Snaggletooth

That pic keeps me from raiding the fridge at 1:30 in the morning. But it gives me nightmares.

So.....you're saying that you're not thrilled when they ask "Would like the special sauce with your order?"

Interesting read on AGM charging. http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/general/hrdp_1009_how_to_charge_a_agm_battery/viewall.html

Don, personaly, I wouldn't worry about it. I've had the DEKA ETX18L in my '84 now for over 4 years. It's never been on a tender or charger. Never found a need to. Even during the winter storage months it held a high charge never dropping below 12.6. The AGM's are known for extemely low storage discharge rates. This one has proved that. There have been times I've seen AGM's discharged extremely low and a smart charger would not sense them. Found a trick around that. Jump the discharged battery to good battery and just let them sit for a while. The discharged battery will pick up enough juice from the good battery to then be picked up by the smart charger and go through a normal charge cycle. The AGM's do require about a 15 volt rate to charge properly but at no more than 2 amps from the info I've been reading. Mike

I might have to look into the recipe for that. My old fishing buddy makes his own catfish bait and it wasn't panning out very well last year. Last time he opened a jar of that in the boat I swam back to shore. The shark sounds like it might do the trick.

Jonas, refresh my memory...... Isn't that shark dish fermented?

I got to wonder how hard it would be to convince the LEO's that you don't really need to have those nasty old mirrors on your bike because you have a periscope. Be a fun conversation to listen in on.

This stuff would have been an insult to Mexican Chili. Needed a strainer to find a lump. I'm like you Bob. You should be able to eat chili with a fork.

Had a few of those myself when I was growing up with my moms cooking. Spent more than one night sleeping on the edge of the kitchen table. We didn't have a garbage disposal or a dog. I was stuck with it.

Oops. Hope I didn't ruin your fun. I just figured you've been here a long time and are always here with information and advice so you must have worn out a keyboard or two over the years... so I peeked. But congrats on the accomplisment. I won't say a word when you hit 20,000.

Who ever said "The right place at the right time" owned, rode and maintained his own 1st gen Venture. At least I belive that. The covers WILL come off. It's kind of like a magic trick, or a Rubics Cube. Once you find the right angle, the right turn in just the right spot they slide right out. Once you can accomplised that you'll laugh at how easy they go back on. It's just one of those tricks of the trade things. It wasn't all that many years ago I was on here asking the same questions you are. I thought I was missing something to. Don't forget to order the 2nd gen valve cover gaskets for putting them back on. They have a lip around the outside edge that helps a lot on getting them back in place. Use dabs of silicon to stick them to the valve covers to hold them in place while setting them back on. And I'll go ahead and say it..... wait for it.......While you're in there, consider that you should replace the 16 rubber seals on the valve cover bolts to complete the job. These get stiff and hard and don't reseal very well and as the bolts used are shoulder bolts you can not and should not try to just tighten them "just a little more." You can only tighten them so much and then they snap off in the head. Not good. Mike

Is that after the chili? Just askin'

I'll be watching for your opinion after a long ride. One of my riding buddies has an '09 Boulevard and won't ride with me on the weekends as his tail section drives him nuts with the stock seat. He'd be more than happy to find one more comfortable one and get some miles in.

Yegads!! He did he did! 10,000 posts!!! :clap2::clap2:

There is a lot of good things that come from that $12.00 bucks. Full access will put a lot of great info into your hands. On the left side of the main menu you will see the forum headers. Find the VR Classifieds and then open the menu for Member Vendors. That shows you our members here that sell products of services for our bikes. Click on Skydoc-17's header and it will list all his items. The drain kit is a bit down from the top on the second page. And from the looks of it.......... Mike

Lookin' good Gary.

I should have known better if I had been informed earlier that these people thought lukefisk was the highlight of tasty treats. At least they didn't put that in the chili.

The drain kit is in my first post. The other parts are not hard to find. Check with skydoc_17 or any provider like partshark, boatnet or any of the others. Earl set me up last fall with all the o-rings I needed.

That might cover all the costs for the International.

The first time I was invited for a family meal with my new girlfriends family I should have taken foot and kept going. The message was clear. You will die with these people. The invite was for a Christmas Eve dinner. I was informed they make their traditional family recipe Chilli. I love Chilli! Not going to miss out on that. But as I had the chance to watch my future Mother-in-Law and her two daughters prepare the meal I had some serious concerns. 6 quarts of water in a pot and bring it to a rolling boil. (measure carefully) Once at full boil add 2 pounds of hamburger to the water. (raw, not browned. Straight from package) Once the meat started to dissolve add one can of stewed tomatos. (undrained) Then add one can of beans. (also undrained. Didn't seem to matter what kind to them) Watching this I asked about how much onion they would add. No... no onion. As this concoction came back to a boil they added a full bottle of Ketchup. (for color) I set the salt and pepper on the counter and they put it back on the table without using it. (add one dirty look) Ok, that's pretty much it. Being the daughters new boyfriend I was polite. I took the bowl offered to me. I did add quite a bit of salt and pepper and asked if they had any chile powder. I tossed in about half a jar of that and it got me though the meal. The m-i-l did ask me if I had any suggestions. "Cheese. Cheese on top would be good." I can charm anybody. I think I hurt myself that evening trying to swallow. But Christmas day they had me back. The new m-i-l asked me to check the ham in the oven. I was pleased to be asked. When I opened the oven door, there it was. A huge spiral cut 7.5 pound ham sitting there roasting away in its original factory packed Mylar bag. It was expained to me that it keeps it moist that way. News to me.

You mean as far as something that couldn't be chewed and swallowed........ nah. Nothing yet. But then again I'm not all the picky of an eater. :crackup: But that does give me an idea for another thread.

Actually I think the dealer in this case was pretty honest about it. How much he wants to do it might make him questionable. I would agree with the brake fluid flush being a regular scheduled item to do. Keeping fresh fluid in the system helps control the contamination by moisture and debris. It's not hard to do yourself and once you get the hang of it it takes less than 15 minutes to do. Adding the Speed Bleeders shaves time off of that. Don't forget about doing the clutch system at the same time. I think the owners manual even states the idea of replacing brake lines every two years or so. I think that is a bit of overkill but still they do deteriorate over time. Changing to Stainless Steel lines is the best thing you can do. Some of these 1st gens haven't had new brake lines for over 20 years. They still function, yes, but safety is an issue. Grab the rubber brake line on an older bike and bear down on the brakes. You will feel the line expand. Do you feel comfortable with that?

There it is again. "While you're in there". Amazing how that keeps showing up. But Squeeze has two good points. (1) When the weather warms up it may very likely cease to be a problem. (2)The items he mentions are a bit harder to do but they will need attention sooner or later.

That should be the good old o-ring on the drain valve. Get ahold of skydoc_17 , Earl. He has a kit with a new o-ring and a new shaped retaining screw to fix that. Cheap to fix and takes care of that for a long time. Here is the link to his ad in the classifieds. http://www.venturerider.org/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=3769&title=first-gen1983-1993-radiator-drain-upgrade&cat=22 It's a really common problem and only starts to show it's face in the colder weather. Like you, most don't notice it until the coolant builds up in the chin. Just remember when you go to pull the screw to remove the valve body to wrap a rag around it. There is a spring and detent ball under the screw and they will wander off right quick if not contained. Mike

I have always kept an eye on http://www.motorcyclegear.com/ when shopping for riding gear. The stuff they sell may be last years line but it's new and their service and prices are outstanding. Their product reviews and size information have always been worth the read no matter where you buy at. I've saved a bunch of money over the years dealing with them.