First_N_Last

Me too, I'm just not a HD customer for clothing accessories or MCs. Push rods? Air cooled? Marching in line with my HD coat, wallet, stickers, boots, shirt, hat, etc.; is something I can never do. I have tatoos, but none of then have HD in them I'd rather go riding & I don't mean riding in formation to pretend I'm cool. I mean riding (over 10K per year). I wish I could get the engine & technology of the BMW K 1300 GT in a Venture style build. How come some manufactures continue to increase engine displacement to marginally increase HP/Torque, while BMW can get 160HP out of a 1300cc? Now for the disclaimers... This is merely my viewpoint. I'm happy for all HD owners, including my neighbor who never invites me to ride with him & who always has something to do when I invite him. Even the people at work, that had a Bike Day & excluded me with my Venture. Wait... sorry for that bit of bitterness. I do have HD owners who ride with me & are great people. They just aren't in my neighborhood or where I work. Now if I hear one more slap about my old Cassette Player... All I can think of is... Push Rods? Air Cooled? HAR HAR Just stirring the pot in hopes of continued fun. Boy that 160HP BMW engine & technology is cool! JohnB

Well; I did some research & became sold on a Phase Change cooling vest. The hard thing about it was the price for an XL. So I hunted & hunted till I found this & bought it... TECHKEWL Phase Change Hydration Cooling Vest [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MADJ4E]Amazon.com: TECHKEWL Phase Change Hydration Cooling Vest: Clothing@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/2196PMSEJ1L.@@AMEPARAM@@2196PMSEJ1L[/ame] - $129.99 + 7.49 shipping Sharing this in case someone is looking for one. JohnB

this thread was really cool.

Thanks for your offer of help. It was an easy install & I set mine for -10% error correction (80 vs 72) JohnB

Darn... have a good trip then. JohnB

Sorry, Friday is the day with Saturday & Sunday already booked with can't avoid family stuff. Thanks for interest; JohnB

Well it has been 3 months since I started this thread. Here is a report on the mods completed so far. My "Must Do" modification/add list is as follows: clean & weatherproof the radio/CB cable connectors (completed by dealer warranty) fabricate & install Engine Guard Braces (made & installed myself) buy & install Tony Dathan's Passing Lamps Light Bar Spacer Bracket (bought & installed - can remove top fairing easily now) buy & install Rick Butler's Bag Bolts (done - easy to remove bags now) buy & install Rick Butler's Seat Thumb Nuts (done - easy to remove seat now) buy & install a Stebel Air Horn (or equivalent) (installed in the fairing & kept the other horns working) replace the six OEM windshield/fairing 5mm bolts with longer bolts (about 1/4 inch longer) & use bigger washers (almost like fender washers) to minimize chance for breaking the ABS fairing when tightening (done) buy a small tool pouch... fill it with some tools, tie wraps, etc. - dump the OEM tool kit stuff in the pouch & place it in a side bag (done) buy a Shock Air Pump/Gauge & stick that in your tool pouch (done) buy Rain Gear & stick it in a side bag (done) buy a GPS & RAM Mount for long rides (done - RAM mounts are the best) buy a good pair of headsets for CB/radio/intercom (bought 2 on eBay for $110) gut the tape deck & modify it for Zune/IPod/Mp3 player storage & extend the AUX input with a cable (done, but I still need to work on fit, etc.) buy & install a good set of handlebar grips - modify them to retain the factory handlebar chrome weight extensions (bought Kuryakyn grips - I love them) buy & install a good set of highway pegs (bought Kuryakyn Longhorn Offset Dually pegs - with your feat up it is comfortable & scoops the air in for cooling) buy & install Jack-UP leveling Links for rear suspension (installed Lust Racing Links - easy to do - greatly improved handling!) buy & install radiator grill (installed Custom World chrome radiator cover) buy & install quality new tires (installed Avon Venom AM42 reversed on the front - installed Kumho on the rear - Avon is great but the Kumho has the wobbles above 85mph buy & install a quality speedometer corrector (bought an eBay SpeedoHealer v3 for $57 delivered - easy install & it is GREAT to have an accurate speedometer) buy & install custom mufflers (BUBs came with my bike. They were too loud so I gutted them & installed 8" baffles in them - now they are nice) add accessory switched power feed to front fairing) (added relay switched by accessory connector under seat which switches 12 gauge power feed to the fairing. In the fairing is installed a six fused power block) fix/correct Passing Lamps power (fix the wiring for Passing lamps by running on separate feed from headlights & ignition switch - now power is run from added fuse block in fairing) fix/correct Air Horn power (removed Air Horn power from headlight feed & ran it to added fuse block circuit) buy & install a quality driver backrest (bought & installed a Utopia backrest - Love it!) buy & install Headlight Modulator for safety (installed Diamond Star Headlight Modulator - I get noticed now) buy & install Brake Light Flasher for safety (came with bike - flashes 3 times & then steady) buy & install Bass Blockers to improve sound (bought at Best Buy & installed for front & rear speakers) buy & replace front speakers (bought Polk Audio 901 speakers & installed - better sound along with Blockers) buy & use a half cover to cool grips, seat & dash in the summer sun (bought a Goldwing half cover - works great & fits perfect) buy & install 80W/100W HELLA H4 Headlight Bulb (bought on Amazon.com & installed with upgraded socket cable) perform Air Filter Intake D-cutout to improve performance (completed in 30 minutes - easy) buy & install LED 1157 bulbs for front & rear signal lights () I think that is it. However, I have been toying with installing a tachometer. The tach just doesn't seem needed & would be difficult to install unless I spent a fortune on a Baron's with a reservoir cover mount. So... what next? Stay tuned to find out? JohnB

To anyone interested... Friday is suppose to be a great day & I have finally finished my custom work on my bike. Now I want to take a long ride. This Friday 7/16 I am starting out at 4AM to go to the Blueridge Parkway at I77. That leg will be highway riding down 64 to 81 to 77 to the Blueridge Parkway. I am planning on being at the I77 - Blueridge Parkway area around 9AM. Does any one have Friday off & interested in riding along with me for 210 miles on the Parkway north to I64? From there I am traveling (putting along) the Blueridge for 210 miles till I reach 64. Stops will be made along the parkway for breaks, food & gas. This is a whole day ride. My highway ride to I77 will be hard & fast. Around the I77 will be a stop for a good breakfast. Near rte60 off the parkway will be a late lunch stop. My route home will either be 64 or 250 depending on interest by any possible additional rider(s). Let me know if interested; JohnB 804-338-3451

I have a 2008 Royal Star Venture & just finished a SpeedoHealer v3 installation in about 1 1/2 hours... calibration is set for -10%. It is great to have an accurate speedometer. The v3 models can be found on eBay for 55 to $70. I recommend it to all. JohnB

Here are some pictures of my tires... Front Avon Venom with 3697 miles of wear... http://www.flickr.com/photos/77333083@N00/4781549774/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/77333083@N00/4780913073/http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4781549774_090d4c53e1.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4780913073_738c09bb3b.jpg Rear Kumho with 6792 miles of wear... http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4780912523_653c7cfbb7.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4781548344_323a246a05.jpg Both tires are wearing fine... JohnB

Well... I gave up on anyone helping with a sales deal for a new SpeedoHealer & bought a used one on eBay. All the new ones seemed to be price controlled. I did a Buy-It-Now on a used V3 SpeedoHealer. It is being delivered to my door for $57.50. It is going to be great having an accurate speedometer! JohnB

Surprisingly, raising the rear up 1" really makes the bike easier to handle at low speeds. A board member sells them... look in for sale section, or search in google/ebay. JohnB

Hi; Does anyone know of any sales, special coupons etc. that will allow me to buy a SpeedoHealer v4 for less than $114.99 ? Thanks; JohnB

Decision has been made... I will just use the standard size for the rear. JohnB

Well... I have installed a factory tall windshield & there was no difference between it & the short/wide windshield. The only sure method for me is to increase the Kumho psi to just over 50. johnB

Hi Joe; I have a Verizon HTC TP2. My solution was to but & install WMWIFI Router. It cost about $30 & works great. Essentially it turns your phone into a 4 port wireless router. My wife & i just connect to it wireless & am on the Internet. The program is very easy to start & use. JohnB

This is for the techie type VentureRiders with a Blackberry, IPhone, Windows Mobile or a Droid type Java phone. It's price is $10 & I got it on sale with 40% off ($6). I just stumbled upon an inexpensive phone app for tracking your motorcycle rides, hiking trips etc. The app is made by Shape Services & is called GPSed. The app allows you to save your GPS recorded route to a website where it is incorporated into Google Maps & you can additionally add photos to the map that you may have taken. I know... it is hard to figure out what I am poorly trying to say. Yesterday I installed the app on my HTC TP2 & recorded my local Motorcycle Bi-Weekly Ice Cream Ride. Here is the public link for interested people to check out & understand better. IceCreamRide With this app (GPSed) & digital pictues, we could share & enjoy our motorcycle rides with each other. JohnB

Thanks again for your offer Duke. We will have to think of another excuse for meeting up again. Soon... JohnB

Thanks Chris & sandy; I received the windshield & installed it a day ago. Over the weekend, I will be testing my rear tire with lesser psi for wobble to see if the windshield will make a difference. Your windshield is in very good condition & I am truly grateful. JohnB

Well; I have continued to ride with the Kumho at 53psi. My bike rides great! Thanks for the tip. The best solution would be for us to find a RunFlat car tire that would fit. I have read that Runflats work very well on Golwings. The RunFlat tires have very stiff sidewalls. I just installed a stock tall windshield, so I plan on experimenting with tire pressure to find the exact low limit psi where wobble starts again. This Kumho will stay on my bike till late fall as I had planned. Remember when this tire seated that last time & you jumped? It sounded like a 45. Boy we worked hard to seat that! Thanks for everything you did. By the way, in the effort of checking other possibilities for causing the wobble, here is the list: Added 2 ozs of dynabeads to the front tire - total is now 5 ozs Added 2 ozs of dynabeads to the rear tire - total is now 6 ozs took the mirrors off - but them back on because of no difference took the fork wind deflectors off - but them back on because of no difference checked front wheel bearings adjusted steering head bearings checked all frame bolts & engine mount bolts raised bike on lift repeatedly & checked wheels by spinning raised bike on lift repeatedly & checked sway arm for looseness That is enough... I am convinced that the soft sidewall characteristics of the Kumho are responsible for the wobble after you & I have no problem around 50psi. Those with no Kumho problems are either very lucky or don't ride hard on high speed expressways. I'm searching weekly for a better CT, until late fall when I will give up & go to a Venom AM42. JohnB

Please do give me a call & we'll try to meet up if I am in town. johnB.

Here is a picture of my cover keeping my bike cool on a 100 degree plus day... http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Bauer/1044481842#%21/photo.php?pid=2173555&id=1044481842 http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs101.snc4/35433_1450452695026_1044481842_2173555_3304489_n.jpg As you can see, it is a lot nicer than throwing a towel on the seat. John B. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1277277&id=1044481842

I think that the only motorcycle I have ridden with a CT on the front & back was a 1939 Indian chief. It was also the motorcycle that i used to take the driving portion of my motorcycle drivers test. The soft side wall flexing would worry me on a front tire & keep me from trying it unless some made a RunFlat tire in the size needed. I strongly feel that RunFlat tires would make a CT on our Ventures OK. JohnB

No worries, Ill still be putting my logs into this thread with some pictures of the tire wear also. Before I change out my Kumho, I will probably have at least 13000 miles on it. This is about the life of a stock tire, so no heartache for me. If I didn't have an s curve on my way to work with 30 degree angles and some 1 foot dips with a stiff bump in the middle of the 3 curves, I would probably be OK with the Kumho & just enjoy the increased mileage. Damn poor Richmond, VA expressway roads... 22 miles of drive each way to work with 10 miles of bad surface in it. Argh! Oh well; JohnB

Damn it! Am I voted off the island? Again? Nobody loves me... Here is a thread you may find interesting with some facts & logs of my experiences & anothers. That thread has remained PISS free so far. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=47235 JohnB