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V7Goose

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  1. V7Goose
    No reason to apologize Condor, you are free to say whatever you want. But your comments do puzzle me. I have no idea to what you refer when you say you wouldn't start an 850 mile trip on a tire that is practically bald - I specifically said I did NOT do that. Nor did I ever even suggest that I would expect 1,000-2,000 miles out of a tire that has gone beyond the wear indicators. I started my trip with at least 1/3 of the expected tire life left on my rear tire (5,000 miles remaining), and that was the maximum expected distance of the trip. Based on my personal experience with multiple Avon tires on this RSV, I believe that it was quite reasonable to expect the tire to remain safe to at least 14,000 miles, and possible 15,000 or 16,000. And nowhere did I complain about the life of that tire - I was simply providing information to others about how little rubber remains on an Avon Venom between the bottom of the tread and the cord. It seems to me that a warning about not pushing a tire too far is completely in line with what I think you are saying. In fact, I don't disagree with anything you say in this post, but please don't try to imply that I've said anything other than what is actually in print... Goose
  2. V7Goose
    Assuming the original owner didn't screw with the jets, you absolutely do NOT need to touch them. I do suggest, however, that you properly set the float levels. The shop's quote for an hourly rate is about right, but the stuff they say needs to be done is probably a complete ripoff, ESPECIALLY if they have not personally checked out the bike. I'd suggest you don't waste your time or money on them. Afterfire on deceleration is not uncommon on these bikes, and it is usually very easy to fix. It is absolutely NOT caused by the air induction system (but the AIS can make it worse if you don't fix the actual cause). You can read LOTS more about it in this thread: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=22961&highlight=ais+afterfire Without looking at it or knowing more, I'd suggest that all you need it to replace the rubber caps on the intake nipples and get a proper sync on the carbs. Goose
  3. V7Goose
    The new tire just split through the shoulder and across the tread. You can see a picture of it in post #24 here: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33390&highlight=dunlop+failure The road was clear and he was not aware of having hit any obstacle or debris before the blowout. Since this is the ONLY occurrence of a failure of an E3 so far (of which I know), I decided to go ahead and give them a try for myself. Goose
  4. V7Goose
    Not a whole lot to report yet, but thought I'd start this thread so I can update it later. Yesterday I just mounted my first Dunlop E3 on QuickSilver. I only have a couple of hundred miles on it so far, but initial impressions are very positive. One thing I noticed MIGHT simply be the power of suggestion, but I'll report it anyway: When we put the first E3 on my brother's RSV out in El Paso a couple of weeks ago (he only got to ride about 65 miles on it before it blew out!), he was commenting to me on the radio how it rode quite a bit smoother than the Avon he took off. Since the tire had a catastrophic failure less than 5 miles later, I have been wondering if maybe that impression was coming from a tire that might have been losing pressure just before the failure, but I swear I notice the same thing with my new E3! The E3 does have a slightly lower load rating than the Venom (77H vs, 80H) and a lower max sidewall pressure than the Venom (40 lbs vs. 50 lbs), so that may be the reason for the softer ride, but it still surprises me. I had about 45 lbs in the Venom, and since the E3 says right on the tire to keep it at 40 when riding loaded or two-up, that's what I have in it. I wouldn't expect just 5 lbs difference to make a big difference in the ride. Handling seems to be at least as good as the Venoms, but it is really too early to tell. After all, I only have 200 miles on the tire, and I still have an old Brickstone front tire on the bike that I was using just to wear out the last rear tire before I mounted a new set. As I have noted in other discussion, raising the rear of the RSV changes the rake and trail enough to dramatically improve the handling of even that disgusting Brickstone front tire, so I will let if finish it's life before I put on the new E3 front tire and test the matched set. Since I have gone through three Venom rear tires on this bike (and several other brands too), I have a good basis to compare relative longevity between the E3 and the Venom for the same bike, rider and conditions. Looking forward to being able to eventually report on how they compare! Ride safe, Goose
  5. V7Goose
    I've posted about this before, but this seems like a good time to cover it again, just as a caution. I absolutely love the Avon Venom tires on my RSV - so far, they are the best handling (in all conditions) and best wearing tires I have tested. BUT, there is one thing I have never been happy about - these tires have absolutely NO margin of safety left at the bottom of the tread grooves. When that last hint of tread groove is smoothed off, there is only the barest wisp of rubber film left above the first layer of cord. Yes, we all know that you should never run a tire beyond the tire wear indicators, but I sure would like a little extra security under there anyway! Case in point is my recent trip around the Texas border. I had close to 10,000 miles on the rear tire before I left, and it still looked real good. I usually get 14,000 - 15,000 from an Avon rear tire, so I thought I had enough to make the trip; however, I also watched it carefully every day. We hit some really rough road surfaces in places that felt like riding on a cheese grater, and those did take their toll; however, all still looked safe Saturday morning when I headed out from Squire Vance's place south of Houston. But a hundred miles or so later on the ferry from Galveston to the Bolivar Peninsula, I noticed a spot where the tread groove was just disappearing, and I could see the slight beginnings of shredding that shows the tire cord is about to poke through. Since I had run these tires before, I knew what was going to happen very quickly, so I decided the best course of action was to head straight home (about 350 miles) instead of trying to finish the trip (maybe 800 miles). Now here are the pictures from that tire when I got home: [ATTACH]27931[/ATTACH] 350 miles before there was NO cord showing on this tire [ATTACH]27932[/ATTACH] Same tire, opposite side. Notice the layers showing between tread and base. This tire was out of balance when I took it off, with the heavy spot opposite the worst wear. But there is no way to know if that caused the wear or was simply the result of the wear - after all, there is obviously less rubber on the worn site, so that must make it the lighter side of the tire, right? My point here is to impress how quickly the cord will show through once you hit the bottom of the tread groove on these tires. If you look at the second picture, you can see that the long tread grove that crosses the center of the tire is just at the bottom, but right next to it you can detect the slightly different look of the lower layer of rubber that makes up the body of the tire. That's what I meant by "no margin of safety" below the tread groove. Always best to change those tires (any tires) as soon as they hit the tire wear indicators! But if you are on the road and wondering how far you might be able to push it to find a new one - you aren't going to push an Avon very far. Ride safe, Goose
  6. V7Goose
    Sure sorry to hear about the incident Dave, but more glad that you made it OK. Glad you were watching. Goose
  7. V7Goose
    Man, you nuts! It don't taste like no danged chicken - it tastes like SNAKE! And that's better ANY day. Heck, if ya gotta compare it to somethin, compare it to gator, not some stupid bird.
  8. V7Goose
    Mmmmmm, dinner!
  9. V7Goose
    The last three days running up the Gulf Coast were great - temps cooled considerably once we his the shore breezes. Thursday we did the run out to Boca Chica at the southern tip of Texas, then a full loop on South Padre Island. The morning started heavily overcast again, and you could hardly see the buildings on South Padre for the mist as we crossed over. No 'girls gone wild' down there for spring break - maybe it was just the cool overcast weather that morning - . But it was still a neat ride until Tom damn near got decapitated. Some idiot strung a nylon string across a street on South Padre - no idea how I missed it riding in front (didn't even see it), but it caught in Tom's visor and sawed part way through before it finally snapped and slid free. Dodged another bullet! After we got done poking around so long through Brownsville and South Padre, we ended up staying just a little north of Harlingen in Raymondville. Didn't move all that far up the coast for the day, but we still covered 300 miles. Friday Tom decided he wasn't really enjoying the trip any longer, what with the pain and repeated attempts on his life and all, so he decided to just head straight home. I had a fantastic ride on up the coast after the fog cleared in the morning - Padre and Mustang islands were really enjoyable, and dancing through the bayous on the little county roads was neat. 400 miles later I ended up in the phenomenally beautiful home of Squire Vance. He and his beautiful wife Brenda are incomparable hosts - even finding a very polite way to decline my offer to move and stay forever! Saturday we met up with Dave and continued the journey - he as already done an excellent job describing the "interesting" run through the hurricane devastation - for being so long after it hit, I was amazed at how bad it still was. On the ferry over to the Bolivar peninsula I spotted a couple of bad spots on my rear tire, where you could just see the last shreds of rubber over the cord beginning to wear away - I had been watching the tire closely after some of the very rough roads we hit in the desert - some of them had aggregate so large in the asphalt that new roads felt like we were riding on a cheese grater! Anyway, after potting the wear points, I figured the 350 miles home was the safer decision than pushing the tire for the last 800 - 1000 miles of the planned trip, so I turned north into the NASTY cold north wind for the forced march home and a new tire. Got in last night right at 1900; 500 miles in that wind felt a lot more like 1,000! I've only got about two more days left on the trip to just finish the run up the eastern border from Port Arthur to Texarkana - got a few things to catch up on now that I'm back, so not sure yet when I'll head back out. Maybe next weekend? The run home and back for the new tire will add a few more miles and an extra day, but so what - the whole point was just to ride, and that's what I'm doing! Ride Safe, Goose
  10. V7Goose
    If you hooked up the wires exactly like I described in the tech article, the aux power wire will always be hot - you use it for anything that you would ordinarily want to connect directly to the battery. If you want the circuit to be switched with the key, like with driving lights, run the power to a light relay and have the relay energized from the existing headlight circuit. I probably would not connect low current draw running lights to that aux circuit - nothing wrong with that, but just not necessary. Instead, connect extra LED lights to the existing bike light circuits at the plug behind the battery. Goose
  11. V7Goose
    If you hooked up the wires exactly like I described in the tech article, the aux power wire will always be hot - you use it for anything that you would ordinarily want to connect directly to the battery. If you want the circuit to be switched with the key, like with driving lights, run the power to a light relay and have the relay energized from the existing headlight circuit. I probably would not connect low current draw running lights to that aux circuit - nothing wrong with that, but just not necessary. Instead, connect extra LED lights to the existing bike light circuits at the plug behind the battery. Goose
  12. V7Goose
    Thanx for the comments, everyone. For the ones who asked for suggestions on alternative insurance companies, I have been very happy with Nationwide. I switched to them from Progressive about four years ago after I got tired of the way Progressive would quote a new bike very low (apparently to just get the business), then regularly raise the rate every year for no reason at all. As I said at the beginning of this thread and in other posts in the past, I personally had no other problems with them, but I get tired of those types of games very fast. I do not think we have an email address for anyone with Progressive directly involved with this claim, but it seems unlikely that any of those individuals would care at all anyway. I think you can send emails to the company in general through their web site on this page: https://www.progressive.com/contact-us.aspx Ride safe, Goose
  13. V7Goose
    Better watch it Bud! Ain't no Yankee in this house. I'm an Arizona boy - born in the Sonoran dessert and raised in the Mojave! This weenie state ain't got nuthin' for comparison. Our cactus is sharper, our heat is hotter, our cold is colder, we actually GET snow, our canyons are deeper and our mountains are sure as hell a lot bigger! But a guy's just gotta have a martini now and then, ya know? Ain't no reason to ride too long when there's good gin and olives in the saddle bags! Goose (But if you want to ride up to Don's maintenance day with me this year, we'll see who the panty-waist* is! And I'll still offer you a 'tini when we get there.) * Roget's Thesaurus lists panty-waist as one of the synonyms for "weakling: softy, jelly fish, big baby, chicken, milk-toast, sop, namby-pamby, mollycoddle, cream puff, push-over, light-weight, doormat, droop, effeminate, and sissy."
  14. V7Goose
    Man, there ain't no fight here. If we can get a 3rd generation Venture with good looks, functional storage, and a Linux engine, I'm all for it!!!! :rotf: (but don't put no apple on that thing or I'll have to buy a paint shaker.)
  15. V7Goose
    Before I begin, let me toll you that I have had Progressive Insurance on my motorcycles in the past and personally been happy with the service, including the way they handled the only claim I had with them. That was in Texas. This story is about my brother's current experience with Progressive - bike insured in Georgia, totaled in Texas. I'm not here to badmouth them or tell you what you should do for your own insurance, but I want to tell you the facts about how badly he has been treated. Your mileage may be different, but this is what I have personally seen with Progressive this past week: Bike crashed Tuesday afternoon (blown tire). Called and reported claim. Progressive adjuster showed up at location of bike Wednesday morning before 11:00 AM. So far so good. The adjuster inspected the bike, made some calls to see how the Georgia arm would handle things and told us he was totaling the bike. Said he couldn't get the quote that day, and he was going on vacation tomorrow, but his backup would absolutely call us the next day with the full payout quote and any other information needed. He asked about getting copies of receipts for accessories and helmet along with the title, and Tom told him he could have them sent overnight from Georgia. We stressed to the adjuster that the bike MUST be picked up ASAP since it was sitting on a public street in violation of city ordinances. The adjuster gave Tom the office address and name of who to send all the papers to, assured us they would pick up the bike the next day, then left. All the receipts AND the title for the bike were sent overnight, 10:00 AM delivery, to Progressive as promised. Unfortunately, Progressive has failed to meet a single one of their responsibilities to Tom so far. Not once did either Tom or his wife receive a single phone call from ANYONE at progressive from Tuesday afternoon through mid day today, Wednesday, one full week later. Someone who said he was a tow-truck driver did leave Tom a message yesterday saying the bike would be picked up within the hour - but that turned out to be a lie too. I have personally been with Tom as he has called multiple numbers at Progressive EVERY DAY for the past week (original adjuster, his backup, main offices), leaving voice messages each time. Not one single call was returned. In addition, Tom's wife in Georgia has been making constant calls to them also, with equal lack of results. Now, one week later, the wrecked and totaled bike STILL sits in front of 5bikes' house in El Paso and Tom still has not received a settlement. Just this afternoon, about an hour ago, the original adjuster finally called Tom's cell phone after getting back from his spring break vacation and said they were willing to settle on the bike, but they refused to pay for any lodging and transportation he paid for while they abandoned him in El Paso! Remember that this claim was from a person traveling out of state, and the insurance company gave him absolutely zero instructions on what he should do to mitigate losses or take care of his own needs while they decided what to do. We moved into a cut-rate chain hotel and waited for them to return repeated phone calls, so he is not trying to get anything unwarranted out of them, but they have been unresponsive, and today very rude and ugly with him on the phone (I was listening on the speaker phone). The settlement they offered on the bike today is probably fair, but they have completely destroyed their reputation and any possibility of any future business from this family for a lousy couple of hundred dollars in hotel bills (plus the abandonment of a paying customer during his time of need). Take this information for whatever you think it is worth - I know I won't ever insure with them again. Goose
  16. V7Goose
    We made it into La Joya on the north side of McAllen today before the heat and thirst got to us and we started looking for an ice machine. Great ride this morning, 72 degrees and overcast sky that was just perfect. But when we outran the clouds the temps hit 94, and the bikes were just a tad warm in all the stop lights out on US83. The scenery in the Brush Country can be way more monotonous than the desert, even if there is a lot more green. One thing I was really surprised at is the number of huge game compounds down here compared to other parts of Texas - I thought the Hill country was bad, but that's nothing like what we saw in the stretch between Del Rio and McAllen - some of these game fences run for 50 miles or more! I will say that even though the game compounds are smaller and fewer in the Hill Country, you see more of the exotic game up there - all we saw here for the past two days was one massive impala. Tomorrow we'll ride South Padre Island, then start working our way up the coast. Looking forward to some cooler off-shore breezes! Goose
  17. V7Goose
    My Etch-a-sketch is immune too - so what? Most toys aren't worth anyone's effort to mess with! Goose
  18. V7Goose

    choke

    V7Goose replied to kwisor's topic in Watering Hole

    This is pretty common on these bikes - the choke plungers get gunked up with time and need a good spray with carb cleaner to free up. In addition, the linkages that connect to each plunger are very soft metal and will bend from just about any contact, even the hard tugging on the choke knob trying to get the stuck plungers to move. Spray each plunger several times with carb cleaner, then look closely at the linkage where it connects to the end of each plunger and use needle nose pliers to "adjust" each arm so it is centered in the notch on the end of the plunger when the choke is closed. If you still have any sticking, pay close attention to the linkage where the slides under the screw heads - make sure it is not twisted or bent there. You can do all of this easily without taking anything off the bike as long as you do not have the chrome carb covers installed. Goose
  19. V7Goose
    Thanx Tom - I agree with you about the Marathon Motel - tried there first, but no room at the Inn! So we went looking for a stable, but couldn't find one of those in town. For anyone traveling the area, Alpine seems like one of the best choices for a planned stop - lots of options there. Unfortunately we were going the other direction. The next stop for us would have been Sanderson, about 54 miles east. That seemed pretty iffy too, since my GPS only showed two motels there, so we bit the bullet and took the gold plated ambiance at the Gage. If we had been willing to ride another hour and roll the dice on Sanderson, it would have been a good choice; Tuesday morning on or way through the motels looked decent and the town was definitely better than Marathon. The biggest problem with Alpine as an option is that if you want to make the loop through Big Bend and along the river to Presidio, you bypass Alpine all together. But what the heck, that's just part of the charm of a trip like this - to see what you see when you get nowhere! I'm still not so sure those aliens in the radar balloon didn't suck out most of my brains when I rode by - not leaving home without foil again! Goose
  20. V7Goose
    Time for a new update, I guess. We did get back on the road Sunday morning - jumped on the bikes and headed south out of El Paso, glad to finally see it in the mirrors! Our target was Marfa, and the ride was relatively uneventful except for that danged freaky balloon that hung motionless in the distant sky for 50 miles or so. At first there was no way to tell what it was, just a strange shaped spot against the clouds that never moved - and me out in the middle of nowhere without any tin foil to line my helmet with! When we finally got close enough to recognize it as a baloon or blimp, we still could not understand how it wasn't moving over long periods of time. Finally as we passed we could just make out a cable tether anchoring the balloon in the middle of a fenced compound a ways off the road. We only guessed this must be some Border Patrol radar monitor to try and cover all the desert and mountains in the stretch between Marfa and El Paso where there aren't any paved roads. Still spooky to see something hanging in the sky in front of you for so long (ESPECIALLY when you think about the Marfa lights that have been unexplained for over 100 years). Anyway, when we got into Marfa, our impression of the place was less than favorable, so we decided to push on to Presidio down on the Mexican border. This was a bit of a gamble, since there seemed to be only two or three hotels we could find anywhere down there. The ride down from Marfa was the first interesting terrain we had seen since leaving El Paso, but the temperature sure shot up as we dropped into the Rio Grande valley (low 90s). The first hotel we found was out in the middle of nowhere, no cars around at all, but it had a sign taped to the front door saying "no rooms." Bummer - now we got a bit worried. Luck was with us, as we did find a decent room at the Three Palms Hotel, and even more luck when we found fabulous food at the Oaisis Restaurant next door. Monday morning we made a 50 mile trip up the river to the end of the paved road at Candalaria. The weather was cool and the scenery great, but you really have to watch out for the free-range cattle on the road, then we turned around and rode back through Presidio an on to Big Bend National Park. The road south out of Presidio is a really nice ride - strongly recommended. Got some nice pictures of the mountains and Rio Grande as we scooted along the border. [ATTACH]27650[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]27651[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]27652[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]27653[/ATTACH] The day down along the river and through Big Bend stayed pretty warm, so when we finally got back up to the highway are Marathon we were ready for a room and a drink. BIG mistake to plan on staying in Marathon! Town was a dive, almost no place to stay and even fewer places to eat. Ended up in the Gage Hotel - nice ambiance for the tourists looking for Texas decor, but simply saying they have rip-off prices for being stuck in the middle of nowhere is a huge understatement! We were happy to be back on the road today and just ran down to Eagle Pass before we packed it in. Seems like kind of nice town, for a border town. No real pictures of interest today, but here's one of an Ocotillo cactus in bloom outside of Judge Roy Bean's court house in Langtry with the Mexico cliffs above the Rio Grande in the background. Also one shot of Tom on his new wing behind me on the highway. [ATTACH]27654[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]27655[/ATTACH] That's it for now - hope I didn't bore y'all! Goose
  21. V7Goose
    Bruce, yours may not be covered - give it a try, but don't be too surprised if they say no. The other problem described was clearly catastrophic internal failure of the battery, but yours sounds more like just a weak battery from failure to keep it fully charged. I'd make sure it is properly charged per Yuasa's tech manual (and not with a trickle charger) and perform a load test on it. If it fails the load test, then the shop may agree to replace it. Unfortunately, these bikes do not have a lot of charging capacity. They will maintain a battery fine for five years or more IF AND ONLY IF you ride it long enough without excess electrical load to fully replace the current expended each time it is started. IMHO, based on my observations for the past 75,000 miles, this takes at least 10 miles WITHOUT running 30 watt passing lights and 20 miles or more WITH the extra Yamaha passing lights but no other added load. And that means running that distance, on average, each and every time you start the bike. If you were starting the bike regularly over the winter, but not using a charger or riding it long enough to completely recharge the battery (from BOTH the starting losses AND the normal drain from sitting), that that would qualify as what Yamaha calls "improper maintenance and/or storage." The good news is that your bike is still relatively new, so if you get the battery properly charged NOW and keep it charged, you may still get several more years out of it with some luck. Goose
  22. V7Goose
    You didn't read it wrong - I just mount the brass adaptor with the newly re-formed metric threads straight in head. I have done several exactly like I described and showed in the instructions and have not had a single leak. The only thing I use is teflon tape on the modified brass adaptor and the sparkplug crush washer from the non-fouler. I don't play magilla gorilla on the socket when I install the adaptor - just snug it up good and then a tad more (1/4 turn max, just like you do with a spark plug). Goose
  23. V7Goose
    You didn't read it wrong - I just mount the brass adaptor with the newly re-formed metric threads straight in head. I have done several exactly like I described and showed in the instructions and have not had a single leak. The only thing I use is teflon tape on the modified brass adaptor and the sparkplug crush washer from the non-fouler. I don't play magilla gorilla on the socket when I install the adaptor - just snug it up good and then a tad more (1/4 turn max, just like you do with a spark plug). Goose
  24. V7Goose
    Thanx for the various responses, all. Sounds to me like their service is remaining pretty good, but perhaps not quite as fast as it has been in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if my case was simply an anomaly that might have happened even before the change of owners, but I have no way of knowing since it never did. I'll probably continue to use them too, but I will no longer assure others that they will get their tires in 3-4 days like I always have in the past! Goose
  25. V7Goose
    Sorry you guys are having problems with a leak - that crush washer from the non-fouler (or any spark plug) is not really intended for sealing liquids, but it worked fine for me. No idea what torque - I just used my calibrated wrist on that. If yours is deforming unevenly, maybe you are cranking on it too hard? Two other suggestions - put a good several wraps of Teflon tape on the upper threads of whatever adaptor you are using. Next, check at an auto parts store or Ace Hardware for copper washers, usually used on oil plugs. The copper is soft and deforms enough to fill any small gaps. Goose
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