BigLenny

Looking Great Kat! You look younger in the postop pics.

COFFEY, Have you thought about mailing your stuff to Texas? Might be a simpler option. BigLenny

I want one of those!!!!

Hey Fool, I hate to admit this, but I have a trickster mean streak in me that sometimes flares up. When I had my last Ablation surgery, I had to lay flat on my back for about 6 hours after the surgery in order for the incisions in both of my groins to heal. they are very serious about this. If they get you up too soon and one of those incisions breaks open, you could bleed out fairly quickly. So, they're gonna make you lay there for a long time before you get to get out of bed. Anyway, when it came time to get me up out of bed, it was this happy go lucky nurse who came into my room and very excitedly announced that it was time for me to get to get up and go for a walk down the hallway to see how I was feeling. So, she helped me get out of bed, and here we went slowly creeping down the hall with me pushing an IV pole and I'm wearing the traditional hospital gown that is wide open in the back. Well, after several feet of walking, she got a little distracted and was walking faster ahead of me and waving and talking to other nurses, and yapping her mouth. So, I just stopped in the hallway and she didn't even notice and kept on walking down the hall yapping and laughing with some other nurses. After she had walked about 75-80 feet in front of me down the hall, she realized she had ran off and left me. She turned around real quick and looked back at me and said, Mr. Clayton are you alright? Me, being the meany I am, said as I was looking down at my feet toward the floor, "I guess I'm alright, but I'm wondering where all this blood that is running down my leg is coming from". I literally thought she was gonna freaking faint. She hollered for me to not move and she started running back to me! She was yelling NO NO NO the whole time she was running back to me. Needless to say, she was not very happy when she got back to me and found out I was joking. LOL. Taught her a lesson to keep her trap shut and pay attention. LOL.

Thanks everybody. This is good stuff. However, I hope Yamaha isn't taking a close look at this thread. It certainly appears with all the discussion in the past about Yamaha needing to bring out a new Venture, this thread seems to be making a case that there aren't really that many folks who would run out and buy one if they did bring it out. Anyway. Keep up the discussion.

I'm with you on the chocolate, Jeff. LOL Man, I hate to hear you're in it all the time. I hope the surgery will be a huge help for you. Do you know of it running in your family? Oh, Hey, One more thing. If they put you on a pill called Amiodarone, don't stay on that pill too long. My Dr. left me on it for about 8-9 months and it ruined my thyroid. It caused me to have to have my thyroid taken out, and I have to take Synthroid pills daily because i no longer have it. That happened to my aunt also.

WOW!!! This subject was obviously the big fat finger that pushed MILES MACK's hot button. LOL!!!!

Jeff, Some other thoughts. A-Fib in a large number of people is hereditary. My father had it, my oldest brother has it and has had 3 Ablation surgeries, my aunt has it. Things that can trigger an episode if you're an A-fib patient are: eating a real big meal, intaking caffiene, sleep issues such as snoring or Sleep Apnea, physical excertion in the heat (getting too hot while working outside). There are some recent studies showing that being overwieght can trigger A-fib attacks. A couple years ago my wife and I scheduled a two week bike vacation to Co, Utah, NM, Az. I hadn't had a fib episode in over a year. I was feeling good. When I woke up the morning we were to leave, I was in Fib. I didn't tell my wife becasue I was hoping it would stop after an hour or so. We got on the bike and rode 735 miles to Amarillo and i stayed in Fib the whole way. I thought I was gonna die. About mid day I told her i was in Fib and I had to listen to her yap in the microphone for the rest of the day about why we didn't stay home. After we bedded down for the night in Amarillo, I was able sleep it off and my heart went back into rhythm. But, I was extremely tired all the next day. Not very smart of me. Some fib episodes are mild and you don't really know you have it, sort of like what you've described. I have those sometimes. But, sometimes Fib attacks are so strong all you want to do is lay down and hope itll go away. I have this kind usually. Feels like an elephant standing on my chest, and I can get a little light headed.

Jeff, I am an A-Fib patient and have been since I was 30 years old (I'm 52 now). I've had 2 Ablation surgeries. The first one I had when I was 30 years old. My heart stayed in rhythm until 5 years ago. I had to have another Ablation done at that time, and my heart stayed in rhythm for a couple years, but it eventually started having Fib episodes again. 3 years ago they put me on a medication named Tikosyn. Tikosyn spreads your heartbeat out to help prevent it from going into Fib. It works for the most part, but every couple months I have a fib episode that'll last for a few hours or so. I have to take a blood thinner (Xerelto) to prevent blood clots, which I'm sure you know is the biggest risk of A-Fib. In general, Fib isn't fun. It eventually weakens the heart muscle. When I'm in a fib attack, all I feel like doing is laying down and praying that it will pass. As far as the Ablation surgery; The last one I had was 6 hours long. The first surgery I had was about 3 hours long. The biggest hastle of the thing is, they went up through my groin using the same procedure as an Arteriorgram, and after they get you out of surgery, you have to lay flat on your back for at least 6 hours waiting on the incisions in your groin to heal. Your back will be hurting a ton by the time you are allowed to get up and walk. I did hear recently that they are now starting to do the Ablation by entering through a port in the wrist. If that is true, then it will be a lot better for you. I'm not sure that is true, but I heard it from somewhere. If you're consuming any caffiene at all, get off of it. That'll help.

Ya know, I got to thinkin. What if, and we all know it is a BIG IF, it really is true that Yammy is coming out with a new Venture in October? What if the spy photos, and all the corresponding talk turns out to be true, and they introduce a brand new Venture, whether it be a water cooled V4 or a water cooled Vtwin (hard to think they would go air cooled). How many on our great forum here would immediately go out and buy one? It seems are large portion of us talk and hope and discuss about Yamaha needing to come out with an updated Venture. However, I wonder how many of us are really ready to put our money where our mouths are and reward yamaha by going out and buying one? Just wondering.

Donvito, I would say branching off of 129 and riding the Cherohala Skyway to Tellico Plains, Tn and back to 129 would be an absolute must.

Same here Brake Pad. I'm kinda OCD about my tires and the pressures.

Look Y'all. We have a comedian in our ranks. LOL.

I'm not gonna buy any touring motorcycle that isn't water cooled. When I consistently hear air-cooled V twin owners talk about heat issues, it turns me off. Plus, I just can't be convinced that air-cooled motor would last as long as a water cooled one. Just a hangup I have I guess. The undisputed king of air-cooled touring bikes decided last year to add watercooling to there motor and they literally can't keep an inventory of them because they're selling so many. And, I just read an article a couple weeks ago in Rider Magazine stating that Victory is on the verge of putting water-cooling on their bikes. Polaris already does that with the Indian Scout, so they have tested the technology and will be moving forward with it. Now, having said that, I will understand if Yamaha decides to go with a big twin. It's by far the most popular configuration trending today. I won't like it, because I think the V4 is one of the best motorcycle motors ever invented, and quite frankly I don't understand why Yammy doesn't continue to exploit that uniqueness by upgrading it. But, if they are going to go with what is the most up to date popular trend, it is water cooled V twin, not air cooled V twin. And, I agree with Freebird and some others; if they come out with a V twin touring bike, they shouldn't call it a Venture.

Surely to holy goodness Yamaha wouldn't put an aircooled touring bike out there after us having to wait for forever and a day to get an updated Venture. I could almost stomach them moving to a vtwin if that's what they feel like they need to do, but if they don't watercool it, it would once again confirm that Yammy doesn't listen to the screaming desires of their touring customers. HD has finally moved to water cooled, and there is a ton of rumors that Victory is coming with a wet head bike. So, hopefully Yamaha will stay with water cooled.

I'm with ya on that one Puc. One of the first things I did when I bought my RSTD was get a centerstand for it. Literally couldn't do without it now. Having the stand for piddling on the bike while its at my home shop is certainly beneficial, but where it really becomes worth its money is on road trips. Having the bike level everyday when we load up and, and being able to spin the rear and front tires to do a road check is invaluable to me. I haven't (knock on wood) in all the years riding had to deal with a flat on the road yet, but when that eventually happens, I know having the stand will be the shizzle for putting a plug in and heading down the road.

I am a freak about keeping my vehicles clean. I wish I wasn't, but it's something in me I can't overcome. I wash my truck at least once a week, and I never go anywhere on my bike unless it is emaculate and glistening. I too believe when a black vehicle is pinpoint perfectly clean, it is usually the most beautiful thing on wheels, but..........I tried it one time and never again. Washed my a$$ off trying to keep it the way it should be kept. I see so many people driving black vehicles that really don't do them justice. They don't keep em clean, and a buncha folks do the God forbidden thing of running them through a carwash instead of hand washing them. Anywho, I'll stop my ranting now. By the way Eck, That's a sweet looking Avalanche

I agree with Condor. I way prefer the toe shifter. I've tried several times to use the heel shifter for a day ride or so, and I can't get used to it. My shifting is certainly smoother using the toe. As a matter of fact, I've been kinda surprised to see so many of you with a passion for heel shifting. Maybe I'm missing something.

I'm saying mowing the grass too. Or, wait, maybe you're gonna be cleaning the gutters in preparation for severe storm season.

Puc, I am not an HVAC expert and I do not have an ounce of advice I can give you on this one. But, I just wanted to tell ya; I greatly enjoy your natural sense of adventure with all the bike travelling stories you tell, and when I was reading this thread and I could feel your natural urge compelling you to fix this sucker by yourself because after all, you truly are a jack of all trades, it finally hit me like a brick in the head............WHEN I GROW UP, I WANNA BE COWPUC.

Wait wait wait. Am I crazy, or does it look like JDaniel is rubbing it in? While we're all trying to push through these final weeks of winter, he's throwing out pictures of sun and shorts. What the???? LOL.

The Honey and I would take a couple days to ride to Vegas. Get us a room at The Flamingo. A one night stay would be long enough for me to work a number of Craps and Blackjack tables and turn the remaining $700.00 into $5000.00. Now we're cooking with gas. We would leave Vegas and ride up to and across southern Utah via Zion, Brice, Grand Staircase, Glen Canyon, Monument Valley then down through New Mexico in time to do a Howdy and Shake with Cowpuc in Santa Fe or Taos. Then ride the hair off of it to get back in time for the week to end. Put the remaining $4K in the bike fund and sit in my recliner and grin.

Abdul, I'm so sorry to hear of your wife's passing. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

birthy happday don!!!!!

Ahhhh, the BRP. What a wonderful ride. Don't listen to any negativity about it. It's beautiful and interesting from one end to the other. My wife and I LOVED it! You mentioned the Biltmore in Asheville. Make sure you go there! My wife wanted to go, and I really didn't. It would up being amazingly awesome! Take my advise and pay the extra money to rent the headphones. It gives you a guided tour with all of the history of the house while you walk through it. Otherwise, you're just wandering around looking at a big beautiful house. If you or your wife like flowers, there is an awesome botanical gardens beside the house, don't miss it. Make sure you eat lunch at the restuarant in the horse stables beside the house. Also, tour the winery on the backside of the property. It is a most of the day experience if you do it right. You'll see a boat load of bikers there. While you're in Asheville, catch a meal at The Tupelo Honey Cafe. The famoous one is downtown, but they have a less crouded one in the burbs. When you get to the end of the BRP at mile 0, make sure you ride into the little town of Cherokee and take a gander. Lotta Indian hisory there. I agree with others statements that, when you get to mile 0, it's not a far ride over to the Tail of the Dragon. Go ride it!. Have fun! I'm envious.