Jimbob66

My previous bike was a Suzuki C90T .. my first injected bike. Unfortunately, I had to sell it to get the RSV. No Choke, no fuel petcock, no warm up. No carbs to overhaul. It was nice. The bike ran consistently no matter the elevation. My Venture starts acting kind of odd at higher altitudes. Also, the smoothness of the fuel delivery was simply amazing. I do like the venture and am willing to live with the carbs, but I do miss the fuel injection.

Thanks for the link! Ordered 3. Now to find someone who can cut them.

My 2007 RSV started getting hard to turn and gradually became worse, until one day on a long ride, it started dripping. Riding back home with gas dripping on your upper pants leg is .. well ... not fun. :shock3: I had a choice to ride back home 100 miles or leave the bike and pay a huge bill to get it home. I chose to ride back. Maybe that was not so wise now that I look back on it. I suggest you fix it before that happens. I replaced the entire unit with a new one from Yamaha. I think it was about $70 US. It was much easier to turn however it is stiffer than other bikes I have owned. The peace of mind was worth the extra $$$ to me. Just my 2 cents.

Kenda Kruz. Work great last long time. not near as expensive as Metz or Avons. (both are great tires though) and will handle higher loads. I had to get mine pro mounted however. The tire sidewall is STIFF.

Interesting. Didn't know about the tire splice thing. Also the PSI's listed shocked me a little too. 48 rear ?

The OEM filters are paper. You can clean them (somewhat) with compressed air, just don't blow the dirt "into" the filter. I think the manual has a section in it about that. As far as taking them off is concerned, I highly recommend removing the cowling. Those pieces are $300 + dollars each. If you unfasten the top, getting the bottom off is maybe 5 more minutes of work. In my opinion the risk of damaging the cowling is just not worth the 5 minutes you might save. Besides there are lots of things that should be inspected behind those cowlings, especially if your bike has been stored outdoors.

I will take one.

Noted. Thankfully I have not experienced this ! Pucker factor of 9.87 out of 10.

Just my 2 cents and my opinion 1. I have both a taller and a shorty windshield. I prefer the taller windshield on longer rides. In bad weather I REALLY like the tall windshield 2. Not sure on this. I'm 6'5'' and get severe buffeting with the shorter shield. Not so much with the aftermarket tall one. With the tall one I have a "calm air" area that does not exist with the shorter one. 3. Yes. My wife experiences much more buffeting with the shorter shield on. Does not like it . She prefers the taller shield. 4. Yes. You can usually buy an aftermarket shield for half to a third of the cost of the OEM. I buy the less expensive ones and have had no issues. Ive had some pretty hard hits from road debris too. One rock can ruin that mega dollar shield. I view windshields as a usable, replaceable item. 5. Cant answer that one. I personally prefer the taller windshield that I have to look through. I've been told multiple times this is wrong or bad form, but that is still my preference. I clean my windshields with Pledge furniture polish often so the water beads up and rolls off. I think this is key to visability. With the taller shield, I eat fewer bugs, have much better weather protection and can keep riding when others have to stop.

I am interested in headsets myself and have looked at the J&M's as well. What are the other options?

Concerning the Moly Grease http://guarddogmoly.com/ I have used this for many years on a Honda Valkyrie final drive. A lot of the Valk guys recommend this instead of the Honda stuff. It is expensive, but then again so is a final drive unit.

Ditto on the Ruger LCP. I can carry it with no print. It's very easy to ride with on the bike. Is super simple to clean and break down. The best pistol is the one you have. If its too big to carry it won't be there when needed. Also, the .380 cartridge is just a shortened 9mm. Is one of the better calibers for home defense IMHO. You don't have to worry as much about what is behind you. The cartridge was designed for a specific purposes. Check a few gun forums for details there. It does have a bite at the range though because of the light weight.

The harder the brake material the more pressure that must be applied to achieve the same amount of friction. I prefer organics, however they do wear faster and create dust. The Kevlars (and ceramics) last longer and have much less dust but require more braking effort. Depends on what you want I guess. Given the touchy nature of the rear brakes on some bikes maybe Kevlars wouldn't be a bad thing on the back.

I have an '07 with tank badges. I like them as well. Having bought and sold many (too many?) motorcycles over the years, I find bikes with stock badges sell faster than debadged bikes.

I do appreciate everyone's opinion and info. I've been away from the board for a while and was unable to reply. I think Im going for the diamond jeans. Great info here !

I wanted to get opinions on the best Kevlar lined riding jeans. I've used Levis for the last 40 years and have also shredded a few pairs. I won't use the body armor even if I had it. I've tried it and the comfort factor is not worth it to me. So I have reasoned a good pair of Kevlar lined jeans is a decent compromise. When I do ride it's usually on longer trips so my main interest (other than saving my skin) is comfort. I'm also interesting in hearing from folks that have had the unfortunate experience of testing the jeans during a slide. Been looking at Draggin' and Diamond Gusset. Any others I should consider? Thanks !

I use Statefarm at a cost of about $150 a year. I also have towing so its a bit higher than just basic. According to the agent the policy is good anywhere I ride the bike in the US.

Now that's funny right there ...

These are super cool looking on the twisties at night. Couple of things though .. If you ever ride with someone it is VERY distracting to the fellow behind you. I found this out the hard way on our last organized ride. I also saw the exact same fellow snag one on a manhole lip coming out of the hotel. He lost about 3/4 of the floorboard in the middle of the street and had to ride back to New Orleans (From Kentucky) with a little stub for a footrest. Just a few things to think on. They do put on a great show though!

Agreed In my opinion, Vtwins by design will not last as long as a V4, Inline 4 or flat 6 do. The rotating assembly (Piston weiight, Con rod etc) is far heavier on a vtwin than a V4. This places higher stress on bearings, rings and cylinder walls. Its simple inertia physics. Also, the compression pulses are much more even on a V4 (or flat 6) than a Vtwin. Liquid cooled and air cooled are a whole different ball game though.

I've had mine on for about a year now. About 6k miles all up and down the East coast and have had no issues. It fit as well as the stock one did on initial install. I polish with Pledge after each washing (or after a long day of riding) Works great so far Still no scratches.

I can vouch for reliability of the drive train. A fellow I grew up with in my neighborhood had a very used 1980 XS1100. The bike was 7 years old and had never been serviced except for oil that I know of. We beat on that bike like it was a rented mule. Our youthful lost weekends consisted of seeing who could lay the longest burnout on a deserted road behind my house. Rev limiter .... Clutch drop ...BAM ... tires smoke .. over and over . It might not get air in third but it will break a tire loose in second ! I can tell you that bike endured hundred's of full throttle clutch drops, wheelies and all around childish abuse. It never broke.

One word of advice .. catch those pistons in an old rag stuffed up in the caliper and do NOT have a finger (or thumb!) anywhere near the area. Don't ask me how I know.

I like it. I like the idea the retro look and the styling. Seriously, with that styling, how could it be anything but a Vtwin ? My only disappointment is the fact they did not engineer some clever water cooling into the bike. (think new Harley) Then again I had a Suzuki C90 that was air\oil cooled and that engine lasted well over 100K miles.

:sign yeah that: I've had Dunlop D404 WWW on several bikes including my '07 Venture. Work great and fit my riding style