Prairiehammer

BTW: the bike is listed as having NO keys. I have the key(s).

Roy, there is no TCI remaining with the bike. I had installed an Ignitech TCI and mounted it to the airbox with Velcro. In my regrettably short visit to the bike the day after the accident, I grabbed it and other things I could easily salvage. I wish I could have recovered more, but time was short, I had no tools and I thought at the time, that I was going to be able to rent a truck and haul the entire rig back to Illinois. Alas, that idea was dashed by the combination of not being able to rent a truck one way to Illinois and then by the insurance company's refusal to allow the wreck to leave the towing impound until they had adjusted it. FYI to any one thinking of bidding on the bike and trailer: Progressive offered to sell the entire rig (motorcycle and trailer) back to me for $700. I almost bit on that, until I started calculating expenses to go there and back ($350-$400). I ultimately decided to pass. Progressive paid me $7115 minus the $250 deductible for the bike and trailer. Since I only paid $5000 for the whole rig in 2002, I figured I got my money out of it.

Actually, Debbie and I were flopping around behind the bike as it did it's gymnastics in front of us on it's way to the median. I'm not certain what gyrations were taking place with the bike, but it was sliding backwards somewhere along the line (the exhaust pipes packed with hard dry dirt and note the antennae bent forward) and the trailer smashed into the trunk while at a ninety degree angle to the trunk. Some of the trailer paint is transferred to the trunk lid. If it had just continued to slide on it's left side it wouldn't have been so bad, but it started flipping and the trailer apparently jackknifed and flipped and those actions caused the most damage. It must of have been a sight watching that rig tumbling through the dust cloud.

Bob, that is a swivel hitch that you see bent on the trailer. One and eighth inch solid bar bent. As for the hitch on the bike, note that it is broken where the chrome part meets the main hitch support. The saddlebag guard is broken clean off the right side, so I'm not sure about the Markland hitch frame work as it bolts to the saddlebag guard. As I said, there is hardly any thing not damaged.

Yeah, Bob. They are the ones Bob Meyers makes, called Snagglemounts.

Yep, it ran good. I even started it in the towing impound yard, while inspecting the crash damage. The trailer LOOKS repairable, but the insurance adjuster claimed the frame was bent. I dunno. And apparently, someone stole the brand new LED tailights I had installed before our trip. They are not on the trailer any longer.

When I visited the bike the day after the accident, I tried to remove them, but they were too tight for me to take off with my bare hands. I didn't have any tools and at the time, I was planning to haul the rig back to Illinois. But then the insurance company intervened and denied that possibility and then the time to head home for work on Monday and the towing yard was closed on Saturday and we had to get on the road and... So there they stayed.

Yep, those are Snagglemounts made and sold by Bob Myers right here on VRO. I just received a replacement set from Bob today for the '91.

Anybody that is interested: http://www.crashedtoys.com/Inventory.aspx?InventoryID=1170390&secid=26&trc=225&ai=&rn=&vt=21&st=OH&fa=&ad=&ati=&pd=&sc=&mk=&mdl=&yf=1990&yt=&mz=&z=&pg=2&tpg=&rcppg=20&vtg=&fts=&so=5&bn=0#9aef6cbed1094886a3c97ae5fce65ee6 Look at all the pictures...there isn't much salvageable, but the drivetrain.

If the connector from the pick-up coils got soaked, the signal from the P-U coils may be interrupted. Check the fuse block and associated electrics under the faux tank cover. Spray some water displacer (WD40).

Are those halogen or LED? Model number?

Here try this one: http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/eyewitness/131004_19655.shtml#.Uk96BU4ZVzc.facebook or this: http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/eyewitness/131004_19655.shtml?wap=0 I think that is Skid dishing up spaghetti.

For any of yous on facebook, there is page devoted to motorcycle camping, with some VRO members. https://www.facebook.com/groups/backroadsmotorcyclecamping/

Me too. http://www.ibmc.org/ And the Motorcycle camping forum that Shamue mentioned is located here: http://www.motocampers.com/ That other link he suggested is not valid.

Ya know, Don, if you had ridden the thousand miles in 24 hours (or less) on the RSV, you probably wouldn't have "Saddle Sores". Congratulations, "Iron Butter" Nelson. Or is it "Butter Butt" Nelson.

Where do you live in Illinois again? Two and a half months is the middle of December.

No ideas on retro. You are just gonna have to keep finding/buying the used OEM. BUT, there are plenty examples of speedometers that have recorded more than 100,000 miles and are still functioning. Get another low mileage speedo and lube the speedometer itself (not just the cable). Check out these threads: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=46080 http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36254 Do a search for other threads as well.

Is this your old bike, Kevin?

So does that (signature) mean you are going to repaint the '99 BLUE?

You know, Dan now that you seem to be collecting anything that is labeled as "Yamaha Venture", they made Yamaha Venture snowmobiles, too. And Yamaha Venture PWC's as well. I suspect it snows in WV, occasionally. And that Elk River is just down the hill. Put a WaveVenture in it and run up and down the river.

Didn't Freebird include the Owner's Manual? If he did, don't be such a West Virginian. Read the manual. If he didn't, well, you've heard of the "Lemon Law", right?

I had had a heads-up on the bike three weeks ago, when the guy who owned it posted that he had traded it. But, as I was trying to figure out if I could or wanted to trek 350 miles to see the bike, the dealer put it on eBay. The deal is done. My brother, who lives in Grimes is picking it up tomorrow and riding it back to his place. I'll get it from him (my brother) later this week. I indeed bought it without a test ride, but I had been talking with the guy who traded it in on a Triumph. He has/had several First Gens and told me all about this bike that he had owned for a year. He, in turn, had bought it from another long time Venture owner (again, someone I am acquainted with), so between the two of them I had enough confidence to buy it sight unseen. Thanks for the offer to "test ride" it, though.

Hey! That looks like the roof of Yammer's infamous "One Hundred Year Build" garage. O.M.G.! Yammer, you Judas!

I have the 1983-1985 XVZ12 Service Manual on my Google Drive. It is available to download. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwLuLxb8qHwMdnpqT1dHZzd2bE0/edit?usp=sharing