grubsie

That would have been me. Just don't forget about me in 5 years when I can afford a used one like yours or another one. Glad to see that someone can enjoy the best v-twin ever produced. Glad it is you. Keep posting back as you get more time on it. Looking forward to hearing your experiences.

Even thought you now wish you had experienced v-twin power in your earlier years, be grateful that you waited until now for the the correct v-twin power on the right v-twin bike. The older v-twins were woefully under powered and the suspension and handling weren't up to par either. Your not late to the party, you arrived at just the right time.

Don't know why, but I am fascinated yet apprehensive about this. Kind of makes me happy I'm north in my age vs just starting out...I think. If this is what a a public company has, I can't even imagine what the military is developing. No wonder hammers still cost $300.00

So sorry to read this news. Enjoyed reading Yammer's post and comments over the years. Prayers to his family.

If you find a set of HD mufflers and they are still too loud after a long ride, you can install baffles from SmartPartz that should do the trick. I installed a used set of V&H Monster Ovals for a HD that have a nice rumble but too loud for long distances. Installed the SmartPartz baffles, got a nice rumble at idle and when getting on the throttle, but evens out to a nice toned sound when cruising. Nicest sounding pipes I have ever heard on any bike.

Sorry to bring up and old thread, but this has been ongoing for me. Anyway, the weather here has been very nice for the past few days so I got a chance to ride the 08 RSV and the 02 HD ultra quite a bit. To be honest, the HD feels like a toy to me. It's seriously under powered, the tranny is clunky and the plastics seem like, well plastic that was just hung on the bike. The bike feels smallish and cramped to me. I tried to love it, really tried but just couldn't quite feel the love back. That so called open road v-twin rumble isn't happening with the 02 ultra. My 97 Road King has more of the rumble riders love than the ultra has. On the other hand, I got to test ride the RSV with the new Sonic fork springs lowered with a spacer on the dampening tubes and also, I trimmed about an inch off the drivers seat height instead of using the rear lowering kit. I have to say, the bike feels and handles amazing. way better than before when I had the rear lowering kit on and the stock fork springs in with the forks raised in the triple trees. It's like a whole new bike. Easy to lift off the kick stand, easy to walk the bike, and slow speed handling seems to have improved. Barring any unforeseen problems, I think I am going to be able to keep riding my RSV for quite some time.

I remember you talking about the new gas tanks and was wondering what all your fussing was about. I have 6, 5 gallon tanks I have been using forever so I had no idea what you were talking about until I used the 2 new 5 gallon tanks I got at walmart that I shipped to Puerto Rico for my generator. Who in the name of everything thought this was a good idea? Just what were they trying to accomplish besides irritating customers? They are awkward to use, leak fuel just using them as they were "designed", and several times, I overfilled the generator tank causing fuel to spill over the sides. Now that's what I call environmentally friendly and safe. NOT! Thanks for the video @saddlebum. I will be sure to ship a couple of these spouts to Puerto Rico.

Not on this island. The only things available are WD40, WD40 & WD40

Have a vacation house on a little island off PR called Vieques.

The other day when it was raining, my wife said to me, "You need to fix the roof. It's leaking." Told her I couldn't fix it now. It's raining. Following day she said "You should fix the roof today. It's not raining." Told her, no need to fix it now, it's not leaking.

Leaving Puerto Rico tomorrow and won't be coming back until next December at the earliest so going to have to store the generator. According to the storage instructions in my Honda manual, it says to remove all the fuel from the tank and carburetor. MoreThan 3 Months Before Next Use Remove the fuel from the carburetor and fuel tank. Do not allow gasoline to remain in your generator’s fuel tank for more than 3 months of activity. This goes against everything I have learned over my years. When I store my bikes and lawnmowers etc. for the winter, I top off the tanks and use Stabil and never have problems. Of course down here, there's no Stabil or Seafoam so that's out. I was thinking about fogging the tank but the only thing available here is WD40. I'm not sure what to do. The humidity over the course of the summer is so thick that you could almost cut it with a knife. Plus I don't want to leave fuel in the tank anyway, since the generator will be stored inside the house which gets like an oven in the summer months with everything closed and locked up. Should I leave the cap loose to avoid expansion from leftover fumes? So maybe I will just have to leave the tank empty and untreated this year. Maybe have to think about future years. Any idea what products I could use that I could safely ship here?

No you are not nuts. The reality is that 1st and 2nd gens are not in any kind of demand. Very nice & super dependable bikes but no real call for them on the market. There's a guy near me that has an 87 in beautiful condition along with a parts bike for $1200.00 that has been sitting on Craigs List for over a year. I had an 84 that I got a few years back that only cost me $500.00. Went through it top to bottom and front to back. All fresh fluids, new brake pads, tires, spark plugs, filters etc. Looked and ran brand new and only had 19K on it when I bought it. Sold it 1 year later with 26K on it for $1200.00 and was happy to get it. It sat on Craigs List for several months without even an inquiry. The guy that bought it saw it on my front lawn. Sold my 02 2nd gen last spring with 49K on it for a whopping $3000.00 to the only guy who came to see it after several months being advertised. That was OK though because the previous fall I picked up an 08 2nd gen with 4700 miles on it for $5000.00. I watched that bike for a while on CL and watched the price keep dropping before I went for it. Another terrific bike that doesn't sell is the Yamaha Road Star. Can't figure out why. Picked up a 2000 a few years back for $1500.00. Put about $1500.00 in upgrades into it and sold it for $3200.00 6 months later. I just picked up an 09 RS for $2000.00 from a guy that was desperate to get rid of it as he wanted to buy a Harley from a friend. I may get 1 or 2 years of riding on it before I will have to sell it to break even. Used Yamahas, especially used tourers are hard to sell and don't bring in any kind of money. They just don't.

I always run dino for the break in, then switch to synthetic on the 1st oil change. Don't know if that makes any difference but have been doing it that way for as long as I can remember. I have a few heavy duty generators that have been used on job sites and have been running great for years. Also one at my house in NH and now one down in PR that run great too.

Well, the decision got a little tougher today after my 1st real ride of the season. It was a balmy 40 degrees when I started out. I have been itching for this day to test a few changes I did to the RSV this winter. Got about 100 miles in, which was a good solo test. Over the winter I installed new Sonic front suspension springs. In the process, I lowered shortened the travel of the forks 1" by 1" installing spacers to the damper tubes. Last year, I lowered the front end by raising the fork tubes through the triple trees. I bottomed out a few times which caused the lower fork fender mounts to bang into the lower fork covers and denting them and I also didn't care for the look of the raised fork tubes in the trees. The new setup looks more professional, won't dent the lower fork covers if it bottoms and the Sonic springs perform much better than the stock springs. I installed the Baron's rear lowering kit that I kept from my '06 RSV, but lowering the rear 1" along with the front lowered 1" would put the rake back to it's original setting and the sluggish low speed handling would be the same, so I took the kit back off. Being vertically challenged, I decided to take on modifying the seat myself. Visited all kinds of websites on the subject, then jumped in. After about 2 hours of trimming and sanding and testing, I covered the seat with 1" memory foam and put the cover back on. It appears that got the seat lowered close to an inch. It's comfortable too and stayed that way for the ride today. Very pleased. So the front is lowered 1" (properly) and the seat is lowered 1" so my feet are easily flat footed on the ground. This has also made the bike feel like it is easier to stand it up from the kickstand since I now have some space between the seat and my crotch for maneuvering which was a major concern in keeping the bike for the future. I guess the next step is to get the better half on the back to see if the bike is easier to handle with her on it than it had been last season. Unfortunately, that won't happen until the end of April when we get back from our trip. The conflict has always been about the top heavy weight while trying to walk the bike or standing it up. Especially 2 up. The low speed handling has always been a secondary concern and not really a deciding factor. A future with the RSV looks promising so far with the changes, I hope it is since the RSV has always been my favorite riding motorcycle.

Piece of cake. No Problem. Easy Peezee. No problema. That is, compared to this video. Just about had me throwing up.

Hadn't thought about a V Star. Will have to check out a 1300. Just got the Road Star a few weeks ago. Am going to put a fairing and saddlebags, but it is going to be setup as a solo rider for around town and rides with the guys. My wife didn't like the ride on my previous road star. Was thinking about the newer style Kawasaki Voyager but heard they are top heavy also. Really like my ultra classic but that dependability thing is keeping me skeptical. Was hoping that the RSV was going be my last ride into the sunset. Maybe if I put the gas tank underneath the bike, it will reduce the top heavy feel.

Thought about a GW. Had an 86 years ago and it was a nice bike at the time, but really like the cruiser type feel vs the GW and my previous 1st Gen. Also, like a close friend of mine who has more money than God that can afford any ride he wants any day of the week said to me about his brandy newbie 2016 GW. He loved the bike, really loved it, but felt like an old man on it. He traded it in for a 2017 HD. I don't want to feel old on my ride. Whatever I decide on, It has to look like a motorcycle, you know, like us old style riders are, not covered in plastic from end to end like the space age Victory's look. Sorry. No offense to Victory riders.

Ok, I know this is a Venture forum, have owned 1 1st Gen and 3 2nd Gens and have loved them all. Getting close to retiring and while on vacation in Puerto Rico, my wife suggested that I should start thinning out the herd. I know she's right but thinning out makes me feel like I am getting old and don't like that feeling at all if I may state it honestly. But she is right. She has no problem with me restoring my pre 1970's Hondas, just wants me to slim down the bigger street bikes. That being said, I posted here probably around early summer last year about a day we were out on our 08 RSV for the day and all day long it seemed like I was fighting with the bike all day. Just did not feel comfortable all day long. It was more of a struggle than I have ever had on a bike. especially in slow maneuvers. We had stopped at a seafood place for lunch and when it was time to leave, I just couldn't get the bike up off the kickstand to save my life by myself. I had to ask another gentleman to help me. Never, ever had this problem in all my years of riding. Although the rest of last years riding season went well, the top heaviness and that day has been in the back of my mind. I love the RSV's, really do, hence why I am on my 3rd one. It has been trouble free like the previous ones but seems to be getting a little too top heavy for me riding 2 up. Over the winter, I have lowered the front end and modified the drivers seat in hopes of making it a little easier to handle in the slow go, but have to wait until it is warm enough to test ride it. Have been thinking about this problem for some time now and have been thinking about alternatives for our 2 up riding and came across a great deal on a 1 owner 9700 original mile HD Ultra Classic in mint condition. It's definitely easier to handle 2 up. Rides really nice and it handles very, very well, but am concerned about reliability. We all know that RSV's are basically bullet proof but not so sure about the HD. I already know that I will have to pay the "Harley Tax" in the near future and have the cam chain situation upgraded to the newer upgraded hydraulic tensioner system. So there's that. Plus it only has a 5 gallon gas tank so mileage will not be as good as the RSV. I am thinking about putting them both up for sale and keeping whichever doesn't sell first but that may not solve the problem. i also have 2 cruisers that I have to decide on which I am selling but that is not a difficult decision. A 1997 HD Road King and a 2009 Yamaha Road Star. I am keeping the Road Star. You just can't beat the quality of the RS. Now the Road King is another story. It only has 30k on it but I have put more $ into it than I will ever get back. Read and heard so much about how the HD EVO was the best , most reliable HD ever made and it has made a true unbeliever out of me. If that is the most reliable they made, then HD isn't for me which makes me concerned about the 2002 Ultra Classic I bought even though it only has 9700 mles on it. I can't and won't buy a new bike even if I could. So you can see I am torn. Anyone else out there in or have been in this situation? If so, what "used" touring bike would you be looking at for easier handling 2 up? Not a cruiser but touring bike. We are hoping to put many miles in once retired. Hate to give up on the RSV but have to face reality also.

Internet has been very spotty here so it's been tough getting back online. Been busy the last few days helping out the people here. Cutting back fallen trees, fixing fences to keep the horses out (horses run free on the island), covering roofless houses with tarps, shoring up collapsed roofs, getting water lines repaired to their houses etc. Also have been sharing my generator to keep their fridges cool as the power has been off and on all over the island for the past several days. A lot of long hours of work everyday. Not complaining though as the wonderful people here need as much help as they can get. It's a crap show but you would never know it by the spirit of the people. Anyway, I pulled the belt off the washing machine and the motor would not spin so it was the motor. Talked to my neighbor and long time friend about it and he brought me over to this really nice poor old guy that he knows that had tons of old washers, dryers etc at his property. We spent a about an hour searching through his stuff until we found a motor that would work. It was a 1/3hp motor vs the 1/2hp that was in my washer. He asked for $10.00 so I gladly paid him $50.00 for it. It was obvious he could use it. Took about 10 minutes to install it it. Runs perfect on my little generator so we are happier than words can describe. The dirty sweaty clothes were piling up pretty quickly. Leaving next Wednesday and can't wait until we get back here 4 weeks after next Wednesday.

Thanks for the input guys. Just something I was thinkg about after my wife trying to run the washer. Not going to worry about it too much until someday when the island has total restored power, whenever that may be. After all, It's only been 5 months now since Maria and no power. They only have 3 electrical trying the best they can with the few resources they have. Besides, I am more concerned about using the resources I have to help as many people on the island as I can for the 2 weeks I am here. That takes a much higher priority than a washing machine.

10 ft of 10/3 wire to 100 amp panel. Main breaker is at the street and is off so no power to anyone else. Thinking the washer was starving for power and overheated the insulation on the windings in the motor.

We got down to Vieques, Puerto Rico a few days ago for a 2 week vacation. Although there is power most days in the main parts of the island, there is no power at all in the hills with all the downed poles and lines. Knowing this, I sent the largest wattage generator I could through the US Mail which was a 1500 watt continuous, 1800 watt surge generator. It's powering the 30" fridge and lights in our house without any problems. Well my wife for some reason, decided to do a load of clothes in the washing machine while I was out getting supplies. She unplugged the fridge before using the washer. Anyway, when I got back home, she told me that the washer ran all the way through until the final spin when she could smell burnt rubber. She thought it was coming from the generator so she stopped the washer. Upon inspection, the smell is coming from the washer. The generator has been chugging along happily since, so no problems there. Is it possible that the motor on the washing machine fried? The burnt smell is pretty bad when you go into the wash room.

One of the Rotella's synthetics isn't JASO MA Certified if I remember correctly. Just can't remember which one and it's clearly not labeled on the bottle that it meets the JASO MA spec. There was a discussion about it on another forum. Can't remember which forum now. This lack of memory thing can't have anything to do with age, can it?

I never trust anyone else'e measurements. The best way to make the brackets is to clamp the mufflers on the headers then make templates with a pieces of cardboard. I cut two, 2 inch wide cardboard strips and fit them in place so all 3 holes were covered. ( two holes on the mufflers and mount hole on the saddlebag bracket.) Marked the holes , then transferred templates to the 2" wide x 1/8" thick steel, Drilled the holes and shape rounded the corners. The whole deal from template to working brackets took about 20 minutes. Waited for the paint to dry and I was out riding in 45 minutes, start to finish. Another thing you may want to consider with the MO's is to add baffles. Actually I highly recommend them. Although these mufflers sound great at idle, they get very annoying when cruising around or on longer trips. They give off harmonics that actually will hurt your ears. I read on another forum about adding Smartpartz baffles so I bought them, Took ten minutes to install them. It's like night and day. Great rumble at idle, nice rumble tooling down the highway and no more nasty harmonics. Best sounding exhaust I have ever heard. These are the baffles that fit perfectly. http://www.smartpartz.com/SPZHK250ST.html

Just PM'ed you.