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luvmy40

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Everything posted by luvmy40

  1. Puc, I think you nailed it. It ain't the rumble. It's the BURN! Having more than a couple scars on my arms from just such machismo, bovine excrement boyhood tests as well as the scarred chaps from my V-Twin riding days, I can attest to Cowpuc's genius insight on this matter.
  2. That should be 24836 days old Puc. You forgot about the leap years.
  3. Dan, You have my utmost respect. This scenario is straight out of the '70s bad movie script department. I fear I would have not acted with the same restraint you have shown. But, I've never been accused of being particularly intelligent. Our prayers are with you and yours.
  4. The Royale had the radio, CB and intercom system. In '84 it may have had the CLASS air suspension(on board compressor and control) too, not sure on that. Pics to be sure, would help.
  5. Draper is bit down the road from Draper valley but still of my summer time, boyhood stomping grounds. Many a lazy afternoon spent sitting on the front stoop of Joe Bryce's country store telling lies and flipping bottle caps into the parking lot. Later on in my teenage years I moved on to a beer or two while shooting pool at Smoke Joe's Place. The old man would never let us have more than 2 and never let us leave until he was sure we weren't going to ride our "motorbikes" into a tree! I haven't been back in quite a while. My favorite cousin, Tommy Tate passed recently and I just can't bring myself to go back knowing he's not there anymore. Silly, I know. His kids and grand kids are still there and I was just as close to them as him.
  6. It was Draper Valley, long before there was a golf club! Right close to Pulaski. My mom's family owned most of the mountain back then.
  7. Yeah, that was at Ft. Carson. Not sure about RECONDO. I wasn't involved with it at any rate. This was '85-'87.
  8. I'd say a call to the FBI would be warranted. If the local LEO are complicit and the state LEO are complacent, the Feds might be interested. I doubt ATF would be interested. Your state AG's office and the office of the Gov. should also receive phone calls, emails and letters along with any local investigative reporters. Though, in thinking about it, the media would probably side with the Trash.
  9. I'd stay away from NRA Carry Guard. It's not all they'd like you to think it is. More a reimbursement program, and a poorly designed one at that. I do support the NRA and have been a member for 35 years but Carry Guard and their new training club type thing galls me. I'm looking into U.S. Law Shield right now. https://www.uslawshield.com/ I haven't had time to do much digging on it but I spent some time talking to a rep this weekend. It appears to be what USCCA and the Carry Guard program want you believe they are. Good luck with everything Dan and stay safe!
  10. She's beautiful, you must admit. But, $6500?! That guy's definitely suffering form delusions of grandeur. BTW, Are those Hitachi carbs on the Voyagers?
  11. This actually just happened to me on my Maxim! She just stopped dead in the middle of the road. I pulled the seat and opened the (still original) fuse box and found the main fuse had popped free of the clips on one side. Another reason to upgrade the fuse block!
  12. I'm with cowpuc on the top heavy schtick. I don't see it. My Gen 1 handles better at low speed than any HD I've ever ridden. Heck, it's easier to handle than my Maxim and she's 220lbs lighter than the Venture.
  13. All I can say is Wow. Dan, do be careful about what you say on a public forum. Even the most ridiculous satire can be construed as intent by a vehement prosecutor. I'll be praying for your brother and you.
  14. Maybe not the most apt title for this but, here goes. Who, or maybe "What" is the better question, are we? Are we "Bikers"? Are we "Motorcycle Enthusiasts"? are we "Touring Riders"? are we Venture "Fan Boys"? or is there some other slang term to sum up our seemingly unique existence? I don't mean this to be a deep, philosophical question. It just kind of popped into my head while commenting on another thread about the "Gen 3". What defines the "Venture Rider"? I am, probably atypical of the general membership here. Then again, maybe not. I started riding at a fairly young age. My parents had nothing to do with it. A childhood friend had a 50cc Honda Elsinore and he taught me to ride it in the mountains of Virginia on my summer vacations. I saved enough allowance to buy one of my own and proceeded to tear up the local(NEOhio) trails and sand pits. I graduated to a Suzuki RM 125 in my teeny bopper years and then took a long hiatus from riding when girls and cars became more important to me. I joined the Army straight out of high school and bought my first HD in Colorado Springs from a Yamaha dealership. It was a trade in, rat bike. I had gone to test ride the new XJ700 Maxim X but the FXST, with it's poorly done chop job(10" overstock forks, double square head light and tear drop tank) called out to me for some reason. At less than Half the cost of the new XJ, the 2 year old HD went back to the barracks with me. I slowly modified it to become what I claim as the first HD Fat Boy. A wide Glide front end and a set of fat bobs tanks spread out a couple inches along with the widest rear tire I could fit with the belt drive, a rattle can black paint job and very little chrome made the "Rat Bike" statement but the locally bored and stroked 92" motor with Screaming Eagle carb, cams and drag pipes made the very vocal statement of power. She was the the epitome of American Motorcycle budget customization. I crossed this country 3 times on that bike(Well, from Colorado to Sturgis and Ohio, Ohio to Texas, Texas to Sturgis and back anyway) collecting tattoos and memories. In another thread I stated that My last trip to Sturgis was in 1990, but in retrospect, it must have been in '89 because in Aug. 1990 I was preparing to deploy to Desert Storm with the 3rd ACR out of El Paso. When I got back from the sand box, I came very close to joining a 1% club out of ignorance and being in a very dark place emotionally. Luckily, I woke up and did not go down that deadly road. I sold off everything to pay for a nasty divorce, ETSd and went home to Ohio. My dad, who had, unbeknownst to me been a Harley owner in the 50's had bought a Honda Nighthawk 450 while I was gone and was in the process of building one of those VW framed trikes. I'd never seen him on bike or heard him talk of riding. It was about then that he told me about a scar on his right bicept that had always been there. It was a badly healed tattoo removal. Evidently, My mother's family would not let her marry a "Tattooed Biker", so he cut off his Naval Anchor and sold his Pan Head. That's love! My mother was not happy with us! My Tattoos and both of us riding again, she did not like it one bit. Over the next few years I briefly owned a '79 Sportser and a home built '50s vintage pan head. Nothing grabbed me like that first HD did so I didn't keep anything for long. Then, I met the love of my life and we started our family. That took precedent over bikes and tattoos for a while. About fifteen years ago I finally had the extra cash and decided to start riding again. I bought a nearly stock(kerker header), '81 XJ750RH Seca from a the original owner and rode that bike everywhere, rain or shine and sometimes in the snow! I hadn't realized just how much I missed being in the wind. I also found out how badly out classed even my "hot rodded" Harley was by the Metric bikes. I have been in love with the XJ bikes and Yamaha since that day. Well, in all honesty I had been in love with the Seca since 1981 when I first saw one that the Local Yamaha Dealer. I couldn't afford one then so the love affair was from afar but still there! That Seca is still in my garage, though it's in pieces. Between me and my son, who inherited it upon graduating high school, we put close to 100K miles on that old girl. Many thousands of them in the Phoenix heat. She finally gave up the ghost and has been relegated to donor status. I've had a Katana and a couple Suzuki GS series bikes over the last decade and I currently own an '82 XJ750 Maxim and my '83 Venture. It's ironic that now that I actually own a bike built for comfort and touring performance, I don't have the time to to take any long road trips. I plan them. I plan several a year, but something always comes up and they never come to fruition. So, am I a "Biker", an "Enthusiast", a "Rider" or what? I think eccentric old man is closer to the truth than anything! After wading through this epic tale of my dastardly youth, thank you for your patience! Now, what's your story?
  15. VA, I get what you are saying. I actually agree, intellectually. The problem(for Yamaha) is one of emotion. You see, even if everything you said is true, and I'm not arguing it isn't, the one thing missing is the "Made in the U.S.A." sticker. That is big for the Harley, Indian, Victory folks. That is EMOTION and it, above all else drives the market in the American Cruiser category. On the other side, you have a dedicated customer base for Yamaha in the Venture crowd. But the Venture is a liquid cooled V4. End of discussion. There's that emotion again. It's a palpable force in economics. No getting around it. I guess Yamaha figured the true touring market was too small to support the investment in a Gen. 3 V4 and tried to salvage some of the Venture fans and grab some of the American Cruiser crowd with the same bike. I don't think it was the right approach, but it ain't my money so... $0.02, YMMV
  16. I feel for ya FF! I popped my left Achilles tendon several months ago pushing my Ranger after the timing belt snapped. The initial pain wasn't too bad but it dropped me like a rock and my ankle swelled up and bruised horribly. It took about 3 months before I could walk without a limp. My left heal is still numb but I have full range of motion and no pain now. I hope your surgery goes well.
  17. I was out for a ride this evening and pulled up behind a couple bikes at a stop light in North Jackson. I saw that one was an '84 gold Gen 1 Venture Royale. They turned into a restaurant parking lot just past the light, so I pulled in behind them to say "Hi". It turns out that it was one of my oldest Daughter's high school boyfriends and his dad. (Dad on the Venture) He's been a Venture rider since they came out evidently and has a line on a good supply of parts and a couple ventures of various vintages. We had a nice if brief chat about the virtues of the Gen 1 bikes and a little tech talk about my fuel economy. He pointed out a possible exhaust leak that I hadn't noticed due to a lack of comparison. I completely forgot to ask if he was a member here. So, if you are Bobby's dad and reading this, give me a shout out!
  18. I'm glad to hear Yamaha is represented at Sturgis. It doesn't surprise me, The Yamacruisers are by far the best metric cruiser out there. I am surprised to hear that they are the only metric company represented there. I thought Kawasaki and Honda had a loyal following with their Vulcan, Shadow and VTX bikes. I stopped going to Sturgis 27 years ago. My last trip up from Texas in 1990 was a fantastic ride but after seeing more trailers than riders and the fact that the whole rally had turned into an expensive R.U.B. tourist event soured it for me. The local club events are more fun though Sturgis and Daytona do draw bigger names in music. Back then I was a die hard Harley man and would have scoffed at riding a Yamaha to Sturgis. My Gen 1 Venture is 10 times the bike that my 84 FXST was. The FX was reliable but even stroked and treated to the best after market performance tricks it couldn't hold a candle to the Venture. Not to mention comfort. I am truly saddened that the new "Venture" is not and updated liquid cooled V4.
  19. Did you check the levels with clear tubing? This is the only way to make sure the float valve is working. Setting the float to a measured setting is a good start and may be all needed if you're lucky. Setting them to a measured fuel level is the right way to do it. and will show you if a float is hanging or saturated or if the fill valve is not sealing up.
  20. OP, Who rebuilt the carbs? If the answer is not "Me"(or possible one of our members here) then you can bet corners were cut. I'd question if they even bothered to set the float levels. Just my personal experience. If you want it done right, do it yourself.
  21. At this point, you should run a compression test, bench sync the carbs and check and recheck all the rubber bits and hoses for cracks and proper connection. The Harbor Freight compression tester is good enough to find any major issue and should reach all four cylinders.
  22. Always great to hear about a good dealership! My local yammer shop is stand up. Yamaha of Warren. They bend over backwards to help me keep my 30+ year old fleet on the road.
  23. Slip Streamer has been around for quite a while. They make an OEM spec replacement screen for the Gen. 1 bikes and I have their Hell Fire screen on my Maxim 750. I ran a Spit Fire screen on my Seca for years. Good quality and excellent CS from SS.
  24. Sounds good. Keep us posted. One of these days I'll actually be able to make one of these meets.
  25. OK, the batter is a 12VDC source. If you take a voltage reading at the battery terminals with the engine running, anything over 12VDC is output from the regulator/rectifier. You want to see 14VDC or something close to it. Ideally, 14VDC at any RPM but realistically, bikes need to be at 2000RPM +/- to see good charging voltage.
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