RedRider

I'll bring the bag and a brick. Don's already got the pond. RR

Is the neighbor selling just the rear drive or the whole bike for $500? If the whole bike, you might want to just refurbish the VMax and get your hooligan on. To swap the VMax rear drive, you will need someone to machine the access hole for the speedo pickup. Or you can do as Miles suggested and just have the internals swapped. Overall, I believe you are better off running in 4th gear with the standard rear drive than to spend the money on the VMax. It is all a matter or ratios. However, a VMax for $500? Be still my beating checkbook. RR

SWMBO and I are vacationing in San Antonio. My eldest son, who lives in Austin, came over for dinner this evening. He will be picking up the bike after I get all the payments and paperwork taken care of. Originally, he was concerned about having to pay for the bike and insurance, etc. He is just getting on his feet financially. However, once he found out it would all be paid for (at least initially), he was all for it. We are heading back to the cold and snowy north tomorrow. Bleah! Will make sure my son gets on here once he picks up the St. Jude Venture. RR

Try bypassing the fuel pump and gravity feed the carbs. You will need an almost full tank of gas to make this work. Do a search for the procedure. I'm on my phone so can't easily search. RR

http://www.autocom.co.uk/bluetooth.html This should work. You may also want to check with Sierra Electronics. They may also have something that would work and be more cost competitive. RR

Sorry Miles. Kept thinking about it and went for it. If anybody else is up for it, put up your $$$. RR

http://www.mixitproducts.com/ This should do what you need. RR

Purchase a copy of Rider magazine. They usually have a $299 coupon in there. The lift works great. RR

Or Honda Moly 60 (purchase from honda car dealer - cheaper than from bike dealer) Also, there is a snap ring on the hub that needs removed before you can pull the pins out. RR

For all of you's south of the border, 16C = 61F You just invert the numbers. RR

How are the tires on this bike? RR

You guys need to move to Wisconsin. $23 for biennial registration. Another $15 per year ($30 per biennial) for having the plates personalized. RR

Are you talking about the small rubber/plastic clip that is stuck to the gas tank and holds the end of the headset connection cable? If so, if I can find mine, you can have it. I removed it years ago. RR

Just trying to be helpful. RR

http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5059317728217691&pid=1.7&w=149&h=146&c=7&rs=1

I have XM thru my Zumo 550. Love it on the long days in the middle of nowhere. RR

How do you know he is rich? Oh, not that 1%. Never mind. RR

Zumo 550 with XM on the Venture. Garmin 276C on the KLR. Any new bike will likely get a 665. But that won't happen for a while. RR

Check for bulges in the clutch line. You may have burst the inner pressure line. RR

If your Yama dealer doesn't have a shim kit - run, don't walk, to the next dealer. That would be like not having a 27mm wrench to remove the rear wheel. Nuts. RR

The tools required on a trip really depend on how far you are going and what you are comfortable doing on the side of the road. I travel long distances and probably carry more than most (and fortunately, rarely have had to use anything on my bike). My right saddle bag is just for tools. I have a bag of mechanical tools and a bag of electrical tools. Also have a couple of items that just hang out in the bottom of the saddle bag. Loose in the saddle bag: - first aid kit - 27mm ratcheting combo wrench (for removing rear wheel) - Extended length flat blade screw driver - Extended length phillips screw driver - Plug kit In the mechanical bag: - Combo wrenches - metric 8, 10, 12, 17, 19 mm - 1/4" ratchet with 8, 10, 12 mm sockets and an extension - complete set of metric ball end allen wrenches - Duct tape (half roll smashed flat) - electrical tape - linesman pliers - Leatherman - Various sizes of tie wraps - double sided tape - set of mechanics picks - small side cuts - small needle nose pliers - zero let-off air pump - small flat blade and phillips screw drivers - Pill vial with various metric nuts and bolts - Various chemicals - Locktite blue, dielectric grease, JB weld In the electrical bag: - Multimeter (cheap HF unit) - extra batteries for flashlights and multimeter - Fuses of all sizes - Male/female spade and bullet connectors - extra 30A relay (I have several additions that use this) - spare headlight - spare tail light - Lengths of wire of various gauges - compressor - nitrile gloves - 2 or 3 pair - stem insert tool (to tighten/remove the schraeder valve insert in the valve stem) - heat shrink - lighter I also generally travel with a computer that has the service manual on it. Also travel with instructions on how to bypass the ignition switch (and all the part to do it). Always have multiple flashlights. However, the two most important tools to carry are: - Cell phone - High limit credit card. RR

Check with ProMotorSports in FDL for the shim. They have been good about swapping a shim from their kit if they have multiples of the size you need. RR

Don, Money for 2 in the ether. Thank you for putting this together. RR

Well, I didn't ride the Venture. Roads are still too nasty for it. The KLR? No problem. It will go through anything and not need a bath. RR

Went home at lunch in the cage and just had to ride back. It is about 45 degrees and sunny although there is lots of snow still around. Need to be careful in shady places. It sure was nice to get some wind in the face. RR PS. For some reason, it appears my riding gear shrunk over the winter.