Question: does coolant steam off when it is exposed / not under pressure? Am I seeing the radiator "burning off" the spilled fluid?
Coolant will leave a film that will give off steam as it dries. It helps to hose off the area of a spill with clean water and then blow off most of the water with an air hose. May still have a little steam but it doesn't last long
No they do not. It is removable but easily reinstalled if sitting in the seat. In fact, it is a bit of trick to,install when off the bike. There is a bracket attached to the rear fender to receive the tail of the backrest. Since it is rather deep down between the back of the rider's seat and the front of the pillion seat it is little hard to find. Doable just not in a couple of seconds.
I ended up just leaving it in place all the time.
Enjoying your write up. Any chance you could work around the decal leaving it there? Mask it carefully, sand, paint the color, unmask, and clear coat over everything?
I used the white connector under the seat by tinning two wires with solder and jamming them into the empty connector. Plugged that connector into the one connected to the bike and it has held for a few thousand miles. I used this to feed ignition on power to my passing lamp relay
I have a late '90's model Wheel Horse (bought new) and it has been a great little garden tractor. Primarily mow with it but have a snow blade and rototiller I bought with it.
Only problems with it have been related to the location of the battery. It is under the hood and right behind the dash so the electrical connections require lots of maintenance. I have to replace the fuse panel due to the fuses corroding, getting hot, and melting the plastic. After I became aware of it I now stay ahead of the issue. Great and rugged little tractor.
I bought a new 2012 Venture leftover last month and love it. I traded in my 07 Tour Deluxe after I removed most of the accessories. I have added all of them to the new Venture plus a few new, used, and custom made pieces. Plan to add even more over the winter.
I test drove Victory and Indian and while I liked the looks/styling they just didn't feel "right".
As stated frequent stops helps. We found it helps to stop before feeling the need to stop and stretch. Waiting until numb butt sets in and then stopping leads to quicker numb butt once you start rolling again.
Bluetooth headsets with her own choice of musics helps also
From experience: Yes - it is worth it to drain it down a little. I used to fill mine to the mid point in the window and it makes a mess in the air intake. Oil will seep out, usually on the left side, down the sides of the carbs. To clean you have to pull the tanks and the plastic air runners on top of the carbs.
There are a couple of guys who mounted an additional trunk to match the upper one in the same manner as the cargo rack. Still will need lights. There is always the discussion of whether or not the license plate is visible or needs to be visible
I had hydro lock once. Left rear cylinder filled with fuel and luckily the piston was at the top of its travel so no damage. I shut the fuel off EVERY time since then.