ReconRat

geez... I can see the change in color of the tire compound. There's a long stripe right down the center. About 8 inches long. Just like where the last tire showed cord through. It's about to show cord already. It only took a couple of weeks to go from worn tread bars to almost showing cord. Iron Pony tire tomorrow if they got one I want.

What the heck? Great gobs of sand on half the corners between home and work and back. East side to downtown on Broad Street and back on freeway or 5th Ave at night. Still waiting for streets to clean up. Long wait.

Don't get me wrong, you can generate aerodynamic load at any speed. But for usable down force on a car's spoiler, it would be 80mph and up. You might feel a plate hanging in the wind at a lower speed, or not at all. A bike weighs a lot less than a car. Put a little fairing in front of it if it's a problem. That's what the plate originally had anyway, a bike in front of it, to flow the air away from the plate.

very nice gear... A revolver with a tight cylinder to barrel fit, using a suppressor, can easily be quieter than a semi-auto. The exception might be a semi-auto that can lock it's slide so that it won't move when fired. It's pretty quiet also. (they are called suppressors, not silencers, because they really aren't silent, just very quiet.)

One of my co-workers had a deer run into the side of his car this morning. The deer are moving around this time of year. Be careful, especially at dawn and dusk. edit: hell, it was a herd of them running full blast, not much fun... RIP rider

made me think.... 1. I wouldn't suspect oil, when looking at engine parts that tried to launch sideways. I would however, suspect general problems with oil, if I saw evidence of problems with the oil itself. 2. The two numbers in oil weights... i.e. 15W-50 etc. The first number is the approximate weight of the multi-blend oil when it's cold at a standard temperature. That's good for one or two minutes after you start the bike. It really doesn't mean much unless you live in extreme Arctic or tropic climates. The second number however, is the weight of the oil at operating temperatures. That one should be as recommended for your engine unless there is a really good reason to be doing something else. I could get into flow rates, pressures and dynamics of oil behavior, but I would probably fall asleep. Basically these change if you do your own thing. 3. Synthetic oil is.... oil. There are exceptions about type or class of oil, but all the stuff on the shelf is fully compatible with each other, with very few exceptions. All synthetic oils are actually blends of synthetic and "regular" oil to one degree or another. We can't afford pure synthetic oil. It pretty much only exists in research labs. 4. If the JASO standards were created just for us sprocket heads, I'm happy to follow along and go with that. 5. From experience, I know that high RPM motors where the transmission gears are using the same oil, will destroy oil extremely fast. That's where you want to use a high quality synthetic oil. A high quality regular oil is fine, you just have to change it more often, when the oil breaks down quicker.

Agreed. Too many false alarms. I actually wait for multiple alarms before I get interested. Even then, it's likely to be a raccoon chased by a coyote followed by a curious cat. Lasers are cool. Attenuated perimeter alarms work well also.

One carb float is sticking open. That's what I would say. It will be the one with the plug fouled rich at idle. edit: and where the heck is your fuel shutoff valve? A gravity feed tank should have one to prevent fuel from leaking down into the cylinders and on into the crankcase...

I taught my dogs to be quiet and wake me up. Then I would throw on some camo cover, and just go out quiet and hunker down and wait. Doesn't take long, some idiot will walk right past me. Pretty much just standing up will stop all adventures in the entire neighborhood for a long time. Scares them witless. I use motion alarms now, too darn lazy to get up and out unless I really have to. The technique is different with motion alarms. You want to go out the door full blast, and check your stuff. Mostly I find cats and raccoons walking about. geez... Just being outside in the middle of the night, once and a while, doesn't exactly go unnoticed. That also will keep local kids away. And I don't mean just going to the car and back, they don't care about that. I mean standing outside scoping things out.

Painting nails and killed a gal on a motorcycle... felony reckless homicide charges are being considered: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-nail-polish-fatalmay05,0,570584.story http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/nail_painting_fatal_crash_may09 http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6795601 http://www.wgntv.com/landing/?Charges-weighed-in-case-of-driver-painti=1&blockID=282414&feedID=1503 RIP rider...Anita Zaffke

1. Rescue/backup any files of importance. either boot the drive on another computer as the 2nd hard drive, or use a boot CD that allows a copy of files to another drive or USB device. 2. Run hard drive diagnostics to see if the drive is ok. I use the manufacturer's free downloaded CDs. The SeaGate SeaTools will work on any modern drive. 3. If the hard drive is ok, repair the operating system. If the hard drive is not ok, but passes after a repair with the hard drive diagnostics tool, repair the operating system. If the hard drive fails, repeat the rescue/backup of the files in item #1, if necessary, and replace hard drive and operating system. Quick method: get another hard drive and operating system, and install it as your Master drive. Move your old one to Slave drive. All your files will be accessable, but the programs might not run after moving from C: to D:. Figure out what went wrong later. Cheat method: boot a CD or floppy, find the bad file, rename it so it won't work (*.xxx or *.old, etc). Find the file needed on another similar computer and copy it over on to your computer in the right folder location. Boot and see what happens.

The engine has to turn first, before a spark will do any good. As old as the bike is, I would check the chassis ground, on the negative side of the battery, where it bolts onto the frame. Make sure it's clean and working. Then start checking all the circuits related to the starter. Does the lights flicker when you jiggle the key? It might be the ignition switch. Try jiggling the key as you try to start. Slim chance of finding the problem that quick, but you never know till you try. edit: a good fully charged battery is at least 14.5 volts.

There used to be a place in Columbus, that you could get a tank dipped and stripped. You'd have to surface treat the tank after that, inside and out. And then paint it. I'd like to know if that place is still there, or if there is a place like that now. It's a lot of work, and probably isn't worth it compared to just buying a new one. Unless it's a collectible or something that can't be replaced. edit: I've been through this, I had one tank completely rust out on one side at the bottom seam, from the inside, from age. I bought 3 more, cheap on eBay. One was near perfect.

Don't forget that the entire 1950's thing first posted, was an invention of advertising and consumerism in the first place. Entirely artificial for the benefit of others who wanted our money. And nothing has really changed, as far as I can see. Some one always wants our money, and goes to great extremes to get it.

Dunno, I've been wanting to go and find out. I went to the "Art of the Motorcycle" when it was in Chicago. That was beyond belief. The museum here would be a bit more tame. I think we should go there, and often. And if the "Art of the Motorcycle" is still traveling around, we all should see that too.

Voice from the past: Happiness on a motorcycle is measured by whether you keep the suspension set for one, or two. I'm sorry there are so few standards now, it's all sports and cruisers. On a standard the passenger can lean forward, backward, or sit straight up. It's really meant for two. edit: (so is a scooter, but I don't want to hear that!)

Yes, and that's the way it should be. But neither one income in an average family can do it alone anymore. I say we've been taken. You'd think with potentially twice as many people working, that everything would cost less. What do I know, I was good at statistics, not economics. Somehow I think we've been set up to generate more money and spend it. If the world economy changed that much in 50 years, in a natural normal way, we're in trouble. What can I say, I enjoy a good conspiracy theory, even if I have to start it myself.

ChickOn2, you're right. That's what is was all about back in the 50s. But all that changed, didn't it? Or did it? It seems like one income families are gone now. So who screwed us over, and when and how did that happen?

wow, not bad... not bad at all. I'm going to read this again when home later. Thanks for finding it.

I've seen them stay nice and flat to the road, when turning. Different tire, I suppose. Something that works better. Can't remember what the guy said it was. It was a narrow Goodyear Eagle, I think. Custom made rim, widened. As well as everything else on the back end, widened...

new Honda CBR1000RR dang... not quick enough...

Mikunis on a cb450?.... that would be very cool...

The Ducati 848 is a 849 cc (51.8 cu in) L-twin sport bike manufactured by Ducati.

I don't remember any bank or credit union asking for full coverage or proof of. I'm probably ignorant on this, but I bet they were doing personal loans with the title as collateral. Not a vehicle loan. (I don't see the difference, if they hold the title.) I would still have to pay it off. The only time I did it with a bike title, was with a bank near my work place. And they demanded a small insurance policy against the motorcycle loan. Banks sux. And yes, I was probably below the limit of the loan value also, so no full coverage required. But... I've never had it come up on a car, van, or truck either. Dunno... Maybe I just buy cheap junk, tear it up and throw it away, ha.