Bubba

Things that make you go "Hmmm..." Does this really fall into the Tools-for-Back-to-School category?

Ah, now I can vote....

I hate this poll.

Not sure how well that'd work. Most snow blowers use skids on the auger housing to set height, so gravel would play hell with that.

Lots of trees and trimming says ZTR over tractor, hands down!!! Whether you buy the owner's or find one on CL/Ebay is a wash. Big depreciation on lawn equipment, so if his unit is in decent shape, I'd start maybe 50% of retail...my top offer would be $4000ish. If he's selling to buy another property, he can take it with him; if he's buying a condo and getting out of the grass cutting mode, he'd be better off selling it to you. He won't be too likely to get more for a 2 yo mower selling it on the open market, and you've got nothing to lose if he says "No!" The walk-behind blower is a cheap and easy way to get rid of snow without having to store large seasonal yard items. Definitely my vote!!! That being said, if you plan on needing more heavy duty yard tools like a front loader, tiller, etc, then a tractor becomes a more viable option.

BTW, I want to state up front that I'm in no way demeaning real estate agents. They work hard for their commission and are generally honest. Obviously, it's in the agent's best interest to bring the deal to a close, and that may not happen if both parties aren't satisfied.

CBB: It's a little confusing. In southern OH, a typical commission for sale of a home is 6-7%. [Note that there are some discount realty firms that charge less--maybe 4% or so--but they are not full-service realty firms.] The commission split is normally: 3-3.5% goes to the listing realty company, the remainder to the listing/selling agent(s). So, even if you arrange the sale with your own agent to help you buy a house, his allegiance is still with the seller. Obviously, if the listing agent is also the selling agent, he gets the entire commission. I'm no expert, but I would guess that you could write a contract stating that you (the buyer) would pay the portion of your agent's commission out-of-pocket and the seller would then realize a savings of a portion of his contract commission, which could be split between buyer and seller. That way, your agent would be legally bound to represent your interests. Finding an agent that comes recommended from a friend would also be preferable, as most agent's build a strong business via referrals....which obviously isn't gonna happen if the seller or buyer end up feeling screwed. This area of the country is one of few in the US that has some very odd "customs" when if comes to selling/buying a home. For instance, it's very common, at least in the southern OH region, for the seller to expect 'free' occupancy for 15-30 days post-closing and is often written into the sellers contract, but almost nowhere else in the country is this done. I think the expectation is slowly dying out, but it's one of the odd regional practices.

Mary and Doc: Don't think this is correct. If you pick a second agent who will do the negotiating for you, he/she is still being paid for by the seller, i.e., the agent is legally bound to work for the seller's best interest. If the BUYER enters into a contract with a realtor/agent--NOT the listing agent--and is paying the fee out of their own pocket, then they're most definitely working for you.

Gotten a lot of pretty positive exposure in the motorcycle trade mags in the last few years. Bottom line, if you're looking for the latest/greatest technology and sophistication, buy something Japanese/German/Italian. That's definitely NOT the buyer the Enfield is gonna attract. It's a good looking--in a classic 60s way--basic motorcycle that'll get you where you want to go in relative comfort and style without seeing your same bike coming and going around every turn. There's a guy who rides one to the Sat morning Fuel&Coffee meet in Cinti and it's a very pretty motorcycle!!! If you're thinking of it as a commuter, it certainly will do the job; if you're thinking of using it two-up touring the Rockies, look elsewhere. But hey, I've worked my way thru a succession of 70s vintage Z1s, a couple of H-D FXRs, a '95 GPZ1100, late model CBR1KRR, FJR, and Zed1K, and my only bike currently, and one that brings me the most fun railing backwoods or riding week-long tours with luggage is a 650 WeeStrom....so what do I know about motorcycles? http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/royal-enfield/2014-royal-enfield-continental-gt-review.html

Based on your sig, I assume you're riding an FZ07. The best--and prolly one of the least expensive--seat mods for Yamaha seats is Eddie (Dirt Road) on the FZ1oa forum. Had him do my '09 FZ1 seat and it was like sitting on a tub of butter. Rode the bike to NC on a 6-day 2000 mile trip and never an issue. My ass was very appreciative!!! Check him out. Linky here: http://www.yamahafz1oa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=117406

Prolly depends on what your definition of a 'LONG' ride is.... If your talking about 4-6 hours of day riding on a weekend, bicycle shorts are gonna make a difference. If you're talking riding 350-450 miles a day for multiple days back-to-back, you're gonna need a new seat. Worst decision I ever made was to ride my CBR1000RR to NC for a 5 day trip on the stock seat. After 2 days, my azz was so tender I had to ride the CBR like a MX bike, standing up. Never again....

There's a kernel of truth/wisdom here, but there are other very simple options that accomplish the same thing as a shorter term loan. As was stated earlier, the accepted age-old mantra of "Buy the most expensive house you can afford" is prolly outdated and no longer wise, given the state of housing price fluctuation. And if you're kind of...ummm...middle age (my condolences--I was there a long time ago)....you really don't want to be carrying a mortgage into retirement, so a 15 or 20 year term is better and saves you a butt-load of cash over the course of the loan. However, once you sign up for a 15 year loan, you're committed to the payments and can get burned if you ever hit a soft spot in your monthly cash flow. We signed up for a 30 year loan--you pay maybe a 0.5% to 1.0% higher interest rate than for a 15 year loan--but we made double principal payments every month. This sounds like a stupid and expensive ploy, but the beauty is that the initial principal amount is very small compared to the interest portion and it cuts an entire month of interest off your final total, doesn't cost you much at all initially, and it shortens the final payment term by nearly as much as if you had opted for the 15 year term. As the loan progresses and the principal gets larger, you can continue to pay double principal or--if money is tight--only pay your normal monthly payment until your cash flow is adequate again.

Easily doable. However, gearing is only one of the issues with trying to use a sport bike as a tourer, tho. Seat comfort, cramped riding position, and wind protection are all a compromise. Only real issue with re-gearing is that most modern bikes drive the speedo off the transmission, so your speedometer will be inaccurate (if you gear down, indicated MPH will be lower than actual MPH) by whatever percentage you change the final ratio, i.e., going from a 15/45 (r=0.333) to a 16/44 (r=0.3636) results in a about 9% overdrive. Prolly not QUITE as bad as it sounds because a typical factory speedo calibration is usually about 2-3% high. To add to the above, you need to keep the total number of teeth on the final drive pretty close to the stock number of teeth or you'll need to cut or add chain links to alter the length. +/- one or two teeth shouldn't be a problem, but three or more is not likely to work without mods.

Dude, I've been a river rat since I was like 5. BOATS DO NOT FLOAT WITHOUT BEER ONBOARD!!!

Not gonna do the poll 'cause polls are meaningless. Do what you think is right and cool 'cause it's your bike and, well....fuc& everybody else and what they think. On a road bike, I seriously doubt that fork gaiters will make a damn bit of difference in the longevity of your fork seals. IMHO, fork gaiters are for MX and DS bikes. Go with your first thought. If you DO decide to go with gaiters, get the pink ones....

^^^ Reader's Digest Version ^^^ Midwest roads = crap!!!

Ireland: Oh no!!! Man, that looks like a hard hit...and with your new bike. That REALLY sux. Guys, Ireland has ridden with the southern OH crew--a mix of OR and LR guys--on a few of our NKY rides. Newer rider with good skills and the right attitude to ride safely. He was on one of Dice's NKY rides a couple of years ago when Ken--another OR rider--went down in a scuffle with a dog on his classic Zed1K. So sorry to see the carnage. I'm guessing that if you did walk away from that with only a few scrapes yesterday, you're feeling many more places that hurt today. When you feel up to posting an update, let us know how things turn out, dude.

Damn Joe, that bike is TOO PRETTY TO RIDE!!! Why don't you just bring it over and store it in my garage. I promise I'll keep it warm and clean and won't ride it....much.

Looks like the trails were pretty dry. Nice ride!!! What tires are you running? Shinko 804/805? Contis? BTW, your video was fine, but I could do without the "Rocky" music score. Made me feel like I should jump up and run 13.1 miles....

Ouch!!! Had a buddy that I used to do a lot of construction with (back in my younger days....) do the exact same thing. On a brighter, when you give the middle finger salute to a deserving soul, it'll be all the more dramatic.

Nope. The Cafe/Bobber genre is still hot, at least here in Cincinnati; it'll sell to somebody who wants to have THAT look without the hassle of doing the work. You might think about posting it on some of the sites that are more oriented to the bobber/scooter/hipster (gawd, I hate that word!) crowd. Try posting on the AFJ site; there are few folks there that might be looking for a hooligan bike. Not MY cup o' tea....I'm old and enjoy the luxury of a front and rear fender and definitely NOT big on the loud pipe thing, but as a short-mileage-sunny-day scoot, it's prolly fine. I do like the old school look of finned jugs, carbs and the simplicity of air/oil cooling. GLWS!

My take? The summer is already starting to wane. Those looking for bikes for this season have mostly bought already. The other problem is that--while you've made some cool mods to the bike--most of the work (cosmetics) that you've done was done to please you and your sense of aesthetics. Unfortunately, unless you find a buyer that thinks exactly like you or just happens to have the same taste in bikes, what you're done is either meaningless or even detrimental to the majority of potential buyers and thus, your mods have severely limited your market size. If you don't have to sell and like the bike, hold on to it and ride it for the fall, store it for the winter, and then roll it out next spring in late March/early April. As Tpoppa mentioned, that's when spur-of-the-moment purchases of motorcycles with tax refund money burning a hole in the pocket usually takes place.

Just a note for those considering... I bought the same pants several years ago and have ridden in them many times. These are constructed of VERY HEAVY material and quite hot for any temps over about 70 deg. Also note that, while the title states "Waterproof", they are listed as "water-resistant" in the text description, which is prolly more accurate. As for price, they are well built and a good value for the money and make a great 3-season pant--fall/winter/spring--but not for summer.

Keep the high pressure spray away from critical parts like wheel bearings, hubs, steering head bearings, electrical connectors, instrument panel. I'd rather ride a bike that looked like it hadn't been recently detailed than a showroom clean bike with dry/rusty/gritty bearings and sketchy electrical problems....