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Ndiaz

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Everything posted by Ndiaz

  1. Ndiaz
    My 88 VR now has an Elite 3 on the front, and a Michelin Commander on the rear. The bike handles very well. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  2. Ndiaz
    My 88 Venture Royale runs just fine on 87-octane regular fuel. Any brand does fine, with no pinging, no adverse effects. Major brand or off brand -- no difference. I would never own a bike that is not happy burning cheap, regular fuel. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  3. Ndiaz
    Update on the Shinko front tire, Tour Master 230. Mine is a 1988 Venture Royale. I've replaced the Shinko with a Dunlop Elite 3. The Shinko did the job on the Venture. It worked just fine in the rain, on grooves, on metal-grate bridges, on curves. No problems whatsoever. Price was excellent. That's the good part. The bad part: At 6,000 miles the tire had not much tread left for safe riding. Less than 1/16 of an inch left. No cupping, no unusual wear -- just wear. I was hoping for 10,000 miles from that tire. It didn't come close to that. Had it met my expectations (and wishes), the Shinko would have been the best buy in tires. Now I'm ready to try the Dunlop, which comes highly recommended by some on this forum. I'll report on it as I pile on the miles. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  4. Ndiaz
    Update on the Shinko front tire, Tour Master 230. Mine is a 1988 Venture Royale. I've replaced the Shinko with a Dunlop Elite 3. The Shinko did the job on the Venture. It worked just fine in the rain, on grooves, on metal-grate bridges, on curves. No problems whatsoever. Price was excellent. That's the good part. The bad part: At 6,000 miles the tire had not much tread left for safe riding. Less than 1/16 of an inch left. No cupping, no unusual wear -- just wear. I was hoping for 10,000 miles from that tire. It didn't come close to that. Had it met my expectations (and wishes), the Shinko would have been the best buy in tires. Now I'm ready to try the Dunlop, which comes highly recommended by some on this forum. I'll report on it as I pile on the miles. By the way, I ran 40 psi all the time, and checked the pressure at least once a week. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  5. Ndiaz
    Not all of us baby boomers (I was born in Dec 1947) were hippies. Some of us went to school, got decent grades, took life seriously, started our careers, got married, and had nothing to do with the turmoil of that time. You never hear about ordinary people like me and my wife in connection with the 60's. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  6. Ndiaz
    Thank you very much, Thom. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  7. Ndiaz
    I'm thinking about a Dunlop Elite 3 front tire for my 1988 Venture Royale. Is the correct size MR90H-18? Is it safe to say that the 120/90-18 I have on the VR right now is equivalent? Thanks! Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  8. Ndiaz
    1. West Virginia 2. Virginia 3. North Carolina 4. Pennsylvania 5. Kentucky Few people can argue with West Virginia, but Virginia has an incredibly high number of roads that go on for miles and miles without interruption. North Carolina, especially the western part from Asheville to the Cherohala Skyway. Pennsylvania gets a bad rap from people because of the poor condition of some roads. Yet it's full of country roads with beautiful vistas and lots of miles. Cute towns spring up along the way. The south central part is good, and so is the northern central part of PA, where the "Grand Canyon" is. Eastern Kentucky from I-75 east to the Virginia line is also great for riding. I live in central Maryland. The roads in Frederick County and to the west are excellent for a beautiful day's ride. I would put my home State of Maryland in the top 10 as well, since I know these roads and ride them all the time. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  9. Ndiaz
    2006 Dodge Grand Caravan, my wife's favorite vehicle. She has a herniated disc, so she likes the comfort of the minivan. 50,000 miles. 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt XFE, 5-speed, stripped of anything except AC and radio. It's my cheap commuter. Have had it for 13 months and it's reliable (did I also say cheap?). 13,000 miles. Bought them both new. Don't anticipate buying any vehicles in a good number of years. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  10. Ndiaz

    History test

    Ndiaz replied to 6pak's topic in Watering Hole

    27 for me. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  11. Ndiaz

    My Decision

    Ndiaz replied to Chaharly's topic in Watering Hole

    I want global warming!
  12. Ndiaz
    I have plexiglass lenses in both of my eyes -- done one eye at a time, in late 1992 and early 1993. Very successful surgeries both, thank God. I've been enjoying excellent eyesight since then, with no prescription glasses; I do wear store-bought glasses for reading and close-up work. Typical operation, arriving in hospital at 7:30 a.m., in the car headed for home by noon. Head is immobilized, as are the eyes so that no eye movement is possible. Fully awake during surgery, except for some mild sedatives. Surgeon makes incision, sticks in an ultrasound device that pulverizes the lens. He (she on the second operation) vacuums the lens. Then the implant is installed. Not fun while lying there on the table, fully awake and aware of people around you poking you in the eye. Didn't feel anything. The anesthesiologist was right there, engaging me in conversation about motorcycles and teaching -- all very pleasant. I had congenital cataracts in both eyes, which made my vision progressively worse. My ophthalmologist urged me to have the surgeries done after noticing how bad my vision had become, and how easy it was to fix my condition. Let's thank God and man that we have such incredibly effective ways of medically improving the quality of our lives. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  13. Ndiaz

    Gettysburg

    Ndiaz replied to halfwitt's topic in Watering Hole

    I enjoyed it very much last year. Do it again. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  14. Ndiaz
    You ARE boasting, and you have a perfect right to do so. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  15. Ndiaz
    I'm in central Maryland, where real winter doesn't usually start till January. This past Sunday temps reached the upper 60's, and yes, I went riding. Unfortunately, we've had so much rain lately, not much riding -- it's rain, not cold weather, that keeps our bikes idle around here. Riding to work this morning, watching out for deer... Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  16. Ndiaz
    Not quite 40 years riding motorcycles, a total of roughly 500,000 miles altogether, (on 11 different motorcycles), doing the math... About 12,500 miles per year, a modest amount. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  17. Ndiaz
    When I bought my 88 Venture Royale last year, it needed a set of tires in order to pass State inspection. So I bought a set of Conti Tours. They worked just fine until they wore out in early summer 2009. I was disappointed about the mileage I got out of them, but they worked just fine. Wet or dry, pavement grooves, grated bridges -- all OK. It's a good set of tires. The front got about 7,000 miles when I decided to replace it. The rear about 6,000. I always replace my tires well while the tread is still OK, for safety's sake. Would I recommend Conti Tours? Yes, they're fine. They're black, round, and hold air. They perform well. Nick Diaz Middletown.
  18. Ndiaz
    I owned five GS Suzuki motorcycles from 1986 thru 2008. Four GS850Gs and my favorite, the GS1100GK. The latter I rode for 9 riding seasons, and sold it in 2008 with 133,000 miles. I still participate in the GSResources website, as I have fond memories of all those GS years. http://www.thegsresources.com The GK was my all-time favorite motorcycle. I sometimes regret having sold it, but "the boss" said one bike only -- which is fine, given what a good bike the Venture is. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  19. Ndiaz
    Gold Wing, the newest GL1800, fully equipped, with ABS, etc. Best touring bike around, fast, excellent handler, super smooth -- great bike. I like my Venture Royale, but I have ridden a Gold Wing and was impressed. Since I do not have the money for the Wing, and the VR is paid for, I will continue to enjoy riding this outstanding motorcycle. Life is full of compromises. The Venture is one where compromise is just fine. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  20. Ndiaz
    - - - - , and proud of it too! Yammer Dan, staying ahead of 2nd-gen folks ain't hard at all. My 88 VR and I do it all the time, effortlessly! I'm 61, in my prime. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  21. Ndiaz
    It's hard to envision a 16-year-old on a Venture, especially a 1st generation. Stereotypes aside, welcome to this bunch. I'm 61 -- a dyslexic 16. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  22. Ndiaz

    South Park

    Ndiaz replied to pakidaho's topic in Watering Hole

    It's hilarious. I laughed my head off. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  23. Ndiaz
    Bobcat said: "Thats why I asked the question about has anyone gone 15K...If no one has reached that then that would tell me the tires are not that big of a bargain...Mind you, that's only my opinion..." Bobcat, the reason no one has reached 15,000 miles on a Shinko is that none of us have had it long enough to reach the 15,000 miles, or even the 10,000-mile goal. That doesn't mean the Shinkos aren't "that much of a bargain." The jury is still out. Deliberate some more until all the evidence is in. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  24. Ndiaz
    Blue Giant, if I had to buy a new front tire for my Venture Royale, I would get another Shinko Tourmaster 230, even though I've ridden only 4,000+ miles on this tire. I consider it a bargain, even after only 4,000 miles -- with lots of tread still there. The Shinko is quiet, and does a great job under all reasonable riding conditions. Try it anyway -- you'll like it. Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
  25. Ndiaz
    The rave over Shinko tires started on this forum not long ago, so I doubt if there's been enough time for anyone to ride 15,000 miles on a Shinko. I got my first (front) Shinko Tourmaster 230 in late June. Since then I've ridden a little over 4,000 miles on this tire. So far, so good. It shows very little wear, it handles fine whether wet or dry, no problem on grooves or grated bridges. I check tire pressure at least once a week, keeping it at 40 psi. I live in a beautiful rural area in Maryland, with lots of excellent country roads in the four-State area; I ride rather "spiritedly" on these roads. So far, so good. If I can get 10,000 miles, safe miles, out of this front tire, I'll be quite happy. Since I ride 12,000 miles per year, I shouldn't have to replace this tire until spring 2010. I doubt if anyone will give us a 15,000-mile report any time soon. We'll see -- the jury's still out... Nick Diaz Middletown, MD
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