Hailwood

1. Be 17 with first bike (Yamaha Seca II) 2. See girls in parking lot 3. Accelerate in parking lot thinking I'm Steve McQueen 4. Not know parking lot was freshly sealed 5. Massive tankslapper when I get on brakes 6. Fall off back and watch bike slide down the pavement while girls look on 7. ????? 8. Did not profit Sprained my wrist something awful. Took months for it to feel normal again.

One of the things that I really liked about my R1 when I got it was the way the numberplate graphic was done on the front. Unfortunately, the stock screen wasn't really made for airflow for my tall, lanky ass, and I wound up swapping it out for a Zero Gravity screen that worked much better, but lost that factory look. Since the Rossi edition is limited, you can't just buy the decal from Yamaha to put onto another windscreen, but after some searching I was able to find someone selling a factory screen on eBay, and now I want to remove the graphic and transfer it onto my ZG screen. I've contacted a few of the local Akron sign shops but so far they have all replied that they didn't think that the decal could be removed without destroying it, and offered to replicate it. My strong preference would be to use the stock graphic for color matching and I've heard from the R1 forum of some people doing it successfully. I still think it's possible, I may just be asking the wrong companies. Any recommendations for vinyl/sign shops in the Akron/Canton area that might be able to do this?

I would think they could have run away pretty easily...

The airless tire concept is nothing new, but some other neat ideas in there. I'm still waiting for our printed sidewalls to become commercially available. I think there would be a decent amount of interest.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought that - the ultra flat seat and tank with the weirdly short reach to the bars made the position really cramped, especially with my long monkey arms. Its too bad as the old hyper was about right for a big street motard. On an unrelated note, I definitely want a Super Tenere.

This. From the online ads, it sounds like some of the manufacturers that have been absent the last couple of years will be back. The vendors are kind of hit or miss in terms of junk vs. good deals, but it's fun to look around. I've been going for the last 12 years and still really enjoy it. We'll be there on Saturday.

Maserati GranTurismo I sat in one at the Detroit auto show this week and it was like being cradled in a sumptuous leather, alcantara, and carbon fiber cocoon.

Looks great, I'm definitely looking forward to checking everything out at the IX next weekend. That new Hyper is especially tasty.

Sure, but the 8 people that are employed really like it.

Another interesting fact that isn't in the article is that at least 95 of the 96% is all jbot.

Same here. I finally broke down at ~2:30 and went out. Was surprisingly pleasant, even though the roads were damp, and I wound up cruising around for a couple hours. For January, I'll take it.

If this rain continues and washes most of the salt off the roads, I'll definitely be out for a little while tomorrow.

Very sorry to hear about your friend and her daughter. Her family and friends will be in our thoughts.

I grabbed that exact model from a holiday sale recently for pretty cheap and really like it. I've always enjoyed watches, but have only recently started learning about them. My wife got me a Seiko SSA023 automatic for Christmas, and I absolutely love it. I'm fascinated by automatic movements and I really love the exhibition face.

I normally don't get into these kinds of discussions, but I thought this was a pretty interesting way of responding: Link to article

If you have the interest, mechanical engineering is a great way to get into the automotive industry, and there are many opportunities at both the OEM and supplier level. The auto industry as a whole is very competitive and can be higher stress, but it offers chances to do some amazing things if you have the desire. I've been fortunate enough to work for a T1 automotive supplier that also has some involvement with the motorcycle industry, and as a result have had some fantastic motorcycle related experiences that I would not have had otherwise. There are other suppliers (Dunlop is one of the better examples) that have a strong motorcycle development and manufacturing presence for both OEMs and racing in the US. The side benefit of ME is that it is typically considered the most diverse of the engineering disciplines, so it's easy to be considered for a wide range of career options, which may not be as true with something like IT. The money can also be very good, so you have the ability to finance hobbies while also saving for the future.

Sorry to see you go, Nivin, but I wish you all the best. Detroit is one of my least favorite places to visit, but Ann Arbor is pretty nice. Once you make the move, definitely look into some of the riding in North~Northwestern Michigan. It's beautiful up there, and there are some genuinely good roads, plus Gratten and Gingerman will be closer. Definitely agree about the sendoff ride in the Spring. Just let me know when and I'll be there.

I loved my Speed Triple - as others have mentioned probably one of the best engines I've ever had the pleasure of throwing a leg over. Was also easy to work on and gave me no problems over the 2 years I owned it. Had it not been for the marginal suspension (mine was an '06, the '08+ are better) I would probably still have it.

Both these and the previous-gen -021's are great tires in both the wet and dry. On my roadtrip earlier this year, we wound up riding in heavy rain/wet roads for the last 300 miles through the mountains of WV/TN/NC and my FZ1 with -021's didn't miss a beat. Modern sport/sport-touring tires typically have really great wet traction because most of them use high-silica tread compounds. The pattern doesn't really come into play much until the water depths start increasing (i.e. the puddles you mentioned), in which case hydroplaning does become a factor.

Wow, that was close. I've definitely had my share of rectally loosening moments with cars, but not any as close as that. I've gotten to where I take it pretty easy over blind rises because of things like this. I'm glad everything worked out ok.

If you go out for a while on Sunday let me know and I could probably make that.

I'm helping a coworker move in the morning, so I probably won't be able to make it, but if I get done in time, I'll try to come out. Ride safe.

That is some serious hawtness. I loved the RC8R I rode last year and imagine that a Duke would be a fantastic streetbike.

When I worked at a motorcycle dealership several years ago around the time the 1800's debuted, my old boss used to rave about how well they handled and would routinely use one to embarrass guys that thought they were quick on sportbikes.