Venture Road 1986-10

Transcription

CONTENTS
USPS No. 730-250
Volume 3, Number 1
ISSN No. 0883.7821
October 1986
Publisher: Joe Schaerer
Editor: Ron D'Alessio
National Sales Manager: Bob Senor
Copy Editor: Kate McLaughlin
Production: Western Typesetters
Venture Road is published monthly by the Venture Touring Society, Inc., a non-profit organization located at 1615 South Eastern Avenue, Las
Vegas, Nevada 89104, 702/457-6657.
Copyright © 1986, Venture Touring Society, Inc.
All rights reserved. Single-copy price: $2 nonmembers, $1 members with membership. Subscription rate: $24 per year ( US funds only —
Outside US add $5 per year). All letters, articles,
photographs or other material submitted to Venture
Road become the property of the VTS and are
subject to reprint unless otherwise requested.
Permission to reprint any of this publication may
be given upon written request and then only when
source credit is given. Send all material, subscriptions, letters, contributions, notices, calendar items,
classifieds, etc., to:
Venture Road
The Venture Touring Society
1615 South Eastern Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89104
Publication deadline is the first of the month, two
months preceding cover date. For advertising
rates and information please contact;
Bob Senor
National Sales Manager
702-457-6657
Second class postage paid at Las Vegas, Nevada.
POSTMASTER: Send Form 3579 to:
VTS Venture Road
1615 South Eastern Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89104
The opinions expressed in this publication are
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the viewpoint of the Venture Touring Society.
The Venture Touring Society is a completely
separate entity from Yamaha Motor Corporation,
USA, and is not affiliated with any other organization. The Venture Touring Society, Inc., is a
Nevada corporation. "Venture- and "Venture
Royale- are trademarks of Yamaha Motor Co.,
and are used with the permission of Yamaha
Motor Corp., USA, Yamaha Motor Canada,
Ltd. The VTS is a licensed user in Canada.
This trailer was painted with an appropriate slogan for V-Daze '86 — it reads
"Back to the Boat." See more pictures and story on Page 12 and inside covers.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
Features
V-Daze 1986 in Review ................................................... 12
Product Evaluation: Bac Off Stoplight ........................... 24
Departments
Peripheral Vision ...............................................................
Mail Call ..........................................................................
Regional Update ...............................................................
Bench Wrench: Travels to Japan .....................................
Women's View: How to Pack .........................................
Roll Call: Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here ....................
Legal Word ......................................................................
4
6
18
26
27
28
33
The Venture Touring Society is an official chartered member of the American Motorcyclist
Association, #5465.
SUBMISSIONS FOR COVER PHOTOS
SHOULD BE:
Very sharply detailed; 4 X 5 color transparencies;
35mm slides; 8 x 10 or 3 X 5 color corrected
prints possibly acceptable.
ALL PHOTOS BECOME THE PROPERTY
OF VENTURE ROAD.
ON THE COVER — Over 350 bikes participated in the V-Daze '86 Grand
Parade up Lincoln Avenue in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Photo by Gordon
Herbst.
many PDN dealers have prompted this
update.
By Joe Schaerer
Executive Director
Venture Touring Society
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
The October issue of Venture Road
marks our third year in production. We
would like to take this time to thank all
our advertisers for your support and our
members for your contributions. Without
either one, this magazine would not have
been possible. To continue this high
standard of excellence both in production
and in content, we ask our members to
continue your support of our advertisers.
D EE
VERY INTERESTING
Ron and I just returned from a visit to
Wing Ding '86. We were invited by their
executive director, Bud Morris, and we
extend our thanks. Our reasons for attending were to see how a major rally,
very similar to ours, could be handled in a
major metropolitan area (the San Francisco Bay Area), and to talk to Honda
owners about motorcycling in general,
whether they have ridden a Venture, and
their personal views about their rally.
The answers we received were very interesting. Read all about it in this issue.
• El
SUPER EFFORT
I would like to acknowledge that, through
the efforts of its state director and membership, the Pennsylvania Conference
has established itself as the second largest
VTS membership in the United States. A
hearty congratulations from all of us, and
our wishes for continued success.
D EE
PDN CHANGES
This issue was to carry the PDN listing,
but because of our reorganization of that
network and the room needed to carry
coverage of our recent rally, it has been
delayed until the November issue. Our
travels and that of other members across
this continent and their experiences with
Page 4/October 1986/Venture Road
El 0 E]
TOUR DIRECTORY
Response to our recent request for information for our new tour directory has
been great. Remember: Even if you do
not wish to have a listing of any kind in
this directory, you still must fill out the
form and return it to us. This is the only
way we'll know if you do or do not wish a
listing. The directory can also be a great
tool for advertising your products.
D EE
El
WHAT ASSOCIATE?
Members have been sending in renewal
applications and checking the "associate- box but are failing to add the $10.
Unfortunately, the system will process
the application as the associate not renewing. Check your forms carefully before mailing.
D EE
PRODUCT EVALUATIONS
Bought a trailer lately? Tried out a new
riding suit? Found a helmet that's tops?
Tell others about it. Product evaluations
not only help you express your thoughts
(pro and con) and thanks to the manufacturer and sometimes the advertiser,
but also lets others get an up-front evaluation of the product under similar conditions. Tell it like it is. Interested, but don't
know exactly how to start? Send for our
evaluation form to help you. Address
your request to Venture Road, "Attention: Evaluation Outline.•
I=1
AMENDMENT TO
CONSTITUTION PROPOSED
A petition has been placed before the
executive board to waive the basic registration fees to V-Daze for life members.
The executive board reviewed the petition and voted to bring it before the entire
membership. If you wish to vote Nay,
please do so by mail; otherwise your vote
will be counted as a Yea. At the annual
board meeting in April, the motion and
subsequent vote will be brought to the
floor.
• Ell
TENNESSEE COLOR
In future issues we'll prelude our "Affair
to Remember" with items pertaining to
Pigeon Forge, the Smokies and Tennessee in general. These items of interest
may help you in attending next year's
rally.
JEFFERSON ADDITIONS
Added to the growing list of insured
states is Vermont. Jefferson has also
listed New York as "pending." We sure
hope it un-pends soon.
D DE
HIGHWAY MANIA
This popular feature will take a rest until
the spring issues. We thank all of you who
participated and congratulate all the winners. If you have any ideas like this or any
way to change our present contest, then
let us know.
D E E
ITEM LAST
Some members have expressed interest in how the VTS funds are distributed,
so we offer the following information:
( All figures are rounded off to the
nearest dollar and in some cases include
postage costs.)
(A) $25 full membership fee is broken down as follows:
(a) $12.00 is set aside for some of the
production and mailing costs of Venture
Road. Other costs are offset by advertising revenue.
(b) $5.00 goes toward your membership benefits: pin, patch, decal, membership card, courtesy cards, etc.
(c) $5.00 goes to payment of office
rent, utilities, salaries, overhead of operations, insurance, postage, toll-free phone
line, etc.
(d) $3.00 is set aside in an interestbearing account to offset loss of money
due to discounts given to extended memberships.
(B) $10.00 associate membership is
broken down in the same manner using
categories (b) and (c).
(C) Funds generated by sale of merchandise are paid into categories (c) and
(d).
(D) V-Daze revenue generated by
the first annual rally was enough to cover
costs. The second annual rally earned a
slight profit which will be used to promote and offset the costs of next year's
rally. Any other funds that are considered
revenue are used to cover costs in finding
new benefits for our members and in the
general upgrading of the association as a
whole.
If any member requires more than the
above information, he or she may solicit
any qualified audit service and we will
supply the necessary information. The
costs of the audit will be paid by the
requesting individual.
CRACKING UP BUT
NOT LAUGHING
Please advise all members to steer
clear of Clear View Products' Yamaha
Venture custom windshield until this company corrects a problem that they are
having with it. After the windshield has
been installed and the bike has been
ridden several hundreds of miles, cracks
appear from the outer edge — not one but
hundreds of small cracks.
I wrote the company about the problem and their answer was that they were
aware of the problem and were checking
with their supplier about it.
Frank Flickinger #01434
Iowa Area Rep
Chariton, Iowa
HUMAN KINDNESS
At 3:31 a.m. on June 3, 1986, I
departed Houston for Kansas City, Missouri. The weather was warm and muggy
and the traffic was light as I sped through
the freeway system and out of town
toward Texarkansas. Scattered light misty
rain began to fall, never enough to make
me put on my rain suit, but enough to
gradually wet me as the ride progressed.
One hundred miles south of Texarkansas, the rain became heavier and soon
was a drenching downpour.
I wanted to stop for my rain suit but
town after town rolled by without my
sighting a covered filling station or carwash or other cover to take shelter in for a
change of clothes. By 3 p.m., cold, bedraggled and worn out, I pulled into a
motel outside Mena, Arkansas. I just
couldn't drive my 66-year-old body any
further.
I napped, took a hot shower and
changed into fresh, dry clothes. Feeling
refreshed, I decided to go into Mena
proper to gas up my '84 Venture Royale
and get ready for the next day's run. My
bike started easily but as I rolled into
town it began to lose power and finally it
quit.
I looked around and saw that all the
businesses were closed. It was 7 p.m. and
the place looked like a ghost town. I hated
to leave my bike to look for help but what
could I do? I walked two blocks and came
to an intersection with Highway 59 where
I flagged down a motorcyclist and told
him about my problem.
He said, "Why don't we go over to a
convenience store on Highway 59 and
see if we can get some help there?" We
did and found a fellow called Shorty who
was also a bike rider. Shorty was driving
his 1959 Cadillac that night and when we
found there was no phone book at the
store, he gave me a lift to his sign shop
where we called the local Yamaha dealer
at his home. He was at the supper table
but said that he'd meet us at the bike
when he finished his meal.
Over supper, Shorty and I talked
about the way the bike had quit, and we
narrowed it down to some foreign substance in the gas tank, line and carburetors,
or an electrical problem.
David Gilbert, the Yamaha dealer,
arrived about 7:30 p.m. and after listening to what we said, he went to work on
the gas lines. Draining some of the gas
and cleaning the water out of the carburetors, he got it started. He directed me to
his shop at the Sears store on Highway
59 where he finished working on my bike
and put it back together.
It was now 11 p.m. I reached for my
billfold, expecting to pay him about $150
for the three hours of his time and labor.
He refused my money, saying, "You
would do the same for me if the roles were
reversed." Well, he was right, but I can't
imagine how I will ever have a chance to
repay him. I told him how much I appreciated all he had done.
The next morning, a clear, cool day, I
completed my trip to Kansas City through
the beautiful, winding mountain roads of
Arkansas, warmed by my thoughts of
how the milk of human kindness can turn
seeming disaster into a happy experience.
Glenn C. Bell, Jr. #02313
Houston, Texas
• Nice feeling, isn't it?
SOME ANSWERS
Reading Venture Road, I came across
a couple of questions that I can answer.
The question of good tires. I just
changed my rear tire, which was a Dun-
lop Touring Elite with 25,820 miles on it.
I probably could have gotten another 35 ,000 safe miles from this tire, but since I
pull a trailer and ride on the hot pavement
we have around Phoenix, I felt it was best
to put on another Dunlop Touring Elite. I
have 22,000 miles on my front tire (same
brand) and will probably get another
10,000 from it.
I don't think that any other tire would
give me this mileage, plus a safe ride in all
types of riding on all types of road.
I also read an article about hooking
up trailer lights. I pull a small car trailer
by Holsclaw. I mounted turn signals from
a 750 Honda above the existing lights on
the trailer. By doing this, I was able to
hook my wiring for tail lights on the bike
to tail lights on the trailer, the stop light
on the bike to the stop lights on the trailer
and the turn signals on the bike to the turn
signals on the trailer.
I went one step further: I installed two
double-pole, double-throw switches. This
enabled me to switch off the tail, stop and
turn-signal lights on the bike and to turn
them on to the trailer by flipping two
switches.
The onboard computer now reads my
trailer lights as it would the ones on the
bike. It also shows me a failure on the
trailer. This gives me a little more confidence, knowing that my trailer lights are
working and that people can see me.
Edward E. Wetsinger #00665
Apache Junction, Arizona
HELP WHEN NEEDED
On Sunday, April 13, 1986, at about
4 p.m., a small group of motorcycle riders
from VTS California Chapter 6 were
homeward bound to San Diego on Highway 74 when near-tragedy struck. A car
coming from the opposite direction attempted to pass a slower-moving vehicle
while approaching a curve. The car crossed
over into the oncoming traffic and caused
one of our riders and his passenger to go
down to avoid a head-on collision. Both
rider and passenger were injured.
A few minutes later, California Highway Patrol Officer David Eckenrode
arrived on the scene and immediately
attended to the victims. He called for and
received assistance from Pinyon Fire
Station Engine and Attack Squad 30.
Officer Eckenrode and the members of
Squad 30 not only attended to the injured
riders, but took extra time and effort to
console and help the rest of us, who were
emotionally upset and still in somewhat
of a daze over the event.
Given the age of most of our members
(45 and older), their close association
with the injured riders, and their unfamiliarity with the area, the courteous assistance given during the course of this
traumatic event was appreciated more
than words can express. Officer Eckenrode also assisted us in locating the
hospital the injured riders were taken to,
and doubled back when we became separated from him.
Very often we get caught up in the
rush of living and forget to thank those
who have made our lives, or bad situations, a little easier to handle. We do not
want the dedication and courtesy shown
to us by Officer Eckenrode and the
members of Squad 30 to go unnoticed.
On behalf of the Venture Touring
Society and in particular the motorcycle
riders these people so graciously helped,
we extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to them — not only for a job well
done, but for the personal interest they
took in the individuals involved.
(Letters of thanks were also sent to
the Highway Patrol and to the Riverside
County Fire Chief.)
Cal Stanford #01766
California Chapter 6 Representative
San Diego, California
V-DAZE TO HAWAII
Friday the 13th was a good day for
some of us: at last, vacation time was
here. VTS members Ron and Eileen
Bayless and Darrel and Sharon Burns
topped their gastanks and pulled onto I29 in Kansas City, Missouri, at 6:20 p.m.
We were headed for V-Daze '86 via
Glacier National Park.
We needed a couple hundred miles
under our belts Friday evening so we
could continue on the schedule Ron, our
tour guide, had mapped out for us. Saturday evening was to see us in Casper,
Wyoming, if all went well. However, we
were at Douglas, Wyoming, when our
backsides told us that we should find a
good motel for the night even though we
were about 50 miles short of our destination.
Sunday dawned bright and clear. We
were to reach the Big Horn Mountains
that day and our excitement grew as we
watched them grow on the horizon. Finally we were winding our way up in the
Big Horns! We stopped at a lookout point
to take pictures and to our great delight
were able to witness the take-off of a hang
glider. I decided the man must have
nerves of steel as the wind currents
caught the glider. It was a beautiful sight.
A few hundred more miles got us to
Glacier National Park. Tuesday morning
we saw our first (and last) bear. We were
tooling along the road when out of the
woods ambled a black bear. Darrel was
putting on the brakes to stop so I could
take a picture while I was yelling, "Go
on! This isn't a zoo!" By the time we got
turned around, at a safe distance, the bear
had crossed the road and gone its way.
Ron did manage to get a great shot
(camera, of course) of its hindquarters.
In one of our three trips over Logan
Pass (we liked crossing Logan Pass), we
were fortunate to see a mountain goat
family: billy, nanny and kid. Later that
same day we saw a half-grown moose
feeding alongside a stream, and it wasn't
long before there was a huge traffic jam as
people stopped for pictures. Even sighting a marmot, chipmunks, deer and antelope was exciting for us.
Ron was doing a good job as tour
guide, but he did lead us somewhat astray
one evening. We were headed for Helena
and it was getting late when we happened
to meet up with some good ol' Honda
riders. They gave us some helpful hints
which led us right into a cattle drive
blocking the road. Nothing to do but wait,
and then — oh, what fun it is to dodge
cow patties on a motorcycle!
Our first week of vacation was drawing to a close, and now our thoughts
began to drift toward Steamboat and VDaze. We had seen so much that we
couldn't imagine V-Daze being able to
compete, but did it ever! The weather
was beautiful, everything was well organized, and all four of us enjoyed our test
drive/ride on the new Ventures. Eileen
and I tested the seats and backrests while
the men tested the mechanical parts; we
decided all would pass.
Ron and Eileen topped off their vacation with a balloon ride. They had a
wonderful time and Eileen said it was the
greatest thing she'd ever done. Our topping-off came Friday night. When Joe
Schaerer said it was time for the drawing
for the Hawaiian trip, Darrel handed me
the tickets and then left the room. As Joe
read the numbers, my heart began to beat
a little faster, and when he read the last
number I sat in stunned silence.
Only for a second, though — then I
yelled, "It's mine!" That's right: I won
the trip to Hawaii! I'll let you know how it
was after we take it in November.
Sharon Burns #01073
Missouri Chapter 1
Continued on Page 8
Venture Road/October 1986/Page 7
Continued from Page 7
MISFORTUNE SMILES
For us, happiness was having our
stator give out in Marquette, Michigan,
which is 550 miles away from home. The
reason we were happy is that our misfortune enabled us to meet two fantastic
people who went well out of their way to
get us back on the road and on our vacation.
Roger Covert found us sitting on the
side of the road — our battery was dead.
He rode our battery over to the local
Yamaha dealer, Rick Nelson. Rick charged
our battery and Roger rode it back to our
bike. We were then able to get our bike
over to Rick's shop. Rick worked late on
the Saturday night of Memorial Day
weekend to fix our bike, and then rode
over to our campsite to let us know it was
ready.
We'd like to take the time now to
thank Roger and Rick for all their help
and to tell them that the rest of our
vacation was fantastic. Thanks, guys!
Jill & David Wright #03632
Wixom, Michigan
WYOMING IS BEAUTIFUL
We were fortunate to have taken the
ride to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for
all the scenic glamor and beauty. The
people were very helpful and informative
during the entire time we were there.
I just returned from another bike ride
and found a letter about a VTS Tour
Directory. I'll participate; I feel it's my
obligation to show other VTS members
the same consideration they showed me
on my travels.
Wyoming has not had much representation in, on, or around VTS, but we
would at least be noted for offering
beautiful country, good eating and friendly
folks. In Wyoming we have some of the
loveliest scenery anyone could ask for,
and Casper is the hub of the state from
which you can visit any and all.
With best wishes,
David, Tina, Lacey
& K.C. Hancock #03320
Casper, Wyoming
GRATIFYING EXPERIENCE
Dear Joe,
I wanted to tell you how much the
Yamaha Service Division enjoyed particiPage 8/October 1986/Venture Road
pating in the second annual V-Daze rally
at Steamboat Springs.
After our experience at the first VDaze, we came to this second rally with a
better understanding of what Venture
owners expected of Yamaha. We hope
our preparation reflected that understanding.
We were particularly pleased with the
information we received from Venture
owners this year. By attending V-Daze,
we were able to evaluate a large number
of '86 Ventures at one time. The owners
were most helpful in providing accurate
information about problems and concerns
experienced with their new Ventures.
Fortunately, the problems reported were
of a minor nature.
Throughout the entire event, we were
made to feel most welcome by virtually
everyone we came in contact with. It was
a most gratifying experience and it made
our work a pleasure to do.
Thanks again and we'll see you in
Pigeon Forge.
Sincerely,
Garth Buckles
Asst. Division Manager
Service Division
Yamaha Motor Corp. USA
that time. The second shaft was taken
apart and greased at the time of the rear
tire change, about 18,000 miles. At 7,000
more miles it went out. It was bone dry.
Evidently the white grease isn't holding
up under the heat and wear. My dealer
used axle grease this time, when replacing the old coupling. I hope it will help.
Even with the drive shaft trouble, I
enjoyed my first big rally. The day just
wasn't long enough to do everything I
would have liked to do. I went on all four
poker runs and I loved riding on the roads
in the Steamboat area. You people did a
super job putting it all together. I'm sure
you will hear complaints; just remember
you can't please everybody.
As long as I'm thanking everybody,
thanks to Linda Bash, VTS Membership
Director, for all your help in starting
Illinois Chapter 2 last March. Things are
going well for us. We meet the first
Sunday of the month. Because we're
covering a 100-mile area, we meet at
different places each month. This way we
take turns traveling the longest distance
to the meetings. Also, this gives us different areas for rides after the meetings. If
anybody from Illinois would like more
information on our meetings and riding
events, please write me.
A BIG THANK-YOU
... To Joe Schaerer and Ron D'Alessio, who took time from their busy duties
at V-Daze to come and pick up my cycle
that had a broken drive shaft.
. . . To Morrie Goodell, who in one
hour lined up Joe, Ron, a trailer and a
new drive shaft. The drive shaft was the
part that had me worried. When my first
shaft went out, after waiting for four
weeks, Freeport Yamaha pulled one out
of a cycle on the floor.
. . . To Garth Buckles for having one
along; even if they had to use an old
coupling, it let me go on Friday's and
Saturday's poker runs and got me 1,207
miles home.
. . . To Sandy Goodell, who sat along
the road in the heat with me.
Thanks to all of these people and the
three young gentlemen in the Yamaha
service department, I only missed the
parade Friday morning.
I was told that at the seminar they
said to grease the drive shaft at 30,000
miles. Well, my first shaft went out about
Joyce A. Cummins #02253
Chapter Representative
Dakota, Illinois
PEN PAL, ANYONE?
I am a member of the Bikers' Rights
Organization of New Zealand — BRONZ
for short. We are trying to improve the
image of motorcycling here in New Zealand. We have had trouble with gangs and
they tend to give bikers here a bad name.
Our organization is nationwide with
meetings held in the main cities every
month. We have a patch and go to rallies
whenever possible. One such rally you
may have heard of is the Brass Monkey
Rally, held in the middle of winter. Two
thousand people showed up on all types
and sizes of bikes.
We are interested in exchanging patches
and news with other organizations. Biking in America must be very different
from in New Zealand. We would love to
share this common bond of motorcycling
with others.
Hoping to hear from someone soon.
By the way, I ride a Honda.
Zell Simmonds
Cartherhope Estate
RD3, Balclutha
Otago, New Zealand
A GREAT COMFORT
This letter is to thank the VTS staff,
who attempted to help me when I had
problems on the road on July 3, 1986. I
called the 800 number at around 6 p.m.
Everyone was in a hurry to close up and
go home for the July 4 holiday weekend,
yet they stayed and made every effort to
get the information I needed to get back
on the road again. I want to let you know
it was a great comfort to have someone
on the other end of the phone when I was
stranded far from home in what is to me a
foreign country.
Remember that gold card — "Don't
leave home without it!" (My problem
turned out to be a fouled kill switch, for
the interest of those who may remember
the incident.)
I have read a lot about this problem
with wiring for trailers. The wiring can be
done easily without worrying about the
computer monitor by using a quality
relay. I used a relay for the tail lights and
the brake light and I have had no problem
after 10,000 kilometers (6,250 miles).
Again, let me thank everyone for the
assistance I received when I really needed
it.
Best personal regards,
W Alex Mattice #03391
Moncton, New Brunswick
AND YET MORE THANKS...
I would like to publish my profound
thanks to all of those who helped me
during V-Daze '86. Special thanks to
Dennis and Catharine Hayzlett from
Colorado Chapter 2, who turned the
reception booth into one smooth operation. Also thanks to Dennis C. Bynum,
state director of Indiana, for helping
another rider back to the scene of an
accident to retrieve his Venture. This
good deed caused him to miss the awards
show.
Everyone take care and I'll see you in
Tennessee — if not sooner.
Harlan E. Skeers #01259
Broomfield, Colorado
Colorado State Representative
SUGGESTION BOX
The trip to V-Daze this year from
Michigan was beautiful. We were also
very lucky with the weather while in
Steamboat. This was our first visit to the
V-Daze rally and we were very impressed
— to a point. I believe that, with growth,
this rally has the potential of being one of
the best. There are a few problems that
will iron themselves out, such as lack of
friendliness on the part of some of the
staff, discourtesy in biking on the part of
some of the guides and officials in the
rides, and an aggressiveness which some
staffers exhibited to keep the VTS delegates away from the expo showroom
before opening time.
Here are some things to consider for
next year:
(1) Open the expo and showrooms
the same day as registration.
(2) Make the expo available to the
VTS delegates from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
(3) Have more installers available so
Venture owners may have their parts
installed while at V-Daze.
(4) Allow other dealers to participate, to promote labor price competition.
It's ridiculous to be charged $93 to have
front brakes replaced, and $29 to reinstall a speedo cable that had fallen off,
even when we furnished the part.
(5) Allow after-market companies to
bring their accessories into the expo
( Markland, Drag Specialties, etc.).
(6) Have the grand prize drawing on
Friday night as was advertised in the
brochure issued at registration, to give
the long-distance travelers a chance to
participate before they leave for home.
(7) Have a farewell banquet on Saturday night and close the rally, then Sunday could be available for travel time.
(8) It would be nice to see refreshment stands and restrooms close to the
expo and installation areas.
We will be at Dollywood next year
and are even more excited than this year.
There's a great excitement and potential
in V-Daze. In the VTS we have met the
finest and most exciting people ever. Best
wishes and good luck for next year.
Woody Moore #02763
Ypsilanti, Michigan
• There is always a reason, right or
wrong, for everything we do. In this case,
some of our reasons didn't sit too well
with you. We will be corresponding with
you to discuss your suggestions. Thanks
for your interest.
COMPARE WHAT?
(This letter was sent to "Rider" Magazine.)
Mark Tuttle
Editor, Rider Magazine
Agoura, California
Dear Mark,
After reading your "6-touring-bike"
side-by-side article, I was amazed to find
the vote for the Wing. The prelim, the
article raved about the Venture Royale,
and showed glitches in the Wing. And
"Honda-butt" is notorious!
I was especially surprised after your
write-up with Ross on the '86 XVZ-1300
and the insert article on the '85 which
was so positive on the Venture.
Yesterday I received a competitor's
four-bike comparison — and it hit me. At
the end of the write-up on the Venture,
they essentially said you get one hell of a
lot for $7,999, and the best value for your
bucks. That's the same bike that lost out
to your $10,500 bike — costing a full
third more!
Were I able to add $2,500 worth of
meaningful accessories (and I'd have a
hard time spending $2,500 additional if I
didn't add a sidecar or showlights), I'd
like to see a side-by-side comparison
between the XVZ and the SE-i then.
Some of the additions are easy, and I
have them: Floorboards, sheepskin seat
cover, backrest, luggage rack, nightlights,
"air-wings" off windshield (my numberone addition), and snap-on tank bag.
Some of the items I'd add if they were
available:
• Carl Pike's one-way shifter (still
only for Wings).
• A California Cop big, easy-hit foot
brake (I had one on my XS-1100 but
can't find one for my XVZ; still looking).
• An air-port to use the onboard
compressor to inflate tires (Eagle. I believe, has them for the old Wings, not
XVZ).
• Possibly a ride-off stand, but I
don't think any fit the '86.
Continued on Page 10
One major and three minor engineering changes:
• A dipstick and easy-access oil fill.
• A serious horn and more brake
lights, and
• A right-angle rear tire stem.
If I were to add the above at Wing
prices for the items not yet available for
the XVZ, and at no charge for the items
Yamaha should do anyway, like the stick,
tail lights, stem and horn, I'd still be a
long way from $2,500. I figure I'd be in
about +$1,500 at this point.
With the extra grand difference, I'd
buy two sets of electric vests and chaps,
two Hein Gericke summer jackets, gloves
and two rain outfits — and challenge you
to retake the SE-i/Venture test on a twoup, all-seasons, all-location, 6,000-mile
trip. That $1,000 worth of clothes are my
accessories — you couldn't have 'em on
the SE-i . . . but for safety you could have
one old jacket, one old set of gloves and
one old rainsuit.
An alternative would be to pit the
XVZ against the straight Aspencade.
Jos. F. Wood #03282
Cincinnati, Ohio
ONE GREAT WEEKEND
In June, a couple of our Pennsylvania
VTS members attended the Travelite
Campers' Weekend at High Meadow
Campground in Hershey, Pa. Let me say
right from the start: this is one weekend
that will always be on my calendar from
now on. It was a fantastic weekend.
I couldn't go on the poker run on
Saturday because I had made prior arrangements to meet with some VTS
members, but I talked to quite a few who
did and they all said it was a lot of fun.
The promoters from "Camping in Pennsylvania" thought of everything. They
had some excellent vendors present. The
local Yamaha and Honda dealers were
there selling all kinds of accessories and
installing them. "Honda Dick" was there
engraving windshields and a very good
pinstriper (didn't catch his name) was
working into the wee hours of the morning.
High Meadow is an excellent campground for this event because the area we
were assigned was away from all the
local traffic. We had our own section at
the top of the hill and nothing was
allowed in except bikes and trailers. I
would still like to see the bike that pulled
in that 16-foot Scotty trailer!
The thing that really impressed me
was how smoothly everything seemed to
run. Everyone I talked to agreed that
Gail and her staff were really on top of
things.
The most talked-about event of the
weekend was the barbecue on Saturday
night. All day Saturday I kept smelling
this wonderful odor of roasting meat, and
the meal that night was fantastic: roast
pork and beef, baked potatoes with sour
cream, corn on the cob, three different
salads, rolls and butter, cold beverages
and ice cream for dessert. The best part
was, it was "all you can eat." That meal
alone was worth the $25 fee charged for
the whole weekend.
It was an excellent weekend for all
who attended. It was an open event so
there was a multitude of different trailers
and campers, and even a bunch of tents.
Take an old camper's advice: if you're
into the fun of camping, don't miss this
event next year; it'll be a time you won't
soon forget.
Ron Fors #00302
Pennsylvania State Director
OVERSEAS TOUR?
I would like to suggest to your company the possibility of organizing motorcycle tours in Europe.
As a French citizen, an American
resident and an experienced motorcycle
rider, I believe that many U.S. or Canadian tourers would love to discover
Europe on a motorcycle, but are discouraged by various problems, such as not
knowing how to get a cycle once in
Europe, whether their driver's license
will be valid in different countries, which
kind of insurance to get, where to stay,
which routes to pick, etc.
Being the happy owner of a V-1000
California Moto Guzzi (my favorite touring cycle to this day), I imagine that
providing five to 10 of these to a small
American touring group in Europe, and
guiding the group throughout Europe on
a carefully chosen route for two to four
weeks could prove most successful.
If this idea sounds interesting to you,
please contact me at your earliest convenience.
Philippe R. Gaillard
923 Tennessee Street
Lawrence, Kansas 66044
913/843-7709, 864-4470
The campground at High Meadow, Pennsylvania: "Excellent! Fantastic!"
WOBBLE EFFECT
I'd like to relay a problem I had with
my 1983 Venture. I'd be interested to
know if anyone else has experienced the
same thing. I want riders to be aware of a
handling problem in this model.
It appears that at speeds in excess of
65 mph on long, sweeping corners, the
bike may develop a severe wobble, making handling difficult. I sustained injuries
and totaled my '83 Venture doing 70-75
mph on a curve when the bike developed
a wobble and I was not able to keep it
under control and hit the curbing.
I have talked to other Venture riders
who have experienced wobbles in the
front end of their '83s, so I feel there may
be a definite problem in this particular
model and year. If you ride an '83, it may
be something to keep in mind. Keeping
the speed down would definitely help.
I' m not a novice rider and had over
70,000 miles on a motorcycle. I might
have been able to pull out of the wobble if
I'd taken the corner at a slower speed.
Since the loss of my bike will keep me
off the road until my bank account looks a
little brighter, I'll miss out on a lot of great
riding. You can bet I'll be back out there
next year. . . but I'm going to keep to the
speed limit.
Bob Burroughs #01764
Beaverton, Oregon
• Sorry to hear about your misfortune.
We will continue to search for any common denominator to this problem. Some
new products are helping. See next issue.
I enjoyed meeting you and congratulate
you in your leadership of the finest motorcycle touring organization in the USA.
My wife, Marolyn, my brother, Bob,
and I left North Carolina on two Venture
Royales prepared by A&M Cycle of
Kannapolis, N.C. ( a priority dealer), on
June 19, with plans to arrive in Steamboat Springs on June 26. We planned a
lot of sightseeing on the way, which we
accomplished. This was the first trip out
west for either of us, so we tried to take in
everything time permitted. We traveled a
total of 4,346 miles, arriving back in
North Carolina on July 4. The Ventures
performed like real champs — not one
single problem. Average miles per gallon
for the total trip was 48.5 for both bikes
(neither of us towed a trailer).
The facilities at Steamboat Springs
were excellent, the motorcycles were
beautiful, new friends were made — a
first class experience. This was our first
"real trip" on a motorcycle, even though
I've been riding over 30 years, and I must
say I didn't know what I'd been missing.
During our entire trip everyone seemed
to go out of their way to extend a friendly
"hello" and "have a safe trip" . . . kinda
makes you glad to be an American.
Looking forward to seeing old friends
and certainly making new ones at V-Daze
'87 at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (only
four hours from home for us). The Blue
Ridge and Smoky Mountains have an
awesome beauty just as breathtaking as
the Rockies to the virgin eye.
Besides, southern hospitality is —
well . . . you'll see in Tennessee.
WHAT TROUBLE?
Thanks for the great time at V-Daze. I
especially enjoyed meeting Stan and
Linda. They can keep Ron and Joe out of
trouble.
Had a rather short trip this year; only
put 4,000 miles on the bike. Must be
getting old. My best day was only 1,010
miles.
See you all next year in Tennessee.
Keep on riding.
Harry Larsen #01207
Vallejo, California
Ken Sparks #01666
Harrisburg, North Carolina
NICE TRIP
My wife and I enjoy Venture Road
very much. We are in Iowa Chapter 3 and
are working with Murray Armstrong to
make our chapter a strong one. We just
returned from a two-week, 4,000-mile
trip through Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and then
back home. While in Louisiana we stopped
at a Yamaha dealer and received excellent
treatment. I left them a magazine and a
courtesy card and told them to contact
you.
Wendell Craft #03463
Des Moines, Iowa
Carol Craft at Biloxi Beach camp.
DIRECT RESPONSE
Nice talking to Joe at the Americade.
Glad to hear that Canada's VTS is
becoming a little more official. Our local
group has become Nova Scotia Chapter
1. I look forward to seeing the new
directory. Keep up the good work.
Mike Raoul #01180
Sydney, Nova Scotia
SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY
A big thank-you to the VTS staff for
your efforts in making V-Daze '86 a real
success and fun time for all who attended.
VDaze '86
In Review
In the top photo, seen cutting the
opening ribbon, are (left to right)
Chuck Esposito, Brenda Esposito,
1985 King & Queen; Linda Bash,
membership director; Joe Schaerer,
executive director; Sue Gifford,
1986 Queen, Ron D'Alessio, operations director and Stan Okrasinski, member of executive council.
At bottom: The registration desk
opened with a flurry of delegates.
Retrospect
By Ron D'Alessio
"Amazing," that's the word I'd use to
describe V-Daze 1986, held this past
June. It's hard to believe that this special
group of motorcycle enthusiasts really
didn't even know each other a year or so
ago.
Looking back over the last year, I see
relationships between VTS members that,
like fine wines, have gotten better with
time. The first year was a bit awkward for
many of us; we didn't know the volunteers
and they didn't know us or other members.
This year I actually felt a little guilty
(just a little) to have the time to be able to
meet and talk with our new members as
well as discuss last year's news with the
members I met then. I felt like I wasn't
doing enough compared to last year,
when Joe and I didn't get a chance to eat
or sleep, much less sit and socialize!
The difference comes from the fact
that this year we had experienced volun-
teers who did a tremendous job fulfilling
the tasks it takes to make this rally a
success. I have to give them credit for
making this one of the most pleasant and
smoothest-running rallies I have ever
attended.
Oh, sure, there were the ever-present
and normal gripes and complaints, and
many of them were justified, but when
you get over 1,200 delegates together this
is to be expected. The main purpose of
these rallies is to bring us together once a
Top to bottom: Queen Sue helps put the stubs in the right boxes.
Modes T-Shirts was busy with offical V-Daze shirts. LaForte
Yamaha service team was very efficient.
year to renew our friendships and make
new ones,
We can take the time to listen to the
complaints as well as the compliments,
be available to sit down or listen by
phone to discuss a problem or situation
with any one of our members, delegates
or supporters . . . if not, we have lost it all.
We hope to grow larger and stronger, yes,
but at the same time to stay close to you.
That is my personal commitment as long
as I am associated with the VTS.
V-Daze will definitely grow in size. It
will also never substitute quantity for
Top to bottom: Two wheelchair delegates provided a race, to
the delight of everyone. Yamaha provided the early-morning
vitals. Kafka doing it in style.
quality. Even though we were a little the rest of the Yamaha team.
down in attendance this year, we gave
We even had representation from
away more in prizes and those prizes Yamaha Canada Ltd. This was in rewere bigger and better. I will say this: for sponse to many of the Canadians who
its size (number of attendees), V-Daze attended last year. Unfortunately, many
gives away as much or more than any of those same Canadians did not or
other rally held,
weren't able to attend this year. Expo '86
Yamaha Motor Corporation USA probably didn't help. I hope they make an
learned a lot from last year's rally and put effort to attend next year in Tennessee.
much of that into this year's function. I,
On that note, I once again extend my
along with many others, express my thanks to all the delegates and supporters
thanks to Ron Edmondson, Garth Buck- who attended V-Daze '86. Let's all plan
les and his service personnel, Gene Jur- now to meet June 8-14, 1987, in Pigeon
ick and his fine regional personnel, and Forge, Tennessee.
The seven finalists in the BIG DRAWING just couldn't wait to open
those boxes.
Hitchco Trailer winner John McKee accepts
prize from Ellen Eubanks.
Above, l-r: Lem Ridgeway says "OK" in winning trailer while Joe Crane accepts his trailer from the Exec. Sharon Burns is all smiles as she
receives her tickets to Hawaii. Below, left: Ron Edmondson, Yamaha Parts vp, sits atop the Grand Prize. Right: Silver Poker Run winners.
V-Daze 1986
Major Award Winners
Saturday Major Prize Night: 1986 Custom Venture
Royale with Custom Bushtec Trailer — value $13,500.
Mary Welever, Toledo, Ohio.
California Friendship II Sidecar — $3,000. Janice
Brown, Portland, Oregon.
Motorvation Inc. Trailer — $1,450. Joe Crane, Simi
Valley, California.
Smitty's Mfg. Trailer — $650. Lem Ridgeway, Cleveland, Tennessee.
Bell Helmets, Inc., Helmet — $250. Anthony Ehlman,
Chesapeake, Virginia.
Metzeler Tires — $250. Elton Robinson, Eldorado,
Kansas.
Drag S 'aides Gift Certificate — $100. Paul Dalton,
Cleveland,
---
Other Major Prize Winners:
Pre-Registration Prize — $1,000 trip for two to Hawaii.
Sharon Burns, Independence, Missouri.
50/20/15/15 Cash Drawing — Lori Cluts, Naples,
Florida, $800. Bob Nugent, Orange, California, $600. Brenda
Esposito, Dunwoody, Georgia, $600.
Bingo Grand Prize: Hitchco Trailer, $750 — John
McKee, Mercury, Nevada.
Yamaha Colorado Poker Run — Jerry Walker, Las
Vegas, Nevada, $500. Mark Jacobson, Phoenix, Arizona,
$300. Sandra Keyer, Stow, Ohio, $100.
Silver Poker Run — Larry Cudney, Beaverton, Oregon,
$600 Silver Bar. Michael Morgan, Greeley, Colorado, $30
Mark Jacobson, Phoenix, Arizona, $100. Roland Camfie,
La Canada, California, Carlisle Tires.
To all our winners, our heartiest congratulations.
friends — your best bet is the V-Daze Internat
cycle Rally.
Commentary: The Grass Isn't Always Greener...
(This commentary is written only to enlighten our members on what's going on
around us in associations similar to
ours. It's not intended to say they are
wrong or we are right, but to broaden our
perspective on what we have.)
Our recent trip to the 8th Annual
Wing Ding in Santa Clara, California,
proved very interesting, to say the least.
I would like to thank Bud Morris and
the GWRRA for the invitations for Ron
and me to attend their event. Our reasons
for accepting were many. For one thing,
it was a chance to get away for awhile
with our offspring (my son and Ron's
daughter). It was also an opportunity to
see how this 10-year-old organization
could put on a rally in a major metropolitan area and how the area would react to
it. They expected some 4,000 to attend.
For those of you who don't know
Santa Clara, the city is located just north
of San Jose and is 35 miles south of San
Francisco. It is in the center of Silicon
Valley and has some five major freeways
intersecting its boundaries.
'86 Venture
LI G HTBAR
Converts your factory reflector
into a glamorous LIGHTBAR
• Increases rear visibility for safety.
• All necessary hardware, bulbs, and
instructions included.
• Dealer installation available.
• Add 300% more light to the rear of your '86
Venture.
$139.95
Custom Cycle Products
6121 Market Street • Wilmington, N.C. 28405
919/791-8321
When I found that the rally was going
to be there, I expressed some concern as
to its feasibility. First, when you have a
rally so far west, you can only draw from
north, south and east (and probably not
all the way east), as compared to drawing
from all four directions by locating the
site centrally.
Next, the city is always busy with
high-tech people, visitors to the Great
America Park and vacationers; plus the
Santa Clara Fair was going on. This
limited their negotiation power concerning the price of accommodations. Also,
there were no active campgrounds within
35 miles.
These factors kept the attendance
down to 2,700 people. Their last rally in
Knoxville, Tennessee, had drawn 6,000.
We stayed at the Days Inn along with
most of the Washington contingency, so
we got to talk to many GWRRA members. We were starting to feel like Union
soldiers at Little Big Horn when we ran
into Truman Bennett and a few other
members of VTS. I even got to talk to an
old friend, Nancy Wright. She was our
oldest (tied with Ed Fuqua) delegate at
V-Daze 1. Some of our California members will remember her and her Honda.
At the trade show we talked to many
friends and manufacturers and discussed
V-Daze and this show. Almost all of
them expressed an unhappy feeling not
only with the low attendance but with the
convention facility itself — people said
they met with attitudes ranging from not
being made to feel welcome to downright
rudeness. Most expressed complaints
about the food, accommodations and
general prices being charged. Rooms cost
from $50 to $125 a night. I imagine that if
By Joe Schaerer
you looked hard enough or went far
enough, you could have found cheaper.
But why should you? Other complaints
were about an attitude of "they just don't
care if we're here or not- on the part of
the hotels and restaurants.
We met a GWRRA member from
New York who started out here with a
friend to share accommodations. The
friend had trouble and now the complete
room rate fell on his shoulders. This
limited what he could do outside the
rally, such as sightseeing; plus he felt
alone. He did stay until the last day,
something others didn't do because they
had run out of money. We found him very
personable and enjoyed having dinner
with him.
The GWRRA members we talked to
weren't too happy with the amount of
prizes given away either. Other than the
grand prize (a 1986 Honda Gold Wing),
one person said, only about $3,000 in
prizes was given away. (I can't comment
on that because I wasn't there; it doesn't
sound right, though.) One fact that we
found tough to comprehend was that only
Honda Gold Wings were allowed in the
parade. Yes, that's right — no Silver
Wings, Honda 750s or any of the others
who paid some $50 to come to the rally
with their friends. Most of the GWRRA
members we talked to didn't like that
either.
We have been to many rallies and
talked to many delegates at each rally,
trying to compile enough information to
make our rally the best for our delegates.
Never have we attended a rally where we
couldn't find at least a few delegates who
enjoyed coming . . . until Wing Ding in
Santa Clara. It just wasn't the place to
hold it.
Souvenir Goodies
From V-Daze 1986
Even if you didn't attend,
these souvenirs are worth having!
Please use the "For Members Only"
form to order any of the following merchandise. Use the correct codes and
postage/handling chart found at the bottom of the form. A // merchandise limited
to stock only.
Event Pin (EP1) ......................................... $ 1.50
Event Patch (EP2) ................................... $ 1.50
Yamaha Poker Run Pin (YPR1) .. SOLD OUT
Colorado Silver Poker Pin (SP1) .......... $ 1.50
Souvenir Program (S P2) ......................... $ 2.00
V-DAZE 1985 GOODIES
(Small quantity still left)
Limited-Edition Belt Buckles (85BB)
$ 7.50
Only 75 left! Save $ 100 Order 2 for only $14.00
1985 Event Patch (85EP) ....................... $ 1.50
1985 Souvenir Program (85SP) .............. $ 1.50
—
•
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
STATE DIRECTOR
LODI GRAPE FESTIVAL
SEPT. 18-21, 1986
By overwhelming popular demand,
the VTS has an entry spot reserved for
the Lodi Grape Festival parade on Sept.
21, 1986. Our home at 516 Huntington
Drive in Lodi will be open all weekend
for those who wish to stop by for a visit
and a cool drink.
Joe Schaerer, Ron D'Alessio and
others from Las Vegas will be in town for
the fun-filled weekend.
On Saturday night, Sept. 20, arrangements have been made at Angelina's
Restaurant, 1420 W. Kettleman Lane,
for use of their banquet room at 7 p.m. for
all of us to get together for dinner. It will
be Dutch treat, ordering from the menu.
On Sunday, the 21st, we will meet at
the Lodi Lake Park, south side. The park
opens at 9 a.m. You may park on Turner
Road or pay a $1 entry and park inside.
Coffee and donuts will be available. You
will be able to purchase lunch and drinks
from a catering truck parked at our
gathering area. The parade starts at 1:30
p.m. We will leave Lodi Lake Park at 1
p.m. for the parade staging area.
Accommodations for the weekend
are available at several Lodi motels. The
Lodi Motor Inn is brand-new and will
give a discount on 10 or more rooms. The
El Rancho Motel is a block from the
festival grounds and is a favorite with
festival-goers. The KOA campground is
located five miles south of Lodi on EightMile Road. Reservations should be made
as soon as possible.
Dale Edens #00018
Lodi, California
CALIFORNIA
CHAPTER 3
Vacation time is over, at least for us,
and so is V-Daze '86. It was great!
To begin with, we want to pass on our
accolades for all the volunteers who
worked at V-Daze and made the rally so
enjoyable. Joe and Ron, you both did a
great job in the coordination of all those
volunteers, but we think next year you
might think about recruiting the weatherman!
We know there are people behind the
scenes whose names we don't know.
Thanks to them as well.
Of the 22 members we had attending
V-Daze '86, four or five of us won door
prizes and our chapter won second place
for most members attending. Thanks to
both — the vendors for the door prizes
and VTS for our award.
Next, Steamboat was a great place to
have our rally. We stayed at Fishcreek
Campground and were treated with more
courtesy and friendliness by Jack and
Diane Carter than we've seen in a lot of
places during our travels.
All the people we met in the stores in
town were just great, too. They were
courteous, friendly, and more than patient
when we couldn't decide if we wanted a
red widget or a blue one. Our thanks to
the towns of Steamboat and Craig, Colorado, for making our visit there so enjoyable.
Now we're looking forward to Tennessee and V-Daze '87.
Wendy Sader #01863-01
Torrance, California
CALIFORNIA
CHAPTER 7
A group of us in the Sacramento area
(about 10) met at Denny's Restaurant in
Auburn on June 21 for breakfast before
our journey to V-Daze at Steamboat
Springs, Colo. Tom and Lita, Charles
and Doris rode together with Marge and
me to Winnemucca, Nevada, for our first
stop, while the others steamed ahead.
Eventually we all wound up at V-Daze,
where we all had a great time.
Our July potluck meeting was held at
Community Lutheran Church. Or should
I say a post-potluck? Most people showed
up later and had already eaten. But
thanks anyway to the two very nice
people who brought food. One of them
was our very own Felicia Stephens, who
rode her trusted steed all the way from
Chico — 90 miles! The other nice person
must remain anonymous; let's just say he
has the prettiest-color Venture of all!
Here's what we've done so far in
1986: January, a trip to Napa wine
country; February, Georgetown; March,
Daffodil Hill; April, the Mother Lode;
May, Virginia City, Nevada; June, Valley and Mountain, Chico; July, Lake
Berryessa, Back 40; and August, HalfMoon Bay. In September we'll be at the
Lodi Grape Festival.
Here's a thought from the Motorcycle
Safety Foundation: "Most railroad tracks
don't create a problem since they cross
the road at a right angle. Skewed tracks
are those that cross the roadway at less
than 90'. To deal with these crossings,
select the point at which you would like to
cross the tracks and set up your angle of
approach as close to 90' as possible.
Cross the tracks in one smooth action
instead of making a gradual merge."
Zach & Marge Laputz #01851/01
Chapter Reps
WASHINGTON
CHAPTER I
Finally! We have a VTS chapter in
Washington! The Ventures from Eastern
Washington (Tr-Cities) met on July 2
and decided to become the first chapter in
the state. Our chapter organizer, Dee
Carson, filed the request forms to be
recognized as a chapter and briefed us on
some upcoming rides for the summer.
Our first ride as a group was to
Leavenworth, Washington, on July 13,
and we were parked in the Art Fair area
where the spectators paid more attention
to the Ventures than to the paintings!
Many thanks to our state director,
Ray Martin, for helping us organize our
chapter, and to the friendly Oregon state
director, Marvin Fackler, for his help.
Thanks also to Curt Sloan, our PDN
Yamaha dealer in Kennewick, Wash.,
who is also a member of our chapter.
Don Helgeson #02089
Eastern Washington Area Rep
• Welcome to VTS, Chapter 1! You
may be interested to know that just ten
days after Chapter 1 was recognized,
Washington Chapter 2 was born in the
western part of the state. We're looking
forward to hearing about some good
trips you'll be taking in your beautiful
state.
KANSAS
CHAPTER 1
Members of Kansas Chapter 1 are
tired, sunburned, broke and truly ecstatic
after their recent trip to Steamboat Springs
and V-Daze '86. Fourteen chapter members journeyed to the mountains and
every one of them returned with memories
of friendly people, beautiful machines,
fun activities, gorgeous scenery and terrific weather. The last few weeks have
been spent exchanging pictures and reliving experiences. By the way, the photoprocessing bill for our chapter alone
looked like the national debt!
Most recently, Chapter 1 ventured to
Columbia, Mo., for a joint meeting of the
Missouri Venture owners. We all enjoyed
meeting the fine folks in our neighboring
state, eating a delicious meal and, again,
taking lots of pictures. During this gettogether, Missouri Chapter 4 was officially formed. State Director Larry Johnson served as road captain and did a great
job except that he picked perhaps the
hottest day of the year. Temperatures
soared to 102' in the shade!
Plans are in the mill for lots of activities this fall. Included are a trip to Hannibal, Mo., for a riverboat dinner cruise; a
weekend campout at Tuttle Creek Lake
near Manhattan, Kansas; a day at the
Renaissance Festival near Kansas City,
and of course lots of breakfast and supper
runs.
Fall is a beautiful time of year in
Kansas and Chapter 1 plans to take
advantage of the cooler weather and fall
scenery. We hope all in our area will join
us.
Bill & Judy Hunter #1722
Kansas Chapter I Reps
Washington Chapter 1 at their first meeting. Photo by Don Helgeson.
• If any of your members go in costume to the Renaissance Fair, we'd love
to have some photos.
After they told us of some really neat
roads, like Devil's Gulch, we went exploring. We saw the Standley Hotel and
lots of ground squirrels, and some beautiContinued on Page 22
TEXAS
CHAPTER 7
I' m going to tell you some of the
things that happened to us on our trip to
V-Daze. I'll skip Texas, since we all know
about Texas. When we left Walsenberg,
Colorado, we headed north on 1-25 through
Denver to Loveland, then headed west to
Estes Park. We saw plenty of beautiful
scenery. Some spots were unforgettable,
like Big Thompson Canyon and the ride
into Estes Park.
When we reached Estes Park we
started looking for a place to stay. After
passing several nice motels, Linda nearly
knocked me off the bike when she saw a
motel sign that said "Waterbeds." Needless to say, we made a quick U-turn and
checked in. This was the Columbine
Motel in Estes Park, and is owned by a
really nice couple, Dianne and Bill, who
made us feel really at home.
ful mountains. At night we had popcorn
and lemonade in front of the big fireplace
in the main room of the motel and waited
for the white owl outside the window to
call for his popcorn too!
The next day we headed for Trail
Ridge. That is really some ride. We ran
into several Ventures heading for Steamboat and after swapping stories, we rode
together on and off for part of the trip. We
arrived at Steamboat Monday afternoon
and rested. Tuesday we registered and
were volunteered along with a lot of the
Houston group to help out in all phases of
the rally.
We renewed many friendships from
last year and made many more. But one
delightful aspect of our trip was getting to
see Bill, Judy and Scott Hunter. After
spending a little time with them, it really
makes us realize how much we miss
them.
Till next time, keep the shiny side up!
Morris Angle #01225
Houston, Texas
mile ride for about 35 people. The weather was wonderful and I'm confident
everyone had a good time.
For our June 1 meeting we had 40
people. We ate breakfast at White Pines
State Park lodge and afterward had our
meeting on the lawn. Then we went for a
70-mile ride, stopping several times to
talk and get to know one another.
Vicki J. Phelan #03393-01
Northern Illinois Chapter 2 Rep
Region 5
Quality Trailers Since 1974
"Direct To Your Doorstep"
The 30 sec. "Lightweight" Bunkhouse, Dynamic
Moriah (the f inest trailer made to most compliment
the Venture styling), Traditional Liberty, Kits &
Hitches.
Write or Telephone:
B & F TRAILERS
Box 1313, Des Plaines, IL 60017
(days) 312/437-2772 (eve & wknds) 312/364-9237
IOWA
CHAPTER 3
I have found out that when you open
your big mouth about not having any help
getting a VTS chapter started, there are
plenty of people ready to shut you up. But
I mean this is a positive way!
I believe it was in the February issue
of Venture Road, you folks printed a
short column asking if anyone would help
Murray Armstrong in West Des Moines,
Iowa, start a VTS chapter. The response
and help from Venture owners and VTS
members has been -extraordinaire."
Frank Flickinger, who is now an Area
Rep, was most helpful in giving me tips
on what and how to do things. Jeff
Trasak, Iowa-2 rep, sent me a list of
names and was very helpful. Fred Scott,
Iowa State Director, gave me guidance.
So here I am now, the Chapter 3 rep for
the VTS in the Des Moines area. Proud?
You bet I am!
Murray Armstrong #01603
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
CHAPTER 2
We would like to take this time to
express our deepest appreciation and
sincere thanks to Joyce Cummins, our
organizer, and Dubuque VTS for their
great help in supporting our first event,
May 2.
We called this event a Carnival Ride.
Freeport Yamaha was the start of a 75-
MISSOURI
STATE DIRECTOR
During my trip to V-Daze, I had the
opportunity to visit with other VTS chapter members. During these conversations,
several interesting subjects were brought
up by state directors and chapter reps,
one of which was promoting and maintaining chapter membership.
It seems that VTS chapters from
other states are losing members due to a
variety of conflicts between the members.
Although we have lost a few members
from VTS (for several reasons), our
chapters have been fortunate to maintain
the majority of the membership.
During my association with VTS and
Missouri Chapter 1, I have found that
during our rides and other social events,
we have fun and enjoy each other's company, along with discussing everything
from Ventures to fishing. On several
occasions, due to personal emergencies,
our members have kicked in and assisted
each other, even though this assistance
was not VTS-related.
It is difficult to have over 6,000
people belong to an organization and
have everyone agree and get along 100%
of the time. It is not difficult, however, to
remember why we joined VTS or our
local chapters after the purchase of our
Ventures.
In order to avoid having the problems
that chapters in other states are having,
I'd like to suggest that we take a few
moments to remember the fun we've had
together, and to consider how we can
make future gatherings as much fun as
those held in the past. If we continue to
promote VTS and our local chapters, our
membership will grow. If through this
promotion we continue to add more members, we'll have more friends to enjoy our
spare time with, along with the time we
spend riding our Ventures.
I am quite sure that none of the
Missouri VTS members want to see
problems develop that other organizations have had that resulted in major
conflicts and rivalry. We are a social
organization, and although there is some
competition between areas of the country,
only on poker runs and in similar events
do the members need to compete.
For the sake of VTS and Missouri
chapters, along with new and future members, let's stick together and have fun.
When you consider the alternatives, sticking together and having fun turns out to
be the best. So let's ride straight and
have fun!
Larry G. Johnson #02634
Missouri State Director
MISSOURI
CHAPTER 1
Our long-awaited vacation became a
reality this summer — Chapter 1 returned to Steamboat Springs by way of
southern Colorado for another grand
rally.
The rally was a class act and was well
attended by our chapter. Twelve couples
rubbed elbows with over 1,200 other
cycle enthusiasts doing what we love
best. We made a repeat visit to Craig, a
little town who opened their hearts to
about 500 riders for a shopping trip, and
also hosted a picnic in the park.
Gary and Mary Droege, Ron and
Eileen Bayless, Mal and Ginny all took a
hot-air balloon ride down the valley at
Steamboat. We could hardly contain
Eileen.
The vendors did a land office business
as chapter members had their machines
pinstriped by Scarecrow and purchased
all kinds of goodies. There was a parade
through Steamboat, three abreast, with
Chapter 1 in formation flying Old Glory
and wearing our new chapter parade
shirts. Darrel Burns and Ron Bayless
entered their machines in the bike, sidecar and trailer show.
We sure hope no one missed the
seminar Bob and Patty Carpenter hosted;
it was a unique slide presentation of their
50,000-mile trip on their '83 Venture as it
was just being introduced into the marketplace.
Mal & Ginny Fishback #00297/01
Chapter Reps
MISSOURI
CHAPTER 2
Our July meeting was represented by
a fair number considering vacation schedules and workloads. We enjoyed a nice
ride to Washington State Park.
For those of you who didn't ride to
Columbia, Missouri, we had a good ride
and enjoyed meeting with a lot of new
people. There were about 34 bikes.
We didn't have an August meeting,
but we are planning a picnic on September 7 at Meramec Caverns, LaJolla State
Park, in Stanton, Mo. Everyone is to
bring enough food and drinks for their
family and we will combine for a variety.
Tom & Fay Miller #03247/01
Chapter 2 Reps
Region 7
INDIANA
CHAPTER 2
We were happy to see 12 members of
the South Bend, Indiana, Chapter 2, Blue
Knights at our June meeting. We also
gained eight new members to our chapter.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a count of the
bikes, but I have to bet it was one of the
largest, if not the largest turnout yet.
Total attendance was 52.
Please make a note of our new phone
number: 219/897-3817. The address stays
the same.
PENNSYLVANIA
CHAPTER 1
On June 29, Pennsylvania Chapter 1
celebrated its first anniversary as a VTS
chapter. To celebrate the occasion we
had 27 of our members present and,
The thought of doing a
product evaluation always
scares me. The thought of
someone slamming into the
back of me scares me even
more. So with that in mind, I
elected to do this product
evaluation on a unique, wellengineered, possibly lifesaving stoplight addition for
both motorcycles and cars.
The biggest problem — how do
you observe the operation of
the product while driving?
Is the mere fact that no one
slams into you enough?
We've all seen these extra stoplights
on everything that rolls on the street
lately. They come in all shapes, sizes and
colors. Most of them have one thing in
common: they just light up.
Vision experts say that your eyes
recognize only two signals: light and
motion. The Bac Off Flashing Halogen
Stoplight is scientifically designed to
maximize these attention-commanding
signals together for the ultimate warning
to following motorists that you've applied your brakes.
In my travels, I've found many touring bikers who have added many lights to
the rear of their motorcycles. It's a fact
that these bikes can be seen from the rear.
But it's also true, in some cases, that
when they apply their brakes the stoplight is almost drowned out.
I installed the Bac Off light (comes in
chrome or black) on my 1986 Venture
just below the license plate on a small
ledge. It fit just perfectly. Be sure to wire
the unit to the brake light switch instead
of just cutting into the wires under the
trunk. Use the solid yellow wire, and be
sure you have given the light a good
ground.
Once it was installed, I had a chance
to see it work. After that, I had to rely on
others to tell me if it was really doing
what it was supposed to do. At the time, I
was just leaving for the rally in Steamboat Springs and didn't really get a
chance to get any impressions till then.
Would you believe that the first comment I received about the light, outside of
friends, was from a motorist in Steamboat? After I got off my bike at a local
restaurant, the driver came up to me and
asked me where I'd bought the unit. He
said he was quite impressed at the action
of the unit and when I applied any brake
action it did indeed get his attention. He
already had a third light on his new car. I
have heard the same comments from
others since that time. All have been positive and convincing enough to bolster
my reasons for leaving it on and recommending it to everyone.
We all know why we have our headlights on in the daylight — to alert others
to our presence. Some riders have even
gone to modulating headlights, others to
driving lights. This Bac Off light effectively does the same thing for the back of
the bike. Even though most accidents
happen in front or to the front sides of us,
we cannot be overly cautious when it
comes to saving our own skins or lives. I
have personally found it's sometimes
difficult to pick out a motorcycle stopped
directly behind and in the center of a
stopped car, especially on a dark street or
highway.
Mounting this light on earlier models
of the Venture may not be as easy as on
the '86 model, but I'm sure you can find a
place. If you wish to have more information on the product, call Bac Off toll-free
at 1/800/4BACOFF (in California) or
1/800/3BACOFF. Or write them: Bac
Off Corporation, 3110 Hancock Street,
San Diego, California 92110. Price is
$69.95 for black and $89.95 for chrome.
The Time Out Tent Camper
by the TO Corp.
P.O. Box 2028, Elkhart, IN
46515, Phone: 219-294-7671
The above Recruiter Pin is awarded to
any member who recruits 5 new full members
into the VTS. Verification is taken from each
membership application which bears your
name. Be sure to keep your own personal list.
Once you have recruited 20 additional
members (for a total of 25), you will receive a
5-star bar to add to your pin PLUS a$50 U.S.
Savings Bond. An additional 25 members will
get you another 5-star bar PLUS — yup! —
another $50 bond.
When you recruit 75 full members we will
notify you to send us your two five-star bars
and we in turn will send you your diamond
bar.
Write for Free Brochure on
our new deluxe model with a
dinette, 20' of storage, luggage
rack, and shocks.
Then the whole process will start over
again with you working toward your second
diamond bar. The only difference is that the
U.S. Savings Bonds are awarded only on the
first go-round.
Each month we will print a list of Top
Recruiters. You will only appear when you
have added to your star total. That is, if you
were in one month with two stars and then
STARLIGHT CAMPER TRAILER
That's because we're not for everybody. We aim our
magazine at road riders only ... people who ride Ventures, like yourself. We're the original magazine for road
riders. Have been since 1969. Fact is, nobody can claim
to have come close to the number of pages of tests,
owner surveys and event coverage we have printed
about road riders and their motorcycles since it all began.
But we're not a brand-oriented magazine. We're a people-oriented magazine. We're about people riding their
motorcycles to interesting places ... because that's
what we like to do.
Fiberglass trailer, with a built-in mattress, 13" tires, mud flaps, spoke hub caps, bumper fightbar, and 3 chrome racks.
Standard 6' long. King 6 ' 8 Ione. 44" wide. (Pat. Apphed for)
NEOSHO FIBERGLASS, INC.
417-451-0661 Missouri
Neosho, Missouri 64850
If you've never seen "Road Rider," send us $1.50 for a
sample copy, or $15 for a full year's subscription (12
issues). Send to:
"Road Rider" Subscription Dept./AR
P.O. Box 6040
Mission Viejo, Calif. 92690
800-641-4647 Out-of-State
By Bill Daly
The Bench
Wrench Abroad
TOKYO, Japan — I'd like to clear up
a nasty rumor about me being out joyriding around, when I'm really on a
business trip. Ten days in Japan is quite
an experience, but the purpose of this trip
is strictly business, all work and no play.
(If you believe that, I have a bridge in
Brooklyn I'd like to sell you.)
I' m writing this while on a tour bus in
downtown Tokyo. Tokyo has over 13
million people, and one popular means of
transportation is motorcycling. I wonder
how many ride Ventures? I haven't seen
any yet, but I'm looking.
I' m in Japan because the dealership I
work for in Las Vegas (Nevada Yamaha)
was one of the top 35 Yamaha Reva
dealers in the U.S. The Reva is a scooter
sold by Yamaha. Not that they're small,
but I've seen them in the trunks of some
Ventures as a spare in case of emergency!
While we're here we're seeing some
of the points of interest, such as the
Buddhist Temples in Kyoto, the Mikimoto pearl divers on Pearl Island, a very
nice sports complex called Tsumeco, a
guided tour of the Yamaha assembly
plant (the main reason for the trip), and
I'll be watching for my first real Japanese
Venture.
***
After several days of sightseeing,
with no Ventures in sight, the day finally
arrived to see the factory.
The city of Tokyo is quite modern and
more westernized than the inland portions of Japan. Our guide, a very pretty
Japanese lady named Kumiko Hayashi,
has been very helpful in giving us information about her country and answering
all of our questions. The Japanese people
are very proficient at whatever job they
do. They are a very proud people who
hold their personal values very high — to
lie, cheat or steal is not in their culture; in
fact, it's practically nonexistent. That's
quite a change from other countries I've
been to.
As we take the long bullet-train ride
through the country to Hamamatsu, the
change of scenery becomes quickly apparent. In the city the buildings were tall
and crowded together, but the rural area
shows us a whole different lifestyle.
Farms filled with rows of green tea
are everywhere. All the farmhouses have
washed clothing hanging out to dry. It
makes you feel like you have entered a
different time.
As we got closer to our destination,
my heart beat faster in anticipation of
seeing the birthplace of all the Ventures.
Then in the sky I saw the huge letters
spelling out Yamaha — a breathtaking
sight, I must say.
Once inside, we were ushered to the
briefing room, where we were officially
greeted and welcomed to Yamaha Ltd.
Then we viewed an informative film on
the Yamaha product line and some apparel and accessories we can't get in the
U.S. kind of like dangling a bone in
from of a starving dog!
I was impressed to learn that Yamaha's roots go back to 1887, when the
first Yamaha reed organ was built. Yamaha concentrated on organs and pianos
until 1946, and then introduced guitars to
the line. The first Yamaha motorcycle
was built in 1954 and on July 1, 1955,
Yamaha Motor Corp. Ltd. was born in
Japan; this is the motor division we know
today. They started out exporting motorcycles to Mexico in 1958; in 1960, Yamaha International Corp. was established
in California.
The first Yamaha motorcycle to be
put into production was a two-stroke,
single-cylinder, 12-3cc bike called the
YA-1. For 1986 there are dozens of
models in the U.S. alone, one of which is
the Venture. And I still haven't seen one
yet.
(Next month — the factory itself)
Women's View
By Judith Silver
How to Pack and
Other Survival Hints
Several of the people who attended
our (Not) For Women Only survival
course at V-Daze '86 asked me to reprint
the original article about packing which
appeared two years ago in one of the
earliest issues of our magazine.
Since I've learned a lot since that
time, here's an updated version.
First, remember that you should plan
to dress for comfort instead of style,
especially when packing for a trip of
several weeks. It takes awhile to adjust to
wearing the same basic outfits day in and
day out; however, it helps to realize that
no one you meet will know that your garb
today is the same sort of thing you wore
yesterday — and last week — and maybe
the week before!
When it comes to comfort, there are
few items of clothing that serve better
than the basic 100% cotton T-shirt. Avoid
the polyester ones and those with the sort
of decoration that seems to be made out
of plastic fused onto the material. They
make you unbearably hot and can cause
nasty rashes.
Also high on the comfort list are
100% cotton jeans that are well broken in
and preferably a bit baggy. A friend once
told me, "I've got sitting-down jeans and
standing-up jeans." Believe me, "sittingdown- jeans are the only thing to wear on
a ride. It's nice to have something to
change into after you've stopped for the
night, but nothing can ruin a pretty day
faster than sitting in -fashion- jeans that
don't let you breathe.
As you may have gathered, I'm big on
100% cotton wherever possible. Allnatural fabrics are the only way to go as
far as we are concerned. Wool is still the
best for keeping you warm and silk is
about the best thermal insulator there is
and washes and dries in no time. Of
course, leather has long been a must for
cold-weather riders and has saved many
an acre of skin in a "nasty.Synthetic fabrics do, however, have
their place, and nylon fiberfill storm suits
are heaven's gift to the cold- or wetweather rider, especially when worn over
natural fabrics so as to take advantage of
the thermal layer effect. The thin nylon
windbreaker-type jackets and slacks are
also handy in warm rain and take up
almost no room. We have also used ours
to advantage in Southwestern dust storms.
The most frequent mistake when packing is taking too much. We've discovered
that it's amazing how little you really
need to have with you.
When I'm packing, there are some
basic things that always go along. "B aby' strunk rack is packed with three stuff
sacks. Two contain our sleeping bags and
the third carries two storm suits. Our
tent, in its carry bag, hangs under the
rack.
The trunk is used for emergency
supplies, extra boots and the camera. Of
course, that's also where the roll of tissue
in a ziplock bag is kept as well as a bottle
of non-ammonia window cleaner and an
old towel. I stow the sun screen behind
my seat because "Baby- doesn't have
those handy carry pouches the newer
models sport and there's lots of room
there now that Joel has moved the trunk
up and back.
Each side case contains five sets of
underwear, two pairs of jeans and one
pair of good slacks. We also take one
good shirt, five tees and a long-sleeved
cotton shirt or two to wear when the sun
is threatening to fry our skin. A swim suit
and towel and toiletries round out the
absolute necessities and I always stuff in
a caftan to wear between tent and bath
house.
If we're going to ride in the desert —
and it's hard to go anywhere from Las
Vegas without doing so — I freeze a twoliter plastic soda bottle of water. Joel
lashes it to the trunk and we have cold
water for several days if we remember to
refill it at pit stops and leave it in the ice
machine if we stop at a motel overnight.
A neat trick for keeping cool is to wet
your head and wear a wet scarf or stuff a
cap with wet paper towels (in places
where there's no helmet law). I'm told
that putting ice cubes in your pockets
works — I haven't tried that yet. We
have, however, been known to soak our
T-shirts at rest stops. They dry in no time
but the comfort seems to linger.
Speaking of pit stops, one way to
avoid getting saddle-sore is to do some
exercises whenever you get off the bike.
Deep knee bends, side twists and toetouches are good ones. Stretching out the
muscles that haven't been used keeps
them from complaining at the end of the
day.
Keeping some dried snacks such as
beef jerky, raisins and fruit rolls in ziplock bags in a handy place is great for
food energy. I learned the hard way that
chocolate doesn't travel well in heat, but
it is ideal for cold-weather riding. Remember, fat has more calories per gram
than sugar, so snacks like chocolate,
cheese and peanut butter cups give you
staying power and help you stay warm.
One thing people often overlook is the
need to stay warm at night when it's been
hot all day. We've slept in our storm suits
many a time in the desert and been
awfully glad they were available. We've
also worn them in hailstorms and in
laundromats when everything else was in
the machines and it was too chilly for
bathing suits.
A word about tents. We have the
biggest three-person dome tent available
and it's just the right size for us and all our
gear. We can set up camp in less than 15
minutes ( a lot faster in the rain!) and the
whole thing stows in an amazingly small
space. I keep a small disposable flashlight
in the carry case along with a disposable
lighter. They are two of the handiest
gadgets around.
I've mentioned ziplock bags a few
times. They are a must with us. When it
rains, the wallets and camera go into
zippers and all of the toiletries are carried
in them. We also carry garbage bags to
use as emergency rain gear, storm boots,
laundry bags and a hanging pantry when
camping in bear territory. A small bag
with emergency medical things is always
WOMEN'S VIEW
in the trunk as well as the previously
mentioned tissue. I carry lots of empties
— there are usually a few seashells, pine
cones or pretty rocks I want to carry
home.
At Steamboat I learned a valuable
lesson about a problem that really "bugs"
me — mosquitoes. Using Avon's Skin So
Soft bath oil mixed half-and-half with
plain ol' tap water really keeps those
critters away. And it's sure a lot nicer
than being stuck in a tent with a madman
who uses an entire container of Raid in an
evening.
One final note — you can get very
badly sunburned wearing metal jewelry.
A wise precaution is to invest a few
dollars in a cloth sweatband sort of watch
band. There are even ones with pockets
for joggers. And don't wear neck chains.
If you are miserably sunburned in spite of
all precautions, stop for a cup of strong
tea, let it cool to tepid and splash it on the
burn. The tannic acid really does stop the
pain. The waitress may think you're
crazy but what the heck? There are
actually people who think that anyone
who rides on the back of a motorcycle
has to be a bit nuts!
***
A Sad Note — In last month's column I mentioned the "Texans with their
gimmie hats and size 15 boots." One of
those very special people, Big Jim Derr
of El Paso, died July 27.
Jim was the kind of person who gives
Venture people a good name. He was
always ready with a helping hand or a
funny story and his heart was as big as the
state he called home. If you heard a
booming laugh, symphony music on the
tape player or quotes from the philoso-
phers, Jim was usually around. The man
enjoyed life to the hilt and never seemed
to sleep.
He was one of the first members of
the El Paso VTS gang, and one of the
best liked. We will miss him. Our deepest
condolences to his family and the many
friends he has left behind.
thanks to chapter reps Ed Albert and
Laura Yeager, we had a large cake shaped
just like our backpatches.
We decided to honor Denny's of
Devon for their continued support of the
chapter by presenting them with a plaque
for their wall. Frank Rogers was there to
accept on behalf of Denny's. They've
been great to our chapter by letting us use
their rear dining room for all our meetings
and affairs. We really appreciate their
continued support of our chapter.
We've come a long way in the last 12
months, from a meager beginning with 11
members at our first meeting in June
1985 to a total of 57 members and
associates in June 1986.
We would also like to thank the ladies
who attend the meetings and the rides,
because we all know that behind every
Venture is an understanding woman who
okays the monthly Venture payment. So
an extra-large thank-you to all our ladies.
We have a lot of plans for the upcoming year in Pennsylvania Chapter 1. We
want to increase our membership and
we're working on setting up a Polar Bear
Club for all the Venture owners in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. All
the chapters will be notified in the near
future and we hope to get the information
published here in Venture Road.
We hope all the rest of our VTS
members had as much fun as we did over
the past year, and remember: ride with
Venture pride.
Ron & Terry Fors #00302
Pennsylvania State Directors
• You say that "behind every Venture
is an understanding woman," etc., but
more and more often now, women are
riding and enjoying their own Ventures!
DELAWARE/NEW JERSEY/
PENNSYLVANIA POLAR BEARS
The VTS in the above states are
forming a Polar Bear Club and Breakfast
Tour starting October 5 and continuing
every month until April 1987.
The first run will be to Spangler's
Restaurant, Route 15 and Pennsylvania
Route 394, Gettysburg, Pa. We will ride
to a different location every month. A
one-time $5 fee will be charged to purchase patches and trophies. Sign up for
each ride from 9 a.m. to noon.
Frank Rogers of Denny's Restaurants accepts plaque from Pennsylvania Chapter 1
rep Ed Albert.
to have a meeting in Los Angeles and all
Color patches and trophies will be
their sales personnel had to attend. There
awarded at the final run in April.
was no display at the Expo, no salesHere's our schedule: Oct. 5, Gettyspeople at the demo ride area. To make
burg, Pa.; Nov. 9, Emmaus, Pa.; Dec. 7,
matters worse, on Saturday they packed
Middletown, Dela.; Jan. 18, Camp Hill,
up the bikes and left around 1 p.m. Nice
Pa.; Feb. 22, Devon, Pa.; March 15,
Amnrk. Yamaha!
Vincentown, N.J.; and April 19, HamWe had a whole motel unit almost
burg, Pa.
If the weather is bad or too cold for
filled with Ventures, from Kentucky to
you or your partner, jump in your car and
Sydney, Nova Scotia. Our club had a
come and join the fun anyway. We're
good showing of bikes (see picture), and
making it as easy as possible for all to
all the bikes ran well. The weather was
attend, get a patch and be in the running
great except for the ride home: 300+
for the trophies.
miles of hail, thunder and lightning, wind
For more information, contact Ron
and rain.
and Terry Fors at 215/622-1068.
New York Chapter 1 is getting larger
by the month. It takes time, but it's
Region 8
coming along. We meet once a month on
Sundays at Denny's Restaurant on Transit Road, Williamsville, and every Sunday morning if we want to ride we meet
there at 8 a.m.
NEW YORK STATE
I can't say enough about the '86
CHAPTER I
Royale — they did a good job on the
Well, the '86 Americade is history,
i mprovements. Engine is a lot stronger,
and it was bigger and better than last
front end is tight, no rattles, shakes or
year.
wandering; the saddlebags and trunk are
There was a really strong showing of
water-tight — believe me, they are! The
Ventures, and that's a lot more than I can
CB and radio work well but if you get
say for Yamaha USA — they need their
caught in really heavy rain and wind as
heads examined. The Japanese decided
we did, they do get wet and do some
crazy things, but when they dry they
work okay. Yamaha line headsets leave
something to be desired. For the price
they're asking, they should be of better
quality. No problem with the cruise control; contrary to what has been said, mine
stays right where I set it.
Here are a couple of ideas. On the
trunk where the controls for the passenger
are located, order the trunk pouch like the
one on the right side of the trunk, split it
down the back and remove the bracket
that holds the remote-control unit and
mount it inside the pouch. It works and
looks good, it makes the trunk look
balanced and people don't fool around
with the unit when the bike is parked.
Also, the bottom reflectors on the
saddlebags and across the lower back of
the bike can be lit up without too much
trouble. Save a lot of money on the
bottom light rail — just cut out the area
you want to light and install 198 Bannett
Bulbs and seal it back up.
Well, time to go — we're getting
ready to head to Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick and will fill you in on the trip
when we return. Keep the shiny side up.
Patrick J. Connolly #00101
Western New York Director
NEW YORK STATE
CHAPTER 2
Since we're the new chapter in New
York, let us introduce ourselves.
Our membership includes Syracuse
and the surrounding area. We meet on the
average of once a month and take to the
road. Since we have some lovely areas in
New York to travel through, we hope if
any of you come our way you'll give us a
call. We'd love to meet you.
Some of us just returned from Americade and had a lovely time. It was our
first time and we had a ball. The staff is to
be highly commended for planning a
lovely week for everyone. We're already
looking foward to 1987 and hope to see
you there.
However, we were very much disappointed in Yamaha's showing at this
affair. We feel that they did not do justice
for the over 1,000 Yamaha motorcycles
that were there. They only had a very few
demo bikes compared to the other manufacturers.
New York Chapter 1 members.
We also felt they should have had
some accessories available for us. We
understand that Yamaha had another
affair going on on the West Coast at the
same time, but they could have drawn
from enough dealers in this area to bring
in more bikes and have more staff on
hand to help people out. We feel Yamaha
wants the support of the people who buy
their motorcycles, but the Yamaha owners
want the support of Yamaha Corporation
as well.
Some of our members rode to Buffalo
on June 8 to join Chapter 1 for the
American Cancer Ride. The day turned
out beautiful and a good deal of money
was raised for the Cancer Society.
Hope you all had a nice summer and
safe riding to you all.
Bob & Cyndi Ripley #00551
New York Chapter 2 Reps
ALBERTA
CHAPTER 1
Here's a little background on our
chapter.
In the beginning, Friendly Fred Pawlenchuk at Western Yamaha sold me the
most beautiful motorcycle on the market,
a 1983 Venture Royale. While I was busy
blowing the side covers off every Brand
X in sight, I met a few other Royale
owners. We swapped a few stories, went
on a few rides in 1985 and, with the help
of Ken Meier, the provincial rep, we
decided to form a chapter.
A booth at the Cycle Canada Show
was very successful and we picked up a
few more members. Our club then held a
weiner roast, had a good turnout for the
weather (about 40 people) and got two
more members. Two breakfasts at Barry
T's Bar & Grill picked up a few more. We
rode in a small-town parade (the Beaumont Jamboree) and a picture day at the
Muttart Conservatory sure turned a lot of
heads. Sometimes things mushroom. We
have a wide cross-section of individuals
and somebody always comes up with an
idea to make the next event even more
successful.
To date we have over 30 members
and associates, and we are expecting
three more at our next meeting — growing slowly but steadily.
A cowboy named Ross MacGregor
and I will be going to Calgary in the near
future to get a chapter started there.
We have had a lot of success working
with the other clubs in the area, namely
the Northern Alberta Road Riders and
the Retreads. The Retreads have invited
us to their breakfasts as well as a trip to
Jasper. These people are a lot of fun. The
NARR club set up a poker/observation
run which ended somewhere close to
Ponoka, where about 500 motorcycles
from Alberta had a police escort to
Rimbey for the Ride for Sight in June. Of
course, VTS Alberta Chapter 1 participated.
Our PDN dealer let us use his shop
for one meeting and even ran a small
service clinic for us which was beneficial
to everyone who was there — thanks,
Fred.
To all bad-weather riders: the rear
hub needs lubrication often; every tire
change is not enough. I would recommend every oil change. The teeth on
mine were down to about .015" thick and
.035" high, which means $$$. The inner
hub of the female spline is worn but okay.
We have also talked about an emer-
gency road crew: VTS members with
trucks and/or trailers who can be reached
through our local PDN dealer. So if
anyone is traveling through and has a
problem, we'll do our best to help. Keep
the shiny side up!
Gary Morrison #01811
Alberta Chapter Rep
NOVA SCOTIA
PROVINCIAL DIRECTOR
My name is Ted Wright (#01304). I
am requesting approval to form Nova
Scotia Chapter 1 of the Venture Touring
Society. Enclosed you will find our
application for chapterhood. I have already sent a copy of our application to
Art Rea, Eastern Canada regional director. We hope this request meets with
your approval. As you can see, we are
small in number but big at heart.
I've sat around for a long time waiting for someone else to start the ball
rolling and have met with unhappy results, so now I have kicked the ball and
it's now rolling on Cape Breton, Nova
Scotia. Any and all assistance will be
greatly appreciated.
Keep up the good work. We all enjoy
our Venture Road and enjoy reading our
fellow bikers' stories.
Ted Wright #01304
Nova Scotia Provincial Director
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Next Month — New product to
make that front end "rocksolid" . . . Rider evaluation of
Cradle Industries and STD
Enterprises products . . . Guidelines for Chapter Award program . . . Tour Directory . . .
Rally reports . . More pictures
and more of the other stuff. . .
Oops! In our Product Review
ofHartco seat covers last month,
we printed the wrong phone
number. The correct number is
1/800/446-7772.
In the Wind, Against
The Wind, Or —?
We've all enjoyed the wind at one
time or another, whether riding through it
or just taking a walk through the park.
When we're driving on a hot day, the
wind can be a welcome relief. But the
wind can also do funny things.
Dealing with riding in the wind isn't
really that difficult if you extend one of
your inborn powers that should be operating all the time anyway while riding —
concentration. The Germans have a word
for it: "sitzfleish," or the ability to sit and
concentrate. This should be your primary concern while riding at all times.
Let's assume we are about to proceed
across the good ol' Golden Gate Bridge
heading south. Now, the very moment
you enter the bridge you're not exposed
to the wind coming off the ocean. But a
couple of seconds later you are, and
herein lies the trouble, especially if you've
let your concentration lapse. The wind
can reach over 40 mph even on a sunny
day in San Francisco, even higher over
the Golden Gate. The wind here has
undone more than one motorcyclist. It
has been known to blow a bike across
almost one full lane.
In most situations, the wind can be
anticipated by doing the same thing pilots
do when they land a small airplane in a
grass or dirt field — look at the trees and
bushes ahead and note the direction in
which they're bending.
If there are no trees or bushes, look at
the grass or a piece of paper blown across
the road. All these are good indicators of
what's going to happen. But let's get back
to the bridge, an extreme condition. How
do we deal with crossing safely?
First of all, slow down! Many riders
tend to ride too fast for prevailing road
conditions and that almost automatically
gets them into trouble. You're riding
under adverse conditions, so be smart
and back it off a bit.
The next thing you want to do is find
another vehicle larger than yours such as
a car, and pull alongside, letting it block
the wind for you. At the same time, make
sure the driver knows you're there. You
can do this by being in a lower gear, thus
making your bike more audible, tooting
the horn, or in the case of a touring bike,
pulling slightly ahead and then falling
back.
Since changing lanes on the Golden
Gate Bridge is forbidden, you're usually
pretty safe following this procedure. But
again, the trick is letting 'em know you're
there so they don't try something funny.
The bridge should teach you something. How about coming out of a section
of road that has rolling hills on both sides
of the highway onto flat ground? The
same thing, but be careful and make sure
the other driver knows you're there. You
don't need surprises in addition to the
wind.
How about riding in the wind in
general? Here are some suggestions. First
of all, you want to be in the right-hand
lane. This is for several reasons, not the
least being that it's a safe place to be in
LEGAL WORD
case things really get hairy and you're
forced to stop because you're just plain
scared. There's no sin in being scared. It
beats being dead every time.
Being in the right lane has other advantages. There's less wind if you're
closer to the bluff on the right-hand side.
There seems to always be less turbulence
there.
Then, too, you might want to compensate for the wind pressure from one
side by doing what pilots call "dialing in a
little more rudder trim." What this means
is, simply, that you're going to lean a little
into the wind in an effort to keep the bike
perpendicular to the ground. You'll find it
takes very little effort to do this. The neat
thing, too, is that after a few miles of this,
you get used to it and you find that the
wind isn't really bothering you after all.
Of course there will be momentary breaks
in the wind as well, when you will ease up
on your "rudder pressure" so you don't
drift across the road. Again, the byword
is "Concentrate." I can't stress the importance of this too strongly.
If you're really put off by the wind,
you may want to stop somewhere and
wait until nightfall when the wind dies
down somewhat. But be aware, as with
all things, that Mother Nature gives no
guarantees. There have been instances
where the wind has become more intense
with nightfall. Although this condition is
rare, it does happen.
Riding in the wind is something we all
have to put up with once in awhile, but
with a little perseverance, knowledge and
common sense, you can make it through.
Headwinds are no fun at all, but they
are a little easier to deal with than
crosswinds. The main problem seems to
be wind buffeting.
If you've ever followed a large diesel
truck down the highway, you'll know all
about buffeting. It's mostly annoying. It
can also be dangerous as the weight on
the front wheel is constantly changing.
How do you deal with it?
Again, let's go back to airplanes.
More forward thrust is the answer to
buffeting problems. Fortunately, this
usually takes care of itself in that you
need more throttle in a headwind anyway.
Headwinds can become so severe that
you may have to drop down a gear (even
two on a smaller bike) to maintain your
cruising speed. Here's where it's sensible
to slow down. Why overstress the engine? In a headwind, you may think the
wind is carrying off more engine heat and
you're right, but you're producing much
more heat by your wider throttle opening
as well . . . and suffering increased fuel
consumption.
Be careful of tailwinds, too. They
sound harmless but they're far from it. In
the first place, your body becomes a sail.
Without knowing it, you could be exceeding the speed limit by a huge margin, and
it could be hard to slow down quickly if
you need to.
So what's the bottom line? Be prepared. Don't panic. Know how to deal
with the situation. Keep your eyes open,
look around you and above all, concentrate.
Helmet Law Slams Brakes
On Italian Vanity Pates
By Uli Schmetzer
ROME — The wind no longer blows
through the hair of Italian motorcyclists.
The law prohibits it.
Recently Italy's 4.5 million two-wheel
addicts had to don helmets or face hefty
fines and the confiscation of their vehicles
for a month.
Not even a final avalanche of protests,
among them a traffic-stopping motorcade
of 10,000 bikers in Milan, lobbying under
a banner proclaiming "We want to travel
with the wind in our hair," managed this
time to rescind a helmet law that has had
16 different sponsors in 25 years.
The law was tabled and rejected eight
times in Parliament. Finally passed, it
took another seven months to be implemented.
Worse, first-day controls were somewhat hampered when traffic police chiefs
in Rome discovered that the country's
motorcycle squads had not been issued
the new compulsory integral helmets.
The old open-face helmets that police
patrols were using are considered illegal
under the new law.
Red-faced police chiefs immediately
ordered their motorbike squads off their
vehicles and on foot-slogging duty for the
rest of the day in virtually every Italian
city. Police administrators meanwhile
made frantic phone calls to procure the
right helmets.
But even on the first day, thousands
of bikers (known as "centaurs" in Italy)
defied the new law. In Modena, 5,000
fans rode through the center of the city en
masse without helmets, leaving harrassed
traffic police the task of recording license
numbers.
"The law is an imposition on personal
liberty," complained Stefano Alberti,
president of a Florence motorcycle club.
"Nonsense," retorted Transport Minister Claudio Signorile. "A responsible
government cannot allow almost 2,000
people each year to lose their lives because they overlook a fundamental protective measure like the helmet.The advent of H-for-Helmet day was
front-page news throughout Italy. The
headlines announced it as "the road
revolution" and "the Italy of the helmet."
No doubt the helmet is a traumatic
experience in a country where grannies
and children alike use engine-propelled
two-wheelers; a country where covering
one's head is considered bad form, not
compatible with la bella figura the
vain part of every Italian.
Worse, the law requires rear-view
mirrors on each side of the handlebars,
which makes squeezing through traffic in
Italy's narrow streets far more difficult.
Naturally, the implementation of the
law has caused problems. Since everyone expected an 11th-hour reprieve, riders
queued up for hours outside motorcycle
equipment stores the afternoon before
the law went into effect, to buy the
required helmets and rear-view mirrors.
Stores ran out of helmets even though
Italy produces 3 million of them annually,
85% for export.
"You had months to get the things but
nobody came. Now we've run out and
there isn't a helmet in Italy to be had for
love or money," an angry store manager
at Rome's Porta Portese bazaar told one
journalist trying to obey the law at the last
moment.
The police have their troubles, too.
"Where are we going to put all the
thousands of bikes we will have to confiscate?" asked a spokesman for the Rome
traffic police.
Even more puzzling for police is how
to identify, let alone apprehend, unhelmeted riders zipping by on mopeds without number plates.
"I hope they don't expect us to run
after them," quipped traffic cop Walter
Gattellari. "And it's hopeless to try to
catch one of them in a patrol car in this
traffic."
Italian dailies began to carry more
ads than ever for motorbikes at sale
prices. "Selling in protest against helmets," some of the vendors advertised.
In the end, however, this is Italy, a
country where the law always leaves a
convenient loophole. In this case the
loophole is simple: If the rider is over 18
and drives a combustion-powered twowheel vehicle under 50cc, he is not
obliged to wear the hated helmet.
Suspicious bikers, of course, say the
clause was added by parliamentarians
who just love to take an occasional spin
on their mopeds with the last wisps of
their gray hair blowing in the wind.
FIBERGLASS CARGO
TRAILER by Time Out.
Write the TO Corp. P.O. Box
2028, Elkhart, IN 46515, or
call 219-294-7671.
For information or inquiries on the AMA news, contact Barry Armitage at 614/891-2425.
Three-Wheel ATVs Face
Possible Recall, Ban
The U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Government Operations
voted June 24 to endorse a report calling
for a ban on future sales of three-wheel
ATVs and recall of all existing units.
A ban could occur this year if the
Consumer Product and Safety Commission (CPSC) follows the call to ban the
three-wheelers in formulating rules on
the machines this fall. While the committee vote to eliminate the three-wheelers
was non-binding, it will still have a strong
effect on the CPSC's final ruling on the
vehicles. There are over two million
three-wheel ATVs in the U.S. today.
The congressional action followed a
review of a committee report, "Consumer
Product Safety Commission's Response
to Hazards of All-Terrain Vehicles," in
reaching their decision to call for a ban
and recall. Roy Janson, American Motorcyclist Association land-use coordinator
and president of the AMA's sister organization, the American All-Terrain Vehicle
Association, commented, "It is unfortunate that the committee chose to render a
decision before the CPSC report is complete. It is certainly unwise to call for a
ban without having all the pertinent information at hand."
The vote came despite considerable
effort on the part of ATV users and
manufacturers to convince Congress to
await the final report, which is due this
fall. But the vehicles' safety has been
questioned at length in the media recently,
which may have affected the timing of the
vote. The committee's 20-to-15 vote was
split along party lines, with Democrats
aligned against three-wheelers. It is expected that the early vote will pressure
the CPSC into taking stern action regarding the three-wheelers.
AMA Aids Arizona National
Speed-Limit Referendum
The American Motorcyclist Association government relations department
has contacted each member in Arizona
to rally support for a petition drive to
place a referendum on the national speed
limit on the November ballot.
Arizona voting regulations require
36,000 registered voters' signatures to
qualify for the ballot. The AMA has
requested each Arizona member to collect one dozen valid signatures. If successful, the effort would generate a good
portion of the signatures required.
MiiMMIONN
OIN
The deadline for petitions was August
12. The Arizona 55 speed-limit law is set
to expire October 1, thus setting the stage
for the showdown. Arizona activist Mike
Kelley said that even if the law is reinstated, a successful petition drive could
set up a public ballot to have the law
overturned in the following month. Two
bills were introduced this year in the
Arizona legislature challenging the national speed limit, but neither passed.
AMA sources have revealed that
Arizona is one of two states being considered for withholding of highway construction funds by the federal government because of non-compliance with
the 55 speed limit. At stake is $5.2
million, 10% of Arizona's federal allocation. The money can be withheld because
in 1984 over 50% of the drivers in
Arizona were found to be exceeding the
speed limit. A number of other states
have also failed to meet the Federal
Highway Administration's criterion, and
are similarly threatened with diminished
funding.
AMA legislative affairs manager Gary
Winn commented, "It looks like Arizona
will be one of the pivotal players in seeing
if the federal government can hold the
line on the national speed limit. With its
miles of interstate highways, it would
seem logical to move to efficient speeds,
but now it's up to the legislature and to
the voters."
Sidethought
Anyone who's ridden a motorcycle
on crowded urban streets and expressways, or in the arena of interstate highways, knows that even the most vigilant
rider stands a chance of becoming either
a splotch on some sedan whose driver
didn't see you, or a mass of road rash (or
worse) from loose gravel, oil, gas, or
some other spill in the road. The "invisibility factor" and the propensity for taking
a spill are the two main elements that
motorcyclists must deal with to stay alive
and healthy.
Of course, wearing a helmet and
clothing that can take a beating helps, but
you can still break your neck, or anything
else for that matter, even with a helmet
and leathers. Let's face it, maybe Kenny
Roberts can dump at high speed and still
walk away, but how many of us have that
kind of talent, or luck? And what happens
to your lady or child riding behind you if
that Buick doesn't see you and turns left
in front of you, or moves over into your
every time we hit the start button and
ease the clutch out. But there is an
alternative that will rearrange the odds in
favor of the street or highway rider. And
it's not to place an ad in the classifieds to
sell the bike.
In Europe the motorcycling public
has known for decades that when you add
a sidecar to a motorcycle it becomes one
of the safest modes of transportation
available. In fact, the British actuarial
tables show that motorcycles with sidecars are the least likely of all machines to
have an accident in bad weather. Unlike
a two-wheeler, it can't fall over, eliminating the potential for disaster from loose
gravel, oil or gas on a curve. A sidecar
also cancels out the "invisibility factor."
In fact, here in America, if you have a
sidecar it's almost like carrying a billboard
with you saying, "Here I am, look at
me."
By now you might be thinking, "What's
this guy's angle? Is he just a Good
Samaritan or what? Is he another 'sidecar
nut' with one of those geeky-looking
pieces of junk hanging off his bike?" The
answer is none of those. I make a living
selling a stylish-looking and technologically advanced motorcycle sidecar, but I
won't even mention the name because
I'm not looking for free advertising. I'm
an authority on sidecars. I ride what I
sell, I love it, and I believe in my message.
I talk to people all over the U.S. about
sidecars six days a week. About once a
month, in response to an inquiry, I'll call
someone in Ohio or New Mexico or here
in California, and ask for the person who
had written or called me about buying my
sidecar. And this call will be a little
different from most because someone's
mother, wife or little girl will answer the
phone. I'll tell them who I am and they'll
start to yell at me, or cry. Then they'll tell
me that their son or husband or daddy
can't come to the phone, because he was
killed in a motorcycle accident a few
days ago.
After one of those calls, I have to take
a break, especially if I've talked to someone's wife or little girl who broke into
tears before she hung up. And I can never
stop wondering, what if the guy had
bought my sidecar two months ago instead
of putting it off? Maybe, just maybe, his
little girl wouldn't be crying for her daddy
today.
Larry Alger
Montrose, California
Ride with us and SAVE.
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Rider is. So we'd like to introduce you to Rider. You'll find travel
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and features like Yamaha 145 horsepower V-Max, Yamaha
Maxim X cruiser, Yamaha FZ750 sport bike and various full
color photo essays on the joys of bike riding.
Subscribe to Rider now and we'll give you 12 big issues—
a full year for only $9.98. That's a 37% savings off the
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53561

Venture Road 1986-10

Transcription

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