CBBaron

every state except ohio. you should move there and see for yourself.

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'm a beginning rider w/ a slow bike and no skills, but I'm game if you go slow

I've never done a group ride, LOL.

I think I'm 41 minutes north of the Homestead that is my target... Straight north on 271. Where's a good spot to meet?

Edit: Want to just meet at the Tag point?

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

$876 sounds like a piss-poor price for that dairy cow. Cows can be pretty crafty when they want out, I've seen it! And they're surprisingly elusive too, although I bet that big girl wants milked in a bad way.

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

its just things like... if you're asked how many inches 63% of a yard is, or how many yards are in 3.4 miles, you'd need a calculator to figure it out.

now if you are asked , how many cm are 63% of a meter, or how many meters are in 3.4 km you dont even really have to think about it. you just move the decimal and you know that its 630 and 3400.

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

New levies are bullshit if you operated on that budget for the past x amount of years you should still be able to operate on it for the next x amount of years. I have no problem with levy renewels but basically saying we ran out of money and need more is bullshit. I understand that certain upgrades need to be made every so often so pass a levy that accounts for setting aside money each year to build so that when the district needs 500 new computers there is already money there for it. Or at least have some transperancy (sp?) and tell the people exactly where every cent is going.

Edit: I just realized my argument is completely wrong we need to pass new levies to pay teachers those mandatory union raises or they might strike. PASS THE LEVY!!!!!

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

had i seen this i would have tried to snag the tag. i know where it is.

So when are you riding down there?

Craig

This is a pretty unfair statement to make toward State 8 or any other dealer. A bike will sell for whatever a person is willing to pay for it. Do you go to Walmart and tell them their stuff is overpriced? Nope. I don't know the particular situation with your friend and I know that people have been taken advantage of before. That being said, let's be clear about a couple things. MSRP on a new GS500 was $5199 for 2007 and $5495 for 2009. IF he paid full retail, I imagine the total would be in the area of $6k with no money down and no back end products bought. Given he has had it for a 4-5 months, I am guessing that is what has him down to $5200 owed on it. All I see is that a dealer sold a new bike at a new bike price. How is that overpricing? If he paid more than $5200 for the bike itself, I retract my statement.

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

just ride the damn thing.

dings and dents give it character.

+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

Id be scarred shitless to take a 250 on the highway. First time id pass a semi and get that sucked in feeling that would be enough.

Also are you sure a rebel 250 has 19hp? That sounds very low to me

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 thought I saw something like $8995-$9695 MSRP, but now I can't find it.

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

Even so, they had said multiple times that if you can't make the pass before getting close to the kink, waint until next time and let your group go. I had to do it during one of the sessions.

they also said not to move back into the race line until the instructor does

Sounds like 2 wrongs = crash.

unfortunate, hope he heals quickly.

Craig

That is funny

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's dangerous to make that kind of blanket statement without some kind of disclaimer like, "in general," or "in most cases."

Inline 4 cylinder engines are perfectly balanced. So are V12's. I can't remember which additional cylinder configurations are as well; or why they're "perfectly balanced," but that will affect the "feel" of an engine immensely.

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

Buell isn't out pf business, they just aren't with Harley Davidson any more. If I recall right Buell is producing one this year and then next year or so going to add more models to their lineup.

Buell is out of business, or atleast the brand has been canceled like Oldsmobile and Saturn. Harley still owns the rights to the name and the motorcycle designs.

EBR is Eric Buell's new company which makes a new motorcycle and is mostly unrelated to the old Buell motorcycle company.

However Harley has committed to providing parts for Buell motorcycles for some time (don't remember the exact time), so parts should be available.

Craig