Leaderboard

Uh, I think the plan was to split up into groups anyways but you go ahead and take the credit for that. The moral of the story is, if you don't want a bunch of bubby's showing up to your publicly posted ride, don't post it publicly. I don't think Jacob or Durk had any issues with the way they're publicly announced ride turned out. It was a beautiful day to ride motorcycles and everyone I talked to had a blast.

I wish. My kid was in an accident and totaled her car. As luck would have it it happened at the perfect time as we were pulled over waiting for the group to catch up otherwise I wouldn't have got the call. Also another lucky twist, we were well over 2 hours away from the scene so no way I could get there in time to be of any help but Jacobs quick thinking noticed it was just minutes from his dads house and he quickly called his dad who offered to help and went straight to the scene. His dad talked to my kid, stayed with her till it was resolved, handled the towing arrangements and paid the $200 bill for me without hesitation. I challenge anyone to show me a more stand up guy than Christopher Hawkins. Thank you again Jacob for catching that location and making that call.

I hate using straps, and I didn't feel like spending $350 for a pitbull TRS, so I decided to make my own. Granted I copied a lot from the Pitbull stuff, I have way less in my setup than what they cost. The first one I did (for my bike) was a lot of trial and error, but once I figured out how I wanted everything to go, everything is a lot easier now. i had a local guy to me, machine pins for the axel, and drilled the main hoop and axel pins and have a pin that goes through to keep them in place. The base isn't as quick as the pitbull, but it works and is secure. A nut was welded to a piece a flat stock that is welded to the main hoop, and the base has tabs with holes so you can just bolt it right up. It's rock solid once in place. everything will get powder coated here shortly. This one I'm making for a buddy, this is the start, but cleaner, and I've modified it some.

Your bike will correct it's own course, provided the suspension is not excessively mal-adjusted. This may include a "tank slapper'. As has been said here already, the best thing you can do is not make any steering input to the bars, keep on the throttle, & grip the hell out of your tank with your knees. That said, the best thing to do is learn to avoid the gravel. Your photo shows what looks like a clear path that the car tires have cleared. Last time I had a problem with gravel in 2010 it was not a tank slapper but a slam bam, broken bones thing. Reviewing the circumstances of that crash, there was a clear path through as well. Hope to see you out riding again soon Nivin. I don't recall you crashing up until now, so welcome to the club. Everyone that really rides crashes at one time or another, so don't worry about it & avoid the gravel.

I haven't seen much change on the scales lately, just stuck around 221 range, trying to break through that 60 lbs lost barrier. My cardio workouts have been getting better though. Finally getting 3 miles under 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Get the fuck out of here with that nonsense.

So yesterday I saw something that I have seen on pretty much every group ride this year. It started with the Epic ride and has continued to most public rides I have seen this year. Actually it started with last years Fall Gap Trip. Some poor sap posted a public ride and 15 peeps showed up. He was standing there with everyone around him trying to split it into two groups. Now I had already pre-arranged with 5 people to follow me so he was down to 10. But that is still too many for many reasons, the biggest of which is the fun and relaxation of said ride organizer. No one stepped up. Smaller groups of 5 or so are way better. You can group by speed/style. It's easy to keep track of everyone, you don't even have to be comfortable as a leader...just know the route and go. Look in your mirror once in awhile and if you can count to 5 or so you are done. So please, for the sake of more OR public rides show up knowing the route. Have it in your GPS, or paper on your tank bag or in your head...however you roll and be ready to step up and help a brother out. Disclaimer: The above polite rant was my own, @jacobhawkins neither said nor did anything to make me think he feels the same.

Right before we leave for our trip to deals gap my buddy decides he wants to put an exhaust on his FZ. I have already built one for my other friends FZ09 (who is also going with us), but this one was going to be a mid mount exhaust. He bought a universal muffler on Amazon, and after it arrived I got to work. I really wanted to do it all in stainless, but he is cheap, and time constraints being an issue I used what I had, which was some aluminized exhaust tubing. i cut the stick muffler off, and started making my pieces, I pie cut the pipe in places to make my bends. My goal was to keep the mid pipe close to the motor to give it a sleek look, and give good ground clearance. I managed to make a mount to use one of the stock exhaust mount points underneath, and for the muffler I dabbed a small bracket to be attached under the passenger peg. After it was finished up, I coated the section I made and we wrapped the pipe to help with heat. No issues with interference with your foot while riding, which was a key point for me when making it. Sounds really good for a $50 muffler.

I've never been to a track day and I safety wire my grips. I think mainly from when I was riding dirt bikes I did it and just bled over to my street riding. Also I don't use any hairspray or grip glue just air compressor to put it grip on and two pieces of safety wire. Never had a grip come off or loose.

Gravel!

Nice 150mile mid morning street run down thru Athens area and around Hocking Hills with no traffic. Lake Hope:

My ride? Or Sonik's ride? Every ride is a shit show!

We have the following available at Vitamix. I'm not sure what you are looking for in IT terms, that's all out of my engineering terminology. Business Systems Analyst, ERP IT Project Manager IT Web Business Analysis.

Sweet ride!

I was hanging way off the right side of the bike, fully committed to the turn, and got thrown on top. If I was hanging off just a little or sitting straight up, I would have gotten tossed off the left side. I hang off in most corners. I'll add, I've ridden 300-400k of pretty aggressive riding on the street, on at least 25 different motorcycles, and this oil slick was the only time I've almost tank slapped. Steering inputs and throttle control also play a factor.

Buy this one for $3,000 and den......

I absolutely hated my FZ09. Sold it in under 2 months of owning and lost a grand on it and yet was happy to wash my hands of it. As Hob stated brakes and suspension were horible. I also say the seat, tires and erratic electronic throttle response were just as bad. The only thing I liked about that bike was the motor. I looked into the upgrades and by the time those were added it would be well over 10k and there were plenty other bikes available for less. Your mileage may vary but that bike was absolutely the worst bike I've ever owned

2017 Kawasaki Z9000 Most torque most HP with no rider nanny systems. $7,550 http://www.cycleworld.com/kawasaki-z900-vs-triumph-street-triple-r-vs-yamaha-fz-09-comparison-motorcycle-review

You should call it the ape hanger.

Sills Honda is an option too. $20 a wheel off bike.

You know, you are fortunate that you live where you live right? That easily would have been a 600 mile day for us less fortunate folk