XV1100SE

Cleaned my K&N filter last night, let it dry almost 24hrs, oiled it tonight. Put the filters back in the bike and now the bike won't start. Thinking because the oil is fresh on the filter it isn't letting enough air thru. Anyone see this before? How long do I have to wait after putting oil on the filters for it to start?

Keep in mind it isn't just your combined weight but also whatever else you take with you. Consider how much you put in the trunk, saddle bags, and whether or not you pull a trailer.

Was a great trip ! Attached is our final route.

The road from Malta Montana to Cadillac Saskatchewan would have to be worse. Patchwork of repairs, soft (uncompressed) asphalt, pot holes, gravel over tar.... When we went from Winnipeg into the States we took hwy 59. Was good road, quick border crossing.... One positive thing though.... bet you didn't have to line up at the border crossing !

Might be dumb questions but.... - is the Select button set to SP(eaker) or H(ead)Set ? - is the issue with the head sets or speaker? ... or both? - is the radio set to a "good" station ? - have you tested with head sets?

Thanks guys. Hope you've been reading the blog, not just the short posts here.

Sometimes better to delay a decision and let things fall as they may. Did your wife give you a choice and you made the wrong one (not the choice she wanted you to make) ?

Made it back last night after an 880km final day riding. Made for a long day but was nice getting home. Already planning for a trip to the East Coast next year.

Maybe there is a phonograph hidden somewhere in the bike ?

Didn't make it to Mackinaw City... but did make it to Manistique Michigan. Will be a bit of a push tomorrow but should be home tomorrow night. That will make 27 days on the road and around 10,000km

Didn't make it to Calgary and we are on our way home now. From Duluth we'l get across the Mackinaw Bridge today and find a place in the Michigan IP for the night. From there... home. We've been on the road since July 28th so getting home will be nice. Too bad I have to be back to work on Aug 26th.

Border crossings.... Went thru from Montana to Saskatchewan. Border guard must have been bored and asked us every question in the book. He probably gets 10 vehicles a day. From Manitoba to Minnesota we took hwy 59... the U.S. border guard talked to us about bikes for about 5 minutes. Crossing from Michigan to Ontario at Sarnia on Friday. Hope it goes quickly. Anxious to get home.

Congratulations Don !

I was tempted to call the HD or Honda dealer. I'm sure they would have done it for me. Yamaha Duluth... obviously didn't want the business. And they are listed on the Yamaha-USA site as a top dealer.

I sent the Yamaha dealer in Duluth an email last night specifying the E3 tire and indicating that I'd be by early afternoon. I requested that they change the tire as soon as possible. No response from the dealer so I called them. Asked for Service dept... and after ringing several times with no answer it went to voice mail. So...checking the tire again... the rubber is still "just" above the wear marks. I'll change the tire when I get home. As long as I don't run into heavy rain it will be fine.

Our condolences.

In Thief River Falls WI last night. Going to stop in Duluth for a front tire. Down to the wear marks and with 1100 miles to go... not going to take the chance.

Sorry to hear about your Father Wayne. Best wishes for you and your family.

Made it to Battlefords Provincial Park last night and have been spending time with my Cousin's. Should be back on the road on Sunday headed to Friesman's (Regina) and then to Tomephil (Winnipeg) after that. BTW... ran into Croissantwich (Marlon) at a gas station in Montana the other day. We were headed North, he was headed South. Enjoyed our conversation !

Nancy was too cold to take pictures and the camera battery died after finishing the trip thru Yellowstone. As for the bent plate... as we were going thru Billings a car pulled up along side us and yelled that our plate was loose. I had looked at it after the ride yesterday and it seemed okay. The force had bent the plate holder and made the hole/slot wider and the nut worked its way out. Conveniently it happened just after we had passed a Yamaha dealer and before we got to the next exit. They supplied me with a couple washers and I put loctite on the bolt to make sure it doesn't loosen and the washers will keep it from slipping thru. Checked out their trunk rack bags but they didn't have much. There was a HD and Honda dealers just up the road. No way did I want a bag on my bike that had HD on it so we went to the Honda dealer. Having a Honda bag on my bike wouldn't bother me. Luckily enough... they had a Hopnel trunk bag. Gave me a 10% discount (because I asked for a discount) and for $92 out the door we now have extra storage space.

In Malta, Montana tonight. Will make it to Jackfish Lodge in Saskatchewan tomorrow. Rode between a couple storms. Neat to look left and right and see rain falling, clouds overhead, but clear skies ahead of you. :-) With the 461km we did today, we are over 6,000km on this trip (3,728 miles) so far. ALMOST ran out of gas today. Did the run between Roundup and Malta (265.3km - 165miles) and by the time we got to Malta I was on fumes. Ran 53.3km/33miles on the fuel counter. Had no bars showing on the gas gauge for several miles. Put in 5.2 US gallons - 32 miles/gallon. Keep in mind that this is 2 up puling a fully loaded trailer. For the last 50 miles I was being careful of which gear I was running in and not lugging the motor.

Amazing road.... except for 1 mile of construction (gravel/mud). We went thru yesterday in the rain... which turned to ice pellets, back to rain. Would be an amazing view from the top on a clear day. Suggestion/warning to anyone planning on riding it. When we got to the top, which is above the snow line on the mountains (10,966' elevation) it was 30F, strong winds. Definitely thermal or heated gear needed. Also watch out for fallen rock. We had to dodge a really good sized rock in our lane (must have been about 12" in size) and was close enough that one of the rear tires on the trailer glanced it. No damage but the license plate on the trailer got bent.

Glad to hear you are okay. Sorry about your ride.

Sunday we saw the wild horses outside of Cody. Was pretty neat. Walked around downtown Cody checking out the shops. Monday we rode to Yellowstone, entering the East Gate. After seeing the "Old Reliable" we went to get a camp site in the park but by 4pm all sites were full. Ended up going to West Yellowstone. Hotels were all full but found a nice camp site in town at "Rustic Wagon". Nice clean bathrooms, $37 for the night considering when some hotels wanted over $200 for a night. Today (Tuesday) we went back thru Yellowstone and saw the Mammoth field. We didn't see any bison until just before the North East exit from the park. Stopped in Silver Gate and with skies threatening, we decided to do the Bear Tooth anyway. Considering the Bear Tooth is something like 35 miles, I'd have to say it was one of the best and one of the worst rides I've ever had. Told Nancy that she wouldn't need her thermal and just chaps and rain liner in the jacket would be fine. That cost me having to get a $!65 hotel room so she could warm up. We started the Bear Tooth with 80F temps but by the time we got to 10,966' elevation... the temperature was 30F, rain/ice pellets. There is also construction on part of the road which meant riding for 1 mile in gravel/mud. More in the blog. If you do the Bear Tooth and looking for a really good restaurant, try China Garden in Red Lodge. Family run chinese food restaurant and really good food/prices.

As Freebird said... this has been an interesting thread. Many interesting comments from people regarding (past) quality of Harley too. How we got from "why do Harley riders have to wear HD clothing when they ride" to issues with engines and everything else I don't know. I agree with pretty much everyone here... doesn't matter what you ride as long as you ride and are satisfied with your machine. My original post was about being a billboard for a company. We are in Cody tonight, and like I said earlier.... every small town seems to have a HD dealer in the U.S.. We went into the one here in Cody to look around and see about getting a trunk rack bag. I was wrong about Harley. They have more than clothing. Clocks, mugs, pants, socks, underwear, shot glasses, bars, bar stools.... and a few pieces of motorcycle accessories. No bikes in the dealer... mostly clothing. Sales person was telling one woman that they had to buy a particular shirt because it was "new" this year. Found a stat that showed that Honda outsells Harley. Yamaha was down the list a bit. Yamaha doesn't compete with Harley in branding, neither does Honda, Suzuki, or Kawasaki. Yamaha has had the chance to do what Honda did and evolve their models. RSV has stood still for 14 years while the Wing has changed with the times. If you ask someone to name a touring bike, most would say "Goldwing". Only Venture riders would say Venture. When I looked at bikes, I chose the Venture mostly because I had a Virago before and never had a problem with it and also because of the way it fit me. I rode the Wing (seating position wasn't right) and the Electra Glide (nice fit but hated the way it shook at a stop). Venture was a bigger brother to the Virago and I felt at home with it. Knew that shaft drive would be low maintenance and that Yamaha was like Toyota in building a vehicle that would run forever. All kidding aside, HD makes a bike for everyone. You want your bike to have a certain look, they have it... plus when you buy one they adjust handle bar position for you (even when you take one for a test ride they move them for you), foot pegs/board are adjustable.... I found that when I took one for a test ride the dealer was great and treated the "customer" very well. No wonder they rank so high on customer satisfaction. AMF quality problems were 40 years ago. Heck.... Toyota sheet metal was a joke 50 years ago.... remember the Hyundai introduction ? Now Hyundai compete in quality with Toyota and Honda. Freebird and any other HD riders on here.... you've got a great looking bike and a bike from a manufacturer that offers you choice in styling. As so many others that went away from the Venture because of Yamaha...you've got a great ride. HD is great at branding and marketing... and makes a great bike. Enjoy the ride.... and hopefully you'll wave to us when we pass the other way on an antique or discontinued Venture.