RedRider
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Everything posted by RedRider
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Looking at new tires. How are Dunlop D404's?
RedRider replied to timgray's topic in General Tech Talk
Not sure about on a 1st Gen, but I will never put a D404 on my 2nd Gen again. It does not have a high enough load rating. Road 2 of them (rears - both emergency / on road replacements) and did not get 5000 miles out of either. One had a catastrophic failure while in the mountains of WV and the other just wore out in the plains of SD. Changed to an E3 and are at 10,000 miles and still rolling. The general consensus on here (although some have strong opposing opinions) is: 1) Dunlop Elite 3 2) Avon Venom 3) Michelin Commander These are in no particular order other than my personal preference. I got almost 16,000 miles out of an Avon but have never run the Commander. D404 - never again. RR -
Don't think this is the year to be at Don's. Will do that one of these years, but this year is (trying to get) filling up with LD events. You are welcome to use the trailer and take some tools along (jack, Carbtune, Colortune, etc.) if you would like. I'm pretty sure I will be at Scooter Bob's MD on Saturday. RR
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If you would like to borrow a trailer, you are welcome to mine. Not that pretty, but works great. Let me know. RR
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Why poke along for 3 days. Can be done in 2 (if you and your bike are prepared). I ride Long Distance rallies and will attest that your bike will do it. However, in the real world, this is a pretty easy 3 day run. 900 miles for the first day is easy since you will be on interstate (Nebraska and eastern Colorado are REALLY boring) the whole way. Believe it or not, but speed is not your friend when you are trying to get long miles. It kills your gas mileage and makes you stop more often. Stick to 65 MPH even when the speed limit is higher. If you are able to borrow an auxilliary gas tank, it will help. Cheap and easy to plumb in. If not, carry a couple of gallons for insurance so you aren't stopping too often. This will allow you to ride until your tank is empty without the pucker factor. The key is to keep the wheels turning. If you have a stock seat, I recommend getting a sheep skin and/or an AirHawk (or borrow the Airhawk). Also, you will want to find underwear and pants that do not have seams running across your butt bones. If you have a pair of riding pants, going commando under them (or wearing gym shorts only) may do it. Stay hydrated. Wear your protective clothing at all times (keeps you hydrated even though it may be warmer). Make sure your bike is in tip-top condition. Especially the tires. Changing tires on the road is time consuming and very expensive (don't ask me how I know). Visit the Iron Butt Association website and check out the 29 hints for LD riding. http://www.ironbutt.com/tech/aowprintout.cfm Yes, it can be done. If I can get the clearance from the tower, I will be accompanying my brother riding from Dallas to LA. My return to WI will be attempted in 2 days. Most importantly, if you are feeling tired - STOP AND REST! Nothing is so important to risk falling asleep. LD riding is fun. And if done correctly and under control, can be as safe as cruising around home. Thanks to you and your son for your sacrifice and service. Let me know if you have questions. RR
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Brad, That's just mean!! I need to come down again for some of that goodness. Looks great. Boomer, Hope your friend and her family are doing OK. RR
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I have a Vulcan 750 and it is a nice bike. Plenty of power, easy to handle, relatively low to the ground. Seat needs some work if you want to go any distance. Good recommendation. RR
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While doing the fluids, flush out the brakes and clutch lines. Easy to do and is good maintenance. On another note, you may want to look at getting the cylinder covers diamond cut instead of painted. EUSA1 likely has a set already done in the Classifieds. Just a thought. *EDIT* EUSA1 did not have them in classfieds. Check this posting link http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=51149&highlight=diamond+fins Looking good. Welcome to the family. RR
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I will hang onto the Venture for riding with my wife (or grandkids when they come along and are old enough to ride pillion). However, that doesn't mean I will not expand the stable. My next bike will be (as of now) one of the following: 1) Yamaha Tenere' 2) BMW R1200GS(A) 3) Yamaha FJR1300 4) Kawasaki Concorse 14 5) Honda ST1300 (if they do some upgrading). However, nothing will come soon. Have 2 kids in college with 2 more in another year. Ouch. Hoping I will have gas money for the current bike(s). RR
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If you are valuating your bike, go with trade-in value. If you are valuating the other parties bike, go with high retail. IIRC, the value for this purpose is based on what you could get immediately (trade-in value). However, that may or may not be to your advantage. RR
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Cinderella, Thinking about what this is likely for, I would go in with either retail value for everything, or trade in value for everything - whichever is to your advantage. Let them challenge the valuation. When I was going thru this issue, I worked out an evaluation for all the assets I kept and the assets the ex ended up with. Of course, the evaluation for all my stuff was trade-in / garage sale value. All her's was at retail (or really close). Wasn't even challenged since I had lots of documentation (that, thankfully, they didn't review but were impressed by the number of trees required to print it all). Good luck. Jeff
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He has to play tennis with his old strings. RR
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Heck, WI football was even dominating the Punt, Pass, and Kick winners. That was a great game. Glad i was at home watching so I can now go to bed. Need to be up by the crack of noon to watch the Bears and Seahags. Too bad the Steelers won. Now we only have the opportunity to wax 3 birds. Good night all. Be careful getting home Bob. RR
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Pats over Jets Ravens over Steelers Seahawks over Bears Packers over Falcons Ravens over Pats Packers over Seahawks Packers over Ravens. Packers will have beaten: Eagles Falcons Seahawks Ravens We don't like those birds. RR GO PACKERS!!!
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Yes, I am a premier member, but will not be attending Daytona. It is still a little early in the season for me to ride. I ride a Yamaha, not a BMW. RR
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Yes, I read that article and am impressed with his ingenuity putting that website together. Hoping to ride at least 2 LD rallies this coming year and will likely make my first use of the SPOT technology. The Team Strange Minnesota 1000 is already on the books to be done (July 29-31, 2011 www.teamstrange.com). The other will hopefully be the Utah 1088 (June 22-26, 2011 for the 3 day rally www.utah1088.com), or LOE, or the RAT, or ..... I think the Utah 1088 will require the SPOT tracker. They did last year for the 10n10 rally. RR
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There's chatter about this product on the Long Distance boards. The IPhone and BB/RIM apps should be out soon. The IPhone app is at Apple for approval. Not sure of the BB/RIM status. Looks interesting. FYI - for you folks using SPOT to track and display your travel progress, there is a website put together by one of the LD guys that makes it easy to display your routing. Check out www.spotwalla.com. Allows you to provide/control however much info you want displayed. RR
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One advantage of living in the country with a septic mound system. Just back the truck up to the mound and drive the bike up the other side and into the truck. Sometimes a short, shallow ramp is still needed. This type of loading is done much better with a come-along than by engine power. Glad it wasn't one of my bikes. RR
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I will be adding a switch to the head light circuit once my HID ballast comes back from Canadian Customizers. The starting circuit causes the voltage to drop below what is required to keep the HIDs lit and they sometimes don't go back on. They don't like being turned off and then quickly back on. I got an illuminated light switch. Not sure where I will be putting it yet, though. Will post with pics when complete. RR
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The Silverstar has lasted for at least 2 years and about 40,000 miles - so far. Although, I do carry the original bulb as a backup. The HID really throws out a lot of light. Have had some problems with it failing to re-ignite after the starter button has been hit. It seems starting the bike will drop the voltage low enough to extinguish the HID and it may not re-ignite. Have send my ballast back to to the HID guys for a replacement. Will reinstall the HID when the new ballast comes in - but with a relay and switch to start it up rather than the ignition switch. That should take care of the problem. I will then be carrying the Silverstar as an emergency replacement. RR I believe the HID website being referred to is: www.canadiancruisercustomizing.com Link to 35W HID: http://tinyurl.com/24nznzn
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For trip planning and mapping I use Microsoft Streets and Trips. Great program and easy to use. They come out with a new version every year so you can pick up a 'last years' program pretty inexpensively. Check Ebay. For example, here is a 2010 for $20 (including shipping). It isn't me. http://tinyurl.com/32sdhtj Have a great time. Lots of interesting things to see around the east coast. RR
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As was stated above, the 2nd gen headlight can be changed from behind the fairing. It takes an H4 bulb. If you are going to change (sounds like you will be), I suggest going with a Silverstar Ultra. It costs a few dollars more, but you will be pleasantly surprised by the increased light output. You will likely find, unless you have really small hands, it is easier to pop off the fairing and get to the headlight from the front. I've had my fairing off so many times it is quicker that way for me. RR
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Just put the turkey BBQ in the crockpot. Will be ready about 2:00 this afternoon. A couple of pulled turkey sandwiches, a couple of beers, and I will be ready to watch the Badger O-Line run over those Horny Toads. Do you know how to Bucky? RR
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Count me in. I can bring along a bunch of tools, lift, adapter, etc. Thanks for volunteering. RR
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And the list of available farkles is extensive. http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff46/ahendepe/excellent%20adventure%202009/ratopilas/cackenterscanyon.jpg Note the swing away industrial can opener on the black trunk box. This bike has been to Alaska, Copper Canyon in Mexico, California, all out of Detroit. To read more of this great adventurer http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=497639&highlight=vermin It is a hilarious read. If you like it (and don't want to sign up to advrider.com), I can post links to his other two ride reports on this bike. He even took his kids on these adventures (Alaska and California - not Mexico). RR
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For shims, go talk with your local dealer. Ask them if they will swap shims. My local dealer offered to swap shims for free. RR