Bubba

Unfortunately, too broad a question. The answer could be every thing from a 225# WR250 to 650# GS1200 with panniers for two-up riding. Or from a $1500 DRZ400 to a $25,000 Ducati Multistrada S Touring....or a BMW S1000XR. If I was looking to do some mixed exploring on sketchy pavement and non-technical trail riding, I'd look at the Suzuki DL650...Oh wait, I already got one! Reliable as a 24 oz framing hammer, only just a bit heavier. But there's Tigers, a variety of KTM models, Yamaha Tenere, Honda Trans-Alp....the list goes on. Bike weight and tires are the biggest determinant--beyond basic riding skills--that will limit your exploring on gravel. Talk to Danimal. He seems to love the new Chinese DS bike he bought and he's put a metric shit-ton of miles on it without much drama.

Hold on....I'm trying to work up a good "Do I give a flying fuck" on this one.... ... ... ... Nope. Sorry. Can't do it. I'll try harder next time. Should'a kept this one locked.

Looked at some of the first video--the important parts--and just a bit of the second, mostly because I was tired of the whiney fucking "Californication" of the participants. My take... Moto-Dude, whose riding skillz leave a universe of possibilities for improvement, was a) going too way too fast for his skill set (I'm thinking 35 would be pushing it for him), b) doing everything on his bike BUT paying attention to his riding and the environment around him, and c) target fixated on "OHFUCKTHATREALLYBIGTRUCK" in what was an almost non-existent sweeping corner. As for the excuse of the wind blowing him into the opposite lane, there is a fairly high embankment on his right--where the wind would have to be coming from to push him left--that would keep +90% of the wind, gusting or not, from acting on his bike. Oh, let's not mention that the rider should be able to stay in his own lane in spite of any cross wind he might experience. Bottom line, he sucks as a rider and should definitely stay off two wheels and stick to his motorized wheelchair if he desires to live a long and happy life. Guess I'm glad he lived and hope he learned a few lessons along the way....just hope he stays west of the Mississippi.

Madcat: Yup. I suspect that none of the posters on OR are among the "truly poor" if they are members of the riding community. The kind of financial problems being discussed here are mostly a first-world problem!

Paul Farrell's "Lazy Portfolios": https://web.archive.org/web/20150516010906/http://www.marketwatch.com/lazyportfolio

Madcat: If you have equity in your home, you can take a line-of-credit loan out to purchase depreciable items like cars, usually at lower interest rate than a personal loan for a used car, and the interest is deductible from your taxes in the same way your mortgage interest is. The great danger is that, if you are unable to make the payments at any point, they take your house instead of simply repossessing your auto. Never overextend your income:debt ratio!!!

Here's the rub--every investment caution starts with the same disclaimer: "Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns." That being said, your age makes a huge difference on how critical your choices of investment type become. If you're under 40 and looking at another 20+ years of investing, it's hard to go wrong with any of the low-cost US-based index funds from Vanguard or Fidelity. Something as simple as the Total Market Index Fund (VTSAX) will track the performance of the US economy. There are more sophisticated but relatively simple portfolios that you can put together using a variety of low-cost funds that include growth and value stocks, large-/mid-/small-cap stocks, international stocks based in Europe, Asia, and developing countries. Google 'lazy portfolios' to find some recommendations. I'll give my EXTREMELY AMATEURISH investor's view of what MAY HAPPEN over the next 10-20 years, with the disclaimer that my crystal ball doesn't work any better than the charlatan selling fortunes at the county carnival. Right now, the US market is nearly at an all time high as far as valuation is concerned. In addition, interest rates worldwide are at an all-time low, with some countries--Japan, for instance--holding rates in the negative range (I can't even imagine how this works!). What that means to me is that it's an expensive time to buy into any market category--stocks or bonds--and it's likely that many categories will underperform their long-term historic performance for a period of 5-20 years. I believe personal tax rates will go up significantly over the next several decades out of necessity based on the type of socialist society the US is trending towards. I think that undeveloped markets like Asia and South America, with literally billions of potential new consumers, will offer greater opportunity for long-term growth vs the relatively mature markets of the US and the EU, but you better be willing to endure a long/bumpy/scary ride over the next couple of decades. And that leaves the the only reasonable retirement solution as "save more than you think you'll need" and hope for the best. Some light reading from one of the regular columnists on MarketWatch.com: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/8-lessons-from-80-years-of-market-history-2014-11-19#:vI5xcEANdDqzPA http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-emotional-and-psychological-risks-of-investing-2016-03-30#:ct1TSAcS0rqzPA

Another nice bit of info would be the born-on date...

C14: The old axiom about maxing out your mortgage debt was predicated on the belief that house prices would steadily increase throughout the many years of ownership. Worked OK for most people from the 50s thru the late 90s, but greed and speculation and the practice of using equity as a ready source of income supplementation did away with that in the 2000s. No idea where prices will go for the next 50 years, but sure wouldn't want to be mortgaged to the heiny when the SHTF....

Old people are a pain in the ass...now get off my damn lawn! F'in whippersnapper....

Well ef'it. That didn't work...

Dude: I tried to attach a pic and couldn't figger out the new format for doing so. Gimme a clue and I'll indulge you. I can copy and paste the link from PB, but I tried that once and it didn't work. Senility must be creeping up faster than I thought! LOL

Tough to tabulate the meaning of poll responses from those of us who don't fit the standard guidelines. I'm retired, so no steady income. I live on the quarterly dividends from my stock holdings, which gives me enough money to live on comfortably and do what I want...short of the dream of the yacht on the Riviera. With no vehicle or personal loans outstanding and a paid-off mortgage, expenses are pretty minimal. I managed to save for a nice retirement even though I never earned more than $60K a year, mostly because I've always lived pretty basic and started investing in the market in my 20s: never had cable or sat TV (still don't!), always drove used cars, paid cash for affordable toys, and didn't spend a lot on the latest/greatest tech stuff. To this day, I use a burner phone that costs me $100/year. What's odd is that I THOUGHT I WANTED all that stuff at the time, but looking back over the last 40 years, I can tell you that I don't miss not having it. I'm in the process over the next 5 years of divesting some of my stock and diversifying into safer and less volatile investments, aiming for about a 60:40 to 50:50 blend; I typically do one large sale of stock late in the year, keeping my MAGI under the bracket bump to 20% for LTCG income. So at any one time over a year, I may have as much as $150K-200K in my savings (prior to redirecting the funds from the sale) to right now, where I'm down to under $4000 total cash and awaiting the next payment of quarterly dividends from my brokerage account. Not collecting SS yet and prolly won't until I reach 70. But I did just buy a sweet '12 KTM 990 SMT that brings out the hoonigan in me--proof that 65 year old guys DO have fun!!!

Sounds more like a bad start capacitor on the motor to me. If the end caps on the capacitor are bulging slightly, that's a pretty good sign. Not that expensive to replace.

Hmmm....full moon last night?

If you've been inside a carb once or twice, no reason to get it professionally done. Get an exploded fiche diagram of the parts and how they go together. Keep track of the hard and 'soft' parts in separate bags for each carb. If possible, try to NOT disassemble the carb bodies from each other and from the carb rack; you'll have a much easier time putting everything back together and syncing the linkages. (I got this advice from an old racer/mechanic at Western Hills Honda, and I figure he knows more than me.) A rebuild kit shouldn't be too much--maybe $25-30 each carb--unless you need to replace the diaphragms (if they're CV carbs) as these typically don't come with the rebuild kit. Pine Sol makes a great soak for the metal parts, and try to find a small ultrasonic bath to clean the parts like the jets with very fine orifices. Depending on how many miles are on the bike, the main jet needles may be worn from vibration--they're soft metal--and those and the main needle seat will need replacing. The pilot jets (small ones) are more crucial to smooth running than you may think; they are critical for fueling response at lower RPMs and to throttle input up to about 1/4 throttle, so make sure they are perfectly clean. Another fairly important tuning tip is to ensure the fuel level in the bowl is set correctly. You'll need to bend the tang on the float than controls fuel shot-off to get this set correctly. Fuel level in the bowl is typically set to just below the lip of the bowl, but can vary based on engine model and aftermarket tune, i.e. air box and exhaust mods.

Not an uncommon problem in wet clutch assemblies that have sat for a long time. Had the same issue with an old Z1A that was thrown down the road and had been sitting in the back of a friend's garage for a decade or more. The clutch plates basically freeze together--old thick oil, rust, oxidation--and the release springs don't have enough pressure to force them apart. Once I got the motor running, I actually had to get the bike rolling and drop it into 1st and then take it up the street banging shifts thru 2-3-4-5 under power while holding the clutch lever in. It eventually came free and worked flawlessly from then on. If that doesn't work, you'll have to pull the plates and either soak 'em to loosen them or replace with new. Also, if you're not familiar with the tranny in Kaws, they all have a 1st-2nd lockout--a simple spring-loaded ball detent--that prevents the shift forks from selecting 2nd gear from neutral unless the bike is moving.

Don't want to litter the thread with repetitive posts, but I gotta throw in another big thumbs-up for the Angel GTs. Had 'em on my FZ1 and loved 'em. Great feel in both dry and wet and aggressive riding in the twisties in NKY. I rode the bike on back roads to TN/NC/GA and railed the mountains with loaded bags. Figure if you're a decent rider who likes to play in the corners, you'll get about 6-7K miles on the rear, maybe 7-9K on the front. I had the PR3s on my FJR and although they were OK and seemed to give decent mileage, I never felt as comfortable on the Mich as on the Pirellis. Never heard anything bad--either on-line reviews or word-of-mouth--about the GTs.

Wait....you mean you passed up the opportunity to see the 8000# prairie dog? There is a lot of flat and straight there. Pretty sure you could catnap your way across Kansas while doing 80+ on the x-way and still arrive safely at the CO border.

Awwwright!!! Another buddy I can smooze a trailer off of....Shweeeet.

With sincere apologies to those who adeptly ride H-Ds or cruisers...yes, I realize this is stereotyping, but there is a certain contingent of riders who perpetuate this image. Mea culpa.... Just saw this on ADVR. Has all the makings for a catastrophe of epic proportions. I'm guessing they'll also set the record for the most number of wrecks and Medivac flights on the same day!!! My advice? Get there early and bring a lawn chair. Make sure you're sitting on the inside of the curve... Saturday, May 21st , 2016 A WORLD RECORD attempt of the LARGEST GROUP of Harley-Davidson motorcycles on The DRAGON, 318 CURVES in 11 MILES The group will leave the Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson Outpost location, US 129 Dragon, and ride to Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort $10.00 Per Bike Registration at 11AM Run leaves at 2PM https://www.facebook.com/events/180519568974013/ FYI. Current record is 2404.

C'mon guys. Give him a break. This isn't an 800 HP pro-mod fire-breathin' Suzuki he's working on...it's a 305 cc twin producing maybe 30 HP on the high side. That oil should work fine. The issue of using automotive oil comes from the friction-reducing agents in modern oil--it doesn't play well with the wet clutches in a motorcycle, causing slippage. However, those oils contain molybdenum and are always labeled "Energy Saving" on the package, and what you bought isn't one of those. And the caution against using synthetic oil isn't valid, either, as most modern high HP bikes recommend it; however, if you change oil at least every 6 months or 5000 miles, you don't need the pricey stuff. As for your valve check, if all you did was check the clearance and you didn't adjust anything, then you haven't hurt anything. Whatever noise you're hearing was there before you did the work and you're simply hyper-vigilant from concern at this point. When you do make a valve adjustment, you typically want to insert the feeler that results in only a slight drag and not force it. You also must have the cylinder you're checking at top dead center (TDC) so the cam lobes are pointing away from valve bucket. You want the clearance ideally to be in the middle of the range, but looser is always better than too tight, as the valve clearance gets smaller/tighter over time from the valve seats wearing and recessing into the head. It does sound like you want to learn and you'd prolly benefit from finding someone local to you who has some wrenching skills to oversee your work at first. Good luck!

If you're not inseam challenged, don't overlook the DL650 'Wee' Strom. They make excellent all-round bikes for everything from grocery haulers to backroad hooners to long-mileage touring rigs. They require a little set-up work upgrading the stock suspension--especially if you weigh in as a heavyweight--to make them a great handling bike, but you won't find an uglier, more beloved motorcycle anywhere that has the reputation of being about as reliable as a 24 oz framing hammer. I've had mine for over 4 years and put 40K miles on it without a single glitch.

FYI, for whoever correctly warned about using intake cleaning products in the Eco-Boost engines: http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2014/12/induction-service-cleaners-can-damage-ford-ecoboost-engines.html This is something I did not know. Makes sense, tho. I got a hunch that owners of the latest cutting edge DI engines--boosted or not--will be seeing problems like this as the mileage rolls up. The additives in top-tier fuel for cleaning valve deposits work well on carbed and MPFI engines, but not so well on the DI motors.

They're usually located inconveniently right behind and underneath the muffler bearings. Damn design engineers! Definitely a dealer-only service item.