Leaderboard

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Just an update. I'm doing fine. My symptoms have been fairly minor. Thee hardest part for me has been staying home and resting. If not for the concern of giving this to one of my customers, I feel that I could have worked right through it. It's been about 5 days now since my symptoms started and I feel pretty darn good. I expect that I'll bee back to normal by Monday and back to work. I feel very fortunate.

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

Crossing fingers the person who has come forward works out the way you wish. I found this site late, but having met you and so many others from here....I have come to love my friends here! Such good people.. and.... This is the only site I've found where positive human values are evident with all who live here! It's a pleasure to know you.... and all of the Venture riders! Prayers Up for your health, Don!

Freebird I am so thankful you founded this wonderful site that I have been a part of and used so well for many years. I am thankful you have decided to keep it going on and staying with us as a fellow rider. I will pray for your health and pray you are able to receive excellent treatment that will secure your vision. Steve

Playing with the Longer Ray5 10 Watt laser engraver and Rotary accessory today. I asked Freebird if I could use the VR logo on my travel cups and he graciously allowed it. The black cup was a PITA! I ended up masking the engravings off and shooting the cup with a rattle can as the clean up with acetone(alcohol wouldn't cut the shmutz) dulled the original finish horribly. The SS cup turned out quite nicely.

IIt's been a while since we've had a contact of any kind. Everybody enjoys a chance to win something and it helps spur converfstaionn here. So here's the deal. I have a very nice Wager Radiator Grill Guard. It is black but can easily be painted if you prefer. it. So how do. you win? I'm glad you asked. I think that everybody knows that Yamaha has exited the big cruiser/touring market. So where does that leave you? I know that many aren't riding as much as you used to. I also know that there are a lot of die hard Venture riders here. So the question isimple. What are you. now riding? With no new Ventures being made, will you. just retire from riding after your correct bike is doesn't and out. Will you. look for a nice used Venture or go to another brand,. What brand will you go to? Basically, what are your plans moving forward. The winner will be selected by. a random draw of anybody. who posts in response to this. The grill. guard will. work. on any '99 - 2013 Royal Star Venture so if you ride something else, you could always sell it or whatever you wish. The Wagner Grill Guards are getting hard to come by and are a great addition to your bike. As an afterthought, I'll offer one other option. If you. ride another bike or simply don't need the grill guard, you. willl have the option to.choose a brand new VentureRider cap. Available only in black. So, that'about it. GO.

I had the cam lifter failure on my 2018 Venture back on November 19th. Took it in to the dealer on December 7th for diagnostics. I spoke to my dealer on December 20th and they were writing the estimate for the warranty work and was already at $8,000.00. They have been back and forth with Yamaha trying to get the approval for the work. Yamaha keeps giving them the run around, the dealer thinks that it will eventually will be approved but know idea when. I already have three trips planned for the year on the bike so I have been looking to see if I can come across a deal to pick-up a back-up bike. I ended up finding a good deal on a 2009 Kawasaki Voyager so I pulled the trigger. Wanted something that was fuel injected so I wouldn't have to worry about the carbs if it didn't get ran a lot. This is the only picture I currently have of the bike so I figure I would at least post one.

First I would like to say Thank You to everyone on this forum for letting me be a part of it ..At 76 years old I thought I would ride forever and work for years to come ...March 2023 life decided to throw me a curve ball and not been riding since .. And to this day at 77 years old I and still trying to throw that ball back to where it came from ..I have plans of riding a smaller lighter bike next year ...But only the GOD knows what life has in store for me ... TO ALL RIDERS KEEP IT BETWEEN THE LINES AND THE RUBBER SIDE DOWN

Pre-1933 motorcycle coast to coast ride stopped in Paducah today. I couldn’t stay until they all arrived but here’s what I saw.Oldest was the 1912 Indian Single

I thought I remembered a topic in here called "What did you do on your Venture today?" On Saturday I rode 576 miles from Palatine, IL to Norton, VA. On Sunday I rode 586 miles from Norton, VA to Palatine, IL. Got a hair up my fanny to go and I went. This may be the last time I do something this stupid but I enjoyed the heck out of it. I rode the interstate mostly as the question was, "Can I make it there and back in two days?" Kentucky 15 through the Cumberland Mountains was beautiful, 55mph and no potholes or traffic. Not sure how many miles but I was in the hills from 8am til noon. There was a big yellow dog on one long sweeping left hander that was just standing in the road staring at me. My '08 RSV, the SofaGlide, handled it perfectly. I couldn't have asked more of my pretty, gray Yamaha. The whole time in the mountains that I wasn't stopped for gas I was in 4th gears doing 55mph. The whole time I was on the prairie that I wasn't stopped for gas I was in OD with the cruise set at 75. Simply fantastic. What did you do on your Venture today? B The SofaGlide on Bart Campton's Mountain Parkway 150 past the Welcome To Virginia sign on Rte. 119

@Freebird. Don, I am very sorry for what you must be going through on a personnel level and truly hope something can be done for you to ensure your quality of life does not get compromised more than it already has. My prayers and thoughts are with you and wish you only the best no matter what. As far you handing over the reins of a horse you raised from birth, it will definitely be a big pill for all of us that know, love and mostly respect you, to swallow. Finding someone with your convictions and dedication, to this site will not be easy. This site has always been unique and superior in so many ways and in comparison to so many other web sites, not just because of the caliber of its members but mostly because of you and your dedication to it.

Some freinds and I took our annual ride up to the cabin together. Had a great time. Can't beat friends you've had since childhood. Only got caught in the rain once, lol...DOWNPOUR for about a half hour, but we dried out and went back out. Based near Sinnamahoning, travelled a lot of 2 lanes through the mountains, went back to the cabin for adult beverages and cigars. Had a nice bull elk hanging around the whole weekend, ....didn't seem to mind us at all. Already looking forward to next year.

Tina has been asking about highway pegs for her, since nobody is making aftermarket parts for the Star Venture. I decided to make my own design. She wanted her feet to be out more than forward so this is what I came up with. The floorboards still fold up out of the way when I'm riding solo.

Hi Everyone I am pleased to announce the Venture Max HD is now complete and off the Lift, now I just some good weather to take it out on its maiden Voyage, and put a few Kms on the bike before heading to Laconia in the 15th. Here it is fully assembled and ready for the road. I have also added some photos of the Blacked out Signal lights and the rear Lights. Thanks for all your Support thru out this process I will update the post after I have my maiden Voyage. Thanks Herman

After 26 years working for the same company, it's time to move on. Things have been dicey for the last few years, but at this point they can no longer offer reliable year 'round work. I was hoping to retire here, but the bottom line is I gotta work. SO I"ve accepted a positiion with another outfit; they're matching my benefits plus a little bump in pay scale.. Sad to go but it's necessary. I'm starting to get a little excited about it though as my duties will be a little different, in a good way. Wish me luck.

Update on the wife. She had the surgery on the 30 th and they got all of the cancer. Her lymph Knode's were clear but she will need some radiation treatments and goes for an appointment today to see how many she will need. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

I picked this beauty up at a gun show this morning. G Force GFY-1 auto loader bull pup 12ga. We went to stock up on AR mags and couple other mags for the Tom Cat and Sub 2000. I had been wanting another auto loader to compliment my Savage 720. I was thinking maybe a Turkish made Beretta clone, then I saw these and the Tokarev version of the same gun. According to the dealer, G Force is an American owned company that manufactures the components in the U.S. and ships them to Turkey for assembly and imports the finished product. Somehow this is less expensive than assembling them in the U.S. Go figure.

Still have the Hannigan Trike and I still love it! Bucket List trip this fall took us to Needles hiway, Beartooth Pass, Chief Joseph Byway, Going to the Sun Rd. Million Dollar Hiway. Gets looks everywhere she goes.

To add to my earlier comment, Don, through your hard work I have learned a lot about the venture going from knowing very little to becoming extremely knowledgeable and adapt to the point were with my Mechanical back ground there is nothing I cannot do on these bikes and I am now fully capable of assisting others with their issues. I met a ton of great people some of which have become great friends even beyond the site. For this and more I will be forever grateful that you had the inspiration and the determination to start and maintain this site.

NO RAIN!!! DIDN’T GET WET ONCE!!! First VR get together I’ve ever gone to that I didn’t get soaked. Great roads, fun rides, lots of laughs around the campfire. Can’t wait to do it again.

A good friend, Ken, bought this 05 trike last July that was originally owned by EDS. His 03 had much custom artwork and over the last year he, with a little help from me, transitioned most of the paintwork and chrome forks over to the trike. Last thing was matching the silver body. That was recently completed and last week we mounted the body. End result looks pretty awesome.

I finally got in over the last couple of weeks and they put a new lens in the right and left eye. All I can say is wow its like seeing a new world out there again. If you have been putting it off dont. Its quick in and out. Both times I was in and out the door in less than two hours and the surgery didnt even take 10 minutes. Crazy the stuff they can do now. Sharon and me got on the bike and put on 150 some miles Saturday. And no more of that funny feeling in my head that I have been getting the past couple of years when going around the curves and there are plenty of those around here. And am back to getting to my list of things that I had put on the back burner until I had this done. Next on my list is me and my Granddaughter are heading out fishing next week now that I can see to tie on a hook or a lure and we should have us a great time. And then I am going to pack up the cycle and pull up to the end of the drive and flip a coin for left or right and take a ride for a few days with no place special in mind. Orlin

I ran across this video about motorcycle engine design pros and cons. Interesting.

I got rid of the OEM fuel pump back in '17 and haven't looked back. This little electronic Facet fuel pump as proven to be very dependable. The following is from the original thread back in 2017. If you search the forum there are quite a few posts about this pump. Replaced the stock pump with the Facet 40178. I drilled and tapped an 8-32 screw to mount, isolated with rubber on back. Screw is located behind the flare nut. As an FYI, NAPA carries this pump under their part number BK 610-2403. Took it for a 50 mile test Saturday and bike ran fine. On my arrival home, I immediately pulled the side cover and the pump was cool to the touch. On a side note, I have a Koso digital volt meter. With the Garmin 550 and XM radio on, I always ran a consistent 13.9 VDC. With the new fuel pump, I am at a consistent 14.0 VDC.

They were your idea anyway 🤣. I’ve got some pretty strong front dive after 80k on it. I started reading posts here thinking about progressives and found several posts by you and Rick Butler about the Sonics. I placed the order yesterday, when they get here I’m going to install them in a lower mileage set of Midnight forks from a parts bike I bought. Hopefully having the forks ready will make a quick job of pulling the fairing and swapping forks. I already have a hook in the ceiling to hang the inner from doing head bearings a couple years ago. I saved them with the idea of liking the chrome forks someday.

I found a buyer for the trike and Deb sold the cargo trailer, so that leaves the RSV.

We took a ride yesterday our first for the year, I didn't realize how much I needed it until we were riding it was a windy day but 71 degrees and felt good. I wanted to ride before I changed the oil and hopefully I'll be able to tell if the T6 changes anything as far sounds coming from the motor. 70 miles of back roads and back home it was a good ride.

We do live close to the street on two sides so this is what we have this year.

Here's a clip from a TX State Trooper in Waller County about 30 minutes north of where I live. Talks about Soccer Moms, Deer and other items that have hit and killed bikers. That area is building up quick now and I can vouch for Dogs, Cats, Livestock (from goats and sheep all the way to horses and cattle). This applies to all rural areas around the country.

Joe had surgery to relieve pressure on the brain and is doing well. he has a long road ahead to recovery. paryers and well wishes. .

It's a troublesome time we live in. We will keep asking for His grace for both Joe and Deb. May we all be aware of the brevity of life and good times on this earth and use that time to prepare for the future, where there will be no time.

Hello all, I've been meaning to post this for a while....too busy riding and other things. I wanted to give a huge shout out to a member who worked on my bike last winter. I met Carl @Marcarlat last years Ontario get together in Paris. He offered to work on my 84 VR and said he would do a thorough job fixing anything that needed to be fixed. I gave him a whole wish list of things that needed some maintenance/fixing and he worked from front to back adding new rubber (Dunlop E4's), four brush starter, @skydoc_17fuse kit, fixed oil leak in the front forks having had progressive springs installed at the local dealer the year previous, new carburetor diaphragms, carb sync, braided brake lines, new brake pads, added a thingey 😀(spacer) to the rear axle and grease nipple as well as Wolo air horn (loud) and PIAA running lights (bright but expensive) as well as resoldering the air compressor. I'm probably missing some fixes...Also, he bought a Plastex kit and showed me how to repair cracked fairing parts using his Dremel tools. Special thanks to his lovely wife for providing lunches for all those winter lunches trying to solve all the worlds problems. Special mention goes out to @saddlebum who provided advice and some "spare" parts for my machine. Always enjoy riding this machine but its just that much sweeter of a ride now. Planning a trip to Vermont in a couple of weeks. I hope everyone has a Carl and a Ben in their area that they can count on for advice and assistance. Thanks to you both... Mark

Just an update, got everything put back together. Did very minor adjustments on the float height but had two of those rubber plugs on the jet blocks almost totally pushed out. Thanks to cimmer for mentioning that, need to synch the carbs and take it for a run to see if I find any improvement!