8Rider6

That's a good option, never really thought of that for some reason. A whole U-Haul truck with tie downs wouldn't be a bad option either.

Hah, yeah not interested in a project bike (or that much of one, anyway). TLs aren't going to have the parts availability/aftermarket of the SV650 or even SV1000.

My husky's killed a few rabbits in our yard... lol. Interestingly she also found a nest of baby rabbits, she picked one up in her mouth and carried it around for a bit but didn't kill it. I think that article's a bit sensationalized, that or the guy hasn't seen many dogs, it doesn't look that big, nor does its head really look massive/out of proportion to its body. Looks like it weighs ~80-90lbs, still big, but plenty of dogs out there bigger than that. We've had tons of rabbits in our neighborhood this year, I've seen at least one almost everyday. A few times when I've let her outside, she's bolted off after one, but they have at least 3 exits through the fence now. I generally try to look for them before I let her out, but sometimes forget... She also got sprayed in the face by a skunk in our yard a couple years ago, that was fun... Spent about 2 hours cleaning her face.

All good points I spose, but most SV650's are relatively cheap to begin with. My main concern is how I'm going to be transporting it though... I'm leasing a 2013 car and so adding a hitch kit for a trailer's not really an option... So I either need a bike street legal I can ride up, get a cheap pickup to put the bike in the bed, a cargo van (most of these tall enough to throw a bike in or no?), or a cheap beater to hitch a trailer with.

An old bandit 600 may not be a bad option... Neither would a GS500F, looks fast but isn't particularly.

I've been riding on the street for ~5 years now. I'm going to do my first track day in July with my current street bike, my 919. I'm not planning on using this as a regular track bike though, mostly just my street bike. So, next season I'm looking to get another bike for the main purpose of track days, but I'd still like it to be street legal in case I want something different than the 919 on the road. That may change later if I decided to get a 3rd bike though... So, my top couple choices are the SV650s and SV1000s. When I was first looking into bikes I really wanted an SV650 (naked), but there were no 2003+ in my price range at the time, so I went with a bandit 600. V-twin torque does appeal me. It seems the 1000 may be more fun on the street, but the 650 would be overall better on the track (lighter, more aftermarket parts, cheaper to maintain, etc). Plus I've heard 650 twins have their own racing class, so I guess that'd be a plus too. Other option I suppose would be a 600 SS, but personally I like more torque. The other option I'm looking into a 750 as I've heard they're nice medium between decent torque, weight, and top end power. I'm not sure if a 750 may be too much for me though since my first bike was a bandit 600, and right now, a 919. Neither of those are slow, but the 919 can still get stomped by modern 600's after you hit ~60mph. The absolute max I would be looking to spend would be $3500 for the bike, the close to $3000 or under, the better.6 There's an outside chance I may hop on something towards the end of the season around Sept. - Oct. if I find a good deal on something I really want, not sure yet though.

Well, on my way to mid Ohio (in the cage thankfully) i ran into a massive downpour on 71n, sitting here off an exit waiting it out, visibility is terrible. Saw a bunch of bikes stopped under a bridge. Needless to say, i doubt they're doing much more at mid Ohio now

Yep, I thought it was pretty funny to hear you're working there, not a particularly big company. It's "Sean" Definitely had fun and good riding. I'm about to head up to Mid Ohio in a few here. Feel free to shoot me a text when you're going riding. Weekdays I typically can't, but weekends are usually fairly open, just depends.

PM me if you want to swap cell numbers, I'm planning on being there. Oh, and if anyone else is closer to Columbus/Westerville area, we could meet up somewhere before heading to Newark to the meet spot.

I'd say if you buy something new like the cbr500r make sure you get frame sliders or crash bars, but then again if it's a new model like that, they probably don't even have those aftermarket parts available... I'd agree though, I don't think I'd go with a new bike for a brand new rider. Hell, I'm thinking about getting another bike for the track, then a sport touring later down the line too and the only one I'm half way debating getting new would be the sport tourer (A C14 or 2006+ FJR1300), but that'd be at least 9-10 months from now, if not more.

Yeah, I'd like to get into track days more consistently, but I'll have to wait til next year, save up a "track only" bike and possibly a trailer/transport vehicle to use, not to mention save some vacation days. I like my 919 too much to risk laying it down on the track, heh. So I think I'll only be able to get my 1st one in this season.

I'm leasing my current car for a few reasons. 1) I'm not sure how long I'll be in this city/state in the next few years. If I go to a city like Chicago, I likely won't even need a car. 2) I don't want to touch cars as far as repair work 3) I can get a different car every few years which appeals to me 4) Monthly payments are generally lower than buying 5) At the end of the lease period, if you want to, you can buy the car. Yes, the overall cost will likely be a few thousand more than if you bought it to begin with, but compared to buying another used car, you'll already know the history behind it.

Just me and you so far? heh. After this I'm planning on hitting Mid-Ohio, probably around 5:00 or 5:30 just to watc. A couple guys I know are doing the twilight track day and they start around 3:30 and go til dark. I'm just going to go to get a feel for what track days are all about, how they're organized, etc. I'm planning on doing my first with them in July. I'll probably head home grab a shower, then take the car though, don't think I'll want to ride up to Mid-Ohio after a ~250 mile ride.

Overall I've been pretty lucky. All mine were all primarily out of ignorance at the time, like most people I'm guessing. I'd say the #1 thing I did wasn't too long after getting my first bike, a Bandit 600. They're carbed and one morning it was fairly cold. I didn't let the engine warm up enough, but it was idling ok, so I took the choke down. Well, doing a right hand turn out of the neighborhood, the engine was stalling. I gave it a few twists of the throttle and still nothing. Eventually, it picked up and I ended up going across into the incoming traffic lane and almost into the tree/bushes on the other side for a few seconds, but managed to get control back and get into my lane... I was quite lucky there was no oncoming traffic... Other than that, same bike... The first night it rained since I'd purchased it, I had it on grass. I didn't have a metal plate or wood block, etc under the kickstand... Needless to say overnight, the kickstand sunk into the ground, bike fell on its side, and some gas leaked out onto the tank and side of the front fairing. Some of the paint on the fairing ended up getting warped and eventually peeled off, but wasn't too bad. Besides that, I remember releasing the clutch lever a bit too quick from a stoplight and popping the front wheel a bit unexpectedly.

Sounds good, I think I may be game. Any plans to stop 1/2 way through for food/bathroom, etc? This is one of the first rides I've seen starting around Central OH recently, most I've seen have been NE and would take me a good 2 hours just to get to the start location. The main downside is it looks like the high on Saturday is supposed to be 90... I guess I'll probably be wearing the textile/mesh jacket instead of leather, heh.

What day are you planning on this for? If it's Saturday or possibly Sunday, I might be up for it. I don't know what pace you have in mind though...

The 919 All bagged up:

Yeah, their drivers are bad enough anyone on a motorcycle there is probably safer riding like this than waiting to be hit by a car riding legally, heh.

Kind of tempting, but I feel like it's really too similar/doesn't do anything my current bike doesn't.

Interesting... I may have to rent an FJR for a bit before I decide to buy one.

Yeah, I could never rely on a net alone when I strap a duffel bag, etc to the bike. I used Bungie cords along with a net on my Bandit 600. I have soft bags on my 919 and if I need to carry more, I use Rok straps, they're a lot easier/quicker to set up than bungies.

Anyone got spare trailer space? If so, what time would you be leaving? I could only take Friday off this year, so I may be SOL til next time.

You can get a suction cup mount and put it on the tank. That's going to be the easiest way to get your gauges in view. I'm not aware of one that would attach to the triple tree bolt.

Last time I went was probably in 2009. At that time, there were probably at least 200 bikes. Haven't been since. Might be fun every once in a while, but I can't see a reason to attend very often. I'd rather be riding... That being said, it's been a while. I can't next Wednesday, but I could on the 12th if any of you are going then.

Ugh, I'd like to, but I'm on call this week