IronMike

Yea I think I bought like 10 helmets until I got one that fits just perfect, so, I certainly could not afford to do that with those helmets at that price. Betamax ring a bell.

You would be very hard pressed to overload the front tire on any bike. The rear an entirely different story they can overload quickly. The heaviest I have ever been on a front tire is 440 LBS. I did got to an Avon on the front and rear FOR the added weight capacity on the rear. I did not get three months on the tires and they started to crack in the treads and around the rim. Tried another pair, exact same result. So they are out for me, They ran me around so much about it on Warranty, I had to just go get new tires. Darkside. Thats a great point though, people should load up for a trip and scale the bike on a truck scale. I use a local Farmers scale for free! So I have done all kinds of experiments.

A couple of us did this before when we changed the Clutch on a Roadstar and needed to get the MPG different with w full lock up clutch. (Shimmed) After several test runs and fuzzy math we got down to GPS's and Filling the bike on the Level surface using a Four FT long Level and filling on on the side stand and to a specific point in the tank neck. (We punched a hole it the inside of the neck for a reference.) And we never came up with a solid number anyways.

We all do that, And I know two people recently that had less that 5 MPH crashes blocks from home and were off work for months. BUT, Whenever you do crash, you'll never have enough gear on anyways. I have 3 complete CE approved Armor suits, Draggin Jeans and Bon Armor, But this weekend I was out in Jeans and a T shirt But I didn't see the Jerks that you did. Or, they didn't see me. Anyways, I think its kind of irresponsible to dress more protected than your passenger anyways. But when I am on a trip or out pushing my skil level like on The Dragon oor Devils Triangle, or the like. Yea, all the gear. But to run down for some carb cleaner, no. Next time inform him TWICE as many people die in Auto crashes than Motorcycles, And you have some old helmets for sale. They didn't even have Ball caps on? Dare Devils eh? Yes thats true.

Are you Darksiders running a rear on the front and if so what are the specs. on it. Size/ make/ I know on my RoadStar I kept the same size, just running a Metz. Rear on the front. I have checked the Darkside Datatbase, Boy that place has changed but only few there and no info what they are running on the front.

Yea I hear ya. Its just scary when expensive things crap out hundreds of mikes from home and your at the mercy of a local dealer or supplies. A rider just paid $600 in Ohio for a rear tire installed. At three months old the tread started to separate from the tire he lived 300 mikes from where it was put on. A shock problem would ruin a weeks vacation.

LOL.

http://blog.jafrum.com/2013/07/09/livemap-the-future-of-motorcycle-helmet-design-technology/ So what do you think? Will it tie into our headset plugs? He has some good ideas.

I have three GPS on the bike. A Garmin CSX 60. For absolute waterproof. Also uses Mapsource and I find bthat to be a PITA. , a old Garmin auto GPS. nuvi. And my Note 2 of course has Google maps and GPS I use it in a waterproof bag from wal mart for cell phones and it clings to the tank by use of a neridium magnet glued to the bag with RV glue. On my last trip to the Dragon in a downpour I used all three at times, but by far the Nuvi. I made it waterproof just by putting a ice bag from the hotel over it and then clipping it in the mount. Downpour proof and readable. If it had a TFT display it would really be readable. That's where the 60 CXS came in. I like having at least two units as I can display different info on each and that keeps my hands on the bars rather than scrolling through pages for info. Speaking of which, I find the Nuvi does well at that even with gloves on and the ice bag over it. Amazing. I just put it on because I upgraded the car and what else to do with the old Garmin? Put it on two years ago expecting to to crap out on me. Ha! Anyways between the three I always had the info I needed . Google places came in handy on the phone finding hotels and gas and places to eat. And of course Radar. The Rainy Days app is too cool! Got that tip here. Anyways. I drive professionally for a living. And a GPS that you have to load up like the Mapsource type drives me nuts although you can upload info on cards now and change them out. On that last trip the route was changed several times to avoid rain and a programmed route would have been a disaster. I have the entire east coast in my CSX. But anyways just some thoughts to ponder. Always have more than one way to navigate and stop and get a free map at the welcome center. Never can beat a map. BTW my laptop has MS streets and trips and I use that to plan out trips and estimate gas stops and costs and times. Its worth every cent. Mapsource is my enemy, both at work and at play.

Just advise for all its cheap and easier to bleed the brakes every time you change the pads. If its just a bleed its real easy. If you ever change a line leave the connections cracked a bit while protecting your paint to bleed air out of the lines. Man you get air in there and its a real PITA. Brake fluid is a case where a ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Seconds the dielectric grease, carry a pill bottle of that on a trip, many needs on a repair. Lube o rings etc.

That's a common exhaust modification. Poor mans stage two exhaust. Bypasses some of the stock baffle and makes for a pleasantly slightly throatier exhaust tone from stock pipes. Sometimes rarely doing this would require making it a but richer to run right and sometimes accompanied by an air intake mod such as k&n air filters. But normally the change is so slight the bike will run fine. One step further is to get a long drill bitt and put it down the center hole and drill more baffles out. In that case a re jet would be in order. Who ever done that was messed up or drunk. Its suppose to be more evenly spaced and look like a chamber on a revolver. Anyhow that's what it is, poor mans exhaust mod.

I'll second or third the 5/8 th plan. Then load the bikes up and mark where the tires are and put a two foot square of plywood below the tires and screw it down. That way no way it will break through. The weight of the bikes combined with the down pressure from the straps and an older floor could cause any lumber to break. So either support the pressure points from below or add the plywood on top to distribute the weight. I would mount the drive up wheel locks on the front. Then just do the plywood deal on the rear tire. Go with LED boat lighting. Put shocks on if you can. Lock trailer to tow vehicle. Lock ramp up. And if you hook a speedometer cable from the trailer hub to the bike speedometer you can still get plenty of miles on the bike! That's how the Hardley riders do it.

I have a rear on the front of an 07 Roadstar that is on the dark side. I have a rear on the front and have reversed the rotation several times over 45 k mikes and no I'll effects whatsoever on a parelli MT 66 and a metziler 880. Rear on front. On the dark side forum they used to say keeps our in reverse rotation they they changed it to either way, so when I rotate it I see much more even wear, before that I got a uneven wear down the sides of the center treads. Now that is not a factor. I rotate them every oil change at about 5 to 6 k miles. Amsoil!

Well I have stock 08 now, but I also have a 07 Roadstar on the Dark side. (Car tire on the rear actually is an Austone Taxi tire). So how that relates to the question is that Darksiders run a rear tire on the front for the slightly wider profile to compliment the wider rear when running the Dark side tire. So when you mention you have a smaller front tire that crossed my mind. Running a dark side tire with a stock front tire on my Roadstar seriously affects the handling. So your on to something. And I shall note it was Avon's that made me go dark side 2 sets dry rotted on the bike in less than 3 months and they had no explanation. I mean the tires cracked in the tread and sidewalls around the rims. They were great in the rain though. But I would never buy another after the run around they gave me, and no the tires were not old. I went through three sets that summer. Go to the dark side forum on the internet even if your not dark side in the information folder there is a gigantic wealth of tire information for all in there. And I will always run a rear on the front . same size as I'm calls for just use a rear. And it can be rotated to run either direction experience tells us. I have about 45k miles doing that. On my second tire still, they last longer than a front for obvious reasons. But before you do that, a lot of understanding the dark side is advised and reading the dark side forum. They call it the dark side for a reason. Its just as freebird says in the sticky. Many Ventures do it. But anyways. Get that front tire the right size and I think you will find that was the problem. A tire less wide will cause that from what my experience has been. I put the dark side tire on with a stock front tire and was like. OK. And when the rear which was wider came and I put that on it was like WOW. Great handling!

MAN ! That's a LOT of gauges! Should of just bought a wing if you want that busy of a dash! Jk ing,

There are other ways to re set the light, but just know it can come on for some very stupid reason, , As one said, the gas cap, and mine just came on because the fuel gauge mis read one time. I have a scangauge and it allows me to read the codes and reset them and change values and all sorts of stuff, wotht the money saved me more than I paid first year. Autozone near my house still reads them for free, I think they just no longer reset them, unless they know you. Ahem.

Well sometimes old threads can bring new information. I am newbie to Venture but I swear I saw a use 91 OCT decal in the trunk. I may be wrong. I just downloaded the OM and Service Manual and I see 87. So I searched here wondering what to use. I Used to be a gasoline tanker driver. Deliver gas. So you all know. It all comes from the same place. It is mixed by the driver who picks it up using a computer panel to the customer specification. And they pretty much all order the same mix. Places like farm co ops and marinas will omit ethanol. Yeah! FYI. 87 contains more lubricity for the engine. (Piston rings and so on). 91 much less. So people will see better mileage with 87 just for that. As mentioned before 91 is used because of compression ratios and is sometimes needed to prevent ping. But if your bike will run 87 and not ping go for it. If you go to real gas.com. find a station near you that sells non ethanol gas and use some. It is most widely sold in the 91 oct . form. So you will want to add lubricity. Lucas fuel additive is my favorite and marvel mystery oil comes in second. This mix will be the best gas you ever run you can feel the difference in the seat of your pants. Use busy stations. Gas gets old fast. I always use a stabilizer when I put the bike up for more than a week. You must use the stabilizer when you fill up. Two weeks later its not going to work. And of course run the bike to get it to the carbs. For the reason above the higher octane gases are older in the tanks, everyone wants to use the cheap stuff. When I delivered gas I had same stations on my route and they would sometimes use 10 orders of 87 let's say to one order of 89 or 91. Seriously! Now. Now a days since the new tank EPA laws the stations tanks are computer monitored. So you are about never going to get water or trash from a station anymore. So its on you. Keep your tank topped off and stabilized while not riding. Find real gas and try it out. If you want a higher octane. Your best bet is to study up and use a product to boost your own octane as what you get from the pump could be anything but what you paid for. If you buy 87 and boost it you know what you have. Ethanol is a food product and it spoils. So at the end of the year last tank. Buy real gas at a marina and fill it up, stabilize and run it a bit. Change the oil and it will run great next year.

Oh real bummer to read this thread. I just bought the venture after spending over a grand in shock improvements on the Roadstar. Ended up with the adjustable 465 progressive and that wasn't even quite enough so I moved to a venture thinking it was more built for touring. Now I'm going to be fighting a rear shock again? Mine has 9500 mikes on it. Now taking predictions on when its going to go. Sad face.

You found time to install a shock AND answer all my questions too? LOL Hope you like it.

I don't think the cyclepump can be beat, but if you search it, you can come awful close for a lot cheaper. Theory is you are not going to use it. Like I said I carry a Plug kit it works just fine. I did buy the Stop and go kit. My brother used it on his car tire. And when he was, I read all about it in the directions, and they basically say go no further than to buy a new tire. Scary. Great for lawnmowers and 4 wheelers, maybe a wagon. But I just cant trust it. Nice 12 pack of fresh plugs and a compressor and you can run the tire out. I got a bad nail in a new tire, plugged it and ran it out. It was like in the corner of the tire, somewhere a Stop and go I don't think would hold. Ill sell ya mine, one plug missing. And having had a rear flat at speed, (Found out in the next turn) I just want to mention always checking your tires, especially on trips. About every chance I get I have my passenger watch the rear as I move the bike, she looks for nails and voids. Same on front. You can't kick a bike tire and see if it is flat, You must use a gauge. The casing is so strong anyways, very little air makes it look good to go. I read somewhere about a company who set up a tent at a Bike Rally and took air reading from people who just rode in and weighed the bikes too. An amazing no astounding percentage of bikes were grossly under inflated and an amazing number were exceeding the weight rating of the tire. And that made me go weigh mine two up and loaded. I was overweight on a Roadstar with the best tire available with the largest weight rating. And thats why I went to the darkside. Ride on seems like a good idea, if I wasn't running Dynabeads. This just hits home how important tires are.

Yes a shorted cell in a battery can give you same type nightmares. totally disconnect it and connect another battery and see what you have. Load test yours.

No idea your riding level, but for a lot of comfort tips. go to the Iron Butt web site and click on tech section and poke around; http://www.ironbutt.com/about/default.cfm?CFID=24978760&CFTOKEN=66295255 A key to seating is the breathability of the fabric, since it is a motorcycle its got waterproof material, try something like the sheepskin or beads to get air circulating between your Butt and the seat. thats the best improvement you can make. If you want the quickest and easiest fix the AirHawk seat works wonders, its Iron Butt Certified. Your biceps, you might need new risers or bars to get the handle grips closer to you. Also try Throttle rockers on BOTH sides of the Bars, Yes they do make a left. The idea is to ride not gripping the bars like you want to choke out your bike, relax, Use the cruise, have the grips in your hands, don't death grip the Bars. At speed the centrifugal force of the wheel spinning will keep the bike headed the right way until you apply force to the bars. With that in mind, on those roads and in that weather and visibility you would be naturally doing all the things I have told you not to. So gave it another chance. I am a very experience long distance rider, yet each year I have to snap in to be able to ride 1000 miles non stop, Take long rides around the area, then overnighters and then weekend trips, get your body used to riding. Then embark on a long week long trip. And she has to do the same. And as you will note on the iron butt site, what you eat and drink have a great impact on your ride even in the days leading up to your departure. While in the seat, you should both practice muscle tensioning to keep the blood moving through your body, and if you can take an asprin before each ride. Drink loads of water, have it available on the bike, not soda, not juice not gatorade, Water, add lemon and Pink if you need to. If you dont have a backrest, get one. Loads of info on Iron butt website. Read it and be amazed at what you may have done wrong. I have some secret roads and great places to stay in that area, if you go again hit me up for the info. I go there at least 3 times a year for 7 to 10 days each. You only saw a glimpse of it. Put the Devils Triangle on the list for next trip there. They have a web site too. Hope you get the Air Hawk, You wife will love it.

Just got my 08 So this thread just answered a lot of questions i have been wondering about, especially the Jacking thing. (Blocks) Do I really have a driving light switch? Fun and informative read. should be sticky. Now where is that SM and OM online anyways.

That sucks, You know the AMA includes towing for future reference. Hope it goes well and parts counter is open for ya. IF it happens in My Hood you can use my shop.

My insurance carrier advised me it is against the law for them to prevent you from running a DOT approved tire, he said if you run a Bike tire on a car then that would be a problem. As long as it is a DOT approved tire, nothing they can do. Besides, I have no idea how old you are, but back in the day ALL bikes had Car Like tires on them. The trend to they type tires you see on bikes now came from racing, much like Spoilers came from racing for Cars. Passenger cars realls dont need spoilers, but look how many have them now. Same thing. And dealers and tire salesmen love selling tires every 7 to 9K miles. 45K miles Darkside on a 07 Roadstar, and soon as i wear out the Metz that is new, I am going Darkside. I am going to be fearful of my death running a MC tire. And it's going to be so silly to do two trips and change out a tire. I can bang into a curve and brake it down without skidding wet or dry. With an MC tire impossible. Someone wish me luck for 7K miles. I am scared!