XV1100SE

I was only kidding about being a tough group ! Even Trader offered a hug. Bunch of softies underneath ! I had forgotten about the saddle bag rails and to me they look good the way they are but now you got me thinking again and I'll take another look.

Gets right to the point ! Let me say - steering head - tighten

That's why I added a strap to it (about 4" long) that goes under neath the plastic ignition cover and is held in place by the bracket/cover/screw. I can't forget it or lose it !

Tough group ! Try to show off something new and they pick on other things ! My rails aren't perfect but they aren't bad either. I'd prefer to not drill another hole in the saddle bag guard or into the fender. For the sake of this group of critics.... I'll see about bending them down a little bit at the rear.

I looked into painting or power coating but ended up buying the gas cap cover from Yamaha. I had a piece of leather sewn onto it with a hole which loops around angled metal that the screw holding the plastic piece around the ignition switch screws into. One thing to consider when painting or power coating the gas cap... the cover for the keyhole may not fit correctly afterwards or will scratch the area around the key hole. I like the slip on cover because if I ever sell the bike the chrome is still there. Did you test your gas cap to see if it is actually metal? Just a thought and I don't know a lot about powder coating... but if it is plastic will powder coating work?

Check this thread - http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?threadid=68935

Glad you are okay and didn't suffer much damage !

One of the problems with getting together and seeing what others have done to their rides is it becomes expensive. You see items you didn't think you needed (some would say "wanted"). Let me say that B2Dad is a bad influence ! I don't know how many times at MarlCarl's he told me I need the diamond cut fins (and how many others he said the same thing to) and other safety chrome. After filtering... I decided to go with what he said would be an $0.89 change. B2Dad pointed out to me that on his bike he had painted the clear plastic wind deflectors on the front fairing black. With the paint job on the '09 the lower part of the fairing is black and then you have clear wind deflectors that tend to stand out from the paint on the bike. This is one of the few suggestions that B2Dad suggested that was inexpensive ! Timing was good because I had to replace my headlight bulb anyway, and since it we had plans for Saturday and forecast was for rain on Sunday.... was a good weekend to do it. Very simple to do... - Open fairing. - Remove 3 screws from plastic deflectors (NOTE: 2 of the screws are the same but the upper one is SMALLER - don't try to put one of the big ones in the little hole) - Clean the deflectors - Sand the BACK of the deflector to give the paint something to stick to. I used 320 grit and 400 grit paper. Clean the dust off. - Spray paint on the BACK of the deflector First time I sprayed it I had a lot of "pin holes" in the paint. Doing a second coat didn't cover them. I used paint thinner to remove the paint and sanded again to make sure there were no contaminants but spraying it with paint showed the same pin holes again. To get around this problem... I sprayed another light coat of paint on it and then used a foam brush to spread the paint. Surprisingly, this covered the pin holes and gives it a nice smooth texture. I used Tremclad with says it adheres to plastic but any of the plastic paints should work fine. Nice thing with painting the back of the deflector is from the front you see the black but have the "shine" of the clear plastic. Cleaning bugs off won't be a problem since the paint is on the back. If the paint were on the front I'd be worried that the paint would come off with scrubbing. You can paint the back whatever colour you want to match your bike. I used black because of the red/black paint scheme on my bike fit. If your fairing is gray, paint it gray. If red/white.... whatever colour, paint it to match your fairing and from the front of the bike it matches. Now that I have my wind deflectors black.... thinking if I get a matching red I could paint over top of the black so that from the front it is black but from the drivers view it would match the inner fairing. Talk about an inexpensive change ! Thanks B2Dad for the suggestion !

Happy Birthday !

Read this thread for known problems and things to check before purchasing : http://venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1067 How much are they asking? Several members in the area so you'll have instant friends and help with the bike should you have issues. I'm in Kitchener but there are members anywhere from Toronto to Woodstock. Maintenance Day is this next weekend. Several of us are meeting in Grimsby at the Casablanca exit service centre at 9am. If you can make it there on Friday you can meet some of us and if you get the bike before then, ride down to Freebird's in Ohio where you'll see about 100 Ventures.... plus have people there that can go over your new ride with a fine tooth combe and do any maintenance necessary.

For temporary fix... you can use one of the bolts that holds the plastic piece around the key. Those bolts are the same bolt that are on the cover under the drivers seat. Should be replaced for free by the dealer since you are (probably) within the 5 year warranty.

Sorry... different approach.... how old is your headlight bulb? I'd replace the bulb and see if it continues to happen. If it does it with the new one... so you have a spare. If it fixes the problem it is a simple and inexpensive fix.

Lot more damage, flooding and 5 deaths reported so far. Wishing our members there are safe. Two pages of members listed - I count 33 members in the State. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/memberlist.php?do=getall&field6=45 Tornado warnings in Illinois too.

Hence the reason it is for a SECOND GEN !

Electric bikes are really starting to take off past the concept stage. More companies are releasing or developing them. At some point... loud pipes will be replaced by the whir of electric motors. http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/05/mission-motorcycles-rs/ At its core is a 160 horsepower (120 kW) electric motor outputting 120 pound-feet of torque from zero RPM to redline. Combined with a single-speed transmission, that’s good enough to get the RS from rest to 60 mph in under three seconds and top out at 150 mph. More impressive is the lithium-ion battery, which packs 17 kWh of juice — one kWh more than the miserable four-wheeled Mitsubishi i-MiEV — along with a pair of on-board chargers that allow nine kW worth of energy transfer during charging. All told, Mission estimates a max range of 200 miles, but on the combined city/highway cycle, riders will get 140 miles in the real world, and be able to top up that massive battery pack in around two hours through the industry standard J1772 Level 2 charging stations. According to Seeger, “Even a short rest stop is enough time to add a significant amount of range.” Now all I need is $60k.... in a touring bike package.

Looks brand new ! Nice looking bike !

Larry's armrests are great...Nancy finds them them to make the ride even more comfortable (and gives her a safer feeling for those times she falls asleep). For some reason they aren't listed in the "member vendor" area under Carbon One. Larry.... is the advertisement missing?

I posed the question to my insurance co (Riders Plus). There is automatically a waiver for $2,500 for "accessories/additions" which would still need to be substantiated by the owner of the bike (receipts/invoices). If you were to remove items from the bike after a collision that may be deducted from the $2,500 blanket/additional coverage. This is an Ontario industry standard amount. Also... they depreciate the value of the bike and accessories based on purchase dates. My '09 is insured for $14k but the depreciated value is $13,300, plus the $2,500 bringing a total of $15,800. In order to update the value of accessories to their actual amount, I'd have to provide invoices/receipts for everything which they would then evaluate. And yes, if it is more than $2,500 then my policy cost would go up to cover the increase in value. Think insurance and banks are much like the casinos..... the odds/payouts are in their favour. Edit - there is an option for increasing the coverage to the value of the bike to replacement cost, "limiting" depreciation..... but you pay more.

You think you'll JUST have to give them back the refund? If I were you... I'd be worried this is their chance to increase you rate !

So Carl...sounds like you fixing bikes is much like the rides you lead.... few u-turns here and there, little off the map (side trips thru farmers fields/lane ways), creative thinking ("how can I make the bike not fall over without putting the kickstand down?"). Ahhh.... the joys of retirement with sooooo much time on your hands ! Think Marca better find more for you to do to keep you out of trouble !

Bikes might be higher priced (lately only on used bikes lately) and insurance and gas costs us more than our neighbours to the South.... but that just makes every kilometer worth that much more !

I'll give the insurance company a call... and will post what they say. Remember... I'm in Canada so it might be different here than in the States.

When I get my insurance renewal there is always a letter advising to let them know of any additions to the bike that increase it's value. I always ignore the letter thinking that if I ask them to increase my coverage my rates will go up. Nancy went to bed early last night and so having nothing else to do... I did a little calculation and surprised myself....maybe that should be shocked myself. When you buy some little piece of safety chrome, you just consider the cost of the item at the moment of purchase... not the grand total. So... my warning....if you are wondering where all your money goes, or decide you want to figure out how much you have invested in your ride... DON'T do it ! For me... I have a lot of additions but nothing like some people do. For those people... if you ignore my warning and decide to list and calculate what you've spent... make sure you have oxygen handy or someone that can perform CPR. My totals look like this : 2009 RSV - $14,000 (plus 13% tax - I didn't include tax otherwise Nancy would have found me on the floor in the morning) - bought used, 3 months old in 2010 with 2,500km Accessories attached to the bike $5,500 Leathers, jackets, gloves, lifts, lift adapter, trailer....$3,000 "GRAND" total....$22,500 PLUS... gas, oil changes, camping gear (used only when riding long distance), cleaning supplies..................and of course PLUS insurance currently at $1,200/year. Had I bought the bike new in 2010 the amount would be $5,000 more. Might not sound like much to some... but surprising when you start adding things up.

When changing lanes... you got it... it won't turn off by itself until you've gone a combination of 450' and 15 seconds. Lane changes I turn off the signal manually. Approaching a turn I'll typically turn on the signal (sometimes earlier than normal if there is a vehicle behind me to give them lots of warning and time to see the signal) and then hit it again as I get closer to the turn to make sure it stays on into the turn. I'm in the habit of always hitting the cancel after a turn.

If you are going to MD.... the firing squad has already been selected. So many volunteers....