Christo

Hart, Yeah - I love those things, I have some of those for some side lighting I am going to attach, and I like how it looks on your bike as well. Those flex light bars are very handy - but you said it, expensive! Well since I am not getting an '09 RSV like i thought I was, I guess I can buy more schtuff for the bike since I have all this cash layin round burnin a hole in my pocket! :mo money::mo money::mo money:

Close, but no cigar. This is kinda what they look like, but designed to be top mounted, angled, no blinky stuff (they are designed as running lights). These may be the route I go if I can't find what I want - the issue here is you can't mount them with a finished look on top of the trunk.

I got this off of Amazon. Berkley Digital Fish Scale. Up to 50LBS, it works perfect. Inexpensive, small, digital, I love it. $18 [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Berkley-lb-Digital-Fish-Scale/dp/B000E7UJTG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1221166988&sr=8-1]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31NJ5K92B8L._SL500_AA280_.jpg[/ame] [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Berkley-lb-Digital-Fish-Scale/dp/B000E7UJTG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1221166988&sr=8-1]FishScale[/ame]

I have the Rivco one, I got it before I saw these... :-( But I want something to mount on top.

Yeah, sorry, I thought you were just answering me. Oh yes, I have the Rivco bar under the trunk. Both as running and as stop. But I want MORE - MORE I TELL YA! I want something at eye level as well. I am also going to get that module thingy that makes the brakes flash etc. I saw someone a while back with a '99 RSV he had these perfect little lites on top of his trunk mounted back towards the rear backrest, little black rectangular lights that had the right angle of pointing back towards the bike when mounted on the trunk, maybe 1"-2" in width to 1" in height. I think the name on them was Genie? I searched the WWW and I got bupkiss.

KiteSquid, I already have the updated LED's in my tail light, Front and Back turns. I want more additional lighting, the back end is still somewhat dark and I want something in line sight view for those cagers. Also any suggestions, pictures, and part#'s on what can be used for side lighting as well?

KiteSquid - appreciate the info, I will call and e-mail them today.

I want to mount some curved upright lights that point to the back on the back of RSV trunk. The $300+ price tag for the fin is too much for what it is. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas? I have looked at custom dynamics, and several other lighting dist. and I can't find what I want.

Do they make Avons in white wall versions?

So, we went, we saw, we enjoyed, we came home. That is the simple story. ;-) The first 8 hours of the ride up there on Friday were fine and uneventful, we drove up and over through Michigan and all was good. The weather was not the greatest, no sunshine, but no rain either ... until we cross over into Canada. So as we are heading down the 403, it starts to sprinkle , no biggie we can handle some mist ... well the mist starts to get bigger and we realize it is time to change into our rain gear... first the 403 needs a shoulder other than stone - kinda hard to drive on that stuff with a bike and trailer in tow...second, why isn't there ANY little stops along the way? You have to get off on some exit that seems to be in the middle of nowhere farmland?! But the one thing my wife and I did notice is that you fine folks up in Can. have... a plethora of golf courses along the way! Turn every other one of those into a rest area will ya! ;-) Well it gets worse, so we finally pull off on some exit - remember I am just a dumb American and I aint nevah seen your type of exit before, so I realize there still is no shoulder or place to pull off so we can put our gear on , so I just pulled off to the side of the "getting back onto 403 ramp" and we get dressed. Before we take off I punch in some of the alternative routes that were given to see if we could get to NF any sooner, and since the weather was turning we were not up for a sight seeing ride, it has now become apparent according to my weather map on the iPhone that the storm that we were hoping to avoid was going to hit us anyway so now we just need to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible! So we head for the QEW bridge and stuff. We hit some traffic as predicted by those who posted responses to this thread, we sat in it for about 20 mins (in the now pouring rain), found an overpass, stopped (there were finally actual paved shoulders at this point, yippee!) stretched, dried off to a certain extent, had some fluids, gave my clutch hand a break from all the stop and go, and then we climbed back on and realized that less than 1 mile later all the traffic was getting off and it was home free for us to the bridge. We get to the bridge, we drive over - FABULOUS view BTW that was very cool, and after landing on the other side it was time to refuel, so we pull off on some side street for a gas feed. My wife went to use the potty and several Canadians approached me and struck up some very nice, humorous conversations - very personable, I was impressed, I only see this in the small towns in the USA. One of them was driving a huge flatbed 18 wheel semi, and as we were talking the weather was getting worse and of course it was dusk, Mr. Sun was setting, and I found out we were only about 40 mins from where we needed to be, and this very nice Can Man asked me where I was going, told him, and he offered to put the bike and trailer onto his truck and get is there since the weather was getting bad and he being a biker thought this would be something I could use - hind site he was right and I wish I took him up on his offer! - I politely thanked him, he even insisted, he had tie-downs, everything would be ok, but I though naw, we are almost there, a little rain never hurts, we would be fine, and I thanked him profusely for the kind offer. He wished us a safe ride and went on his way. Spoke to another Can Man on a crotch rocket, he also was going our way, but he was going to wait out the rain - so he thought... he passed us later on the QEW like we were standing still during the rain! So this is where it gets good, so we take off heading towards NF on the QEW, Garmin Zumo says we have about 35 mins and we will be there.... well that is until the rain hits harder, the roads get worse, it gets darker, and I slow down and stay in my right lane to let faster traffic go by on my left, well that was a BIG mistake, as the QEW had some construction, and the lane I thought I was in turned into an exit, and next thing I know I am in some town, and the Garmin did not give me calc warnings or nuthing, so I think I am where I am supposed to be, I am too busy worrying about the safety of my wife, trying to hold the bike up on these slippery side streets, also this is the first REAL trip with my trailer in tow, so I am over compensating for turns etc. on these wet roads. It is getting darker, and in this small town there is ALL kinds of construction, I can't see through my windshield of the bike, I wear glasses and they are filled with water, my nerves are shot, I am tired, my wife - god bless her - is trying to help me and of course I just bark at her but she remains in good spirits and puts up with my crass self. So the Garmin is sending us on this wild goose-chase and I have no idea where I am going, I just know I can't see the road, or what is ahead of me, and the rain was getting worse... finally after about 30 mins of side streets, me cussing at the rain and the STUPID ROADS... the Garmin says to turn onto the QEW - I am like WTF!? If I knew I had to get back on the QEW initially I would have done so 30 mins back! ARRGGHHH! Anyway, we get back on, follow the QEW, finally get off on the correct exit, we find our hotel, it is now 8:45 PM, we pull into the covered drop-off check-in area, the Embassy Suites people take one look at us and ask - "Are you folks ok?" - I must have been white as a ghost, wet as a drowned rat - my wife is just smilin' away because I was able to get us there - she kept thanking me. Next thing I know we have a little crowd surrounding the RSV and trailer, and we are being asked all kinds of questions - Where are you from? What is that? What year? How was it? Cool trailer what is it? How fast does your bike go? Is that an HD? I felt like I had gone back in time and no one has ever seen a motorcycle before or I was being interrogated by the press! My wife stays with the bike to answer what questions she could while I go and check-in, they upgraded us to the pres suite over looking both falls and into the "U". They gave us a special place to park, and everyone was offering to help us carry our stuff - too cute! We ordered room service, had a cocktail, relaxed, and watched a movie - my nerves were shot, I fell asleep very quickly. I can tell you this, I am 42 YO, I have been riding since I was 10 YO. This is my 8th bike, I have ridden in snow, storms, wind, rain, but I was never - NEVER as scared as I was that night. Night time riding in bad weather do not a combo make!! I will NOT be doing it again anytime soon! Saturday - I slept in, my wife knew I was burned out. It rained most of Saturday morning and when we finally got around to doing the falls, the Maid in the Mist, and some shopping, I was not in the mood to ride at all, it was late, and we had to get ready for our anniversary dinner. We got ready for dinner, ate at The Keg and we got a huge surprise when we got a window seat - as we were told that even with our reservations, it was a 2 hour wait - someone liked us! Sunday's ride home was perfect, we hit a little rain/mist outside of NY and into PA, but just inside of OH it cleared up, sun was out, temp was perfect, and the scenery was beautiful. My wife and I both agreed that we were more comfortable driving stateside than Can side - no offense. We were very impressed with the Canadians hospitality - we really enjoyed ourselves. I never did find out what a pepperette is. :-( If anyone would like to see some of the amazing pictures I was able to capture, please feel free to look here: Thanks to everyone for their generosity and extending their offers to hook up and help! This was a tight weekend, and well, my wife wanted me all to herself, so please do not take my not accepting your offers as something personal. My wife and I do not get much "alone" time between teenagers and toddlers, so when we do get a few days, we make the most of it together. I look forward to going to and through Canada again - when the weather is nicer, the days are longer, and preferably with a GROUP of Ventures!

Thanks Saddlebum!

I got Brad's and MarCarl's tel#'s in case! We leave tomorrow between 9am and 10am EST. We should hopefully arrive at our Hotel by 7-8PM Friday night is my guess at this point. On Saturday, once we do the falls thang getting all wet then doing some drying off, I will e-mail and/or call, depending on the wifey's mood for more riding, and see if we can all hook up for some eatin! Thank you everyone for being so kind and helpful, god I love this forum!

Hey this would work just fine! What is a Pepperette?

Thanks for the tip Brad! appreciated!

I wish we had more time, but this is one of those, get there, see it, then get home - being young and married with kids and owning two businesses kinda screws up the enjoy the ride thing sometimes - as far as sight seeing. The route we have planned is this one: http://tinyurl.com/5z524s

Whole reason we WERE going! Trip is canceled. http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/niagara1.jpg

I hear and have seen picts of this place in the winter when the water mist freezes, very cool. But this is a momo ride and the wife does nbot ride if the temp is below 75°! She likes it hot!

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions, invites, and input! We are now hoping that the weather cooperates! Seems every time we decide to ride, it rains. Sad thing about this trip is we get one day to ride there, one day to see the sites, and one day to return home. So we do not have much time on our hands for this trip.

The wife and I do an annual wedding anniversary ride. Last year we did Macinaw, year before that Serenity Springs, and this year is Niagara Falls. We are staying in the Embassy suites in Ontario. We are leaving from South Bend, IN. Trying to decide which is the better ride, taking the toll road stateside all the way there, or going through Canada. Does anyone have an opinion in either case - anyone have any suggestions, advice, good places to stop, etc? Thanks!

1. I heard that if you take the pads off, rub them face down on the cement or rough pavement, then put them back on - squeak go buh-bye. I have not done this myself, this was shared and several rallied in a circle of discussion at stardays08. 2. I have the tall Clearview, with vent, tinted - love it. Plenty of wind in face, if it is still too hot for ya - getting a cooling vest - best thing I have ever bought!

I have a set from a 1999 RST - Pristine Condition - what do you feel is a fair price? New they are: $307 each side.

A Buddy of mine has the Barons on his, nice full sound, won't deafen you on those long rides, and when you throttle hard, they bark perfectly. http://www.baronscustom.com/catalog/display/369/index.html I have the HD RK's, ready to move to phase 2.

I am here at StarDays, was talking with the Star people from Yamaha, they know nothing of or about the 3rd gen of Venture, but there was consensus - the VMax de-tuned is highly unlikely for the Venture, what was said between 3 the different Star Corp types here is that the 1900 V Twin might be the new motor for the Venture. The VMax has too much $$ involved in the current new design and to detune it would not be cost efficient. So something to chew on.

Anyone have any ideas on what causes these cracks? I know sticks and stones flying through the air can be a factor, but I JUST put the new ones on. Brand spankin OEM new ones - I have been on some VERY tame day rides, there is no evidence of anything that hit it - no chips, scratches, etc. It just appeared.

:doh: Now that is a COOL feature! LOL I need glasses, did not know that even existed. Thank you Sarges46! :doh: