JohnT

Brenner. Excellent post, outstanding observation, and well put. Ride your ride, make your own choices, and be safe. Along that road will be fun and adventure. I'm not trying to say that I have given up scraping a foot peg now and again. Part of why I ride a motorcycle. But, I'm kind of glad that I work Saturdays. On Sundays there are very few group runs. So I burn a tank or so of fuel on my own a lot. If you are ever going to be in the 1000 Islands / Alexandria Bay / Watertown NY area on a Sunday get hold of me. That goes for anyone here.

if I copied every post of thread that made me proud to be a member of this mess my reply would be half as long as the current post. So many pearls of wisdom, and piles of bull squat. And some that are both. Anyway. I will be 57 in a bit over a week. My ride is 29. The bike, not the wife. (Not sure I would want a 29 year old wife) Been married to the same woman for 35 years (on and off, we were divorced for a bit) have 2 great kids. Who of course are no longer kids. And in a month or so I will be a grand dad for the first time. I am living proof that it you refuse to grow up it slows the aging process. Going to work when I should and paying my bills the same way are about the limits of my responsibility level. I feel good and can still push a Sporty faster than my 40 boss feels like walking. Going forward I am going to blame this thread for my slipping into yet another childhood.

A 1st Gen seems to have a magic tipping point. Reach that point and the bike ever so slowly is lowered to the ground. There is just no stopping it. And in my experience there will be a 1 in 3 chance that someone is going to get a chuckle out of it. All 3 times were in my own driveway, all at about 0 miles an hour as I was turning around, and all 3 caused $0 physical damage. In the first 2 weeks of VR ownership. The way my luck runs the next time will be at work (HD dealership) and on a Saturday event day.

I checked the Hagon sight and now have to ask the multi $ question. Anyone sell a new first Gen shock?

Congratulations Puc. Been there and done that twice in my life. Bittersweet stuff indeed.

Wish that mine looked anywhere near that good.

Puc, all I can say is that the honor would be mine. (And a good time was had by all)

Now that's just mean. But seeing as it is going to happen this time,:rotfl:And my house is just now paid for. I will order one. It will have that freaking engine in a modern version of my 1st Gen. With a 2nd Gen style fairing and no trunk. And lower seat height. Can't wait to ride that one to work. I love to stir the pot riding a 1st Gen to the HD dealer every day and parking it by the other folks bikes. Oddly enough, I'm the lone Yamaha amid a bunch of HD.

Snapped a quick pic of the collector installed. isn't the prettiest but the fit is decent and it works. Not a lot louder but different tone.

This season is my first use of the E3 tires on my 1st Gen. They seem so far to ride and handle great. I do still have my high speed weave though.(100 mph +) I had been running 36 psi front and 40 psi in the rear. Reading my owners manual I found recommended front psi should be 32 and rear 32 for high speed running and 36 to 40 psi in the rear for 2 up and / or carrying a heavy load. I am trying to tame the high speed weave. 2 good mechanics find nothing wrong with fall away, forks,alignment, or anything else but for a slightly warped rear brake rotor. (can NOT find a replacement rear rotor) Any thoughts on the tire pressure idea?

OK, at what point should I be having this done? I am now at 36,000 miles on my bike. I have no power or running problems , just wondering for maintenance. I have no where near the skill or confidence needed so it will be a dealer service. About how many somewhat expensive hours of labor should be involved?

I have a quick question. Now that the front pipes and collector have been off. (And NOTHING came apart easy) What if anything can or should I do to keep it all removable? Like for my starter upgrade and such. Never Seize the head pipe bolts? Loosen joints now and again? Or just leave it alone and hope for the best?

And there lies the real reason behind my collector install. I also felt the sound setup on my bike needed attention. This fact was made glaringly evident once I started riding the VR to the Harley shop on a regular basis. It is going to need different mufflers for sure. The change is mostly tone as opposed to volume I guess is the best way to put it. At idle there is little difference in volume. Revving in neutral is similar. Revving under load is where I grin. The grin is attached to my tach needle. More needle swing = wider grin. Once I get the pipes made to hang the RK mufflers I am going to have fun. Every RK muffler will then fit and I will have a number of Reinhardt,V+H, Basani, and so on pipes to "test listen". Some of my service customers are really cool that way. Monster Ovals on a 1st Gen? Inquiring minds need to know.

So sorry for your loss. Our dogs ask for so little and give us so much.

So I take the chicken $hi+ way out and have the Yamaha dealer in Watertown do this. The stock stuff hasn't ever been off and it did not go real well. But it was a success in the end. The exhaust Allen bolts did not come out easily, but did come out in the end. Two of the stock head pipes just would NOT come out of the collector. But the added length of the 1 1/4" copper couplers solved that dilemma once they were cut. Now for the collector itself. Not a true slip on due to (I assume) not being built on the jig. But with diligence, experience, and all the tools of the trade the Yamaha mechanic got it did. Plus thanks to a thread pertaining to this mod I had the needed 1 1/4" copper pipe and couplers. I got 4 couplers which is good because 2 of them had to be used full length on the 2 head pipes that had to be cut at the entry to the stock collector box. 4.5 hours of labor made this an expensive proposition overall. At $350 for the collector and just about the same in labor and tax. Oh well. My 1st Gen is just that much closer to being my own. Was it worth it? All in all, yes. (Wife / CFO might argue) With the stock mufflers it is a bit deeper in tone. It does seem to pull a bit harder and it does sound better under load. For the balance of the year I have the following on deck. A local fabricator will make the connector pipes between the Marks collector and the stock RK take offs that I have in my shed. I want stainless connector pipes. The V Max final drive install is set for when I get the replacement rotor. I was sent a front rotor and not the rear that I ordered. So I get to ship the wrong one back to the UK and wait for the replacement. If they really have one. (Anyone have a good rear rotor for a 1st Gen?) My new Kicker 4" speakers are en route for installation in the stock fairing location and 1 1/2" 6x9 stand offs are on the way to mount a set of Infinity speakers where the stock stereo and CLASS used to be. On the bright side I did put 300 miles on yesterday. 100 of which was with 115 Harley's, 2 Spyders, 1 Yamaha crotch rocket, 1 1984 Yamaha 650 bobber, and my 1st Gen. Can you believe I was the only VR/RSV there? I like mine the best.

Don't know Rick, but one rider to another, "Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery." And a bourbon a day helps keep the pain away.

Congratulations! My oldest daughter Heather and her husband are presenting Traci and I with our first grand baby in July. A baby girl is on the way. Due date is 7/26 which just happens to be our wedding anniversary. I have been informed that a mini bike is not appropriate until at least age 3.

Mark can be reached at this email address. markmcpipe@gmail.com I would be curious as to what problem Gary had with the second pipe he got from Mark. Did it fit OK? I notice on mine I have seen "prettier" welding on some of the joints, but it seems solid.

I am confused. I ordered a Marks collector a few weeks ago and got it in about 2 weeks.

Amen to that. Just bought an EBC rear rotor for my 1st Gen. $175 with free shipping.

Of all the things that I have lost, I miss my mind the least. I have never, ever, been accused of being "in my right mind". With good reason.

Find a great deal on a 2009 RSV ($5800) and then let her think on that a bit. It's much easier to get her to let you buy a Marks collector, a brand new rear brake rotor and a VMax rear end. Plus I'm pretty sure a new set of speakers are going to be an easy sell. Marks collector (just ordered) is now $345 plus shipping, the rear EBC rotor brand new is $175, and the VMax rear end is going to be about $100 or so. The HD dealership I work for now also has a Metric side and I get a deal on labor. So I can ride to work and have it done while I slave away. Not only am I going to get to ride more this season thanks to the new job, but the service stuff I can't do or choose not to do can get done while I work.

I just went back to work at Caprara HD in Adams Center NY. One of the first things I do when I run the paper work on a new (or even used) bike prep is check the recalls and they get done before the customer picks it up. If the customer wants "spot delivery" they are told that it may be a bit delayed subject to recalls. We do have the parts on hand to remedy the current recalls. Had a customer drop off a 2011 for a recall and did h ave to re-order for that one. But hey, you'll have that

Tomorrows weather is not going to be as good as I hoped. But my bike needs a new front tire put on, and my rear re-mounted (correctly) and balanced. Will have the shaft serviced while the rear is off anyway. And NYS inspection. Not going to trailer a Yamaha into the Harley shop where I now work. I get my first ride tomorrow.

25 years ago Traci and I bought a mobile. Instead of up-sizing we just renovated it along the years. real siding, real insulation, real sheet rock, and so on. It also got bigger. Trailer trash with "add upons" we are. It is anchored to the concrete slab. I don't live in tornado territory. But when you live here and tornado winds whip by they call it a "micro burst". Same devastation, different name. And anything the storm wants to destroy, gets destroyed. While the building 30 feet away is unhurt. Mama Nature is finicky. My one ***** about these areas getting rebuilt is that the person that owns it should foot the bill. No one else. Pay the insurance and take your chances. I should not have to pay for any part of a flood in Louisiana or a twister in Oklahoma. At least not property replacement. Government emergency response is fine. Folks need help. But not proerty replacement or subsidizing their insurance.