Well, who'd'a thunk it?

[GrandpaDenny]

At the gentle urging of Gene in NJ, I finally got off my ass and drained the carb bowls. Got a little bit of crud out. Took Gertrude out for her weekly constitutional up to the Poconos, filling her up with Exxon on the way (instead of the neighborhood Speedway). Well....... what a difference! She now pulls like a mule even going uphill in the mountains, from 1500 rpm on up in 5th gear. I'm not sure when the stumbling disappeared, but it certainly did. I no longer have to be afraid to try to pass slow cars, or be nervous of short on-ramps. This old Elephant FLIES now. I was very pleasantly surprised at how fast she is now. AND... 200 miles on 3.85 gallons. In the mountains. In traffic. And some good old thrashing. Matter of fact, I almost high-sided at one point. That was scary. The girl's got SERIOUS brakes!

Can't wait to get the new fuel filter and air filter in. They're on order.

Thanks, Gene!

[Barry]

Best to apply brakes before the turn. While in the turn hard braking can make for a bad day. Glad you're getting to know what your vxii is capable of. If you need rapid acceleration, just make sure it's turning 2500 rpm prior to nailing the throttle. If you're in 3rd, try nailing the throttle and counting off 10 seconds. You will be shocked at the speedometer. Just don't snap the throttle closed. Ease off the gas & smile.

[GrandpaDenny]

Oh I know hard braking in a turn is bad. Straightened up before I hit the binders, then turned back into the turn after letting off them. It was a combination of things - I decided I absolutely needed to check the battery level on the phone before the upcoming turn, and three Harleys came screaming around the corner including one big white one who was going was too fast, scraping pegs and coming over into my side of the road. I was also going too fast.

I practice things like low-speed maneuvers and emergency braking. I was quite pleasantly surprised one day while practicing to discover that she'll lift the back wheel off the ground. That's some serious brakes, folks. I'm not talking locking the rear wheel, I mean lifting it off the ground like a sport bike.

[Barry]

Oh, been there, done that! And NO, I won't ever do that again or even try to. Maybe when . A locked sliding rear tire increases stopping distance, so I don't do that either. We all will make poor decisions from time to time. Just glad you're around to share your story.

[ekap1200]

Glad to hear this Denny, Now if you do manage to get an OEM air/& fuel filter , be advised they may be quite a few years old....
Let us know what you get or don't get. There are a few fix's for aftermarket air filters, but the install of the filter requires a Rube-Goldberg approach. Also many think it is just remove and replace, but , be aware , if any debris trapped around the filter fall into the air box they can become logged in air passages of the carbs. Draining will not fix that....
Do the fuel flt. when your just about empty, and don't pinch the fuel line with anything that can score the fuel line.
Gene K.

[GrandpaDenny]

OEM air filter and fuel filter both from Partzilla. $27.80 for the air filter, $14.78 for the fuel filter. Since I ordered a bunch of stuff (including ALL the speedo parts (except the speedo itself)) I got free shipping.