Rodehard

Sharp looking bike. I've never been and HD guy, but your bike looks excellent.

Sounds great Jeremy. Myself and friends have had a few good weekends in SEO over the years. We usually grab a hotel in Marrietta for "home base", take off in the morning, ride all day, eat at bob evens, grab beer at the gas station, and spend the evenings standing around the bikes in the hotel parking lot telling lies about how fast we are. And yes, this battle our girl has been fighting has been sooo hard. She is lying in her hospice bed right now, right next to my "Dad chair", sleeping. I have to keep looking to make sure she is still breathing. So freaking sad. But, we have learned how truly great people are - we have been helped by so many folks during this time, bringing us meals during rough times, even donating money so we can keep the heat on while my wife is off work. There ARE good people in this world, country, state, town - despite what is seen on the news every night. Thanks for the greeting, and look forward to riding with you and others on the forum this summer!

I have pit bull's, but really only because pony had them in stock when I was there shopping for other stuff after buying the Duke. No complaints, except my front stand lifts by the bottom of the fork - will need to get the other setup to lift from the lower triple clamp next year for fork service.

oooohh.....interested. I can't commit to anything yet, but subscribed.

If by "today" we include over the past couple months: Valve clearance check, new plugs, clean all the crap you can't see and/or reach with the airbox installed, replaced dented radiator and complete the goofy air burp procedure, replaced a few little items that got scratched in the low side, sat on the bike and made vroom vroom noises. PS - I am surprised to be able to report that KTM replacement parts are actually reasonable priced, comparable to Japanese brands. Even KTM accessories, made by other companies (think soft luggage), are actually lower priced than the same item without KTM branding. The BMW, on the other hand, parts were priced as if forged from pure gold.

Welcome! Another newbie here.

Welcome from another new member. Nice looking ride!

Deal!

Here's what info I can offer after owning my 4th home: Location (school district, taxes, neighbors, trains, noisy highways, lot size). As you know, neighbors can be awesome best friends, or total douche bags. This can really come into play if you have a shared driveway or similar arrangement. Watch out for homes that have been heavily remodeled by the homeowner - many of them are not carpenters/electricians no matter how awesome they think they are. I've spent way too much time/money fixing "improvements" the PO made. Old homes, I mean like anything built in the 40's or earlier, are a bitch to work on. The studs are hard as a rock, they usually have very little or no insulation, plumbing was added decades after the house was built and is a bitch to work on - and you will work on it. Lath boards and plaster suck. Old aluminum cloth covered wiring, and iffy fuse boxes. I've come to hate any wood on the exterior - this is all stuff that will need painted every 5yrs or sooner. Love the vinyl or aluminum siding, soffets, etc. Watch out for the fiber-board fake cedar looking siding, some of this stuff rots from the inside. Get a good inspection, make the inspector (or yourself) get into the crawlspace and look for black mold, especially under the showers/tubs/refridgerator/kitchen sink. Black mold, if found and recorded, will stick whoever owns the house with an expensive professional remediation bill. Oh, and if there is black mold it's because the plumbing leaks. Most banks want 20% down. Keep your payment at 25% of monthly take home pay, and 15yr mortgage is best for lower rate. However there is a good argument for longer term (20 or 30 yr) mortgages, in that the payment is lower so that when financial times are tough, it's easier to keep your house - but when times are good, pay extra every month, then you can pay it off in 15, or maybe even 10 yrs. If you have the time and skills, buying a fixer upper is a great way to get into a home at low cost, improve while you live there, and make a nice profit. My first house was built in 1895. It sat on a 2.5acre yard, and paid $75k for it. Remodeled the interior during the 10yrs I lived there, then sold it for $160k. Renting has its good points too. No need to cough up 20%, easy to move in/out - it can take months to close on a home sale, no mowing/painting/plumbing work to do..... Good luck to ya bud.

I thru in for the 2nd as well. But I'd be up for some of the later dates too/instead. ooof, can't wait!

NICE!!!!! Man I wanted that bike so bad when they came out, but I couldn't get squat for trade in on my beemer. Congrats bud. Awesome machine (and I love the looks of those bikes).

Sold the beemer, and in a moment of glossy-eyed passion fueled by a pocket of cash, bought Alpinestars GP Pro gloves. NOW I'll be able to drag my elbow just like the big boys - it's gotta be the gloves, right?

welcome from another new member!

Never heard of Five before - looks like nice stuff on their website. Thanks for the tip!

What gloves do you guys like for this usage? The Aeromoto gloves I have now are 5yrs old, and have a couple seams coming apart so time for a replacement. These were great gloves. Track ready (ish), vents that actually work, kangaroo skin palms. I'd get another pair, but Aeromoto was a house brand for competition accessories, and they don't sell them any more. Thanks in advance for your input!

Holy crap, almost $1000 for a jacket? http://canyonchasers.net/reviews/gear/klim-badlands.php

@jacobhawkins Yeah it rained lightly most of the morning - one of the morning sessions, it was only me and the coach on the track. Some of the guys in my novice group had slicks, I can understand why they sat it out. It dried out in the afternoon, then it was on! Coach noted my front rotors were the right color. Purple. That old Kaw was heavy and fast:).

This sounds great! I'm determined to get back to MO this year. Did my first track day on my 48th birthday 4 yrs ago - went by myself but met some good folks there, coaches were great. I took my ol' Zed - most fun I've ever had on a street bike! ps - I'm slow, and I know it. 30yrs of street riding doesn't = fast on the track!

Yep, and double yep. No one has invented that perfect easy on/off, selectively air conditioned or heated, fully waterproof or open air, ultimate riding gear. I wish "they" would hurry up and do it! Cross country riding in the hot summer, in and out of cold rain storms crossing mountains, make for a grueling day in the saddle. Baking hot to wet and freezing and back, several times in a day can suck. But we do it anyways :).

This is the setup that works well for me in temps from about 40F to the 90'sF, while minimizing the qty of gear to haul. Very similar what a lot of you guys are using: Mesh+Textile Jacket with armor (tourmaster Intake Air) with removable WP liner, Mesh+Textile pants with removable liner. Both liners wad up to fit in a 1 gal ziplock. Heated jacket and pants liners. Cheap rain suit for over mesh gear - fits in a 1 gal ziplock.. 3 pairs of gloves: vented track gloves, WP insulated touring gloves, heated gloves. Gore-Tex boots. Lots of ear plugs. Naked bikes on long highway stints = Mesh gear over shorts/T-shirt for 85F+ temps, heated liner inside mesh jacket at anything below 70F, at 60F time to add the WP Liner. Below 55F everything is on - the rain gear over the mesh+liner protects the heated liners from the wind, allowing the heated gear to run at a lower setting. Faired bikes like my 1200rt, same as above but drop all the temps by 5-10 degrees before you have to start adding layers/heat.

Thanks for the welcome's guys. Found the Duke on craigslist - the 20-something original owner lowsided it on the dragon tail, some roadrash on the LH motor cover and some other minor bits but otherwise like a new bike, except less than half the money!

Hi All, Been lurking for a few years, looks like you guys have some great fun, and some great rides together. 1AM on NYE, and I'm joining an online motorcycle forum - I'm such a party animal! A little about myself: so far still married :), 3 kids, with our oldest currently in in-home hospice after 4+ years of fighting cancer - she's a tough girl. I'm 52, been riding since I was 10 on and off road, sometimes on purpose. My street bikes have all been sport bikes (CBR, ZX-11, ZZR1200), except for the beemer I bought a few years ago. It's for sale, great bike but sooooo slow. The new to me KTM SDR is the best bike I've ever owned. Love that thing, wheelies at will. Look forward to this year's riding season, and hope to do some track days at MO, plus a lot of SEO rides. See ya around! Mark