Bubba

Yup. And my Craftsman (Yeah, yeah….I've heard all the Crapsman jokes) wrenches cost me $29.95 on sale and are still functional after daily home garage use over a 20-30 year period. One of the wrenches in the set was mis-cast, which wouldn't happen with the Mac or Snap-On set, but I returned it for a new one without a hassle. If I did mechanic's work for a living, I might be able to justify the high cost of a stuffed roll-box in the 10s of thousands. You obviously get value out of your high-end tools and that's a good thing.

Cool concept/product, but that is a metric shit-ton of cash for 5 box-end wrenches. I'd feel a lot better about their longevity, too, if they were 6-pt instead of 12-pt….

Here's your clue. HH pads are really meant for high-speed aggressive braking and are way more 'touchy' to initial lever pressure than OEM organic pads. I wouldn't recommend them for typical street riding unless I was planning on railing the backwoods at triple digits. Putting them on the back brake is a recipe for a low-/high-side.

I've watched several videos similar to this over the years. Can't help but think how fast the SHTF!!! Obvious the rider was going way over what a reasonable speed should be given the traffic situation. Presume the motorway had limit of 50 KPH--typical for suburban highways in GB--which is just a few ticks over 30 MPH. He had to be pushing 60+ MPH. My opinion is that there's no way EITHER driver could have avoided that collision at that speed. It's ironic that the within the last few 100 to 150 ft of the bike's journey, there was a large "SLOW" sign painted on the roadway at the beginning of the intersection markings. RIP rider….

Unless you're doing some heavy hauling on a daily or at least weekly basis, a monster turbo-diesel as a DD is kind'a like swatting flies with a 6# sledge. I've had several Fords--an F250 4x4 with the 5.4 gas and my current F150 2WD XtraCab with the 4.6 gas--and they have been nearly flawless over the several hundred thousand miles I've driven them. The newer Triton blocks are pretty stout motors that, with the VVT, put out plenty of real-world torque at decent efficiency. I routinely get 18 MPG in mostly town driving and have seen 21-22 MPG on long interstate trips. A couple of years ago, I hauled a 16' box trailer with 3 bikes and gear to CO and back at 70-80 MPH on I-70 and averaged over 14 MPG. I'd recommend staying with the '09 and later models that had the 6-spd tranny.

LocalRiders crew does a group ride to the Waynesville/BRMC area every Sept. Here's a few links from previous years: 2012: http://www.localriders.com/forums/showpost.php?p=160575&postcount=82 2013 Day 1: http://www.localriders.com/forums/showpost.php?p=160774&postcount=97 2013 Day 2: http://www.localriders.com/forums/showpost.php?p=160775&postcount=98 2013 D1&2 with GPX file links: http://www.localriders.com/forums/showpost.php?p=160786&postcount=101 2013 Return: http://www.localriders.com/forums/showpost.php?p=161075&postcount=192 2014 Day 1&2: http://www.localriders.com/forums/showpost.php?p=164437&postcount=88 I know these don't fill your needs as far as start or finish locales, but there's a whole bunch of good stuff in between. We're leaving Tuesday morning after Labor Day and coming back the following Sunday, so maybe our paths will cross. Have fun!!! Another fun route that's easy to follow is take 70 south from Jonesville, VA all the way to Hot Springs, NC, then 209 south to Waynesville.

This is why women are TOTALLY allowed to do cosplay….and why guys are not.

So… Is a cul-de-sac the same thing as a cod piece?

Welcome to OR!!! Where are located?

With respect to….? I agree with Dustin's assessment about the Pirellis vs the Mich PR3s. Never ridden the 4s. I think the Pirellis are a bit less expensive than the 4s.

I put a set on my FZ1. Easy to mount and didn't require much weight to balance, so high quality carcass. Rode 'em for several thousand miles--around town and on a week-long tour to NC where there was much 'hooning'…. They stuck very well and had good turn-in feel. Good wet weather manners as well. Note that I did switch from the OE 190/50 to a 190/55 and it helped a lot. Also mounted a set on a friend's FZ and he loves them too. He's getting about 6-7K miles use of pretty hard street riding (no track). He's on his second pair and plans on buying again when this set is shot. Bottom line--you can get longer lasting, you can get stickier, you can get cheaper, but these do it all pretty well for a reasonable price.

Apparently, I don't qualify. Although I am old, I am neither distinguished nor a gentleman. That, and I don't want to hack off the front and rear fenders of my WeeStrom so I can call it a 'bobber'…. If anyone is willing to lend me their classic, impeccably restored Ariel Square 4 for this event, please PM me early enough so that I may at least grow a bushy beard.

My guess, too.

I had a buddy who wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, but a big guy, 6'6" 250ish, who espoused the theory that if a little is good, a lot is better; therefore, a metric shit-ton is the cat's meow! He prolly wasn't the best guy to be a gun owner, but hey, it's 'Murica, baby. He bought a double-barreled 10g through private sale, and being a rocket scientist, did several things an educated gun owner would NEVER do: he took the gun out hunting without ever having fired it, he went to his duck blind alone in the late afternoon, and in the biggest-is-best mode, bought heavy-shot magnum loads for it. At some point during the early evening, the flock started to set down on the lake and he jumped up, accidentally tripped BOTH TRIGGERS almost simultaneously. The gun barrel jumped up, hitting him in the forehead and knocked him out cold. He woke up (luckily) a few minutes later with blood running in his eyes, laying in his blind. If he did actually hit the ducks, I presume they sank immediately. He took the gun home and to my knowledge, never fired the thing again. What's even more humorous is that I learned of this because he was telling the story on himself at work. Like I said, 'Murica baby!!!

The part I don't understand is that, on the face of everything I've seen in the news, documentaries and videos, they seem to have a great love of their children--at least the male ones--and their families. How that idea can be perverted into the teaching of hate, intolerance and self-destruction in the name of their god is beyond belief and understanding, at least for a westerner. The only rationale I can up with is that it's based on pure ignorance, and the compelling need to continue to perpetuate ignorance.

BTD: So….weren't those videos all of the same chick singing the same song? I couldn't concentrate well after my eyes rolled back in my head…. Need more drugs.

Yeah, this is why most people (riders) I know call 'em 'cheese graters'…. Please note that the statistics often quoted about the system being safer means that, along the highway right-of-ways that are equipped with the cable barriers, there is a statistically lower injury/death rate per mile than a similar area with guard rails or other system. This DOES NOT MEAN that the cable systems are necessarily safer for the driver initially involved with the barrier contact….merely that the barrier successfully kept the initial vehicle from crossing the median or contacting other vehicles traveling along the freeway. One death--yours--is statistically safer than multiple deaths possibly occurring from a cross-median collision.

Purty sure it's 'cause all the Junkies are meth-cooking crack addicts that support their habits by stealing crotch-rockets and doin' whoolies thru quiet suburban neighborhoods at 180 MPH scaring little old ladies, dogs and white children. Or maybe it's because they're all Democrats….

Welcome. More of the active folks here are located in C-bus and points north, but a few in the Cinti/NKY area. I'll put in a suggestion to check out the AssfaultJunkies.com forum. AFJ is prolly a more active forum for the local area here and has a mix of both street and track riders. Also, check out LocalRiders.com--not anywhere near as large or active a membership, but still a local forum to watch for rides.

The bigger question is why--once you have left Detroit--would you consider going back? . . . . . . . . Ok, ok, my bad. D is a fine city going thru an extended spell of poor management and fiscal decisions, but still….

Bingo! We have a winner. When it comes to the issue of friction vs contact patch, #2 is the biggest reason we have larger tires/larger contact area on heavier bikes and high-HP bikes, and the /\-shaped tires on race bikes. The capabilities of modern bikes have advanced to the point that weight, acceleration and centripetal force would result in the rubber at the tire/road interface deforming from both heat degradation and shear stress such that the safety--and of course, tire life--would be unacceptable. As was posted above, Ammonton's Law states that for a given pressure, the surface area is directly proportional to force, so tire size isn't what 'creates' the larger contact patch; rather, it's the ability to run lower pressure while still accommodating a larger force (weight/acceleration/etc) without encountering other serious issues such as sidewall deformation and heat build-up. Kind'a gives you pause next time you throw your bike into a hard, downhill corner at triple digit speeds….

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