spke

Not 100% sure whats on the front right now. Think it's a metz and its a mt90 (ie:130) as opposed to stock 150. I run 38 in the front. Went with the mt90 cuz it has a higher load rating than the 130. Might try doing the old "rear(mc tire) on the front" trick next time I need a front. sp!ke

Funny..... But sadly true sp!ke

I'm on my second Kuhmo. Both took about 110-120ish PSI to seat. I run a long extension hose with a clip-on inflator head off my inflator(the kind with the gauge and a push button) and then put the wheel outside while I stand inside the garage. Push the button and listen for the pop(1st bead)....pop(2nd bead). A nice warm sunny day and lots of "goop" on the beads will help. A bit of a "pucker factor" but it works. Once you get it on, just keep in mind that it will feel a bit different (squishy?) at first. Run a couple hundred miles and you'll begin to forget it's a CT. I run in the low 30's-one up and go up a couple pounds if I'm 2up and/or trailering. sp!ke

The steering column on my wifes Saab has scratches on the right side from me trying to put the key in the non-existent ignition switch. Takes me a min to go "oh yeah, dummy". sp!ke

I sit on a Russell Day-Long on my Venture. Best money I ever spent (it came with bike from PO -lol). Seriously. It is THE most comfy seat I've ever had, and I've tried 'em all at one tme or other. Ride all day with ZERO discomfort. Last I knew they had an 8mo "comfort" garauntee. (I have no affiliation with any seat manuf) sp!ke

Kinda like an airline pilot and his passengers. We trust that he wants to stay alive just as much as we do.

Northern Tool has had it at $6.48(US) for like ever. Recently it went up to $6.99(US) or $8.99(US) w/ $2(US) rebate. Shameless plug (y'all can guess who I work for - ) sp!ke

Not sure of the dimensions but I have the Kury 3 pos switch(w/ rockers) on mine. It controls both sets of running lights on the front. Soon the unused switch will control power to the Carb heater relay. They also make one with paddle switches. It actually sits on top of the existing cover, covers the cover so to speak.

I can vouch for the noise being there with wheel off the ground and idling in gear. I was worried too. Cant remember why I did it, might have been when I did my clutch, but it was the first time I had tried that scenario. I didn't think it was anything I did wrong with the clutch but thought maybe I had stumbled across something (bearing, gear, u-joint) worn and making noise in the drive train. Went so far as to take my jack and stand to a buddy's house and put his Venture up in the air for the same test. His made the same noise.

HD ride planner and GNuvi 765 as well. I use Mapquest to find my stops (usually gas stations and/or eateries) and then enter the addresses in ride planner. Mapquest, or I suppose Google maps if you prefer, has a better satellite view so I can "look down" and make sure the gas stations are on the correct side of the road and not one holers as I usually have a group following me and need lots of pumps. Once I have my stops loaded I start moving the path between them to what I want using waypoints. This makes the GPS take the route I want as opposed to the route it would choose on its own, ie : shortest, fastest, less fuel, etc... When you load it into the GPS you will get mutiple legs all labeled tripname 1,2,3... Once we stop I just move to the next leg when starting off. Before downloading to GPS I zoom down on each waypoint and check to make sure they are exactly where I want. Learned the hard way that close isn't good enough. Doesn't build confidence when you take a group into a neighborhood with no outlet :-( There are probably GPS's that do the whole route start to finish but now that I have this down pat, I'm quite happy with the way it works for the money and time spent. If you know where the covered bridge is on the map you can just drop a waypoint or a stop on it and the GPS does the rest. No need for Lat/Long or an address. Or if not start with an address close by and move the stop or waypoint in HD planner. Think theres a restriction in the 765 for max 20 waypoints.

The other solution and I think it's even cheaper is to swap to a Mr. Gasket 3psi "elctronic" pump. I haven't swapped mine yet but i have it on hand for when I need it. Remove the plastic housing and it mounts right where the old one was. MR gasket pump goes for around $35 at most loal parts places

Wife has recently started riding with me. Only took one almost incident to get her to understand. "DONT MOVE when we are standing still or going very slow. If you HAVE to move during one of those times make SURE you let me know." Now she's a statue when she needs to be and can move around when she feels the need at other times.

There was a guy named yellowwolf that used to follow you and make videos on a souped up goldwing. Puported to be able to outrun sportbikes. Heard he did the ironbutt(1000/24) on the dragon. Guess some of it would been in the dark.

Cherohala Skyway is a must if staying anywhere nearby. The Dragon wraps around a mountain and all you see while riding it is the next curve coming at you. The Cherohala climbs to the top of the ridge and (weather permitting) offers broad vistas of the valleys below as it traverses the ridge. Long sweepers as opposed to tight curves. It was closed over the winter due to a landslide, but I think there is now 1 lane open where the slide happened. Bridal Veil Falls(Nantahala Nat Forest) is a good picture opportunity, There is also another falls nearby. Everyone should ride the Dragon at least once. Best during the week. I have been passed in the middle of a tight curve while leaned over hard, by sport bikes at high speed. Moonshiner is another good ride. Pretty much anywhere you stay in this area there are GREAT roads to ride. We stay in Bryson City at a little family run motel called Two-Rivers. The owners are GREAT hosts. He rides and loves to show people around.

One word - Private adjuster! well maybe two words. Do not EVER deal directly with the ins co. Their function in life is to give you as little as possible, and worse than that, they are VERY good at it. We had a house fire and the priv adjuster got us about $50K more than ins co was offering and that was after his expenses.