rstacy

Thanks for the pics trader. I definitely have the wrong one. Thanks for the offer Bob but I think that is beyond me. Ill list the one I bought on here for what I have in it and Ill keep looking for the right one. Ray

On my bike???

Thanks Jeff. I would like to see how the right one would mount if I had it. Ray

I bought this Yamaha backrest for my 86 VR. The ad said that it was for an 83-84. I hope its also for an 86! http://www.raymondstacy.com/backrest.jpg Now I don't know how to mount it. Does anyone have a closeup of how it mounts or is it simple enough to just tell me how its done? Thanks! Ray

I don't know if it is the rear shock but I'm sure that there are people on this forum that will know!

I'm looking to tap in to your experience so that I get started in the right direction. My 86 VR rear shock stopped holding pressure this past weekend. It will pump up to whatever I select but if I immediately go back and check the pressure, the LCD says 0 pounds at which point it will pump up again. The only air I hear leaking when I do this is the bleed off valve at the end of the compressor cycle. I did some research here and it looks like the rear shock is the place to start or are there other common failures that should be checked first. Is there a trick to getting to the components on the rear shock or am I in for some serious disassembly? Thank you for the help, Ray

I agree with you. That is probably the only feature that I would like to add but for the $46, Ill make the call. I would also like to have 4 way communication but thats how we get back to $500.

Where can I get a gen 1 adapter? Ray

The J&M system looks great but the price tag scared me away.

I had been looking to get helmets with headsets so that the wife and I could take advantage of the VR sound system. I was wanting to go blue-tooth but anything decent was going to be a small fortune. The forum suggested looking for Goldwing helmets on Ebay or CL. I have been looking but finding helmets in the right size wasn't working out. A friend bought the Parrot SK4000 for $46 on Amazon. I did a search on here and found 1 post. This little device is perfect! I ended up buying one for each helmet. Installation was a breeze. The sound quality is very good but it really shines when talking to someone. I'm cruising down the road at 65 and they never even realize that I am on a bike. It has a remote or uses voice commands. Other than a software bug with automatic gain control, it has worked perfect. It even has a radio. In addition to blue-tooth support, it has an analog input port for my GPS or Ipod or whatever. Now if the wife and I want to talk, I just call her up on her phone. Most of us have unlimited minutes so its no big deal. I love the thing. I especially love it for $46! http://www.raymondstacy.com/parrot.jpg

This thread will help http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=44070 This diagram did it for me http://www.raymondstacy.com/pinout.jpg

Why would a tank that is not sealed cause the engine to run rough under load?

This thread also has some great pictures showing the proper assembly. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=40234

I took it for a spin tonight and I guess it is OK but I think I am going to get a swivel hitch for it. It just makes sense to me. Thanks guys! http://www.raymondstacy.com/vrt.jpg

So I found this 2009 trailer on CL. It was listed for $225. He took $185. It belonged to a Harley guy that used it a few times a year. http://www.raymondstacy.com/hm.jpg It came with a ball that swings from side to side. I guess this works ok but I was thinking that a swivel hitch like this would be better http://www.raymondstacy.com/sh.jpg The swivel hitch costs almost as much as the trailer. Is it a worthy investment?

The manual came in and I guess it is OK. The quality of the pictures is less than adequate. It looks like a third generation copy. The cover and binding look good. Ray

Side, I talked to my buddy this morning. He has a few of them and is waiting to hear form you. I will PM you his email address. Let me know if I can do anything else. Ray

We felt it in Upstate NY

No problem. Let me know. Ray

Side, A good friend of mine is in to the older stuff. I can put you in touch with him if you don't come up with one. I am sure that he will have what you need. He also likes to buy in case you are interested in selling. My son and I are heavy in to the hobby with most of our focus on helicopters. Most of our weekends are spent traveling to some event around the country. I love the time that we share doing it. Ray

I don't know. How can you tell? I have been thinking about doing some research here to see what is the best way to change the plug wires. I installed the Iridium plugs last night. I must admit that the cold start this morning was no different. However...once warmed up, rolling off of idle is cleaner. Acceleration under load is also cleaner. Is it night and day? No. But it is smoother. I found this interesting. I received the most MPG to date with the DPR8EX-9 plug. I was never able to break 40 on the old plugs but I got 41 to 41.5 on the DPR8EX-9 plug. Ill check the mpg for the next few tanks and see if the new Iridium plugs do just as well.

Hey Goose, Thanks for the reply. Its not a perceived difference. Its a difference. Oddly enough it happened immediately after changing the plugs. The good thing here is we can actually do a side by side test. I will probably put the Iridium plugs in tomorrow night and see if the problem is corrected. Ray

I bought another set of Iridium plugs. I may just go ahead and install them now and toss the other "new" plugs that are about 2 weeks old.

I haven't had my Gen 1 all that long and I did not know anything about the spark plug condition. I found a tip sheet that said that the best plug for my bike would be the NGK DPR8EX-9. It was not a big deal to find the plugs and replace the current NGK Iridium DPR8EIX-9 plugs. The Iridium plugs looked pretty good when I removed them. Since I have installed the new plugs I have noticed that the bike doesn't run as well. Cold starting isn't as snappy as it had been and the engine is a little lethargic when rolling off of idle. Outside of that I cant tell much difference. Was the Iridium plug really the better plug? Ray

Here is more about her story http://www.rockthegear.org/index.php?/home/view/a_sturdy_foundation_built_on_passion_experience_willingness/ I am My Helmet - The Roadrash Queen Revisited It’s hard to look in the mirror and think that my scars are over five years old. I remember when I couldn’t imagine looking and feeling this way for the rest of my life. I no longer feel as if at any moment I might wake up from this terrible dream and be comfortable in my own skin once again. When I look in the mirror, I am reminded of my mistakes. When I touch the thick skin on my hands, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be alive. These scars have given my life purpose, and they do not come without a great responsibility. Earning them was the hard part, owning them has become my life’s work. It was a beautiful Sunday morning and the air was unseasonably warm for September in New Mexico. I was excited to be going on a ride through the Jemez Mountains on the back of my friend Shaun’s sport bike. Before we headed out that morning, I had shed my favorite cowboy hat in exchange for an ugly red helmet. I thought nothing of the fact that I had no other protection against the asphalt besides that hunk of foam and fiberglass. I figured that we couldn’t get into a wreck; it simply wouldn’t happen to me. I was nearly dead wrong. As most of us have been told, motorcycle helmets are made to withstand an otherwise deadly impact to the head. When helmets are designed, their main duty is to disperse the force from a single blow and then become otherwise obsolete. They are put through rigorous testing to ensure they perform this task with certainty. Helmets are rated according to their protective abilities and are manufactured by thousands of companies all over the world. They range in price from $35 to over $1000, and a popular saying suggests the price of your helmet is proportional to the value of your head. They are available at every dealership in the country, at specialty shops, and online. Chances are, if you ride a motorcycle, you own a helmet. However, not all riders choose to wear their helmet on every ride, regardless of the fact that helmets save the lives of over seven hundred motorcyclists in America a year. Shaun and I were going about 120mph when my helmet was put to the ultimate test. I hit the ground, and it was as if every breath I had ever taken rushed out of me in an instant. I could feel every inch of my body hitting the road; tumbling, sliding and grinding into the unforgiving surface. In my helmet, I fought to breathe as I gave into the force of the asphalt ripping at my flesh. In a matter of seconds, I had come to the conclusion that I was going to die. My eyes were closed as I finished tumbling down the highway. Later, the police would tell me I had slid over 522 feet. I laid there in the road alone for what seemed like an eternity. Every nerve ending in my body was on fire; tingling, scorching, stabbing and burning. I had not gone into shock, and the adrenaline had worn off almost instantly. Not being able to move was the worst of it. I wanted to pull my arm out from underneath me. I wanted to get off that hot road. I wanted the sun to stop shining so brightly on my bloody back. I wanted everything to just go away. But it didn’t go away. I wanted to die, but the people who came to my rescue wouldn’t let me give up. I had skinned myself alive and was still breathing by the grace of God, and that ugly red helmet. My road rash was so severe that my skin was not going to grow back on its own. I had lost too much surface area for the doctors to simply suture me together and send me home. After the blood loss had been controlled, the skin loss needed to be addressed. I was to receive full thickness skin grafts on over 50% of my body. In order to help my open wounds heal, the doctors had to cut off a thick layer of healthy skin from my legs and place it over my burns, stapling the new skin in place. This was the only way to “fix” me. It took the doctors two months, three blood transfusions, 31 dressing changes, and nine surgeries to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. When I was a little girl, my parents did a wonderful job of telling me that beauty comes from the inside. They were always reminding me of how smart I was and encouraging me that I could be anything I wanted to be. My peers did an even better job of convincing me otherwise. Throughout my childhood and adolescent years, I was told everyday that being overweight was the equivalent of being ugly, and being ugly was a social crime. I was an outcast when it came to my outward appearance, and although I never allowed myself to be defined by the views of others, I was greatly emotionally affected by their insults. My view of myself was that I would never be good enough because of the way I looked. I was capable and willing to make a difference in the world, but my personal growth was stunted because I was never accepted as a “full package.” Near the end of my hospital stay I realized that I was forever changed in many ways. I was devastated about my scarred skin, but also thankful to be alive every day. I knew that what I had gone through proved I had the strength to survive anything else thrown at me in the future. As long as I could walk, talk, and breathe, I was always happy to be on this earth and would never take the blessing of good health for granted again. I knew that my outward appearance was extremely altered, but not for the better. It took me a long to time to accept my new skin and relinquish the hopes that I might one day be considered beautiful to the rest of the world. I thought looking the way I did would further alienate me, but instead, it opened a door; riders began asking me about my scars and I had the opportunity to share my story with many people. Eight months after the day I skinned myself alive, I bought a new sport bike and a brand new, full head-to-toe coverage, set of gear. I learned some important things about myself in the months following my return to the sport that almost cost me my life. I learned how strong I really am, and that my parents weren’t lying to me when they said I could do anything I wanted. I learned that I never wanted to feel the way I did in the hospital again. I learned that my appearance was now a tool to encourage riders to choose to wear full gear. I learned that motorcycle safety was an attitude and a choice that I had to make every time I went riding. However, the most important thing I learned was that these lessons were not meant for me alone. I was meant to share what I had learned with the world. I wrote a full account of the accident and my experiences as a cautionary tale for riders. It was published online and embraced throughout the community, and began popping up on forums and websites in over 20 countries. I was invited to attend safety conferences and tell my story as a way to show riders what can happen and share information on how to help prevent it, and I brought that ugly red helmet as a tangible testimony. I was encouraged to do research on protective technologies and pursue a path of motorcycle safety education. I received a NAMS (National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety) grant to start a national non-profit web campaign for protective apparel awareness and education that became a household name for many riders. Three years after leaving the hospital, I became a certified RiderCoach for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation to teach new and experienced riders alike the importance of attitude, skill, protective gear, lifelong learning and awareness. I became the prodigal child of motorcycle safety education and protective apparel awareness. Leslie Haynsworth wrote, “You paste a sticker on your car meaning for that sticker to make a point to the world about an issue or an organization or a belief or a practice or a philosophy. You’re not speaking through your bumper sticker on behalf of yourself qua yourself but rather on behalf of a cause or an idea, or maybe a particular community. You mean for your statement to radiate outward, to call attention to the issues or concerns or accomplishments the bumper sticker addresses.” I did not choose the scars that now adorn my body, but they do represent a matter of dire importance to the motorcycle community. So, like a conscious bumper sticker placement, I will use my scars as a way to get a message to the people who I believe need it desperately. I will not hide my scars, nor be ashamed of them. I will wear them proudly in the hopes that they stir up as much attention as controversial bumper stickers can. My scars do not define me, but they do allow me to take a public stance on an issue I care for deeply. I hope to achieve a lifetime of following the path of motorcycle safety education. It is a constant process that continues to mold me into who I want to be. I now have the desire to work for an international gear manufacturer and on the highest level at the MSF. My entire life is dedicated to helping others never have to experience what I did five years ago. I know receiving my horrific scars actually makes me best suited for my role as a passionate motorcycle safety educator. I am now thankful for the way I look because it empowers me much more than blending into the crowd. I never would have thought that looking different could earn me credibility, respect and opportunity. My scars radiate a message of tragedy, survival, and triumph that cannot be ignored. I keep that ugly red helmet on a shelf in my garage where I can see it every time I get ready to go for a ride. Once upon a time, it was available to anyone who was interested in purchasing an ugly red helmet, but when put to the test, it did exactly what it was made to do: save my life. Now it is beaten and broken, but it serves a greater purpose, and that is to share a message with everyone who sees it. I suppose I have become like my helmet, and although battered and scarred, it is hard to ignore my outward appearance and the message that comes along with it. I carry around a story of caution and wisdom and share it with everyone I meet, and will continue to share it for the rest of my life. I have been perfectly molded and adorned to serve a purpose, and when put to the test, I will do exactly what I am made to do: save someone’s life.