MikeWa

Dang it. My old 30 cal M1 has gone automatic. Probably a bad sear or spring. Some people may like that but I don't. I am not sure if I want to tackle it myself or find a gunsmith. It might be fun to do it myself but it might be safer to have a professional involved. Any thoughts. Mike

YES

Not buying it. Even if dry and frozen in place there should be no wheel lock up. So I don't know what is going on with the damaged bike but the owner needs to dig further. Perhaps drive shaft or gearing etc. Mike

Parts of New Mexico are four season areas. Including ice and snow. NW corner for example. Other parts are dry year round. So plan your trip. Mike

Depending on how aggressively you ride the bike your mileage may or may not be out of line. Then AIS system will usually not affect gas mileage. Around town 34-36 is pretty good. On sustained highway with no traffic I would expect to see something over 40. The easiest way to explain mileage is power to weight. If you have plenty of reserve power then lower rpm is better. If reserve power is limited as on these motorcycles than the best mileage will be obtained by keeping enough rpm to achieve adequate power to overcome riding resistance like wind and hills. So on the Venture sometimes a lower gear provides better fuel economy, mileage. Will air filter and exhaust mods make a difference in fuel economy? I have no idea. The Venture is affected less than some bikes. Carb balance and mixture do make a difference though. Mike

The popping is air entering the exhaust. It can come from an air leak in the piping or it can come from a faulty AIS system. An overly rich mixture can aggravate the problem. The air induction uses two valves. One for each side. They are vacuum operated. The plan is for the normal cruise vacuum to open the valves and allow air to enter the exhaust. This will burn off excess emissions. During high vacuum, idle, closed throttle or deceleration the high vacuum shuts the valve off closing the air supply to the exhaust preventing popping. So vacuum to the valves and integrity of the internal diaphragms are critical. There is no horsepower cost when this system is operating correctly. Repairs are actually quite simple although some owners choose to by-pass or disable the whole system

All good points but here is another often overlooked item. When pushing the piston back to replace brake pads open the bleeder. This does two things First it keeps old dirty fluid from being forced back into the master cylinder which can cause problems. Second it verifies the bleeder is working. Mike

Thanks Don I didn't get the e-mail but. If there is anything I don't need it is my driveway paved in India. Mike

As a cost cutting measure for Social Security the official age of retirement is changed to 95 effective December 16 2016. So I am sorry to inform you your retirement will be delayed indefinitely. Haha. Just kidding. Retirement is the best thing I ever did. In fact I don't know how I ever had time to go to work. So here's to wishing you all the best. Mike

Dan I have always heard it is better to be pissed off than pissed on. So it sounds like you are doing it right. Mike

This looks interesting. I am waiting to see responses. Mike

They do have batteries at Walmart etc. etc.... You were sitting up eating pies all night weren't you. Mike

Gregory Best of luck with your daughter. Keep searching until you find a medical professional whose diagnosis and treatment makes sense to you. And check what is written in her records. My Two Cents. First penny. Doctors generally try their best. But they actually don't know everything. With every product reminding us to 'talk it over with our doctor before use' we often expect them to be expert on every subject. But in the end they are just people like everybody else. It is my firm belief we are each largely responsible for our own treatment and our doctors are trained advisors. Second penny. Doctors read copy and repeat medical charts. Some where, some time some doctor wrote I had an appendectomy and gall bladder surgery along with some other medical procedures. I have no idea where that came from but these things now keep showing up everywhere. So check and correct your chart from time to time. You might be surprised at what it says and how often it is repeated. And wrong information could be hazardous. Suppose I developed a sharp pain in my side with doctors thinking my appendix had already been removed. How would that affect their diagnosis? Mike

Bundle up and get ready. Mike

For leaking oil the first thing I would check, after drain plug torque, is the valve covers. Make sure they are snug. For coolant the plugs under the cylinder covers are a high probability. Follow Freebirds post for that. Mike

Try this. For XVZ13TFSXC XVZ13TF (M = Midnight...S = polished stainless forks) (M,N,X etc. = year code)(C = California emissions) ..Body series..................Digit.........................................Digit............................Digit.............. XVZ = Base Series frame 13 = Engine 1300 TF = Venture: Possibly Touring Full dresser. (A, AT, LT are different)

A little more research on those serial numbers might be in order. Mike

I am not distracted when texting while driving. My attention is just elsewhere. Mike

Go to the Technical Section of this forum. Go to the Second gen section. You will find answers to many of your questions. Yes some owners use K&N filters. And yes this is one of the most reliable bikes ever built. Mike PS. Oh and welcome to the forum.

On the upper left of this picture you will see some large black round connectors. Unplug them one by one. Plug each in and out several times. Before the final reconnect put some dielectric grease on the pins. Be sure only to use dielectric grease which is available at auto parts stores. Good Luck Mike

Tom That is a very nice looking bike. It seems priced right to sell too. People often think that complaining about minutia will get the price lowered. It is an approach that seldom works. Often it makes the seller angry enough he doesn't want to sell to you at any price. So hang in there the right buyer will come around. Mike

You mean to say in this day and age you found a clerk in an auto parts store that knows his product line and what he is talking about. Will wonders never cease. Mike

Yea the squelch is like the spring on a screen door. It controls how much pressure is needed to open the door. But once open all the little buggers can get in. It should be set high enough so every little stray noise doesn't interrupt your radio. Mike

Heather Sorry to hear about your crash. Prayers are sent as are our wishes for a speedy recovery. Mike

I add stuff. I don't care what kind. Just stuff and lots of it. But most of all shiny is better. Mike