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I had another appointment on Wednesday. A month ago, I got injections in my one good eye in an attempt to get rid of the fluid behind my retina that is affecting my site. The doctor was very pleased with the results so far. He said that most of the fluid is gone and he is hopeful that the treatment is. going to work. I got two Moore injections in the eye and will return in 6 weeks for another test. I may need more shots at that time and in fact, it could. be an ongoing thing. He just doesn't know yet. I really can't tell that the vision has improved but he is hopeful that it will. Even if they stop it from getting worse, I'll be ok with that. So, yesterday I celebrated by taking about a 100 mile ride. Sure felt good.

My son has been recording/mixing music for Beyonce' for over 10 years. She won 4 Grammys last night and my son who recorded/mixed her music was awarded 2 Grammys. This makes 4 Grammys total for him! Had to brag a little! Sorry!

Some of you may have followed my effort to sell my Goldwing, after it sold I wondered what I would do to fill the void , well about a month ago I figured it out and went and bought this, just spent the whole day washing , clay baring and waxing it. Certainly gave me something to do and it is fun to drive. I am sticking around monitoring the forums, hoping I can still be of help from time to time.

Don't know how long it will last but I'm going to ride while I can. I was looking at a BMW K1600 Grand America but the more I read, the less I wanted it. A lot of great features but it has known and verifiable stability issues. So much so that they have it speed limited to. just over 100 MPH. That wouldn't bother me really but further reading confirmed that the stability issue actually. reared it head at much lower speeds. Turbulence from trucks, grooved roads, etc. So I decided against it. BMW has actually discontinued that model. Then I almost pulled the trigger on. a 2016 Indian. Roadmaster with the stage 3 kit. That means bigger jugs, cams, throttle body, and more. Sounded nice but the owner was the second owner and he had no idea who did the stage 3. Was it Indian or some aftermarket kit. He had no idea. What really turned me off was the heat. I have to tell you the truth, I have NEVER felt so much heat coming off a bike of any brand. It was brutal. Then I did some more research and found that some people actually have blistered right legs from riding them. I decided against that one also. So, I went back to something I owned before and really liked it. The Harley Road Glide. This one is a Harley certified (meaning another year of warranty after the factory warranty expires). It is a 2022 Road Glide Limited with 11,000 miles on it. It has the 114 engine and definitely feels much stronger than any of my previous Harley's. All the bells and whistles.

OK folks. Here's the deal. I'm sorry that I haven't reported back sooner. I've been to some doctor appointments and they are working on my one eye that still works. It is NOT a detached retina but is a retina problem. I don't understand all of this but I have fluid between the retina and another part of my eye and it shouldn't be there. They are trying to get rid of it by injecting my eye with something or another. Hopefully this will work and they can save my vision but when I asked if I was going blind, they could onl.y tell me that they were doing what they can. I have to back for more injections next week. So, that's that. So needless to say, I have a lot of mixed emotions. On one hand, I've sold the trike and figured my riding days were over. On the other hand, riding is about the only outside hobby that brings me any joy at this time and I'm thinking that I should take advantage of any time that I have. That being said, I'm thinking that I should pick tip a little bike to knock around on. I've actually made an offer on one and it looks like he may accept it but we are going to talk on Monday. It's just a little BMW K1600 Grand America. Only 160 HP but it should do for short rides. Anyway, my thoughts are all over the place right now so this story will be continued later.

Good Afternoon Brothers and Sisters. Been a Serious Minute or 2.. I hope all of you have been doing well. Issues tied to the aneurysm had me sidelined for a long hot minute but things seem to be on the upswing these last few months with a great recovery and a decent outlook. Had to park the bike due to not being able to safely hold it up coming to a stop. Couldn't do much of anything , No work done on the cabin etc. Full Stop across the board. Its nice to be mobile again and Great to return here to bug yawl to death!! Gonna Browse the boards and try to catch up on the goings on over the next few days/weeks. Opened a small engine repair shop in an old fire House in the Center of Danforth about 12 miles from the house. Gives me something to do and I get paid to break stuff etc. So much for yarning. Yawl Have a really Great day and I be seeing ya!!! Ride Safe!! and God Bless ya!!

An update on Earl, he is home! He got home yesterday and is recovering. I received a text stating his thanks and the text sounded upbeat. Keep praying, he still has a tough recovery, but it's looking promising 👍

Took a nice ride today, nowhere special , just a little wind therapy. Here's a picture for all you snowbound riders out there.

I was chatting with my son Kyle in California on the phone over the weekend, wishing his family a Happy Thanksgiving while he had me on speaker phone. I happened to mention that "Grampy was sending his girls and son something for Christmas by mail this year" Monday afternoon when my son got home from work, this is what he came into the house to! I later get a text from him and the attached pic. with the text saying: DAD, For the love of GOD, don't EVER mention sending gifts to the kids by mail again!!! The dogs don't have a sense of time, and I have NO idea what in the heck the girls were thinking! I love you DAD, but you're killing me here! Kyle. OOPS! Happy Thanksgiving to ALL of the Forum Members from Earl and Jean.

I got a message from a member asking why the site is so dead lately. I don't know for sure but I feel like it's just taking the same course as so many clubs do over the years. We have to be around 15 years old now and many of our core members have gotten older and quit riding. I don't even ride much any longer. I think I took my bike out one time last summer. I keep saying that I'm going to get back into it but just haven't had the desire. I think that all this Covid stuff played at least a small part. Our regional rallies and etc. were a glue that helped hold us all together,. Getting together in person and sharing our stories, working on the bikes, just enjoying one anothers company always seemed to rekindle things. I haven't even had my annual Maintenance Day now for 3 years and that was a highlight, at least for Eileen and I. Not sure we'll have it this year due to the surge of Covid happening again. I know that we need to but just don't know yet. I've not been nearly as active and that pays a big part also, I used to spend a lot of time looking for interesting things to post, tips for our bikes, all kinds of things but just haven't had the time. Starting a new business about 3 years ago has consumed a lot of my time. Now here is something that I haven't told any of you. Those of you who have been around for a long time will remember that I had a bout with cancer a few years ago, about 13 years ago to be more exact. I had Ocular Melanoma and due to the radiation and etc.,, ended up losing 100% of the site in my right eye. I still go back yearly for follow ups. Well my yearly exam was last week and I was dismayed to learn that I again have the cancer. It, luckily, is in the same eye so going blind is not an issue. The fact is though, I don't know yet if it has spread to the liver or anywhere else. I will be going into the hospital late next week for surgery and more radiation. I have appointments sometime over the next week or so for MRIs and etc. to determine if it has spread. I'm trying to not fret over it too much. Just going about my work and will see where things end up. I hate that the site has gotten slow but have no intentions of shutting it down anytime in the near future. I put my heart and sole into this site for a lot of years and I have to do better. In the meantime, I hope that most of you will stick with us, spread the word about the site, and hopefully we can get it moving again. Only time will tell.

Yesterday went OK. Had CT Scans of almost my entire body I guess. I have a meeting today with an Oncologist but have received the test results and gone over them. I was actually scared to death to look at the results when they came and in fact, thought about it for a while before even looking. From what I can tell though, there is nothing terrible. There is only one thing listed as possibly abnormal but I don't think it's very serious. Something about possible Lipoma near my adrenal gland but it says it is likely just some type of fatty tissue and even if not, they are usually non-malignant. Chest, liver, kidneys and etc. were all good. Surprising since I've been a smoker for the better part of 50 years. So today I meet with an Oncologist and then I actually get a break tomorrow. Then on Friday I go in for the biopsy and radiation plaque surgery on the eye. I feel sure that it's going to be a very uncomfortable weekend but nothing I haven't been through before. I'm glad that I get a break tomorrow because I have a couple of stairlift service calls waiting.

At the beginning of April, I rode my '07 Venture to KC to help my brother out after having back surgery. Due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances, I ended up leaving the bike in his barn and fly back home to San Jose. Fast forward a month and my son wrapped up his 1st year of college in St. Louis and wanted to drive home and see some of our National Parks along the way. We threw together a quick plan, made some reservations and my wife & I jumped on a plane to KC to pick up the bike and meet my son to start the journey. As it turned out, my wife never got on the bike with me as we only packed warm weather riding gear for her. There were only two days that would have been appropriate for her riding with me. I was extremely tired from a long hike on the 1st day and the 2nd was a miserably hot day going into Vegas. So, the trip highlights, in order: Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs (highly recommend!) Royal Gorge Bridge (cool to see, but not my favorite) Highway 50 from Colorado Springs to Montrose (2 of the best days of riding scenery I've ever had....at this point...) Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP Arches NP (amazing! Did a nice hike to Delicate Arch) Bryce Canyon NP (pretty cool, but not something I would make a trip just to see, but I was also wiped out from the ride there.) Zion NP (Wowsers of all wowsers!) We did the Angel's landing hike on day 1 but I chickened out of the last mile which required holding on to chains as you climbed up with a straight dropoff 1500' down! 2nd day we hiked the Narrows @ Zion, best hike ever! We rented water boots/socks & poles as the hike is up a river in water that ranges from ankle to waist deep. We got very deep into the slot canyons & had to climb up a couple of small waterfalls, fallen trees, boulders, etc. It was quite an adventure! Was completely wiped out at the end of the day. Las Vegas - hmm, I actually don't have a lot of good to say about Vegas itself, the strip is way overbuilt, overcrowded and apparently a favorite hangout for pot smokers (to each his own, its just not my thing and I don't like to be around it - and it was inescapable). But, the highlight from our day in Vegas was at the Vegas speedway. My son & I each took 5 laps behind the wheel in a 760HP Shelby GT500 Mustang! That's an unreal amount of power and one intense experience. And now, the favorite part of the trip for all three of us: The drive down highway 128 from I-70 to Moab (on our way to Arches). By chance, we met a couple from Ohio the day before who recommended taking 128, even though every mapping app does not tell you to go that way. We said what the heck, let's check it out. OMG! And I say that with all due respect because the one thought that kept popping into my mind on hiway 128 was "This must be where God goes to hang out on his day off..." If you ever make it westward, hiway 128 is an absolute must see. Its ~40 miles and will take an hour to drive. I hate to oversell it, but I am not ashamed to admit that the beauty of this place literally moved me to tears. Perhaps my expectations were so low that they were easy to exceed. Perhaps its some weird manopause hormonal thing I got goin on that made me tear up. Perhaps I need to get out more. But in any case, after a little over 2,000 miles in 9 days, 4 National Parks in 4 days, it was the favorite part of the trip for all three of us. Highly recommended! And my love of my Venture just grows deeper! I got more than one "Nice Bike!" comment along the way.

OK it wasn't a monumental ride but we did get a bit of riding in this weekend. It was heavily overcast here on Saturday and Sunday but the rain held off for the most part. I managed to get in about 150 miles alone on Saturday. Just a nice ride through eh country side getting used to the new bike. Then on Sunday, Eileen and I first decided to ride over into Pennsylvania but hit some rain just east of Cleveland so we turned around and then headed south for a bit. We ended up doing another 125 miles or so. More nice riding through the country and stopped for dinner at a small pub/diner that was pretty good. The bike did great. We seldom got above 65 MPH but the torque is great for that type of riding. It has a feature that they told me about but I really didn't think it was a big deal and really it's not but I found myself using it pretty often and really like it. I don't know if they call it a hill start mode or parking mode or what but when you roll up to a stop light and are on a slope, once stopped you just pull the break handle in and it locks the brakes. So you don't have to hold the brake while sitting. When the light changes, you simple squeeze the lever again or just roll on the throttle and it releases. Kind of nice. Also really enjoyed the Apple CarPlay. As for comfort, this bike is as good as I've owned. For the first time in many years, I will not have to change thee handlebars or add risers. The stock bars are about perfect for me. I've already added the riders backrest and highway pegs. About the only thing that needs changing is the windshield. The stock shield is just way too low for me. I'll likely add a new Clearview shield in the near future.

Folks, let me be clear. I have no intention for this site to go away. I also gave no intention of selling it. My intention is to turn it over to a current member who shares our passion. No final decision will be made until after my next doctors appointment but somebody has come forward that might just work out. I think you will all be pleased.

Seems like summer just blew by. We didn't do much of anything that we had planned. It's been a hard time the past few months. My prayer is that Eileen gets to feeling better and we can look forward to a brighter future.

Hello Venture Riders. Patricia and I are back home in Kentucky, after a 25 day, 7500-mile motorcycle trip. We went to 16 different states, a few of them several times, 2 Canadian Provinces, and several National Parks. We talked with numerous people that were simply amazing. After going up in the Space Needle in Seattle Washington, we rode down the Pacific Coast Hiway to San Fransisco. We rode across The Golden Gate Bridge and rode by Fisherman's Wharf in San Fransisco. We took the Oakland Bay Bridge on the way to Vacaville CA to visit Patricia's niece as a surprise. On this trip we saw many beautiful sights we never thought either one of us would ever experience. We went from sea level to over 12.000 feet in the mountains in Colorado. Rode through the Mojave Desert and went to both the North Rim and South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We experienced temperatures from low 50s to a high of 103. There were so many beautiful experiences we had and saw, it would take several pages and become so boring to the reader that they would run far away. The most important thing is we are home safe and never had a bad experience. Steve S IMG_1537.MOV

There's an old saying, "It's better to be a BIG fish in a little pond, than a little fish in a big pond"! Over the years, people have come and gone from VR.ORG not because they were here to seek information about their bikes, but because they were here to create turmoil, whine about their "lot in life", take advantage of free parts and services, or bad mouth other members. Because of Freebird's integrity, he has kept these distractions to a minimum, and allowed the "real members" to learn about their motorcycles, share parts and events and enjoy the "protected environment" that is VR.ORG. In this day and age, it is a pleasure to come to this forum KNOWING that the type of bike I ride, my political affiliation, my gender, my masking preferences, or the color of my skin will NOT bar me from learning about my scoot, finding out where the next "meet and greet" will be, or if I break down on the road, where help can be found. The entire world could stand to learn a lesson from this little microcosm we affectionately call VR.ORG. I thank GOD every day for men like Don Nelson and some of the other members of this forum that have allowed me to travel the country, share my kits with them, been patient with me during the development process of something new, and have just been "Damn Good Friends" over the years. Sadly, the Internet has become the World Stage for the "bullies" and "bad mouther's" that we ALL ran into when we were growing up. There was a time when people like Don Nelson would have put them in their place once and for all, (GOD Bless Texas!) and these sub-human beings would go on to live their lives in mediocrity and shame. Now, in the safety of their mother's basement, they spread their Anger and Fear and Loathing to ALL that will listen. Lastly, $12 is a VERY small price to pay for the information, friendship, and instruction I have gleaned from this forum over the years. I have spent a LOT more money on "stupider" stuff in my life, that's for sure! As far as FACEBOOK and TWITTER goes, they are what I would expect from a "FREE" subscription service. Controlled by shallow people with an "Axe to Grind" about all of the terrible things that have happened to them because "They Didn't Get Their Way"! ADULT CHILDREN!! This is of course is just my OPINION, and Your Mileage May Vary! Earl

A person on an E-Bike forum was complaining about his E-Bike being totally unsafe (again) because the factory forgot to put lock-tight on a frame safety latch. There seems to be a fair amount of this type of individual on that site, and in the world we live in these days, that lack in life's lessons so I wrote this in response to his post: When I was a kid back in the mid 60's, before I started chopping motorcycles in the late 60's, I chopped bicycles by hacksawing the hollow forks off Huffy bicycles and slipping the hollow forks over the forks of a schwinn solid fork set, they fit pretty good too. All was well until I tried my first wheelie on my chopped banana seat schwinn bicycle with the racing slick on its back side. I learned a lot from that 1st faceplant after those huffy forks slid down and my bikes front wheel with cut off Huffy forks attached to them went rolling on without me. Probably one of the most important life lessons I learned was that it would always be something, life happens if you engage with it. As I lay there twisted up in a pretzel this question came to my mind, "do I REALLY want to try that again, ever?". About the time the blood had stopped running down my chin and off my knees and elbows those questions were answered as I slid the hollow Huffy forks with my front wheel attached back onto my Schwinn front end and tossed my leg back over the banana seat on my chopped bicycle. I also learned there are two kinds of people in the world, those that experience living life large while they brush off the blood and broken bones of doing so and those that sit on the sidelines and let life overwhelm them with its "its always something".

Please do not start it back again. We all have strong opinions regarding this issue and we are obviously not going to change one another opinions.

Made a sweet deal today...traded in the Wing on a 2009 RSV with 30k on it. Has a Mustang seat. Now I need to find a backrest for the seat. Should be ready by Monday.

I have talked to Cowpuc recently. Here is what he wrote to me. I don't think he would mind me sharing it. Hey,, Hi Don! As always, good to hear from you, hope all is well with you folks. Miss you too brother! Life has taken a ton of changes for Cheryl and I, as you probably know, due to my health, we are no longer riding (we did get out for a short spin yesterday, it was great to get out again) and spending a lot of our time in California playing with the grandkids. I am taking a break from cyber world as much as possible as I attempt to sort out this next phase of life for us. Dont give my screen name away though as I plan to be back,, faster, stronger and more able to stir pot. Well, at least able to stir the pot adequately lol. Thanks for touching base my friend, I appreciate it! Tip sends her love as do I!! Me P.S. - we did go thru Sturgis on our way home from California a couple days ago and get this, we got to ride (was driving our car so not actually riding with them) with the Hells Angels!! After 200 miles of riding with them we partied with them a little in a gas station parking lot and Tippy stood in the middle of them and started telling ride stories of days past LOL... I am building a really good supply of ride stories to tell on my return to VR in the future.. PREPARE YOURSELF BROTHER!!

After being blessed with a beautiful baby boy 19 years ago, I decided to sell my '99 Venture due to not being able to get the 'what if' thought out of my head every time I rode it. Ironically, it was my wife who said "don't sell it, you love that bike". I can still hear her saying those words to this day. I think she also loved it, we took many trips together up/down the coast, Yosemite, Mt. Lassen and Shasta, beautiful country and amazing rides. At times I wished I'd kept it and took my son riding, but baseball was his passion in life from when he was 2 years old, so we ended up spending most weekends at the ball field anyways and the bike ultimately would not have fit into our lives and sat unused for too much of the time. Well, last August we dropped our son off at college in St. Louis (where he's playing ball!!) and in September I purchased my new baby, an '07 Venture. As a funny little side story, I was recently searching for some family photos from 2010 and came across a photo of the blue/black '07 that I had apparently downloaded to my computer late one night in 2010! I have no recollection of doing that but apparently my love of the '07 color scheme goes back a good 10 years. It's taken 6 long months to work through carb issues, then getting a trust & wills set up (at my wife's, the responsible adult here, insistence) and then finally some nice weather for this day to finally happen. Our first ride together in 20 years. It really is amazing how time flies, the whirlwinds of parenting, getting older and then suddenly right back to where we started and hard to believe that these 20 years passed in the blink of an eye. I'm blessed to still be here, healthy, to have a wife who gives me no grief about having a motorcycle and to have experienced the greatest joy of all in life of having a child. In the end, I can't say I would change a thing but now, its time to ride!

Like others here, due to age and health, I decided to downsize from my 2006 Royal Star Tour Deluxe to a Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650. Loosing over 300# is welcomed but I'm not thrilled about loosing the drive shaft for a chain. While this new bike is only rated for 47HP, many reviewers say that it has no problem cruising at 75mph. And smoothly too. Being an air/oil cooled parallel twin with screw and locknut valve adjusters, maintenance should be a breeze. Time will tell. It does come with a three-year, unlimited mile warranty. Still being winter here in the Denver area, I haven't ridden it much, but the few miles I have, have been enjoyable.

Yesterday the weather alternated between rain and snow all day. I decided to do soma odds and ends on the bikes. Hadn't checked the air pressure on Eileen's trike tires and found the rears to be over inflated by 10 lbs and the front was 5 lbs low. Then decided to check the air in the rear suspension. I apparently I gave away my last Prorgressjive air pump when I sold the last bike so had to go find one. Found a Harley dealership open about an hour away so drove over to get it. When I was checking out, the lady asked if I needed anything else and knowing that they don't normally stock Vance and Hines mufflers, I said yea, I need a pair of Vance and Hines mufflers for a 22 Road Glide Limited. She said great, I have a brand new set still in the. box that I ordered for a customer who changed his mind and will make you a good deal on them. I had planned to eventually buy a set of Vance and Hines Monster Rounds. These were Vance and Hines Torquer 450's and after doing a bit of research on them and her knocking $300.00 off the price, I decided to buy them. Got home and first checked her rear suspesion and found that it was set on. zero. pressure. Got it adjusted properly. and about that time, Amazon delivered the KuryAkyn highway. pegs I had ordered for her so I. went. ahead and iinstalled them. So now I'm done with her trike for now at least. I've added a riders backrest, passenger backrest, KuryAkyn cup holder, phone mount with charger, Windshield pouch, and the highway pegs. She is good to go. So then I installed the new mufflers on my Road Glide. in my opinion, they look and sound great. At least sitting in the garage. I actually like them better than the Monster Rounds. I think the 4 1/2" gives it a considerably deeper sound the the 4" Monster Rounds. It is a bit louder than stock but not obnoxious. I'll know more after the weather gets better and I can get it on the road. All in all, a fairly productive day.

Eileen has been on my back for several weeks about a trike for HER. She finally wore me down so we went shopping. I wasn't really against it but just worry that her health will keep her from riding but she turned an old argument that I have used a few times about my bucket list right around on me. So, Eileen is now the rider of a 2017 Harely Freewheeler,. M8 107 engine. Pretty stock except for some custom grips and the luggage rack. 13,000 miles.

On September 1, I enjoyed the company of 300 or so bikers who met up in Puerto Penasco, Mexico for the annual Three Flags Classic Ride! I was the only Royal Star Venture rider and I had lots of fun. I wish I could get more RSV'ers to participate in this ride next year. The document attached has URL's of the many pictures taken by all of the riders. We rode from Mexico, through the United States and ended up in Canada. 3-4 days of riding, depending on your style. Beautiful countryside, great people, and just plain fun times. I have to admit, I had some troubles along the way, primarily a flat tire.....but also, I had to replace a fuel pump too. It was truly my fault. I had purchased a CHEAP unit 2 years prior and it caught up with me on the road. Replaced it with a very nice all electric unit that actually gave me better gas mileage. Stopped at lakes, rivers and more to put my toes in the water! Next year, it will start in Canada and ride to Mexico! SEE MORE PICS in the attached Word Document. 2023 TFC Photo Albums Links Email.docx

Kris and I have been buying and refurbishing older Kitchenaid stand mixers. A surprisingly fun and rewarding hobby! When our youngest saw the powder blue bowl lift mixer we are keeping for our own use, she was "Jelly" So, we tracked down a heavy duty bowl lift for her as a birthday present. She doesn't have room in her small town house kitchen for it to live on the counter, so I made a rolling storage stand for it. The stand/cabinet is made from recovered oak plywood( a legacy entertainment center the PO of our home left behind). The butcher block top is part of an industrial work bench top that I salvaged. Cut down, routed and refinished.

I've studied the RSV wiring diagrams till I was almost crosseyed. I had two problems that I had decided were related. First of all, the bike would not start in neutral unless the clutch was pulled it. It should start without the clutch pulled in as long as it's in neutral. The second problem was that the cruise control would not set., Now, I'm not sure if either of these problems were there when I bought the trike or not because I don't remember even using the cruise or trying to start the bike in neutral. I had it in my mind that it was a wiring problem from when the Hannigan. kit was installed because the reverse also uses the neutral switch. I tracked a LOT of wiring trying to figure that out but found no issues with the wiring., I then ordered a new ignition cut off relay. That ended up correcting the issue of the bike not starting in neutral so that was good. Cruise still wouldn't set though. The troubleshooting guiide in the manual leaves a bit to be desired as it doesn't explain the results correctly. At any rate, I finally determined that the cancel switch might be the issue. I ended up taking the switches on the brake lever apart. It appears that somebody pressed the cancel switch to hard and it had got cocked a bit sideways, not even noticeable from the outside, and it wasn'nt making up. Got it reset and put back together and SUCCESS,. Now everything it working like it should. I've spent several hours trying to figure this out. My first problem was assuming that the two issues were related.

Took the trike out for a little ride yesterday. Though I certainly know better, I had not checked the tire pressure since buying it. Having sat for about a year before I purchased it, I knew better. So I checked the tire pressure before taking it out yesterday and all three were VERY low. Rear tires had about 14 lbs in them and the front about 24 lbs. Aired them up to the proper recommendations and it was amazing how much better it handled. Even the vast majority of the headshake that I had experienced was gone. I was cruising happily down the road when I started loosing power. A quick glance at the gas gauge showed that I was on empty. Having gotten used to fuel injection, I momentarily forgot that I had a "reserve". I hadn't ever used the aux tank before so I just reached over and hit the switch and waited as the bars increased on my gas gauge. I never had to pull over, the bike almost immediately regained power and I continued riding and let it fill from the aux tank until it was about 1 bar from full. I know that you can overflow the main tank if you don't pay attention. It worked amazingly well and I am very happy with it. Otherwise, it was a short but enjoyable ride.

Took a long weekend and Lisa and I went to VA Beach. I thought the sunrise this morning was too beautiful NOT to share.

Next time you'll might trust me! maybe :). Lets see if I can still work this thing lol!

Hey, Marcarl , don't you accuse me of not being a long haired hippy. I did get a haircut last week though.

My resolution is to make no resolution but this: be happy, enjoy life, ride as often as I can, love my children, see them as often as I can. Make friends instead of enemies, find happiness in everyday life activities. Be independent from need. I wish this all to everyone here, so go and be happy! Merry 2022 to all. Steve aka Bubber

https://www.facebook.com/1691511874492457/posts/2895364970773802/ Mama and I went for a ride. Had lunch in Tombstone Arizona. Went to Bisbee and to the border town of Naco. Headed back via Sierra Vista. I forgot to get an insulin shot. Riding back on hwy 90 my blood sugar was high and so I had to stop to pee. A normal response to high glucose. I was fully intending to make it to the truck stop at I-10 and hwy 90, but something told me to stop at the Chevron station at 90 and 82. I slowed preparing to turn in. The light was green on north 90. A black car was flying on 82 west (100 mph +). He blew the red light and hit the silver car. If I would have continued straight in another 15 seconds it would have been us. When God tells you to stop and pee... stop and pee.

In a moment of weakness 27 years ago today I exchanged rings and ate a cake so I got the bike out and we got in around 100 miles to celebrate today.

I can tell that the people that I have talked too on this forum are a bunch great people , who have a faith in God ...I do know that God looks after what belongs to him ..God has been good to me over and over again

Heck with him, I’m still trying to figure out how my $12 has gotten so expensive. Between mods, maintenance, and rallies this place cost me a fortune. 🤣🤣🤣

If I am not mistaken I think I know who the guy is. I ran into him one time while out riding and noticing he rode a venture I struck up what i intended to be a friendly conversation. It went fine until I mentioned Venture rider,, Man did I start getting an ear full and could not get out of there fast enough. I guess he was a member while we were a free member ship and I do remember chatting with him on the site a few times and for all intents and purposes he was an OK guy. But I guess he took a real offense when the dues were implemented and had no problem laying a supersize rant on me. I have since learned he has not let up and continues to bash Venture Rider when ever and were ever he can. Me I rather pay the $12.00 than put up with a bunch of advertising plus Don puts a lot of work into this site to keep things going as smoothly as possible.

I don’t know about other people but I’m sick of these companies using COVID as an excuse for poor service.

Hi All, It has been a looooooong time since I've been on the site here. Teresa and I have had some crazy things come up in our lives the past couple years that have taken our focus off of riding. We have occasionally gotten on the bike for maybe a short ride to go eat or something here and there, but probably haven't put more than a couple thousand miles on it the past couple years combined. IN the past couple years, we have dealt with: Me having 2 heart events that required hospital stays, and surgeries. The last one this past June 2020 was an event that happened while I was playing golf. My heart went into ventricle tachycardia, which resulted in my heart stopping, and me having to be carried to the ER, and hospital for a weeks stay, and a defibrillator installed. We're also dealing with two ailing mothers,, one of which we've had to move into our home to live with us. This has taken up great amounts of our time, dealing with selling my moms house and property and all of the work to get that completed. As well as Teresa having to go stay a day or two per week with my 93 yr old mother in law to help her. The list goes on and on. It has been a strange couple of years for us. We still have the 2007 RSTD that prompted me to become a member here way back in 2008. She's still a beaut, and runs well after all these years. She has taken us to 37 states over the years. Buuuuut.......We have been kind of losing interest with riding, due in large part with my heart health issues. With the defibrillator installed now, we have a concern that if we ever did go down, it could be a serious situation with the electrical connections and such with my heart and the defibrillator. We are getting to the age where going down just isn't something we want to deal with, or at least we want to reduce the chance of it happening as much as possible. However, we both agree that we aren't finished with our desires to drink the wind, and experience the therapy that we all know comes with riding out in the open air across this beautiful nation of ours. So..........this past October 7th, we purchased a brand new 2020 Can Am Spyder RT Limited. Big beautiful red/black machine that has completely won our hearts. We purchased it on October 7th, and two days later, put it on a trailer and towed it to Flagstaff AZ. Left our truck and trailer at an RV park in Flagstaff, and rode the new Spyder on a 1250 mile loop around northern AZ, southern Utah, and eastern NV. Took me a few days to get used to the thing, but now we are flat out excited to have it! It runs and rides smooth as a baby's behind, and has all of the fancy dancy thingamabobbers you can get on bikes nowadays. And, it comes with a far more secure feeling of not having to worry as much about going down. I know the rule; I'll post pics soon. I just wanted to jump on and say hi to all of my old friends, and say hi to a lot of new names I haven't seen before on the site. Please accept my apology for taking a loooong break. I'm baaaack! Big Lenny.

@OrlinEngh started his thread about winter accomplishments and I thought about posting this there with my grandkids but thought "Tony" the Beretta (you get that? If so you are probably in geezer world too and might want to consider the whole bucket list thing too ) deserved his own page so here we are.. I know,, LOTS of shooters hate these things they have been around a longg time and there are other makes/models available now that accomplish the tasks of downranging ammo better BUT,, bucket list for me they are not.. The Beretta "92" has been around a longgggg time and I have ALWAYS wanted one.. Years ago, while shooting with my dad on the Police Range in Muskegon (he was a cop at the time and I was just a young Puc of maybe 6 or 7) my dad pointed out to me the importance of finding a hand gun that would come to true point of aim. "It should be an extention of your pointer finger" he would say.. Later in life I found myself going thru hundreds of shooters at swap meets (good old days) handling everything I could touch in search of that one special shooter and attempting to find a handgun like dad had taught me. I have owned MANY handguns and nothing,, not even the 29 Smith I hunted with back then, had that advantage. Then one day I found it! I lifted a Beretta 92F off the bench at a show, turned on its laser when I pointed at the wall about 75 yards away and was SHOCKED to find its "point of aim" accuracy for me. THE MAGIC WAS THERE!! Sadly I went thru life,, raising a family,, chasing across America and Canada on a Yamaha Venture, riding race tracks, playing in the snow on snowmobiles,, you know the routine,, but never ever did get to have a 92F. Till now!! Introducing Tony,, my brand new Beretta 92A1!! WHAT A MACHINE!!

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END! (Or so they say!)I am officially back to work at my "Day Job" starting Monday, March 15th, 2021! All of my kits I offer, as well as the Shim Kit Loan are being offered again. The only exception to this would be the Block Off Plates. My wife has eased up a bit about letting me out in the shop, FOR NOW! I have been warned that if I come in from the shop "all beat up", that will be the end of that, so to speak. I can't tell you how grateful I am to be sitting here still on this planet, and chatting with this wonderful group of people! So, if anyone needs the Shim Kit, or anything else for that matter, just let me know! Also Thank you EVERYONE for the support during this trying time! Stay safe! Earl

Eileen and I managed to get a little ride in today. Only about 50 miles I think. All backroads as she is still learning. She’s going ok but still needs a lot more time in the seat and learning how to find neutral.

1000004098.mp4 I was tired of not being able to see out of the stock mirrors on my 2018 Venture so I made master cylinder clamps with mirror perch mounts built in and installed lighted turn signal mirrors on the bars. I then went ahead and did a mirror delete on the fairing by adding lights in place of original mirrors. Thanks to Steve for making me the wire connectors that match up to the original harness to make it all work. 1000004092.mp4

After 56 years of smoking, On April 9 I said I quit and haven't used them since. No more coughing and gaging because I could not breath. I can breathe a lot better now. The only thing I can't understand is why I could not do it years ago, and I did try. I didn't think it would be so easy this time. I put the empty pack in the trash and said that's it I am done.

After over 17 years, Friday was my last day at Veeder-Root! We laughed, we cried, we ate cupcakes! I chatted with so many people that had become a part of my life. I'm Happy and Scared to death at the same time. I am looking forward to what life puts before me as I join the ranks of the retired. Honestly, there were times that I thought I wouldn't make it, but here I am, on day one of my "New" life. Wish me luck!

WOW,, I missed sooo much while I was down and its sooo good to be back @Freebird. Thankfully they caught that nasty return of cancer when they did my friend, God is good. You KNOW you now have our prayers too as the follow ups on your treatments continue. Back when I was in College I studied "Group Dynamics" and ironically, there are some interesting comparisons about what "professionals" have to say about groups like ours and the reality of living them. I gotta tell you brother, our site has actually done VERY well, statistically speaking, and that is due in a huge part because of the type of people the site attracts due in huge part to your leadership and passion for it. I have a gut feeling that VR is far from over or dieing. Slow spells are common in Group Dynamics as life change happens for people and its more common for things to end than pop back up and keep growing BUT, cohesiveness does have its rewards cause of the strength it provides as a means of survival. THATS where real leadership shows up! As I get back on my feet and more involved with, hopefully, being able to make YouTube vids again I will once again be encouraging people that see my vids and ask questions to give VR a peek. In the past, because I like to yap lol, I was always telling people on the tube to "go check with the GURU's on VR" or "you think I am crazy, go check VR out" and I have no intent of changing that because VR is one of the few really healthy spots left on the internet IMHO. THANK YOU for hanging in there Don, VR has created a TON of great memories for many many people and hopefully it will continue to do so for many years to come! Puc

This is probably boring and mundane for most of the guys here, but I found it fascinating and well done. Of course having it done as a cartoon was necessary for my pea-brained self.