redkow97

I have yet to hear a real, viable answer to this problem. Yes, addressing mental health issues is important, but that doesn't magically solve things any more than outlawing gun ownership would magically solve things. As several of these shooters have demonstrated, a diagnosis does not mean that treatment is being complied with, or that it's going to be effective even when the patient complies. Mental illness is only one part of the equation. There is still criminal thinking involved. And when a criminal is willing to sacrifice his life to achieve his objective, what preventative measures are going to intervene? The other "solution" I hear bandied around a lot is to "install metal detectors." Okay... I walk through a metal detector every day on my way into work. The county pays Sheriff's Deputies to sit at that desk and monitor the X-ray machine and metal detector all day every day. That is a significant expense. Multiply that expense by the number of entrances at every school in America, and I don't think it's even remotely feasible to implement that "solution." But let's say we as a society decide that such actions are necessary and appropriate, and the funds are worth the money - then we're putting a couple of thousand students a day and a hundred or so faculty members through (what ought to be) a rigorous search process every morning. Keys and belts set of our metal detector at my office. A line of 5 people can take several minutes to get through security. Say it takes an average of 30 seconds per person - that's still 500 minutes for a school of 2,000 staff/students. Divide that by the number of entrances (let's say 4, or that the school can afford 4 security officers anyway), and we're looking at more than a 2 hour wait to get into school each day. It simply will not happen. You're talking about airport levels of security (and we all love airport security, right?) every day. Beyond that, I think all you really accomplish is moving the shootings from the school to the parking lot, or to some other public setting. Maybe a football game instead of when classes are in session. Or it won't make any difference at all. If someone were motivated, my building has 1 deputy manning the door at all times, and a second deputy that "roams" between our building, and the other courthouse across the street. We have up to 2 deputies in the building at a time, along with 0-10 police officers from various departments who might be here to testify. Even with all 12 of those people here (and that's a huge hypothetical) a gunman could easily take out a couple of LEOs and move on to multiple civilians before anyone had the opportunity to respond. The standoff would occur within seconds instead of within 10 minutes, but the result is still loss of life. I'm all ears for other solutions, but I don't know what they are. Bad people do bad things. They always have, and they always will. Society chooses to tolerate it, or not to. Ours thinks they're not tolerating it, but most people are really just complaining that the government isn't doing anything for them.

Kent said $100 for the weekend, and you pay for whatever you break (not that there's many expensive parts to break on an XR100...) Rentals were still available as of 7:33 last night when Kent responded to my PM.

An EX500 is more than $200 better than a GS500... I wouldn't pay over $2k for either. Not even in showroom condition.

I agree that Todd isn't going to intentionally pull anything sneaky or unethical. I don't know him well, but everything I know about Todd suggests he's completely trustworthy. That said, the potential is there, and that was all Sean brought up. He didn't say he expects issues. He didn't say he had a problem with the situation. He just pointed out the potential for a conflict of interest. WERA and MotoSeries are competitors. I'm sure the same thoughts would cross Todd's mind if Sean had been appointed as track manager. I am hopeful it remains a non-issue.

that bandit does look clean for the price. I have been pleasantly surprised with the power from the old Suzuki oil-boiler motor. Granted mine is a 750, but the 600 isn't that far behind as far as top-end. Probably down a bit on torque though.

Not sure, but I can ask Russ and/or Kent. I believe they own the rental bikes. I know it's not a lot though. And you don't even have to buy an OMRL license for the PIRC event. My season license was $40, so if that's close to the rental cost, it's almost like you're getting the bike for free... almost...

if it wasn't clear from my first post, I have nothing bad to say about the EX250. My only concern would be that people seem to over-value them this time of year, because beginners put them in demand. With that said, the 2008 redesign has made the older examples less expensive. Also consider a GS500. I really liked how my dad's GS felt. it was stupid small, but in a fun way.

if you think "under $2500" is cheap, then you are golden. You should be able to find a decent bike for under a grand. You'll likely have to sink a few hundred into it, but nowhere near $2500... I have maybe $800 into my current street bike.

so show up and ride the thing... Scooters look goofy as shit, but they're fun to ride. You can hate it from the curb and love it from behind the bars. That happened to me with dualsports. Actually, that's how I got into sportbikes. I wanted a cruiser, but bought an EX500 because it was in my price range, and all the cruisers I was looking at kept getting bought out from under me. I thought fairings were lame. Then I rode it.

that actually looks more solid than many I have seen. metal container is good. Doesn't melt or grind through as easily in a crash. I'm not sure I would have run lines that low on the bottle, but given how high the hoses run, I think you're probably fine. Ben is the master of all things tech inspection, but i'd pass it...

how about removing all the grass from the track first But really, it's good to hear that a plan is being formulated. People can debate what order things should be done until they're blue in the face, but having everyone's agenda items on the list means they can't bitch forever. Anyone besides Madkat see that Sean pointed out Todd's conflict of interest in booking WERA dates? I think he's got a point. A point that Todd is much too good of a guy to let become an issue, but on paper, he's not wrong.

hmm... not sure which would be a bigger risk to break down during this event: me on a bicycle, or my bike at sub-20mph speeds for 100 miles.

hmmm... this sounds like an excellent way to hurt myself while grinning a lot.

I don't expect a business to open its books to the public, but in a dream scenario where there is more transparency, I think you'd get donations at the gate... WERA racers had pooled thousands of dollars a few years back in hopes of improving the safety of the track. I believe that money helped move back some tree lines and tire walls, and was starting to be used to improve the drainage, but that was part of the frustration: no one really knew where the money went. Who wants to start a kick-starter to repave each turn at NL?

preach on!

I don't think you're going to get the mileage desired from many of the models you listed. Maybe the CTS and the 3 series. Maybe someone on Fuelly is reporting those numbers for their Explorer and Terrain, but in real-world driving, I think it's unlikely. For a small 4wd SUV, look at 2009-2012 Ford Escapes. My sister-in-law had a 2012 "limited" with 4wd that would pull close to 30mpg on the highway. I assume it got 26ish in combined driving. It felt a bit loud when you really stomped on the gas, but that kept me from driving like an a-hole. Otherwise it was a nice car. The interior had nice features, and I think the last generation looked more manly than the current Tucson copy. I believe it would pull a small trailer and 1 bike. Maybe 2, but you're probably pushing what the brakes would handle at that point.

I was about to give you a hard time for not being from Ohio, but the sarcasm wouldn't have come across well online, let alone from someone you've never met. Nice bike. Not what I was expecting from someone who starts by saying he's 55 and has spent 25 years off a bike. Good choice, just not expected. Welcome.

so does the kick-stand hold the rear wheel off the ground, or does it have an auto-clutch that allows it to idle? The simplicity of this design fascinates me a bit. I wanted one of these things in a BAD way when I was in middle school

I think that is the way the sport will need to go for the track to survive. Tracks (and racing orgs) don't necessarily have income problems as much as cash-flow problems.

seems like that would take a long slide, and be asking for a product liability lawsuit. my only complaint about my textile jacket is that it doesn't breath at all. It's great in colder weather though.

That should be its own thread! Great news. I have a billion questions that I'm sure are none of my business. Here's to hoping this ends up being the first step in the rescue of Nelson Ledges.

I know i'm not super plugged into MotoSeries lately, but is this accurate? Is Todd (interim?) track manager? I think it makes sense to have someone with a vested interest in the condition of the track involved, but I wouldn't have expected them to be put in charge.

Like Ryan said, I have been down three times on big bikes at the track. One of those was a dumb (slow) crash in the grass. The other two could have been pretty bad, but thankfully weren't. Beyond that, I have gone down more times than I can count on the XR100. Learning to get your confidence back is much like any other skill - it takes practice. But I will say that riding in fear of crashing is almost a sure-fire way to crash... I don't think I could do this on the street, but my last XR crash, I went down after running over the bike of a rider who crashed in front of me. I got back on the bike and turned faster laps than before the crash. I wouldn't have been able to do that a year ago. That said, you don't need to rush yourself back. Try riding on some roads you know, with surface conditions you trust will be decent. You can't make yourself forget that you crashed, but until you're thinking about turning instead of not crashing, it just won't feel right. Good luck.

that far East, PIRC is probably almost as close. I work in Painesville, but live on the West side. Finally confident that my street bike won't strand me, so hopefully getting more riding in soon.

so now that it's sold, i'm curious how this thing works. Do you have to bump-start it to go and stall it to stop?