spear

. . and did I ask you to what part of Australia you are heading? BIG country but you never know - I might run in to you (figuratively speaking of course.)

Brad. You after an architect or a draftsman? BIG difference. I'm the latter - wished I was the former.

Hey Dragonrider. I've been a Canon man since Moses played quarter-back for the Arabs. Film cameras, then went to a DSLR (the 300D - whatever that is in the USA) and have slowly upgraded to a 350D, 400D, 450D and now a 550D. I use both the 450D and 550D for my professional work and I gave my bride the 400D. I gave the 300D to one of my sons and the 350D to a neice. All are still going strong. I cannot fault them, and if you look aroud you can pick up a good second-hand unit for well within your $$ range. Having said that - outlay the extra buck$$ and buy a newie. Get a medium telephoto (zoom) lens that will get you 18-250mm or thereabouts. You're not locked in to buying a kit (body and two lenses). Negotiate for a body and the one lens (as above.) Good luck. Spear

It's noisy. Sounds like an hydraulic ram!

I suppose if we ever DO have a civil war down here, that'd be a good way to start it.

Thanks for that info Rick. I started working on the outfit today, and so far things are looking good. Will let ya know how it pans out.

Ah - ya bloody sook! Kwitchab1tch1n' will ya?

So Richard. Comin' down under eh? Where ya gonna be? It's a big country and Annie and I are on opposite sides.

Greetings all. I have acquired and fitted a Voyager outrider to my 2004 RSV. It is fully wired but now I need to hook it up to the bike. Has a flat 7-pin plug ready to go into a 7-pin socket, the latter needing to be wired to the bike. I had a look at this post by Don http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=503 but it didn't really help me. I've trawled through the site looking for an answer prior to coming up here with my query. Don (and others) is it best to just tap in to the plethora of bullet connectors in the tail light support housing, of would you suggest that I run all the way back to the battery and associated connectors? I'm figuring that given the fact that I need tail light, brake light and both indicators - it's going to make sense to tap into the area of the tail light, where all those things are found. Sorry for being a nuisance, but I'm ready to do the job and just want to be sure. I have the socket, miles of three-strand, five-strand and seven-strand cable - as well as a bucket load of connectors of all shapes and sizes. Love to hear your collective thoughts and/or advice. Cheers. Spear

Please guys - (not wanting to steal anything away from a great cause - it's been through my family) - the word is "P R O S T A T E".

Hey guys. Shouldn't have to switch to reserve. You should be running on reserve all the time, and allowing your yellow warning light and odometer count-down to let you know when you went there. My pet-cock has been in the same position for the past four years - on reserve.

A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Do yo' own thing bro!

Well there ya go. Two identical answers. Sounds pretty good to me! Problem solved.

So sad. Thoughts and prayers are with you both. Our kids are supposed to bury us, not us them.

Wot took ya so long?

As you were Bill. Just found it. http://www.venturemp3.com/ Bit pricey, don't ya think??

Hey Bill. For for posting that. Looks like a nice unit. Will it play any other sort of music? (Sorry - not a CM fan.) Man, I needs to know - do you have a link to the seller? I googled VentureMP3 and came up with zilch.

Geez Peg. How hard is it to get a straight answer to a simple question? Notice it was all guys who hijacked the thread??

Holy schmoke Preacher Dude. First bad experience at a restaurant should be the last bad experience. You're a sucker for punishment - going back a second time.

Permit me if I may to slip in a piece I wrote for my local weekend paper. I am a resident columnist and thought this piece might 'entertain' some of you. DRESS FOR THE SLIDE, NOT FOR THE RIDE. Excuse me for getting up on my high horse – make that getting up on my bike seat – but I’ve decided I’ve seen enough and it’s time to let off some steam. I’m talking about the number of motorcycle riders I see who think they are bullet-proof. Let me start off by saying that I’ve been a biker (NOT a bikie) for most of my licensed life. All of family rides bikes – big bikes. My Mum and Dad courted on a bike way back just after WW2. I have four brothers and a sister who all ride bikes. In fact we make a habit of having a biker get-together once a year – as siblings are destined to do. We do BIG miles and we do it decked out in the appropriate riding gear. I started on a 250cc twin and have worked my way up through a 400cc twin, a 750cc Honda 4 (what a classic that was) to a BMW tourer and now I luxuriate on my V4 1300cc tourer/cruiser. And I dress for the slide, not for the ride. It’s a pain in the butt getting dressed to go for a ride but I do it comfortable in the knowledge that if (God forbid) for some reason I have to part company with my machine I’m prepared to meet the bitumen and survive. And my family of fellow riders does the same. I shudder and grimace when I see clots – and that’s the only way to describe them – ripping around town in summer on their bikes, dressed in tee-shirts, shorts and thongs. I kid you not – I’ve seen it often. Okay, they may be just riding down to the corner store for a packet of smokes or a carton of milk apparently safe in the knowledge that it’s not far and nothing will happen to them. How long does it take for an errant tin-top driver (that’s biker talk for car driver) to have a momentary lapse or a “sorry, I didn’t see you” session to bring them unstuck. It happens – I know. I’ve seen it happen. One second is all it takes and your butt or elbow is skidding down the road, leaving a trail of blood, skin and bone for roaming dogs to clean up after sunset. At least we’re forced to wear helmets these days, and that’s lessened the amount of brain trauma vegetating in our hospitals and nursing homes. Folks - and I’m now directly addressing tee-shirt motorcyclists - it’s just not worth it. If you want to enjoy the absolute pleasure of the freedom of being on a bike – then do it sensibly. Dress yourselves from head to toe as if you’re going to war, because it is a war out there. Somewhere on the roads of this great country there is somebody who wants to (intentionally or otherwise) kill you. For all those years when I was a cop (and I spent over twenty years as a forensics investigator) I saw the worst of motor vehicle crashes. I saw the worst of the worst. I also saw survivors – motorcyclists who dressed for the slide, not for the ride. I also saw the tee-shirt brigade who, but for the sake of a helmet, leather jacket, biker pants and boots, should still be with us. Just watch Casey Stoner and his buddies tearing around the racing tracks of the world. Watch when one of them comes off at over 300km/hr and slides down the track. What do they do after they’ve finished sliding? They get straight up and try to resurrect what’s left of their bike. Why? Because they can. Because they’ve dressed for the slide, not for the ride. Motorcyclists were once and often described as ‘Temporary Australians.’ Truckers still call them TAs. Coupled with the need to dress appropriately is the need to ride defensively. I know the RTA motorcycle license requirements are a lot more stringent today than they were when I first obtained my license all those years ago, and that’s good. A couple of failed rider tests never hurt anybody. Makes you think! Motorcycle clothing is not a fashion accessory. It is a necessity. No, it’s not cheap. But what value do you place on your well-being? You insure your house and contents. You insure your car. You insure your bike. Why? In case something goes wrong. Then why the hell don’t you insure yourselves by ensuring you are ‘covered’. Covered from head to toe to survive that slide if and whenever it just may happen. Who knows, it may never happen. You may go all through your life not having to make a claim on your house or car insurance. You may go through your life not having to make a claim on your bike insurance. So why not go through your motorcycle-riding life confident in the knowledge that if crap should ever turn to clay, you are fully covered? You know, there are old bikers and there are bold bikers. But, there are no old, bold bikers. They never made it. I’d like to see all you young, bullet-proof biker guys and girls live to enjoy many years of one of the greatest pleasures of motoring and make it to growing old. I don’t try to explain why I ride a motorcycle. For those who understand, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't - no explanation is possible!

That'd be right. Take off just when I wanna talk wit ya. I'll send you an email instead. Need to know how you wired the RSV to the Wedgie. Enjoy Albany (or is it pronounced ALLbany?)

Hey Dan and Rose, I hate this sort of post. Positives vibes coming at ya from The Great Southern Land. Get well real quick my friend.

I opted for a solar panel charger that plugs straight in to my 12V outlet. The RSV's in the bike shed near a window and the panel sits on the inside sill. Keeps my battery topped up no matter how long she sits and languishes, pining for my love and attention.