saddlebum

I think they call that the Sophia Loren model.

Old is good..........

I get what your saying and am inclined to agree, but at the same time I think due to dwindling sales they are trying to appeal to the none riders and get them interested. Seasoned bikers will generally dig into stuff for them selves since they already know what biking and touring is about.

Another thing to consider is the fact that while cost of living has skyrocketed wages have not kept pace. Prime example shop rates for truck repairs have jumped 80 to 90 % at dealer ships over the past 15 years, while mechanics pay rates have only increased by an average of 30% and Trucker drivers pay scales specially for owner operators have barely increased if any at all. Minimum wage for the unskilled has barely moved until recently while many of the companies themselves make huge profits. Many claim they cannot increase wages because the cost of doing business has gone up yet while many of the owners and vips draw wages in amounts that would take ten lifetimes to spend while others can barely pay their bills and put food on the table Or live in multi-million dollar homes and estates while many can barely afford a small bungalow. So having said all this it obvious that consumer spending as a result is way down. Business likes to claim that they create jobs but if there is no market for their product how can they. It takes a balance of consumer buying power and production to create jobs not just one or the other. A farmer once said that Money is like manure. You can keep pilling it up in one spot and though the pile continues to get bigger it accomplishes little on the whole, Or you can spread it around where it will do a whole lot of good.

You mean say she actually does exist.

Nice collection of pics Sleepy. Thanks for posting.

Me I'm just a plain old saddlebum. whether its a horse or a bike or a motorcycle as long as it has a saddle I'm hooked.

Does that include the husband......sure hope not.

people. Were are all the pictures? I know plenty were taken and putting them on face book don't cut it since lots of us are not on face book. The VR family is here on venturerider.org so lets share the family photos........

Really sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately judgement is always made by those who were not there. They may say that being sprayed is not life threatening there fore would not warrant his actions, yet who is to say that is were it stops. Do you wait until your near beat to death or until it is too late before you are justified in taking action? Make sure he has a good lawyer for sure because the opposing side will try to make it appear that he overreacted. You got that right. A friend of mine got charged with assault for beating up three guys that broke into his house with a base ball bat that they brought with them after he wrestled the bat from the one that brought it I have grown to believe that we live by a legal system not a justice system. In a legal system anything can happen, based on the opinions of those that were not there and how much you can afford to pay out.

Get that all the time my self. Sometimes even more than once from the same person.

Sorry to hear that you got hurt. I am surprised that they will operate. I ripped mine loose in Guntersvile Alabama during the international there, while traversing the river bed at one of our stops. it was painful and I wrapped the ankle and lower leg and continued to ride, not knowing at the time what I did. The leg got a good ripe purple colour. So I went to my family Doctor when I got home and after getting checked out was told I ripped loose an Achilles Tendon. When I asked him what the repair procedure was he said "nothing they don't re-attach them any more". Apparently there are three tendons and when one lets go the other two just strengthen to make up for it. Supposedly they get better results this way than by intrusive surgery. Apparently a very common sports injury. I have to say though once my leg got past the healing process, it feels as good and strong as it ever was. Hope your surgery goes well and your up up and about soon.

Man you are so nosey. Well if you must know all the intimate details. There are none:rotfl: We had an event free ride home. Stopped at cassablanca for a bite and a coffee and an interruption free chat. Returned to the highway than parted ways when i took the fairview cut off.

Got home a short while ago safe and sound. But had to head right back out again to my son's as he invited my wife and I too a last minute BBQ (Noooo I'm not still there waiting for my burger......His wife likes me feeds me first). Above all, The most important thing I need to say is that I totally enjoyed the weekend again All those involved in organizing the event deserve all the praise I can muster. A huge thanks to Amy and Rock'n Robin who never stopped their tireless efforts to keep things moving. Finally a special thanks to Terry and Michelle from Pioneer Motor Sports for all they have done for us in providing one of the best facility's available for an event like this plus all the other things tey have done or provided for us. The music was great and though very few got up to dance and I myself only danced a couple dances which is totally unlike me the music played by the band was great in my book. The BBQ chicken was delicious as was the rest of the meal that went with it. It seemed with all the extra stuff there was available to do the time blew by all too fast and it was sad to have to say goodbye's so soon after getting there thurs morning. It was great to to meet old friends make new ones. But it was also a little disappointing to not see some of the regular faces from years past. Hope next year will bring out more people again keep this great event going.

What are you insinuating

Hey @Yammer Dan remember the days when you used to just crawl back into your corner ...........oh wait that wasn't until after you stuck your foot in your mouth

Tooch If you and I sing O'Canada :canada:we just may end up with a bunch of Canucks defecting to the states

Anything I need to know Family related comes VIA old fashioned Email (Whoa.... Did I just call email old fashioned?) Hard to believe, anyway its good enough for me plus VR.org is as close to face book as I need to get.

Whats Face book? Its not one of these cult things is it? Do they offer free lemonade?

So glad you were not hurt and I hope your bike was not to badly damaged though it at least can be fixed much easier than you can. One little fact that might surprise most, those road gaters don't all come from recaps. many uncapped tires have been known to loose their tread due to driving under inflated tires, specially the cheaper brands. A good recap such as Bandag or michelin are actually very reliable but sadly there are many re-cappers out there that just don't cut it. And yes recaps are legal in Canada.

Only been on the site hit and miss for the last few days, so I missed your initial post. So sorry to hear about the Warden's and your loss. My condolences to and sorrows to both of you and your families.

Hi Cowboy. I've been a member since 2006 but forgive me if I don't remember you. Of course back then I was only just starting to meet members. Did you use the same screen name back then.

You would need a de-iceing machine to translate the words.

I downloaded mine from this site for free. Here are the links, http://www.yamahaventure.nl/xvz-1300.html http://www.yamahaventure.nl/pdf/serv...ualxvz13tf.pdf