creole

Thanks for the great input. Will definitely make notes!

We're going with our riding group to key west at the end of the month. The route is pretty much planned already (we take turns planning these trips, this is not my turn), however, I am curious if there are things we should definitely see, or avoid. I mean other than the gators, panthers and love bugs of course LOL.... Creole

Biglenny, I too was intrigued by the watercooled HD 2014 and looked at them this weekend. I was disappointed that HD has removed the front chubby hole storage to put the radiator fans in. One thing I miss on the Yamaha is the fact there is no driver storage except the cassette hole I made last year. The Kawasaki Voyager had storage but like you the plastic seemed flimsy to us also but I know they make good stuff. My last bike was a Vulcan 88 and I liked it but like you said, their v twin doesn't really seem to have a smooth spot. Like you there are limited bike shops in our area except the Kawasaki dealer in town, who is good about working on my Yamaha but doesn't sell motorcycles anymore. Go figure. The trips we take, with a HD store on every corner makes me want to lean that way. Guess I'll have to eat a piglet crow and make the new bike a Harley with belt drive. I know I would be happy with it. After all we have had two Kawasaki's two Hondas and a Yamaha and I've liked them all. Its just a matter of finding what fills the current need for travel and getting the wind in your face! Creole

Ya know........Every time I see one of the posts talking about a New Bike from Yamaha I get excited and anxious for something I know probably isn't going to happen. I like to be different in the things I have, and found some of the differences in the RSV to set it apart from the pack even for its "design age". I've got no problems with the design of the HD, or Kawasaki, but really like that the RSV looks pretty much like a v-twin, but is not, doesn't sound quite like a twin, yet has a good sound that's unique to only it. It's comfortable and we like it even though it's 13 years old. The rest of our group ride new harley's and we like them too. I'm kind of partial to water cooled but that's just me. I agree with what's said above, that Yamaha has lost interest in our "niche" and is after the young sport bike or cruiser crowd. We looked at bike stuff and bikes last weekend in prep for a couple of long trips this summer. I like the new 14 HD ultra classic and even found a 13 holdover Voyager that was beautiful. All I know at this point is if we are going to buy a new bike, we are finally in the stage of our lives that we can buy a NEW off the SHOW ROOM FLOOR bike and pick the COLOR and OPTIONS of our choice. This is a new thing for me and I am very excited about it because I've never had that luxury before. I suppose it will NOT BE YAMAHA. It makes me sad because I really like my 99 RSV but when it comes time to buy, and it very nearly was on Saturday, they have nothing to offer me. Creole

Thanks for the input guys. Up to this point I haven't seen it yet myself but hopefully will on Tuesday. I've already given the go ahead to order a new one from Yamaha. Yes they are pricey but it was already in the shop and torn down so they shouldn't charge much more labor except what the radiator takes to swap. I knew there was a leak and feel fortunate it didn't let me down on last summers 3k mile loop through Yellowstone. I just assumed it was the thermo gasket everyone talks about because it didn't leak when it was warm or all summer for that matter. I was just curious if it was a common problem on these bikes, but in all reality for a 99 with almost 80k on the ticker it's not really a surprise. The real surprise should be along the side of the road. Glad I had it looked at. Lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello all !! It's been a while since I've posted on the site but I've always peeked in to see what's been going on. With the winter dragging on endlessly here in Oklahoma and making plans to take a couple of lengthy trips this summer, I've decided to let the local shop do some maintenance items for me. The plan was since the bike (99 RSV 77k miles) was due (or overdue) for the suggested valve adjustment and had a leaky valve cover gasket it was time to just take it in and get these done at the same time. I also told the shop that if they were into it far enough to replace the suspected leaking thermostat gasket (which was an assumption on my part by all the discussion on the forum), they were to do that also before giving her back to me. Long story longer....they called me and said there was actually a crack in the radiator tank, that may hold under a repair, but really suggested a replacement. Since we are planning a ride to Key West in May and Oregon in September, I thought it best to just have it replaced and remove the worry/ doubt on the road. My question is ....finally.. Anybody had this before? Is this common, or just a fluke for me? I've looked and haven't seen much on this topic. I'll go have a look at the old one and maybe snap a picture to upload this week. Thanks for the input in advance. Creole.

I use it with iphone also and it seems quick and easy. However, I'm not sure you can start a new thread with TAPATALK.....If so, I have yet to figure that out.

that's kind of cool, I've used truck engines to warm up stuff while driving, but methinks maybe they could have given it a better name.......wasn't sure what to expect from something called a muffpot.....

I just walked into our local O'Reillys with the old filter, and they pulled a generic, plastic see-thru filter from one of the isles .....I think about $2.5....nice and small and see thru

Oklahma law States, this to be legal but the primary tow trailer must be either a fifth wheel or goose neck type hitch. Then as posted above must be less than 65 feet for overall length. We do this all the time with our boat behind our fifth wheel. We are not legal length, but its never been a problem. Just have to not go anywhere you might have to back up. It can be done but it is a real pain......we did it by accident in the rain and probably would have been faster to unhooked the boat and rehitch. By the way the previous owner built a hitch on our camper to haul his Harley. We didn't get the rack, but thought about building one for our bike in the future.

Bump

Hate things like that. Just yesterday on my way home from work on the bike, following an oilfield company pickup pulling a trailer, with a semi in the left lane next to us. Just as the pickup I was following, pulled ahead of the semi, a garden rake flew out of the bed of the pickup, missed the trailer all together and went bouncing down my lane from one end of the rake to the other, kind of like it was playing "hop-scotch". First I wanted to dodge it, then I locked up the brakes.......then I just let it hit my bike, as it seemed like the safest thing to do. I ran flat over it with a huge thud, then pulled up next to the pickup and waved him over to the side of the road. Told him what happened and we took a quick look for damage. Surprisingly, only a little scuff on the lower right cowling and a small gouge on the lower right front fork tube by the axle bolt. I told him his rake was laying in the highway and he might want to go pick it up. When I got home, I looked things over better, in case I needed to make a few phone calls to the oilfield company and my insurance, but never found anything else......sure happens quick! Creole

These are the most identifiable and unique features.... Please excuse the dirty bike pictures, just got home and haven't cleaned her up yet. But the original owner put some light strips on it and some flag/ eagle stickers up by the head bearing[ATTACH]77753[/ATTACH][ATTACH]77754[/ATTACH][ATTACH]77755[/ATTACH] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've been meaning to ask this for a while now.....Only because I'm the 4th owner of this bike and I know owner #2 and #3 had short time possession of this bike and some mods listed on this site seem to be already done. (99 silver RSV) All I know is the original owner used to ride it from Oklahoma? to California up to the 65K mile mark or so. It has a scuff on the left front fairing from being accidentally tipped into his car in the garage from neglecting to put the kick stand down. He kept notes in the owners manual of service and intervals. Owners #2 and #3 only included the the bike in various trades and deals, but didn't own it long enough to add any appreciable miles.

I couldn't help but sniker a little bit, in the lower part of the Rockies of Colorado, their chrome horns were turning BLUE from engine heat and they were all complaining. Then we crossed the plains of E. Colorado and W. Kansas in 101 temp and 40 MPH crosswinds, where at every stop they were "COOKED AND BURNING UP". One of them asked me if we were getting much engine heat? To which I replied "Oh....some, but it's not bad...." LOL We really like this group (who by the way are all family, us being the outsiders) and enjoy riding together, are always pointing out the white HD's to us because they know we really want a white bike, and they somehow think our RSV is inferior.....I keep telling them we're not getting into any more debt until we get some things paid for. The next 3-4 years and everything we owe on will be done......then we can pick our bike (color included) I sure hope yamaha has a white one that year... I'm always asking what this "service" is they seem to need? Seems to be more than just an oil change, because they take their bikes in to the nearest dealership (175 miles) for service every 5000 miles.....I would think if it's just an oil change they'd do it at home. Now just to be fair, I did a lot of things to our bike just for this trip, hoping if there was a breakdown somewhere on the road, it would not be ours. But our bike is 10 years older than the oldest HD in the group and we have 6 times more miles than any of theirs, but didn't do anything other than general wear and tear type maintenance........The Old Girl Ran like a top and never complained about anything