Mike G in SC

Al, as this is your thread,,,, not stealing it,,, Carol and I are going to be coming down from the BR Parkway from a few days of riding and will also stay in Kennesaw on Thursday night. Not sure if same hotel as Jerry, but same exit off I-75. Then may head home after the event (?). Mike G.

Dion, Below is a cut & paste of a cut & paste from 2009. That was on my RSTD. Will be the same for a RSV. I got lucky the other day by tapping the pump, that got me home. But it's really nice to know about setting up for Gravity Feed. Mike G in SC Like Jim said, Gravity Feed. I found my 2009 post about it(below). I ran for a week, almost 1000 miles until the dealer could get one in. Mine went at about 50k. If you get stuck, like Wizard said, you can re-route the fuel line to the carbs. in 15 minutes. Remove the seat, remove the rear tank bolt, lift the rear of the tank for access to the carb port. Pull the line off the top of the filter and re-route it to the carbs. (obviously you have to pull the line that came from the bottom of the pump to the carb.) Make sure you have a good needle nose pliers for the clamps. Oh, and a flashlight incase it happens at night. You should also open the left side cover and disconnect the electrical connection to the pump so it won't try to poop out any remaining gas. If you think you may do this for a while, buy a small cheap inline filter and a couple of inches of gas line and put it inline close to the fuel cutoff valve. You are good for lot's of miles this way. Might have issues if you let the tank get too low. Ah, and don't smoke while you are doing this! BUT,,,, now thinking about it, you could simply carry a 3' length of gas line (same size as comes off the pitcock). Maybe even put a small inline filter in it. Then, if you need to do the Gravity Feed thing you would simply run this line from the tank to the carb port. You would still have to lift the back of the tank to do it. So, then you would not have to pull the line off the filter/pump area. But do remember to open the left side cover and disconnect the pump. That is a bunch cheaper than carrying a spare pump and a lot less complicated too. I think I will head to Autozone for a few feet of gas line. Mike G in SC

If you have passing lamps installed (corectly) there is also a little on/off push button on the inside left of the fairing. (near that 12V outlet) I normally leave them on (mine are always on) but if group riding at night and your extra lights are too bright for the guy in front of you,,,, you can turn them off. PS: Hey Al W. Maybe see you in Kennesaw on Oct 19? Me and Carol and Jerry Mefford are going to the FTC drop at the Yamaha factory.

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Take in in while under warranty. You can get the Mr Gasket $45 pump but the dealer will replace the Mitzibushi $300 pump for free. My 2009 RSV (43k miles) almost left me stranded in the boonies Sunday. It acted like it simply ran out of gas. I drifted to a side road. Tried to start several times. Would fire then die. I started to set it for gravity feed but instead gave the pump a couple of good taps. It fired and ran strong. I changed my ride plans and headed back home. The next morning I turned the key 4 times before the pump cut in. So, last night I dropped it by the shop. They will check it out and most likely replace the pump. BUT it is intermittent,,, so I hope they DO replace it. I got a mountain trip coming up in a couple of weeks. But, I did stop by an AutoZone yesterday and yes they do stock the Mr.Gasket ($47) 42S pump, on the shelf. If for some reason my shop does not replace my pump, I may buy one of these and hope I don't need it (?). Mike G in SC

Simply put, that's Balls!

Saw an O'Rileys flier Sunday, $6.99.

Monster Ovals probably would sound good, maybe just a tad loud per what you say. But list for $800. I have Barons 4-2-2 on my RSTD, yeah loud. You don't want that,,, per what you say. I tried a few things on my RSV to get it just above stock. Chromewerks were way loud for me. Tried another set of Barons. Like you, just looking for some deeper sound but no headache on a day ride. I then picked up some older '95 (good shape) RK cans off this site. You will either need some mount adapters or some are using P-clamps now. And then some decent pipe clamps (ebay for $36) The whole setup was about $100. Anyhow, the RK cans are good. Noticable, but not loud. But does get past the stock pipe sound of the engine. Did a 950 mile straight thru this month and ears are fine. Mike G

Wes, If you do both, you will save on gas as you will be constantly going downhill. If it is all about lowering then, yeah, lowering the front mechanically gets 1.5" and the small tire will get another "bit". The small tire is only minor effect for lowering. The primary reason for the small tire is handling. I don't think doing both will "hurt". Mike G

My 06 RSTD had the smaller tire when I bought it used at 17k miles. I did put another on at my first front change. But I had some higher speed handling issues and decided to go to the larger stock size. I prefer the stout stock tire. But if you are going to spend time wishing you had tried the small tire,,,,, then do so. It's not going to produce results that you will HATE. Both my Royals are lowered, both have the stock size. Just put on a E3 on my RSV last week. Good tire.

Jack, that's a desk! Now I understand the discomfort. Sorry, had to. Hope you do see the shuttle today. I watched a couple take off when they had rockets under ithem. Mike G

Jack, got some photos of mine before I sold it. One piece. The "wings" of the front rider area are what will make shorter inseam not fit. I got 29-30" inseam and could not "walk" the bike while sitting on it. So, they are custom for height & weight. Mike G PS: George not stealing thread, just had a RSV question.

Jack, Being in your side of the country, you might look into Russel Day Long Saddles (North CA). I bought one used off the STAR Touring forum for my RSV but then found the PO was 6'4",,, I'm not. They are very custom made for the rider. I sold it to a guy 6'5" and he is loves it. It's a one piece for rider & passenger, almost looks like you stole it off a a Wing. Nice looking. They build it for you, about $900 new. I bought and sold this one for $300. Mike G in SC

My 2006 RSTD had an Ultimate set since I bought it in 2007. You know, I just never give a thought to doing a 400-500 mile day. I now have over 90k miles on it. Mike G in SC

AKR, The link went to what looks like my virus: you have been infected with one of the FakeHDD\Defragmenter rogues that hide your files and Start Menu. But, did not get a fake "click here" screen. I have been using the combo of Webroot and Advance Windows Care, but will look into the Malwarebytes product. My son, who has learned alot in the last few years, is bringing the box home today with new drive, restored W7 and was able to find most files and restore my mail. He suggested the new drive so I could still look on the old one if something is still missing. So with that, what "on-line" backup product are people using, Carbonite, Mosy,,? Want to do, say 3 PC's (which, unless you piggyback may leave out Carbonite). And thanks all. Mike G.

Hey Joe, Webroot is a major paid AV product. I previously used Norton then Kasapersky. Don't know if they would have done better. (Webroot is "live" or "cloud". Has good reviews. Been using it on 3 machines since May. Retails for $60 at Best Buy.) So, if no one's heard of this virus,, heads up and back up. Thanks, Mike G. link for Webroot: http://www.webroot.com/En_US/sites/bbi/sem-wsa-3prod-comp1/?esvcid=S1348065573_ADOGOE_AGI1548_CRE16529888240_TID18342_RFDd3d3Lmdvb2dsZS5jb20%3d&RC=4929&sc=701F0000000dDP2&utm_term=webroot&id=1&gclid=COTul83vwbICFQGDnQodZhIA6w

My PC was fine and dandy on Thursday PM. I go on Friday AM and my desktop only had the wallpaper and one icon, the recycle bin. START, PROGRAMS,,,, none found. Windows Explorer,, no user files, programs unuseable. Cutting to the chase, the files are there but Icons and program listings are gone. Files (pictures, documents and such) are found, but not in folders. I do have a newer AV program in use, WebRoot (Essentials, a cloud AV product. been ok for months). So, my son, who is more current on PC installs, is working on restore. Said it's pretty nasty. There are several IT pro's here. Do you know what virus took me down? I have googled for info, found some info, but no one says what the virus is. Anyone know this one,,, and how to avoid it. Thanks, Mike G.

I would suggest a 2 Gen (VENTURE) owner snuck in on you with a little 10W30. I've been known to do that to my Harley "friends". Mike G.

If (or when) I should trike,,, 10 years I hope,,,, it would probably be like that. Enjoy! Travel! Work on that Bucket List.

Hollywood couldn't pull that off (without CG). Thanks, Mike G in SC

I've used Venoms for several years. Always enjoyed the ride. I did have one replaced by the MFG due to a pinhole leak near the bead (a front at half life). My front just got shot this week at 22k after riding 900 miles of MO/AR curves. BUT see post http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?threadid=73269 They may be dropping our stock size. My dealer can't get them now (sold me several previous) and Bike Bandit says the 150/80-16 is on closeout. (but the Avon site and some dealers still look like business as normal?) So, I am going with the E3 front, to get installed in the morning.

I bought a Strat from a FL seller. Picked it up and paid cash. He had title in hand. Bill of sale and had it registered in SC in two days. I bought my Venture from a finance company, the PO in AL. The finance company took their time on the title and then sent it to the PO. Ended up being well over the SC 45 days. The PO, a good friend, mailed me a fresh bill of sale (more current date) and the signed title. THEN I had no problem in SC.

Like most, I was at work. Heard about it then set up a TV in the cafeteria about the time the first building dropped. We all knew the world changed that day. I imagine, similar for our folks on 12/7/41. My neice and her husband were in NYC and had purchased tickets to the WTC observation tower the day before for 9/11 morning. Fortunately,,, she was primping and they were running late. She posted the tickets on her FB yesterday. Yep, was not their time. Her husband has never complained about how long it takes to put on makeup again. Mike G

Dion, I thought about doing that, but I've got a good relationship with my dealer and been thinking about the E3 anyhow. They also discount install on tires they sell. I do have the Michelin Commander 2 on the rear of my Venture and RSTD. When the RSTD front gets worn, might try the samller Commander 2 on it. (but for mostly 2-up lowereed Venture, want to stay with the stock size.)

Yamaha has recently told STAR Touring that they will come out with a new Venture. I don't remember the date but I think it is susposed to disappear for 2014 and be reintroduced in 2015. Beyond that is conjecture but the educated guess is that it will be a 1700 V4 (yep, detuned from the V-MAX). So, they have finally run out of cassettes. I already had a Strat, it had power and was good in the mountains. Other than that, didn't care for it much. I dumped it and got a Venture. (and still kept my RSTD) Oh, as for the entertainment system,,,, that's the steering, throttle and brake. I never turn on the music. Mike G.