Freebird

I always struggle with this decision when the family specifically requests that flowers not be sent. That was the case in this instance. They requested that people make a donation to a local church of their choice. I'm always torn between sending flowers anyway, against their specific request, or just doing as they ask. For that reason only, flowers were not sent this time.

No, I have never used one but will see how it feels. Don't know that I will like it but wasn't going to turn it down.

Well, I completed the trade today. Installed a used stairlift and we finalized the deal on the Kimber. He also had a brand new Savage .223 rifle with a nice Nikon scope that he offered to trade along with the Kimber. It had been shot just enough to sight in the scope and looked brand new. Walnut stock, looked to be a parkerized black barrel, very nice gun. I just really didn't need it so declined on that one. I already have a Ruger Mini 14 in .223. Anyway, he bought the Kimber brand new. It is an Ultra Crimson Carry II. It has had about 1/2 box of ammo shot through it. He bought it, 5 boxes of ammo, and a nice Bianchi leather inside wasteband holster. It was his only .45 so he gave me the 4 1/2 boxes of ammo that he had left plus the holster and the original plastic case. He also included the extra magazine that he had bought. Very nice gun. First one I've owned with the laser sights and I'm sure I will try it out this weekend.

I just finished adding Kevin Smith to our "Memorials" page. http://www.venturerider.org/MEM/index.php It has been weighing heavily on me that the passing of our friend and member Kevin, aka revks, was a bit overshadowed by the loss of our friend Yammer Dan. I want to apologize to anybody who may have had similar feelings about this matter. Yammer Dan was always front and center here, attended many of our events, and was very well known among the members. Kevin, on the other hand, visited the site often, was better known by some of our members in other parts of the country, and just sort of quietly went about his business. I didn't know Kevin very well at all but from all reports, he was just a wonderful person. Having spent much of his life as a mechanic, Kevin later attended St. Paul School of Theology and was a pastor at United Methodist Church. In today's society, it is not always easily quietly going about doing the Lord's work. Many of you have heard the story of Yammer Dan showing up at MD with his tent but forgetting to bring his tent poles. He got a lot of ribbing about that. So this year, a set of tent poles was put up with Dan's picture attached in remembrance of our friend. Dan was often present at my MD so it is understandable that he was on the minds of many here but that does not excuse me for not honoring the memory of Kevin at the same time. I feel bad about it but I can't go back and change the past. All I can do is say that I am sorry if anybody was offended or hurt by my oversight and promise that I will try to do better in the future. In the meantime, let me just say that losing any member from our ranks is a sad day for the VentureRider family and Kevin, you are missed and I can promise that your wife and family are in my prayers. God Speed our Friend. We will ride together again.

Just a notice. I have added the 1983 and 1987 owner's manuals to our tech library under First Generation parts and diagrams.

1983 Owner's Manual 1987 Owner's Manual

If it's in really good condition, I would say that is a pretty good price. A quick search of my local Craigslist showed them from 2800.00 - 3500.00 with miles between 13,000 - 16,000.

OK folks, we are getting off track here. All these Craigslist ads being posted and within a few weeks, all these posts will be doing nothing but cluttering up the site as the links to the ads will be gone.

Yes, I had the Commander on my '99 and also on my current '05 and it never caused any issues like that.

Well this is a long shot but I suppose worth mentioning. I'm not sure where your switch for the passing lamps is located but on the Venture, it is on the inside of the fairing. There have been numerous cases where the wires going to the switch get pinched in the notch on the triple tree. If your wires are routed similar and past the triple tree, trace it out and make sure that the insulation hasn't been pinched on rubbed through on the wires. Now that USUALLY results in a blown fuse but if it is just chafed a little, maybe it is just getting a partial ground and causing your issues.

Does the bike still have the original fuse panel? They are notorious for giving problems. If it hasn't been swapped, that is the first thing I would consider.

Well, after riding a second gen for the most part of the past 19 years, I finally decided to give the air horn a try. I had dual Fiamm's mounted inside the fairing of the '99 and in spite of the fairing perhaps muffling them a bit, they were pretty loud. When a door prize ticket was pulled at MD with my number on it, I chose @Carbon_One horn bracket and wiring harness that was on the prize table. So, decided I may as well order a horn. Ended up going with the Stebel. Installed it this morning and it was very easy with Larry's kit. It is indeed loud. Now to see how long it lasts. I'm happy with it though.

I've used them and they worked fine. I really couldn't tell any difference. They will probably last longer but I'm reluctant to leave a plug in that long anyway because I'm afraid it won't come out. I guess with some anti-seize it would be fine.

First thing. The chrome ignition cover surround is aftermarket. They all come with black plastic ones. I know of no aftermarket ones except for the chrome one that you have. I'm sure that somebody around here has a stock black one though. I actually should have one, if I can find it. The speedometers are indeed optimistic. I've never seen a second gen speedometer that wasn't around 8% off. Many of us have installed speedo correction devices. Some just use their GPS or whatever or simply remember that it's off. As for the harmonic sound you are hearing. I would indeed look at the tires first. Run your open palm along the very edges of the tread and see if you feel any scalloping. It could come from the front or the rear. It doesn't take much to create such a sound. If that is the case, it will probably be worse when you are in a slight lean. I've had it happen and even going straight, you can hear it clearly if you weave back and forth just a little bit. As for the cruise control. Check your clutch and front brake lever. Is there any fringe added to the levers? I've seen the wind cause the levers to push back enough to cancel the cruise. Even without any fringe, check that the levers aren't a little worn and loose. One way to see if that is the issue is to maintain a little forward pressure on the levers to make sure they aren't causing the issue. Also, if you are pulling a hill or something and in too high a gear that causes the bike to lose speed, it will turn off if the speed drops a certain amount below the set point.

Somebody did that for whatever reason. Certainly not right.

Got a call this morning from a gentleman who said that he really needed a stairlift but couldn't afford one. Asked if I had any used stairlifts and if I had any interest in firearms. Just so happened that I did have one used unit that would work for him and we struck a tentative deal. I will install his stairlift on Tuesday and give him an already agreed upon credit for his gun, pending it being in "like new" condition as he says. Haven't seen it yet but it's a Kimber Crimson Ultra Carry II in .45 caliber. 3" barrel. Here is what it should look like.

Well, I just ordered the chromed Stebel. I was lucky enough to choose the carbon_one mounting kit and wiring harness with a winning raffle ticket at MD so I'm all set. Should be here early next week.

It looks great and is probably nice BUT...I PROMISE you that is NOT a 1999 color. It really doesn't look like a re-paint but it could be. I agree that it appears that somebody has changed all the bodywork. I would certainly want to know why if it were me.

Years ago, I started a registry for the MM models. It's not even linked anywhere now and I'm sure that most of the listed bikes are owned by different people now. 294 isn't on the list. http://www.venturerider.org/venturemm/

Well, it is definitely not a '99 color. Maybe the seat was changed. Otherwise, everything else was changed. It is NOT '99 colors though. Whatever it is, it's a great looking bike.

Don't encourage him Peggy...he will just go on and on and on......

It was sitting at the end of one of the benches under the canopy.

I saw your post before you deleted it and found your thread from yesterday in the "Moderation" queue. That should not have happened but it does from time to time. Something about a anti-spam key that I have installed that sometimes does a false positive. Sorry about that.

Somebody left a flashlight here at MD. Haven't looked closely but it's Maglight type light. Larger D-Cell type. Let me know if it's yours and PM me your address and I'll get it back to you.

I'm going to finally order a new horn for my RSV. I've used high power electrics but never the WOLOs and etc. that many of you go with. So my question, is there any significant difference between the WOLO and the Stebel? I know that Harbor Freight sells something similar also but I will most likely order one of those two.