zagger

In my life experiences, it seems that once a radiator starts leaking, it's probably just generally corroded and will keep leaking here and there. I checked ebay for you and there are quite a few 83 radiators, most are pretty cheap. Besides getting some assurance from the previous owner that it doesn't leak, you could bring it to a shop and have it pressure tested so that you know it will be ok after going through the effort to install it. If you are sick of working on it, maybe you could find a local shop that would be willing to install a used radiator that you supply them with. On my 83 venture, the entire bike was reconfigured so much that I needed a tall skinny radiator instead of the stock one which is short and wide. I bought a new one designed for the Honda VTX and mounted it upside down to align better with the hoses. zag

Sorry I missed you. I rode up to Leland a bit early since there are much smaller parking areas than at Pine Bluff and it can get to be a real traffic jam. Plus, this year's rainy weather made lots of the grassy areas in Leland into a complete swamp. Much of the time, the road through Leland was totally jammed up with arriving bikes. Hard to guess at the total attendance - especially since many people just go to one end or the other on the ride. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day and I drank enough beer to float a small ship! zag

I stripped off everything, but I really don't know the total weight before and after. But it "feels" quite light, mostly because the remaining weight sits quite low. I even moved the battery from it's stock location (up high in the bike) to a spot below the transmission on a hinged frame (so it can be easily removed). Keeping the weight low is really the key thing. The engine is quite flat, the gas tank is under the seat, and whatever else you can do to help the situation just makes it better. My 83 totally hauls and is agile enough to run on gravel and off-road (a bit) with some of the dirt bike guys. I'd just strip it down and sell all of the unneeded bits on ebay. zag

Seems that some valve cores have a smaller ID than others and present a problem for inserting the beads. I've used beads for many years but recently it seems like a total hassle. I even rigged up an engraver vibrator tool with a blunt tip to pound on the valve stem and jiggle those little guys down into the tire. Frankly, it just isn't worth the hassle. Last tires I got mounted, I just used regular weights. zag

Sure sounds like a procedure that a government nitwit would dream up. Of course, the people they are trying to prevent buying guns don't follow any of these rules. If it were up to me, I'd let anyone buy anything without the permit BS. I'd take down the "No Guns Allowed" signs on public schools (which are completely unenforced) and just assume that everyone is carrying a weapon and is responsible for their actions. zag

Fired up my 83 for the first time this spring. No problems. I'm always surprised by how fast this bike really is. Just really hauls. Then I went out on one of my honda bikes which is 1100cc's and is considered fairly fast. Seemed pretty slow compared to my old venture. Nice bike. zag

Shot some starter juice into one of the spark plug holes and it fired right up after 6 months of sleeping. Rode ten miles or so and got some fresh gas, before the next blast of rain hits. Just good to see it running again!

"But I never felt the rumble of the engine, never had a sound from the pipes that hinted at the massive power of the engine. I wonder if this is even coming across right through my fingertips...I hope so. " Sorry, but I'm guessing that you will find it to be heavy and slow - not much massive power. I've rented new Harley's two times to ride down Highway 1 on the California coast (sorry, don't remember the model). Both times I was left wishing that it was possible to rent some other type of bike with more zip. If you are actually wondering about your purchase plans, I'd suggest finding a rental and try it out on a short trip. I haven't investigated this recently, but Harley's used to be the only brand of bike that could be rented from a dealer. zag

Hmmm. Better get a gun! I'm having a hard time seeing how computer operated cars could actually operate on our icy roads, especially in the more rural areas. The dip**** computer designers living in California cannot even keep computers operating 100% of the time when they sit in a heated and air conditioned home. My wife is currently struggling with intermittent problems in her iMac. It partially loses its mind on some days and not on other days. Can you imagine this type of control actually operating a moving hunk of steel? I'd move the vehicle software guys from Sunnyvale CA to someplace in the upper Midwest - that might snap them out of their self confident BS. zag

Wow. Totally crazy. A gun! What's next? Some ammo? zag

Yesterday we got around 8" of heavy wet snow. Today it is sunny and 50F. Although I had to dig out the driveway and walkways this morning, it is currently starting to look more like spring. At least that is the delusional baloney that I tell myself! zag

McMaster Carr has everything. Spacers: https://www.mcmaster.com/#unthreaded-spacers/=1cgcuui Hope this helps. zag

Looks like you guys got dumped on with new snow yesterday (April 15). Green Bay got 2 FEET of snow. Do you guess that this will all melt off in the next 3 weeks? Around Madison we got about 6 inches of snow yesterday but we are supposed to get another 5-8 inches on Wednesday. Looks like winter all over again. zag

No spring around here (near Madison WI, April 15). Still snowing hard with about 6 inches on the ground. Looking at the radar it seems like it might start letting up and I will head out to shovel. Not my idea of spring riding weather! zag

Thanks for all of the great pictures! Hard to imagine the slaughter back then. zag

There is no point in getting into a dispute with a car or truck. Just use the right wrist to leave the situation behind. No way to win that one. zag

Hey CL, I got my 83 simply because of the under-seat gas tank. Moving that weight down low really reduces the overall feeling of bike weight. Although my venture is actually heavier than another cruiser that I own, it feels lighter. zag

The Slimey Crud Run happens in the spring and fall - kind of the beginning of the biking season and the end. http://www.slimeycrudrun.com/ Everything about it is very informal: just head to Pine Bluff WI in the morning and, whenever you feel like it, ride up to Leland WI and hang out there. Most people spend the time checking out all of the bikes. Although the website mentions returning back to Pine Bluff, I don't think that anyone actually does that. It is pretty hard to guess the number of bikes - probably 1000 to 2000 - and some riders only go to one end or the other of the route. It isn't a mass ride, you are free to come and go as you like and you ride with your friends following any route you choose. Both towns, the surrounding roads, and some of the nearby fields completely fill up with bikes. Both towns have bars that serve food and drinks. Cops usually park nearby in both towns to prevent lunatics from ripping through crowds of people doing wheelies - but overall their presence is pretty low key. Someone posted this video on YouTube a few years ago - my venture appears just after 2 minutes: BTW, the Slimey Cruds actually exist and I happen to be a member. We meet at a bar every week for drinks and talk - a nice bunch of guys. zag PS I forgot to mention that there is always a motorcycle movie on the evening before the Crud Run. This year (May 5) it will be Easy Rider. Tickets cost only $1: 6:30pm Barrymore Theater, 2090 Atwood Ave in Madison. https://www.facebook.com/SlimeyCrudCafeRacerRun

I have an old Saturn station wagon with an entirely plastic outer body, except for the engine hood. After nearly 200,000 miles on the snowy and salty roads of Wisconsin, the only places that have a little bit of rust are on the edges of the door sills under the two rear doors. Basically, the car looks as good as new and still runs great. Of course, the Saturn brand was closed down in 2009. I have to wonder if the designs simply lasted too long and cut into profits that might be made on new vehicles. I don't know, but I am suspicious. I originally bought the car to haul my kids to school - but the kids are now grown up and I'm still driving it. I care much more about bikes and I just want my cars to keep running. zag

Keith, I have to wonder if things like car doors, which may have nylon hinge components and grease at the hinges and latches, would be too electrically isolated from the rest of the body and wouldn't be protected. Any idea how often the sacrificial pieces need to be replaced? zag

Pretty interesting. I read through their website and it isn't super clear what you should expect to see. I would guess that the little rectangular metal pieces are sacrificial electrodes which will gradually be consumed - making a regular replacement necessary. But that is mostly a guess. https://www.marineinsight.com/tech/understanding-sacrificial-anodes-on-ships/ zag

I agree. Some things seem pretty intimidating but once you get started, it is surprising how quickly it goes. Quite a few years ago I wanted to build an addition on my house. I needed 104 ft. of trench dug down about 5 ft. and 2 ft. wide - mostly through hard clay soil. I called a bunch of different excavator companies, but since it was spring they were busy and would either put me off or just fail to show up. One day after work I was so irritated at the lack of progress that I just grabbed a shovel and started digging. I sharpened the shovel to a knife edge to cut through the clay. In one week of evenings after work, I managed to dig the entire thing with a shovel. Just as I was finishing, an excavator guy showed up to take a look at the job and give me a quote. I told him that I didn't need a quote anymore since it was done. He asked who I got to do the job. I told him, "Just me and this shovel." He looked at me like I was completely nuts! On the other hand, the job got done pretty quickly and the price was right! zag

Very much an amateur mechanic - just a hobby. If you start taking things apart, it is usually pretty obvious how they come apart and go back together. I was just trying to suggest ways to keep all of the bits and pieces organized so that when it is time to reassemble everything, it isn't just a confusing jumble of parts. I don't think that getting into the gears is very simple at all - however, it is possible and probably takes less time and effort than you imagine. Of course, you do need tools and need to be willing to buy whatever special tools that you think might be helpful. Sometimes you might be able to post a question and actually get an answer from someone. However, if the question is a bit unusual, the answers you get a likely to be wrong and you will be forced to just use your own logic and common sense. I recently went through this with my other bike. It had a strange electrical problem which caused the battery to gradually lose voltage. I posted this online, and other riders felt that I was nuts to worry about such a small loss of voltage on every ride. I kept searching for an answer and eventually found a burned connector and also found that I had slightly overloaded the system with two extra lights. I cut out the bad connector and replaced the extra bulbs with LED versions to reduce the current drain. Now, everything seems to be good to go. The reality was that it took quite a bit of riding with a voltmeter to determine that I still had a problem which needed fixing. I even bought a small jump-start battery just to save me if the bike battery died when I was out on the road someplace. Not everything is simple or easy! I guess that you might just try riding around without using 2nd gear and see if that works ok for you. Might make sense to tackle a big project like this over the winter months so that you don't miss out on riding during the summer. It would probably make sense to contact the previous owner and find out if 2nd gear was slipping/skipping or whatever. If it was, I suppose that the gear teeth might be damaged enough to prevent it from being used - just a guess. On my bike, the gears hadn't actually lost contact and I just needed to replace the little rings to bring everything back into alignment. zag

Not crazy at all. I've never been paid to work on bikes or anything else. For quite a few years, I would spend the long winter months tinkering on bikes and then spend the summer riding them. Right now, I have two bikes, they both run great, and I'm not very excited to start any new projects. Not having winter bike projects has kinda left a hole that needs to be filled with something, but not sure what. Last summer I did have a complicated and strange electrical problem with my Honda Sabre, but I believe that I got that sorted out and I'm planning on a long trip with it this summer with an old riding buddy who moved to Kansas City. We used to go on rides every weekend when he lived nearby and when he moved away I was surprised by how much I missed having a riding companion. Although I've been on rides with a couple other folks, most of the time they were more of a struggle than companionship. I did join a motorcycle Meetup group and went on a ride every month, but most of the riders were pretty inexperienced and dangerous to be around - really made me stay on the alert for crazy stuff. Maybe things will change this summer. While looking up pictures of the work I did on my venture, I was sort of surprised to realize that the first cutting and welding was done in the winter of 2007 - eleven freak'n years ago! I remember my wife commenting that at least she knew where to find me (in my basement shop). I enjoyed customizing my venture - as compared to simply fixing stock stuff on bikes that I had been doing for over 40 years. But now that I've done one, I don't think I'll ever get fired up enough to do another. A good friend of mine has built a Triumph Bonneville (650cc) to set the world speed record in that class. I'm going out to Speed Week to help him - and then his lifetime dream will be complete. Then, he will be like me, wondering what to do next! zag

I suggest that making notes on pieces of masking tape that can be stuck onto parts and even taking pictures (with a smart phone?) would help you reassemble everything. If you run into bolts of different lengths, make a little diagram and number each bolt with a piece of tape so that you know where everything goes. A few minutes spent organizing your thoughts will save a lot of confusion when you put it back together. My lasting impression was that most things were more easily torn down and reassembled than I was imagining. I think that the only thing which required making a special tool was replacing the two little rings on the transmission shaft. As you can see in the picture I posted, I just rigged up something with two brick carriers (the yellow things) and a cheap hand operated hydraulic lift. I'm sure that something similar could be rigged up with wooden supports. The entire 2nd gear split ring replacement probably only took a couple of minutes after the shaft was out. It is hard for me to even remember anything about it since it really didn't take much time. zag