CBBaron

I have both in one bike.

+1

DL650

Craig

Woodlawn is a cross street off of Woodland in the heart of E Cleveland. My views on that area are probably distasteful and shocking to most but I simply don't give a shit in the end and will not let the safety of my employees be put in jeopardy as it would have been had I not pulled the plug and dealt with the consequences later

I think you meant a cross street off Euclid Ave. Woodland does not go through East Cleveland and I don't think there are any cross streets named Woodlawn.

Still I get you point and know the neighborhood. Its not pretty.

Craig

I was parked, sitting on my bike waiting on some company to join me when this kid, I'd say probably 10-12 years old, comes strolling by on his bicycle. Comes up to me, says, "Nice bike. Is it a Ninja?" Other than the fact that my bike is RED with huge YAMAHA stickers, I decided to be nice and tell him no. Even if he can't read, he should be able to tell colors, lol. Can't blame him since he's so young but I still got a kick out of it.

ummm they come in red

And I always think of Yamaha as blue, though it doesn't stand out as much as Kawi green

Still the kid should have been able to read. Unfortunately for some people Ninja is synonymous with sport bike, no matter what the brand.

Craig

Yea I commute by bicycle and motorcycle through some of those neighborhoods (Miles and Harvard roads from east 93 to Lee).

One funny episode was this small kid, probably 1st grade, by himself yells at me "Give me your bike".

On a bicycle I think those neighborhoods are safer than Beachwood and Brecksville. The suburban drivers are rude and aggressive. The traffic in those neighborhoods seems much more laid back. I would be a little more concerned about working all day in the area though. Still a crew should have no worries even from pranksters.

Craig

TAG

Akron Northside station, Ridge St. Akron

Up next

Craig

I thought "the game" was about a birthday present?

I think you are thinking "Surviving the Game"

The book is "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell

http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/danger.html

Excellent read and a short story so doesn't take much time.

Craig

Had my first bike "crash"(?)

Pulling out of a parking lot with the engine still cold and it stalled. Drop the bike on its right side and hit the ground pretty hard.

Luckily the crash guard and hand guards prevented any damage to the bike and the only thing wounded was my pride.

However that accident lead to another almost mistake where I ran wide on a different right hand turn from stop.

I need to go do some practice to make sure my head is back on straight.

Craig

I guess I am looking for a lighter bike that is more fun to flick around in the corners and twisties on a nice day than my VTX1300C, but can get out of the corners and off the line quick like my VTX.

VTX1300C -- 76 hp 680lb, 1/4 mile 13.72sec @94mph

Pretty much any 600CC and large sport or naked will out accelerate that, not to mention the better cornering.

For instance my very modest adventure bike

DL650 Vstrom -- 64hp 430lb, 1/4 mile 12.52@101mph

Nearly any sporty bike will do better.

I'm not recommending this bike just pointing out that your requirements may not require a liter+ bike.

Craig

So what changed after he announced Buell was done?

Read some of the articles linked at the bottom of the article.

Basically Harley drop the Buell Brand.

Eventually Eric left the company and started a company supporting racers.

Then he built a new race machine (EBR 1190RR)

And announced he would be selling a street legal limited edition version of the bike (EBR 1190RS).

Craig

That was a tiny little snake.

I probably would have just tossed it in surprise. If I'd thought about it for a second I would have stopped and tossed it off the road, but most likely it would have hit the road at high speed.

Ofcourse unlike the rider in the vid, I would be wearing a jacket and gloves, so not much the snake could do to injure me no matter the species.

Did you notice he was not even wearing gloves.

Craig

Looks like I will be stopping by.

Its a whopping 1.5 mile ride from my office.

Look for the guy with a hi-vis jacket on a somewhat dirty black V-strom

Craig

HJC has the best anti fog thing I've ever seen.

Pinlock insert!!!

Most helmet makers offer Pinlock shields for their helmets. HJC just makes it standard on some helmets and offers the option for the rest.

And it definitely works, and works well.

Craig

+1 the Pinlock shields and lenses. Without pin lock my shield fogs on any cool morning. With it I've only had a minor fogging problem on a foggy 40F morning. Though I think that was on the outside of the shield.

Downsides are you have to buy a lens in addition to the special shield which about doubles the cost and its a double layer system so the optics are not perfect and you can get a little star burst at night.

For me its well worth it.

And yes it is not HJC though they have Pinlock shields standard on high end models and as an option on cheaper models.

Craig

I like the Scorpion 700 comes in Hi-Vis.

That and it was comfortable when I tried it on. However I havn't purchased it yet.

Currently I have a cheap HJC. The pinlock shield I bought for it was one of the best investments I have made. Without the pinlock the shield steams any time I ride in cool weather. With the Pinlock shield it doesn't even steam when I was riding in a 40 degree rain.

Ofcourse if you are a fair weather rider its probably not as big a deal.

Craig

Maybe....

Got a Weestrom and have been trying to find the dirt and gravel roads around the area. However so far all have been in pretty good shape. Worst is my parent's road which has plenty of loose gravel. However that will get better once it stops raining every day.

Won't be trying to bury it up to the axles any time soon though

Craig

Sounds like you are the vicious killer here. Snakes do a pretty good job of reducing pest problems and do not usually cause any problems.

I don't understand some of the phobias people have. In the US you are more likely to be killed by lightning than a snake, in Ohio much more, so given we have few poisonous snakes.

Let him live, he'll eat a few mice and rats and you probably won't see him again.

Craig

80's?

It a pretty recent ghetto phenomenon.

80's they were jacking up similar vehicles and putting big off-road tires on them.

Now they see how big of rims they can fit on a vehicle and do whatever it takes.

Whats really funny is they are horrible for potholes because the rubber is nearly painted on the rim. Hitting a decent chuckhole will crack their expensive rims. And the suspension is so compromised that they ride like s**t too.

Quite popular in the Cleveland city neighborhoods. It is definitely not about function.

Craig

In simpler terms, in any given area not all available TV channels are used. So these channels could be used for other uses.

This happens because a TV channel is a large high power broadcaster. So to prevent 2 TV stations on the same channel from interfering they have to have to be separated by a considerable distance. Leaving some areas that can't pick up either station. In addition some locations may have many stations just unused because there is not sufficient market.

Craig

I like the combination of new tech (GDI) and old tech (push rod 2 valve).

But as said its impressive that they get 160bhp out of a bike with no valve checks.

Not sure how this one will perform but GDI in autos usually results in improved fuel economy for the performance. So I would guess it will perform well there also. Ofcourse I think all of the autos use a 4 valve OHC design instead.

It will be interesting to see how this company comes along.

Craig

Well as of right now, I am living in the Florida Keys but, I am getting stationed in Marblehead, Ohio. I'll be moving up that way this summer. I'm looking forward to finally hitting up some twisties and getting some elevation changes. Everything down here is all flat and straight. I ain't looking forward to the winters up there though. I grew up in Pennsylvania but, spent a few years living in Columbus so, I have a vague recollection of snow...

I've been riding for about 2 years now. Started off on an '05 Ninja 250R. I rode that for a year and traded up for an '08 Ninja 650R. I'm an ATGATT sort of rider... That's all I can think of for now.

LOL, Port Clinton looks very similar to Florida in terrain. The only difference is its mostly corn and bean in OH.

Luckily the south east part of the state has some interesting riding so it is within reach.

Welcome to OR.

Craig

Just feather the clutch. You should be able to move with the vehicles around you. If they move sufficiently then you can get your feet up. If its only a car length then you just leave you feet down like pontoons. I find I can ride at a walking pace or slower without difficultly once youve practiced some.

Craig

Riding to a shitty city on straight roads blows, no matter how good the sammich is when you get there. Just sayin....so....with that, here's some places where riding there is as fun as the meal:

Not so bad when the destination is 2 miles from home

Unfortunately I have not yet been to Melt

Craig

K, thanks. Ill see if I can get in the next couple classes but if I can't then ill just register for august

If you don't mind spending an extra $25 just register for the August then try to do the walk-in earlier. You will loose you $25 sign up fee if you can get in earlier but its still a great value.

The first day (usually Thursday night around here) is classroom only. For the riding portion you will need long sleeves and pants and high top shoes (cover ankle). They will provide a helmet if you don't have your own. Especially if the weather looks bad for the riding days you are likely to get some openings.

I think part of your problem is starting out on too big of bike. I know its not as cool but bike like the Ninja 250R and TU250X are much easier to ride. They are very forgiving and you can gain confidence quickly. I decided on the 250R for my first year. Bought a used one and traded it in a year later for about $100 less than I paid for it. Nice thing about something like the 250R is you can rev it and dump the clutch and it won't rip the handlebars out of your hands or flip you on to your back. very forgiving.

I found the residential city streets to be pretty quick lessons on traffic, handling and starting/stopping. The speeds are lower so you don't feel as scared. There are lots of starts and stops and shifting giving plenty of practice. And there is enough traffic you have to get comfortable with it. With some time you can get confident and try tackling busier streets. Ofcourse those types of streets were readily accessible to me.

Craig

Thanks, but I'm going to have to wait until next month. Just had some big medical expenses ($20k) and I need to see how my health insurance handles it. If they cover 100% as I hope then I'll be back on the bike hunt in 30 days. If not, then I'll be back to square one saving for the bike. :-(

Aw.. That sucks. Good luck with the insurance. Hope you will be able to get that bike this spring.

Craig

Rode 2-wheels to work yesterday and today. However they were unmotorized.

Will get the bike out of storage this weekend and hide the snow blower back in the shed.

Craig