174/0/detail.aspx

The service manual is TYPICALLY helpful for most things, however the procedure for synchronizing the carburetors in the manual is incorrect. The following link describes the correct way to do it. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=258

+1 to the sports drink/drink mixes IN ADDITION to water. I usually have a Camelbak M.U.L.E with me, so it holds 100 oz of water. I fill it about 1/2 with water then stick it in the freezer overnight before I go, then fill it up the rest of the way with water. Throw a few low sugar sports drinks in either the bag of the camelbak or in the trunk and drink those when I stop. If the bladders of the camelbaks weren't so difficult to clean, I would just put a few of the packets in the bladder and fill-er-up with water and shake it up... But, it is what it is. Souds like you had a good trip! Wish I could have joined you on the way, but, I suppose I have got to work sometime...

Glad you got it back together!

and of course

I know this is a long shot, but I figured it would be worth a try. I am in the process of getting my rear tire replaced and like the bonehead I am, I managed to forget to order some ride-on for the replacement. Kicker is, I'll be departing for a 6k mile [work] trip *snickers* bright and early Monday morning so I won't get it in time if I order it now. So. My question is if YOU are within 300 miles of Lubbock (or would be willing to meet with me within some distance of that therein) and have 8oz of ride-on you'd be willing to sell me (or give and I'll have a replacement sent to your place) let me know. I would really appreciate it!

Sounds like some one is in denial... Don't worry, we're here for you buddy.

Bump - And for those of you that have seen it and sent it on but are still on the list, PLEASE either PM me or post here so I can keep the list up to date. I haven't heard from anyone in a while either in this thread or via a message to know where these videos are actually at. If you still have it and have had it for a while, lets keep it moving so others can see it too please. Done.

Not quite!! :duck: Riiiiiiiight. Hope it was a good one A little bit difficult when your shock is laying on the ground, eh?