Rob Swallows

I know folks whom have used them and not had problems. Not me by the way. Soaking the old ones in VM&P naptha will keep the originals soft and supple for a shim job or two.

There is a tool made to relax the retaining pins on those available from Pasternak, ($$$) or Field Components, and a couple of others I can't remember names of right now but each pin will have a spring finger which retains it in the plastic connector. Molex makes a lot of that plastic injection moulded stuff and used to sell service tools but don't know if they do any longer. The tool will be segmented to allow more or less attachments, (according to pin count) to make the complete assembly. The suggestion to open the case on the other side is best most likely given the cost of extractor tools which the pins would all need to be done at the same time.

Probably best to list an automobile in the quote request also as most times bikes are considered "pleasure" or secondary vehicle. I'll try for chits and grins later today just for reference.

I don't really know either. I had Shelter ins. for several years when I was younger but they kept jacking their rates terrible so moved to State Farm which ultimately did the same. It is probably due to the number of vehicles of all types under the policy, and good driving records for all. We run about a half dozen comprehensive claims through, (mostly glass) a year but it's never been a problem or affected the rates. I've tried AARP, AA also for quotes and it's not comparable in structure so have stayed with Geico for about nine years now. Probably has something to do with locale also.

I did too and my unit was new in 2010.

It has it's plusses and minuses for certain. All the old stuff is still there but you have to go looking for it. Not too bad once you get familiar but IE was always slow on my machine and freezeups were the norm several times per sitting. "Edge" seems to be a bit better but my wife prefers "FireFox" and uses it exclusively. Daughter uses "Chrome" and is happy.

There are still two covered bridges in the area across the Kaskaskia River and I'm going to emulate one. They are social gathering spots. The fun is just starting. I have three Hobart portable gas drive welders and used them all on the project. My winch/crane truck struggled at times but did what it's supposed to do. My lowboy tractor had no problems with "keel hauling" the dead weight around but it has a 100k "Tulsa" winch on it. Had to build runners across the shallow point of the creek to manually drive the concrete buggies across as there is no way a mixer would ever get down to the pour and a pump truck wouldn't have near the reach. We buggy'd the mix almost a 2200' from mixer discharge to pour.

Years ago I borrowed my daughter's Ipod and plugged it into the pigtail lead on the bike which plugged into the auxiliary port on the radio. I could play the Ipod through the factory radio just fine.

After visiting the Exide website I discovered a group 31 deep cycle battery has a much better reserve capacity so called and upgraded the order. Here is a link of what is not coming my way: http://www.exide.com/us/en/product-solutions/transportation/findabattery-trans.aspx?culture=us%2fen&culture=us%2fen&culture=us%2fen&culture=us%2fen&culture=us%2fen&page=product-solutions%2ftransportation%2ffindabattery-trans&page=product-solutions%2ftransportation%2ffindabattery-trans&page=product-solutions%2ftransportation%2ffindabattery-trans&page=product-solutions%2ftransportation%2ffindabattery-trans&page=product-solutions%2ftransportation%2ffindabattery-trans I'll rig up some type of luminaires for the driveway and bridge which will be placed on motion sensor detection to light up when movement is seen on the road. I poured two concrete abutments and welded two 53' flatbed semi trailers together, (side by side for the roadway) after winching them across the creekbed to serve as my bridge. Still awaiting settlement of subsoil to finish the approaches to this bridge although it is passable now. This next spring I'l build an open ended enclosure to it for the old covered bridge look.

I have all my, and family's insurances under Geico. There are 13 cars, three bikes, several ATV's and properties under this coverage. My Venture is full gauntlet w/100/300 liability and 50k on medical with an umbrella in force for overages. The cost is $112.62 per year with a Zero deductable comprehensive and $500.00 deductible on collision when broken out. My son's VTX1800 is just a bit more at $115.84 per annum.

Ingenious for the home shop. Cheap too. Very similar to mine but a smaller scale. Mine is two deheaded 55 gallon barrels welded together on a rolling barrel dolly utilizing two six inch air ducts but I work on semi trucks. The top barrel is a removable end type retained by a clamp. The fan is a 10" explosion proof axial flow unit and moves a lot of air but an installed VFD regulates the speed. My shop is a bit larger than the home garage so it works well discharging through a port on either sidewall. It's nice to run trucks inside and not choke on the fumes.

I broke down and ordered a 3kw "Pure Sine Wave" inverter and three Exide Group 29 deep cycle batteries from my supplier today. What I'm wanting to do with this is illuminate about 4200' of access driveway and bridge to the rear of the property which is about 90% covered in old growth timber. Also need clean power for electronics and water pump motor hence the reason for the added expense above a modified sine wave type inverter. The timber canopy precludes the solar panels being mounted just anyplace, but with a few of them placed at the top of a 75' guyed tower I have, there shouldn't be any problem. I currently have a skid mount small building back there used as a hunter's cabin, but it's to be replaced with something more permanent in nature. Of couse the genset will alleviate any need for solar power when it's running, but the drive lights will be automatic running from the batteries not costing much.....

Looked at it, debated on cussing it, but went no further except to sweep around it. Too humid for my liking in the garage and elected for some quality time with one of the grand daughters.

Thanks for your reply Jeff, I don't normally work with things this small and probably wouldn't have even thought about it if not for casual conversation with my family. We are wanting to erect a small cabin on our very rural wooded property and it's far from easy to get utility supplied electrical power there. I have several gensets from large three phase 12 lead reconnectable units, to the newest 3kw inverter style and was planning to use one of those, but if an inverter could be used for lighting it would certainly save some fuel dollars. I'm thinking the skid mount 15kw diesel set would be adequate for anything we'd plan to do out there. I also have a 20kw LPG set, so it's a tossup at this time, but the final decision would base upon ease of fuel delivery. While I'll not require three phase power in any of this type application, it's always nice to have available.

I have no experience with these smaller items except the one in my service truck which is used to keep my laptop charged and it does fine. Anybody use them in about the 2000 watt range for anything significant, and how long do they last before the battery(s) need charging? Rooting through my junk stash from removed equipment of eons ago, I ran across two aluminum framed glass pane solar panels about 18"X12" which make about 24VDC in full sunlight, and controller circuit cards. These were formerly used on long decommissioned equipment(s), and these panels were retained for another use some day..... The batteries they maintained charge upon were 12VDC cells to power the equipment. Kinda perfect for automotive type uses although I don't know current generation capacity.

We'll see how this one runs out after the carburetor work. Any problems and it's one for the history books.

Thanks Gary; I did perform that operation with both the new, and former diaphragms and all worked well. Citing they were 11 years old I elected to replace rather than trust rubber sealing once it's mounting surfaces had been disturbed. The bike seems to run very well but I've not ridden it since carbs are reinstalled. I had heard about the K&L kits being questionable so went with genuine Yamaha parts and had no problems at all. I set all the float levels "spot on" in relation to each other as closely as humanly possible. I've not adjusted the mixture screws yet either but did count the turns upon disassembly and reassembled the same. All jets were oriented as removed and no mix ups. I replaced no hard parts, only rubber and sealing rings. Some of the jets were in fact plugged from the wonderful fuel quality we must endure, but it removed in the solvent bath. I'll get it optimized over the weekend if it doesn't get into my "grand daughter" time cause there isn't anything in this world more important than that. Thanks, Rob

Installed carbs back onto bike this afternoon and it fired right up. Haven't had time to sync them yet but the weekend looks promising. Indian dealer sent a party by this evening to look over the Venture and they will take it now seeing it running should it be available. I need to finalize a price but the low mileage, (13,364) is appealing to them for a 2005 bike. The Indian dealership and I are within $500.00 agreement price on a new Roadmaster, with a few "extras" added to the package. A ready built trailer hitch is among them along with a personalized locking cover.

Had to go looking for the post counter as I'd never seen or more likely paid attention to it. I'm certainly not one that's into the inherent "drama" of any website and try to participate in more of a technical exchange which is of my interest. I really don't expect other's to approve this design/build on the fly, and readily open myself up for constructive criticism if I'm incorrect in any assumption. I feel we all learn that way. It's gonna be heavily built for certain but the parameters are set to be met. This trailer is a prototype only. Should I like and it be proven feasible, a lightweight monocoque construction will take it's place in tooled aluminum sheet. At this stage plywood is much easier to work with and a lot less expensive per square foot. Appreciate the comments and feedback. Rob

Thanks Jeff; Yes 60 pounds would be far to heavy on the bike hitch so the axle will slide under this trailer much like a semi trailer does. I should be able to come to a 30 pound tongue weight by trial and error but can reposition the generator if need be. Part of the weight will be offset by the microwave and convection oven mounted in the rear behind an opening tail panel. It will take experimentation to drill down for final results. I plan to lock the axle with spring plungers but may rigidly bolt it into position once all variables are accounted for. I'm an engineer by trade so inherently take little at face value or "close enough" as something can usually be bettered. This is not a production unit so time is on my side. This genset is quiet really. My Honda 2kw inverter is 58db at 21 feet and this one is just a bit louder at 59db at the same distance. The inner panels are lined with closed cell foam but there is room for additional. This one being remote start is really nice in that it's going to be hidden and pulling a rope start would be difficult. I have a battery isolator for the trailer to run the campsite illuminator LED fixtures from a storage battery which will recharge from the generator. There is a 12VDC receptacle on the genset front panel and could use that, but the isolator will be a permanent install. Kind of a secondary precaution having rope start backup but I'm getting lazy with old age. I'll have to do better with photos if the interest is there but I really don't see a lot of participation other than yours and I's.

Nice little genset as it starts remotely from well over 100' distant and is very quiet. Weighs right at 100 pounds with a full bag of fuel but rolls easily. 3400 starting watts, and 3100 running out of 192cc engine so should provide enough power for any campsite we are at. Good airflow across the cylinder fins and I'll fabricate an exhaust extension utilizing a quick disconnect plumbed under the trailer. Was going to purchase a Honda as the Yamaha is too blasted heavy. This one I can pick up and carry by my lonesome but the comparable Yamaha would put you in the hospital and most likely as would the Honda. Good warranty with a full two years and it runs very well. It powers my wife's 1800 watt hair dryer are slow idle. Literature states it will start a 13,500BTU air conditioner and I may test that theory in the future with my roof air unit.

Alrighty. It's starting to go together. The box materials are cut to be built and weigh 97 pounds. To this will be the addition of the structural wood glue and stainless nails which will be used w/the air nailer so "almost" all inclusive. The axle weighs 124#'s as it has 7" brakes installed. The tires and wheels are right at 29#'s each when the lugs and center caps are figured in. The swivel hitch for the front weighs right at 12#'s so most everything is there except the perimeter frame both the box, and torsion axle assembly will bolt to. I need to figure how much of an offset for weight vs. cost for the frame and tongue being aluminum which I've not done yet. My brake controller will apply the brakes lightly enough I can still spin the tire(s) by hand, (albeit difficult) when turned almost all the way down, or it can be allowed to free wheel. Regardless, it's not going to lock the wheels on an empty trailer unless I don't turn the controller down. Appears with the inverter generator, small microwave, place set for four, ice chest, clothing, tent, etc., I'm going to be right at 600 pounds of trailer weight ready to travel figuring a steel perimeter frame. This should allow us four days of fresh clothing of which by then we'll be ready for a break anyway. As mentioned earlier my wife and I are not really large at about 300 pounds, so I'm hoping to not punish the clutch too bad..... Looks like our first trip out is going to be relatively close to home. I'm foregoing retirement till the end of this year citing two out of three new hires quit amid training so short handed once again. My tower climbing certification is expired and need to attend another three day session in Kansas City to recertify on September 13-16. My wife has elected to go with on the bike. This is good as it's close enough that any troubles can be easily handled.

Thanks guys for the suggestions, we're right on the same page. I was kind of planning on the rain gear going into this tail panel bag. I agree I'm concerned about the wait. I replaced that door check with a steel and vinyl cable as it allows more opening and a lot less stress on everything I think. I really like how easy the bag Dismounts from the trunk rack. It only sticks up about 6 inches higher than the rear backrest for the passenger but again the bag will only be used when riding tandem.

It's a Nelson-Rigg CTB-1020. It really seems to be a nice one. Any larger and it wouldn't fit in the trunk rack but this one is almost made to fit there.

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?122264-Nice-Gift&p=978442#post978442