Iowa Guy
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Everything posted by Iowa Guy
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Upgrade brakes?
Iowa Guy replied to Iowa Guy's topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
Hi Earl, Wow! You got lotsa VR bikes. Yes, I realize how the brakes work on the Venture; foot pedal works the right front and rear brakes and lever works the left front only. I like this integrated feature. When I first bought my bike, I used too much front brake and I dumped it approaching a corner & scatter plastic all over the intersection. I seriously considered giving up riding if that is what was going to happen. After some very good advise from good people on this site I bought new tires and changed my braking style completely. Now, I use the foot pedal first and only the hand brake a little if needed. I am much more conscious of things like cracks and man hole covers in the roadway all the way to the ambient temperature; you know, stuff you never think about if you have four fat tires under you. Well, I am second owner and the guy before me put 19K on it with just using the rear brake he said. Any other possibilities of what might be wrong other than a warped rotor? I will PM you about your supplies. Iowa Guy -
Front brakes on my 89 are due for replacement. I'd like to beef them up. I've always thought they were a little weak. I don't want to put stainless steel lines on as that seems a little expensive. Are there brake pads that are better than others like from Buckeye for instance? Also, my mechanic tells me that when he has test driven it and brakes, particularly with just the right hand brake, there is a surging uneven braking action. I have felt this too. He says that it is because the rotor may be warped. I don't want to buy a rotor but would buy a used one. Looks like they go for about $50 plus s&h. Any ideas? Iowa Guy
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Ground Hogs Day...Oh Yea! Funny and philisophical Then "What About Bob"
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Iowa so far is a "MAY" state. The sheriff's department in our county for the past 40+ years has not issued a non-professional concealed carry license. I applied anyway at the beginning of the year. Two weeks ago, I got a letter from the sheriff's dept. offering a handgun safety course to certify. For some reason sheriff had a change of heart. The written portion was a snap but wow: the shooting requirement was tough (for me). Using a NRA B-2 target at 25 feet we were to shoot 10 rounds in 5 minutes then 5 round in each of 2 clips with a clip exchange in 30 seconds all at a 80% accuracy. I shot 55%. I have some practicing to do. Next opportunity for qualification will be in the spring. Question: Is this the same criteria for qualifying that other programs have? Tougher/Easier? I am not complaining, just curious. With some practice and coaching I am sure that I can bring this score up Iowa Guy
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Hard starting after 6 weeks
Iowa Guy replied to timgray's topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
I was told the same thing by the owner of a Yamaha Dealership who has been in town for the past 40+ years. Iowa Guy -
Yes, thats it. The reason that I am looking for a set is that they did their intended job of "edge protecting" and probably saved major damage to the fairing on both sides. Don't ask about learning to ride at age 50 and beginning with an eight hundred touring bike. I am better now and have kept the rubber side down for the past 3 years. No applause please! So I am looking to replace them. One is lost and the other doesn't look so good. Iowa Guy
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Anyone know where I can get the chrome strips that fit on the outside edge of the front fairing on the first gen just below the mirrors? What is the official name for them? More chrome! More chrome! Iowa Guy
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Thanks Black Owl. Will do Iowa Guy
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bump
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Some students at our local high school have become interested in motorcycle mechanic training at Universal Technical Institute or Motorcycle Mechanics Institute. Has anyone had any experience with them or talked to anyone who has gone there? Iowa Guy
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Thanks to all for the feedback. I bought a $5 oversized replacement plug and screwed it right in and so far... no drips, runs, or errors. I will continue to keep track of it each time that I ride. Once again good advice here has saved me big money. Iowa Guy
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crush washer is still there and the plug will not tighten up. When I removed it and drained the oil the plug looked okay. Tomorrow, I take the plug in to the auto parts store and get a self tapping plug that has a smaller plug inside it that can be removed to drain oil at the next change. If that fails, I will also buy a rubber plug to make the trip this weekend and then start looking for a used oil pan. thanks so much for all the input. Iowa Guy
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I got a leak from the oil plug. I don't know if it is the plug or the oil pan threads that are stripped but I would assume that it is the oil pan threads. What do I have to do to fix this? I have a 8 hr trip to Sioux City planned for Friday. Iowa Guy
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Almost had a chance to test the odds. I took a great solo ride last friday noon through Saturday evening of about 640 miles. Thats not a lot for some of the iron butts here but a personal best for me. West of Des Moines on a two lane I was meeting several cars. I looked off road to my right briefly and when I turned back one of the cars was half in my lane and past me before I could react. I normally ride in the left track. If I had been there, he might have better seen me and stayed on his side ... or maybe I'd just be gone now. It wasn't until I'd pulled off and got the kick stand down that I realized that I hadn't exhailed yet. Wow! I am still thinking about it. Makes me think long and hard when I read about the ones written here that weren't near misses. God Bless Us All Iowa Guy Still alive and riding
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Good recommendations cause i am new to this. I appreciate the input. I can see that I will need to read up on welding to understand what has happened lately and that it is more complex than I anticipated. This site is inspiring and keeps me humble all at the same time. I welcome all advice Iowa Guy tim
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So...I have been working on a H/F trailer and realize that several things would have been easier if I just had a welder. I haven't welded for 35 years since I was on the farm but I suppose that welders have changed since I was a teenager. Just wanted to know what folks would recommend for a household welder. Ya know, Christmas is just around the corner. Iowa Guy
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Yes, I did that fix too so when I am bragging about this site, that is one of the many examples I give why I am glad i am a member. Iowa Guy:thumbsup2:
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Fuel capacity
Iowa Guy replied to CrazyHorse's topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
Ditto on the shoulder tapping. Once riding solo I ran it up to 185 before I found a gas station and put 4.5 gal in. Figure I had 20 mile before I was bone dry. Trouble is I don't always get 41 mpg so I can't count on that every time. When my idiot light starts blinking, I have 1.5 gal left and when it goes solid I have 1 gal left mas o menos. Iowa Guy -
Statistics is all in how it is read. 6.5 deaths per 10,000 riders in a year in the touring category which is more like our group odds translates to .065 deaths per 100 people or a 99.935 % chance that any one of us would remain safe on our bikes in a 12 month period of time. And if we never drink before we ride, I'm sure the odds are much better since the above odds don't distinguish how many of them were rider/drinkers but its likely that some of the 6.5 deaths in the above figure included ETOH use. Risk is not as good as it was in 2000 and certainly not as good as it would be riding in a gage but it is still good. If I have slipped a decimal place, someone should tell me but those odds are darn good and I've certainly risked my life (sometimes foolishly but not lately) on far worse odds. Iowa Guy
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Anyone else have this problem? The black insulation of the lower coiled cable that comes off the helmets at each end near the connectors is splitting revealing the colored wiring inside. Everything still works fine, but I have had to wrap each with electrical tape. I am going to buy new cables but don't want to just repeat the problem. Is there a vendor that has a better cable? Should I make a modification that would better protect this area? Is Edsets a good place to buy these items? Iowa Guy
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I have axillary switches for my driving lights and extra tail lights. When I forget and leave them on when I am just piddling around town after about the 3rd stop the battery doesn't have enough juice to start the bike. On the highway, no problem, but I've been caught 3 times now and my wife is getting bored already with rescuing me. Any fix for this besides an better memory? Iowa Guy
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Oskaloosa! Thats just up the road less than an hour away! How bout if I come see you? That way I can give my trailer a little test run and look at yours for ideas. Send me a pm if you are open to that. Iowa Guy
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I wondered about how sturdy the bicycle stands could be. I couldn't find HF trailer stand on their website. What have other people done for a stand? iowa guy
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I got my HF trailer repainted and assembled and the box mounted on top. It works great and follows unloaded along at 80 mph. I am now looking at adding other conveniences like a bicycle kickstand and a cooler on the tongue. My wife and I plan to take a trip west across the state in two weeks to see our son run in cross country in two weeks. Questions: I bought a kickstand from Walmart but it doesn't seem to have the right angle for mounting on the tongue. Anybody have pictures of how they mounted a bicycle kickstand on their HF trailer? What is the easiest way to mount a cooler on the tongue and what cooler is recommended? I know that it must have a positive latch (don't want my ham sandwiches flying down the interstate). Any other recommendations? Iowa Guy
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Thanks Greg for trying to help. I ordered the parts but almost a week later they emailed me that the parts were not available. I tryed another place that refered me to CIMA International. http://local.yahoo.com/info-17229794-cima-international-glendale-heights They don't have a website that you can order from but when I called they were great at helping me figure out what parts I needed, if they had them in the warehouse and are sending them out right away. So far, I am impressed. The rep also stated that the reason that Nolan N41 parts are hard to find is that the helmets are older and any helmet should not be used past 5 years of their manufacture date. That was news to me. He said that there are naturally occuring changes in the materials over time so that the older helmets do not provide the protection they did when they were new regardless of whether they just sat on the shelf or was some sweaty biker's dailey commute helmet. (Okay, maybe he didn't say it just like that) The hard parts get soft and the soft parts get hard. Say, that reminds me of.... Anyway, bottom line is that helmets have a limited shelf life. Iowa Guy