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As it turns out, there was a pretty large gun show here in Birmingham this weekend. I didn't find a better deal on the rifle, but I did find a good price on an Osprey 3-9 x 40 glass. I've never owned Osprey before but they are supposed to be a decent, budget optic. US owned. US and Japanese(glass) parts. Assembled in China. After the gun show, I went to get the Ruger American Predator in .308 at the shop by my hotel. After a bit of a SNAFU, the salesman didn't seem to know if he could sell a long gun to an OH resident. I educated him on the current laws and pulled up some corroborating evidence from the interwebz, and a few minutes later I was in possesion of a new rifle. He appologized and offer a few nice little freebee cleaning items and a discount on a very nice looking OTF knife. The planer will have to wait until my next unexpected bonus!

This is just a place to share a recent ride without starting a new thread, here I'll start it off. 😎 Trina and I went to eat with my son yesterday it was his birthday and on the way we seen so many bikes that when we got back home we jumped on the trike and went for about an hour ride I enjoyed the ride so much I can't even tell you what roads we went on but it was all back roads.

You may not get this if you have never been to.an Aldis grocery store. The new Aldis that just opened here has grills for 25 cents.

Carl, I always try to help when I can. Rarely with $. Mostly with my time and experience. On the few occaisions I have given cash to to someone who looked to be in need, it has backfired drastically.

I discovered a process to measure the mass of a RAINBOW. Turns out it's pretty light.

Not the Venture, but I did split the fairing and added a power lead for my XM radio.

These bikes don't need another gear. Both 4th and 5th are already technically 'overdrive' gears: In 4th the output shaft is turning SLIGHTLY faster than the crankshaft, and in 5th it is turning quite a bit faster. Fourth gear at 24/25 (.960/1) is so close to 1/1 it is not worth quibbling over. But you are right fifth is overdrive and it provides a good power band. I would still like to have a sixth gear. Shorten the first five a little and add a sixth would be ideal or change to a lower final drive and add a sixth. They could use the v-max final drive as it is already in production. Or just add a sixth. I'm sorry but on a straight and level road nothing improves fuel economy like lower rpm. If you are on and off the throttle for hills and curves where lugging is an issue sure third or fourth are better options but I would like to have a sixth on the bike. My personal opinion and I am sticking to it. Mike

Dang Nabbbit, I need SHIELDS for all this wildlife I'm encountering... Maybe 2030?

I hate to agree with you, because people will start doubting me, but my RSTD has an incredibly bad aerodynamic profile. On the other hand, when it rains I stay dry. If I can keep it under 60, I get really good mpg, especially if I am not running 10% ethanol. Good luck on either of those, though. On your second point, I ran in 4th gear almost all the way from Lubbock to Albuquerque. I was towing the trailer and wanted to stick to the powerband. I didn't keep track of the exacts, but I got better mileage than I did riding from Houston to Lubbock using the 5th gear. After that, I stayed in 4th unless I was cruising down hill at a good clip. As a rough comparo, before when I traveled 70 mph with the trailer, I got about 90 miles before my low fuel indicator came on. Running in mainly 4th gear, I got 100 miles, and even 120 miles once (when I was in slow sections coincidentally without ethanol). The better economy was noticeable. (BTW, on the 80 mph section of I-10, I got 80 miles before I saw the low fuel warning.) Dave