Venturous

I didn't do my valves until 103,000 miles. I only changed a few shims and even those were only slightly out of spec. A lot of work for nothing really. Well, except for the peace of mind. But you are so close... why not?

Nothing knee jerk about it. I think assuming these bikes would be on their death bed at 130,000 miles is totally ridiculous. Sorry... but thats just my opinion. I have a better question. How many RSV's have you heard of been sent to salvage because of a blown engine or other major failure? Sure, plenty of been crashed and plenty sold in order to get a newer bike... but I have heard of zero RSV's sent to salvage due to wearing out. I have met a few RSV owners with 200,000 miles. I have come across several riders on 200,000+ 1st gens. Same platform. I only have 117,500 on mine now... but I'll reply back at 150,000 and 200,000 miles.

My first advise is be sure you have complete confidence in your riding skills before you take on precious cargo. You will know when you feel this confidence. I rode with my two sons starting when they were about 5 years old on my '02. Hard to believe they are now 17 and 18 years old already. These rides are some of our fondest memories together. I would take them tent camping along Skyline Drive and they both attended Rolling Thunder several times. I did add two accessories specifically because of riding with them. On one long ride, as we neared home, I came to a stop sign. As I slowed, I felt the entire weight of my oldest son fall against me. He fell completely asleep. I realized I needed to do something to keep him from rolling out of the seat. A seat belt was out of the question for me. I had crashed on that '02 and knew that getting thrown clear of the bike was a good thing. What I did first was add a set of armrests made by Tripmasters. These are the same design that Slowrollwv later replicated and sold. I tightened them down so they would only swing out with great force. I then added a set of passenger riding pegs by DiamondR Accessories. I also tightened these so I could flip them in the straight position. This way, my little riders had a place to set their feet instead of dangle them. The foot rest and armrests gave protection against rolling off seat should they doze off, yet not locked them in should I go down. Attached is picture from 2005 of my then 8 year old son with me at Rolling Thunder. You can see the armrests and foot pegs I mentioned.

He said it was a RSV... not a Harley. I seriously doubt 130,000 on a well maintained RSV is even close to end of life. Mine has 117,000 miles and shows no signs of going belly up anytime soon. I concur with getting a Hagon shock. I am shocked you got 130k out of the original. That is beatin the odds for sure. Rest of the bike seems near bullet proof. The shock is it's one big weak spot.

I had a Kawi Jet Ski for a while. On smooth water... mine did in fact run 60mph. One rough water due to wind or traffic... 60 will beat you to death. 45mph about the fastest we cared for if the water wasn't smooth. Hope you guys have a blast on them. Ours did not get much use so we sold it. Seems we always ended up on the pontoon boat. It has more beer holders.

I too have had decent luck and wear with several sets of EIII's. I have found jakewilson the best price lately. I used to use swmototires.com, but their prices have gone up a lot. I have been reading a lot of good reports on the Michelin Commander II's and might try them next just to see. I'm a little leery of the reduced load rating, but all the reports have me curious. One thing I noticed, but didn't do any real tally to see if it is a real trend or not was... seems a lot of folks getting high mileage on tires are located somewhat north, and many getting somewhat lower are further south. I wonder if heat plays a big factor in tire life? More thinking out loud than making a factual statement.

I didn't get a notice, but when I couldn't access anything... took the hint and renewed. I assumed I missed the noticed, but maybe I never got it. Not sure to be honest.

116,500

My sentiments exactly.

I installed R1 calipers today and did get out for a very short test ride. Felt good!

OK. What one song more than any other song takes you back to that magical time when you just turned 16 and finally got your drivers license? For me, it is this song released in 1976, the year before I got my license. If I close my eyes I am cruising the streets with friends in my '67 T-Bird and hanging out at the Green Arrow Restaurant. Hard to believe 38 years separates me from those days. It seems like yesterday sometimes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSR6ZzjDZ94

OK. Bought a set of goldstar R1 calipers and a 14mm M/C. The calipers arrived today but still waiting on the M/C to start the work. I do have one question. Seems the R1 and stock cailpers are very close and I can see will bolt right up. But I noticed the location where the brake line bolts in is on a different angle. Will stock lines still work? I may upgrade to SS anyway, but I would have ordered RSV lines which still will be angled for the stock calipers.

Thats why you have two types of guns. The registered stash... and the others... You must be one tough SOB to survive that. Good for you!

Speaking of liability. Don't forget to consider CCW insurance. George Zimmermen is a good example of why. Although he beat all the cries for criminal charges and also won the civil suit against him... as I understand, he had to spend over $60k to defend his right to protect himself. And most CCW classes I think make this clear as being the norm. There are many companies offering this, but for around 100 bucks/year, most work the same and will provide you free legal council to defend any criminal or civil charges as a result of using your CCW weapon in self defense. Of course they will all throw you under the bus if you were not in compliance with that states CCW law.

Here is a map of those 7 days. Each in different color to give an idea what we did. Some of the points of interest we stopped at where: - BRP Overlooks. Just a few. Most have almost same view. - D-Day Memorial - Mabry Mills - Blowing Rock - Mt Mitchell - Highest point east of Mississippi - Tail of Dragon - Cherahola Skyway - Bald River Falls - Wheels Through Time Museum (if timing works) - Clingmans Dome (top of Smoky Mountains) - Mingus Mills - Gatlinburg, TN - Appalachian Musuem - Cumberland Gap State Park - Coal Mine Museum near Harlan County, KY - Visit New River Gorge Bridge and ride under it. - Hawks Nest State Park overlook - Spruce Knob (Highest Point in WV) - Black Water Falls WV The way I did this 7 day loop was about 1700 miles round trip. I started and ended near Front Royal, VA because thats where I lived at the time. Anyway, 7 days is lot just to do Blue Ridge Parkway. I have run the entire thing 4 times. Each time I did it in two days and still saw most neat things. One could stretch that to 3 days, but much more than that... not enough to keep you busy IMHO. Anyway... this is what I did with 7 days:

7 days? In 7 days, twice I planned and led a group ride I called Appalachian Loops. I started in Front Royal, VA and ran the Skyline drive, then the entire BRP. Then spend time in the Smokys and ran the Tail of Dragon. We then rode up through central WV and ran some of those awesome roads. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, let me know and whether you use Garmin GPS files. I can send them to you.

Texas surprises me on that list...

Depends on KY law... but it is probably illegal unless you walk your dog only on your property.

Nope. Just stating my opinion on the question posed just like everyone else. Sorry my opinion is totally different than yours. Peace.

Green Tomato Grill in Mooresburg, Tn. - Good country cooking. Gotta try the fried green tomatos. For Desserts... Mrs. Rowes - Stauntan, VA. Some of the best pies ever! Fried chicken pretty darn good also.

I always get a kick out the riders who have obnoxiously loud pipes and the first thing they do when they stop is pull ear plugs out of their ears. I guess it is OK for everyone else to listen to that crap as long as they don't have to.

I have heard replacing the RSV front calipers with R1 calipers gives much better braking. I am thinking of doing this. I see on eBay several different styles of R1 calipers. Should I be looking for a certain year or color? Think I read somewhere the blue insert ones are better... but can't recall for sure. Do I need to change my brake lines or any other component? I am assuming I will need to order R1 pads. Right? Any other tips? Thanks

There was a time that I liked loud pipes a lot. Most of my previous bikes had loud pipes. I had a set of Screamin Eagles on my Venture and it had a really nice growl. One day about 5 or 6 years ago, I was riding with other Venture owners and we were at a State Park overlook and were just about ready to saddle up. No one had yet even started their bike. I looked over and this cute little girl about 5 or 6 years old was standing with her parents with her hands tightly pressed over her ears to protect her from the pending assault to her hearing. At that very moment I decided that I no longer wanted to be 'that guy'. I found a set of stock pipes and gave my Screamin Eagles to a friend who didn't mind being obnoxious. I am a fan of the freedom to choose as a motorcyclist. Wear a helmet of you want... don't if you don't. All about personal choice. But when it comes to loud pipes, I wish there was greater enforcement of noise ordinances. Our rights should not infringe on the rights of others to be free from obnoxious noise. Loud pipes save lives. Pleeeeze! OK... done...