ahoutzer

Hey, Pilot. I don't want to get into any arguments -- I only rode an HD once, in 1983. If you want to know the power specs of the Royal Star Venture, just look at the Star Motorcycles web site for the following info: 79 cubic-inch liquid-cooled, V-four tuned to put out class-leading power — 97hp @ 6000 rpm and maximum torque at 89 ft.-lb. @ 4750 rpm — for incomparable touring performance. http://www.starmotorcycles.com/star/products/modelfeatures/4/0/features.aspx

Most wireless routers use the same frequency range as 2.4GHz wireless phones (wireless land-line phones, not cell phones). They are supposed to share nicely together, but I have seen wireless routers drop signal the moment a nearby 2.4GHz phone rings. Check the phones in your house. If you live in an apartment or condo or other close quarters with other people, it's even possible that your neighbor's phone can cause a problem, but only if their phone is very close to your wireless router.

Still $3.79 here, but at least we have gas now. Still regular only, but that's all I use, anyway.

I don't want my feet underneath me with my knees curled up all the time. That's a requirement on a Goldwing, with my 34-inch inseam. RSV lets me sit comfortably.

We have the shortage here, in northwestern South Carolina. People are sighting tanker trucks, following them until they stop and then long lines form until the station is empty again.

No storing here. Ride every day!

I have the vent and like the vent. Many years ago I had a Vetter Windjammer SS fairing with round pop-out vents. They never seemed to do anything to direct air onto me. The Goldwing vent in my ClearView can direct air right on me, so it is much more effective.

Nobody mentioned actually running the RSV and the Ultra on a Dyno, so let's talk about perception. We could also pit the two bikes against each other in a race, but that's all about ego unless you make a living racing for bets or pink slips. My real concern would be about how the bike feels. Recently, I test rode a Victory Vision. After two and a half years of riding only the RSV, the Vision felt under-powered. I liked the fact that the engine ran more slowly and quieter than the RSV at the same speed, but there didn't seem to be much pick-up there when I twisted the throttle. This may have a lot to do with the RSV-style riding that I am used to: RSV power is at higher revs, so I am used to riding that way. But I don't think so, really. I like riding at lower revs for the relaxed feel, even on the RSV. That was a long lead-in. What does the Ultra *feel like* compared to the RSV? I don't care whether a dyno test says that one has more power or torque than the other, and I'll leave racing to someone with less controlled testosterone. I just want to enjoy a bike -- to have the ride make me smile. Will the Ultra take off when you twist the throttle? Will it rumble at low RPMs and still pull away quickly without down-shifting even with 2-up and luggage? When you shut down the throttle, will the Ultra decelerate quickly and smoothly or do you need to brake more heavily to keep the Ultra from getting away from you when a sharp curve comes up? Oh, yeah: how does your fuel efficiency compare? Don't just tell us the mpg that you are getting on the Ultra, but tell us what you got on the RSV as well. We all get widely divergent fuel economy depending on our riding conditions and riding styles, so how do the two compare for you? Thanks for sharing!

Don, The ClearView is also optically very good. Whether it is perfect, I may not be able to judge, but against others such as the stock Victory Vision shield, the ClearView is great. So that puts you even with the competition on that feature. Scratch resistance is something that your product definitely has over both the Venture's stock shield and the ClearView, according to the information you are providing. So that's one up for F4Custom. About standing mostly upright like the Venture stock shield and about shedding rain: I want to know more about that. The ClearView is swept back further, which helps with shedding rain. The Venture stock shield is just plain dangerous in the rain -- especially a night rain, where oncoming headlights turn the thousands of stuck raindrops on the shield into a thousand glaring points of light. What more can you tell us about this shield's rain-shedding characteristics? You have a test with a windshield wiper and a steel wool pad to show the scratch resistance -- got any tests for rain? Also, I like the ClearView's swept-back design -- it is probably more aerodynamic, and I really like my 48mpg! Now, about fog: again, the stock shield is dangerous, and so is the ClearView. They fog over easily and when the sun hits them, you have to stand up on the floor boards, making it impossible to brake or shift and see at the same time. Does the F4Custom shield do any better? Got any test information? Thanks for participating here. Your product sounds interesting. If it really sheds rain and also fog, is changed to sweep back and has a vent then I want one.

I second what Bummer said.

You didn't say why your bike was at the dealer's for four weeks and two days -- maybe I missed it in another post. With the possibility that oil spots that you saw are just the result of a over-filled crank case, I wonder whether you have a disappointing bike or just a disappointing dealership.

The bracket is ordered, thanks for the reference. Now on to finding a post about the muffler tips... Searching... Got it. Now just waiting for all parts to arrive.

I like mine quiet, so the stock pipes are just fine for me, but I have wanted the tips that are available for RSTDs. The RSTD stock pipes appear to be identical to RSV stock pipes except that the RSTD pipes have threaded holes for bolting on these tips, and RSVs don't have those holes. I bought a set of the tips on eBay last night, and hope that I can figure out a way to mount them without damaging the original pipes. Next a new set of winter gloves. That should be it for a while.

More money to fix up our '06s with! I just bought an LED replacement tail light and a Stebel horn. Now to find that bracket that I've read about for the horn...

I'm pretty sure that the Vision has an oil cooler on it, which is at least a little better than air cooled. H-D seems to have proven that placing one really big cylinder behind another and leaving them to air and radiant cooling results in the rear cylinder over-heating. Now H-D has the ability for the rider to turn off the rear cylinder when the bike is idling or moving slowly, to cut down the heat. H-D calls this a feature. I call it a work-around for an engine that has passed its design limitations. I don't need that 'feature' on my liquid-cooled V-4. Liquid cooling does a much better job of maintaining even cooling. The Vision's oil cooler is probably not as good as liquid cooled cylinders, but it may extend the viability of the otherwise-air-and-radiant-cooled engine.

While waiting for Performance PowerSports to do my twelfth scheduled service (pre-paid when I bought the bike and I'm getting my money's worth!), one of the sales guys came over to me and asked if I would like to take a test ride. I signed a release form and was handed the key to a Victory Vision, which I took for a twenty-five mile ride. There are two immediate impressions when sitting on this bike: the seat is very comfortable and wow, it's a long ways between me and the windshield! The frame-mounted fairing leaves a lot of cockpit room. The key switch was a stretch forward. RSVs make a lot of engine and transmission noise (as opposed to exhaust sound), and that noise is bounced around in the cockpit area. I saw the Vision's non-water-cooled V-Twin and thought it would rumble like a loud Harley, but it was much quieter than I expected. This test bike was probably outfitted with the standard most-quiet exhaust system. The handle bars were a long reach. I'm 6'1", so I expect that shorter people would be uncomfortable. They are not one-piece tubular bars. I saw that they are two-piece, with each piece being bolted through. What I don't know is whether that bolt can be loosened to swing the bars back further to decrease the reach. When I rode, I also felt that the handlebars were less pull-back, more straight-out-sideways than I am used to on my RSV. This seemed less comfortable to me. Again, *if* they are adjustable then this would be easily fixed. Compared to the RSV, the engine turns slowly. I started my ride without thinking about which gear I was in. After ten miles, it occurred to me that the Vision is a 6-speed and that I probably had not shifted into 6th, so I shifted up one more. RPM dropped from a comfortable-to-me rate to a leisurely 2,000 rpm at 45mph, if I remember correctly. Anyway, it seemed that the engine was less hurried than the RSV, and I liked that. Then it turned out that there was still another gear (I had ridden my first ten miles in 4th)! Sixth gear did not feel right at 55mph. My guess is that you should be going at least 70mph before shifting to 6th gear, even to cruise, but maybe I am just used to my RSV riding habits. Again, I like the slower-turning quieter engine. I probably would not use 6th gear much because so much of my riding is on slower back roads. The bike required a little cranking to start -- not much at all, but a little. My final experiences with my previous bike (a V-twin) were the failure of that bike's electrical system. That Shadow also was prone to difficult starting in cold weather, so that I had to be careful not to run the battery dead while cranking. The RSV has always started in a half-second, even at twelve degrees F, so when the Vision took about two seconds of cranking to start each time (I stopped during my trip to look over the audio controls), it brought back bad memories for me. If the battery is powerful enough, then it may be just as reliable through the winter. I suppose it's just a V-twin thing, the starter having to push those bigger pistons around. The RSV's V-4 has just pleasingly impressed me with its eager roar to life each time I push the starter button. The electric windshield is something I really wish the RSV had, and I liked it on the Vision. It allowed me to look over the shield, which I haven't done for two and a half years now (since I bought the RSV). When the shield was raised (which can be done while riding -- good!) it cut down on wind and had me looking through it. My RSV's ClearView shield is distortion-free and I remember that the RSV's original shield was as well, but the Vision's is not. It was a little like looking through Coke-bottle glass. So points for the adjustability, but it needs a better optical quality shield. The radio seemed difficult to hear clearly, using the fairing speakers. My guess is that this had something to do with the cockpit acoustics. We have good acoustics in the RSV cockpit, and that unfortunately contributes to the amplification of the RSV chirp and other clatter. Fairing-mounted mirrors. I had a frame-mounted Windjammer SS fairing on my 1979 CX500, long ago. Back then, I found a pair of Gold Wing fairing mirrors and mounted them on the Windjammer. Those were great because they were well out in front and high up, so the rider could always see behind without even glancing to the side to check the mirrors. I expected the same from the Vision, but it was not the case. Vision's fairing is mounted low. A result is that the built-in mirrors always gave a view of my hands on the grips. Right: not my shoulders, which I see just slightly in my stock RSV mirrors, but a full view of my hands took up at least a third of the mirrors. I like a clear view behind (have been hit from behind twice, so I like to pay attention to what's going on back there), and I didn't get it with the Vision. Power was less than I expected. I know that I have to consider that my current riding habits may have much to do with this impression. We are always telling newcomers to the RSV that they need to rev up the RSV's engine to get the power and get out of old V-twin habits, so I was probably applying V-4 habits to Victory's V-twin. Still, returning to my own bike, the throttle of the RSV seems quite a bit more responsive than the Vision's. Leg room: Vision is the only bike I've been on that has more stock leg room than the RSV. Other features: There were several features on the Vision that I did not try. Heated grips and heated seat just were not appropriate in August, but may well be appreciated in January. I didn't push the bike over to test the frame feature that is supposed to stop the bike from rolling completely onto its side, but I think it's a great idea. It has a lot of lighting, but I rode in the afternoon, so the dual headlights and single spot driving lamp did not get a real test. I don't know what the fuel efficiency was either, because my test wasn't long enough. The Vision has a thermometer, gear read-out (tells you what gear you are in) and miles-remaining fuel indicator. There is a compartment left of the gas tank (which is not really a gas tank, I think) that has room for a small item such as glasses, cell phone or iPod, and the model that I rode had a power outlet in it and a plug for the iPod. I didn't have my iPod with me, so that didn't get tested either. There is cruise control, with buttons in a control pod hanging below the right handlebar. The buttons were a little less convenient than those on the RSV, because of their positioning. I didn't try the cruise either, because it was a short trip on back roads. Radio controls were easy to use and more understandable than on the RSV. I'll stick with the Royal Star Venture, and continue to wish that it made less engine/transmission noise. If I were to go for an American bike, however, I would probably consider the Vision a better choice for me than the Harley Ultra (there is no need for the "feature" of being able to shut off the rear cylinder on the Victory engine, to keep it from over-heating). You still have to come to grips with the styling of the Vision -- it is so radical that it is difficult to have a neutral feeling about it -- and the practical storage space is less than what I am used to for my daily load of my work tools, computer bag and clothing. If Victory were to de-style it some and increase practical storage, then it would be worth another look for me.

Just because someone else is being an idiot does not mean you have to match wits with them. Ride within your comfort zone and have a great time.

If you have a loose steering head, then you will probably experience a wobble at some speed -- 35 to 45mph maybe.

I don't haul my bike. My bike hauls me.

How are the tires? If they're flat on the bottom, or low on air pressure (same result -- flat on the bottom) then when you lean into a curve the bike does not have a round tire profile to roll over onto. Instead, it has to be forced off the bottom of the tire, over a corner in the rubber profile and onto the side of the tire. Is that what you are describing?

You say that you don't have any idea how fast you were going, so you really don't doubt that you were going 68 in a 55 zone. That being case, what would be your justification for fighting the ticket -- that the law only applies to other people, and not to you? If you were not trying to obey the law, and you got caught breaking the law, then pay up.

Prayed for Leatrice, for you and for your family. Peace to you, God's peace.

Ummm... Yellowstone. And Grand Teton National Park as well. We took the family to Yellowstone in 2000, with minivan and pop-up camper. We arrived June 7 to snow at the park's west entrance, so definitely bring clothes for cold weather in October. Get plenty of New Mexican food, too. Our trip was three weeks and 5,600 miles, but we took a different route: SC to Cherokee, NC; Mammoth Cave, KY; Lewis & Clark State Park, Iowa; across South Dakota to Custer State Park (lots of wild life); Devil's Tower; Yellowstone; Grand Tetons; Dinosaur bone hunting in Utah; hiking in Colorado; New Mexican food in NM; then we ran headlong home to SC.

I would never have thought of that. We don't have earmuffs down here!

I use one full time. I can take it off and put it on even with winter gauntlets on. It was more difficult at first than it is now, but it has always been doable, and it is worth it to get that glare off of the windshield.