RedRider

He texted me this morning that the Venture is still available. Don't think I can get over there tonight, but perhaps tomorrow night. RR

Todd, Tried to reach the guy late this afternoon and was unable. I even rode over to Sheboygan Falls and tried him again. I needed a ride to day so that's where I went. I also sent him a text. So, whenever he gets back to me, I will go see it. RR

I can get over there tomorrow if you would like. Shoot me a pm or call me (likely have to leave a message). Phone number in my profile. RR

I may be able to stop out. Will let you know. Out of town right now. RR

Whatever it takes to not have ethanol. RR

FYI - Replace your tube of cement every year. Whether used or not. It is about $1 at Wallyworld.

I carry a sticky string plug kit and a cheapo WallyWorld or HF compressor on all my bikes and in all my vehicles. Plugged several nail holes in the truck tires but never one on my bike. I have plugged bike tires of others I stopped for on the side of the road. RR

+1 RR

Yellow pages. Auto Upholstery. They can get it taken care of locally and cheaply. RR

16 boxes? Do you have a walk-in humidor? This might be the excuse you've been looking for to build one. RR

I was just in the UP until Wednesday. Had all the stuff (and instructions) to bypass. Hope he gets it worked out. Keep us up to date.

The spring bolts have torque measures in inch-pounds. Don't use a ft-lb wrench to measure in-lbs. Don't ask me how I know. RR

It is of course a scam. When I have received that reply, I sent the following: Me: Do you trust your shipper? Scammer: Yes I do. Me: Great. Have them bring the payment in cash. Scammer: ....nothing but crickets..... RR

Yes, if you did the inner plate/spring mod (where you remove the innermost half spring and halg plate and replace it with a full clutch plate). If you go back to the standard arrangement, the friction point will move back to the center of the clutch lever throw. It will also give you the original larger friction zone. However, you will lose the 7% additional friction contact that was added with the mod. I believe the stiffer spring provides a vast majority of the clutch performance upgrade while the inner disk replacement is a minor contributor. However, it is all good. I went with the Barnett upgrade and reverted to the 1/2 and 1/2 inner disc. Like it. SkyDoc's solution is a good one also (and quite a bit less expensive). RR

I'm guessing you have relatively small hands and hold the grips right next to the controls as this is where the levers are closest. I have never accidentally hit the kill switch while riding. However, if you want some fun, pull in the clutch and turn off the kill switch while running at a good clip. Twist the throttle a couple of times, turn the KS back on, and pop the clutch. Hope your brakes work since you will be pulling to the side to go back and pick up the insides of your mufflers. Big boom. RR

Congrats on your run. Yes, I will be doing one in a couple of weekends as part of a LD rally (Minnesota 1000). It can be addicting. RR

This is a nicely done diagram. The wiring as is should work fine. However, a couple of thoughts here. 1) The pull from any of these loads is either proportional to voltage (heated vest / grips) or very small (GPS / Radar detector). None will affect the starting circuit nor will the starting circuit affect any of them. 2) Each '+' line coming off the distribution block should be fused. 3) Wiring would be simplified by using a fuseblock (FZ-1 from fuzeblocks.com is the one I like). There are several others out there. 4) Per #1 above, it really doesn't need a time delay relay. A standard relay will do the same thing. The reason we put the time delay relay in the HID circuit is that an HID pulls about 120 watts (approx 10A at 12V) when it fires up. Also, the circuitry in the HID igniter has internal protection that shuts it off when the feed voltage drops below a certain level (ie. battery voltage drops to far). The high current draw required to start the bike will sometimes pull the battery voltage down below this threshold level and kill the light. Sometimes it will reignite, sometimes not. HIDs do not like to have their power cycled without cooling off between starts. IIRC on first gens the headlight power is interrupted when the starting circuit is initiated (starter button pushed). If so, this will also quickly cycle the power on the HID. Again - bad. Bottom line - Your wiring should work (add the fuses). Time delay isn't really necessary. RR

Stopped by ScooterBob's the other night and chatted with him. He is doing well. Just spending most of his time playing with the old engines and running around to 'old engine' events. His Venture was sitting in the garage with a rather thick layer of dust on it. Ridicule ensued. He picked up a trailer that he is redoing. It will house the engines he is taking to shows along with some drop down bunks. It will be really nice when completed. Next time I see him I will make sure he submits his annual VR tithe and gets back up to date. RR

I would take the battery into an auto parts store and have it load tested. You may have toasted the battery when the ignition was left on. RR

Problem with your setup is you need a restriction in the line. Not really sure of exactly what hardware you need to do that, but someone else will jump in here. I purchased rather than made my manometer.

A plaque with a broken second gear. Make it an annual award (except that will make a recipient have to come back the next year). RR

Originally designed to prevent slash and grab theft. This should deter most. Several sizes available. http://www.rei.com/product/709207/pacsafe-55-security-web-small RR

Spike13 stopped in this afternoon and we installed a 10 second on-delay relay for his HID. We first tested the relay with an old battery since I wasn't exactly sure how it worked and the wiring diagram wasn't the clearest. The delay relay was a 5 pin relay while the currently installed wiring harness relay was a 4 pin relay. After testing, we concluded the relay should plug right into the 4 pin socket and work. And...... indeed it did. Turn on the key, and start counting. 10 seconds later, the light comes on. Plenty of time to get the bike started. Worked like a champ. This is the time delay relay we used. http://retro-solutions.net/product-info.php?HID_Time_Delay_Relay-pid602.html

While working on my honey do list today, I started taking out a few bushes that had overgrown or died. Hooked up the first with a chain to my truck and pulled it out. About that time, my neighbor, who was doing some stone landscaping, came over with a better tool to remove said foliage. It made quick work of 7 or 8 rather large bushes. It sure is nice to have neighbors with cool tools. Unfortunately, he did not let me drive it (nor did I ask to).

Ride down Sunday or Monday and we can take a look at this if you would like. Flyinfool? You up for a ride up here to lend a hand? Between the three of us, we could really screw James' bike up. RR