palandor

The US Congress exempted the Amish from participating in Social Security in 1965 because the Amish viewed it as a form of commercial insurance' date=' which they opposed. [/color']

Heck, I oppose commercial insurance too and should be exempted. Except who else but the current working generation can pay for the current retired generation's SSI. (or whatever it's called now).

<sarcastic humor>

We should all be having more babies. More babies means more workers paying into SSI when we retire. Thus the system wins and we win. </sarcastic humor. not serious folks.>

If it is just a skin irritation to foam period you might wanna check into a dual sport helmet since it is MX shaped but uses a face shield.

Heres my Shoei Hornet but there are several makers.

How's the air flow? I haven't checked into these types of helmets at all. I love how much air flow goes thru the dirt bike helmet and keeps things cool enough.

is there latex in foam and is that what you're allergic to?

I don't think I am allergic to latex. Never had a problem with latex items (latex gloves, or otherwise). But that's a good thought.

I do have seasonal and pet allergies, but the reaction to the frames is specifically where the foam touches skin for 5+ minutes.

The foam on the Oakley goggles looks like 3 layers. The two outer layers look like the same material, a medium gray foam that feels as soft as felt or micro-fleece, while the middle layer is a black and very compressable foam.

I can't tell if the layers are melted or glued together, and while I've never had problems with glue products, sealants, etc, there might be something in whatever they did to bind the layers together or bind it to the frame.

:-P

I've already searched the internet and found several hypoallergenic goggles, however I'm not sure what the foam is on the one I have and why I am allergic to it (eg, if it's regular foam, originally anti-allergy, etc). Nor do I know if hypoallergenic is what I need or if I should be looking at other stuff I don't know enough to ask about. :-P

Thanks ReconRat. Those look pretty good but I'll have to see if they would work with a dirt bike helmet.

Years ago I bought a pair of dirt bike goggles. They are Oakley brand and I think they are MX O-Frame goggles. (I remember they were $20 or $25 when I bought them.) I don't remember if the box said the foam was/is anti-allergy or not.

It seems my allergic skin reaction (itching & burning where the foam contacts my face) to the foam on the goggles has gotten worse over time (start to notice it after about 5-10 minutes) and now is rendering the goggles virtually un-usable.

Long story short, anyone know of goggles for people with allergies? Or had the same type of allergy issue and replaced goggles with a different brand that didn't cause a reaction?

-b

Good place.

When you get there, it's the really long driveway next to the green water truck. $15 per day of riding, plus a few bucks for an "id".

I've always found it open on a weekend and often open during the week.

-b

I did'nt mention it but when I said 4-strokes are a pain to strat after dumping, I was speaking from experience from my XR400. not a fun bike to start after a fall

:-) Your experience shows that some 4-stroke bikes (XR400) are hard to start after a fall. My experience shows that some 4-stroke bikes (XT225, plus a previous DRZ350SE) are easy to start after a fall. :-) Sounds like one just has to tune the bike right (as you already said.)

It really is all about purpose. For leisure trail riding, the xt225 will do great. It wasn't created to rocket down trails and over jumps, but it gets me out on and over/thru trails and mud and I have fun doing it. I'm not a jumper, it doesn't require a lot of maintenance, and it has a ok amount of power for smaller riders (i'm 155) when geared for dirt riding.

Plus a 2 stroke normally starts 1st or 2nd kick everytime if its tuned right. And if you dump the bike in the trails, it will fire right back up very easily unlike some of the 250 and 450 4 strokes. I had an 04 yz125 and that thing was bullet proof. had it for only two years and never had to rebuild the top end or do any other maintence. just adjust ant lube the chain and use quality 2-smoke oil. I reccomend a clean burning synthetic such as golden spectro.

;-P

My 4 stroke xt225 starts up just fine (because it's tuned right) on the trail when I dump it. I can kick it or e-start it. It's nice to have both.

Just something to think about.

-b

This is a friend of mine wrist after clearing a 86' jump then collided with 2 dipshits having a chat on the tranny. This happened that last weekend in June and I think he just had his 5th surgery to repair his wrist and should be back riding around April of next year.

Make sure you have good medical insurance if you ride off road or on.

That's why I have no interested in jumping and stick to trail riding. ;-)

I will be heading to Thrashing Trails in Xenia on Sunday August 22nd if anyone else wants to join me. I'm thinking about 10am.

PM me if you're interested.

-b

Seriously, if someone wants to sell something, they damn well better prove it by creating a decent ad. I don't expect purrfick spelling (haha), but it should at least be close. AND it definitely better have punctuation. How about we all write the owner of that ad with various "here's how you can improve your ad tips"? ;-)

-b

Yes, that was probably me. I'll let you know next time I head there. Usually I try to think about rides 3-4 days ahead of time and then make a weather-based decision the day before.

-Brian

I will likely be going to Thrashing Trails tomorrow morning about 8:30 or 9am and staying till about 11:30am; I may head back in the evening when/if it starts to cool down again. If anyone wants to meet up/say hi, I'll be wearing a blue mesh jacket with a green helmet and riding a blue & black xt225.

-b

I'll go out for a ride at some point Sunday, although it may be dirt riding. I'm still trying to fix a low RPM issue on the cruiser, and I think it may be one of the coils not sparking right.

What fun things do y'all do with your old helmets? Shoot them, hit them with hammers, drop them from the 2nd story window, etc?

Thanks! :-)

Not sure if this is the right spot, but I'll put it here and mods can move it if they need to.

I went out dirt riding today and learned a few things. In the process of dumping it, the split clamp around the handlebar that screws together and connects to the barkbuster broke (it's still fine at the bar end). I broke a clamp once before and so far am thoroughly unimpressed by the junky aluminum clamps.

What have y'all done to secure the barkbusters to your handlebars? What works without breaking? I'm tempted to try and rig up something with a circle clamp and a piece of metal bar (perhaps a U shape to negate some of the twisting/pushing/pulling force). I could try a triple clamp, but don't have angle or space problems and am under the impression that's what those are for; I'd hate to buy one and break it the next day...

Thanks,

-b

I dba too...

and Windows Sys admin, plus tech support

I don't care much for Vista Kawi sales (which includes -anything- sold at their cash register counter), but their service folks are very friendly. However, everything they sell and everything they do is much more expensive than other area places; I have yet to find something close in price to elsewhere.

I had a tire change (off bike) done at both Vista and at Clinton County Motorsports and CCM was quicker and cheaper ($38 vs $25 per wheel off bike). I try to use CCM when I can. Vista also doesn't seem to carry much and their order process takes longer than CCM.

Never been to Middletown shops, so I don't have any thoughts about them.

-b

I went about a month ago to check it out...

$5 for a laminated ID, and $15 to ride for the day. call for availability.. (except i dont have the phone number handy)

there's a water truck by the road.. drive back on the road and pay/register at the building...

Robert Half is pretty good, IMO. My GF use to be a staffing recruiter for them. It really depends what you're looking to do. Also, they don't take YOUR pay, they charge the client (your new boss) a percentage of your hourly/salary rate. For example, let's say you're making $15/hr. That $15/hr is all yours. The staffing agency will charge the employer on top of that for your/their services, normally ranging from 22-35% depending on their contract with the client. This means that for every hour you work, you get $15 and the staffing agency gets $3.33-$5.25, and the client is paying out $18.33-$20.25 for each hour. There is also a period of time, usually set forth in the contract, that you have to work for the agency before you are available for the client to hire on full time on their payroll. Don't expect much of a raise if you get hired all the way on, as they will have to pay the payroll tax as well as your benefits package. It is normally more beneficial for the client (your boss) to pay the staffing agency the extra money than carry you on payroll.

Hope that makes sense and helps. If you need more info, let me know.

What he said.

I've used recruiting firms to get jobs for several years. I had several contract-to-hire jobs that worked out well. (the following is just my opinion): Robert Half Technology is good if you get a good office/recruiter; if not, they are just ok. Kforce sucks. Put your resume up on job sites and you will have recruiters calling you for various things. Even if the job doesn't fit you, reply back and ask to get on their roster/hiring pool. They can let you know what is open. Get your resume on LinkedIn.com and if you are looking, put something like "Seeking new Opportunity" as recruiters also use that website to network with people.

-b

Wow, that stuff is crazy here...

Hate to bring up Germany, but there we pay a small fee for the ambulance ride, maybe like 60 Euros and the same for the care flight. It floors me how someones life or treatment can depend on money like that.

A previous teacher of mine lived in Germany as a kid and then went back for a decade as an adult. We talked about the health care system in Germany versus the US health care. It was a very interesting discussion. And yes, in the US, money is often a factor when it comes to health care decisions.

I should mention though, that it gets faster and it was toned down today. Trust me.

I shouldn't be surprised that it seemed fast to me. I'm on a cruiser with 30+ sport bikes.

Nice meeting everyone. Nick, a big thank you to leading and planning the ride. And a big thanks to our sweepers and traffic handlers!

Redrocket04, perhaps we can ride together in the future.

-b

I was buzzing the group after every stop because I stopped traffic until Fusion made it to me so I could let Nick know it was okay to leave at the next stop. I forget sometimes others aren't comfortable with someone close to them. I understand that being the case for them and will try to do things differently next time.

After the first few zooms past me, I figured out what you were doing and almost started expecting it. ;-)