BlueSky

It looked like a couple of those accidents were caused by sand on the road because the bikes shouldn't have lost grip. Then they could have running Cheng Shin tires!

You could use a thicker viscosity fork oil. This will slow down the action of the shock absorption of the front forks. And Progressive or another vendor may offer some stiffer springs.

For the rear tire, spray it with some water that has a little dish soap in it and look for bubbles. With the bike on the centerstand, slowly spin the tire while you spray and inspect it. Don't forget to spray the fill valve. And I agree that if the fork tube has drained completely, just fill with the specified amount. The stroking is to get the air bubbles out of the oil but that seems to me will happen when you start riding the bike. Getting the air bubbles out is needed if you depend on measuring the level.

It doesn't have to 90 degrees. No air flow equals overheating. It's as simple as that. Whether is overheats to the point damage is done is anyone's guess but it will heat up the oil. There is a 2009 Los Angeles county review of potential police bikes on the internet that I read. A couple of air cooled Harleys and an air/oil cooled BMW Boxer were included in the comparison. They did a thorough review and one of the things they tested was oil temperature. They did not state what the oil tempertures were for the bikes but they did list the manufacturers maximum allowed oil temperature. For the Harleys, the manufacturer's maximum allowed oil temperature was 410 degrees F. For the air/oil cooled BMW Boxer it was about 300 degrees F as I remember. For the water cooled bikes tested the maximum allowed oil temperature was about 260 degrees F. So, evidently Harley considers oil temperatures of 410 degrees F are acceptable.

If the oil cooler had a fan, it probably would stay cool in stop and go traffic. But without it , it has to heat up the oil to higher temperatures than would be seen with water cooling and a fan. Longevity has to be affected but lots of air cooled motorcycles have run over 100k miles reliably. I would think it depends on how much time it spends in stop and go traffic. When I get stuck in traffic on my air cooled Kawasaki, I turn the engine off at the stop lights just in case. It starts immediately so this is not a problem.

Man, that is crazy! Riding a 1983 Venture with stickers all over it and get a ticket for impersonating a police officer. What a hardazz he was/is. That one would be a good one to take to court if you had the time and money to hire an attorney. I can't believe a judge would find you guilty on that one if you showed him/her a photo of you and Tippy on the bike.

Puc has a great point. Always check the VIN # to make sure it agrees with the title. I used to work with a guy who found out when he tried to sell his house when the job ended that he owned the house next door and the neighbor next door owned his. Had to pay an attorney a few bucks to get it straigtened out. The Lady next door was happy to let him pay for the attorney and she cooperated.

I agree with Freebird. You stole that rig! The bike looks like it will clean up really well.

Yeah, I loved that show, "Then Came Bronson". It was too deep and not enough action for it to last more than one season though. A couple years ago, I ordered the DVD of the two hour premier but had to return it because it was defective in the middle of the show. Michael Parks, the star of the show passed away a year or so back. Hope you will be riding and grinning real soon!

I like them. One reason is besides water cooling, that they have a disc brake in the rear when other brands that size have drum brakes. And if I remember correctly, it vibrates less than the comparable Yamaha.

The batteries in these bikes are only 20 amp so they are not that big or strong. Trying to turn the engine with another battery before buying is a good idea I think. I would be surprised if it is locked up. You could get more than $500 for the parts if you decide not to fix it up. It will be a lot of work to get everything up to snuff but I'm sure you know that. But, there is a wealth of knowledge and help on this site.

One other reason is that the raw river water the county is using has all kinds of chemicals in it that are not removed by their treatment system so we just installed a whole house carbon filtration system to take out some of it. And the water heater is probably full of chemicals. And the size heater that fits in my little closet is out of stock and my wife had a 10% off coupon to help buy one. If it failed when one wasn't available, we'd probably have to call a plumber and pay twice as much to get it replaced. This way I'll replace it for about half price. We can always rationalize spending out money can't we? If this new one lasts 25 yrs, I'll be 99 yrs old if I'm still above ground.

Just finished replacing my Kawasaki ZN700's fork seals for the 3rd time in 9 yrs of ownership. And it sat too long without running while I was dealing with health issues, shingles in particular, and the carbs were partially plugged. The idle circuit on carb #1 was plugged. I put a bottle of Gumout for high mileage engines with PEA in the gas tank and after running it a few times over a few days the carbs cleaned up. So, I'm back in business. Taking it to get it inspected today and then new license plate sticker and I'll be riding it again.

Ordered a new electric water heater last night. Mine is 25 yrs old and has never given me any problems. Just decided to replace it before it fails.

The economy is picking up with more demand for fuel. I sort of suspect it may also be caused by the fact that a couple years ago, congress changed the law and now allows oil companies in the USA to export crude oil which they couldn't do before. They could only export refined oil products.

One thing I vaguely remember from basic training is to dig a little trench around the high side of the tent so water will run around it rather than through it.

The 2008 is an air/oil cooled boxer. I was thinking it should weigh 550 lbs. with all the luggage. But that is 235 lbs less that a Gen I Venture.

The timing does advance when the engine is revved. You could confirm that it is indeed advancing. But the bike would be low on hp if that was the case. Timing check is briefly mentioned in this maintenance video.

Here ya go! https://wilmington.craigslist.org/mcy/d/bmw-r1200rt/6570079177.html According to this link it only weighs 450 lbs. https://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/bmw_r_1200_rt_2008.php

Or modify the shed to allow you to drive it out? If you really want to sell your Venture, a member might buy your bike. They will know they would be getting one they could immediately ride. I went to Best Buy this morning and a sparkling BMW K1200LT was sitting out front. That is a beautiful bike and not as large as I thought. It's at least as heavy as the venture though.

During the winter, you may be lacking vitamin D. Not enough vitamin D will affect your energy level. Energy loss though apparently comes with age. Dang it!

It has been over 2 months now and although my left knee is very slowly recovering, there is still some numbness and weakness in the joint. I am able to do 12 squats though with my right knee doing a little more than half the work. (Was doing 50 squats) Saturday before last, I drank 3 beers. The following Monday, I felt really bad with chills, fever, and aching all over. I felt just like I did right after I got shingles so I believe it was the shingles causing this. It took 4 days to recover. And that caused some sort of uti. So, I went back on Valtrex for the shingles and cipro for the uti. Seems it's going to take another month or two for my knee to recover completely. I'm glad this didn't happen when I was working because I would have missed a lot of work. Just letting you guys and gals know what you might be in for if you get shingles.

Dang! I thought only those tiny chinese girls could do stuff like that!

I haven't tried seafoam yet. I use Gumout for high mileage engines that has PEA in it. It works well.

Carbs will plug up if they sit too long with alcohol free gas too. I live on the east coast and alcohol free gas is available here mainly because of the boats I think. I never put ethanol gas in my bikes and the carbs still plug up. So, I suggest just keeping some additives in the fuel occasionally if you are not riding the bike regularly, or draining the carbs when parking the bike for an extended time.