Smokey

here's a nice one...titled Liar Liar from 4/9/07 Paco worked a sucker over a long time before he got the guy to pay $8000 for a Yamaha TTR 230, which lists for $3099. Lots and lots of Freight, and even more Prep. With all the Freight this guy paid, he could have bought a ride on the space shuttle. He got sent to the moon. Paco was contento, and the customer was happy to be getting the best TTR230 ever made, or at least the most expensive. Then an angry service customer came up to the front counter and demanded to talk to the CSB. The CSB had left right after lunch because she has dog training at 8:00 at night and forgot her dog training clothes. So Star decided that the best place for the angry guy to vent was right next to Paco's desk, so Paco, his Mark, and the wife and child of the mark could hear that the guy's bike was in our service department for 5 months, the parts were supposed to be here, and they still aren't, and he'd been told they would be next week for the past five months. He used the term Liar several times in reference to pretty much everyone he'd dealt with back in Service. Star finally got a word in edgewise, and ignoring what the customer had said about all the lies he'd been told for the last five months, told the guy that if they told him the same thing last Tuesday, it was because they didn't know the part his bike needed was on backorder, and that they just found out the part was on backorder, and that's why they were now telling him the part was on backorder. And it will probably take another 5 months to get the part.

I have full coverage all year round. Been with State Farm for quite some time now. I had to take my car there but they were so much better on my bike that it still saved me money. Luckily your superhawk will get categorized as a "sport touring" bike by most companies saving you money. For reference, when I was 21, with my brand new 636, I think I paid like $70/month.

unfortunately they stay in business because there are a lot of uninformed customers out there...as they'd say "there's a sucker born every minute" I find that most people will buy one bike from ask (usually their first bike purchase) and then wise up and never return. The blog is hilarious though and reaffirms many stories I've heard over the years.

Warning - may not be suitable for your work. There are not any unsafe images, but the text content definately is explicit. Use at your own risk. OK, I just wanted to share for those of you who haven't already read this masterpiece. http://lazyk.blogspot.com THE BEST!!! It's about ASK powersports in Grove City and written by a few of their employees about the in store antics and everyday life. Completely funny to me because I know it's true. I highly recommend you take plenty of time out of your day and go back to the beginning and read the entire thing...you will NOT be disappointed. ENJOY.

bumpity

sorry for my lack of memory, but are the vance and hines slip ons or a full system? When did you buy the bike? How long did you ride it before this problem popped up?

while the Ducati looks cool the maintenance will kill you. Best to avoid that brand unless you really know what you're getting into. I'd sell my 636 for the right price...PM me if interested.

are you still running stock jets? stock pipes? does it happen at full throttle, part, or both?

the car pictured is the Kabura concept. They're not even far enough along on the idea of another rx7 to have renderings. The Kabura was just a stab in the air for autoblog's best guess as to what it may look like.

I'm thinking it's wwwaayyy too far out to have any idea what'll actually make it to production (that is...if it gets produced). I have heard that Mazda has been playing around with putting their direct injection systems on the rotary with good results. I would definately like to see some more on that.

your Kawasaki card can be used at any Kawasaki dealer. The special pricing promotions (cheap monthly payments that fool you into a sense of actually paying on your bike) will only apply to NEW bike purchases. You can buy a used bike on your Kawi card but it will be at whatever the "standard" APR was when you got the card...most likely 17.9%

http://www.corbin.com/kawasaki/zx9r02.shtml the main problem with sportbike seats is that they lean forward and jam your nuts into the tank, the corbin seats will help this and provide you with a better seating position. They're generally harder than a stock seat, but you'll never notice with the improved position. I'd look for one on ebay and try to save some money. I completely understand the "new bike bug". If it has to be a new bike this season, take a look at a zx12. See if you can scam a ride on one. I know if you have the will power it'll go the distance. I used to have a customer who rode his to california and back every year.

are you currently comfortable on your 9 riding those distances, or are you looking for an upgrade there? How did you like your bike at the track? While your bike is a little heavy in track terms you may find that by updating the suspension you can take it pretty far. Rider makes up for a lot on the track. I've seen a guy riding a CBR1100XX that was getting over so far he was dragging his lower plastics! I also saw a guy riding a BMW 1150GS and flying on it, it takes all kinds. If you are looking for something similar to your ZX9 but with more power you could also consider a ZX12. I'm sure you could find a good deal one these days.

+2 for the VFR. From your statements it seems like you're planning on taking out of state trips, possibly overnight stays somewhere, is that correct? Have you been on the track before? What do you have in your mind as far a track riding goes? As far as a street bike, it's hard to beat the VFR (newer FZ1 as well). They're comfy, have great midrange, and in the proper hands can show most sportbikes (and their riders) a thing or two in the twisties. All that with the hardbags on. Track limitations are just ground clearance (which can be scary if you touch the center stand down), but you're going to have the same clearance/weight issues with a 14 or busa as well. I wouldn't buy a busa or 14 just because you think they'll be better suited to the track...now, if you like straight line speed, they're up your alley.

if his profile is correct, then it's a 2005, which would be a 636. Those number aren't really off the mark for a dead stock one either, figuring different dynos could be off by a couple hp it seems in line with what I've seen.

as far as engines are concerned, you have no need to worry unless a previous owner has gone out of their way to neglect the motor. Most dealers will do a Pre Purchase Inspection for you (Kelly or MAG, whichever is closer) to make sure that the car is on the up-and-up. At around the 70K mileage mark you're going to be right at the time when many maintenance items need to be replaced, and if you don't do your own work...they'll be pretty expensive. I'm not sure about the standard 3 series models, but I know that all the M cars need to have the entire front control arms replaced when the ball joints go out. It'll likely be coming up on replacement time for the radiator and water pump (usually 60-80K miles) so check for maintenance records to see if it's been done. Of course these items are not very different than any other car of that age, the parts just cost a bit more. 1999 was the first year for the e46 3-series. You may look around to see if there are any BMW CPO cars around that still carry a warranty (03ish probably). Either way taking any possible car to the stealer for a PPI is well worth the money.

if you feel this should be somewhere else, please feel free to move it. It was obvious that the kid's dad was pulling the strings there, and then it became painfully obvious that his dad happens to be a complete idiot. I personally would have tried to leverage the Rhys sponsorship for some inside info, since he's one of the only people to have raced that car.

http://www.setup-tv.com did anyone watch the first episode last night? I think the show definately has promise. I almost crapped when that kid turned down the Rhys Millen sponsorship.

I'm completely guilty of riding in tennis shoes more than I should. Just make sure you've got pants that will cover your ankles while riding. A rock to the ankle bone is less than pleasureable.

GREAT FIND!! funny as hell, yet a little scary as well. I'm sure that the kid who made the video resume thought that he was going to be seen as unique and get the job for thinking outside the box (evidently he's never actually worked for a bank). Granted, if you watched more than 30 seconds of the video you realized that he's the biggest tool known to this century, but totally sucks to be him and try to find a professional job now.

unfortunately even if there was some sort of standard set a one point, it's never been enforced and therefore can be stretched all they want. It's not false advertising as long as they can replicate the results, which they can, they're just not quite what I'd call "truthful" You'll even see some discrepencies with wet weights which are only published by magazines because some fill the tank all the way, others only half way. These differences however are minor in comparison to dry weight differences. Plus, if you stay consisten with the source (in my case Sport Rider) then you know they'll weigh all bikes the same.

move to the speed trap? Worthington does suck though, I won't go through there anymore. Last summer I was chased down through rush hour traffic when heading out of town by a police officer so that he could pull me over for no front plate. He literally pulled me over 50 feet from the 270 exit I was about to take! I ended up getting away with just a written warning, but it was funny. On the bottom of the ticket where the box was checked stating "further occurances may result in a ticket", he crossed out "may" and wrote really big over it to say that I WILL get a ticket next time...nice touch. Now, I drive the fiancee's car through Worthington if I'm going.

I used Dayton Freight to ship a transmission from here to Conn, and I think it was about $100, and the transmission was 100lbs all packaged up. UPS usually doesn't deal with packages that big. I've also heard of people shipping through Greyhound for really cheap, might be worth checking out.

where is that place? I use a little-known place up in Delaware off of 23 that is well worth the drive.

I think you'll be very happy with the bike, they make great street bikes as well, have tons more midrange than their counterparts. It's a shame that they went back to 599s this year