luvmy40

I busted a spring on the driver's side front strut of my F150 last week. Gotta luv Ohio pot holes! Now the front end of this truck has always been quite a bit lower than rear and I thought it looked kind of silly. I did a little couch surfing and discovered there is a thriving industry in supplying "Leveling Kits" for the F series trucks. I wasn't about to tear the front end apart just to add the leveling blocks, but since the struts had to be replaced anyway, I decided to add the 1-1/2" leveling kit in the process. I went with AutoZone's LS, OEM spec loaded struts and ordered the leveling pucks from Amazon. Me and a buddy from work did the install yesterday afternoon. I'm glad I had help! That was quite the little job. Here's the ironic part; After the new parts and modification, the rear end is exactly 1-1/2" lower than the front. Rear end lift kit? I sure do not want to tear that front end apart again!

There is no doubt things have changed since I left. I started there 21 years ago with little experience in their specialty, which is precision temperature, humidity, CO2 and lighting controlled environments. It quickly became a passion for me. I was crushed when I was told a system that I helped develop was being phased out for a different manufacturers product. Now I get a chance to be a part of the new system. It really means a lot to me that they thought I could be of help. I know there will be a vast learning curve after my long hiatus, but I am optimistic as the passion is still there and I am far from an "old dog" yet.

So, I'll be starting a new job in 2 weeks. About 17 years ago I quit a job I loved. I had many hats with this company. I was a field coordinator. I was a service technician. I was an installation manager. I was a design engineer. I was a salesman. I was an R&D consultant. I also spent nearly 300 days of the year on the road. My kids were very young then and I was missing out on all the things that make being a parent wonderful, so I quit the best job I ever had. I never regretted that decision. Yesterday the president of that company called me and asked me to consider coming back and taking up the reigns in my old position again. I thought about it for about 2 seconds before responding with a "Hell Yes!" AutoZone has been good to me. I have truly enjoyed working there. It was never supposed to be a career, just a pastime and a way to get out of my shop for a few days a week. When the bottom dropped out of the Holster business, AZ was good enough to let me go full time, but it is definitely not a career position for me. So I gave them my two weeks notice today and will embark on a "new" career path in two weeks. Hopefully I will still be able to make the MD get together at Don's place this season!

So, I mentioned that the one issue with this cover was the tailgate hitting on the rear spar, right? Well, I called Tonno Pro to ask if they had any install tips to fix this and they asked me to email some pictures and a description of the issue. I did and they replied about 24 hours later that they were sending me new cover. That was yesterday. The cover arrived via FedEx today and fits perfectly. No interference from the tailgate at all, but still a tight seal. Now, that's what I call Customer Service! BTW, The original cover stood up to our recent blizzard spectacularly. Nearly a foot of cold wet white stuff and no damage. Money well spent and I would not hesitate to recommend the Tonno Pro covers to anyone.

There is one valid reason to get rid of the original air box on any factory motorcycle; Cosmetic, a custom look. It seems to me to be obvious. Evidently it's not obvious to everybody as I see so many vintage bikes with aftermarket pods. I also hear many riders of these bikes complaining about the performance of their modified bikes. I'm sure there are ways to make pods work fairly well in one area or another, i.e. smooth at mid throttle or strong at WOT. It's hard for me to see any way to make them work well across the full range of throttle. I did see a beautifully fabricated WWII style bobber made from a Yamaha XJ frame and engine that used a custom intake manifold and a single pod. The owner claimed he gets similar performance to the original system and it looks great.

I've been toying with the idea of going to small on demand water heaters rather one central heater. It'll be a while before I do anything as I just replaced my NG tank heater a couple years ago. 25 odd years ago, while living on the economy in Germany, I noticed most of the apartments and homes there used small tank heaters in multiple locations, say one for the kitchen and one in the bathroom rather than a larger central tank. I think most of them were electric but I could be wrong about that. I have seen on demand shower heaters but have not really looked into them. The heater is part of the shower head and the supply is cold water only. The concept is sound. Set a temperature on the heater and turn the water on. It would come up to temperature quickly and maintain that temp regardless of flow rate. Whether they work in practice or not I could not say.

Gen 1 XVZs run part #11-1112 Progressive fork springs Gen 2 XVZs run part #11-1144 Progressive fork springs I've been told by an older Yamaha Tech and Venture guru to add more oil than spec dictates when converting to progressives and to forget about the air. He gave me a specific measurement in milliliters to add but I don't remember the exact number.

I'm sure everyone is aware by now that I work for AutoZone. If not, there is my statement of disclosure. This turned out to be a bit more long winded than I intended. There is a PSA at the end(I promise) if you want to skip ahead a bit I just changed out the factory radio(AM/FM base model) for a cheap, DUAL brand touch screen, bluetooth, AM/FM digital media head unit in my '07 F-150. It was a fairly simple job and I expect anyone with any DIY experience at all would have no problem with the job. I was able to do the job for about $110.00 with my employee discount and I am sure I could have done it a bit cheaper if I had shopped around on Amazon and waited for shipping. Along with the new "stereo", a dash trim kit, wiring harness adapter and an antenna connector adapter was needed. I had two snafu situation that were both entirely my fault. First, when I started to wire up the harness adapter, I discovered that my supply of 1/8" shrink tube was completely depleted. This should have been an indicator that I should take stock of everything before I moved on. I ain't that smart. After a run to AZ to restock my soldering supplies, I got the wire harness adapter put together and moved on to install the dash trim kit and install the new head unit. That's when I discovered the need for the antenna adapter. Here's where the PSA comes in. I called my store to see if we had the adapter in stock and was informed by an associate that it was listed as NYA(Not Yet Available) for my vehicle. I then went to the AZ retail website and ran a parts search for all the stereo install parts for my truck. No antenna adapters were found. I then did a google search for "2007 ford f150 stereo antenna adapter" and found the second search result was a link to AZ's web site. Following the link took me to a product page for an adapter listed for '03-'14 Chryslers but the fitment bar insisted that it fit my vehicle. My store had this part number in stock, so I went to see if it would actually fit. It did. The package stated that it was for '03-'14 Chrysler, GM and Ford. The point is, don't trust the software or the web site at whatever parts store you frequent if they say the part you are looking for is not available. Do some research and find a part number. More often than not, your local parts store can cross reference another source's numbers and you may even find the part on the shelf when the retailer's system indicates they do not have it when using an application search rather than a part number look-up.

bikerjohn, I doubt Youngstown, Ohio will be on your route, but you are welcome to the sleeper sofa for a night or two if you need it. I have had very good luck with Air B&B as far as finding last minute lodging at very affordable prices. Regards, Rich

You'd be surprised at how many trap or clays shooters have never even patterned their expensive Ceasar Guerini or Benneli. I regularly out shoot some very nice, high end trap guns with a mid level Browning BT-99.

What is this "Retirement" of which you speak?

If there is any way to avoid Chicago and Detroit, take that route.

Just like every other tool, I've got 3 or 4 of them. I might be able to find one when I need it.

All Balls probably has a bearing kit. Even if they don't, I'd recommend their parts. ETA: Her ya' go! https://www.allballsracing.com/22-1004.html

I just finished "installing" a tanneau cover on my '07 F150. The Tonno Pro model 42-308, soft tri-fold cover. https://www.tonnopro.com/catalog/0408-ford-f150-tonnofold-tonneau-cover-p-2465.html I put installing in quotes because it was stupid easy and QUICK. It looks very nice and was easy on the budget, $222.00 OTD with my AZ employee discount. I found several good reviews including a six month update. There was only one "bad" review that I could find and that was a guy complaining that the "Free Stuff"(LED bed light, vinyl cleaning spay and gloves) was Chinese junk. I do have a feeling I am going to have to be vigilant in cleaning the snow off of it as our Ohio white stuff can be pretty wet and heavy. I think I'd have that issue with any soft cover regardless of the price point. There are some obvious quality differences when compared to a buddy's Mopar branded soft cover from the dealership. His is on a short bed and has more cross spars than mine on an 8' bed. His is much more rigid and has a distinct bow to the spars. Mine is very flat. Mine is fairly sturdy when installed but his is noticeably more so. His also cost nearly $600.00 My one complaint, and it is minor at this price point, is that I have to lift the rear spar manually about 1/4" to close the tail gate. I think that may be due more to the after market hard bed liner and rail covers than any flaw in the tanneau cover. Anybody else here have an experience with Tonno Pro?

Meh, LPG is low pressure and to the best of my knowledge, there is no inspection/pressure test requirement on the tanks. There is a requirement for portable tanks to have tip valves. That is the reason you cant get the older tanks refilled. OP, Id check with your local RV/camper sales/service center for the needed valve.

I plan to be. Hopefully Kris, my wife can make it as well.

I am extremely lucky to have an excellent Yamaha dealership near by. They take time to help me locate parts from local sources when I can't find them anywhere else. They trade shims for my XJ and XVZ bikes free of charge and have even fronted me several on one occasion. My only complaint with them is that their EGA system is broken and they do not plan to repair it. I asked if they'd sell it to me but they said they could not.

In my experience, there is no contest between the Gen1 Ventures and any Gold Wing of similar vintage, in any category. It is possible, though not certain there might be newer GL models that are more comfortable than Gen1 XVZs. It might be argued that there are more technological gadgets available on newer GLs(or Gen2 Ventures for that matter), but none of them are even close in over all performance, comfort and styling. There is a German word, "gestalt" that defines this beautifully. Gestalt, when the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

Take this for what it is, an opinion based on past experience. This is not from experience with die cast cars but with the Franklin Mint in general. The Franklin Mint is known for saturating the market with their "Collections". Some which are actually pretty good quality. The problem is they charge a premium initially and then after a few months(or years) flood the market with discounted sales. Thus, rendering the "Collection" valueless. This is not to say your brother's collection has no value, it's just doubtful it will realize any gain in value from it's initial cost. I'm quite sure there are very desirable collectible die cast models out there, quite possibly some in your brother's collection. They're probably not going to be any of the Franklin Mint pieces. I'd contact a local auction house and ask if they have a go to toy or die cast collectible expert on call for evaluation.

Yamaha still makes some of the best musical instruments available today. I played a Yamaha Silver Burdett B-flat Cornet in High School Band. They also were(are?) the largest manufacture of high end pianos in the wold.

Nice work! I wonder how many of our members know the significance/meaning of the Yamaha logo?

If the XVZ engine got hot enough to do that kind of damage, I'd bet it would not be in running condition any longer. I have an '81 Yamaha Seca 750(air cooled inline 4 that runs lean) that was tortured with a 160mi. daily commute in the Phoenix heat for two seasons and the rocker box gasket(same setup for the most part) did not look damaged at all.

s.tyler58, I got the springs from Amazon a week or so ago. They are the correct springs for The Beast. If this had fallen though the cracks, my next call would have been to you.

Definitely a carburetor related issue. As in, there ain't no carbs...