Kretz

Practice , practice, practice. When I first rode my Kawasaki Vulcan 900LT I thought it was heavy. After I got my 2009 I thought that too was heavy. After a few months with both & lots of "parking lot" practice I became more proficient at handling both. I was taught to stop with only one foot on the ground the other riding your back brake. I hardly ever put both feet down. Here on the Motorcycle road test if you put both feet on the ground when you stop you have failed your test. You must (they say) be "in complete control" of the bike at all times. If you wobble or duck paddle, again you have failed your test. My RSTD which I recently sold as it wasn't getting used was/ is a heavy bike but even with my wife on back I found it easy enough to handle with practice It's all down to technique & practice. I kept the Vulcan & now find that so "light" (but it's still a 650lb bike) & easy to ride in comparison to the RSTD. It's all relative. Chrck tire pressures regularly & get out there!

Funny, my experience with insurance is that you pay premiums regularly (weekly, monthly or yearly) until it comes time to make a claim. Then the insurance company will wriggle, twist & squirm in an attempt to avoid accepting any liability & paying out anything! Call me cynical.

& I see they are wearing ALL the proper safety gear! At least he doesn't have flip-flops on!

I never knew Bob apart from on this forum but he appears to have been well loved & respected by other members who knew him personally. May he rest in peace now his trials on this earth are done. Remember him as he was & be thankful for his time here. My sincere condolences to his family.

Oh! Don that stinks! Hope the tests can find something that's causing the problem. Crap happens as we age & as has been said some of us "older coots" have had similar problems. BP is definitely a major suspect but as Puc said ear problems are so often overlooked. These problems often cause further "stress" which just goes to exacerbate the initial complaint. I used to suffer from quite serious panic attacks, resulting in dizziness & shortness of breath (at times it could be like I was drunk!) all brought on by stress. Lot of guys on here are rooting for you, very best of luck with a diagnosis. Take care!

Your Grandkids are VERY lucky to have a pops like you Puc. I'm sure they appreciate all you Mr. Fixit skills! Good work! I think you could have made it through that water but I take your point, you were there, & I wasn't. Quite incredible to see that! Especially fish on the roadside! You do have some adventures!

:buttkick:Hope you did a full safety check to see it was clear & unloaded before looking down that barrel! or maybe cooked a few steaks on it.

Wow! Just Wow! Absolutely beautiful. Thanks for posting.

I thought the same... it's a 50 cal. uses lead ball & patch ammunition but will also take sabots as I understand it. Like I said hope the one I do can look as good as the one in the video.

Just ordered myself one of these: On sale at Cabela's. It's a Traditions Kentucky Long Rifle kit. The kit does gets a few mixed reviews but I think all the negative ones are from people who maybe expected just to assemble it straight from the box. As I understand it, it takes a bit of skill & there are a few fit & finish items that really need some care & tweaking. It's not just a "bolt together" bag of bits I've always fancied trying black powder, & it should be a nice little project now that the nights are drawing in. Just hope my woodworking skills are up to it! If mine turns out as nice as the one in the video I'll be well pleased! Superb job! I'll have to start looking for a raccoon hat! LOL

Nice Blog Graham! I read quite a lot of it, Stockton must have changed quite a bit as regards motorcycling from when I lived there. Back then it was mostly sport bikes that were most popular. Heck some weekends you couldn't move on that Stokesly/ Helmsley road & then all those restrictions were put on it. I assume they are still in force? For those that don't know that road is a gorgeous country road full of twists, turns, dips & rises but it became so popular (& sadly notorious for accidents) that speed limits were reduced, huge warning signs were erected & speed cameras were installed along its length, policing became overbearing. It often wasn't possible to drive through the local villages without seeing a hapless bike rider "pulled over" by the LEO's. (or "Plod" as they are "affectionately" known in the UK) Enjoy your bikes Graham, sounds as though you do!

It looks in superb condition for 110,000 miles! Congratulations hope you have lots of fun with it, & are able to put on another 110k miles!

I had this some weeks ago on my internet browser's home page. It appears to be some sort of "privacy" or "anti spam" type thing from Google. If you hover over it it says Protected by reCAPCHA, like when logging in to some websites, you sometimes have to click on specific pictures or parts of pictures to prove you're not a robot spammer. Maybe it's something Don added in to help with the spam problems he's been having recently.

Thanks for the suggestions, agree yes it does appear to be a fuse problem, we did check them with a meter. But will also check the fuse box & ignition switch. Thanks again!

So today I got a call from a friend who had ridden to a local supermarket just as she arrived the bike cut out & that was it. Kaput! It's an early 2000 V Star 650 We went over later checked main & secondary fuses, tried to check for shorts, battery is in good condition, kill switch wasn't "off". etc The one thing that does work is the headlight comes on when the ignition is turned on, unfortunately we were unable to access the wiring/connections on the back of the ignition switch due to a stubborn panel that wouldn't release. Nothing else works no LCD display on the speedometer, bike wont turn over, turn signals rear light don't work etc nada. So sadly after an hour or more of head scratching we had to give in & call the tow truck. Bike has been ferried home to awaiting tank removal & further investigation. The problem is electrical, not fuel, Just seems weird that it was running one minute & completely dead the next. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Some answers here: https://www.google.ca/search?rlz=1C2CHFX_enCA434CA456&ei=KlA2XcfINKiBk-4Pgvi9wAM&q=vacuum+petcock&oq=vacuum+petcock&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0i67j0l9.2460.3793..6590...0.0..0.130.605.8j1......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j0i22i30.VaOKpcN032g

Came across this if anyone is interested, I'm not connected in any way, just thought someone may like it. Sure looks nice but pics can be deceptive. https://www.kijiji.ca/v-sport-touring/kamloops/1984-yamaha-venture-royale-with-collector-plates/1444949141?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true Cdn $4500 is around US $3400.

That looks a lot nicer than your average "project" bike! Get it done Graham!

My Sincere Condolences Jeff to you & your family. Thankfully your Dad passed with his loving family around him, may he now Rest in Peace. Grieving will take time but I know from experience that things do get easier.

Puc you're a star! You really are! But you weren't shootin' guns in Commiefornia I hope..... isn't that some kind of capital crime in those parts? LOL Keep the faith & keep on truckin' brother!

Us too Puc, us too! But up here in many places, it's being ruined by minority groups who campaign & agitate to have history erased, or rewritten. Statues of former prominent leaders & innovators removed because they wouldn't "fit in" with today's liberal thinking! Roads & streets renamed because they are named after someone who now would be considered "right wing". People just don't seem to realise that times were different back then & but want to apply today's snowflake standards. So sad to see it happening.

Pretty sure they are proof marks &/ or model #'s. I'm certainly no expert but I believe they used different proof houses at various times during production.

Pleased you're still out there having some fun Puc. Love & all the very best to your Mom for a speedy recovery!

The Government love it too! Don't know how it works in the US, but here in BC (& I think it's the same in the rest of Canada) every time a bike (or any vehicle) is sold the Gov't collect full taxes on it again. So in BC that's 12% (7% Provincial +5% Federal). So not only do they claim taxes when the vehicle is sold new they collect taxes every time that vehicle is sold afterwards! So a new bike that costs say $15k attracts $1800 tax when new, if it sells after two years for say, $11k that's another $1320 & so on every time that vehicle changes hands during its lifespan! The tax is paid by the new owner & it also applies to private sales, the tax is collected when the new owner goes to register & insure his new (to him) bike.

'Scuse my ignorance what the h3LL is a pumpkin? (apart from those big orange things you make lanterns & pies out of!)