BigLenny

WOW! That's incredible! 1998 Olds Aurora. Haven't seen nor heard of one of those in a while. That IS the ad you're referring to, right? Big Lenny

Dan, i have known a boat load of folks down through the years that use CPAP and BiPAP machines and love the heck out of them, including myself. I have never seen or personally heard of anyone who has struggled with, hate, had the issues with, frustrated with, at the level you have been experiencing. It truly amazes me. Hopefully, this new machine will work for you. Hang in there friend. You’ll love it once you get used to it. And, most importantly, it’s gonna save your life. Big Lenny

I agree with you, BlueSky. Quality has to be the culture of an operation, or there will be no quality. It doesn't matter what nation it comes from, it's about the culture of the company. After all, most people will agree that Apple products are among some of the highest quality consumer electronics in the industry, but a boat load of them are manufactured in China, or other far away obsolete countries that aren't known for producing quality products. It's the specs that Apple demands that make the products high quality. And, a large part of it is so subjective and straight out opinion based, with no real proof. For example, I have a friend who is retired now, but was a long time engineer with Sony. So many people swear by the quality of Sony flat panel TV's, and Sony products in general, but he was telling me about a year ago that Sony, for a long time contracted with Samsung to make their flat panel screens, and also contracted with Hiscense for their smaller flat panel screens. So, It's crazy; people will buy a Sony, thinking that its gosh darnit the best tv in the industry, but not even realize they're watching a Samsung screen. I was in a Tyson plant the about a month ago, and was on the plant floor talking to the safety director about some safety signage that we need to get for them. While we talked, their was a conveyer line beside us with chicken strips going down them and being fed into Tyson branded bags for grocery store/restaurants sales. Then, there was a horn sounded. They stopped the conveyer and changed out the bags to Walmart Great Value bags and continued filling them with the same chicken strips that were going into the Tyson branded bags. Same quality strips going into both bags, But, I said that to say this: People shopping in a grocery store will swear up and down that the Tyson branded strips are better quality because they are priced higher than the ol standard Great Value strips. Even though, I watched them be the exact same strips being bagged into 2 different bags. Some people swear by Samsung products, regarding them as very high quality; and they usually are. But, a couple months ago, I was in a Best Buy, looking at refrigerators. They had all the brands, Samsung, LG, Frigidaire, etc. While I was standing there, I noticed an Asian couple who were also looking. They were looking at the LG products. I struck a conversation with them and asked them where they were from? They said they were born and raised in South Korea. So, I seized the moment, and asked them, since they are from South Korea, and both Samsung and LG are South Korean companies, which brand do the South Koreans actually consider to be better quality. They said without question, in South Korea, LG is considered a better quality brand than Samsung. they said Samsung is considered a good brand, but more of a staple. LG is considered a high end brand over there. That's weird, because here in America, we consider Samsung to better than LG. It's all so subjective. Here in America, we spend crazy stupid money to buy Mercedes Benz cars, but in Germany, they use them for taxis. LOL. Go figure. Man, Im doing a lotta babbling. Peace out, BL

I always get a hearty laugh when listening to guys who argue about their "American Made" trucks, and how they are sooooo much better than other trucks. Take a gander at the percentages of the top 10 most American made pickup trucks: 1. 2017 Ford F-150 85% TDC (Total Domestic Content) 2. 2017 Honda Ridgeline 78.5% 3. 2017 Toyota Tundra 73.5% 4. 2017 Chevy Colorado 73% 5. 2017 Ram 1500 72% 6. 2017 Nissan Titan 59% 7. 2017 Ram Rebel 58% 8. 2017 Chevy Silverado 55% 9. 2017 GMC Sierra 55% 10. 2017 Toyota Tacoma 55% The truth is; in todays world, with the global economy all connected, you gotta be careful about bragging about being loyal to American Made, because you never really know where all of the components come from.

Thanks Cliff, and your certainly welcome. We we were highly impressed with both bikes. I truly do do feel the Venture is going to pull quite a few Victory riders, who are already used to the VTwin drive train and wanting a bike that is completely updated and bullet proof. The question is; how many of the current Venture fans are they gonna keep. Remains to be seen on that point.

Friday and Saturday of this past weekend, Teresa and I got on the bike for the first time since the first week of November. I had a major shoulder surgery the week before Thanksgiving, and have been rehabbing ever since. Finally was released a couple weeks ago to ride my bike. The weather finally cooperated this past weekend, so, off we went on a 2 day, 400 mile jaunt up through the Ozark Mountains. Soooooo good to be back on the bike! I gotta admit, I was starting to struggle a little with losing interest in riding. Didn't think I would ever admit that, but, it was a real feeling I was having. Anyway, that feeling is long gone after we spent a couple days back on the bike. On Saturday, we stopped by a popular Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Polaris dealer, hoping they would have a new Venture, and new 2019 Goldwing in stock. THEY DID! So, after some small talk, I was signing a waiver to test ride the new Venture. Man, what a beautiful bike to just stand and look at. When they rolled the bike out of the showroom and outside the dealership to the parking lot, people in the parking lot flogged us. This is the most popular, highest volume dealer in the state, so there is always a bunch of customers on the lot on Saturdays. They always have a radio station there, and hotdogs and hamburgers cooking to feed all of the customers. It's a cool, hospitable place. People were excited for us because they thought we had just bought it! Lol. After going over all of the tech stuff, we fired the bike up, and headed out. This dealer just throws you the keys and lets you go by yourself. And they don't freak if you stay out longer than usual. My initial response was the weird, non-revy feel of the big V-Twin was so different than the smooth racy, quick reving feeling of the V4 we all love so much, I just felt it was underwhelming. I guess that's a standard feel for VTwin riders. But, when we got on the entrance ramp of the freeway, and I poured the coals to it, and started going through the gears to get up to speed, I was at 90MPH in a blink. This thing is stronger than train smoke, and pulls hard. Slowed down to 75mph, put the cruise on, and kicked back for about 20 miles. Man, what a smooth machine. My wife immediately remarked how smooth it was, and how comfortable it felt for her. Se made the comment that it's a Cadillac, and I agreed. The thing that I was so impressed with was, how light the bike felt at slow speeds, and how nimble it felt once we got off the freeway, and I put it through it's paces on a curvy country road for about 15 miles. Then, I purposefully rode the bike down the main traffic filled boulevard of the town to see if I could detect the heat issue we've been reading about. We sat at several red lights, and rode in slow traffic for quite a while. I did not experience a lot of heat on my thighs, but, and this is a big but, it was only 73 degrees outside. From what we've all been reading, the heat issue appears in 80-90's degrees. It must be noted that we spent the first half of our ride in the Tour mode. I then switched it to Sport mode. WOW! What a difference! I would probably do a lot of riding in Sport mode if I owned one. Lol. In the end, we both really really really liked the new Venture! A vast improvement in all the areas we wanted to see improvement.........except for the powerplant. I spent the whole time wondering if the bike was going be hotter n hells half acre during the summer months. It is a strong motor for sure, but to me, it doesn't make my heart thump any faster. Especially when we kept hitting the rev limiter. Like I said before, it was underwhelming, like most VTwins I've test ridden. But, it is a gorgeous bike with a boat friggin load of storage capacity, and the tech stuff is wonderful! When we got back on the parking lot at the dealer, folks flogged us again. It's gonna be a bike that will be a conversation piece when you are on trips and stopping at places to eat and stay. Oh, I almost forgot, the gear box was wonderful! Click, click, click. No clanky gear shifting like a lot of VTwins ive ridden. It is a very nicely put together machine, and dripping with a feel of quality. Immediately after we got off of the Venture, we walked across the parking lot to the Honda dealership (owned by the same folks), and signed up to test ride the new 2019 Goldwing. They didn't have an automatic shift one ready, but had a standard shift outside waiting for us to throw a leg over and go. So, we partook. OMG is not a strong enough expression for the feeling this bike gave right off the bat. It is a very noticeably smaller machine than it's predecessor, so it's gonna be a struggle for the old hand Goldwing riders to begin to love, but as Cowpuc would say, WOWZY WOW WOW WOW! This freakin bike is for lack of a better word, "perfect" What I mean by that is; it exudes a feeing of preciseness and perfection from the way it rides, to the way it sounds, to the controls, to tech stuff, etc. The new double wishbone front suspension is crazy cool, and I found myself watching it work while we were going down the freeway. Lol. We rode the exact same route we rode the Venture, and their rides were similar on the freeway, but not even close on the curvy country road. As you are starting to think about beginning to lean into a turn, the bike points there and goes aggressively at the turn like no other touring bike I've ever ridden. I kept telling my wife it begs to be on a race track. What an absolutely superb overall bike! It even has a Bluetooth hookup for your phone just like on a car, and has the answer/hangup button on the left grip controls. It also has Apple Carplay so you can mirror your Iphone onto the dash and use your apps, or your phones GPS. It has Tour, Sport, Rain, and Economy modes. As with the Venture, we started out the ride in Tour mode, but later switched to Sport mode. Sport mode changed the bike to a beast. The powerplant in this bike is one to fall head over heels in love with. It's revy with a deep smooth sound, and feels like it will handle anything you want to throw at it. The main drawback of this bike is the storage capacity. The Venture dwarfs this bike with storage. I told my wife while we were riding it, that this bike seems to be a perfect candidate for a Unigo trailer. It would give it the storage capacity for the long trips, and not affect the performance of the bike like standard 2 wheeled trailers do. You don't want to take away the canyon carving ability of this bike at all. We LOOOOVVVVEEEDDD the Goldwing! This is the bike that Yamaha should've made with the new Venture. When we got back to the dealership, the salesman showed us that there are 4 preload settings, and that we had actually did the whole test ride in Single rider mode. DANG, I wish we would've been told that before the ride! We would've changed it to 2 up mode. Overall, it was a great time at the dealership, with getting the chance to ride these 2 wonderful bikes. It's funny that, after we got back to the dealership from the Goldwing ride, I looked over at the Yamaha parking lot, and folks were still crowded around the Venture. LOL. There were 6 Goldwings sitting outside, and one person was looking at them. The dealer did tell me that they had sold 2 Ventures in the month of March so far, but thirteen 2019 Goldwings. If this number holds true across the nation, the Venture is not gonna come close to outselling the Goldwing. But, it IS going to grab a bunch of Victory riders. I'm sure of that. Big Lenny

RDawson, I know what you mean about Murray State. They have a long winning basketball tradition. When I was young (ions ago), they were in the same conference with our local university, University of Arkansas Little Rock, (UALR), and on a number of occasions (more than I want to remember), we would be having a great year, heading toward a berth to the NCAA tournament, and Murray State would knock us off, usually in our conference tournament. Used to frustrate the crap out of the residents of Little Rock who supported the Trojans. I remember when the U of A (Arkansas) hired Houston Nutt away from Murray State, I was shocked to find out they had a football team. I had only known them as the school that used to break UALR's heart in basketball.

Dan, Like so many on this thread, I have been sleeping on a CPaP for well over 10 years, and really can't do without it (and believe me, I've tried many times). I too went through a period of absolutely hating it, and griping about it, and even going long periods of time not using it. But, I finally had an incident one night when I woke up in the middle of the night, in a full blown panic and could not breathe! My throat had apparently became extremely dry from my open mouth snoring, and it had basically stuck closed, and I, for all of the might i tried, could not get a breath in. I panicked and ran/stumbled out of my bedroom, freaking out making a crazy loud inhaling gasp niose, just trying to get any amount of air in. This went on for longer than you want to experience. I felt myself starting to faint from lack of oxygen, but at about that time, my throat began to release just a tad to let me get a trickle of air in. I fell down on my couch, gasping, and finally, after several minutes, was able to get back to normal. While this was happening, my wife was literally freaking out screaming and hollering trying to get me to drink from a bottled water she had, but I knew I needed to be able to breath in to drink and that was not going to be an option. I knew with every second ticking down, my life was slipping away. The whole scene was traumatic, frantic, loud, and critical. It left her crying, and mad as hell, because she knew I was neglecting sleeping on my CPap. Her crying was a major thing because my wife is not an emotional gal. She is very composed and business minded. She was pissed at my rebellion to what i need to do to be healthy. I went to my sleep doctor the next week and he told me I was very fortunate. He said a large number of folks dye from that very scenario per year. Well, I've been on that sucker ever since, and I believe whole heartedly in it. My advice to you is; Put yer big boy britches on and get the machine, quit whining about it, get used to sleeping on it, and live a good life. The alternative is scary. Big Lenny

Wow! All of this stuff sounds amazing! Seems it'll cure anything. My wife has a cat that has a bad attitude, wonder if it'll cure that. Better yet, if I drank a shot of it everyday, maybe it'll do wonders with this atrial fibrillation I've been dealing. Lol. BL

Video, I've never seen a pic of the RSV, and the HD Ultra nose to nose like that. It certainly makes me realize how much better of a look that the RSV has than the HD. It just has a better, more rounded edges look than the HD. Even the fairing is a better looking, sleeker look than the HD's. The Venture is a bigger bike for sure. Hmmmm. Big Lenny

Pucmeister, I PM'd you a couple days ago, and am wondering if you received it. Just wanna make sure you're doing fine. Big Lenny

Whoever bought that needs to flip it. They could probably make a grand or so.

Wow! Thats identical to my bike (less about $2k of adds). Somebody is gonna get a heck of a deal!

Puc, After i posted my last one about how much smaller the new Wing is, and how much less storage room it has, I actually thought of you and all the early year first gen riders, and how storage isn't actually the main selling point for y'all. So, maybe Honda has hit on something here. Maybe performance and enough storage for 3-4 day jaunts is more marketable today than in the past 20 years or so. I do agree with your frustration of how they are using technology to manage and limit our driving styles. It could be as simple as they aren't wanting to be tied to the liability or something. Who freakin knows? It frustrating with all of this big brother control companies are now putting on their products. Does feel much like a free country anymore.

Hey Folks, Friday, I stopped by my local YamaHonda dealer, and they had just received their first 2018 Venture, and 2018 Goldwing a few hours before i got there. They took me to the back of the dealership to the maintenance shop to show me the Goldwing. They already had it out of the crate and was getting it prepped for the showroom (the Venture was still in the crate). Let me tell ya, I was SHOCKED at how much smaller this new Goldwing is than the previous model!!! It didn't look that much bigger than the ST1300. Clearly, Honda has decided to go after a new, possibly younger demographic, with this new ride. Considerably less storage space in the saddlebags and trunk. But, it sure does look like it'll carve the corners on a rail. The Venture was still in the crate, but the box was off of it, and that big beautiful red machine looked highly interesting. I'm anxious to get back there tomorrow and see it all put together. I might be crazy to think like this, but, after seeing how small the Goldwing is, I'm not too sure that the new Venture won't push it for sales numbers. Because, that Venture doesn't look like it's starving for storage space at all. And, it looks like a far more comfortable ride. We'll see. Big Lenny

Hi Folks, Well.......I went and did it, and bought the Nissan Titan. Did the deal late last night. I will post pics shortly. I've been on the road with it today, and I will take pictures when I get home and post them. In the end, It just came down to a financial deal that was too enticing to pass up. I bought it from a small Nissan dealer just over the border in Texarkana, Texas. I worked the deal with the owner of the dealership, in his personal office. He explained that he was willing to take a substantial loss on the deal, because it was the final deal to get him to a stairstep bonus that Nissan pays their dealers. The truck listed for $53,130.00, after negotiating for 3 days, I bought it for $38,872.00, and they gave me $30K for my trade, which Kelly Blue Book says is worth $27,800.00-$28,500.00. The final difference price was $8872.00. I just couldn't turn the deal down, especially with it coming with a factory 5yr/100K mile bumper to bumper warranty from Nissan. It was a weird deal to me because I just wasn't completely sure about moving away from Fords to a Japanese truck. I struggled hard on that one. And, the truck has blacked out wheels, and a blacked out grill insert. I'm a chrome guy, blacked out isn't my thing. But, so far, I'm really liking the truck. Extremely nice rig. We'll see how it does as I put 30K miles a year on it. I'll send pics tonight. Big Lenny

A buddy of mine bought one just like that about 6 months ago. He said he has experienced one major issue that he can't seem to find a fix for. It's that darn curry scent coming from the exhaust. LOL!!!!!

BlueSky, UGH!!! I hate that crap! I knew they had the feature on the 2018's, but I was told by the sales rep that you can disable it. But, if I have to do it everytime I get in the truck, that is a no no for me. I have high concerns about how much wear and tear that puts on the starter. That is a lotta starting being done by something that isn't used that often during the course of a normal owners day. I have some reservations about the 3.5 Ecoboost V6 too. I know they're saying they're having some great success with it, but taking a small motor like that and spinning it up all the time with twin turbo's gives me a concern about longevity. That's a lotta pressure on that small powerplant. At least to me it feels that way.

Jaycee, Your reasoning is spot on for most folks. As a matter of fact, I drove cars to call on my customers for years. But, i am a big fella; 6'6" and 300# (dropping weight though). Several of us who sell for Grainger certainly buy and drive cars, but there are a large number of us who have decided, for daily comforts sake, to drive trucks. I made that decision in 2010 when I bought an F150 to travel to and from my clients facilities. Changing to a truck made a world of difference in my comfort, and it also allowed me to be able to carry certain sizes and amounts of samples that I could not do in a car. Driving a car is far more economical than a truck, but for as long as I need a mobile office to make my living, I will go the truck route. Another added benefit that I found out when I switched to trucks is: they hold there values waaayyyy better than cars and SUV's. For folks who are in the business of travelling with their vehicles, being able to trade with high mileage is very tricky when doing it with cars and SUV's. But, the trucks hold their values enough to where you can do that on a regular schedule and not get hurt. I'm not sure if that is a southern thing or not, because trucks are the luxury vehicles of the southern culture, and they go for crazy high numbers on the used market. Heck, down here, it's very common to see women and even older women, like grandma's driving crew cab trucks. I'll give you an example of the truck culture down here; when I bought that truck in 2010, I loved it, and I was totally happy with it. One day, my wife and I went to eat with a couple who have been friends of ours for years. During dinner, my wife mentioned that I had gotten a new truck. The wife who we were eating with asked me to tell them all about it. I was describing the color and features and such, and she asked me a simple question. She asked "is it a 4x4?". I told her "no, I didn't need a 4x4". She then responded by saying. "it's not a truck unless it's a 4x4, everybody knows that". Now, this a woman who said this. Not a man, a woman. A very classy woman, who is the director of a medical center here in town. Not some redneck Honey Boo Boo type gal. Her husband glanced her when she said with the pride of kings. Lol. So, my point is: the truck culture here is so thick that even the women pay attention to them, and they hold their values like no other type of vehicle. I'm sure it is this way in other parts of the country too. Big Lenny

Casey, Toyota is a great built truck, but they are going to have to get their gas mileage in line with the rest of the 1/2 ton world before I bite. And, as I stated before, their price point is considerably higher, and there has been no solid proof that they are performing with any more longevity than the other main players in the market. As far as my job, it's not that I need to be seen with a new truck, I certainly know that the truck I have now will go 200K-300K miles, but my company has a policy that they want us to keep our vehicle within 5 year models of the current year, after that, they cut our monthly vehicle allowance per month in half. In my case, that point will be up when we get to 2019. The thing is though, if I wait until that point, I will have put another 30K miles on it, and taken a large hit on the value because it will cross 100K miles on the odo. So, right now is the perfect time to head that off. Big Lenny

DJ, The Titan has plenty of towing capacity for me. I tow about 4000# max during the summer with my trailer and zero turn, and if i am gonna tow more, I don't ever see myself getting to the 8000#-9000# mark. BY the way; the Titan I've been talking about is not the Titan XD. Nissan makes 2 versions. The Titan XD, which is the one that they positioned between the 1/2 ton, and the 3/4 ton, and they make the regular Titan, which is a 1/2 ton pickup that competes at the level of the Ford F150, etc. The reason you're seeing the Titan XD have a lower towing capacity than the main 3/4 ton trucks in the market is because Nissan hasn't built it to be a true 3/4 ton truck. they are trying to fill a slot in the middle. Big Lenny

Vzuden, I'm exactly with you on that one. The tailgate step is the main thing i'm worried about giving up if I switch to another truck. I have said over and over and over that I'll never move away from Ford until somebody else makes a step that compares, but, I find myself seriously considering it. Big Lenny

Don, You bring up a valid point. The repair costs are going to be higher due to it being a Nissan. I guess the question then is: will there be less repairs than other trucks. Hopefully, huh? That is why the 5yr/100,000K B to B warranty is so appealing. We're like y'all; my wife drives a 2017 Nissan Murano Platinum. She has had no problems with it, but that had better be the case with a vehicle that is less than a year old. Before that, she owned a 2014 Nissan Altima. Had that 3 years and never had a speck of trouble from it.

We Rode to Key West back in March.

Hey Ya'll, Thanks for the responses so far. So far, I have narrowed it down to the Ford, Nissan, or Ram. The GMC is really good looking to me, and I like the gas mileage it gets from the 5.3, but in the end, the rinky dink back seat has caused me to kick it out. I took my mom, and my wife out to the dealer and test drove it with them in the back seat, and both of them were not wanting any more of it. Very uncomfortable for anybody to ride for an extended period of time, and that poses a real problem because we vacation each year on the beach in Destin Florida, and that is an 11 hour drive, with all 4 seats full of folks. This year, we will also be taking a 2 week trip out to Colorado with folks sitting in all 4 seats. The Chevy has the same issue. I hate its that way. Chevy just unveiled their new 2019 model that will be hitting the market this fall, and it looks like they have addressed that issue with better back seating. But, it will be quite some time before the rebates get high enough to put the truck in my budget. I've decided to kick the Toyota out because of the gas mileage issue. I have talked to a large number of Tundra owners the past 2 weeks, and for the most part, all of them like their trucks, but their number one complaint is: the thing sucks gas like a Hoover vac. Everybody I've talked to says the truck on a good day averages 14.5mpg, and most said it's less than that. That aint gonna work with me driving 3000 miles per month. I do like the resale value of the Yota, and the expected durability, but it also suffers from being kinda bland looking. The insides are very plasticky (if thats a word). Also, the pricing on the Yota is nowhere near where I can buy the other trucks. $7K-$8K off is the most a dealer has quoted me. That pales in comparison to the $10K-$16K off the other brands are offering. The Ram certainly intrigues me because right now, at this moment in time, they are throwing wads of rebate money at their 2017's to move them. You can get a lot of content for the price of the Ram. But, I have ran into several people who are happy with their Rams, but have had repair issues with them. The Ford is in the running because it offers features (tailgate step, large backseat room, etc.) that other trucks don't have, and I know the durability of them, because I have been driving that brand for quite some time. But, The one that keeps staring me in the face is the Nissan Titan. I have test driven this truck 3 times at different dealers this past week, and I am becoming more impressed with it every time I drive it. Great power, very comfortable with the zero gravity seats, a lotta content for the money, cab passenger space is good, gas mileage is acceptable, and most of all, that 5 year/100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. I have some numbers from a dealer here local, and they are very good. Good enough for me to almost bite. Another thing that kind of tugs at me is; it's different than the rest of the market. I'm kind of a cat that is not a follower of the masses. Following is very boring to me. There is a reason I don't own a Harley, it's mainly because everybody and their grandmother has one, and that's boring to me. It's the same reason I don't own a Goldwing. The Venture, and the RSTD, are unique bikes that don't follow the masses. The Nissan Titan is kind of the Venture of the truck world. A very capably built truck that not a lot of folks buy, but by all intents and purposes gives its owners a lot of maintenance free miles. There is a cult following of this truck. I gotta get this done before I leave to go to Orlando in 2 weeks. It's the last week of the selling month for these dealers. The deals are starting to get hot because theyre trying to meet unit bonuses. We'll see.