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Russ

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  1. Russ

    Bike Cleaning

    Russ replied to Reed's topic in Watering Hole

    The dirt's what's holding it together...
  2. Russ
    If only I had the money. That's one nice looking bike!!!
  3. Russ
    ok, found the memory card and posted pics to the original post. It was in the fridge. Next to my lost stereo remote.
  4. Russ
    PM Sent! Thanks a ton! And yeah, I'm starting to think the riding course is the best option.. She doesn't listen to me as it is, so i doubt she'll listen to me so well when it comes to learning to ride. Now to see if there's any openings in a class this year, or if I have to make her wait until next year. And thanks everyone for your input on this!
  5. Russ
    Only when we want the 2nd Gens to keep up!
  6. Russ
    Before I get started, I know that the unspoken rules dictate pictures, and as soon as I find where my 3 year old hid the memory card for the camera, I'll get some. Last Tuesday night, a co-worker of mine asked if I wanted a free bike. Of course, the proper response to this is "when and where do I need to pick it up?". Turns out a friend of his had a 1983 Honda GL650 Silverwing Interstate that had been sitting in his garage, and if nobody would pick it up, he was going to sell it for scrap!!! A few phone calls (and a bribe of gas money to a friend with a truck) later, I am now the proud owner of that bike! Well, my wife is. I told her to put her name on the title, and once I get it running and teach her to ride, it'll be all hers. Before I picked it up, I started feeling a bit guilty about getting such a find for free, so I called the guy and told him that I'd feel better if he'd at least let me pay him $100 to cover what he would have gotten for scrapping it. Of course, he agreed, but my wife wasn't too thrilled.. until she saw the bike. It's got just about every accessory you could think of, both saddlebags are there, trunk (with trunkrack), chrome rails all over the place, travelcade seat, and Markland backrest. Got it running yesterday, and with a new tire on the front and some cleaning of the carbs, should be road worthy in the next week or so. But of course with a new bike comes the questions, so here's what I got for all the great minds out there: 1) Gonna replace front tire. There's cracks and the valve stem leaks (visibly damaged). Anyone know where to get replacement valve stems? Also, I'm looking at Shinko for the front tire. Anyone have any experience with this brand? 2) My first bike was a 1981 GL500 Silverwing. It's what I learned to ride on, so the Silverwings have a special place in my heart and I'm therefore biased towards the branding. This bike is bigger than that one, so I'm a little concerned about this being my wife's first bike. She can stand Flat-footed on the bike, and she seemed comfortable with the weight. Should I be concerned anyway? I originally was going to rebuild an old XS750 for her, but many had voiced concerns over that particular bike being her first bike, and it needed WAY more work than I was willing to put into it, so I got rid of it. 3) In the off-chance that someone out there has a repair manual for this bike that they don't need anymore, I'd be willing to buy it off ya. would rather put some money in the pockets of my friends here than in the pockets of some faceless company out there. 4) Rear tire looks good, no visible cracks, holds air well, etc. what else should I be looking for to determine if I need to replace that tire as well? At any rate, I've gone on longer than I had originally planned, but I promise to get some pics for ya'll as soon as junior divulges his hiding places to me. Update: ok, found the memory card. it was in the fridge, right next to the stereo remote.
  7. Russ
    catch me if I'm wrong, but I thought the engines were blacked out on the midnights...
  8. Russ
    Never had the wife fall asleep, but I've fallen asleep riding home from work. was on my dad's Wing. not sure how long I was out and didn't go down, but the rumble strips just about made me leave a rumble strip of my own in my shorts. as for new parents with cranky babies using the bike to put the kid to sleep, been there, done that. when my oldest was born used to sit him in his carrier on the back seat and just let the bike idle in the driveway.
  9. Russ
    thermostat is number 156 from napa. costs less than 10 bucks.
  10. Russ
    My dad has an 84 Goldwing that I ride on occasion and I personally prefer my '86 Venture. while the Goldwing seems to have a lower center of gravity and handles well at low speeds, I think my Venture handles better at higher speeds. I also think that my Venture is more comfortable than the Wing, however that could be chalked up to personal preference, aftermarket seats (on the Wing) and just my personal bias towards Ventures. As for weak areas, there's some here that would argue that the weak area is the fact it's not a 2nd gen. As a stock bike, it's a great ride, and while there's things that you can do to improve upon it (Superbrace, solid motor mounts, progressive fork springs, etc), if you can get your hands on one that's in good shape, you'll have yourself a great bike. To add to the fun, there's a lot of things that you can do with a 1300 Venture. We've got some people who have even gone as far as swapping out parts from v-max's onto their ventures, everything from final drives to cams to v-boost systems. We've got one hell of an awesome group of people here that know just about everything there is to know about these bikes, so should you ever have a problem, you can always rely on someone here knowing how to fix it. Welcome to the family and we look forward to seeing you around!
  11. Russ
    Just about every one of us at one time or another has had the occasion to ride in the rain, sometimes on purpose, sometimes not, and one of the biggest problems of riding in the rain with a helmet (or glasses/goggles) is visibility. Rain/fog on a face shield or glasses lense can lower visibility to next to nothing. I've always contented myself with attempting to wipe the rain off with my gloves, but i think I've found the answer for everyone that's ever had this problem... WIPER GLOVES!!! The best part is you make it yourself! Check out the instructable http://www.instructables.com/id/wiper-glove/ to find out how! ***Disclaimer: I did not write this instructable, I just happened to find it and felt that others could benefit***
  12. Russ
    Perhaps what needs to be done is to contact http://www.hsvareacrimestoppers.org/ . this is the Huntsville area Crimestoppers. They already have systems in place to set up local campaigns, run TV ads and manage rewards.
  13. Russ
    Had a set of these on my bike when I bought it. they were scraping slightly on the rotors from where the previous owner had accidently bent them while putting them on and I got sick of trying to bend them out and away, so I pulled 'em off and tossed 'em on ebay... they're now on a bike in france if I remember correctly.
  14. Russ

    Scammers

    Russ replied to Carbon_One's topic in Watering Hole

    The good old 419 scammers are at it again!!! And here I thought they had given up on these foolish things... Good to see that them enterprising Nigerians are still working hard to steal our cash... I recommend ignoring them, while resting assured that thanks to the efforts of the fine folks at 419Eater these crooks are at least getting scammed back.
  15. Russ
    BUMP!
  16. Russ
    Just in hiding mode... weather turns cold and I turn anti-social, thinkin' about all the Venture riders down in warmer climates getting to keep riding makes me jealous and I start brooding. :-P
  17. Russ
    If I can get off my lazy butt and get back to working on the bike, I may make it down there myself.
  18. Russ
    dunno if anyone else had trouble with that link, but i think I found the one he was talking about and wow, is that one nice lookin' 1st Gen!
  19. Russ
    BUMP!!!
  20. Russ
    when I first got my Venture a friend of mine told me about this setup... unfortunately, the only thing I can find now is a Magnasport Supercharger which appears to fit the bill of a single carb setup, but is quite a bit more overkill than that one on e-bay. and at $3500, it's quite a bit more expensive to boot.
  21. Russ
    IMHO, these are a MUST HAVE for anyone with a 1st gen! Squidley put these on my bike when he came down to work on it and they are FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!! They look awesome on the bike and position your driving lights absolutely perfectly! HUGE difference over where they used to be mounted!
  22. Russ
    If ya need anything when yer heading through the Bloomington IL area, just gimme a call. my number is on the VR assistance list.
  23. Russ
    Thanks a million! As soon as I get home I'll run give this a shot and if all goes well, I'll wind up with a running bike before the end of the summer!
  24. Russ
    Alright, so despite all my other issues with the bike, the newest one is that it won't start. I hit the starter button and I get a click. nothing more. I suspect the starter Solinoid, and I figured to test it I'd run a battery cable off the battery and hit it straight to the starter. Enter my new problem: Where the heck is the starter???? Can I get someone to take a couple pictures and show me where I need to run this cable to? I've poured over pictures in the manual and I can't make heads or tails of the black'n'white's. Also, I don't suppose this is like my old truck was where you can take a hammer, tap the solinoid a couple times and make it work, is it? Thanks in advance!
  25. Russ

    Audio Amps

    Russ replied to jneed53's topic in Watering Hole

    I don't know about anyone else, but I've had trouble finding an amp that isn't a huge power drain... As the stators in our bikes aren't as beefy as one from a car, I'm concerned with how much of a strain on the electrical system it would be to put a car amp on a bike. I DO know that you can buy kits for smaller amps, but unless you're electrically inclined, those could prove more trouble than it's worth.
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