Bubba

Increasing the pre-load on the rear will make a slight change in the ride height and should reduce the rake and trail slightly as well. This would make the bike turn in a little better, but I wouldn't think it would change steering feel that dramatically. Get a jack under the motor and lift the front forks off the ground and push the bars left/right. If there is appreciable drag on the bars, it's time to adjust the steering head tension or change the the SH bearings. Check to make sure the cables for the controls--brake, throttle, clutch, wiring--aren't binding or hanging up where they go thru the frame/triple trees.

Heart attack on a plate!!! Three major food groups of my food pyramid: sodium, alcohol and grease.

We've matured? ….and yeah, that IS a question.

Well, based on some of the stuff on any of the MC forums around here, esp in the winter, prolly depends on what you consider 'drama'…. Guess some folks just seem to have more exciting lives than the average Joe.

Welcome to Notcalifornia!!! You got here just in time to see what spring is like: cold, hot, rainy, cold, dreary, sunny….well, you get the idea. Not sure where you're located (presume C-bus) but if you get a chance, wander south to the Cinti/NKY area for some great twisties. Won't make you stop pining for California roads, but will take some of the sting out of trading the west coast for the midwest. And for more SW OH riding opportunities, join the Assfault Junkies forum (younger, more active crowd, race-oriented, some occasional unnecessary drama???) or LocalRiders forum (older, less active forum, day rides and week tours). [says to self: "Why do I always note that LRs are 'older'? Makes us sound slow and boring."]

Thanks to Dice for putting in the work to get this rolling every spring. We had a great turnout in the morning--13 bikes with members from LR, AFJ, and an OR rider who came down from Dayton! The day didn't start auspiciously, with a farm dog making an illegal cut-block tackle on one of the mid-pack riders early in the ride on 824/Racetrack Lane. Dog fared far better than the rider, who high-sided when he hit the dog, throwing him and his pristine Z1000 down the road. Injuries weren't life-threatening, but he's gonna feel like he pulled a flying Superman impression this morning…. After cleaning up the body and bike parts and waving adieu to the po-po and ambulance and dropping a few riders to look after the bike, nine of us rolled south to Willow and took the short route to Williamstown across 22 to meet up with other riders at the Red Carpet restaurant--World's Best Burger!!! We had to endure a rolling road block in the form of a red crew cab pickup that made sure we did at least 10 under the limit all the way from Falmouth to the Williamstown city limit. I believe he was taking it on as his personal mission to ensure we obeyed the speed limit and had zero fun on 22. We picked up two more riders after lunch and continued south and west, heading down 227 to Stamping Ground. Had a great run and did the entire length without being blocked by any red pickup drivers. More back roads on the return to our last gas stop at about 200 miles back in Falmouth again, where 5 riders headed east for home and the others rolled on toward Rabbit Hash. We dropped two off in Dry Ridge as they rode 75 north toward home and just Dice, Chris Nicoloff--aboard his brand new 2012 Pikes Peak edition Multistrada--and I rolled to the Hash. I did take a picture of his bike and would'a posted it except that it didn't turn out from the drool on the lens…. All in all, a fairly successful day with no loss of life and minimal carnage. I got about 320 miles door-to-door, and I can feel it in my shoulders today. Good riding!

Bumping this up for Rob. I know that a lot of OR peeps are in Dayton, C-bus and points north, so that'd be lots of miles to ride just to get to/from the route. If you live in the SW portion of OH or SE IN (but then I suppose you would be an IR peep???) and have the day free for being irresponsible, it promises to be a fun route with LOTS of twisty smooth roads. Think WV/TN/NC/GA only with smaller hill'n'valleys and closer to home. I got in 240 yesterday in the same area and its a great ride!!!

Love the new Ninja 1K. Looks like it would make a killer ST machine. Lately tho, I've been jonesin' for a late model Multistrada. Same idea as my WeeStrom, but more HP with less weight and orders-of-magnitude better suspension. There are several on local CL recently--none of them screaming deals--and I just haven't been able to bring myself to pony up the cash for a bike that has known QC issues like tank swelling, rear brake, and electronic glitches in the new e-suspension. But in a perfect world, where I had unlimited funds and garage space…...

Comet is a little dive bar in Northside on Hamilton Ave just above Knowlton's corner. Every Tuesday night is bike night, all year long. Great burritos and beer selection. Great service??? ….not so much. Go for the crowd. Bar service is so slow you won't have to worry about riding home buzzed. A thread from ADVR: "I went on Yelp to see the reviews, and they were all over the place. Great burritos, terrible burritos, welcoming staff, unfriendly staff, great music, lousy music. One person even said "no matter what they say, it's not even in Northside" The reviews were funny, worth reading. Sounds like a hippie, hipster, dive, old man's, blue collar, white collar sort of place. One thing they all agreed on, fabulous beer selection. That's enough to get me there." http://advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23855200&postcount=2248

Welcome to the riding scene! It sounds like you might be a west-sider in Cinti--which is the best side, of course! Shoot me a PM when the weather cooperates and you're ready to ride. I'm on the westside, too, and I'd be glad to show you around some of the best roads in the area.

Warning: Threadjack! Joe: DON'T DO IT!!! Stay away from guys who make their living with sharp knives. It's far more acceptable in society nowadays to simple walk like a cripple and medicate with good drugs.

Welcome to a life-long addiction! There's probably more people here on OR that are Cbus-based or farther north, but a small crew based in Cinti. Riding with a group can be a mixed blessing. Ride your own pace and NEVER feel pressure to keep up to a pace you're not comfortable with. You'll quickly find people that your riding style blends well with and those are the ones to hang with. Some other forums that are more geographically located in Cinti are the Assfault Junkies and LocalRiders. AFJ is a younger, pretty active group that has quite a few track addicts, a few squids, and some newbs as well. There seems to be some hard feelings on OR toward the Junkie clan, but it's more representative of the way the group rode years ago; they've toned down the insanity quite a bit over the last few years. Some very good riders and always an active ride list several times a week during the season. Typically ride in NKY on the weekends and a regular bike night gathering on Wed on the east side. LocalRiders is an older (???) much smaller group with a less active membership than AFJ, but those that ride are very experienced and have a wealth of knowledge about routes that follow the twisty ways around NKY and beyond. Watch for posted rides--they'll take you on some awesome roads! I presume you're familiar with the QSL Bike nights at Milford and Colerain--mostly pirate gatherings, but OK to hit once in awhile to be immersed in chrome, loud pipes and leather gear with tassels…. EuroBike night is in downtown Milford the last Tues of every month from 5ish till dark, and the Comet on Hamilton in Northside has Bike night every Tuesday eve--great burritos and an eclectic selection of micro-brews.

Mmmm, pretty sure we've already established he's in it for the money.

TP: I'm pretty sure that most if not all of the riders I roll with would ALWAYS stop and assist in an accident situation. That being said, I hope you know I'll DEFINITELY DRAW THE LINE at mouth-to-mouth resuscitation…. …unless you don't mind tongue.

Hey, if he's a newb, I can offer to pull a couple of plug wires for ya and he'll never know the difference. After he has a year of riding under his belt, you can tip him off and return it to full HP. LOL As for CL, I just spent the last couple/three weeks lurking in the Auto4sale section trying to find a reasonably safe and clean car for my grandson to use to get to/from his first job. After a dozen or so 'encounters' with the under-belly of society, I was ready to blow my brains out. The used car market has still not recovered from Obama's CashForClunkers program….

OK, gonna bump this up one last time before spring hits and I resort to dealing with the mouth-breathing, nose-picking retards that CraigsList seems to bring out. Just how many broken X-Box systems and cheap RC cars do I need to trade for until I get my money out of them? I hate sounding desperate, but I kind'a hate to see it just sit in the corner of the garage collecting dust. 'Course, if it doesn't sell, I guess I'll be FORCED to simply ride it again this summer. Hey, there are worse fates to befall a man….

N'mind. Got what I need from Goggle. Rims won't fit my car. FYI, your rims--according to Tire Rack--are 15x7 with a bolt pattern of 5x108, an offset of 40 mm and backspacing of 5.55 in

I might be interested. Any idea what the bolt pattern on the wheels is? 4x100? 5x??? Also, would you post the DOT date code form the sidewall(s)? Thx! Oh, and pics would help you sell….IJS.

Ain't no love for the FZ anywhere. Not a nibble on mine, either. Gonna be a long winter….

SW: Awww, hell. We have to have met at least once in the last couple of years. That's Rob Giles (Dice) standing behind you and his old PC; he's one of my main ridin' buds. We're gonna have to get together when this weather breaks.

Thanks, guys! If you keep pumping my FZ, I'm gonna have to send some commission money your way…. I rode this to Waynesville, NC, last Sept and found it to be very comfy for long days. When I first got the bike, I was leery that it would have the same low-speed fueling glitch that I hated about my FJR, but this motor has none of the "digital off-on snatch" when you roll on the throttle out of a corner. Suspension is what I would call average and works fine for 7-8/10ths riding, but leaves something to be desired when you're pushing hard and the pavement turns rough. With the upgraded seat, soft bags (like I used for the trip) and the touring screen, I rode over 2000 miles in 6 days--mostly back roads--with a couple of 450 mile days and had no problems….and I'm old as dirt! If I had one wish for the Gen 2, I'd like a bit more fuel range--for regular riding, you're pushing the limit of the tank at 165-170+ miles.

Was a time not that long ago that I'd have made that trade in a heart beat. 13 broken ribs and two busted collarbones plus one near death experience convinced me that I should sell all my dirt shit this past summer so I wouldn't be tempted to get back into it. I used to be REAL FAST….course, that ain't necessarily the same as being REAL GOOD….

SW: Have you ever visited the twin tunnels at the Lamb's Ferry crossing in northern KY? Supposed to be haunted--yer goin' in first! On Cliff Road near North Bend:

Joe: You can call me Bill, or you can call me Bubba, but don't call me Bob unless I can call you Ralph. And for Gawd's sake, don't call me late for supper!!!

Bumping this back to the front page with a lower price! Got my eye on some new wheels and have run out of garage space. You won't find a cleaner FZ1 at a better price anywhere in the US. Guaranteed. New price: **WOW!!!** $4795 **WOW!!!**