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If ya wanna skip to the park itself, go to about minute 10-15

The Ninja 500 has already been mentioned. Since she's a shorter rider, consider the Vulcan 500 LTD. Yeah, it's a "cruiser", but way more nimble than anything else in its class, has the same 500 cc engine tuned to have a broader power band and a low seat. Power wise, it is plenty tame if one rides it as such, but will certainly propel her with great glee when wound up to 8k or so. Spend $150 on the Tucmoto crash bars (factory ones are useless) and let her at it.

I never topped the system off, but I had a shop change out all the fluids and catch up on PM when I purchased the bike. The pads were at least 3/4 worn at that time. My best guess is fully retracting the brake piston and multiple hard stops caused the fluid expand / back up enough to mess with the brakes, if not lock the front? I drained off some fluid and carefully puttered around the neighborhood (after untweaking the forks) this weekend; the brake feels fine now. Not grabby in the least.

My bad. Roku audio does work at this time. And the vulcan sounds great with a full stereo

Starts at the ferry at Augusta, KY. Most of the riding between Cincy and there is pretty straight and flat. Found some cool roads on the way home (day 3), but didn't record. This video is already about 30 mins long. Day one (wheel level footage) is from Augusta to Cave run lake. Day two is Cave Run lake to RRG area and back. I didn't know YouTube uses different copyright rules for videos over 15 minutes, so it's already blocked in Germany, muted on my Roku and will probably be taken down eventually. Tried to keep it entertaining with music since it's so long. There's some really great riding in that neck of the woods. Make sure you select "HD" Doug

Now I'm starting to wonder if it was truly a road surface problem. Took the reservoir cover off and fluid pretty much sprayed out. Strange thing is, I rode it home no problem. Either way, it's still an "experience deficiency".

Jeff, Tried to send you a message, but I guess your inbox is full. I'll take you up on that offer - might have to wait for the next paycheck though. Thanks, Doug

Regarding the emblem, I'm just too cheep to pay $60 for a crappy plastic emblem. I'd rather just remove the other one and put that money into a new helmet (need one now). My helmet has "just a scuff" on the cheek, but it hit the pavement - time to chuck it in the trash. Woke up this morning in WAY more pain. Thought I had a tibia fracture. X-ray says no, just a painful contusion. Crutches and ice for a week or so.

I regularly drive up to Dayton and/or Yellow Springs, so yeah, I'm interested in getting the tank fixed. Regarding the cause, I'll state outright I'm just at the end of my 1st year and inexperience had a hand in this. And to be clear, I only did the front; the rear has plenty of life. After I swapped the pads, I went to a quiet road a few blocks from my house to get the pads bedded in. The first few stops out of the driveway were expectedly crap. Brake feel started to improve after a few hard, but not "emergency" 30 - 10 MPH brake applications. The brakes didn't feel snatchy at all, but in the darkness, I didn't see.....wait for it..... a F*CKING patch of oil. I've been on this road thousands of time and never noticed anything. Drove by the scene this morning and yup, a scummy dark spot right where my wheel lost it. Maybe if I had more experience, I could have caught her... I don't ride like a nut, have done the MSF course, try to remain alert and defensive, but damn, this is the 2nd time I've screwed the pooch on oil/road scum! I love riding, but makes one stop and think. I know sintered pads have a sharper feel than plain organics, but we're talking a single piston, single front disk, rear drum cruiser. The brake needs all the help it can get. My incident was the 5 in a row of hard stops that were fine - didn't lock 'em at all (until the road scum).

It's not a decal, it' a plastic (fake chrome) emblem. I doubt I'd be able to find a replacement. In that case, I'd just want both taken off. Any idea what something like this'll run me? Ballpark?

That flutter is overpressure at a centrifugal compressor as a diverter valve does its job. The old group B Audi S1 rally car was famous for it:

I just put new EBC-HH pads on my bike and was tooling around my neighborhood feeling them out and doing moderate stops to get the bedding process started. To my shock, the front end locked up and washed out (dead straight road). I got off the brake as soon as i felt it coming loose, but it was too late. My Vulcan 500 went down on her left side. The damage isn't really bad - front end is tweaked, turn signal is scuffed a little, exhaust tip scuffed, saddlebag scuffed, shifter bent (fixed already), but the tank took a grinding. The engine guard is spotless! Who could I take her to to have the tank fixed up? I know it's "just" a beginner bike, but I love it - far more than my Nighthawk. It's a great little bike that has done everything I've ever asked of it. I'm so pissed I rashed it up! I don't have super deep pockets, but I want her fixed up right. Thanks, Doug

Yeah, it's an old railroad tunnel, 1 lane for vehicles. That's why you stop and honk before driving through. It was kind of freaky riding the motorcycle through there. We didn't "tear up the asphalt" in the park - no point and you'd miss the scenery. On the way down there however...

Just a first stab at some video I took during a motorcycle camping trip down at RRG. I have more footage I need to go through and edit down. Sorry for the blur, there was condensation on the lens. That area has some GREAT riding. https://vimeo.com/104806767

Wish I could edit my posts. Not L2C - LS2

I tried a bunch, but most didn't fit worth a damned or were a step down. My L2C isn't bad, I'm just looking for something better. I tried Bell, Shark, etc, but none of them were really "better enough" to make me say, "Oh yeah, that's perfect" except that $580 Signet-Q. I'm thinking about chucking money into savings to catch a 'Q on sale, if that ever happens.

I hope this doesn't constitute a hijack - How old is to old or too many miles for a bike like a used V-Strom 650? Sat on a 2011 @ Iron Pony this weekend - it was like they built it for my body.

Drove up to Iron Pony - Holy CRAP! What a place. However, their Icon selection was nothing more than a tiny pile on the floor. I know it is supposed to have a tight fit, but a medium Airmada was way too tight on my forehead. The large seemed much better, but maybe too loose. I tried a medium Arai Signet-Q; it fit perfectly like a glove. Of course it was nearly $600. The EXO-400 wasn't bad either, but not really a step up from my L2C. Thanks

I think I'd feel pretty weird wearing full leathers and showing up at a track on the '500. Plus, I'd hate to screw up and put it down. The NH 750 might be a better candidate anyway. I don't even know where the nearest track is, Mid - Ohio? I do want to take a dirt class.... Regarding jackets, I've abandoned my JR Phoenix 5.0 in favor of my Comet. The Comet is a hybrid - heavier Cordura than the PHX 5 had, CE armor and leather along the elbows, outer arm and shoulders. Ventilation is pretty good too with the zippers open. Most of the (non race) leather jackets I've seen lack any armor - no forking waypal.... It might be heavier, but I swapped out the foam "back protector" to a level 1 CE protector. Doug

Do any of you have an Icon Airmada? How do you like it? Thanks,

...I'm also seriously considering the next progression of MSF courses...

I thought I'd post an addendum about my progress. I've been slow to fix up the Nighthawk 750 - my 100 year old detatched garage isn't pleasant in the summer heat and I've been enjoying the Vulcan 500, the bike I'm more comfortable and experienced with anyway. Perhaps, I bumped up to the 750 a little too soon... It has been hard to rid myself of the tentative feeling crashing instills. I thought I had it under control pretty quickly, but it would pop up at very inopportune times, like a highway ramp. I've just been pushing forward and riding whenever I can. I did a nice 140 mile day with my friend last Sunday that took us through some twisty roads in KY on the way to Rabbit Hash. I was a bit "slow" as we started out, but I *FINALLY* feel like I've found my groove again. The tentative feeling is to lean away and tense up with the controls. Time on some nice twisty roads helped me re-learn: Use those knees to brace against the tank instead of holding onto the bars for support.Shift weight and lean into the turn - the bike (and countersteering input) seems to naturally follow.Stay loose on the bars. Practicing the above two points, the machine almost feels like it knows where to go if you quit man-handling it.Lean in decisively - no slow, lazy transitions. Lean the bike and get it upright like you mean it. Slow transitions waste time getting into the turnSET YOUR OWN PACE. I usually follow my friend on his DR650; that bike has more low end grunt and can be flicked around faster than my Vulcan 500. I simply cannot and should not try to follow his exact lines. He started out pulling ahead of me in every series of curves, but by the end of our ride, being mindful to stay back and set my own lines, I was wishing he'd go faster. The '500 is no sportbike, but there's still plenty of fun one can wring out of that package.I don't doubt I might still have flashes of "butt puckering moments", but getting out and riding curvy roads with a buddy seems to go a long way towards banishing those moments. Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.

Thanks for all the input. I'm just going to have to take a trip up to Iron Pony and try on a few helmets. That is unless any of you can recommend a shop with a wide selection in or near Cincinnati. I haven't found a place yet that carries all or most of the brands I've listed above.

So far, after reading up, I have the following on my list to check out: Icon Airmada Bell RS-1 Shark S700 / S900 Scorpion EXO-500/700 Arai Signet-Q (breaks my budget) What else?

BTW, it's fair to say any helmet designed for a sport riding position won't work for me. With the neck issues I have, I only ride bikes that keep me close to "bolt upright" - My NightHawk 750 is almost too much w/o risers. Forward tuck = massive migraine. I have a feeling this would eliminate Scorpion, which otherwise has some interesting offereings. Don't know about Icon. Or Bell. Thx