aharbi

Not sure if AZ will do it but I just went to our local DMV and told them I was about to buy this bike and if they would run the VIN for me, they did, not problems. The Texas DMV site now points to this site: http://www.carhistory.us.org/

Garmin's update process is user hostel, painful, agonal and failure prone. Little excuse for such a terrible update process considering what you pay for their products. This market is in serious need of a strong competitor. ie they suck. If it wasn't for their excellent tech support to bail them out I'd be using another manufactures GPS.

Radio Shack or headsets123.com

Wish I could but just can't make it. However I will make the August ride.

Interesting... I've never seen one cling to the ceiling like that. Special tires?

When I signed on today - I never ever expected to read of Don's passing. I'm obviously one of many that have been greatly saddened by this. Whenever I would meet up with the "Houston gang" Don would always come over to greet me and shake my hand. I will miss that, I will miss him. I'm going for a ride now and have the wind sweep away my tears.

I love the Venture and more importantly my wife loves "her" (ours) Venture. I don't plan on ever selling it nor trading it in on anything. I hope it will last till the end of my riding days. I picked up a 2013 Triumph Trophy SE so my new bike crave has been satisfied. But my wife only rides on the Venture. Who knows what Yamaha will do in the touring market but should something catastrophic happen to the Venture and I would need to replace it in the near future with something WITH A TRUNK I have my eye on the Victory Cross Country. I want updated electronics and ABS.

Congratulations! My wife and I just did the same. Never gave it a thought when I married her. Now I look back and wonder where did the years go and what fun we've had. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

and you believed them?

Dealer called and said bike is ready. Dropped it off over a week ago for a Valve clearance check, sync the carbs, state inspection. Got busy with family stuff and didn't have time to do it myself. Picked up the bike. Very pleased the way it runs. None of the valves needed a shim change, all were spot on. The carb sync needed the floats adjusted and a jet adjusted. Mech said it was only running on 3 cylinders, if it was I didn't notice it. Valve check $600. Carb Sync $60 Parts 2 Valve cover gaskets $57.98. 16 rubber mounts 5EA-1111G-00-00 $175.84 Shop Supplies $25.00 State Inspection $14.50 Sales Tax $21.35 Total $954.67

Way to go Brian! Good for you! The electrons don't care where nor how big the fuse is.

Jeans are too heavy, I wear a pair of lightweight Cargo or Tactical pants under them. With shorts the bug guts splatter thru onto your legs.

Flat screens don't store high voltage as the old TVs to power a glass picture tube. None the less be sure to unplug the TV before working on it. I wouldn't "go inside" unless you had some idea of electrical/electronic workings. Also, after removing what you believe tobe the cover screws use a screw driver flat blade to work around the cover to unsnap it from the other half. First I would check the fuses on the power supply board. You will find two boards inside the one with the big parts and the heat shields is the power supply the other is the TV. The failure is most likely on the power supply board. Face down with back cover off http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Fixed%20computer%20display/IMG_1145.jpg Power Supply board http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Fixed%20computer%20display/IMG_1147.jpg Underside of power supply board. Notice the "cold solder" or loose connection. The happens over time from the components expanding & contracting from heating up and cooling off causes a weak solder connection to come loose. Take your time use a magnifying glass. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Fixed%20computer%20display/IMG_1159r.jpg Carefully reheat the connection to let the solder reflow. You may but seldom need to add more solder. If you do, use solder for electronic stuff from Radio Shack NOT Home Depot. And keep the solder in the exact same spot, a shinny solder connection is a good one, not too long or the other connections will also start to melt (unsolder) http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Fixed%20computer%20display/IMG_1161r.jpg This may not be the problem. But if you're "dead in the water" it may be worth a shot. Hope this helps.

I just picked up a Zumo 350LM for $699.99 with $100 rebate so I paid $600 for a Motorcycle specific GPS with lifetime map up dates, no MP3, no audio book player, no phone (A2DP) bluetooth, headset blue tooth, and an audio out plug. I get turn by turn navigation thru the Venture AUX in. I can use my old wired headsets and have all the available Venture music/radio/audio/CB/intercom features available to me except cell phone. Which is no big deal to me as I'm only concerned with my wife's (checking on me) phone calls when I ride and when I ride the Venture my wife is usually with me and the intercom is more important. Why the Zumo 350LM? Granted it is expensive, the $100 rebate helped. Garmin needs some serious competition in this area. They brag "built by bikers for bikers" well I don't know who but anyone that has ever done serious riding sure didn't have any input to their "novelty" biker things. Don't you find it strange that serious dual sport or IB riders have TWO GPS mounted on their bikes, chances are they never asked these bikers what works, maybe they weren't wearing enough leather. Sorry - least I get distracted. Oh another thing Garmin has dropped Mapsource in favor of Basecamp OK slight learning curve but now Basecamp requires the GPS to be connected (USB) to the computer to see the map detail to plan a route, what a pain. However the Zumo 350LM does claim a 7hr battery life (I can only get 4) and it will hold 100 routes where the 660 and 665 only held 20. But the main reason was to get the most current GPS in an attempt to hold off technical obsolescence as my two previous in good working order Garmin GPS met. What drove me to this point was the purchase of a Triumph Trophy SE. ALL communication between the Trophy and the rider are via bluetooth. I updated to an iPhone and a Zumo GPS as the Trophy is pre-programmed for plug/play iPods, iPhones, Zumo GPS, MP3 players inaddition to the built in AM/FM/XM/Traffic and weather radio. As my Venture headset will not work I also invested in a new SHOEI GT-Air helmet and a Scena SMH-10 bluetooth headset. All in all, a refurb GPS and a zip-lock bag have alot going for it.

Gota give Mike credit for reading the forum posts to hunt for his answer. Geez Gary, didn't have to take mine down that far to change the little rubber plugs.

These have been out for awhile. They make two models on only supports a 2GB SD card the other an 8GB. Works great in the venture and as a walk around MP3 player. I also use it in my truck. Only lasts about two hours on a charge and can't play while charging. Can't use any of the Ventures cassette control buttons, just volume but set the volume on the cassette/mp3 first to a usable level. Heck can't beat the price.

What I did to mine. http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/aharbi/Motorcycle/IMG_0999a.jpg

My wife and I rode a V-Star 1100 for several years before we out grew it. It's a good starter bike and that engine has heart. We still have it, I ride it solo most of the time now as she loves her Venture (I just steer it). Price wise I don't think you can find a better deal on a used 1100 V-Star. Yes the 1300 is a bit bigger with a belt drive and a bit more money. There is a very strong V-Star 1100 forum to aid in any mechanical knowhow he may need.

From West Marine made by Blue Sea - 12V Dual USB Charger Plug

I use the Xena XX6 with a 6mm pin. It fits 3 of my bikes. Including the Venture which will only accept the 6mm pin thru the holes in the disk due to the cover. I use it for overnight parking on a trip. If you cover your bike, a windy night that shakes the cover will set it off. I also padlock the steering and have a remote gorilla alarm on the Venture too. I also carry a heavy cable lock that I use to lock two bikes facing different directions together. I don't take chances nor gamble with fate. I figure the above is best I can do. Covering the bike is one of the best ways to keep folks from messin with it.

Hello folks, I'm doing well. Thanks for your concern. Here is the post I put on the Stromtrooper site. I was riding my Suzuki DL/1000. Which the insurance company told me today is a loss. I am humbled and truly blessed by the generous number of both public and private posts wishing me well. I sincerely apologize to RoosterMan for putting him through the frustration of trying to assist with virtually no information. I thank him for the tenacity in seeing this situation through and in providing assistance, however frustrating, to the best of his ability. For this I will always be truly grateful. Thank you RoosterMan. As you know I am now at home recovering from my injuries. The worst of which was the head injury where I suffered a brain bleed which is defined worse than a concussion. If I get up or move too quickly I suffer from a loss of equilibrium. My memory has returned. The doctors say it may be as long as several months before I can return to riding. My other injuries are minor, a cracked rib, a broken rib, two bruises and contusions on my back both elbows bruised a bruise to the inside of my right knee a bruise to the right side of my right foot, a bruise across the bridge of my nose from eyeglasses. There is no doubt wearing full gear saved my "bacon". I read in some of the previous posts there was a question as to my helmet. I was wearing an HJC carbon fiber $500 helmet. The helmet had deep scratches on the right side toward rear and the back of the helmet the carbon fiber was fractured about the diameter of a golf ball. To wreck, to wreck on the "sisters" was embarrassing, to say the least. I have ridden these roads many times. I have led many group rides on these roads as well. Something had attracted my attention away from riding and when I looked back I was well within the tightening turn and quickly running out of road. I pushed the bike over hard but it was too late and rode it into the guardrails. This is where my memory leaves me I only remember scant pieces of information from here on. I do recall the utter frustration in trying to recall my wife's place of employment and phone number so I could talk to her before she heard any news of my accident from the authorities. I believe the team here on this form has done the admiral job of discussing the importance of having ICE information accessible and readily available for the authorities, and at minimum to save your fellow riders from such an unfortunate situation.

Only carry the tools you know how to use on the stuff you know how to fix. Like the tools needed to take covers off to replace fuses and add fluids and a tire rope plug kit for flats. Firstaid kit (Not trama kit) is good idea. For everyday things like removing splinters, upset tummy, headache, bandaids, coolpac. Cellphone and credit card. You can now travel the world.

All inspected, licensed and running 2013 Triumph Trophy SE 2007 Suzuki DL/1000 2005 Yamaha V-Star 2004 Yamaha Venture

Replaced my battery (again) today with a Batteries Plus X2-AGM-20HL-BS. It has a two year warranty. Paid $124.99 with a $10 off coupon. I know I can get $30 - $40 less expensive online. But I wanted a local place to deal with. The last two batteries I had were YUASA YTX20L-BS and only lasted a tad over three years. Thought I'd try something different this time around. I use a battery tender and the bike has an alarm system so I know it always uses some power.

True! LOL