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Temps here in North Texas today was in the mid 70's. Went for a long, long ride; about 160 miles or so. Blue skies most of the time. Glad I live in Texas.

Thought I'd pass along a helpful product that I came across. I just bought a Dodge Ram 2500 truck. Needless to say the ride is on the rough side. I had a few friends who put these different spring shackles on the back of their heavy duty trucks. The name of the rubber spring/shackles is called Sulastic. I put about 100 miles on the new truck, and it really chattered on less than perfect roads. After putting them on, I drove another 50 miles down some rough snowpacked roads. There is a very noticeable improvement. It says on their website that it wont affect warranties, and or load/towing capacities either. I dont work for the company etc. Just thought I'd pass along something that appears to be a good deal. I think I paid about 380 bucks for the set, plus about 100 to have em installed. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Heres a link https://www.sulastic.com/

I am leaving here in about 5 minutes, to ride North to Alaska. I meet my riding partner in Seattle, then we are ending the first day in Prince George, B.C. That is 650 miles from here, and the last 150 miles will be on snow covered roads. In Prince George we are changing bikes. I will be leaving my Super Tenere' and he will be leaving his R12GS, and the bikes we will be riding out of PG will be a matching pair of BMW R1150 GSA sidecar rigs. Given the snow and ice conditions at this time of year up north, we decided to change out bikes for the sidecar rigs, and do the 1750 miles from PG to Prudhoe Bay on a more stable platform. And...these R1150GSA sidecar rigs have "studded" tires at all three points, to help with traction and braking on the ice. Entire trip should be a little more than 5,000 miles, but with temps below 0 degrees, with windchill making the temps feel like -40 degrees, and with snow and ice on the roads, this trip will take us about 10 days (twice as long as it would in the summer months). Very happy that the Beemers have such a large alternator, to fire up all the Gerbings Heated Clothing and such. It is going to be a cold, dark, and long 10 days, but...what the heck... You kids be good now, and no fighting in the family. See ya'all in 10.

It appears to be pretty clean. It has about 65K miles. New upgraded stator put in within last 5000 miles. Needs a rear tire. Clutch rebuilt at same time stator was done. I am wondering what else I should be looking for with the miles it has on it. I am sure I will change all the fluids. Probably get the valves checked/adjusted. I also know there were some rear shock problems. Is this something I shoudl plan on changing, or just ride until it is needed? Anybody know approximately the cost of having the dealer do the valves? The price is $4799/OBO. Is that a good price and if not, what should I be trying to get it for? Thanks for any advice. Zak

Tx2Sturgis, Brian, here is a rig that is being slowly moved...that combines your line of work with my old line of work. http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/06/this-192-wheel-vehicle-is-carrying-nuclear-waste-to-utah-right-n/?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl4%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D232024 This rig weighs in at 700,000 lbs., can only be moved at 25 mph, and will take three weeks to go 800 miles. Oh, and it is 400 ft. long, and has...192 wheels under it. Imagine the pay that this truck driver...or crew of them...are getting to move this.

Alright guys I changed the coolant Thursday evening ran it with the drain vale set to on for awhile topped off the coolant and set drain valve back to off. I rode it about 40 miles and the temperature gauge remained about 1/3 of the way from lowest mark on gauge with the temperatures in the mid 40's. I went to ride it today and within 5-6 miles gauge was up in the red. Temperature only in the low 40's here, so I pulled over and set the valve back to on to get it back to the shop. Thermostat stuck or what else could cause this? I don't believe there is any air in the system as it ran fine the day before

Part One: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=73786 Part Two: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=73853 Since writing Part Two of this series both I, and another Forum member have competed in a Long Distance Rally. Rather than simply go down the path of looking at the different aspects of LD Riding, I thought that for this one I could bring the subject to life and take you on a rally. At some point it might be useful to look in detail at planning a rally, but we are riders, so let's go for a ride: It has been made clear to me that my Blogging platform of choice is not welcome on this site. That has caused me a good deal of extra work to bring this to you, and it is not as good as the original in terms of layout and readability, and you have lost the many excellent comments left in the other place. Anyone wanting to read it as I intended it to be seen is free to email me for the link "Steve went to Prada, and all I got was a lousy photograph" - Jodie http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-8dfFkhS/0/M/DSCN0943-M.jpg "Prada 'Marfa'" is a piece of installation art. It is on a deserted highway in Texas, close to Marfa, TX and the Mexico border. The structure was built at a cost of $80 000 and is designed to be allowed to degrade and crumble with the ravages of time. It's sole purpose is to demonstrate the return from modernity to the earth from which it was created. Prada gave their blessing, and stock, for the store. I was there because it was a bonus location worth 1405 points in the Big Tex Rally, a thirty six hour motorcycle rally entirely within the state of Texas. From the start I was determined to make a significant assault on this rally. Despite my motorcycle inhabiting the territory known as the "Hopeless" Class, in previous rallies it has acquitted itself decently well, and surprised more than a few folk. This time the rally was a little longer, a little tougher, and I was determined to find out just what it could and couldn't do. Incidentally, "it's the rider not the bike" is an old homily which was going to be put to the test too. In the end it was a mixed result. For reasons that will become clear I decided not to finish, yet what I did accomplish, what I learned and what I will share that others may benefit too made this a truly worthwhile endeavour. *** It was dark at the Rider Meeting, at a gas station in Denison, TX. The event was due to start at 6 am and we would have no daylight for at least another ninety minutes. Denison was one of the four stating locations for the nearly fifty entrants. I will say right here that I am not a big fan of multiple starts. The Rally Master and his staff, who do a wonderful job in all things, cannot level that playing field. They can probably get very close, but they cannot make them equal. The Cape Fear Rally has three starts, and publishes a different finisher list for each one. That said, about half the field was starting from Denison, and clearly they each had identical opportunities. I had arrived the evening before and met up with a few riders I had met on previous rallies, and some new guys. It is always good to meet old friends and acquaintances, and we wished each other well as is the norm. These events are more "friendly rivalry" than competition. Sure we all would like to win, but there can be few who don't simply admire the achievements of those who exceed your own efforts; especially given that your own efforts were prodigious! The Rally Pack had been distributed three weeks earlier. About half the field were newcomers to the sport, and Wayne, the Rally Master, was keen that everyone had a chance to plan routes carefully. We were told that there would be some new information that would be given out at the start of the event, but nothing that would cause riders to alter their basic routes. This was very good to hear. The last thing new riders need is to plan for three weeks then have to scrap and re-plan on the clock. So it came as a bit of a surprise to read the supplementary information and realise that one of the biggest bonuses available would require me to completely alter my route! This was not going to happen. The supplementary pack gave me an additional 7500 points without changes, and I decided to live with that and look again at the overnight stop, to see if I could make hay with the other stuff. That 7500 points gave me a projected score of maybe 58 000 points for the event. What I now know is that had I been able to take advantage of that "extra" multiplier, the 58 000 could have become around 67 000 points ... a very respectable finish. However, we are getting somewhat ahead of ourselves and I don't really do "what ifs", nor do I ever bemoan my own misfortune. Every event like this is unique. What is important to me is that I learn from each one, and incorporate those lessons into all future events. If I can share what I learn, and that helps others, then I consider that to be an added bonus. http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-wnBqVCS/0/M/DSCN0931-M.jpg At the start I found myself next to a guy in his first rally. He was clearly a mix of excited and nervous. He wanted to chat about what was to come and there wasn't much I could say to him, and I knew exactly how he was feeling. I suggested that he simply take it very easy for the first twenty miles or so; that is when the adrenalin will kill you. Suggested that he might remember that whatever the objective, all he was really doing was going for a ride on his rather nice Honda Gold Wing. That is it ... it's just a motorcycle ride. Enjoy. I didn't catch his name but I really hope he did well and had fun. Six am duly rolled around and we were off. I was the second or third bike out of the parking lot. I had a long, hard day ahead and I wanted to make some good early progress. http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-5ph3FtQ/0/M/DSCN0933-M.jpg The first target was the grave of "Machine Gun Kelley". I took a wrong turn almost right out of the gate which cost me just a few minutes and I arrived about 100 miles later at 7.50 am. I was maybe the fourth or fifth there, but it was apparently on many schedules, and was a busy graveyard at that early hour. The location was easily found and a few minutes later I was on my way again. This time another 130 miles to the home of Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian. This is always the phase of a rally where I settle in and get on with the task in hand. The initial rush is passed, the sun is up and I can take stock. The bike is running well and you can make good time on these Texas highways. The speed limit is 70 mph, and much of the time that is doable. I have a route that demands that I ride 1030 miles before my overnight stop, and along the way I need to hit some time checks. I am heading for El Paso. It was a bit disconcerting to pass a sign as I left Sherman saying "El Paso 545 Miles", and I wasn't even going straight there! I never let my head go to the entirety of the route, but simply ride from one planned location to the next. Those are bite-sized chunks that never seem too far yet add up to a total plan. I was scheduled to be in Sanderson, TX at 11.30 pm, there I could rest but for now there was the small matter of bonuses to hunt in the Guadalupe Mountains, and other places. http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-j6LX39h/0/M/DSCN0935-M.jpg This bonus benefitted from the supplementary information. The original requirement was a photo of the front gate, which was easy enough. For an additional 2190 points you also needed a picture of the typewriter that the novelist used. It is obviously inside the house, and equally obviously might prove tricky. I am the first to arrive at this bonus, but I am confident that the enormous number of points would attract many riders. The house is locked up so I went around the back and found an open door and two little old ladies doing some filing, or something. Well they wanted chapter and verse, and I have only budgeted five minutes for this stop. I indulge them as politely as I can, and get my photo. As I am leaving three more riders arrive. Nicely primed the ladies are likely to delay them for rather less time, yet I don't begrudge the extra few minutes one bit. We are ambassadors for our sport and making a favourable impression on little old ladies is simply part of the job. Plus, they are usually very nice to talk to I was fortunate they were there. Usually the place is locked, and you have to call a number and wait for someone to get there to let you in. Some later riders might find this to be a bit of an obstacle. It might have cost me five minutes, but I was grateful to them for choosing that Friday morning to do paperwork. I needed gas next, and I would need gas again before the next bonus. As I plan on gas every 250 miles that is a long way between stops. You sometimes just have to hunker down and ride. Five hundred miles into my day I make it to Wink, TX. Here is the home of the Roy Orbison Museum. Again it is closed and you have to go to the City Hall a few doors away to gain admission. The lady tells me that a few riders have already been through. I imagine they were nearly all from the Anthony, TX start location. Few from Denison were coming here as far as I knew although I had been passed on the road by a BMW GS. That incident was instructive. I am a decent rider. I can push where I need to, and throttle back when I have to. I do not worry about taking my 900+ pound beast down unmade roads, or up mountains. I had been pushing hard yet this guy simply rolled by. I am beginning to understand that my trusty mount is playing out of it's league. Realising this, which is a feeling that has been growing, is a bit dispiriting and I ponder that for a few miles. Meanwhile, I hit Wink on time and get a stupid photograph wearing some "Roy Orbison" sunglasses. (I have been informed that these are actually Roy Orbison's glasses. Donated to the museum by his family). http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-8swmqqf/0/M/DSCN0936-M.jpg Here I make a plea to Rally Masters. Please do not insist that riders include themselves AND their Rally Flag in photographs, unless it adds something to the necessary bit of proving that you were there. In this instance it clearly did, and was fun. In others, not so much and is a requirement that adds nothing to the task, just makes the picture harder to get and to what end? This is my story, and I'll tell it the way I want to, m'kay? That said, the next picture did actually turn out quite well even if it did take longer to frame than was necessary: http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-HrSqsr5/0/M/DSCN0937-M.jpg We are now another one hour and forty minutes down the road, and still on schedule. This bonus was just three miles after bagging the Passport Stamp for the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. I nearly had a complete disaster at the Visitor Center there. I pulled into what appeared to be a perfectly ordinary parking space, but I had badly misjudged the camber. As I came to a stop the bike started to fall to the left. The world goes in slow motion for a split second as a whole train of thought rushes through your head. Can I hold it? No ... It's too risky, Okay, then how can I minimise this situation? Left foot firmly planted, keep hold of the bars and allow the bike to lay gently on the crash bars. Step off and scratch head. It's hard not to laugh, and even harder not to cry. I haven't dropped a bike for maybe twenty years and I picked a fine place to try it again! There is another motorcyclist in the parking lot. He comes over and thirty seconds later the bike is safely restored onto it's sidestand. No harm, no foul. It is 104 miles to the next bonus. Actually it is three bonuses within a mile of each other worth a combined total of 5659 points. They are all in El Paso and they are the reason I have come this far west. At my current location I have a "get out". If I am too far behind schedule I can miss El Paso and head south, shortening the route. I would lose the El Paso points, but could make some of them up with the shorter distance and extra time. I am at Guadalupe Peak bang on schedule though. My GPS is estimating arrival at the next National Park at 4.58 pm, two minutes before it's official closing time. I said I was attacking this rally, so I decide to go for it. And "go for it" I did. Across the bleak uplands through the Guadalupe Mountains. The roads are fast, generally straight with very little traffic and as I ride I am able to watch my ETA become closer. I had it at about 4.50 pm ... I had built a ten minute cushion. In the end it was worth it even if I missed the 690 points in the Visitor Center, the nearly 5000 for the grave of James Wesley Hardin were sufficient. A complication was the 1000 point Call-In Bonus. We were now on Mountain Time, and right in the window to call the barn. I couldn't do it. Even stopping every few miles to check for a phone signal there was nothing doing. No stores, and few householders would relish a mad English motorcyclist banging on their door asking to use the phone. I eventually came across a lonely "Craft" Store that would have a phone I could use. It was 5.05 pm Central ... Too danged late! Then I hit the outskirts of El Paso. Mile after mile of urban highway. Where the hell did all that traffic come from? Traffic lights every ten yards, and every one of them red. My ten minute cushion became seven minutes late by the time I arrived at the Chamizal Visitor Center. When this kind of thin happens seven hundred and fifty miles into your ride, it can be a severe blow to your peace of mind. As I head, less than confidently, to the center I spot a young woman from the Park staff. She tells me that the door is still open. It isn't and with little hope I banged on the locked door. To my surprise, a guard opens the door and tells me, in no uncertain terms at all, that getting the two Passport Stamps inside is absolutely no trouble! The Gods of Motorcyclists are smiling on me today, and in a short while the smile will deepen and broaden into a positive grin! http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-n8f22xB/0/L/DSCN0941-L.jpg As I leave for Concordia Cemetery, the final resting place of James Wesley Hardin, I decide to take a few moments while there to take stock. The location is only a couple of miles from Chamizal, but that couple of miles takes over half an hour. I get firmly and inextricably lodged in traffic. It appears that every truck in North America has chosen this time to head into Mexico. The lines are solid, every intersection completely snarled up, and my engine boils over ... twice. I have lost the best part of an hour from my schedule and when I finally arrive at the cemetery, it is closed! Closed three full hours before the posted closing time of 8.00 pm, something I carefully checked before leaving home. There is a guard at the gate letting the final few stragglers out. I can see my target maybe fifty yards away and I wonder if he will let me in. All I need is a quick picture. No, he won't, at least not without the permission of the owner who is right there. Apparently they are preparing for some James Wesley Hardin Commemoration the following day. She hears my tale, gives permission and the friendly guard took the picture. Like I said, I am destined to do well in this Rally, and I am earning it the hard way but now I am very concerned that I do not trash my motorcycle nine hundred miles from home. I make my way slowly out of El Paso, well behind schedule and am rapidly calculating the damage, which amounts to ninety minutes (1350 points) lost from my Rest Bonus and a sick motorcycle. I make it to a gas station where I need a few minutes rest. I am up around eight hundred miles for the day and the last hundred have been very hard on both of us. At this point I don't need gas, just a few minutes off the bike before I head into the mountains again, and into the night. I hate this bit. I started the day in the dark and am now faced with another two hundred miles or so, in the dark. The lights on the bike are decent. They are not quite what I ultimately want, but they are good enough to run a fairly fast pace on these roads, mountains or not. By chance I look at my auxiliary gas tank and I notice something wrong. The gas cap is missing, as is the bulk of the five gallons of gasoline I thought it contained. I realised just how lucky I was. I was heading into wild territory thinking I had five more gallons of gas aboard than I actually had. That was a certain disaster averted but now I could only run my main tank. This immediately compromised my second day plans because I had to again run fast through country where gas was going to be hard to find. The loss of that cap and the nagging worry about the engine was bringing me to the point of simply riding for a finish, with no guarantees that I would even get one. http://twigg.smugmug.com/Motorcyling/Rallies/Big-Tex-Rally-2012/i-8dfFkhS/0/L/DSCN0943-L.jpg I make it to the eponymous "Prada" maintaining my predicted pace. I am an hour and a half late but have not lost any more time. Here is a bonus where the requirement was for a "non-pretentious picture of you in front of the Prada store". This was one where I happily agree that getting the rider in the photo adds value. I loved this bonus. Being in this place, at this hour was a surreal experience. In my six or seven rallies to date this has become my favourite bonus location and if you are ever in the area please stop by. I promise that you will not regret it. It is vital that you never let your plan take over from your common-sense, and decision making. Your rally plan is a target to aim for, and must never be allowed to rule your judgement. If any newer riders are reading this, I cannot stress the point enough and right now I was at decision time. The next bonus, and the final one of the day was at the McDonald Observatory. Unfortunately, they tend to put these things at the top of mountains. While I felt reasonable confident that the road up would be manageable, I was rather less confident of my ability to go up safely. I was tired and I knew it. Riding to my planned rest stop maybe another 130 miles was one thing. Detouring up a mountain at midnight was quite another and I make the only safe decision I can. I cut the bonus and the 3000 points that go with it. Even then I hit a wall. No, not literally, the figurative "wall" that is a combination of poor sleep the night before, nine hundred miles riding, the darkness and the stress of El Paso and the lost gas cap. I called Jodie when I filled up with gas and we talked briefly about the 97 miles left to the rest stop. I was confident that I would be okay and indeed I was, but not without a lesson that I will share with you all. When I am tired and riding, I do not generally suffer from my eyes closing. What does happen is that I lose focus, literally lose focus, my eyes go blurry and I have to force my concentration back to the task. That is a clear and unambiguous sign that I need to get off the road, and get off the bike and I NEVER ignore it. Neither should you. There comes a point, and we each are different, where we recognise those signs. It is not clever or brave, or admirable to ignore the signs. It is stupid, dangerous and has no place in LD Riding. I felt that happen about thirty miles into the last leg. I needed a safe place to stop and there wasn't one. That road is wild and desolate. There are no houses, no towns, no gas stations just a ribbon of tarmac with nowhere to stop. If I stopped in the road I would be in danger from the next tired idiot driving up behind me. Somehow I had to stay alert until I could safely stop. I yelled at myself, I ate candy, turned up the music and had as much air flowing as I could manage. I was prepared to continue only as long as it was safer to ride than stop. Eventually I hit a small town called Marathon, TX. This was about twenty miles passed my "signs to stop", and about forty miles from my planned stop. I pulled over in a parking area, got off the bike and lay down on the sidewalk. This might sound a bit extreme but it didn't seem at all odd at the time. I was in a safe place and could use a short "power nap". I got one and in about twenty minutes was feeling pretty darned good. There was nowhere to take my official rest break so I hopped back on the bike and completed forty uneventful miles to Sanderson, TX. All along I had planned my rest stop carefully and deliberately. In the last rally I entered I stayed at the Iron Butt Motel (sleeping outdoors for those who don't know). This time I planned the same. Truck stops are a decent choice. They are open 24/7, have computer generated timed receipts, and they have coffee, food even showers available. All you need is somewhere to sleep and a quiet corner of the parking area will do nicely. In some places you can even blag your way into the truckers lounge and sleep in a chair. This one was different. It was closed! So, no hot chocolate for me, but the gas pumps gave me a receipt timed at 1.10 am (the correct time). Within fifteen minutes I was in my sleeping bag. As I lay there, cozy and warm I saw more stars in the night sky than ever before in my life. There is no light pollution here, and the view was glorious. I had the warmth from the tarmac coming up through my sleeping mat, and the heat from my cooling engine. Alarm set for six fifteen, I was asleep immediately and slept the sleep of the just! I am firmly of the view that sleeping like that, listening to your bike clink and tinkle as it cools, and gazing up at the stars is one of life's great treats. You miss all that if motels are the only choice you ever make, but even I agree that they do have their place. When the alarm woke me I lay there for another forty five minutes. I had done some thinking and already decided that today was going to be spent simply riding home. I was in decent enough shape rallywise. I had worked out that if I simply rode for a finish I already had sufficient points to qualify. If I was granted all the "givens", and my license was still safely in a sealed envelope, then I had already accumulated around 33 000 points ... more than enough. Anything I gathered in the second day would simply raise me in the final standings. I had planned to hit the compulsory bonus at 8.00 am, and that was still on. If I could make the second day work I was back at the barn for around 58 000 points which should be a decent place. The fly in this ointment was the supplementary bonus thrown in at the start. Not only was it a bonus that I could not reach without re-routing my entire day, there were no guarantees that I could hit a target three times with a .45 Magnum. This bonus required you to be close to home no later than 2.00 pm, and from Sanderson that was not going to happen. As I have already said, I was attacking this rally and that means getting to Dallas no earlier than thirty minutes before penalties. To plan anything else is wasting time that you could have been on the road. It is a minor understatement that I felt that this bonus was breaching the spirit of the rally in more ways than one. First, it did demand significant re-routing. Second, it introduce a points multiplier based upon a skill that has nothing whatsoever to do with motorcycling. I want to ride my bike, and plan my rides. I want to enjoy camaraderie and good fun .... If I wanted to shoot a gun I would buy one, or join a gun club! Don't get me wrong. I am as keen as the next person for Rally Masters to get folk off their bikes doing interesting things. Is it too much to ask that those activities be designed to explore and develop the skill set we need to ride and rally, rather than introduce elements completely unrelated. I would be perfectly fine with this being "just another bonus" that one could choose to go for or route around, but it was a whole points multiplier .... Just didn't feel right to me is all. I'm sure it was indeed fun for those who completed it. All of the above is pure conjecture, and it's easy to ride a rally from my armchair I had the points to finish, but I had already decided that I was going home. My main concern that "home" was six hundred and ninety miles away. I would have liked to have gone via Dallas, put in my score and enjoyed the great company, but that added another three hundred miles, and time pressure to a motorcycle that I was not confident was up to the task. Especially as it would have probably meant routing through San Antonio, Austin and Dallas itself, with a motor that had already threatened to toast itself in city traffic. I called Wayne, made my apologies turned on my GPS, hit "Where To" and "Home" in that order and was on my way. The ride home was at a slower pace and uneventful. Seven hundred miles at a decent clip with only Wichita Falls to slow me down. I was home by 8.30 pm. Tired and a bit achy, but very pleased with my efforts despite the DNF. As a final note ... I would hate for folk to read a few minor criticisms, or personal preferences, and take them out of context. Rally Masters will never know what riders think unless we tell them purely in the spirit of contributing to the development of events. The Big Tex Rally was professionally staged, wonderfully managed and a great credit to Wayne Boyter and his Staff. All the riders, including me, owe those guys a great debt of gratitude. For my own part, I thoroughly enjoyed participating in this awesome event and would not hesitate to enter again. My own trials and tribulations along the way are teaching points, no more and no less. I include them here that I may learn from them, and that others may benefit should they choose to. I rode a total of 1922 miles on my 27 year old motorcycle, at an average moving speed of 64.7 miles per hour. I completed the mileage required for a Texas "In-State" SS1000 and the mileage required for a Bun Burner 1500. The last 28 miles of that were in Oklahoma. It was a good weekend

got offerd a 1996 honda shadow asking price was $3200 offerd to me for $2850. new battery, tires put on this season with 1500 miles on them. bike has almost 38000 miles nice white color.runs good but i could not take it for a test ride. left leg just not bending enough right now. im thinking of pulling the trigger on this bike. and it,s local so i have seen it in town. what,s all of your opion on this type of bike? and i need to store it. cost of storage place i found is $45 a month.

I halted my series of LD Riding posts for a few days simply because I have had my hands full arguing about the Scavenger Hunt , but more importantly preparing for a Rally. The Big Tex Rally is a 36 Hour Rally all within Texas. My start point is in Denison, TX, and I will be visiting El Paso, Big Bend and various other places before returning to Dallas. The Rally begins at 6 am tomorrow (friday) and the finish is at 6 PM Saturday. I have a route that covers about 1650 miles. I will have to add 200 miles from home to the start, and about 250 miles home afterwards. Here is an overview of the full route: http://twigg.smugmug.com/photos/i-NjjQ229/0/L/i-NjjQ229-L.jpg For anyone curious about following progress, the following link goes directly to the SPOT location page: http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=5955507f422e33e1a That link will go active at 5 pm central and stay on until I am home again. I will be sleeping so it will not move all of the time. There are close to fifty riders starting this event from four different locations. About half the field is starting from Denison.

cant find info on this. Its a barn find so to speak. Owner says it ran 10 yrs ago and has been setting since so I know it needs minimum new plug, wire , and fuel plus carb work. What my question is is how much is this thing worth. Theres not a scratch on it and everythings original. Onlly has 2796 miles on the odometer and since its setting beside a 57 bel air with 27 grand on I dont doubt the milage. Any help will be apreciated David

Have a few questions on this whine. I always understood there was two sounds the drive train made. One fairly high pitched sound that changes with RPM and goes away or can’t always be heard. Also I understand there was a deeper sound as well, which you hear about the same times as the higher pitch sound. The high pitched sound does not bother me but this deeper sound just started and has gotten louder in the past 500 miles. I have an 08 RSV with 21,500 miles, upgraded the clutch with PCW kit, 1,500 miles ago, new tires. I hear the deeper sound at about 30 miles an hour in 3rd and as long as you are maintaining speed. Let of the throttle, or pull the clutch sound disappears. This sound is also there in 4th gear at 40 mph, and stays there all the way to about 60 mph. 5th Gear the sound is louder but at 65 it is very loud. I can still hear it at 75 but the wind noise is starting to drown out the sound. Does this bike have the basket issue ? Why did it just start or started shortly after I upgraded the clutch ? Does it get worse with more miles on the bike ? Any comments or suggestions. Thanks Brad

I need info on seat mod by butler.....Getting sore riding long miles...will this help?

It is becoming an addiction. Buying, selling, and trading bikes. I have an opportunity to trade my fully farkled 2008 KLR650 to a guy for a 1995 BMW R1100GS that also appears to be fairly well equipped. 9000 miles on the KLR 60000 miles on the BMW What to do, what to do...... Perhaps there is a 12 step program. RR

Ok I have BATTERY /charging or lack of it on my bike.. I've checked the battery it's good, I've checked and there is NOTHING drawing...& 13.5 -14.2 charging.. Well wife & I went a cple day ride & sure enough we go out Sunday morning & the bike wont crank....135 miles from home and NO1 round I do what any man would do.... I walk acoss to KMART and by a 500 cold cranking jump box...and hope n pray it is charged enough to JUMP the bike off...well it does...we ride almost 130 miles & i stop for gas kill the bike fill it up & it wont start... i was like WTH... jump it off.... well we stop several times after and bike cranks.. I go out this morning NOTHING....now my battery isn't 6 months old... matter of fact it's the 2nd battery i've bought in a yr .....now I'm looking at a HIGH output stator or open to suggestions.... uggggg don't know what or where to turn....

Part One: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=73786 In part one, linked above, we looked briefly at the motivation one might have for getting involved in "longer than your average ride". Self-satisfaction, friendly rivalry, exploring your own limits ... fun! They all play a part. However, remember back when you learned to ride? If it went smoothly for you, it is likely that before you learned how to make a motorcycle go forwards, you were first shown how to stop it. Logical really. Cover the clutch at all times. The minute you are unsure, pull in the clutch and start to brake. Sure you develop from that with experience, but knowing when to stop is just as important to LD Riders as it is to those taking their first tentative steps on two wheels. There is no shame in abandoning an attempted ride. There is nothing wrong with realising that what you might be attempting is not within your grasp this time. Your wife and family want you home, safe and sound and in a position to try again at some future time. When you abandon a ride, you do not "fail" ... you simply learn one way that it cannot be completed. More than that, you demonstrate a maturity of judgement that you can be rightly proud of because you just demonstrated your ability to ride safely, even when every instinct was screaming disappointment. I am not speaking theoretically. This year I have failed to finish a rally (DNF) when I simply considered it unsafe to continue. I tried ... I even tried to get two hours sleep and maybe that would help. It didn't help, but six hours sleep helped enormously and I safely rode the 500 miles home next day. Equally, I abandoned an BBG attempt (1500 miles in 24 hours) when the time slipped so badly that completing the ride would have required speeds I was simply not prepared to ride at ... even on the Interstate. I did complete 1700+ miles in 32 hours, which is a different Certificate. Sure I was disappointed yet I am still alive, still happy and I am now better placed to make future attempts because I know what I have to do, and how to accomplish it. These things are not easy. If they were easy no one would bother. We do it because it is a very hard thing to do. That is the point. Knowing when to stop is not easy. It is very easy to stop because you want to stop. I always want to stop My hips cramp up after about 700 miles. My back and shoulders sometimes ache a bit (I'm working on that). I want to chat to my wife, have a meal, a drink, a cigarette. I'd give anything to stop. That isn't the "stopping" I am talking about. I am talking about knowing when to stop because to continue would be unsafe. You have reached the threshold below which you are not comfortable continuing. This differs for all of us. Our thresholds vary and what we must do is work out when our bodies, or riding is telling us that fatigue is beginning to negatively affect performance. Remember this is an endurance event, so you do actually have to "endure". That is a hard thing to do but it only becomes an unsafe thing to do if we ignore the signs. So what are they? Well the Iron Butt Association has a very handy "Archive of Wisdom" which lists 28 tips from Iron Butt Rally finishers. Number 12 says: "As soon as you are tempted to close an eye, even "for just a second", find the nearest safe place to pull over and take nap! Other symptoms to watch for: Inability to maintain a desired speed. If you find yourself slowing down and constantly having to speed back up, you are ready to fall asleep! Forgetting to turn high beams down for oncoming traffic. Indecision. Can't decide to stop for gas or continue? Can't decide what turn to take? These are all a result of fatigue." You generally wouldn't start with a BBG attempt, or any of the other extreme rides. Indeed the IBA will not ratify such a ride unless you have first completed one of the easier ones. I use the term "easier" advisedly. So start shorter. Develop the techniques and self-knowledge that will stand you in good stead when the pressure is really on. Learn for yourself the signs you should NEVER ignore. Don't think that because you are fatigued and need to stop that you cannot complete the task. Sometimes pulling into a rest area and grabbing 30 minutes sleep on a park bench, or even on your motorcycle is quite sufficient for you to safely continue. But if you must stop, then you owe it to yourself, your loved ones and other road users to stop immediately. You will gain a great deal from taking this point on board. Inappropriate speed kills. All Iron Butt Rides can be completed within the posted speed limits. You just have to be savvy about route planning for some of them is all. Riding much quicker than the prevailing traffic is tiring; riding faster than the prevailing conditions permit is downright dangerous. When you are out trying for that first SS1000, or bonus hunting on a Rally, you are simply a road user. You are not special, nor are you doing anything that has a special dispensation to play fast and loose with the laws. Do it too often and the local Sheriff will no doubt remind you The real key to covering the distance is to prepare your mind and body, to prepare your motorcycle and to plan an efficient route .... THEN KEEP THE WHEELS TURNING! The example I gave the other day was to imagine you are out riding with a buddy. You are cruising the interstate at a steady 60 mph. You stop for 10 minutes and he continues. It will take you ONE HOUR at 70 mph to catch him. You can easily see how this can work against you and it is why I have struggled to develop a routine that means I can gas up the bike in 3 1/2 minutes, ramp to ramp, if I need to. Generally I don't actually need to, but I practised just in case. Have at the safety aspects in the thread. Thjs stuff is important and we need to hammer it out before we move on to the mechanics of how we bring this all together for a successful ride. Part Three: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=74050

OK folks I want to go to the East TN to camp out next so I need to fix this quick. Back in March I started out to Norfolk on my bike got about 75 miles away and it stopped charging had the wife bring me the battery out of my other bike so I could get back home. Got back home and the bike was not charging took all the connectors apart cleaned them and the bike was charging just fine went another thousand miles and the bike was fine until I rode it to work one day and it was dead by the time I got to work. Charged the battery at work to get me back home, when I got home it was charging I checked the rectifier and it seemed to be a little out of specs so I replaced it with one Steel Horse Cowboy sent me (thanks again). Well today I pulled my trailer around for about 60 miles and I noticed at the red light I was not charging however when I turned off my driving lights it was charging again got it home and it was still charging but only about 13 volts. I have an extra stator (that Steel Horse Cowboy sent me) but I would like some confirmation before I dig into it. The voltages test fine when I have it loose but its not under load at that point. Thanks all and it sure is nice to be riding again. Joe

From the invention of the motorcycle there have been two areas of riding that can be considered to be the extremes of the pastime. Those who want to ride them faster, and those who want to ride them farther. The way motorcycles are used in day to day activities varies from place to place. In the UK, and in much of Europe, the motorcycle was often the primary form of transport for working men and working class families. When I was a child we didn't have a car, our houses did not have garages. My Dad had an elderly BSA 650 with a Canterbury Double-adult sidecar. He went to work on it, took Mum to the stores, and we would use it for vacations traveling from the north of England to the South to visit with family. That was a journey of nearly two hundred and fifty miles. Dad on the bike, Mum and kids in the sidecar and it could take upwards of ten hours including driving right through central London. I guess my introduction to long journeys on motorcycles started at an early age. My first recollection of riding my own bike a long way was at age 17. I had a BSA Bantam D175. Even then that bike was older than me. I once rode it 450 miles in about sixteen hours ... maybe eighteen. Top speed was close to sixty miles an hour. Compared with what I ride now, that journey was tougher than any Bun Burner Gold or SaddleSore 1000, but I was young, and more than a little foolish. In the US motorcycles have pretty much always been leisure vehicles. Yes there are people who use them as transport, but in the UK they were principally transport and it led to different development paths for both bike and riders. I have friends who think little of riding eleven thousand miles in eleven days, and others who love their motorcycles just as much, but who wouldn't dream of riding more than a couple of hundred miles in one go ... a distance that wouldn't even come close to emptying my gas tanks, yet each is as valuable to the sport as the other. It would be a grey world if we were all the same. There are those who think that riding 1500 miles in under 24 hours is foolish, even dangerous, and others who can't comprehend what it takes to do such a thing but would like to hear more about it. To deal with the safety aspects briefly, because it is a subject we will come back to. Riding a motorcycle is not the safest way to get from A to B. That is reserved for aircraft We all ride, and we know the risks yet choose to accept them. We live in a risk-averse society, yet we also realise that life is a continual balance between risk and reward. We could quit riding motorcycles and take the truck, or SUV, but the price we would pay for that is too much for most to accept. On the other hand, let's not get stupid about it. I have a wife and lots of kids and wherever I roam, they want me back in one piece. So we are going to be looking at not simply how to ride a long distance, but how to do so in as safe a manner as possible. It is notable that the accident statistics for LD Riders are about the same as for all motorcycles. The accident severity is generally less because of the insistence upon All The Gear, All The Time (ATGATT). The other thing that should be said upfront is that LD Riding is not about speed. Every Certificate Ride on the IBA website can be completed within the posted speed limits in the US. Indeed, it makes sense to keep your speed at a moderate level because the stopped time for gas outweighs the time gained by speeding once the speed creeps up to 80mph and beyond. "Performance Awards" from State Troopers are unwelcome expenses and many Rally Masters will disqualify riders who pick up too many tickets. The safest, and least tiring way to make progress is to ride at the speed that has you doing the least work in terms of over-taking and being passed. On most roads that trends towards the speed limit plus a few mph. It varies from place to place. The real secret is not to ride fast, but to keep the wheels turning as much as you can. If you are riding with a friend at a steady sixty miles per hour and you stop for ten minutes, it will take you one hour at seventy miles an hour to catch up with him ... You see how that can work against you? On this site we have broadly two kinds of bikes. The "slow but new" and the "slightly faster but old". We have the first and second generation Yamaha Ventures. The first thing to note is that they are all quite capable of doing anything and everything I will describe in these articles. When we look at buying and choosing a bike, the Venture might not be the first or best choice, but they are the bikes we have, and they are quite capable. Before we get ahead of ourselves though, we need to look at why anyone would do this at all. It is part of the human condition to explore our environments and our personal limits. People choose to do that in any number of ways. Some seek maximum financial gain as a measure. I once heard a billionaire say that the money was irrelevant other than a way of keeping score! Folk run marathons, play sports, write books or find some other hobby in which they strive to excel. Endurance has long played a part in our make-up, and I choose to explore my own limits on a motorcycle. What I am sure of is that many of us need to do "something", because forever sitting on the sofa is simply akin to "waiting for God". There may be readers who do not wish to ride long distances, but simply came here looking for tips on how to make their chosen journeys more efficient or more comfortable. I hope we can help you too. Riding for Certificates, or simply bragging rights is a solitary pastime. It brings it's own rewards. I well remember watching my GPS tick over 1000 miles. I was on a 1977 Yamaha XS750. It was raining hard and about 40F. I was thoroughly wet, very cold and I was into hour 20. The mixture of misery and elation I felt as I counted down the last mile, in tenths, would earn me a fortune if I could bottle and sell it. http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i418/twigg2324/IBA%20Saddle%20Sore%201000/IMG_0421.jpg Arriving home at end of Saddle Sore 1000 - March 2010 Beyond Certificate riding is a whole world of Rallying. These are like scavenger hunts on crack. The bonus is that you will get to meet many folk from all over the country in a spirit of fun and friendly rivalry. Again, the only prize is satisfaction. We will look at both. The principles are the same even for those simply going on vacation. You still have to manage the miles. You still want to be comfortable, well-hydrated and free of pain. The main difference is that generally the time pressure is removed and you are free to relax and stop where and when you fancy. ** I may edit this. A limitation of the Forum is that I can't save a draft so if it appears to grow in length, or sprout pictures you might want to scan through for stuff I added Part Two: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=73853 Part Three: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=74050

This is not a question of whether an Avon is a good tire or how good their customer service is or warranty or how long they last or how they handle. I like the way Avon's handle on my 91 VR. I am on my 6th or 7th SET of Avon Venom's in the last 5 years. And frankly it could be the 8th. I have lost track. I have yet to get more than 5000 miles out of either a front or rear tire before the sidewalls have cracked extensively and usually I get more in the range of 1000 to 3000 miles. All of the tires were mfg'd within 6 to 9 months of mounting. Understand that I maintain the tire pressure per the techs at Avon, bike has been garaged, I do not wash the tires with anything but rain water, I haven't washed my rims in 10 or so years. I use no chemicals or products on the rims or tires. I put the tires on and ride. The bike did sit for a few months after I had a hip and knee replaced but otherwise I try to get out and ride (ie: exercise the tires ...) when ever I can. I have found the Avon reps (and I have been through 2 different companies that rep for Avon here in the states) agreeable and out of all the Avon's I have had, I have only paid for one (1) set and mounting twice. Good for Avon. Whoopie. The bike has a touch over 200,000 miles on it. No problems that would affect it's ride or tire wear or condition. Period. Once again after a short time on this set I am experiencing rather extreme sidewall cracking. So here is my question: Has any one actually heard of or experienced a sidewall blowing out as a result of this type of cracking (not related to age rot) or is this just cosmetic? I am getting tired of putting tires on this thing every 3000 miles.

Anyone here come from a 1st gen and then bought a BMW K1200LT Touring bike? I am playing with the idea as you can get them cheap with low miles compared to the Goldwings, plus they are physically smaller. I am eyeballing a 2001 with 20K miles on it for $6500. Do they ride like the 1st gen? I am just looking at about $3500-$4000 to make my 83 100% reliable and fixing 2nd gear as well as forks, etc... and only a little bit more will get me a bike that shops will actually touch, you can actually get parts for, and I will feel comfortable taking on a 1500 mile ride without worrying where the Uhaul rental centers are to get back home. Second Gen is out as I dont like the harley style bikes. They are pretty, just not my style and I dont like forward controls. And I dont have $12,000 for a 10 year old goldwing.

I have put about 300 miles, 25 miles one way to work, mostly freeway on my '83 standard since getting it back together recently. Today on my way home, it started feeling like it was running on 3 cylinders (again), then got progressively worse. It was barely running on the off ramp, wouldn't rev and died at the light. It would crank, but not run. I pushed it about 200 yards to a parking lot and called work for a tow truck (I am a dispatcher for AAA- nice perk --free tows). After waiting about 30 mins, i tried to start it and it fired right up. It ran like it had up to that point. I made it the last 2 miles or so home. I do have the replacement TCI, mounted on top of the airbox. Any ideas? I am thinking fuel pump/filter? It felt like it was running out of gas.

The bride and I put on 365 miles yesterday in S W Wisconsin .This was some of the best hills and twisties I've been on but pushing my 800 lbs. two up bike around wore me out. The other guys were on sport touring and could dance right on through. There was some kind of rally going on in the area and there was 1,000 of bikes mostly loud ones . I just think "Loud pipes.. take rights". About 150 miles was freeway just to get to this area of Sconnie and fatigue was setting in but a great day, sunny and mid 80's. I think when the leaves change I'll be back , not sure about the bride that was a long ride for her .

I've been looking for a Trike all summer and I finally found one. a 2007 GoldWing with a Champion Trike kit. The bike had 3 miles on it when it was triked in '07' and it's all the way up to 3000 miles now. Looks like an oil change and ride Pick it up tomorrow from a private owner WooooHooo !!

I just got back from a STAR Touring BBQ in Branson, MO. 2500 miles, 900 of it MO & AR twists and whoop-t-doos. (rode straight home,950 miles yesterday,,, whew. About 18 hours.) So, my stock size Venom is now shot (now at 22k) I called my dealer to get another and was told they can't get it anymore. I looked on Bike Bandit and saw it only on CLOSEOUT for stock size. Guess that narrows the field again on stock size 150/80-16. No Avon, no Michilen Commander II. So I am having them put on a Dunlop E-3 Friday. Mike G in SC

yesterday was a fantastic day in mo.. so i went out for breakfast on my stratoliner. 250 miles later i made it home. great ride. i could have made it another 200 miles but i had to get home for the honey dos. guess i'm in better shape than i thought. my butt never did get sore. the strat is the most comfortable ride i ever had with no mods. no back rest and oem seat.

Okay, so the first leg of my Three Flags Classic rally ride is completed. Left my home yesterday, just outside of Olympia, WA., and made it down to El Paso, TX. in slightly under 24 hours. That was 1,727 miles from home to El Paso. Had horrendous head winds through Idaho, fuel mileage down to 28mpg. Lots of wind in the higher mountains, and...BigLenny...I have to agree with my compatriot MikeWA that simple physics on a naturally aspirated bike will show you that riding in much higher elevations will show you a lack of power on your '07 RSTD. I certainly felt that lack of power crossing passes at 6,000 and 7,500 ft. Passing power was affected, and I had to drop a gear more times that usual to go the speeds I wanted to. No rain to mention, but the heat was a killer. It was 98 in Boise, 92 in Cortez, CO, and mid 90's in El Paso. There was one particular (fun to watch) lightning show in far southest Utah, but I avoided being struck, (ha ha). Being from western WA., I really like riding in 60's degree weather. The hotter it gets, the less miles I am wanting to do. Give me a solid 60 degrees, and I can bust out 1500 + miles every day. So I made it to El Paso, and now we wait for all the "normal" riders to show up over the next two days. The we leave here at 3:00 am on Friday, head to Buena Vista, CO., then to Little America, WY., and then Dillon, MT., and finally end in Nelson, B.C. Entire round trip for me, home to home, should be about 4,500 miles. Other than lack of power at higher elevations, the bike ran excellent. The greatest asset on this ride has to be my new Russell Day-Long Saddle. My 10th seat from them, and by far the best yet. Never once had one second of discomfort in 1,727 miles in under 24 hours. Time to get into my motel room, and get some sleep. If I can, still UP from the ride.