CBBaron

I started with an `06 Ninja250. Paid $1600 for it with 1k miles in Nov `09. Traded it in to a dealer for $1500 with 5k miles in Dec `10. However I think I got a real good deal when I bought, probably because I bought in the off season. I would say $2k for a pre 08 in good shape is a decent deal, and they make excellent starter bikes. Light, forgiving and easy to ride, but are reasonably fast. Sure they are slow compared to the rockets you can buy, but they are faster than the average car and will do freeway+ speeds with ease. I would have kept mine except at 6'2" I'm a little cramped on the small bike. Though the stock position on a ZX-6 is even tighter. Nice thing is even if you do feel the need to upgrade you can sell for nearly what you paid, unless you destroy it. Its had to even ride own a larger bike for a year without losing more than you paid for an old EX250. Craig

There is some great riding in south east Ohio, lots of states are worse. As for great riding closer to home, WV looks to have some really nice roads. Very little straight on the map down there. Craig

I so want to play hooky today. Thats about 25mile straight (or not so straight ) down the valley from work for me. I just can't really justify it. Craig

Have her try out a touch screen keyboard. swype is pretty cool but even without it the keyboards are pretty easy to use. If you drop the requirement for a slide out keyboard you will get a lighter, slimmer phone with a bigger screen. Everyone I know who has the slideout keyboard says they hardly ever use that feature and wish they would have gotten the one without. The phone improvements in the last few years are such that I see very little difference between any of the new droid phones. I would go with which ever of the new gen phones you can get the best deal on. Not sure if 4G is worth much in a phone. That may change if you do much streaming video or use your phone as an access point. Otherwise most of the time I may use higher speed connections I have access to wifi. Craig

She was headed to the slaughter house, means she was an old dried up hag. $876 sounds like a pretty good price Probably also means she's not so desperate for a milking. Still amazed that a cow could avoid people so long. They don't move very fast and are not usually hard to track. I doubt they have tried really hard to find her. Craig

ummm 63% of a meter is 63cm or 630mm But I get your point. I usually prefer to use metric but some items require US common. Craig

DL650 50-55 mpg Depends on the ride. High speed freeway is probably the worst followed by my commute on city streets. It may get as high as 60 if I took it easy on rural roads but that doesn't really happen Craig

Always interesting to read the comments. "Just pipe some water from the flooded Missouri" "We can pipe gas across the country, why not water" People forget that they expect to pay pennies for water but dollars for gas. And the water needed to put a dent in the drought in Texas would not be touched by a simple "pipe". There are definitively advantages to living on the coast of one of the largest fresh water reserves in the World Lake effect snow is not one of them Craig

The problem is that doesn't account for inflation. Teacher salary increases is one expense, also heating, electricity, supplies, maintenance, repairs. How would you feel if your boss said the same to you. Unfortunatey it's easier to get a levy passed for building a new school than it is to pass one for operating, so you see school districts struggling to make the budget. But that doesn't mean you should blindly pass every levy presented. As pointed out often there is plenty of waste that could be reduced, but it sounds like pickerington has cut quite a bit already. Craig

So when are you riding down there? Craig

Sorry, what GS500 are you referring to? Looking at Suzuki's website the GS500F MSRP is $4399 not $5495. <a little more research> Ahhh now I see. The original MSRP for the GS500F was $5499, Suzuki has lowered the MSRP to $4399. So even if you has a new GS500F it is worth atleast $1100 less now than it was in 2009. Just proves 2 points to me. 1) Motorcycle are not "investments" 2) New vehicles are usually a really bad deal Craig

+1 I've added a few scuffs and scratches to my bike already. Ofcourse trying to take a pig of a road bike down a muddy rutted hill will do that for you. Craig

Much cheaper solution is a wicking tshirt like under armour and soak it every 1/2 hour or so. Just pour 1/2 a bottle of water down around your neck. $20-$50 for wicking shirt and cheap for the water. A wet bandanna or similar rag around the neck would be a slightly less messy solution. With well vented gear it helps significantly. Especially once you get out of town and start moving. I'm taking all the advantage I can to ride because I know the snow will be flying far too soon. Already planning on getting grip heaters to help comfort on those cold days before it starts really snowing. Craig

19hp sounds about right, a Ninja 250 has about 25hp at the rear wheel. I've ridden my Ninja 250 on the freeway many times without a problem. I took I-90 and 2 from Cleveland to Sandusky with the speeds hovering around 80 the whole way. And I'm 6'2" 220# I know that the laws vary by state. I believe Ohio is >6 bhp, California is >150cc, etc.. In many areas or at off peak times I would not see a problem with a small bike on the freeway. But I wouldn't want to take a 6 hp bike on the freeway in rush hour traffic The ninja however is no problem. Craig

In case it is unclear, the wording on the bridge reads "Centennial Bridge". That and the fact its in Ohio should be sufficient Craig

Sorry was busy and forgot to update with the new tag. Craig

See what I found today. TAG Craig

Highways for safety and efficiency. Rural roads are much more fun. Urban and suburban roads just suck in general. Higher risk factor and slow travel. Unfortunately my commute means I ride urban roads much of the time. Luckily most are not congested when I ride but still somewhat dangerous and slow. Craig

I think north of that. The BMW F800 models appear to be around $10k and the Husky TE630 is $9k. Looks like this version is more like a hypermoto/streetfighter than an adventure bike. Kind of surprising as adventure bikes are popular right now especially in Europe and ?Husky is more off-road oriented. Maybe they don't want to have too much overlap with the BMW F800GS. Still its a sweet looking bike. Should be alot of fun. Craig

Sounds like 2 wrongs = crash. unfortunate, hope he heals quickly. Craig

I think it must be something that Fresh Market does. I've been in 2 different stores and both have always had their bulk sausage in such a way. Though I think they have usually use cherry tomatoes as the eyes. Craig

MSRP is $4399 for a brand new 2009 (They did not make any `10 or `11s) The aftermarket stuff is not really going to add value. So basically $4399 is your upper bounds. Given that this spring Suzuki had $1000 off of this model from the factory $3400 is starting to get reasonable. It would probably move for a price under $3000. I am always amazed by some asking prices on some classified ads. Craig

Very nice. Was just down that way myself, unfortunately was a family vacation not a riding vacation. I did get a day to rent a Harley and ride some of the Parkway, but not like you did. Call me jealous. Craig

It is inline 6 cylinder engines that are well balanced not 4 cylinder. However because of the smaller more numerous cylinders they have less natural vibrations than most twins. If I-4s are balanced then why do most automotive I-4s have counter balancers? 90 degree V-twins like the SV650 (SV1000?) have very good mechanical balance but and uneven firing. They also are very long which can make packaging in a frame troublesome. But as noted the narrow width is helpful. Me, I want one of each. V-2, I-2, thumper, I-4, V-4, I-6, etc. Craig

Probably pins for a Pinlock lens. http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/1/69/18836/ITEM/HJC-Pinlock-Anti-Fog-Lens.aspx These lenses insert inside the shield to provide a dual layer shield. This basically eliminates fogging under nearly all conditions. I commute by motorcycle and got the pinlock shield and lens to prevent fogging on cold/drizzling days. Works great. Craig