cowpuc

Yea, cudo's to that wife of yours!! Heres hoping you sieze the day and fully enjoy the adventure!! Lots and lots of endless beauty out there, especially from the seat of a motorcycle!!! Ride safe and have fun! Puc

Cant wait to hear your opinion either, Tip and I were out there for the unveiling but didnt stick around for a test ride - this is really going to be interesting!! We stopped at the Indian dealer today on the way home from the HD demo.. Our Indian demo dates in Grand Rapids Mi are Sept 13th - thru the 15th if anybody is interested.. I know for a fact that both of our local HD shops have people going over for test rides.. For sure I am!!

Oh yea, the intake on your raider caused me pause,, for a second there I thought I was seeing a turbo.. Looks good!!

Great find at a super price!! I also LOVE that color! Lots and lots and lots of good times putting miles on that one!! My nephew rides a strat, same motor as your raider - super motor!!.. I am an ol chopper LOVER and have always loved the looks of the raider,, Honda took a halfway shot with the fury but Yamaha completed the project, IMHO.. Anyway, two gorgeous steeds you have there! Also, welcome to the family!! Puc

Goofy bored kids, no idea how close they are to killin someone.. Lucky they aint one of mine,, ol Puc has tanned a few hides - thankfully long before it reached this level of tragedy.. That young man on the video was amazingly accurate in his analogy...

So Tip and I spent the day at the new HD demo's today.. Had a GREAT time.. Of course the first one we rode was the watercooled Ultra.. Keep in mind that this report is kinda biased because I have a charector flaw, I like bikes,, even non 1st gens, even HD's,,, shoot even dirtbikes and quads.. So, I really thought HD did an excellent job on this major update for them leading away from air cooling.. They hid all the components in a non objective way, the circulating pump is electric and is located outside the frame, low and in front of the engine. The hoses leading to the rads are concealed very nicely below the lowers that house the rads, they are then just slightly visible under the forward tank.. Another point I was really curious about was where they were going to discharge the hot air from the rads, there are openings on the outside edge of the lowers that serve as discharges - we road it at highway speeds and town driving and this arrangement worked great at blowing the heat outside of the pocket we ride in.. I was shocked that I really could not see any noticable difference in head shape, they sure look exactly like a stock HD to me.. Also, there is a vent below the wind shield that creates an upward airflow that increases the airfoil affect over the riders head, like having a taller shield without actually having one - I really really really like this!!!! I prefer to cut my shields so I can see over them instead of looking thru them but still have the airflow going just over my head - this has always been difficult riding two up and giving Tip adequate coverage.. This HD design is awesome for this!! I have owned a number of twin cam HD's (including one with a supercharger) and gotta say,, for some reason (and I assume maybe HD can now run a little leaner/more effecient using water cooling) this watercooled motor pulled real strong, it actually felt more torquey and very lienear in delivery.. I did think the gearing was a little tall in first gear for my liking (like crawling around thru the weeds, loaded up and Tip on the back) but hey,, I am used to the ultimate engined 1st gen which is much more muscle than a 2nd gen can even dream of sooo,, right Yammer Dan?? Braking on this new one was outstanding!! Stock seat was amazingly comfortable - Tippy actually complained about there being to much room between us.. Stereo was weird, I couldnt find the spot to plug in my Willie cassette!! So, now for the big question, did watercooling the exhaust valve help in that age old hot leg syndrome.. Yea, I think it did,, actually quite a bit.. I also have a hunch that this is only the beginning for HD'S move to the watering hole.. Sure would be neat if they would gear drive their cams now.. Anyway, very very very nice bike there HD!!! Also spent time on a Switchback (had some really weird vibes going on with this one and it felt like the compensator on the crank was loose or something), V-ROD - WOW, could I have fun owning one of these - talk about a nimble, fast, fat tired fun bike,,,, sheesh.. A "72" Sporty - gotta love that ol sporty feel, needed cams, head work, high comp pistons and a tuner to REALLY be fun. Real fun day!!! Puc Oh yea, on a much more important side note, Tip and I both proudly wore our red St. Judes/Venturerider.org shirts to the HD demo ride.. Proudly answered lots of questions about what its allll about!!!!! Long live Vogel, long live ST. Judes, long live Venturerider!!

YEEEEEEEEEEEHAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Lewis,,, Tip and I are with you all this way on this one Lewis!!!!! Jesus loves the little children,, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight, jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.. AND, OBVIOUSLY, SO DO WE!!!! Puc

I'd a been singing,,, annie get your gun.. No one sits a trike like our friend aussie annie..

Yep, thats it.. Interesting enough, I have also used it to work on cars alot, works great for brake jobs and stuff.. On the same token though, I have hard time really trusting some little chinese guy with my life so I always use jack stands too,,, not sayin the welds look bad but hey,, a coat of paint can cover a lot of lack of penetration and so on You know, a man can really never have enough tools can he.. Puc

Yep, my neighbor has that exact lift and that is very simular to the air over I bought years ago from Harbor.. Mine does have the other clamp (L shape) that clamps up way better and its rated at 1200 lbs.. I have even used mine to build several choppers over nine feet in length - removed the stop at the end of the table and extended the table out, works great.. Also done a ton of work on quads on it.. Keep in mind that you really do get what you pay for, I KNOW there are many other brands out there that have my thicker steel and better hydraulics for a price.. Of course much pricier but I have been satisified with mine.. Puc

Years ago I picked up one of HF's cheap Air over hydraulic table lifts (1200 lb capacity), cost me 260 bucks.. After years of good service from that one, two years ago I thought I would try one of the upright jacks with the two arms that go under the bike and it will lift to lift table height (like 32 inches I think).. I gotta say this thing is awesome!!! Its perfect for wheel removal, brake and front end work, mono work.. And its totally mobile and amazingly stable.. The only place a table has it over it is that one side of the center of the bike is blocked by the upright of the stand. I have had my 83 on it many times and lots of Big Twin HD's, and many smaller bikes.. I got it for 145 bucks after using a coupon... Barry,, I would be willing to take measurements for you if you wanted to build one (see,, I am really not a bad guy), pretty simple design... I think Harbor stills carrys them too.. Just another thought... Puc

Beautiful piece of work!! Congrats! I stretched the back strap on a couple Smith 629's years ago and switched to Ruger redhawk,, way heavier in the back bone... No doubt a about it, RUger makes really good stuff.

Barry thats not rust thru that you are referring to - those are actually burn marks,, Yamaha screwed up big time on these 1st gens, they really needed ceramic heat tiles for re-entry into what us 1st gen riders refer to as 2nd gen zone...

Annie and Al, I have a little bit of indian blood in me and have been doing the old indian sundance for you two since we left Vogel.. Obviously it hasnt helped much so I am asking all our Venturerider friends to join in.. Come on you guys, its easy, while wearing one sock on your left foot, a pair of shorts, no shirt except for ladies, jumping up and down on your sockless right foot you chant - HIYAA - HIIYAA - HEEYAA - HEEYAA - PAINEE - RAINEE - DISAPEERYAAA.. Come on you guys we can do it!! :cool10::cool10: Sooo glad you 2 are not letting this goofy wet weather dampen your spirits and staying sunny and warm on the inside - where it really matters!! Puc

My cousin and I did it in July but ONLY because you cant get out of freezing Michigan earlier.. I think earlier in the season may be better, mid-june, to avoid the major heat issues cause it was HOT.. If I had it to do over I would do it earlier..

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Dont know about that Cuda but I gotta tell ya,, its an honor to have friends like yourself on my ridin buddies list!!! It is amazing how quickly friendships can develop and great times can be had.. Puc Yea OK, I am worth 12 bucks,, maybe even more on one of my good days

So here I am an innocent bystander surrounded by people I dont know.. As I behold the spectacle I become aware of several other innocent bystanders who also are new comers to this event.. One of which I find out had tire troubles early on,, folks chase down a new tire for the person while others stay with him at his bike.. A day later there is another bike belonging to another newby being dismantled that has electrical issues while another bike is dismantled for some reason that I never did find out why cause I am one and they were many.. Tools are spinning and parts are coming on and off faster than hail off a windshield.. So I get dizzy and decide to go eavesdrop on multiple conversations going on around me. It didnt help.. This groups talking trannys, the others talking tires and anothers talking differences between 1st gens, MK2's, second gens and on and on... Dont mess with me Dragonrider,,, now that I KNOW what goes on when these folks get together theres no turning back By the way, I also happen to KNOW that all the bikes worked on were RIDDEN home by there owners in far better shape than they arrived it!! Guess I could have answered your question in one word - VOGEL,, but that wouldnt have been as much fun hahhaha Puc

Yep, did it a few years ago.. Its pretty broken up now but certainly worth the time and effort.. If your tent camping beware of the "goat heads" pickers..

Nice ride report!! Thanks for sharing with us. Indeed our UP is awesome riding!! I LOVE tenting up there,, just gotta catch it when the skeeters and no-see-ums are down and watch where you store the Frito's.. Looks like you folks had a great time riding and a wedding to boot - cant beat that!!! Puc

This is a toughy, if I check it on mapquest it shows 2 days.. I sat down with Tippy a minute ago and looked at it and figured about 15 days after stopping and visiting with all our new friends down there and that didnt include include site seeing.. Hmmmm

Welcome to the greatest show on earth.. Puc

Dogman, yea I agree with you totally, this place is amazing!! On a side note, its to bad you didnt happen to bump into a few of these rascals during your time of need.. Some of these folks are the type that would have changed your light for you and in the mean time rebuilt your motor, changed tranny gears, synced the carbs and painted your bike.. REAL GEARHEADS galore!! Gotta love em.. Puc

The ride out of the north end at Crater was just as beautiful as our ride in. I have always enjoyed "coasting" down the mountains and, while no match for our record 39 minute coast into Kings Canyon last year, we did enjoy a solid 16 minute coast out of Crater Lake! Next stop found us at Newberry Volcanic National Monument. This place was again different in its display of volcanic activity.. It literally was covered with actual "lava rock" like you would buy for your gas grill. Also miles and miles and mounds and mounds of black lava.. At days end we slept on Oregons gorgeous High Desert about a mile off the road. Just far enough so we could no longer hear the trucks/cars going by and be able to listen to the coyotes howlin. Pretty rocky out here, I am considering building a skid plate for Tweaks (our bike). Had a fabulous meteor shower going on!! Area was hot in the day and FREEZIN in the night.. Amazingly NO dew at all on the tent!! One of the great things Tip and I have discovered about retirement is being able to actually stop and read all those "Historic Point of Interest" signs along the way that you always want to read but never do. After reading this sign about the Bannock Indian Wars it occurred to me that I dont remember ever even hearing of the Bannocks!! Also stopped for a while at the Snake River - beautiful!! Stopped for gas just inside of Idaho on our way to Crater of the Moons and met a new friend named Frankie “Medicine Wolf”.. Had a really good time chatting with Frankie!! He was on his way to Sturgis, bike all loaded for bear!! The “wolf” is an outdoors writer and a riot to hang with!! An interesting side note here, after chatting with Frank about our travels it comes to light that he makes his home about 12 miles from the Cemetery that Tip and I had camped at back Gold Hill Oregon! Crazy eay!! What a hoot!! PLUS, I have always been an avid Pat McManus reader (They shoot canoes, crazy eddie muldoon and all that) and knowing that Pat wrote alot about adventures in Oregon and Idaho I had to ask, come to find out Frankie is close friends with Pat himself!! If you take the time to do it, it is amazing the folks you meet along lifes pathways!! At any rate, if your following this story try to remember Frank, he is gonna pop back into our travels.. After making plans to hook up with Frank at Sturgis we headed toward Craters of the Moon National Park. We rode out the day and camped north of Fairfield Idaho behind some hay bales. Our riding style usually consists of riding till we are tired, pull over, drop the tent and go to sleep.. The only problem with riding like this is sometimes you wake up to surprizes,, like cops staring at you or people walking past you in a walmart parking lot or animals walking around your tent.. This particular excursion found us waking up to the farmer stopping in his tractor - farmers get up real early you know!! Thankfully he was a great guy,,, I have found that most folks are if you give them half a chance, personally I like people..

Hi Lewis and B2 (and everyone), just wanted to thank you (and your wifes) and your helpers personally again for all your hard work putting on Vogel. Also all the folks who contributed to the event in any way, if nothing other than being there and giving the wife and I a chance to meet you - THANK YOU!! You and your team of colorful charectors made our first contact of the REAL people of VentureRider an amazing experience and truely, a very bright highlite of our summer riding experience!! Jamie and Dana, you two made the day brighter in everyway.. You guys are about as close to being a LIVING cartoon charector team as I have seen in a long time - cudos to both of you (and those wifes of yours). I know I told you all this but I wanted to reiterate, one of my summer riding goals was to prove once and for all whether or not the people on this website actually existed.. Mission accomplished with a big YEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAWWWWWW from ol Cowpuc!! A greater bunch of actual living, breathing, TALKING, EATING, bike riding, willing to share and generous folks there has never been, at least in my encounters.. As for the REAL heartbeat of the Vogel Day, St. Judes Childrens Hospital, with folks like these on their side maybe just as real medical answers will soon be found!! God Bless each and everyone of you, our friends!! Puc and Tip (Scott and Cheryl)