V45 rebuild

[smullin]

I sat and talked to Dave Dodge a couple months ago when I was on a trip to North Carolina, and he said he was basically getting out of the business of rebuilding the first generation V45's, mainly due to the lack of parts.  I have a 1982 V45 that I love with 52,000 miles on her.  She uses a little oil but still runs strong and I don't seem to have much top end or second gear problems.  Electric problems pop up every now and then.  She's pretty reliable, but I want to get into more long distance runs, and have to make a decision -- rebuild her like new, or go shopping?  I am not much of a mechanic so I'm looking to farm out the engine / transmission to someone good who has knowledge of the V45.  Any suggestions?  Thanks.

[Charles S Otwell]

Keep your first gen and go ahead and pick you up a nice third gen. You'll probably end up keeping both, but before you put a lot of money into the first Gen you really ought to do a comparison. Still lots of third gen parts available and they are great long distance bikes, just ask Bob Baram or Lowell. Good luck on what ever your decision is..