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So, I sent my rear diff off to John Furbur at RMSportmax, and he did his thing to it to chnage out the gears to make it ther RS-Max gears. Most of you know what that means, so I will not explain. He sent the rear diff back to me, leaving his shop on Pennsylvania two days ago, it was in my hands this morning, and in less than 82 minutes...ta da...the entire bike was all back together, everything re-insatlled, a new rear tire on it, and the bike fully on the road. Hey, less than 82 minutes was pretty good. Of course, I had everything prepped and ready to receive the revised rear diff. All parts were cleaned, newly greased, and all tolls laid out. But still...in less than 82 minutes. I have other things I still am doing to the bike, like a full valve adjustment, and fixing two wiring items. But it is nice to have the bike abck on two wheels. BTW, he did re-gear MY rear diff, as I asked him to, rather than swap mine out for someone else's.

Part One: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=73786 Part Two: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=73853 Since writing Part Two of this series both I, and another Forum member have competed in a Long Distance Rally. Rather than simply go down the path of looking at the different aspects of LD Riding, I thought that for this one I could bring the subject to life and take you on a rally. At some point it might be useful to look in detail at planning a rally, but we are riders, so let's go for a ride: It has been made clear to me that my Blogging platform of choice is not welcome on this site. That has caused me a good deal of extra work to bring this to you, and it is not as good as the original in terms of layout and readability, and you have lost the many excellent comments left in the other place. Anyone wanting to read it as I intended it to be seen is free to email me for the link "Steve went to Prada, and all I got was a lousy photograph" - Jodie http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-8dfFkhS/0/M/DSCN0943-M.jpg "Prada 'Marfa'" is a piece of installation art. It is on a deserted highway in Texas, close to Marfa, TX and the Mexico border. The structure was built at a cost of $80 000 and is designed to be allowed to degrade and crumble with the ravages of time. It's sole purpose is to demonstrate the return from modernity to the earth from which it was created. Prada gave their blessing, and stock, for the store. I was there because it was a bonus location worth 1405 points in the Big Tex Rally, a thirty six hour motorcycle rally entirely within the state of Texas. From the start I was determined to make a significant assault on this rally. Despite my motorcycle inhabiting the territory known as the "Hopeless" Class, in previous rallies it has acquitted itself decently well, and surprised more than a few folk. This time the rally was a little longer, a little tougher, and I was determined to find out just what it could and couldn't do. Incidentally, "it's the rider not the bike" is an old homily which was going to be put to the test too. In the end it was a mixed result. For reasons that will become clear I decided not to finish, yet what I did accomplish, what I learned and what I will share that others may benefit too made this a truly worthwhile endeavour. *** It was dark at the Rider Meeting, at a gas station in Denison, TX. The event was due to start at 6 am and we would have no daylight for at least another ninety minutes. Denison was one of the four stating locations for the nearly fifty entrants. I will say right here that I am not a big fan of multiple starts. The Rally Master and his staff, who do a wonderful job in all things, cannot level that playing field. They can probably get very close, but they cannot make them equal. The Cape Fear Rally has three starts, and publishes a different finisher list for each one. That said, about half the field was starting from Denison, and clearly they each had identical opportunities. I had arrived the evening before and met up with a few riders I had met on previous rallies, and some new guys. It is always good to meet old friends and acquaintances, and we wished each other well as is the norm. These events are more "friendly rivalry" than competition. Sure we all would like to win, but there can be few who don't simply admire the achievements of those who exceed your own efforts; especially given that your own efforts were prodigious! The Rally Pack had been distributed three weeks earlier. About half the field were newcomers to the sport, and Wayne, the Rally Master, was keen that everyone had a chance to plan routes carefully. We were told that there would be some new information that would be given out at the start of the event, but nothing that would cause riders to alter their basic routes. This was very good to hear. The last thing new riders need is to plan for three weeks then have to scrap and re-plan on the clock. So it came as a bit of a surprise to read the supplementary information and realise that one of the biggest bonuses available would require me to completely alter my route! This was not going to happen. The supplementary pack gave me an additional 7500 points without changes, and I decided to live with that and look again at the overnight stop, to see if I could make hay with the other stuff. That 7500 points gave me a projected score of maybe 58 000 points for the event. What I now know is that had I been able to take advantage of that "extra" multiplier, the 58 000 could have become around 67 000 points ... a very respectable finish. However, we are getting somewhat ahead of ourselves and I don't really do "what ifs", nor do I ever bemoan my own misfortune. Every event like this is unique. What is important to me is that I learn from each one, and incorporate those lessons into all future events. If I can share what I learn, and that helps others, then I consider that to be an added bonus. http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-wnBqVCS/0/M/DSCN0931-M.jpg At the start I found myself next to a guy in his first rally. He was clearly a mix of excited and nervous. He wanted to chat about what was to come and there wasn't much I could say to him, and I knew exactly how he was feeling. I suggested that he simply take it very easy for the first twenty miles or so; that is when the adrenalin will kill you. Suggested that he might remember that whatever the objective, all he was really doing was going for a ride on his rather nice Honda Gold Wing. That is it ... it's just a motorcycle ride. Enjoy. I didn't catch his name but I really hope he did well and had fun. Six am duly rolled around and we were off. I was the second or third bike out of the parking lot. I had a long, hard day ahead and I wanted to make some good early progress. http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-5ph3FtQ/0/M/DSCN0933-M.jpg The first target was the grave of "Machine Gun Kelley". I took a wrong turn almost right out of the gate which cost me just a few minutes and I arrived about 100 miles later at 7.50 am. I was maybe the fourth or fifth there, but it was apparently on many schedules, and was a busy graveyard at that early hour. The location was easily found and a few minutes later I was on my way again. This time another 130 miles to the home of Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian. This is always the phase of a rally where I settle in and get on with the task in hand. The initial rush is passed, the sun is up and I can take stock. The bike is running well and you can make good time on these Texas highways. The speed limit is 70 mph, and much of the time that is doable. I have a route that demands that I ride 1030 miles before my overnight stop, and along the way I need to hit some time checks. I am heading for El Paso. It was a bit disconcerting to pass a sign as I left Sherman saying "El Paso 545 Miles", and I wasn't even going straight there! I never let my head go to the entirety of the route, but simply ride from one planned location to the next. Those are bite-sized chunks that never seem too far yet add up to a total plan. I was scheduled to be in Sanderson, TX at 11.30 pm, there I could rest but for now there was the small matter of bonuses to hunt in the Guadalupe Mountains, and other places. http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-j6LX39h/0/M/DSCN0935-M.jpg This bonus benefitted from the supplementary information. The original requirement was a photo of the front gate, which was easy enough. For an additional 2190 points you also needed a picture of the typewriter that the novelist used. It is obviously inside the house, and equally obviously might prove tricky. I am the first to arrive at this bonus, but I am confident that the enormous number of points would attract many riders. The house is locked up so I went around the back and found an open door and two little old ladies doing some filing, or something. Well they wanted chapter and verse, and I have only budgeted five minutes for this stop. I indulge them as politely as I can, and get my photo. As I am leaving three more riders arrive. Nicely primed the ladies are likely to delay them for rather less time, yet I don't begrudge the extra few minutes one bit. We are ambassadors for our sport and making a favourable impression on little old ladies is simply part of the job. Plus, they are usually very nice to talk to I was fortunate they were there. Usually the place is locked, and you have to call a number and wait for someone to get there to let you in. Some later riders might find this to be a bit of an obstacle. It might have cost me five minutes, but I was grateful to them for choosing that Friday morning to do paperwork. I needed gas next, and I would need gas again before the next bonus. As I plan on gas every 250 miles that is a long way between stops. You sometimes just have to hunker down and ride. Five hundred miles into my day I make it to Wink, TX. Here is the home of the Roy Orbison Museum. Again it is closed and you have to go to the City Hall a few doors away to gain admission. The lady tells me that a few riders have already been through. I imagine they were nearly all from the Anthony, TX start location. Few from Denison were coming here as far as I knew although I had been passed on the road by a BMW GS. That incident was instructive. I am a decent rider. I can push where I need to, and throttle back when I have to. I do not worry about taking my 900+ pound beast down unmade roads, or up mountains. I had been pushing hard yet this guy simply rolled by. I am beginning to understand that my trusty mount is playing out of it's league. Realising this, which is a feeling that has been growing, is a bit dispiriting and I ponder that for a few miles. Meanwhile, I hit Wink on time and get a stupid photograph wearing some "Roy Orbison" sunglasses. (I have been informed that these are actually Roy Orbison's glasses. Donated to the museum by his family). http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-8swmqqf/0/M/DSCN0936-M.jpg Here I make a plea to Rally Masters. Please do not insist that riders include themselves AND their Rally Flag in photographs, unless it adds something to the necessary bit of proving that you were there. In this instance it clearly did, and was fun. In others, not so much and is a requirement that adds nothing to the task, just makes the picture harder to get and to what end? This is my story, and I'll tell it the way I want to, m'kay? That said, the next picture did actually turn out quite well even if it did take longer to frame than was necessary: http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-HrSqsr5/0/M/DSCN0937-M.jpg We are now another one hour and forty minutes down the road, and still on schedule. This bonus was just three miles after bagging the Passport Stamp for the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. I nearly had a complete disaster at the Visitor Center there. I pulled into what appeared to be a perfectly ordinary parking space, but I had badly misjudged the camber. As I came to a stop the bike started to fall to the left. The world goes in slow motion for a split second as a whole train of thought rushes through your head. Can I hold it? No ... It's too risky, Okay, then how can I minimise this situation? Left foot firmly planted, keep hold of the bars and allow the bike to lay gently on the crash bars. Step off and scratch head. It's hard not to laugh, and even harder not to cry. I haven't dropped a bike for maybe twenty years and I picked a fine place to try it again! There is another motorcyclist in the parking lot. He comes over and thirty seconds later the bike is safely restored onto it's sidestand. No harm, no foul. It is 104 miles to the next bonus. Actually it is three bonuses within a mile of each other worth a combined total of 5659 points. They are all in El Paso and they are the reason I have come this far west. At my current location I have a "get out". If I am too far behind schedule I can miss El Paso and head south, shortening the route. I would lose the El Paso points, but could make some of them up with the shorter distance and extra time. I am at Guadalupe Peak bang on schedule though. My GPS is estimating arrival at the next National Park at 4.58 pm, two minutes before it's official closing time. I said I was attacking this rally, so I decide to go for it. And "go for it" I did. Across the bleak uplands through the Guadalupe Mountains. The roads are fast, generally straight with very little traffic and as I ride I am able to watch my ETA become closer. I had it at about 4.50 pm ... I had built a ten minute cushion. In the end it was worth it even if I missed the 690 points in the Visitor Center, the nearly 5000 for the grave of James Wesley Hardin were sufficient. A complication was the 1000 point Call-In Bonus. We were now on Mountain Time, and right in the window to call the barn. I couldn't do it. Even stopping every few miles to check for a phone signal there was nothing doing. No stores, and few householders would relish a mad English motorcyclist banging on their door asking to use the phone. I eventually came across a lonely "Craft" Store that would have a phone I could use. It was 5.05 pm Central ... Too danged late! Then I hit the outskirts of El Paso. Mile after mile of urban highway. Where the hell did all that traffic come from? Traffic lights every ten yards, and every one of them red. My ten minute cushion became seven minutes late by the time I arrived at the Chamizal Visitor Center. When this kind of thin happens seven hundred and fifty miles into your ride, it can be a severe blow to your peace of mind. As I head, less than confidently, to the center I spot a young woman from the Park staff. She tells me that the door is still open. It isn't and with little hope I banged on the locked door. To my surprise, a guard opens the door and tells me, in no uncertain terms at all, that getting the two Passport Stamps inside is absolutely no trouble! The Gods of Motorcyclists are smiling on me today, and in a short while the smile will deepen and broaden into a positive grin! http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-n8f22xB/0/L/DSCN0941-L.jpg As I leave for Concordia Cemetery, the final resting place of James Wesley Hardin, I decide to take a few moments while there to take stock. The location is only a couple of miles from Chamizal, but that couple of miles takes over half an hour. I get firmly and inextricably lodged in traffic. It appears that every truck in North America has chosen this time to head into Mexico. The lines are solid, every intersection completely snarled up, and my engine boils over ... twice. I have lost the best part of an hour from my schedule and when I finally arrive at the cemetery, it is closed! Closed three full hours before the posted closing time of 8.00 pm, something I carefully checked before leaving home. There is a guard at the gate letting the final few stragglers out. I can see my target maybe fifty yards away and I wonder if he will let me in. All I need is a quick picture. No, he won't, at least not without the permission of the owner who is right there. Apparently they are preparing for some James Wesley Hardin Commemoration the following day. She hears my tale, gives permission and the friendly guard took the picture. Like I said, I am destined to do well in this Rally, and I am earning it the hard way but now I am very concerned that I do not trash my motorcycle nine hundred miles from home. I make my way slowly out of El Paso, well behind schedule and am rapidly calculating the damage, which amounts to ninety minutes (1350 points) lost from my Rest Bonus and a sick motorcycle. I make it to a gas station where I need a few minutes rest. I am up around eight hundred miles for the day and the last hundred have been very hard on both of us. At this point I don't need gas, just a few minutes off the bike before I head into the mountains again, and into the night. I hate this bit. I started the day in the dark and am now faced with another two hundred miles or so, in the dark. The lights on the bike are decent. They are not quite what I ultimately want, but they are good enough to run a fairly fast pace on these roads, mountains or not. By chance I look at my auxiliary gas tank and I notice something wrong. The gas cap is missing, as is the bulk of the five gallons of gasoline I thought it contained. I realised just how lucky I was. I was heading into wild territory thinking I had five more gallons of gas aboard than I actually had. That was a certain disaster averted but now I could only run my main tank. This immediately compromised my second day plans because I had to again run fast through country where gas was going to be hard to find. The loss of that cap and the nagging worry about the engine was bringing me to the point of simply riding for a finish, with no guarantees that I would even get one. http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-8dfFkhS/0/L/DSCN0943-L.jpg I make it to the eponymous "Prada" maintaining my predicted pace. I am an hour and a half late but have not lost any more time. Here is a bonus where the requirement was for a "non-pretentious picture of you in front of the Prada store". This was one where I happily agree that getting the rider in the photo adds value. I loved this bonus. Being in this place, at this hour was a surreal experience. In my six or seven rallies to date this has become my favourite bonus location and if you are ever in the area please stop by. I promise that you will not regret it. It is vital that you never let your plan take over from your common-sense, and decision making. Your rally plan is a target to aim for, and must never be allowed to rule your judgement. If any newer riders are reading this, I cannot stress the point enough and right now I was at decision time. The next bonus, and the final one of the day was at the McDonald Observatory. Unfortunately, they tend to put these things at the top of mountains. While I felt reasonable confident that the road up would be manageable, I was rather less confident of my ability to go up safely. I was tired and I knew it. Riding to my planned rest stop maybe another 130 miles was one thing. Detouring up a mountain at midnight was quite another and I make the only safe decision I can. I cut the bonus and the 3000 points that go with it. Even then I hit a wall. No, not literally, the figurative "wall" that is a combination of poor sleep the night before, nine hundred miles riding, the darkness and the stress of El Paso and the lost gas cap. I called Jodie when I filled up with gas and we talked briefly about the 97 miles left to the rest stop. I was confident that I would be okay and indeed I was, but not without a lesson that I will share with you all. When I am tired and riding, I do not generally suffer from my eyes closing. What does happen is that I lose focus, literally lose focus, my eyes go blurry and I have to force my concentration back to the task. That is a clear and unambiguous sign that I need to get off the road, and get off the bike and I NEVER ignore it. Neither should you. There comes a point, and we each are different, where we recognise those signs. It is not clever or brave, or admirable to ignore the signs. It is stupid, dangerous and has no place in LD Riding. I felt that happen about thirty miles into the last leg. I needed a safe place to stop and there wasn't one. That road is wild and desolate. There are no houses, no towns, no gas stations just a ribbon of tarmac with nowhere to stop. If I stopped in the road I would be in danger from the next tired idiot driving up behind me. Somehow I had to stay alert until I could safely stop. I yelled at myself, I ate candy, turned up the music and had as much air flowing as I could manage. I was prepared to continue only as long as it was safer to ride than stop. Eventually I hit a small town called Marathon, TX. This was about twenty miles passed my "signs to stop", and about forty miles from my planned stop. I pulled over in a parking area, got off the bike and lay down on the sidewalk. This might sound a bit extreme but it didn't seem at all odd at the time. I was in a safe place and could use a short "power nap". I got one and in about twenty minutes was feeling pretty darned good. There was nowhere to take my official rest break so I hopped back on the bike and completed forty uneventful miles to Sanderson, TX. All along I had planned my rest stop carefully and deliberately. In the last rally I entered I stayed at the Iron Butt Motel (sleeping outdoors for those who don't know). This time I planned the same. Truck stops are a decent choice. They are open 24/7, have computer generated timed receipts, and they have coffee, food even showers available. All you need is somewhere to sleep and a quiet corner of the parking area will do nicely. In some places you can even blag your way into the truckers lounge and sleep in a chair. This one was different. It was closed! So, no hot chocolate for me, but the gas pumps gave me a receipt timed at 1.10 am (the correct time). Within fifteen minutes I was in my sleeping bag. As I lay there, cozy and warm I saw more stars in the night sky than ever before in my life. There is no light pollution here, and the view was glorious. I had the warmth from the tarmac coming up through my sleeping mat, and the heat from my cooling engine. Alarm set for six fifteen, I was asleep immediately and slept the sleep of the just! I am firmly of the view that sleeping like that, listening to your bike clink and tinkle as it cools, and gazing up at the stars is one of life's great treats. You miss all that if motels are the only choice you ever make, but even I agree that they do have their place. When the alarm woke me I lay there for another forty five minutes. I had done some thinking and already decided that today was going to be spent simply riding home. I was in decent enough shape rallywise. I had worked out that if I simply rode for a finish I already had sufficient points to qualify. If I was granted all the "givens", and my license was still safely in a sealed envelope, then I had already accumulated around 33 000 points ... more than enough. Anything I gathered in the second day would simply raise me in the final standings. I had planned to hit the compulsory bonus at 8.00 am, and that was still on. If I could make the second day work I was back at the barn for around 58 000 points which should be a decent place. The fly in this ointment was the supplementary bonus thrown in at the start. Not only was it a bonus that I could not reach without re-routing my entire day, there were no guarantees that I could hit a target three times with a .45 Magnum. This bonus required you to be close to home no later than 2.00 pm, and from Sanderson that was not going to happen. As I have already said, I was attacking this rally and that means getting to Dallas no earlier than thirty minutes before penalties. To plan anything else is wasting time that you could have been on the road. It is a minor understatement that I felt that this bonus was breaching the spirit of the rally in more ways than one. First, it did demand significant re-routing. Second, it introduce a points multiplier based upon a skill that has nothing whatsoever to do with motorcycling. I want to ride my bike, and plan my rides. I want to enjoy camaraderie and good fun .... If I wanted to shoot a gun I would buy one, or join a gun club! Don't get me wrong. I am as keen as the next person for Rally Masters to get folk off their bikes doing interesting things. Is it too much to ask that those activities be designed to explore and develop the skill set we need to ride and rally, rather than introduce elements completely unrelated. I would be perfectly fine with this being "just another bonus" that one could choose to go for or route around, but it was a whole points multiplier .... Just didn't feel right to me is all. I'm sure it was indeed fun for those who completed it. All of the above is pure conjecture, and it's easy to ride a rally from my armchair I had the points to finish, but I had already decided that I was going home. My main concern that "home" was six hundred and ninety miles away. I would have liked to have gone via Dallas, put in my score and enjoyed the great company, but that added another three hundred miles, and time pressure to a motorcycle that I was not confident was up to the task. Especially as it would have probably meant routing through San Antonio, Austin and Dallas itself, with a motor that had already threatened to toast itself in city traffic. I called Wayne, made my apologies turned on my GPS, hit "Where To" and "Home" in that order and was on my way. The ride home was at a slower pace and uneventful. Seven hundred miles at a decent clip with only Wichita Falls to slow me down. I was home by 8.30 pm. Tired and a bit achy, but very pleased with my efforts despite the DNF. As a final note ... I would hate for folk to read a few minor criticisms, or personal preferences, and take them out of context. Rally Masters will never know what riders think unless we tell them purely in the spirit of contributing to the development of events. The Big Tex Rally was professionally staged, wonderfully managed and a great credit to Wayne Boyter and his Staff. All the riders, including me, owe those guys a great debt of gratitude. For my own part, I thoroughly enjoyed participating in this awesome event and would not hesitate to enter again. My own trials and tribulations along the way are teaching points, no more and no less. I include them here that I may learn from them, and that others may benefit should they choose to. I rode a total of 1922 miles on my 27 year old motorcycle, at an average moving speed of 64.7 miles per hour. I completed the mileage required for a Texas "In-State" SS1000 and the mileage required for a Bun Burner 1500. The last 28 miles of that were in Oklahoma. It was a good weekend

Here we are at Melborne Florida along with a bunch of Electricians and trucks at the same hotel, and pfffft, nothing!! Hit some heavy rain driving thru Datrona (in the cage) around 5 PM but it only lasted a few minutes, just enough to wash the bugs off!! What a disappointment...

This may have been around before but I don't recall it. It's worth the 3 minutes it takes to see it. Dennis.

I ride that route several days a week. It would take nerves to walk out into traffic there. The hospital is only a few minutes from there and I'm sure the man knew he could get him to help before help could get to him. Hoping for a good recovery for the rider. http://www.ketv.com/news/local-news/Mystery-man-saves-motorcyclist-s-life/-/9674510/15851280/-/eli0nez/-/index.html Mike

...got around to installing skydoc's clutch upgrade today. What a day I picked...it's 6:45 p.m. and the temp is still 93 F. I just had supper then went out to finish what has to be the most difficult, complex and frustrating part of this job ... getting the old gasket off the case. Naturally, it wouldn't stick to the cover, so out came the utility knife blade and away I went scraping! I needed a break to cool down (It's more than 93 in my garage - oh to be rich and have an air conditioned garage!) so I just stopped for a few minutes. I heard that the Yamaha gasket has a built-in sealant but this is ridiculous! I even had to trim the silicone-like sealant off the edge in a couple of spots! Oh well, it should take no more than 15 or 20 minutes to finish the job now that the gasket is gone. The urge to use that nice, easy to remove Loctite from-a-gasket was strong (a lot easier to remove), but heck, I've got the new gasket now anyway. The nice article with pictures in the tech library made the job go very smoothly, although finding that little wire holding the last disc was a bit tricky. I'm looking forward to trying out the bike. Interesting note here: I knew that the discs should be covered in oil before installation, so I checked out the recommendations from several sources. Here"s what I got - 1) no need for any oil as they'll get covered when the bike is started (Hopefully they won't overheat and burn out first!); 2) Coat with oil before installing; 3) Soak for 10 to 15 minutes before installing; 4) Soak for 2 hours before installing, and finally 5) Soak overnight before installing. Personally, I was taking no chances and had the plates soaking in oil since yesterday. Andy

I was killing time between appts today, and thought I would run into Wal-Mart to get a few things. When I pulled up in the lot I came across a silver Venture with Wyoming plates parked there. I waited about 25 minutes for the owner to come out but had to leave for the next appt. before he came out. So if any of you were at Wal-Mart in Aberdeen South Dakota today, it would've been nice to talk to you.......

I wouldn't post it IF i haven't tried it on traffic lights that i know I have never been able to trip on my bike. What did i do? I went to HOBBY LOBBY and bought a pack of magnets 30 for $6.99 about the size of your thumbnail & placed them all under the frame. I placed them on any flat surface 4 or 5 in a row from the bottom foot boards , frame, hitch all under the bike...So today i ride to town and hit the traffic lights that I have run in past after having to sit there for 3-5 minutes. Today all 3 changed with in 2 minutes...All I know is lights that didn't b4 did today....

I have a strange thing that bugs me. In the morning when I start my bike up, the headlight icon will light up for about 5 minutes then goes out. It does it less if it's warm out...strange. Any ideas?

My tach works, but it's "slow" to respond, for lack of a better term. It doesn't respond to quick rpm changes, and once I get cruising in 5th gear it finally catches up to the engine after a couple minutes. Kinda weird symptoms. Anybody ever see this? I did try to search threads but didn't see anything similar.

Billy was excited about his first day at school. So excited in fact, that only a few minutes after class started, he realized that he desperately needed to go to the bathroom. So Billy raised his hand politely to ask if he could be excused. Of course the teacher said yes, but asked Billy to be quick. Five minutes later Billy returned, looking more desperate and embarrassed. "I can't find it", he admitted. The teacher sat Billy down and drew him a little diagram to where he should go and asked him if he will be able to find it now. Billy looked at the diagram, said "yes" and went on his way. Well five minutes later he returned to the class room and says to the teacher "I can't find it". Frustrated, the teacher asked Tommy, a boy who has been at the school for a while, to help him find the bathroom. So Tommy and Billy go together and five minutes later they both returned and sat down at their seats. The teacher asked Tommy "Well, did you find it?" Tommy was quick with his reply: "Oh sure, he just had his boxer shorts on backwards"

Here's the intro and I'm sure I'll post often. I ride a 1998 Royal Star "TBM" (Thee Blaque Mistress) that just cracked 10K a few weeks ago. Best bike I've owned out of 6. Google Searched for a Royal Star Forum and this was one of the top ones. Popped on, registered and found the answer to the 3 questions I had in minutes... Mainly how to remove the tank to replace the air filter. So...plunked down my $12 and became a supporter. Thanks for the informative site and see ya around. Keith

I have not been able to access this site for 30+ minutes. What happened? I was almost in rehab.

If there remains any lingering doubts about fitting a car tyre to a motorcycle, then this may help. While I accept that it isn't definitive, in any way, it certainly is more useful than idle speculation and prejudice. In any event, it's a terrific video and only just over 2 minutes: Edit: Both the bikes in the video are fitted with car tyres ... Lean angles seem to be decently manageable. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmNqKOhX1r4&feature=youtube_gdata_player]Goldwings at Laguna Seca - YouTube[/ame]

started working on the Trike today. weather was in the high 40's today so I figured what the heck. Wasn't to bad in the garage. I moved the trunk back, it was really easy Took the 6 hold down bolts out, move it to the rear bolt holes, retightened. Took about 15 minutes. I have the same set up for the trunk as the 2 wheel version RSV. Then I figured since the weather is still pretty good I might as well change out the muffler. This took the rest of the day. Went from a set of noisy Sampson fish tails to a very nice sounding set of 05 RK's. A lot quietier, but still has a nice low rumble and a good bark when you get on it. My neighbors must have thought I was nuts, cause by the time I finished the install the weather went to heck. Temp dropped into the 30's with snow flurries, but there I was, riding up an down the road making noise. Sure felt good, even if it was for only a couple of minutes.

Earl put together an awesome thread for balancing your Gen 1 carbs. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=56723&referrerid=11995 With Earl's permission, I took the thread and converted it to a PDF. I also put the pictures with the appropriate text. This gives you a document that you can easily print out and follow step by step. I was able to balance my carbs in less than 30 minutes and now that I have done it once, I'm sure that I could do it in under 20 minutes. Thanks Earl! Ray

I don't know if this has been posted on here yet or not but a new law in Illinois now allows a motorcycle to LEGALLY run a red light if it hasn't changed after waiting for 2 minutes. The law went into effect Jan. 1st 2012. Just a little FYI for people that don't know.

Got to burn almost a whole tank full through the the RSV this afternoon. Dodged a couple of rain showers. Saw a rainbow, but put the Frog Toggs on anyway and sho' 'nuff 5 minutes later the sun came out! That's the good news, the bad news I now have a 1999 "pogo stick"! The rear shock is completely "oil-less".

Tied at 35 each with 11 minutes left. Go Air Force.

Does you tube always Take so long to load or is it just my pc Hard to watch some of these post take forever. Watch a few seconds wait a few minutes watch a few seconds wait a few minutes by then I forgot the begining

Hey I am new to this site but have been on a couple of others. I have a 85 Goldwing Aspencade GL1200 that is NOT Fuel Injected, or computerized. It has carbs. I started riding my wing on morning and it ran fine, then after going around 24 miles or 45 minutes I stopped to call a friend and turned off the wing. After about 5 minutes I started the Wing back up and when I went about a Half a block that is when I started having problems. It seemed to not be running right so I limpped back home and that is where it has been for 2 to 3 weeks. I have checked and there is no Spark to the front two cyliners (Plugs) I first thought it was my coils but I have a hard time thinking that both coils would go bad at the same time. Could anyone let me know if it could be the Pulse Generator or what. Thanks I could us all the help I can get. Since i Live in Florida I ride all the time. Plus the Wing stays in the Garage.

got a package from Amber my daughter today and i forgot to open it. well i just opened it and what do i see? a new cell phone an AT&T one nothing fancy just a samsung one with a camera. she said dear Dad im tired of you and that damn tracfone. i cant talk to you with out useing up your minutes. so Justin (son-inlaw) and I said you need this. it comes with 700 minutes and unlimited phone to phone? you can now call me anytime. boy is she asking for it now! so i have to learn this phone. im not good with new things. but now im at least in the circle? what do you do with kids like this?

I hope this link works, it is worth the 5 minutes to watch. http://espn.go.com/videohub/video/clip?id=6860895&categoryid=5595394

Can we get an 'edit' button in the RESTAURANT forum. It would be helpful when if we should happen to make multiple posts, or if an establishment should go out of business or change their quality of food. Personally, I now have 3 posts for one place (took about 3 minutes for the post to process, and the post button continued to work) and 2 places that have lost their status of excellence, and one place has closed. So I need to EDIT.

The last few days, my '99 RSV has experienced a total loss of engine power within minutes of getting underway. No loss of electrical power, but the bike just literally "dies" for no apparent reason, and then starts right back up again. In both cases, after I fire it back up, it repeats the process - dies, starts up, goes for a minute and dies, then fires back up. Then, in both cases, after about 10 or 15 minutes of riding, everything seems fine. This happened about 2 weeks ago as well, but then not again until yesterday morning and again this morning. I took it to my mechanic today (the original owner as well) and he can't find anything definitive other then the rubber vacuum plugs below the carbs on both sides of the bike have a small age-related split in them, so they are getting replaced as soon as they come in (I ordered them from the dealer today). The service manager at the dealership has no idea why this is happening unless he tears the carbs apart, which ain't going to happen - at least not there. But he is calling the Yami Tech Center in the morning to describe the symptoms to see if they have any intel or ideas on this from their database of issues and will call me. So, anyone have any suggestions as to why this might be happening? Could it be ignition related and not a fuel issue? I will be taking it out in the morning to see if I can get it to repeat this issue. Thanks.