cowpuc

Wassup Cha!! Sturgis,, 10 4 back door on a good old fashioned Sturgis run = now we are talking!!! Been reading some of your other questions on other threads too,,, think I will do a bundled response here and see how it all works out.. Sturgis,,,, the rally has changed HUGELY over the years.. Now adays = LOTS of law enforcement in the town of Sturgis during the rally and TONS of law changes including speed limits (that early morning drag race from the Buffalo Chip to the City Park on Lazzle street is now a HUGE no no = 35 mph limit) and public drinking is closely monitored. I think the towns people and the State got kind of tired of the loss of lives attributed to the "party" part of the party and demanded things get tightened up.. Nowadays there are at least 2 LEO's at every intersection on main street 24 hours during the rally and lots of "walkers" watching closely - just an FYI.. That said, the Rally also has not been the same for a lot of years now - sort of like the sales of the bikes,, its really really slowed down.. Still LOTS of fun but more laid back and those 6 hour waits to get into town are far removed.. The last few years we have seen LOTS of vacant yards with "CAMP HERE" posted on them - truthfully I wouldnt worry to much about that if all your looking for is a place to drop your tent within walking distance of main street.. Motel? No idea cause I dont motel it when bike touring but I wouldnt count on it - just not a lot of motels in the immediate area.. Personally I still camp on the same spot of open prairie land that I have since the 70's = a couple miles east of The Chip. Always remember that S.D. is still an open camp state = freedom at its best but long forgotten by many!! Also, for your cross country tenting needs I am including a short video of one of the things we have been doing for a good while = works great and is not a spooky as Cemetery camping!! C Vid!! To set up for your tent needs here is what I suggest = this is considering your touring alone on your Venture (1 up).. Go to Menards or Walmart and buy a cheap 7x5 2 person pup tent - the kind with the "fish poles" that slide thru hoops on the tent so you dont have to use stakes = self supporting.. Pick up a 9x12 or larger cheap tarp, sleeping bag and one of those 1 inch egg shell mattress covers too to sleep on.. Put the tarp down, open the tent and put it on top of the tarp - put poles in so tent is now sitting on tarp. Put pad in tend and sleeping bag on pad. Put extra change of clothes in tent as well as teddy bear for pillow. Keep bag and pad to one side of tent floor, close tent and zip up door, remove poles, fold tent in half long ways including tarp. Fold so tarp is folded square and now fold xtra tarp edge inside of tent before you start to roll up. Fold bottom of tarp up onto edge of tent opposite of doorway so air is let out of tent as you roll up bedroll. Place tent poles onto tarp/tent to roll toward tent door end. Place 2 bungee cords under far end of bedroll where you will end up after completing roll. Roll bedroll as tight as possible forcing air out, reach behind you and grab end of bungee cord now appearing as you roll up bed roll - grab exposed end out side of bed roll and attach to end that appeared as you rolled past it = snap together and bedroll is now ready to sit on Passenger seat for you to lean against PLUS everything in your bedroll is totally weather proofed!! When you get tired after 18/20 hours of CTFW = find the local campground where the little red light is flashing (watch for those Cell Towers as shown in Vid) - pull in, flop the bed roll and with a little practice - you can be in the sack sleeping in less then 5 minutes easily!! When you unroll the bedroll, stretch out the tarp under the tent so you dont get stickies in your socks or thorns in your fingers.. After getting tent up, fold tarp under tent bottom edges so if it rains the tarp dont catch water and flood the floor of the tent. Leave the front edge out until your inside and then just wad up the front edge under tent till morning. In the morning you pull the tarp edge out and BINGO = instant handy dandy, no stickers in stocking feet FLOOR MAT!! Get it?? Speaking about doing Sturgis and Glacier = why not plan on doing both in the same trip?? The week after Sturgis would be a PERFECT time to grab Glacier PLUS you would get the fun of the endless chit chat with bikers along the way!!! Fingers tired - hope this helps - sure sounds like an AWESOME '18 ya got in the plans brother!!! Puc

INDEED!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR BOB:Happy Birthday::Happy Birthday::Happy Birthday::group cheers::group cheers:!!!!!!! Hope your special day was nothing short of AMAZING Dragonslayer!!

:stirthepot::stirthepot:,,, ,,:rotf::rotf::rotf:,,,, :snow::scratchchin:,,,:yikes: ,,, :snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow::snow:,,

Sorry I missed this Jeff,, talk about not fun - there is nothing easy about losing a best friend that is for sure!! DJ and Bill = same for you guys! Bill,, that puppy is adorable!!

Sorry to read this Joe but VERY glad to hear Bobbi is back on her feet!! Hopefully Spring Break brings about some healthier fun for you two!!

His teeth were all clinched in a big frozen grin, while starting fluid soaked wiskers froze to his chin. The bill of his Harley hat though long ago worn, now froze to his nose like the top on an acorn. That V-4 in Tweeks was running just right, she still has it in her - she's ready for flight!! Tippy held tight to her partners belt loop, and yelled at you all while passing the group. Her words still the same as those many before, Happy New Year to all, even to that White Washin, subzero lovin, ice in his veins 'Fool next door!!!

Hi Cha!! Sounds like you got yourself some dandy CTFW plans there brother = GOOD ON YA and all the very best in your upcoming travels!! WOWZY:thumbsup:,,, that tent sure sounds like a plan too = my kind of varmint for sure!! Here in Michigan we have these things called Enhanced Drivers Licenses which Tip and I both have. They serve very well as Pass Ports for ground travel into Canada and we have used them successfully a lot!! They do not work for flights or travel anywhere else (like Mexico = we found out at the southern border).. No idea if you can do/get the same but might be worth looking at = lots cheaper and easier to use as they "broadcast" your info to the guards at the border = easy peasy crossing.. Couple years ago (more or less) we did Glacier again while out goofing off riding the borders.. That time was the week before the Sturgis Rally so it was during the first week of August and they had JUST (3 days before) got that pathway to the Sun opened up and it was FREEZING cold up thar!! We rode up into Canada and their weather up there was not better and it is also harder to escape the mountains to warm up (and camp) for the night.. Problem with staying wayyyyyy up there by the Glaciers is the endless possibilty of getting snowed in!!! If we were gonna plan a Glacier trip just for the sake of staying up in the mountains = no doubt it would be a mid August trip! IMHO, you might be a month early for biking it and camping up there.. Regardless Cha,, seems how your thinking of dropping a tent = I know of a couple pretty decent camp sites along the trails leading to Glacier. Be happy to share em with ya if you would like? I have never been a campground guru and far from any sort of a moteler but if your just planning on dropping the tent and coppin some zz's = definitly right up my alley - I got a little experience with that and be happy to share some of my more successful "camp grounds" with ya.. Beginning of July????? That may even be early to camp Yellow Stone or up in the Big Horns!! Another thing to remember when camping the Rockies and the northern extremes = Bears.. Differently then anywhere else = the non friendly Grizz and Browns are still around up there and they dont run when yelled at like the little veggitarian Black Bear of Michigan do.. I mention this because another issue comes into play for us tenters when camping in Bear country up in Canada = NO GUNS!! You WILL get asked at the border and you dont want to mislead the Canadian Guards about whether or not your packin = MAJOR PROBLEM!! Something to think about.. Hey,, THANKS FOR POSTING THIS!! DEFINITELY heart warming just talking bikes again!! Puc

INDEED!! Them lop eared varmints need to move to West Michigan where "Full Fool Effect" (untrained weather men here still call it "Lake Effect") takes place.. My yard captured another 11" in the last couple days just from the jet wash/over spray from the Masters Machine!!!

WOWZY Bay,,, sorry to hear ya talking this way BUT I TOTALLY get it brother!! Godspeed as you proceed in doing what cha gotta do.. Back when we were in the business I had a salesman who worked for me here in Michigan during our top sales months. He and his wife would pack up at the end of each season and head down to Miami to work for a huge Honda dealership down there and he and his wife would stay there during that area's high volume months (perfectly opposite of ours = worked great!!).. My sales back then would start about mid February and by the time Randy got here in mid March we were going great guns. I was never involved with the Honda shop down there in any way but I do know that Randy told me November to February down there were his best months.. You being in Florida - may be now is a good time to list it locally? As in all businesses, the internet (at the time, ebay mostly) changed everything and by mid 2000's - my market studies in predicting trends was pretty much solely based on Ebay and trade wholesale auction sites.. A lot could be learned by monitoring such sites and probably still could be? "Bling" in my experience actually worked against us. Our best sellers were always clean, low mileage, completely stock bikes. Interestingly enough, even my "customs" (I LOVED OLD SCHOOL CHOPS) sold better with no high dollar paint job because, as already mentioned, the farther down that road ya go the more "personal" it becomes = sort of like painting yourself into a corner so to speak.. Trade in wise, I ALWAYS appreciated owners who had personalized their machines but kept the OEM stuff and gave it up on trade in.. That said, if your gonna hit the open market it might be in your best interest to put it back to stock as much as possible? Advertising here on the clubhouse wall would be different IMHO as most of us know first hand the kind of hard work and costs associated with bling.. So,, what's it worth?? Couple years ago my neighbor comes to me and says he heard thru the grapevine that I used to deal in bikes? Asked me to help him sell his 25k mile, 1500 Wing, being a good neighbor and one who still loves scoots - I agreed.. Got around to the ? of value.. He said he needed 4 grand for the scoot and trailer.. I told him I thought that was way high but agreed to write up a CL ad for him and see what happened.. Trailer sold for a grand shortly there after.. The bike got very little attention.. I played with it on Ebay for him - used an old method of mine that had been successful = start em at a dollar with no reserve to get lots of bidders and then end it early if it was obviously not gonna meet the mark (was legal back then - not sure but I think it still is as long as you do so 12 hours before auction ends = READ THE RULES if your gonna try this!!). The bike never got over 1300 bucks.. A year later and that same scoot was sitting in my neighbors driveway and I relisted it on Craigs for him.. 2 months = not a call.. I had just finished telling my neighbor that we may have screwed up "playing the game" because 1st exposure is always the best one when a guy driving by see's the bike setting there, stops and writes a $3000 check on the spot.. Concerning the 2nd gens specifically,, back when I felt better I used to goof around all winter watching prices and it always amazed me at the major deals down in Florida/Texas and California.. I distinctly remember a number of "Millenial Additions" (which always caught my eye cause I always liked the looks of em) at the time for well under 4 grand.. This may or may not be significant at this time because that was a couple years (or more) ago but I have a gut feeling that it does because the 2nd Gen's have been around long enough now that many riders probably know they are pretty much the same bike all the up.. I know that HD is cutting back in production now cause times are slow and that Polaris is all but giving away their left over Indians (some dealers have them all the way back to the '14's in left overs) - a little shopping and WOWZY is it a buyers market,,, IMHO of course.. So what would I do if I were you?? I would probably hit up some car lots - find a Mustang of my liking and then do a trade in = book for book,, wheeeeelll and deallll:dancefool:!!! What ever ya do,, however this works out - hope ya know there is NO LEAVING THIS CLUB OF MISFITS!!! Just thought I would toss that out in case there was any question in your beeeener concerning the matter:hurts:

1: 100% saddlebum and Flyinfool 's doings Vaz = 100%!!! 2: and a VERY VERY Merry Christmas and the Happiest of Happy New Years right back at cha down there brother!! It is ALWAYS a pleasure yakking with you too Vaz, even if we differ in our opinion about the engineering sophistication involved in producing air cooled, push rod, belt drive motors ... IMHO,, those differences actually add to the pleasure and fun!! P.S. = speaking air cooled scoots.. If you EVER get a chance to demo one of the new 2018 HD Fat Bob's with the M8/114inch motor - DO IT!! It's the one with the scrambler like pipes on it and the little rectangular headlight!

and here is an interesting non-American perspective of the study: http://www.atomicalex.com/?p=2115 and a clip thereof: """ the countries of the EU espouse both the basic transportation concept of smaller machines and the luxury (toy) concept of larger machines. The EU perspective is nuanced in that motorcycles are purchased with distinct purposes in mind and the owner of a larger touring machine (toy concept) is likely to also own a smaller, more city-focused bike for local riding (basic transportation concept). The authors of the study come immediately to the question of desirability in the US (bigger is better), but remain mired in the idea that fun has to be a part of the equation. The very concept of “transportainment” needs to die a fiery death.""" Different strokes for different folks!!

happening outside, hurts worst than a splinter!! That Fool in Consin was

Right back at cha brother!!!!!!

:clap2::clap2::dancefool::dancefool::thumbsup::thumbsup::usa::usa::usa::usa::usa::usa::usa: Outstanding and a HUGE congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Ready = double that for Mrs. Ready,, very very very well done young lady = THAT IS AWESOME!! :group cheers::group cheers: Thanks Ready for inviting us all over for the road grub but I gotta ask something here.. Is Mrs. Ready planning on ripping up her Tamale making cook book :95:and planning on converting over to Hot Dogs, Burgers and Brats anytime soon?? Please, oh please say no!!! I,,, I,, I,,,, I just GOTTA get over that way as soon as Spring breaks = I JUST HAVE TOO!! Merry Merry Christmas folks!! That is WONDERFUL news and a HUGE answer to prayer!! Puc n Tip

:scared:THANKS RANDY!! WOWZY WOW WOW WOW - that Z1 and the Mini-trail Grom are to die for :178: = just gorgeous!!! WOWZY WOW WOW WOW - that new Wing is totally splendid!! There is just something about it that speaks to the soul of these Mk1 1st Gens I been wreckin for years!! :biker: I know, cant always get what I want but I really do wish those Honda engineers would not have left so much in the bag on that one by just taking it out to an xtra 5hp after all the engineering change with the 4 valve heads and huge weight loss.. Personally, I think the new Beemer American Tour (not shown in vid) with the smaller motor (1600cc) and wayyy more umph (160 hp) should have been held higher than the Wing.. I wouldnt feel that way had Honda allowed the engineers to let that panner breath and show what she's really made of.. Even just 10 more ponies than the Beemer and yea,, I would vote Wing but it is what it is.. IMHO,, I think that Kawasaki H2 Sport tour got my top spot.. FINALLY a serious look and engineering effort at super charging.. 197 HP from a tiny little 1000cc Sport Tourer:banana:!! There is so much happening there in a real world, advanced, motorcycling modernistic way and so much more that could be done from an engineering stand point IMHO!! I tip my hat to Kawasaki for testing the waters of "skys the limit" in motorcycling (IMHO). I also tip my hat to them for thinking $$'s and cents for the common man too.. I know that flat out H2 little 1000cc race bike (300 horse) is over 40 grand but, if I heard that right in the video, they cut that price in half for this "street" model bagger = atta boy Kawi, make it totally awesome and still somewhat affordable (I still think even 10 grand for 2 wheels and a motor is stretching it = wowzy am I old school) = Kawi H2 is first place for the '18s in my book... :scratchchin:Put a dollar with that and you can get a cup of coffee :680:,,, somebody passed the hot dogs please!!

:sign yeah that:,,,, but wear safety glasses and be careful that that little bleed back return squirter dont spit in your eye after opening er up - those plugged little snickers can be the most ungrateful little critters when ya open em up and that spitters are more accurate than a hillbilly with a full jaw of backy chew I tell ya!! Stepping out on a little perverbial branch here cause I dont know if this is even applicable but, take a view at the video below = I use this method of bleeding the rear brakes on my 1st Gens a lot and it works because of one simple old rule = air bubbles rise to the highest point in the system.. As shown in the vid, the metering valve I bleed from in this case is the highest point in the system and, that being so in my theory, therefore any trapped air will end up at this high spot and, knowing this simple little theory - I have successfully rescued more than one 1st Gen rear brake system. I have another theory that I have used on my 1st Gen clutch and front brake bleeding.. If the system on your Strat bango's at the master up on the bar, this might work for you too.. I always bleed from the bango at the master until I know I have removed any trapped air from that point first. I do this from the same perspective as the video addresses = its the high spot of the system.. If you decide to attempt this though it would be wise to cover the area under the bango with rags = you dont want brake fluid on any painted surfaces!!! Any of this making sense?? Probably not but thought I would join the chit chat any way By the way Lefty = CONGRATS on the new scoot!! My nephew bought a new Strat back in 06 = WOWZY WOW WOW WOW - nice scoot!! I have always wanted to own a Raider,, being an old school chopper freak and parcial to Yamaha's = I think that great big ol push rod motor would be a ton of fun in a chop!!! Congrats and keep us posted on what ya end up with = pictures are like candy around this joint!!

SPOT ON DUEY!!!! Thanks for pointing this out in that other thread @Du-Rron - no idea where I was when all this was going on but brother = I really missed it here!! Another point = it would REALLY pay to shop right now on Ebay and elsewhere (dealerships) - TONS of sales happening!! Amazing the left over NOS stuff out there at HUGE savings!! BlueSky ,,, sounds like my underhanded sneaky ways may be finally catching up with me Let ya in on a little secret,,,, I have actually paid less for a couple of my 1st Gen's than the quoted price for a rear tire on this new one ! Then chased the remaining 200k+ miles out of em by short shifting them into eternal bliss !!! Proofing, amoung other things, positive that doing the same thing over and over again is not only insane but also may be a good test for a persons mental stability:178:..

One of the lessons I learned very early in life = thou shalt not set booby traps (father fell into one of the pitfalls I dug = took a whoopin for that one:hihi:) - apparently is now being re-examined!! I have to admit,, I absolutely LOVE the concept in the vids below but I also have to say = I wonder how long it will be before the real thing finds it's way into the boom-boom box:doh:, resulting in a low life thief getting hurt and the person who set the trap for em ending up in prison and having to pay a huge settlement fee for setting booby traps (thinkin there is probably some Federal Law beyond that which my Dad taught me that rules setting booby traps as actually illegal).. For the time being though,, I do get a great chuckle every time I watch the reaction of one of these low lifes getting a little bit of what they deserve!! :rotf::rotf: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uefk-S_HbE

I stuffed a Yamaha 650 twin into an Amen Hardtail frame with 42 degrees of rake in the neck and hung 16 inches of California Springer on the front of it back in 74. The process of doing that kind of stuff back when I was younger always got in the way of my common sense resulting in, among other things - being late for work.. Worked 3rd shift spinning parts on a turret lathe for an air tool company (Gardner Denver), looked at the clock in garage = 10:35pm = 25 minutes to get to job 30 minutes away!! Slapped on the remains of my Captain America helmet as shown in my high school graduation picture below (Michigan had helmet law back then), flipped ignition and lights toggle on "The Chop", rapped er good one with my right foot and took off like the gate just dropped on the first qualifier of a Saturdays MX:bikersmilie:!! Straight pipes just singing as I banged er gears while going past the middle school and proceeded into the darkness that the local street lights chased if still in town .. About a block into the darkness and a pair of car lights came up from the ravine where the creek crossed under the main road leading into our small village.. I was late for work so the potential of a Police Officer being behind the wheel of the lone car with its lights coming at me was gonna just have to add to the risk associated with riding a custom bike at high speed.. As the car past me and the emblem on the side of the car that read "Michigan State Police" became crystal clear, I was guessing the speed of my Chop (Chops with speedos were not considered choppers back then) at approaching 90ish as I was climbing in R's in the little XS's top gear.. Having not taken the time to ram a bicycle mirror into the end of the 6 bends on my scoot, like a flat tracker keeping tabs of his competition I rotated my head under my left arm just in time to see the Patrol Cars brake lights lite up and those bubble gum dispensers do the same... Fingers tired,, will finish later

Obviously it's winter so we may as well sit around the club house and a bit... So,, take a read and speak to it.. Part way thru the article is a link to the actual discussion that the "panel of professionals" had.. Its kind of long and in PDF format but it is some what informative into the mind of other groups.. Also,, I was intriqued with the comments that readers of the article left behind.. Anyway, here's the read = something to do while Fool is playing with that infernal machine!! http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-motorcycle-summit-20171214-story.html

One time I put that little arm that attaches to the shift shaft that sticks out behind the stator on upside down and it did exactly like you are talking about Ty.. If memory serves me correctly, I believe that little arm has to point upward when sitting on the shift shaft to be correct.. The other way and the shift pattern is backwards (good anti - theft) and, as I recall, also takes a longer throw to shift.. Also, condition of the joints (sloppy?) would add to distance of travel needed to shift..

I do an ounce to a gallon and also start em up once a month too and have never had an issue. I do like to top off the tanks to keep them from rustin at all, then when I get home from the top off I will mix my ounce per gallon in with a little gas in a quart jar and dump this pre-mixture in to get the tank mix started (I am a throw back from 2 stroke dirt bike mixing days = you dont premix your premix while sitting at the pump all the 2 stroke oil will run to the bottom and now ya got a real slug). For my 1st Gens it's 5 ounces in a pint or so of gas dumped into the full tank - run around the block for last ride short ride to circulate the mix into the carbs and then onto the battery tender.. My monthly start ups I like to let em run a little longer at idle to make sure I am getting good flow thru the smaller low speed jets and circuits as those little hair sized orvices usually gum out way before the mains. Warm er up to at least half temp and bounce er off the mains a few times to clean em/circulate them too.. No idea if anyone else has noticed this but I have noticed that my plugs will get a "sheen" to them if using a lot of Sea Foam which I believe can bring about early plug swap needs.. On our Ventures and most other scoots this is no big deal but on my R1 - plug swaps dont look like to much fun... Just an added thought with maybe a slight encouragement not to over do the Sea Foam/short storage fuel stabilizer additive idea - xtra/xtra isnt always the best or necessary IMHO.. P.S. - cover the breather snorkle and steel wool stuffed into the pipes will keep the mice out.. *** Wonder what is going on in those mice brains when they are laying inside that quiet exhaust and all of a sudden - VAAAAROOOOM - the mighty V-4 comes a nockin on their door

This may help.... Hey CULLIGAN MAN @Freebird

NEATY OKEEDOKEEPEETO'!!! I love this thread = THANKS Corporal Newkirk!!! I am gonna do my down right best to keep these in order so as you look at them just say to yourself = NOT A GOOD SIGN,, and then = GOOD SIGN when you look at the following pics.... The first pic = not a good sign.... 2nd pic,, good sign and so on and so forth...

Glad you found it!! First place I would have headed would have been to the diaphrams to double check condition and completeness of components under them caps = probably the reason why it takes me 200 times longer to figure stuff like this out then most folks:big-grin-emoticon: