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Nearing a milestone...time to reminise


XV1100SE

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I bought my 2009 RSV in July of 2010. Got it used...it had been on the road for 3 months and had 2,500km. List price for new at the time was almost $20,000 but being "used" I paid $14,000 (CDN). As you can see from the picture, I'm nearing the 100,000km mark and should reach this milestone this weekend. Got me thinking....

 

I got my motorcycle license in August 1990 thru a motorcycle safety course. At the time I was riding a Kawasaki KZ305 cruiser. Rode it for three or four years years and put about 25,000km on it. I remember being at a stop light and a GoldWing rider pulled up next to me and said "nice little bike". When he caught up to me at the next light he said "your bike can really move!". Dropped this bike once on a country road where I over reacted on a curve with gravel and locked the front wheel and ended up in the ditch with a scraped up arm. Couple bikers stopped and helped me get the bike on the road and I rode it home. I rebuilt the motor myself on this one and remember the dealer telling me that I only had to replace three of the four valves after taking them in to get them lapped...and of course riding to work one day the one they told me I didn't need to replace was the one that failed. Ended up replacing the motor.

 

My next bike was a brand new 1999 Yamaha Virago 1100 LTD which I rode from 1999 until 2010 when I got my Venture. Put about 55,000km on the Virago. Only ticket I've ever gotten on a bike was on the Virago and dropped it once when on the street I lived on at the time a car turned in front of me to enter a driveway - again, locked the front wheel and down I went. Great bike, very reliable, and quick. Fastest I had it going was 190kph on a straight stretch of highway.

 

When I got the Venture I was thinking of using the Virago as my daily rider but after riding the Venture the Virago felt small and like a toy. Sold the Virago about 2 months after getting the Venture.

 

In my 30 years and 180,000km of riding as with all riders there have been some close calls but I've learned from my mistakes...those being not anticipating the things other drivers in cars would do. As long as you learn from your experiences...be prepared for the things you would never think would happen....have an escape plan every second of the ride.

 

Longest trip on the Venture was in 2013 when I did 10,000km round trip to Wyoming and Saskatchewan. Going out for a coffee average about 150km ride.

 

I have picked up the Venture one time when at a traffic circle I thought a car approaching from the other direction was going straight thru. Locked up the wheels when they started making the turn in front of me. Brought the bike to a full stop where the angle of the bike was too much for me to keep it up. Was easier to pick up the downed bike than I thought it would be and only took a few seconds.

 

I've had four warranty replacements done on the Venture :

- one rear speaker that developed a rattle

- fork wind deflector broke at the bracket (I put on the SS fork deflectors and still have the OEM as spares)

- fuel pump

- rear shock

Other than this...oil, coolant, clutch and brake fluid changes, brake pads, and tires...

 

At 100,000km... bike is just "broken in". This Winter I should check valve clearances but other than that, normal maintenance.

 

At 61 years old....hopefully many more miles to go on me and the bike. Have made a lot of friends thru VR.org...and looking forward to seeing everyone again.

IMG_2794.jpg

Bike and Tundra.jpg

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Nice!

 

I've never kept a bike that long. I always seem to see something shinier or faster or meaner, etc.

 

I think the '06 RSV may have stopped that problem. Maybe.

 

My RSV is approaching 100,000 mi. on the odometer (I can only claim a couple thousand of them though). She runs like new and as the PO(fltmedic) told me, the valves have never been serviced. I do get a slight backfire every once in a while on rapid deceleration, so maybe I'll take a look at the valves this down season and sync the carbs.

Edited by luvmy40
typo
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Good for you Donnie Boy. You forgot to state how good your bike is at being a tailrider, but maybe that has something to do with the rider himself, and that would be a tailgunner I guess. Sure glad to have you two on a ride though.

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Did some riding yesterday but still short of 100k. Supposed to rain all day today and Monday. Have to expect that for a long weekend!

 

I started having some issues with my Shoei RF1000....foam from the liner coming apart. Had been thinking I'd wait until fall sales to replace it...figured it was coming up on 7 years. Found the date code on the helmet and discovered that my memory wasn't so good on how old the helmet is. Was manufactured in 2009 so 11 years old and I've probably been riding with it for 10 years.

 

Trip to Royal Distributing in Guelph and got a Shoei RF-SR. Used it yesterday for the ride and felt great. Moving my headset over to it today. Was strange riding yesterday and not being able to talk with Reni during the ride.

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I relate to the feeling Don: more miles on a bike I like very much, more years on me, and many many memorable experiences, most but not all good, over 56 years of riding. With over 225,000 km on the clock, I rode almost 1000 km this week and it felt so good.

 

Wishing you many more years of enjoyable riding!

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