darthandy

The 12 bucks is well worth it for the help in repairs and the lovely occasional dose of insanity that makes the rest of the world a bit easier to bear ... did someone say ice cream? I could swear someone said ice cream! Andy

You can put whatever you want in either blank. Some of us have put our city and province or city and state in the first blank and a comment in the second blank. Your "profile" name should automatically appear in the middle when you go to your "pin". That's what is in the URL on the "entry" screen. Hope this is clear enough. Andy

Thanks, Jeff. I'll keep that in mind. Andy

Nice piece of work Don! I'm on there too. Is the image to come later or did I miss something entering my info? Andy

Oops...sorry...I meant the RSV. Andy

Pulled the cover off the bike and found oil dripping from what seems to be the left rear (When sitting on the bike) valve cover. Haven't replaced one of those before and I'm wondering if there's anything special to know about doing it? It looks to be a fairly straight forward job. Seems kind of early in its life to go, though ... 85,000 KM (About 53,000 MI) or is that normal for these bikes? Andy

Aha! I hadn't noticed that either. And I don't think my tiny compressor would handle it. OK, it looks like the MityVac ... oh yeah - and the speed bleeders. Thanks all! This site is a fountain of information as always. Andy

I've reached that point where I want a better way of bleeding my brakes. I was looking at a Mityvac MITMV8000 which seems to be a good tool, and a Bikemaster brake fluid bleeder. The Bikemaster has a connection for bleeding a dual disc system, but frankly, it looks really cheap. Has anyone had any experience with this thing? http://www.babcotools.ca/Tools/Mityvac-MV8000 http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/9/205/58630/ITEM/BikeMaster-Brake-Fluid-Bleeder.aspx?SiteID=SLI|Brake%20Bleeder&WT.MC_ID=10010 I can get the Mityvac through a dealer here in Canada for $41.50 which is only about $6 more than the Bikemaster. I like the idea of the dual disc feature but I don't want a crappy tool that won't do the job. I notice that Harbour Freight has a tool that looks identical to another Bikemaster kit (Which looks better than what's pictured in the link) but the ratings on it are about 50 / 50 for "good" and "bad". So .. anyone ever use the Bikemaster tool? Should I just go ahead with the Mityvac - that the way I'm leaning right now. It's reputation seems to be pretty good. Andy

My '87 has the oil lock in only one fork leg! Wonder what happened there? Andy

As I mentioned in another thread on this subject, Quebec has always been an expensive place to do just about anything. They like to protect the consumer no matter how much it costs him or how badly they have to screw him. Nice place to visit but I sure wouldn't want to live there! Andy

I beg your pardon, but that registration fee has nothing whatsoever to do with our healthcare costs. My yearly registration here in Ontario is $42 for each bike. Quebec has always been a very expensive place to do just about anything. They like to protect the consumer, no matter how much it costs him! Andy

Damn!!! Now he tells me! I'll bet it was for that blinker lubricant. Wonder if it was for the right turn or left turn signal? Oh well ... too late now! Andy

OK, the silly season has arrived again. I got a very suspicious looking email from Fedex today regarding a package that they tried to deliver last Thursday, but no one was home that day at 6:30 p.m. Couple of problems with that - first, we were home at 6:30 that day, and secondly, I wasn't expecting any packages. So, I emailed Fedex about this and they sent me an address to which I could forward the email. A few hours later, I check my email again and guess what? Another Fedex message (Sent by a different manager) saying the same thing, so I forwarded that one to the Fedex people as well. I did receive a message from Fedex that they would never send a non-delivery message with a receipt to be printed out for pickup. They said that in the case of that particular scam, there is a virus embedded in the "button" that you are supposed to press to get the receipt. Best thing to do is to delete the message (And then delete it from your "deleted messages") to make sure you don't activate the virus. They would also appreciate it if you send them a copy of the email first. Beware - the nut jobs are busy again! Andy

And from my father " Don't lick a gift horse in the mouth!" Andy

Now I wonder what this thing would be like with gas power instead of electric power. Say a V-4 of around 1,300 cc's? http://autos.ca.msn.com/photos/2013-toyota-i-road-concept Andy

I think that the surest way to know what will happen with the Venture is to check the manufacturer of the cassette player. If they're gearing up for a big production run, you know there will still be a Venture! :rotf: Andy

Actually, that happens more often than we realize. When companies merge or one takes over the other, there can be a lot of "badge engineering" to differentiate what are otherwise identical products. For instance, when Triumph restarted in 1990, they got a lot of their minor parts (Mirrors, levers, switches) from the same suppliers as other bike companies. In one case that I read about on the Triumph forum, a rider whose bike had tipped over and damaged a mirror, found the name "Kawasaki" stamped onto the back of the mirror under the sticker that said "Triumph". It seems that they needed a bunch of mirrors in a hurry and so the supplier sent the mirrors (Which was the Kawasaki mirror but normally without the name stamped on the back) from a recent production run for Kawasaki that they were willing to wait for. Of course those needed a sticker covering the Kawasaki name! Fun, eh? Andy

As Beltfed50 mentions, going to a taller narrower tire can change the handling on your bike and not necessarily in a good way. Steering can become quicker to the point of being a bit "darty" at highway speeds. I would go for the correct size and it's hard to go wrong with the E3's. I have them on my RSV and the difference over the original Dunlops was noticeable. Andy

Total agreement. No way was he doing just 10 kph. Looked more like 25 to 30 to me. And if the load shifted in the turn, that would easily be enough to put him over. Damn lucky guy on the scooter! Andy

Someone had one of these at our vintage bike club's national rally a few years back. Rather strange looking machine. I imagine the gyroscopic action with all the weight spinning with the wheel would keep the bike going nice and straight. Andy

Leslie Nielsen - "Can you fly this plane and land it?" Robert Hayes - "Surely you can't be serious!" Leslie Nielsen - "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley!" Airplane - one of the funniest movies ever! Andy

And a steering wheel? Hell, might as well buy a convertible and have the doors and a roof for bad weather. At this point you aren't motorcycling anymore - you're just driving an expensive, poorly equipped car - just my opinion! ANdy

Pretty impressive for a 765 lb bike! I don't think I'd want to try it myself, though. One thing I can't quite figure is that the bike has a plate showing K1600GT but I thought the version with a trunk and better passenger accommodations was the GTL - the full-on touring version with the GT being the "sport tourer". Could they be set up differently in the European market? Andy

Here's an easy one ... can a man marry his widow's sister if she is younger? Andy

Haven't installed a rack myself but there is a thread on doing it somewhere in the forum. The light bar is a good idea for a couple of reasons - 1) it lights up the road better at night which is always good, and 2) it makes you a little less invisible to the cagers about to turn in front of you! Unless your dealer is incredibly thorough, I would look at installing the bar yourself. Dealers never install a relay and usually stick the fuse in the fairing which means you have to pull the fairing apart to change a burned fuse. As well they usually do a poor job of tying the wires into the harness which can cause more problems later on. Andy