Scruit

I will correct someone if it would be helpful.

I just drove past here and there's about a dozen police cars (Sheriff and at least on unmarked car) all lines up about a half-mile apart in the shoulder of 36/37 westbound between I-71 up to a half-mile past South Old State, all with their lights flashing. Anyone know what's going on? Looks like they're about to set up some kind of rolling roadblock or something. There's also a collection of about 4 or 5 cars/cruisers about a half-mile past South old state westbound.

When does your riding season typically start? For me I like to see the temps above 40 in the morning if I'm going to enjoy the commute. Typically very late April or early May.

"Ok, winter... You've had your fun. Now F*CK OFF."

The road in front of my house was a sheet of ice this morning. Scary in a car, suicide on a bike.

Anyone else checking the weather multiple times a day? Like the 5th check of the forecast is gonna differ from the 4th... I know Mother Nature isn't like a frustrated parent who will finally just say; "Dammit! You can have a riding day then, just quit bugging me!" but it can't hurt to try.

4 or 5 guys could pick up my bike, yeah... But unless they find and disable the GPS bug before they get home then the police will be knocking on their door within minutes of me discovering that it is gone. My android phone gives me a map and gps location of the bike in under two seconds. I also have weeks of history of the bike's movements - so if they strip it at their home/shop then discovering the bug won't stop the police from knocking on their door. The GPS and phonehome signals penetrate buildings too. If we are outside a building and the building owner tells the cops; "The bike is not in here" then I can trigger the alarm and we can hear it. I just wish I could remotely disable the engine too, however I'm pretty sure any theft would involve the bike winding up in the back of a truck, not being ridden.

At 7:30 there was frost on the ground. I'm not scared of the cold, but ice/frost etc is a deal breaker. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

1980 Talbot Sunbeam (UK) Had for 3mo. Engine siezed onthe freeway - cost to tow was more than the care was worth so I signed it over to a junkyard as-is where-is for free. 1981 Volvo 244DL (UK) Had for 3 years until I emigrated to the US. 1995 Ford Taurus GL. Had for 3 years, traded for... 1996 Nissan Maxima SE 5spd. Had for 7 years. Sold privately. 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Limited 5spd Turbo. I will drive this car until I die. And with AWD 5spd and turbo, that could be next week. I also have an '87 Bronco that is an ongoing project, and my 2004 Suzuki Volusia for fun and commuting.

What are you saying about my weight?? I'm 225

140? Maybe when I was 13. I'm 6'2" and 225! If I wind up buying new then I'll amke sure the dealer gets it set up for my weight/height. For wind buffeting, I found less windshield is better. A bigger windshield may create a nice "bubble" of calm air but the air rushing down at the back of the bubble is VERY turbulent and causes horrible buffeting. I made brackets that tip the Volusia's windshield towards me at the top. I get a forehead full of CLEAN smooth air that is a breeze, no pun intended. 16 hours of freeway speeds didn't bother me one bit, whereas 45 mins with the stock shield gave me a headache like none other.

I got my permit packet about a week before I got my bike. I stuck to my permit limits (no riding at night, no 2-up etc) and did the MSF course as a walk-in a couple weeks later. Got my endorsement from the MSF pass certificate the next day and the rest is history. That was in 2003. I did the MSF course on a tiny dirt bike, like a 125. It was so easy to counterbalance with my own weight that the maneuverability tests were a breeeze. I know I couldn't have passed the figure-8 on my own bike.

When the police run a plate by radio they get year/make/color/theft status of the car. They also get the license status and warrant status of the registered owner. When run by the laptop in the cruiser, they also get extra details like CCW status of the registered owner. (Shows up as a red "alert" icon like a warrant on some systems!) So if you don't have the bike endorsement and you let your buddy ride the bike then an officer who runs the tags will have access to the information that the registered owner does not have the endorsement. This may or may not lead to a traffic stop depending on more factors than I care to list.

What was the fix for the wind noise? That was my biggest gripe about the Volusia, and I wound up making my own custom windshield mounts to fix the problem. EDIT: Looks like the Madstat brackets and the Givi windshield are a universally-accepted combination for reducing buffeting.

Thanks Silverfox, and all who gave advice.

I could do used also. My trip would be to Minneapolis. I used to be in a kid's bowling league at age 10 and I wanted to go bowl a couple of games at the same bowling alley (27 years ago) but it's not there any more.

For my commute the only deal breakers are <32 and low traction. Riding that cold just sucks, and low traction (risk of black ice) is a no-brainer. I can ride a hundred miles at 75mph at 40F and be ok (assuming heated grips so my hands still work). I would need to ferry a laptop to and from work, not much else. I would kit the Wee out with lockable hard bags. I used to do the backpack thing on my Vol but switched to a sissy bar bag instead and love it. I just think the everything that makes the c14 such a splendid bike are things I just would not fully appreciate enough to justify more than twice the money. I'm not going to run 0-60 in 3 seconds, nor am I going to do 800 mile days more than 3 or 4 times a year. Plus the option of going offroad doesn't exist for a c14 with all that pricey plastic. That means even some dirt roads woudl just make me cringe and shit dollar bills.

My first big road trip - 800 miles in 16 hours. Stopped off at Niagara Falls.

What I've read about the Vee is that it's better than the Wee on the highway but the extra weight and cost penalizes you on handling and mpg. Of course, it may be "like giving strawberries to a donkey", meaning I am not going to even notice the difference. I could do the Vee also, but all the Wee/Vee comparions I read lean towards the Wee. They all say the Wee is a better all-round value. If I did more long trips then I've lean towards the Vee. Dangit! Stop complicating my decision process!

So, I'm looking to add a new scoot to the garage. I currently have a 2004 Volusia 800 which was my first bike, bought it with 2 miles on the odo. I've put about 6k on it. Always had a ton of fun with it, but I'm outgrowing it. Also, the "Finance Department" has authorized a new bike if I pay cash, so about $8k is hard limit. My problem is that I got the Volusia for weekend cruising. My needs have changed, and now I'm looking for a mix of 90% commuting and 10% highway touring. The Volusia is OK with the commute but is only barely tolerable on long rides because it's been farkled like mad. I did a 16 hour day late last year up through MI-Canada-NY-PA and it was an eye-opening experience. I've done a bunch of reading on the C14 ABS and the DL650 ABS and I'm having trouble deciding between the two. Of course I'm comparing a new wee verus a used Concours. I've already done tons of research, but I was hoping you could tell me if I'm making the right choice... I'm going with the Wee. My commute is all country roads and then riverside drive into Dublin. No freeway. I am still a novice on the bike (I may be too harsh on myself, but only 6k miles over 7 years on the bike I still feel like a n00b) and I'm not into stunting or anything of that nature, so I really don't need the epic power of the C14. I have never found the limits on my Volusia (except for acceleration but only becuase it is VERY limited) so I doubt I'd get near the limits on a more capable bike. As well as commuting I want to take the occational multi-day trip. I have my sights set on visiting my old Minnesota home from 27 years ago, etc. I need the bike to to be capable of riding 10 hours a day at 75-80mph without feeling like I'm asking too much. As I understand it the wee is capable on the highway and better suited to carving. The c14 would dominate the highway but not work so well on the commute (90% of my need). The c14 seems to do ~35mpg whereas the wee avarages ~50mpg (riding style dependant, of course) For my money I can stretch to a brand new wee, or a used c14. So would you guys agree on the Wee being a better bike for 90% country road commute and 10% highway touring?

Conelec does my power.

Can I get an AMEN??

You cannot discuss the reliability of a Toyota until you see the Top Gear special on destroying a Toyota Hilux... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnWKz7Cthkk&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uc4Ksz3nHM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfZDtC9kjVk

Did you guys hear about the disgruntled BHPH employee who disabled all the cars that were controlled by the GPS tracker/remote immobilizers? Here it is: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/03/hacker-bricks-cars/

I traded a '95 Taurus in 2000 and got $3k for it. It was a piece of crap that had already puked one engine, was on the verge of puking the trans and was on its third speedo. (common problem with the 85mph speedo - results in a 'non-actual odometer' brand on the title, destroying resale value) I just did a title search on it. It has been owned/sold by the same BHPH lot 3 times since then. The current owner bought it from the BHPH despite it now having a "salvage" title on top of the non-actual mileage brand. The current owner paid $4500 for it. Let's recap. It was a piece of crap when I owned it, I traded it when it was 5 years old for $3k and was glad to get that for it. And 10 years later some poor schlep got connec into paying the BHPH lot $4500 for it. Bluebook on that car is $2800 dealer retail in excellent condition with a clean title. With the salvage and mileage brands its true value is about $1k. Not $4500.