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James Ardrey

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Everything posted by James Ardrey

  1. James Ardrey
    Thanks again guys for all your input. This site is awesome. I already related yesterdays responses to my brother and I think he is now convinced that it would be a bad idea to cross the border without a batalion of Marines. I will also relate the adventure e-mail address and Mike I will discuss with him the possibility of talking to the Pa guys. I'll e-mail you if he is interested. Thanks again guys!!!
  2. James Ardrey
    I had a 97 royalstar that I bought new and rode until I bought my 03 mdntv. My Venture on it's worst day handled better than my Royalstar. For one thing the RS had a longer rake that made it less nimble at all speeds and corners and curves. To make a long story short i suggest that you try the things the other guys on this thread suggested because there is definitely something wrong if your 96 handled better than your rsv.
  3. James Ardrey
    Thanks guyss for the responses. It sounds like it is what i feared.
  4. James Ardrey
    My brother is planning a trip to Guadalahara Mexico on his motorcycle. I've heard horror stories of motorcyclists getting their bikes stolen or taken away, mugged and any number of other consequences from riding across the border. I just wanted to get some feedback from some of you guys with firsthand knowledge or a safe way to travel in Mexico on a motorcycle in particular.
  5. James Ardrey
    I have never owned a tour deluxe but I owned a royalstar and I think they are very similar regarding comfort. I put a mustang seat on the rs and it was very comfortable for me but the foot position and backrest comfort for the rider is not near as comfortable as the venture. The riders comfort,trunk, stereo,upper farring,and intercom system are the only major differences between the tour deluxe and the venture. Also an added 40lbs to the venture. It sounds like these added perks are what you are looking for.
  6. James Ardrey
    I pull a trailor w\ a swivel hitch because it is just an added safey issue beyond the afore mentioned bending the frame issue. I have heard of riders w\ trailors that actually flipped upside down and were able to keep the bike under control and just scratched the top of the trailor. I'm afraid the outcome could have been disasterous if the trailor was not on a swivel and the hitch did not release. I followed a guy up the winding road to lake Tahoe who was riding a Goldwing and pulling a trailor and on every sharp curve you could hear the klunk of the hitch and ball at their limits. It seemed pretty scary to me. I've known people that have had a standard hitch for a long time and no problems as described here in previous posts so again it's a personal preference issue.Ride on!!!
  7. James Ardrey
    It does sound like a choke issue only because you say you don't have to choke it to start it cold. You may have fouled one or more plugs or are very carboned up as a result of running so rich.I would think that if the coils were bad it would run bad at any speed. Call me crazy!
  8. James Ardrey
    As unanimously posted ditch the Fram filter. I use Hiflo filter and Valvoline 20\50 motorcycle oil. It has worked well and no clutch slippage. I believe as long as you use a grade equivelent to specs as outlined in the manual, use a quality oil filter and change your oiol every 3 thousand Mi. these v4's will last as long as expected.
  9. James Ardrey
    It's been my experience that 5# in front and at least 30 in back make the bike much more responsive and improves handling at all speeds especially curves and more stable coming to a stop due to less front shock travel stopping in a straight line. It is much more noticable with 2 up. As previous response you won't know what it can do for you till you experiment yourself.
  10. James Ardrey
    Not as hot as on an air cooled bike. Like others have said; the only time I really notice it is stuck in traffic. The rider gets very little heat from the engine or pipes. Most of the heat in the summer is generated by the pavement and the lower farings protect somewhat from that. I realized this with my 97 RStar and when I added lower deflectors on the forks it decreased the hot air on me and passenger significantly.
  11. James Ardrey
    It looks kind of like a military machine. Maybe a stealth motorcycle. I bet it will almost fly with all the added weight off.
  12. James Ardrey
    An aftermarket Mustang seat does wonders. I had a 97 RS before my 03mdnt V and I put a Mustang seat on and it solved the comfort problem completely. Corbin also makes a seat for the rs. I have a corbin on my venture because they don't make a Mustang for the RSV. I love it too but it took about 2000 miles to break it in. My wife likes the Corbin but not as much as the Mustang. The Mustang is good to go from day one. I wouldn't recommend any stock seat or to try to repad either. The seat pad frame is flimsy with poor ergonomics and tends to flex over the course of a ride. No matter how much padding you put on it it won't support your hips due to the flex which causes the backside fatigue. A backrest will help some but doesn't support the hips. Any good quality seat wraps to your lower back and a backrest is not necessary. My Mustang did not have a backrest and did not need one. My now Corbin came with a backrest or I would not have gotten one. Now that I have one they do add another dimension to being fully relaxed in the seat especially on a long ride and added support when twisting the throttle aggressively.Hope this is helpful.
  13. James Ardrey
    I love all these roads. My wife hates Beartooth because it is the coldest place in the country in the summer time. It's one of my favorite places. The highway to the sun in Glacier Natl. park is also one of my favorite mc roads.
  14. James Ardrey
    7# front and 30# rear. I like 35 to 45 but the wife complains the ride is too rough. the bike handled better with higher press. until I put on the leveling links. When I pulled the trailor especially 2 up the pipes dragged in a lean or coming out of gas stations onto the highway and was better w\40 to 45 psi. Now I don't have to worry about. I agree the leveling links solved the low speed handling prob. and the pipes dragging. I was trying to find a way to raise the tailpipes or find smaller diameter pipes before the links. They are a must!!
  15. James Ardrey
    whozleft thanks. My trailor is a Neosho and I had the chrome wheels put on it @ the factory in Neosho where I picked it up. The last time I put tires on the wheels the wheels were warped. I ran them heavily weighted to get close to balanced. I assumed the tires were faulty(out of round) because of the vibration after installation. When I had new tires mounted recently the vibration was still there. I had to persuade the tire people to put the whls on balancer. Sure enough the wheels were eggshaped. I bought 2new wheels and had the tires remounted and good as new. I painted the wheels black like my trailor. I thought they looked pretty good with the chrome lugs that came w\ the chrome whls. The boss (my lovely wife) kept saying she liked the chrome wheels. I thought a compromise was in order since I had bought 2 new wheels and 6ply rated tires. So w\ the help (supervision) of my wife we looked and as you all know sought help locating hub caps and settled on caps from Buggies unlimited. You all know the rest of the story. The boss has convinced me to get another set of chrome rims from Neosho after all. I still have the chrome center caps and chrome lugs from the previous wheels and I am hoping they will trade my new wheels for the chromes w\ of course some extra cash, but it may not be all that expensive just buying the wheels. They have hub caps but they are ugly in my opinion. They don't show any other options on their website. They are great people to work with though and I'm going to call them tomorrow and see if we can make a deal. :lightbulb:
  16. James Ardrey
    No apology necessary Sarge or anyone else. I always seem to have to learn things the hard way. They will reimburse me for the original cost anyway.
  17. James Ardrey
    Buggies unlimited is a cool sight for parts and accessories for golf carts though
  18. James Ardrey
    I ordered and received two cool hub caps and the only problem is that they won't fit on trailor wheels. Apparently golf carts and the like have deep dish wheels and no protruding axle. I thought I would warn potential hub cap seekers for pull behind trailors before they made the same mistake as I did. I don't play golf and I had no idea that wheels on golf carts were that different. :sign brain fart:
  19. James Ardrey
    Another possible kit is @ www.trikeshop.com They have been in business since 1972. They specialize in GW. They also have kits for H Valk and Harleys. They have an electric reverse option that would be good for a Venture also. I don't know if they have a kit or could design a kit for the RSV. I'm thinking outloud. I'll shut up now. Hope this is helpful
  20. James Ardrey
    Thanks Craig!!!! :thumbsup2: That's exactly what I have been looking for. They have a great selection of hub caps for 8'' tires. Hope I can return the favor some day. Thanks to Stevie Mack also.
  21. James Ardrey
    I'm having difficulty finding chrome beauty rings or nice hub caps for my pull behind trailor. 8" wheels. I originally had chrome wheels but they got warped out of round in a previous tire change. I thought the tires were faulty until a recent change to new tires and discovered the warped rims. I have replaced them w\ white standard rims that I have painted black and still have chrome lug nuts. A chrome beauty ring would look killer. Or a good looking hub cap that can be adapted to fit over or around bearing buddies. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
  22. James Ardrey
    I too have the Bubs, love the rumble but like freebird the tips are peeling a bit.
  23. James Ardrey
    I don't even know how to put it in words. It's an insult to intelligence and there are always going to be idiots from every walk of life. The idiots they are trying to warn are the only ones that won't pay any attention to any warnings about anything. The narcisism of the self proclaimed do gooders that think they know what is best for the rest of us makes me want to throw up. We deal with this same kind of crap in Okla. also. Political correctness run amuck. :Im not listening toIt's a statistical fact that the more people start riding there will be an increase in accidents. It does'nt take a rocket scientist to figure that out. I just fear that these talking heads will enact more insane policies about something they know nothing about. In Okla. when they enacted mandatory seat belt laws some bright politicians tried to include motorcycles In the seat belt legislation. Wow I really got fired up. I'll end my rant now.
  24. James Ardrey
    Thanks Rick for your info. I never considered the effect of drag decreasing tongue weight in motion. Especially since the trailor tracked so well before I put in the links. The aerodynamics must of changed W\ the trailor leveling @ horizontal as opposed to a slight downward angle to horizontal before. Just like back in the day when everybody was jacking up the rear end of their cars to look cool adding extra weight to the front suspension and wearing out balljoints and the like. My wife & I are planning to go to the AspenCash rally in Ruidoso NM 5/17-5\20. Have you ever been or have you heard if it is a good rally to attend. I've wanted to go for a # of yrs. I love that part of New Mex. We are also planning to ride down to Carlsbad caverns during that trip. It's really cool too. Being almost neighbors maybe Ill see you in person sometime. So long !
  25. James Ardrey
    Ditto on the links. The only negative is that the Neosho trailor I pull tends to rock from side to side . It sits level with the ball now and adding more tounge weight has helped but has not solved the tracking problem. I'm also concerned about too much tongue weight due to having to replace the frame on my 97 RS. The subframe cracked. Yamaha replaced it free of charge but I think it had something to do with it. The venture seems to have more support to the sub frame and I have installed a hitch doctor hitch as I ultimately did on my RS. I fabricated a hitch @ home that was on the bike prior to the sframe crack. I pulled the same trailor after the repairs w\out apparent damage. A Yamaha mechanic that I totally respect told me to keep the tongue weight down to around 10# to avoid damage and that the subframe is very similar to the RS. To make myself clear the trailor had a slight angle to horizontal before the links were installed and the trailor tracked much better than now without more than 5#s tongue weight. Any insight to this issue would be appreciated.
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