Chief Gunner

I like to ride and then post about it. Most of my topics are in the ride report section. Mimi, you are a great part of our club. What you do and how you write about it very appreciated. I love your riding and fishing adventures. The pictures you take always put everything into perspective. SCHWINN, well said. I agree. Mimi brings sound judgement, maturity, insight and intelligent humor to this place.

Well I started with the stock "Death Wings" on the XR and ended up with a rear MT21 (130mm) which I like very much on the pig....so as allot of you know I bought a VMax back in June and shortly after buying it I put a brand new dunlop K525 150/70-15 on it with Ken's help at Santee motorcycle supply. After only just over 4,000 miles it's looking like a slick down the middle so I went hunting for info on a tire that might offer better performance and longer tread life. After looking around and doing some homework I discovered the Metzler ME880 170-80-15 which fits on the VMax (with a minor washer swap). The reviews from other VMax owners on doing this are great, some are claiming to have gotten 10,000+ miles out of the Metzler so I just bought one and eagerly await it's arrival. Here's a pic of a "Before & After" that I found online. I like it, the Metzler has a better profile and it's not so wide that it's going to have a negative effect on the handling too much, everything I have read about them is positive (smoother ride, nice cornering.. etc).

Update; I got the Metzler's installed at Full Throttle Powersports yesterday. Mike hooked me up with mounting and balancing for a killer price. I brought the rear wheel in and he took the old tire off, mounted the new one on the rim and balanced it. He had a bunch of tires in stock but not the funky sized VMax front (110/90-18) ...So I mounted up the rear wheel at home, jumped on the bike and went to Cycle Gear on Convoy and bought an ME880 110/90-18. I got some strange looks in traffic riding with that tire around my waist back to his shop in Santee Mike again hooked me up and got the front tire on for me in a very short time.. Thanks again Mike! I will do a write up in the members only local shop thread later, I would highly reccomend Mike at Full Throttle to any of you. Great service, Great work, damn good pricing and he get's "it". The Metzler in the rear has plenty of room and does not rub on the swingarm. Like I hoped they feel great on the road and handle smoothly. I get to do a nice "Break in ride" today.....My Command holds monthly sanctioned rides to promote safety and safety mentorship for the younger and less experienced riders in our Command. If you have seen the news lately we have lost too many Sailors in fatal accidents on bikes, 3 alone last week. So as a Chief (and a rider) I am stepping up to support safety awareness within our Military riding Community. If you can get some time off today and feel like going for a ride on pavement I will post in "Who's going riding" with the Details.

I was asked about rust in a tank this morning and found this, maybe someone else can use it too. How To Clean Out A Motorcycle Gas Tank Step1:Remove the tank from the motorcycle, if necessary. Refer to the owner's manual on how to do this if you have one, if not, you can apply these basic techniques: Unhook any gas lines, or vacuum lines, depending on the brand of motorcycle. Some motorcycles are equipped with fuel valves on the gas tank. If yours has one, you'll need to remove it. Also remove the low fuel sensor, if your motorcycle has one. Step2: Block all of the holes in the motorcycle tank. You can use a short piece of hose clamped onto the fittings on the tank, and closed off at the end with a bolt. Step3:Dump a bag of BB's (yup like the ones used in a Daisy red rider :tease: ) into the motorcycle gas tank and add the 1/2 gallon of diesel fuel. Shake the tank vigorously. The BB's will knock the rust, or any other debris, free and the diesel fuel will keep the particles suspended so that they will dump out. Step4:Open the gas tank cap and look inside the tank. If it's not clean enough to suit you, resume shaking until the rust is removed to your satisfaction. Step5Pour out the diesel fuel and BB mixture. Shake the tank to make sure you have removed all of the BBs. Flush the inside of the tank out thoroughly with gasoline to remove all traces of the diesel fuel. Your tank should now be rust free and ready to put back on the motorcycle.

You are absolutely right Randy; I've slowed down allot on trying to keep the pig bright and shiney, the last time Mescalero saw it he said "It finally looks like it's being ridden" ....I save my spit and polish work for the Max now

Very good but not a record, the VMax remained pretty much unchanged from 1985 until 2007 but, correct me if I am wrong...The Enfield 500's, Harley Sportster and the BMW boxers come to mind as the longest production running bikes. I'll be keeping my XRL long after I burn through some more bikes, 12,000+ and still going strong

I've tried the heat gun technique, and I've tried this stuff....it takes some work but looks great when it's done right. http://www.properautocare.com/plreformoat.html The secret is in wet sanding and working your way to finer grit which smooths the scratches out, I finish with 1,000 grit and then three to four final coats. it looks good but don't get any type of degreaser on it (simple green, carb or brake cleaner ) or you'll have to start over Mop-n-glow works too and at 4-5 bucks its cheaper than the PC racing stuff. The secret is to apply it without getting bubbles in it, don't use a sponge, use a piece of a tight knit cotton rag.

Gunz, I think the trick to long tire life is to keep the RPMs somewhere below the V-boost speed and the throttle at less than 50%. But than again, what fun is that? HP I needed some kind of excuse with the Mrs. ...I told her the new tire would smooth the ride out a bit and if she likes it I'll buy the corbin seat and backrest she likes so that she's comfy riding 2 up. I know the tire will last longer.... because I'm so gentle on the throttle when she's on the bike She's so tiny I'm afraid if I twist too hard on the throttle that she'll get blown off Seriously though ; She's way cool, lets me have my fun..... once in awhile

I can-not lie. Yup....http://video.aol.com/video-detail/big-butt-song/2482769836 This is the link to the fattie install kind of like a do it all Dave's mod wepage for VMax lovers. http://www.vmaxoutlaw.com/main.html

The old Lady with the tramp stamp killed me! :dance3:

While at the race yesterday I saw a couple of these kicking ass so I asked a few questions about them and Ride Orange and Tree educated me on them. Very nice! The specs on the Street legal 525 claim a dry weight of only 255lbs, that's like 70lbs lighter than the pig (with a full XR Valdez tank) I need to try a ride on one! Here is their website:http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=72720...&FORM=CVRE2

I really have enjoyed all of the good times I've had with you all. Like Bikeslut I had a little isue on my first ride with this bunch. I cracked my left crankcase on the way down the backside of Mt Palomar, Stevensayonora drove all the way home to Lakeside so he could get his truck and help me and the pig get home. Carguy towed my pig behind his that day to get me to the gas station safely, Sandiegoland was there too..that time and when I threw a chain in front of him tearing out from the Blue Inn at the '07 DD. I've been friends with them all since! I have had many other good times here riding, camping and just hanging out. Great quality people with big hearts! I really do need to ride with you all more often, it's been way too long since I had an epic ride with the likes of Pyro, Alex, RO or Hondapilot!

I'm going to try to make this, I got room in the 4Runner for four others who might want to meet up at my house to go check this out at Naval Air station North Island it's free to active duty but I can get a break on the tickets on base (they are $25 a piece for civilians every where else). Link: http://www.fleetweeksandiego.org/coronadospeedfestival/ Vintage racers are way too cool!

Roger; I've got something I forgot to give you Saturday for Bently... a Green Kawasaki bar pad that was on my KLX. Next time you're in the hood swing by it's yours.

Nice boat! The sub moored up behind the sloop caught my eye....Russian B-39 We do not have windows on our subs. Too many years of scanning the horizon while topside at sea on Navy Warships does that to you.

You guys are killing me... The XR gets maybe 40-45 miles per Gallon on a good day (even worse in the dirt ) and the VMax only takes me 85-90 miles on a tank (4Gallons). If I'm really gentile on the throttle (which honestlly takes some effort ) I can get 100 miles before the reserve light comes on The best gas milage bike I ever had was my 750 Maxim (my 1st street bike) got somewhere around 45-50 miles per gallon.

You bet! I hate to wait (motoworld has never had my bikes ready in less than four days when I dropped them off) and then have to pay too much for anything I can do myself! I'll call you this morning. The carb synch, valve check & adjust were the last two things left for me to do for the 8K service. Thanks Brother!

According to my manual, all four of the carbs need to be connected to a manifold assembly with individual gauges for vacum readings when synching up. If I ever get the UFO carb set up it'll be much, much easier and I'll celebrate by decorating my driveway with smiley face burnouts like this

Never had too many issues with a single carb on my thumpers except the usual stuff many of us have experienced with clogged jets, sticky floats & jetting issues. I just lived with the issues and dealt with them as they came. I got Rachels Husky to run...clogged jets from sitting (thanks for the advice Zenosan & dirt Dame). My next project is going to be interesting....The VMax has four carbs and I have to take it in to get them synched up But things are gonna change when I have enough cash ($1995+ ) to do this to my VMax.....actually easier to adjust and synch than the OEM set up (not to mention the 17+ HP gain too) link:http://www.ufocycles.com/UFO_V-gas.htm

whoops, forgot the ignition is japanese. and the FCR carb, excel wheels. Dare I say it.....YOU BET .....Sounds like it's built like a HARLEY

You will find yourself strategically finding and searching out areas to stop / park the beast where you can get it rolling for bump starts when you ride it hard all day and start getting tired for all that butt whoopin power there's a trade off

See.... they really do have the technology to build you better, stronger and faster.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39co0zKbQAQ Let's hope there isn't anymore hardware implants in your future, good to see you are well on the way to recovery

Still a ways out but I'd like to be counted in, had fun last year!

Very, Very nice! I love the real BRP's

Nate; Here's a good link to some good data on the XRL, if you want to open the pig up and do the "Dave's mods" to the carb give me a call and we'll hook it up http://www.4strokes.com/tech/honda/ Carguy; Next Time you drive the truck to town, drop the pig off at my house and I'll see what I can do to figure it's issue out for you. Because you are all such great guests, my wife is very pleased with the quality of company and people I know so we will most definitely keep doing maintenance days at my house I hope you don't mind Zina & Gary; I shared the links to your pics over at the ADVrider site in the "Inmates" forum.