LilBeaver

I can't imagine why you would think you would stand out

Ouch Ouch. Fine, twist my arm some more.

Yea, Thanks Eck!!

Hey Rick - If you find one you like somewhere down here and want some help getting it up to you. I might know someone willing to ride it part way for you

FLB - you use the longer (3.5"?) Purolator filter, correct? That could account for the 8 fl. oz (.25 qt) of a difference. I use the shorter filter and, like TX2Sturgis, end up with 3.5 qts +/- .25qt.

3.74999 Qts. :witch_brew:

Well how 'bout that. I'll keep my eye out for it. I have seen a few (maybe 3 or 4) royal stars, but no other ventures, around town...

HAHA - yea, when I read that I had the thought of... "Sounds like FLB made his way up to Sturgis"

You got it. Although, I'm not as worried about her passing it as she is. She knows what she's doing, as long as she can stay relaxed and calm during it, she'll be fine.

Some times it still surprises me when I drop it in 3rd to scoot around someone on the freeway (starting at 65mph, or so) (well, that is before my clutch started acting up, lol).

And here I thought folks would have moved on... So far no news. She has been focused on the upcoming qualifying exam - which is a 4 day exam with a written part (6 hours each of the first 3) and an oral part (the last day that lasts anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes) that will determine whether she can continue in graduate school or not. I have been back in town for a couple of days now and have chatted a little bit but not much since she is prepping for this massacre. Since there is interest, I'll update ya'll next Tuesday when she is done and we go for another ride .

Nah, no trouble with the shifter - just keeping it on the rubber :stickpoke::stickpoke: :witch_brew: Well good (and good to know). The speed limits are on the roads for a reason, and I for one am all in favor of SAFE travel speeds. Fixed it. Although maybe with the speed cameras they've put in the average speed has decreased a little.

Well Brian - I was just starting to wonder where you were at. Glad you made it home safe! Sounds like you had a good time/trip, except for maybe some weather. What do you mean you can't share more pictures. I was always under the impression that Sturgis was one of those 'classy' motorcycle enthusiast get togethers? :crackup:

Bump - I updated the total and felt like I needed to comment here. Wow, I knew this group was great, but I am absolutely floored at how quickly we raised so much. THANK YOU EVERYONE, I am positive that Lowell will greatly appreciate it! And yes, now that we are in the process of getting his ride going, now if we could only find a 'carb-sync' for his heart...

Hmmm when was the last time you drove around Atlanta? Or most any other major city for that matter. It seems the two main modes of travel is either crawling or struggling to keep up.

No problem. I figured we ought to just get it setup and taken care of so that we can get Lowell the assistance he needs and worry about the specific details later. For those of you that want to help you can go to this thread and donate: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?threadid=52068 OR just click on this link (takes you direct to the paypal donate thing I setup): https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=lilbeaver27%40hotmail%2ecom&lc=US&item_name=Wildhair39%2fLAPryor%20Assistance%20Fund&currency_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donate_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted

Total as of 23/Aug/2010 - 23:10 (Central) = $998.01 (including PayPal's cut). Thanks to all who have contributed thus far! If you would like to contribute to the Wild Hair/LAPryor assistance fund, please use the link below. It is setup through PayPal. I will forward ALL of the proceeds directly to Lowell. NOTE: I will maintain a total tally and update it daily at the top of this thread. I do NOT intend on publishing or sharing any type of list of specific member's names AND amounts donated with anyone. As far as I am concerned, when each and every donation gets turned over to Lowell it will be presented as a donation from 'the family'. As for specific accounting, I WILL keep very careful records on my own - just to make sure that every penny is accounted for and re-directed AS IT IS INTENDED TO BE. https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=lilbeaver27%40hotmail%2ecom&lc=US&item_name=Wildhair39%2fLAPryor%20Assistance%20Fund&currency_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donate_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted If you have any questions about this, please let me know. For those of you that have mentioned that you would like to help out Lowell. The following links give some more info, I will also briefly describe it here. The intro information on the fund effort: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52037 Motivation for the fund effort: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?threadid=51974 I have had the privilege of meeting and riding with Lowell as well as chat with him on the phone. He is a great guy. Many others know him much better and have known him for much longer than I have, but regardless he has been having a hard time lately. One piece of all of the events going on as of recently included him moving. It is my understanding that in the loading process of his 'cow-a-saki' (as he puts it) the bike bottomed out on the trailer and damaged the oil pan. Eck and some of our other fantastic members [forgive me for leaving out your names - nothing personal] are in the process of arranging the repair of L A Pryor's bike. The current estimate of the repair seems to be a minimum of $200 in parts alone. Lowell had an estimate for a total of ~$300 for the repair, but that of course did not include getting his bike from Springfield, MO to western TN where the repair would be done. So, in addition to the cost of repairing the bike there is the travel expense of getting the bike to and from the shop (which is being handled by our members). The alternative is for a few of our members to meet up at Lowell's to do the repair there. Regardless, any donation made here will be passed on to Lowell. I will NOT leave this open indefinitely but will give a few days notice before I pull the link down. I will wait until 'we' have Lowell's situation resolved before pulling the link. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR GENEROSITY AND CONSIDERATION!!!! Each and every penny counts! - Rick M.

As posted earlier in this thread (but I figured I'd re-post, just to make sure it was seen) Unless someone pms me otherwise (ie you are geographically closer to Wildhair), I will go ahead and setup the collection fund. I will use a separate PayPal account, setup explicitly for the collection for this effort. I will start a new thread this evening with all of the appropriate information in it (paypal address/donate button, w.e.). Just please be patient with me to get this going as I do have a few other time-sensitive work-related items that need to get done first. I will post again to this thread as well as start a new one when I get it all setup.

If it really is that easy, then, it would seem like that would be a reasonable way to go (but that'll be up to Eck and whomever else is around/available to help).

Well in THAT case....

Okay folks. I am home now, so will likely be on here more. I am not very close (geographically) to Lowell, BUT, if no one else closer wants to step up and take charge of the fund, I can go ahead and do it. I am familiar enough with pay pal and after the collection can either make a weekend trip out to see him or find some way to go ahead and get the cash his way. I will wait until later today before just doing it - but, I can start a new thread (as well as note at the end of this one) if I end up doing it. EDIT: Unless someone pms me otherwise (ie you are geographically closer to Wildhair), I will go ahead and setup the collection fund. I will use a separate PayPal account, setup explicitly for the collection for this effort. I will start a new thread this evening with all of the appropriate information in it (paypal address/donate button, w.e.). Just please be patient with me to get this going as I do have a few other time-sensitive work-related items that need to get done first. I will post again to this thread as well as start a new one when I get it all setup.

Well, I did say that I was going to keep everyone posted throughout my trip; that obviously did not happen. Immediately after returning home from this road/work trip I had to repack and head to the airport for a conference. Now that I am home from the conference, things have settled down a little bit and I have some time to go ahead and put together a trip summary. I have a total of several hundred pictures that I have taken on the road, a few have been put up in this thread and I will put up a few more sample shots either in this post or in the next post – but in the interest of bandwidth and server space, I probably won’t post a whole heck of a lot. I’ve got several up on facebook that I think I will go ahead and link here and open up for public viewing, for a week or so, that way ya’ll can see them and I’m not taxing don’s server space. My total trip mileage was only 5,432 miles from 8/July – 2/Aug/2010. My trip was supposed to start 28/June with a stopover for the cruising the koots rally – but due to a tire tread separation, the replaced tire having a sidewall issue, then issues getting that tire replaced in a timely fashion I was forced to miss the rally but was able to hit the road with reliable equipment. So, the morning of 2/Aug, I was out the door. Day 1 (8/July/2010) Total: ~700mi. Woke up with the expectation of riding through nasty weather all day. After looking at the weather radars and doing some quick math, I delayed my start for a few hours and managed to hit only a total of 30 minutes of rain or so the entire way. This day I went from Lubbock, Texas to Laramie, Wyoming totaling somewhere around 700 miles. Took US-84 NW out of Lubbock, 4.5 hours later I was in New Mexico. I took I-25 north to Pueblo, CO where I diverted to state roads and whatnot up near Ft Collins where I picked up US-287 and took the last 80 miles to Laramie, WY where I stopped for the night at a Best Western that I would suggest anyone avoid at all costs. The room was okay, but upon arrival I was charged a different rate than what I was guaranteed online (which I had the printed reservation guarantee with me and everything). Had I been in a car and there was another choice in the area I would have been out of there in a heartbeat. Given the circumstances and regardless of the argument with the clerk – I called my CC company; they said they’d take care of it, so I stayed the night anyways. Enough about that. The good news with the crappy skies and cloud cover is that the temperatures were in the high 70’s or low 80’s for the daytime. Once in Colorado, the skies cleared and the temp dropped. When the sun went down, the temps dipped to the low 50s. Day 2 (9/July/2010) Total: ~550 miles Up and on the road by 6am, I started out west on I-80 to Rawlins, WY (100 miles on expressway). Fueled up in Rawlins and didn’t see an interstate for the rest of the day. North on US-287 out or Rawlins and headed towards Yellowstone. The sky was blue for most of the day and the temps were in the 70s or maybe low 80s, but it was fantastic all day. My first stop that was picture worthy was at Beaver Rim (I didn’t even plan that but it happened). Not only was the view fantastic but as I was putting my side stand down I saw a bike pulling strong up the road that looked like a royal star. He pulled into the scenic turnout I was in and sure enough, it was a late 90s royal star. He had put on a set of mm venture bags, a real nice crash bar, and he had a sheepskin cover made for the seat from a leather smith a hundred miles up the road. We chatted for about 30 minutes or so, took some pictures and hit the road. I realized just now that I don’t have any pictures of his bike. We took pictures of our bikes and us and whatnot – but apparently I didn’t get any that were of his bike with my camera, I was positive that I did; oh well. We exchanged contact information and I referred him to this site and he said he’d check it out. He is from Sacramento, CA and he was headed up to the Stampede rally. Anyways, I saddled up and continued through the parks, it clouded up and rained on me all the way through Yellowstone, which was sad but I still got to see the park. While in the park, I saw a man pull his mini-van off the road and then get out to chase a bear into the woods – that was funny but sad at the same time. And I also met a couple that is currently going to Northern Michigan University – where I graduated from May of 2007. Apparently I tutored the gal in Physics, but I don’t remember… Oh well. By the time I was close to exiting the park towards west Yellowstone, it was dark – so unfortunately I missed seeing Big Sky, MT in the daylight but the extra time spent in Yellowstone, taking pictures and enjoying the limited sights that I could see I think was worth it. I probably would not do that ride again that time a year, thanks to all of the traffic and tourism, but that is the first time that I was through Yellowstone so; I figured it was worthwhile for this part of the trip. From West Yellowstone, I went north through Big Sky. Despite some questionable blips with my electrical system, I did make it to Belgrade, MT where I stopped for the night. Other than Yellowstone the traffic was basically nonexistent. Temperatures dipped again into the low 50s at the end of the day riding through Big Sky, but it was still a decent ride. By the way, some of those highways are REALLY REALLY dark all by yourself. Got into the hotel, which was quite nice considering the 50 bucks I paid for it. Towards the end of this day, I ended up with an absolutely terrible headache (something that I rarely get), runny nose and some other cold/flu like symptoms. So, that night was rough. I managed to get a little sleep and hit the road early the next morning. Day 3 (10/July/2010) ~580 miles Despite the health woes of the previous night, I hit the road a little later this morning, and decided to take the interstate the whole way – just in case my body decided to relapse into whatever the heck it was that I had manage to come down with the day before. Montana was boring until I hit the western edge. Boy was I surprised. Some beautiful roadway that wound through some mountains, despite it being an expressway, it was a good balance for a day of really easy riding. Northern Idaho was the same way (all 55 miles of it). Washington state, on the other hand, was not quite as boring as the Texas panhandle, but it came in a very close second. Temperatures and weather this day were quite nice as well. Mostly clear skies and lovely temperatures. I arrived in Ellensburg, WA where I stopped for the night. Despite the pool closing time being 10pm, the lovely gal at the front desk agreed to let me use it later. *snickers* So, I sat in the hot tub (which was actually clean, hot and nice) for a little while – which helped my back and my head a lot. Thanked the gal at the front desk, got some dinner then hit the hay for the night. Day 4 (11/July/2010) ~300 miles Woke up this morning feeling great. It was a little cool out, but the sky was clear and I was good to go. Made contact with Larry (SilverDeer) and planned on having lunch with him once I got up to his neck of the woods. I departed Ellensburg, WA on US-2 and took that all the way to I-5 where I headed up to Arlington, WA to have brunch with Larry and his lovely gal (I’m sorry, I am absolutely terrible with names ). We spent quite a bit of time chatting, eating, and looking at each other’s bikes as well as taking some pictures (which did get posted somewhere here). Some great people there – you Washington folks that don’t get together very often are missing out on some great people. Well, back on the road and just a short hop to the border from there. While getting back on, I dropped it into 3rd to accelerate up and get around a few cars (and to verify what I had felt before) I felt the engine rev way up but I wasn’t going any faster – awesome – but with keeping that in mind, I took ‘er easy and made it safely the rest of the way. My wait at customs was a grand total of 2 cars and 10 minutes chatting with the customs agent. Apparently driving 2k miles to work when I could have flown, put up a flag for Canadian customs. But, we got over that hurdle and I was 30 minutes from the lab. Pulled into the lab around 330 or so and as I was headed in to meet up with my boss and colleagues, I got a whiff of myself and decided that I had better go shower first. So, with an about face I headed back to the bike and actually ran into one of my collaborators while I was mounting back up. Now for 3 weeks of work… with the occasional break for some riding and meeting up with a few locals Mileage: 42,443 -- 44,598 To be continued… (sometime in the next couple of days) Facebook Album Links: Day 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2174096 Day 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2174098 Day 3: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2174104 Day 4: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2174106

You do NOT need to get an international driver's license so long as your current Aussie one is valid and you will not be driving in the U.S. for more than 1 year. Australia is one of the countries that have an exchange agreement with driving licenses, etc. It would be in your best interest, for while you ARE driving here, to keep your D.L and you passport on hand - just in case you do get stopped. The passport provides a confirmation of who you are and just when you entered this country. When I get some time later, I'll post the links to the official laws that state this. By the way - I know this because I work with a visiting professor that is Austrailian and his official appointment is for just under 1 year. I helped him look into the requirements for D.L. etc, since he bought a car and such. For your own reference and in prepping to come visit you may want to contact the appropriate embassy near where you will be entering the country and chat with them about what your intentions are. They can definitely set you up with whatever other information you will require. If you have your own auto/bike insurance in Aussie land you can check your policy to see if you can add on a bike that is purchased and driven outside of the country but I suspect that your best bet will be to just do it all state side - or maybe find someone willing to 'buy' the bike [in their name] and insure it with you/quickstep as the primary driver - and you can just reimburse them for the actual cost. I am glad to see that you are considering this instead of renting one over here as I am pretty sure that you will save a SIGNIFICANT amount of money this way.

I often contemplate selling my RSV for another wing. After my last trip came to an end, I was feeling a bit cramped on my RSV and thinking that I could be on a wing and feel the same way (with highway pegs of course) so... Hmmm...

:sign yeah that: :sign yeah that: (Even though it is coming from some sub-human missing link thing ) Don't believe that it can be done - check out the pictures. And I thought these were beyond saving. The only spots that I couldn't manage to get at were the areas around where they mount (but after really close and further inspection, it appears to be mostly cosmetic), but since they aren't on my bike all that often, I don't really care - if it breaks I'll find some way to patch it and fix it or live without. In my opinion, if the 'rust spots' DON'T come out, then MAYBE you ought to consider subsidizing SOME of the return. What is the objection to the other person keeping the pipes? Is it purely the cosmetic blemishes? Do they not like the sound? Change their mind? EDIT: Okay so the before and after pictures that I had thought that I had, I don't. I can take after pictures, but that won't do you any good. I have shown some before and afters of a different set of pipes that I cleaned up - not the spots that aren't shiny are the places where the internal parts were riveted into place. The pipes that I had were rusted, what looked like, pretty bad - but they came out just as shiny as these did.