Bubba

Yes. This is why you see most of the top-level Moto-GP racers weighing >250 lbs--to increase traction. OK….JK. Pretty sure traction is a function of the dynamic forces between the contact patch and the road. The contact patch is function of force vectors pushing the rubber to the pavement and tire pressure. So in the simplest terms, the greater the force, the larger the contact patch and the lower the pressure, the larger the contact patch and thus, the greater the traction. Problem with your question is that the actual coefficient of friction at the tire/pavement interface isn't affected that much by the weight of the bike/rider. In a turn, the larger forces are created by centripedal force, which are greater for a large mass (heavier bike/rider) than a lighter one. Just as a lighter car can out corner a heavier one--given that they have similar tires--so a lighter bike can out corner a heavier one. You have to think of the force vs CoF vectors involved….and I'm far too lazy an SOB to try to draw something and post it here. You'll have to go find it on the interwebz for yourself. The same is true for straight-line acceleration, i.e., drag races--you get better traction with greater weight transfer to the rear wheels, but the extra mass you must accelerate by adding weight over the drive wheels more than diminishes the benefit you gain from the added traction.

I think they have really nice lines. They're a half-way compromise between a full-size live-aboard, which tend to be rather portly amidships and slow to sail, and a racing hull, which are much more lively but with no real useable space below decks. The shape kind of reminds me of a pregnant cat, but his boat--fully equipped and stocked for a crew of 4-5 people--was able to achieve better than 7 knots on a comfortable tack with decent wind. As I recall, he was carrying about 2 tons of lead ballast in the keel, too. With boats like these, regular maintenance is EVERYTHING, and I'd try really hard to find a fresh-water boat.

Years ago, I crewed for a guy who sailed his 42' Tartan out of Port Clinton. Made quite a few week- to two-week trips on the Great Lakes into the North Channel. Work during the day pulling sheets and navigating, sleep aboard at night, and take the GH bus home when he didn't need me anymore. Hauling up into the small ports each night and walking to the small waterfront cafes is definitely an idyllic life. Had quite a few great times on Mackinaw Island during the race weekends. Takes some serious cubic cash to own and maintain a boat like that, tho.

Just a heads up. Sounds like you've been evaluated by a physician, but keep an ey on your leg for tightness and painful swelling. Had a buddy wreck his MX bike and nearly died from a leg clot. See link here: http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/compartment-syndrome-causes-treatments

Don't disagree that pre-planning early in your children's life for education expenses makes sense. However, there should also be some serious sacrifice on the part of the student as well. I worked full-time during summers to save money for tuition, and part-time during the school year to off-set living expenses. And yeah, I had help from my parents, thankfully. Most financial planners today will tell you it's a poor idea to incur heavy debt to fund a child's college education at the risk to one's financial security in retirement.

Josh: Not sure anyone here is espousing going thru life with only a HS education, although there are many trade positions that are a fine alternative to college if that's where your talents and interests lie. What I believe most here are posting is that it doesn't make a lot of financial sense to be so quick to sign up for $100K+ of what are essentially interest-deferred installment loans without researching what the pay-off will eventually cost and understanding what sacrifices must be made in the short-term--5 to 10 years post-college--to finish your degree program. It isn't any different than those who recently (mid-2000s era) signed up for interest-only variable mortgages on houses they really couldn't afford in the belief that their home value would continue to grow at 10-30% each year, and then found themselves 'under water' to the tune of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars only to shrug their shoulders and ask for the taxpayer to bail them out. Seems to me that if you're smart enough to go to college, you ought'a be able to do at least a simple analysis of the risk-reward equation…. Reader's Digest version: I don't hear too many people complaining about receiving the loans while they attend college. I do hear a lot of complaining once they graduate and suddenly say: "Damn, I didn't know I was gonna have to pay THIS MUCH every month!" That's the big disconnect I see….

Ummm. It was a fish... . . . . . …but, sorry for your loss... . . . . . …I guess. . . . . . Der.

I wouldn't worry about it as long it's simply a puncture and not a tear. It'll be fine for street riding, even aggressively. Probably wouldn't take the tire to the track and pull 160+ on the backstretch, but for everyday riding, you'll be OK. Save your money and spend it on beer!!!

Just 'cause you're smart enough to memorize chit from a text book doesn't mean you're 'smart' enough to be financially savvy. Whole lotta folks in the same boat these days. Whole house carpet--no payments for 1 year? Sign me up. 90 days--same as cash? Hell yeah! Buy here--pay here--no credit check? What could possibly go wrong? Re-fi my home mortgage for 110% of the market value? It's a no-brainer. Instant gratification and repay with tomorrow's dollars. Hmmm. Kind'a like the gub'mint. Free medical. Free rent. Free food stamps. Free unlimited unemployment payments. Money grows on trees. Ain't nobody got time fo' dat. God help our chilluns. They are so fucked….

Sounds like you encountered a bad apple, alright. The tip-off SHOULD'A been when the shop owner revealed to you that he's shady enough to want to dishonestly screw PayPal out of their seller's fee. I've had some seller's request that I mark the transaction as 'GIFT' and that's at the point I said "Nevermind….Thanks for your time….Good bye." Only way I do that is if the seller is personal friend or acquaintance and I know who I'm dealing with. Sorry for your inconvenience, but chalk it up as another important life lesson learned. Hope you get satisfaction with the refund request. And BTW, thanks for 'steakhouse' parable. Now I'm hungry, and it's only 8 o'clock in the morning….

Everything I read on the FZO1A board suggests that the weld issue was in the early Gen-II's, pretty rare, and had been resolved by '08. http://www.yamahafz1oa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69625

That looks like a pretty good price if it's a clean title, but not one to kill yourself chasing. As I said earlier, there ain't a lot of love for the nekkids. Joe's (Scuba) '10 Z1000 http://ohioriders.net/index.php?/topic/105284-fs-2010-kawasaki-z1000/ was on this board for a couple of months at $5500, and I had my '09 FZ1 http://ohioriders.net/index.php?/topic/102440-2009-yamaha-fz1-graniteblk-75k-mi-new-pirellis-lots-of-aftermarket-goodies/ with just 7K miles and more aftermarket extras than the one listed above for sale here and a few other forums for $4795 late last year and it took me almost 6 months to sell it to a guy in L-ville. They are both great bikes for the price. Good luck in your search!!!

Understand. The problem you describe can happen even with gear that fits well. Any two-piece riding suit, even if it's zipped together, can gap in a hard sliding spill. Only way around that is a onesie, and while they're safer than a two-piece, they aren't very practical around town when you're doing stuff off the bike. If you've got the cubic cash to burn, buy yourself a good suit that provides the protection you need/want, then sell you stuff on CL if possible to recoup some bucks. If you budget is tight but you want to be safer, start with some 'cheap' but pretty effective hard guards, some compression shorts and a pressure suit to wear under your street clothes. Then treat yourself to a high-end suit when you reach your goal. Check out these: http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/fox-racing-titan-race-kneeshin-guards http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/shift-enforcer-elbow-guards http://www.revzilla.com/motocross/troy-lee-bp-4600-hot-weather-armored-shorts http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/fox-racing-turbo-belt-1

Sounds like your gear is already to the point of being too big for safety, but man, it's not like going out and buying a cheap pair of pants and a t-shirt to fit you in the interim while you continue with your weight-loss program. I sometimes wear jeans depending on where I'm going, and I always wear a pair of MX-style knee/shin guards underneath for protection. You can pick up a set from Iron Pony or online for between $10 and $20. I'd also pick up a set of the hard plastic arm/elbow guards as well. You could either leave your built-in pads in the gear or maybe more comfortably, take the gear pads out and just go with the MX guards. That should hold you until reach your weight goal and are ready to spring for new gear. OH, BTW, congrats on working your way to healthy!!!

They love to lighten the load when they take off in a big hurry. If they ever do 'paint' you with the full dump, you'll wish you WERE DEAD!!! BTW, nice pic of the front of the bike. Sooo…..do you end up having nightmares and visions of corpses if you use the feathers from a turkey vulture to make a dream catcher?

Definitely potential for death--yours! There's a thread on ADVRider forum about a rider who was killed hitting a vulture at speed. Even hitting a bird at 50-70 MPH leaves a mark right thru gear.

Brand new (leftover) 2012 FZ1 for sale in Indy: $7999 http://www.dreyermotorsports.com/2012-Yamaha-FZ1-FZS10BW-inventory.htm?id=422479&used=1&fm=2&vin=JYARN17E9CA008561

Had an FZ1 for a couple of years. Liked it pretty well. Comfortable riding position, torque curve you can surf all day in one or two gears. Motor is pretty much bullet-proof. Downsides were lousy seat (if you plan on riding any longer than a 150 miles or a couple of hours at a time) and so-so suspension. Look closely at some years of the early Gen IIs ('06-'07 I think) as there was a batch of bad frame welds that tended to crack over time. I also wasn't in love with the stock bar and would have liked to change it out for a mid-rise ATV bar or similar, but it would have required changing the cables/brake lines. Seat is an easy fix by throwing a couple of hundred dollars at Corbin, Sargeant or Eddie (Dirtroad) on the FZO1A forum. For longer touring, I added a taller Yamaha Touring screen with a laminar lip and soft luggage. When its time to change tires, I recommend going from the stock 190/50 to a 190/55 for better turn-in and slightly quicker handling. The nice thing for you as a buyer is that there seems to little love for the naked liter bikes. I include the FZ1 and Z1000 in this category. They drop in value pretty quickly and can be had for a thousand or two less than the R1s and ZX10s of comparable year.

There are many social policies across much of central Europe that seem to be more 'progressive' than those in the US. One thing often overlooked by people who espouse such a system is that those supposedly 'free' benefits, like education, health insurance, 6 weeks paid vacation, 1 year paid maternity leave for both spouses, are paid for by taxation at rates of 50% to 70% of wages. Be careful what you ask for--you just may get it!!!

WRONG!!! I would strongly urge you to re-think this decision thru many times before embarking on this course. It's almost NEVER a good idea to cash in your 401-K or IRA early to pay a current debt. S'matter of fact, read enough financial advice columns and they'll give you quite a few reasons why this is universally a terrible idea….if you look 25 or 30 years down the road. My advice--and its free, so judge its value on its own merit--is that its always more sensible IN THE LONG RUN to do anything else, including starving yourself and eating mac&cheese, canceling your cable, your cell service, your personal trainer, your night with boys/girls, than cashing in your tax-deferred retirement accounts early. Do EVERYTHING you can to reduce your monthly cash expenditures and aggressively pay your loans off using your free cash flow. Anything else and you're jeopardizing your future security.

I have some sympathy for people who took out loans for student debt, but most never even bothered to ask what the future payments would be on the balance or how it would be repaid. Problem as I understand it is that its akin to buying a house and then being allowed to live to live in it for 4-6 years for free without ever making a payment, and then being 'shocked' when the monthly payment--along with the deferred interest--comes due finally. I've got several friends who are into debt for between $50-100K of both government and private loans, with absolutely no way of ever paying the balance off. IMHO, the system was far too lenient in making loans to students for anything they wanted without ever asking for a reality check from the debtors. At the same time, I never cease to be amazed at just how naive many young folks are about going into debt, whether it be student loans or CC debt or vehicle loans, without having any concept of just what they're signing on for. Seems to me I saw a number of somewhere between $1 and $2 trillion dollars of unsecured student debt outstanding in the US. Definitely the next 'housing crisis'….

Wow!!! Thanks a ton, Ben. While my luck's running, maybe I should pop for a Lotto tik as well. PM'd you back.

Count me in, too!!! Already got reservations at a campground and was planning on picking up tix at the gate Sat morning. Nice giveaway!!!

Tomorrow (7/15) at the Comet….. Next week, July 15th, the Star Motrocycle Bolt Tour will be stopping by the Comet for Two Wheel Tuesday... They'll be bringing some Bolts, Some Swag and The Star Motorcycle Girls and Boys. Come down check out their bikes, swag and enter a contest to win an Alice in Chains autographed Geee Tar Good clean fun for the whole familiy Date: July 15th Time: Live Hours: 6pm-9pm Load-In: 4:30pm/5pm

NKY? Weather looks pretty primo for Tues-Wed-Thur-Fri coming up….