zagger

The stock under seat tank is actually a great design and is the main reason why I got my venture. Of course, most folks are completely confused and think that the top of the tank where the filler is located is actually the entire tank (maybe 1 quart sized!). I have no desires to replicate any sort of tank located on the frame between my knees. Anyway, it wouldn't be very easy to do since the frame has two rails in that area unlike most bikes which have a single frame rail running through a tunnel in the gas tank. I used the space above the carbs for Vboost valves (from a Vmax) and individual intake filters. I do carry four plastic cups to stick on the filters if I need to leave the bike parked in pouring rain. Good luck with your project. zag

I really like the under seat gas tank on early ventures. In fact, that is why I got the bike to modify and make into some sort of chopper - not a bobber, I guess. Keeping the weight sitting low in the bike is really a good idea and makes handling much faster. Many riders have no idea where the gas is stored since the tank isn't obvious. Seems like a lot of effort to adapt some gas tank to your frame. Why not just go with the parts that you have? zag

I have a "Stop & Go" tire plugging kit with CO2 cartridges for tire inflation. To be honest, I regard it as a magical talisman to prevent flats! As long as I am prepared, nothing will happen. zag https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/stop-go-tubeless-tire-plugger-with-co2

Just got back from the grocery store. TP is completely gone. Lots of other shelves are bare also. We stocked up on dog food since we have 3 guys who expect a couple of meals every day. Since this is only beginning, I will bet that the effects are going to grow. zag

I prefer FLAT black, the stealth non-color. zag

I had these extra gas tanks for my Honda Sabre welded up at a nearby shop. The dimensions were chosen so that they fit right behind my saddlebags, but the dimensions could be anything that works for you. There are fittings on the bottom of each tank that connect to an electric fuel pump so that I only have to hit a switch on the handlebar to move the gas in each of the tanks into the main tank. When the main tank goes onto reserve, there is enough room for the gas in one of the spare tanks. There is no need to stop the bike or fiddle around trying to dump gas from a spare tank into the standard gas filler location. This whole system works great and tripled the bike's range. Not as simple as a plastic bottle stuffed in a saddlebag, but this is certainly less messy and much more convenient. Just thought you might be interested. zag

Just got back from a very large grocery store. It was a mob scene with very long lines and signs on the outside doors listing their restrictions on purchases of toilet paper and bottled water. Of course, the one thing I went there to buy, they didn't have. zag

My son flew in from Germany last night. He has some sort of flu and feels pretty down. I went to two drug stores today looking for masks and both had been sold out for weeks. I guess that you might imagine what you might do, but reality is different. zag

Spent many summers racing Flying Dutchman sailboats and 470 sailboats. Seems like there is some link between sailing and biking. No sailboats these days, just bikes. zag

Needs an after market cam sprocket to fit on the shaft better? Geesh. Nothing in the vid says that Harley has top notch quality control. But what do you expect for $20K? zag

Not something I would have thought of, but you certainly have a point. My wife creates artwork which is used to make a variety of products. She was just told product sales are coming to a stop for some companies since they cannot be exported from China. If the coronavirus spreads across the world, we will find out how much of our lives depend on products shipped to our stores. I would imagine that quarantines will spread to other countries as the virus spreads. Since it takes a couple of weeks for a person with the virus to feel the effects, there is plenty of time to travel around and spread it to others. It is possible to see travel maps online which show where people go on airplanes every day. With roughly 100,000 daily commercial flights, people are going basically everywhere! zag

Thanks! So how does continuous four wheel drive work? Something my Honda CRV has. With music please! zag

Years ago I experimented with Shinko tires and found that their short life was costing me about the same as a more expensive tire without the hassle of changing it. Gave up on looking for a low cost tire and just went back to Metzeler. zag

Ok, these are just crude dimensions using a tape measure. Length, front to back on outside of heads: about 17" Height, to top of carbs: about 21" Width, at top of heads: about 12" Width, near bottom of engine: about 20" These dimensions do not include any sort of air filters, or boost valves (if you use them on the intake), or radiator. On my 1200 I installed Vmax boost valves (manually operated with a bicycle shift lever and cable) and a narrow radiator that fit the bike width better than the stock radiator. My '83 1200 venture is quite fast when compared to other cruisers. Seems like the extra weight of a car chassis will slow things down quite a bit. Probably should flip over the engine and pull off the oil "pan" and check out the condition of the gearbox to prevent 2nd gear slipping issues. I filed down the sides of the toothed gear cogs so they would not tend to slip past each other. No problems in quite a few years. Good luck, zag

Looks like your lights ought to help spot deer in the road. In Wisconsin, deer hunting starts tomorrow and they are out running all over the place. My daughter just missed hitting one yesterday but she got lucky and the car right in front of her hit it instead. Not lucky for the deer, but at least her car was spared. zag

Snowing like crazy here in Wisconsin and roads are a sheet of ice. Lots of trees still have all of their leaves which are now completely covered in snow. Tonight is trick-or-treat and we got a ginormous bag of candy since we are usually swamped in kids. Not so sure about tonight since the best costume would be to look like an Eskimo. Supposed to stop snowing in a couple of hours and then I can head out with the shovel and clear the driveway and sidewalk. Seems a little early for all of this global warming! zag

I did my own tire testing years ago and came to the conclusion that the cheap ones wore out quickly and their lower cost was offset by the expense and hassle of changing them. I finally settled on Metzeler ME880 as a tire with long life and reasonable pricing. I know that isn't what you were asking about, but just thought I would toss in my experience. Cannot say I noticed any obvious handling differences between the various brands that I tried. zag

Good to know. I guess that getting some other transportation, if you are able, is the way to go. The pricing for helicopters certainly is "flexible". zag

Nevermind my post - I forgot about your health issues and thought you were referring to bike insurance. Hope you get better without any heroic efforts! zag

Best of luck to you! I appreciate all that you have done to create this website. zag

Pretty amusing that HD cannot actually make a break from the traditional motorcycle appearance and sticks on a fake gas tank. At least the fake gas cap has some function but I think that they should have been brave enough to just ditch the traditional look. zag

I would go to the hardware store and get a fairly small plastic tube which can be shoved down into the tank. Since it will probably be pretty twisty, it might be good to attach some stiff wire with wire ties so that it doesn't just ball up inside the tank and is able to reach to the bottom. Aim the tube into a bucket and give a few sucks on the tube to get the siphon going. Once the fuel starts to come down the tube, it won't be too long before the tank is completely empty. Of course, once the old gas is out and the tank is empty, you can refill with fresh gas and see what happens. Best of luck! zag

Been riding for a long time and I'm not a fan of top heavy bikes. I got my gen1 with the plan to strip it down. Nothing left now except the essentials. The under-seat gas tank certainly helps move the weight lower. zag

A WOMAN'S PLACE Lesley Stahl did a story on gender roles in Kabul, Afghanistan several years before our involvement in the Afghan conflict. She noted that women customarily walked five paces behind their husbands. She recently returned to Kabul and observed that women still walk behind their husbands. Despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem to, and are happy to, maintain the old customs. Ms. Stahl approached one of the Afghani women and asked, "Why do you now seem happy with an old custom that you once tried so desperately to change?" The woman looked Ms. Stahl straight in the eyes, and without hesitation said, "Land mines.” No matter what language you speak or where you go the moral of the story is: 
 BEHIND EVERY MAN, THERE'S A REALLY SMART WOMAN.

Years ago I experimented with cheap tires and found that they didn't last very long and the cost and hassle of changing them made them a lot less "cheap". I finally just decided to stick with Metzeler because they lasted much longer than the others. zag