Venturous

Yes, but what will they offer for model year 2021. Since my '02 has 110,000 miles and still runs like the day I bought it... this is when I guesstimate I will finally use this one up.

A friend of mine just told me about a neat little diner along Rt16 I hadn't stopped at before. Sterling Diner in Welch, WV. They said the food and service was good, and a neat atmosphere.. If you happen to hit this town around meal time... might be worth a stop.

This is one of my all time favorite roads. And I live in an area with MANY nice roads. The section from Marion, VA to Tazewell, VA is refered to as the Back of the Dragon. As you approach Tazewell, stop at Thompsons Country Store if you like t-shirts and stickers. The entire ride all the way to Beckley, WV is a great ride. I have never rode it to Charleston. But Charleston is only a short bit away. While in the area, north of Beckley on RT19 is Fayetteville, WV. There is located the New River Gorge Bridge. Worth a stop. Also a ride under bridge is good. Dinner at Dirtie Ernies Rib Pit in Fayetteville is always on my to do list. After Fayetteville, head north on 19 to Rt60 West. That will take you into Charleston. Sfter you turn onto Rt60, be sure to stop at the Hawk Nest State Park gorge overlook. Enjoy! Gary

It is http://www.ex_venturerider.org JK of course!

If it were me.... I would run RT16 all the way from Beckeley to Marion, Va. All the ride is nice, but the section from Tazewell, VA to Marion, VA is the popular Back of the Dragon. For stickers and shirts, stop at the Thompson Country Store just past Tazewell. I would then jump on I-81 at marion and run it south to Bristol. Take Exit 1A to Rt 381. Then turn onto Rt421 and run Rt421 all the way to Deep Gap to pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway. The section of RT421 from South Holston Lake to Mountain City is refer to as The Shady Valley Snake. For stickers and shirts, stop at Shady Valley Store about halfway through. As for running the entire BRP... BTDT several times. OK to kill a few days, but if you want to make the most of a vacation... I wouldn't. See one 100 mile section... ya seen it all. The section from Asheville to Maggie Valley is without doubt, the best section to do. Just my opinion. Enjoy and be safe!

How I start my day was one of the biggest changes I had with retirement in 2011. Before, I worked shift work and my work week looked something like... 4-12, 3-11, 1-9, 8-4, 7-3 So my body relied on an alarm clock for 25 years. Shortly after retiring, my body got into a rhythm were I woke up between 6am and 7am each day on my own. But I also found that I was ready for bed by 11pm each night unlike my working days when I often was still up at 1:30am. My days always starts with a full glass of water followed by my one cup of strong coffee for the day. I usually do what I am doing now. Catch up on emails, forum posts, and do any other work on my laptop. In summer my days are filled with volunteering as an assistant scoutmaster, riding, fishing, boating, hiking, volunteer for our HOA, and as little yard work as I can possibly get by with. I also try to spend as much time with my sons as I can. They are 18 and 16 and only have a little time left with them as 'kids'. Since i do all my own wrenching and both my sons now have cars... I also find myself doing or supervising a lot of work in my garage.... which I actually enjoy most of the time. I hated it when I had to find time for that... but now, time isn't as much a commodity. I still hope to get a beater CB750 and restore to a cafe racer. My sons and I did a cb750 sidecar rig a few years ago and it was a fun family project. But for now... I have enough to keep me busy. Once the kids move on... I can see me doing more projects like this. Late fall through spring, the first couple years I found myself getting very bored and sitting in the recliner WAY too much since most of the things I like to do are summer activities with the exception of hunting. So.. I got a part time job from September to April each year at Lowes selling appliances. This is the perfect gig for me.

My wife and I will be meeting a small group of friends in that area Sept 18-22 for some riding. I will watch for a '02 Wing. When I travel to the Beckley area, I usually stay in Fayetteville at the Quality Inn. They have a onsite pub and a Dairy Queen both within easy walking distance. If you do stay in Fayetteville... one of the our favorite places to eat is Dirty Ernies Rib Pit. If you look around, you will see a couple of my Ride-In t-shirts hanging there. Also, I would suggest taking a ride under the New River Gorge bridge. First, stop at the visitor center. Then follow signs for the road under bridge. This road has some real sharp switchbacks and is a narrow one way road with broken pavement. But it is worth the ride. Also, out of Fayetteville, take Rt16 then head east on Rt60. Stop at the Hawks Nest State Park overlook. Awesome views of New River Gorge. Late September should be especially great view. Now, for a nice scenic ride from Fayetteville to Fairmont, you could do this... After Hawks Nest, continue east on Rt 60 to just past Rainelle then take Rt20 north to Nette. Take Rt39 east to Rt150. (Rt 39 and Rt150 are AKA Highlands Scenic Byway). Rt150 will spit you out on Rt219. Take Rt219 north to Rt33. Rt33 west to I-79 then I-79 to Fairmont. This would be around 250 miles, but some awesome roads.

I used to live in WV but now in TN. I hosted several Ride-Ins in the area you are wanting to ride. Your route certainly would be nice. If it were me wanting to get from Fairmont to Skyline Drive, I would probably do this. Fairmont, Rt250 to Rt50 to Rt72 to Parsons Rt219 to Thomas Rt 32. Visit Black Water Falls. (if waterfalls aren't your thing... go ahead and take Rt 72 out of Parsons to Rt32) Rt32 to Harmon Rt33 to Seneca Rocks. Stop and Visit Seneca Rocks. If you are a hiker, take strenuous hike to top. Worth the hike. After Seneca Rocks, take Rt 28 to the north. Go about 15 miles and turn right onto Smoke Hole Road. Follow this through Smokehole Canyon until you reach Rt220. Take Rt220 south until you reach Rt33. Then follow Rt 33 east to Rt340 north to Luray. As plotted above, you would have about a 250 mile ride from Fairmont to Luray. Now I am assuming you feel you must do Skyline Drive so you can add that to your BTDT list. Personally, when I travel the area now, I skip Skyline. Too slow. Get the same ride on Blue Ridge Parkway but at a faster pace and no entry fee. Now if Skyline isn't a must... you might consider where Rt33 hits I-81 at Harrisonburg and run that a short distance to Staunton to pick up Rt250. Shortly after hitting Rt250, plan for dinner at Mrs. Rowes. You must get some pie! Then take Rt250 into Waynesboro and stay there instead. Then begin your trek south on Blue Ridge Parkway. Whatever you decide... ride safe and enjoy the ride! Also note.. when playing around in that area of WV... do not let yourself get too low on gas. There are sections where fuel stops are far between.

I installed mine myself. But I did not use the OEM instructions as I feel that puts unneeded load on the ignition circuit. I drew power straight from battery then used a relay. I also did not pull my relay power from either hi or lo beam as I wanted full control of my passing lights. I have mine wired to one of three switches on my brake reservoir switch box. This way I turn them on when I want them on, which is usually all the time. I think some state laws say they can burn only when on either hi or lo beam. But I will occasionally fracture a state suggestion.

Whats the advantage of replacing with the batwing fairings?

Probably relax most of the day. Then have a cookout. In the evening, our family and others in our community will take our pontoon boats and tie together about 6 miles downstream and watch fireworks over Cherokee Lake.

I put one on along with a stock R/R and it lasted 6 years and 50,000 or so which seems reasonable enough to me. I replaced that HO stator with one from Ricks Motorsports which was somewhat less expensive. Time will tell on that one. When I did that... I used a supposedly heavier duty R/R from Buckeye and it burned out in just a couple months. I am back to using my original OEM R/R and so far so good. So... I think the HO stators from buckeye seem good. Not so sure about the R/R's.

That is simply common sense really. I've used my Bushtec since 2004 and still love it. And, most of the time, I could easily forget it is back there. But it still put forces on your motorcycle that you must respect regardless how well it tows. Running extremely hot into curves, playing Nascar on the interstates is a recipe for disaster once you come upon a situation that requires you slow down with this extra force behind you. The one and only time I ever found my Bushtec giving me bad feedback my wife and I loaded quickly to get from one event to another. The first hour, I could really feel the trailer. It finally occurred to me what was happening. We had loaded heavy behind the axle. I stopped and adjusted load and all was good again. The one time I nearly bought it because of the trailer was on the interstate. Running 75 to 80 mph with traffic and I honestly allowed myself to forget it was back there. I was not allowing increased distance between me and traffic ahead. Out of now where and with no warning... BRAKE LIGHTS. Using both brakes and gears... I still was not going to stop. I was in left lane and shoulder had jersey walls. I hit the horn and split the lanes to come to a stop. I was way way lucky! And since... I always give a ridiculously large distance between us and traffic ahead.

So we are in Gulf Shores, Al for a few days... Looking for any local tips. 1. The one local restuarant you would suggest for the most local flavor. 2. Any non-riding attractions we should check out. Thanks

Even though full gear saved my hide in 2003 from a 55 mph crash and slide... I still find myself sometimes leaning toward comfort. Even with my mesh jacket, on days approaching 100 degrees here in the humid south, I find myself feeling as though I am going to get dizzy from heat when I wear the jacket. And yes.. I drink lots of water. My Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket is about as open mesh as I could find and yet it still makes me feel as if I am going to pass out in high heat. I have heard some good things about these cooling vests and plan to get one and try. Anyone have any input on if they actually work or not?

Of course lets not forget 'Lumpy' who was taken from us a not long ago when lightning struck in front of him as he left a group gathering. Riding in heavy rain is one thing. But when it comes to lightning, hail, and serious high winds... sometimes we may need to turn in the man card and find shelter and wait it out. I used to ride in this sort of stuff until we lost Lumpy. No more!

Never bring brass to a lead battle...

On my map... it is anywhere I have ridden a motorcycle... not necessarily mine. For me that would include the southwest states and 10 countries in Europe. But, I do not think anyone should ever count a state that they only trailered their bike through...

I have opened my garage door to find a downpour to start off a road trip. I would call that 100% chance of rain. For these rides... I put on the rain gear. But, if it is just a day ride... I don't really pay attention to the % chance by the weather guessers. I use the radar display on my smart phone. And, if I decide it is a go based on the radar... I check it every stop to decide whether to alter route or not. If it a scheduled road trip to a several day event... I will ride rain or shine most of the time.

My guess is you either ride a trike, sidecar rig... or are trolling. Anyone who has ridden more than 40 minutes knows there is more to turning a motorcycle than just turning the steering bars. I rarely worry about lean angle either as I simply don't ride that close to the limit, but I assure you my and every other two wheel vehicle does in fact lean when you push or pull on the bars.

Canaan Valley area of WV is a decent place to base for some good day rides. I've used the Canaan Valley Resort as a base for several Ride-Ins. Not sure this will work, but I am going to try to attach a GPX file with several routes I used in the past. They should load in Garmin Basecamp software if you happen to have it. These routes are a few years old, and have not been test run in a few years. But they should be pretty good. These routes include: Fridays Ride - Just a long scenic ride. Featured stops are Seneca Rocks, Greenbank Radio Telescope, and Highlands Scenic Byway. If you are a hiker, shorten this route and hike to top of Seneca Rocks. About a mile each way and very steep... but worth the effort. SmokeHole Loop - If you are only going to do one... this would be it I think. Features are a ride on backroad Leadmine Rd (skip to shorten if like) Seneca Rocks, Seneca Caverns, a ride through Smoke Hole Canyon, and a stop at Blackwater Falls. Spruce Knob Loop - This one takes you to the summit of the highest point in WV. Then on to Cass where if timing is right you could take the Cass Scenic Railroad ride into mountains. Then swing by Snowshoe Ski resort, then back to Canaan Valley. You may just want to take these stop suggestions, google them to see if they interest you then build your own route to pick them up. My favorites include hiking to top of Seneca Rocks, riding through Smokehole Canyon, taking the Cass railroad ride, and riding to top of Spruce Knob. I am going back up in September with friends to this area and already can't wait! Seems GPX files are on the upload list... You can download my GPS file here: http://www.macesoftware.com/GPS/Canaan_Valley.gpx Hope this works for you.

I tow a trailer a lot... but I agree. Your video is not a situation I would want a trailer. Any trailer. But to be honest...it is not a situation I would want a Venture either. Now... on my KLR650 that I sold a few years ago... that would be perfect. But my wife would only take short runs with me on the KLR. Impressive! Ride on...

Another consideration. Do you have an aftermarket centerstand? I do and it damned near lifted me off the ground one day. I modified it slightly so it stays a bit higher than it was designed, but I still have ground off the corners of the feet pads.

36 degrees

I opted for Keltec PF9 for my carry. Very small, single stack, double action 9mm with 7+1. Not the most well made or fancy weapon out there, but one of the smaller 9's you can get. For me... if I cant pocket carry easily.. I probably would not carry it all the time and then it would be useless. I just hope I am like the majority of those who carry and never even need to pull it. But if I do, I'm sure I will be glad I had that option.