redkow97

Can you elaborate a bit on "reading the plugs?" I have done this a little on my XR, but with 2-4 plugs, the process seems a bit more complicated.

...so you don't want us to see your license plate, but you ride around with it exposed all the time?

I would believe that. I have seen a Z06 do a 1:12 at Nelson without looking like it was struggling.

I wouldn't say all cars will always run faster times, but yes, the fastest cars will always be faster than the fastest bikes. I just like that a $3,000 bike can keep up with a much more expensive car. This guy had sunk a lot of money into his RX7 to get it to the point where it could turn 1:08's. Maybe he's just not that good of a driver, and maybe he was taking it easy on his street car, but I used to turn 1:08's on my warm up lap before I was running tire warmers. I am surprised that an S2000 does that well, but without knowing how good of a driver he is, it's hard to make any kind of real comparison. 1:04 is a fast lap for me, but better riders will do an entire race and not have a flying lap over a minute... I talked to the RX7 guy because his car sounded awesome, and he appeared to be the fastest guy out there. Maybe none of them were that fast. The guy in the McLaren was a straight-line hero though! spooky fast. quietest car on the track, and I know he was hitting the highest trap speed on the back straight.

Isn't "CORE riders" redundant?

if anyone wants the front stand, I would take the rear and split the set with you. I assume these can come to CRP on the 26th for round 1?

**track record on a motorcycle.

I was up at the kart track Saturday, and there were cars on the big track. I went over to talk to a guy with an RX-7 after watching him smoke a 616hp McLaren 12c. I'm sure the McLaren is faster, but the guy driving it wasn't. Anyway, I initially went over because the RX-7 sounded absolutely sick, and was spitting huge flames out the pipe under deceleration. I wanted to see if it was rotary, or a V8. (turns out it is a rotary with 1 huge single turbo replacing the stock twin turbo setup, but I digress...) So I asked what kind of laps they turn in such expensive equipment. His car had a considerable amount of motor work and cheater slicks. He said he could manage 1:08's in that car. I consider that to be a pretty solid Intermediate time on a 600. Now with that said, a "pro mazda" car (whatever that is - I assume it's an RX7 race series) would turn :54's. I think the track record is a high :53 by Pegram on a liter bike, and :57 is beyond impressive for mere mortals (Neyra has done a few).

...I thought this was going to be about the Nissan GT-R

2-years old is the typical cutoff, but I wondered if they would extend that due to the fact that it's the same generation, and it's not raced at the pro level. Winning on a Honda 250 would be a tall order anyway. Especially at Nelson, with a back straight where the EX250's are coming out of the carousel in 5th gear... The Honda is "better" than the Kawasaki, but the Kawasaki is faster. Weird how that works.

as an aside, a 5x8 enclosed trailer may cost marginally more than a shed, and also have more uses beyond simply keeping your bike out of the elements. Stick it in the back yard with the wheels chocked and leveled with jacks, and it's a shed.

I am not sure I could help, but I would be an extra set of hands and try to learn something while we mess with your bike instead of mine

JB had a mouse living in his airbox when he bought his bike. It chewed the foam air filter, and the metal housing! if the elements are the only concern, then the rubbermade stuff will do well. But from what I'm seeing, they are expensive. The steel sheds are a LOT cheaper. I just searched "plastic shed" on Amazon, and got a ton of results. a decent sized rubbermade setup is going to be $750-$1,000 very quickly. Similarly sized steel units start under $300... **edit - this looks like the ideal solution. http://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Shed-YS47-A-4-Feet-Storage/dp/B0015ZXYCU/ref=sr_1_21?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1397492356&sr=1-21&keywords=plastic+shed

having the bike out of sight is the biggest security advantage to keeping it in a shed. If people want in, they will get in. Speaking to the rubbermade shecks in particular, I have seen a LOT of police reports where those are broken into. As someone pointed out, the only "tool" needed to break in is a lighter. You heat the door and just pull the lock off when the plastic melts. Smart thieves won't even need to do that (the lighter becomes a "criminal tool" and adds an additional charge). In the process of talking to one of the victims of such a theft, he said his shed has been broken into multiple times. The plastic "frame" flexes enough that you can easily push the doorframe up enough to pull the door off the hinge. What I'm saying is GO WITH A WOODEN STRUCTURE. And don't skimp on your hinges and locks. If you are going to have ventilation (and I suggest that you do), put any vents or windows high up, and make them too small for people to fit through. I don't know that I could build a 5x8 for $500, but i'd like to think I could keep it below $1,000, and get something more like 8x10...

any chance it's a paddle-style rear? I'm not about to weld spools on the katana...

Does honda still offer contingency on this bike?

Security camera footage sucks balls for identification purposes. If you have a witness who can put the subject at the scene and describe what he or she was wearing without aid of the video, and THEN show the video, it can be useful. Eye witnesses are almost always better.

Goldwings impress me from an engineering standpoint, but not as a motorcycle. It's a civic convertible... Costs about the same too. I think that's my biggest gripe.

Slaps on the wrist for all! The problem with incidents involving 40 people is that all the witnesses plead the 5th, and you have a hard time getting everyone convicted. This is actually pretty similar to how Allan Iverson went to jail. They'll look at who the "worst" kids are, and go after them for felony rioting charges, then give everyone else 4th degree misdemeanors (disorderly conduct) for fighting in the vicinity of a school.

Nice. I was just going to point out that every brand will make a strat clone... Ibanez makes decent stuff. I had an SR505 Ibanez bass that never gave me any issues. Guitars are a lot like bikes and firearms though. There is always something you can upgrade or some accessory to add to make it different (not always better). My old teacher had 50+ guitars...

Both are probably fine. Hell, Russ has his face on his front number plate. Even with all the bikes being the same model, you'll know 95% of the grid within 2-3 weekends...

JB - do you have any Anderson Door Racing catch-can brackets around? My "first generation" model is probably in the parts box on the work bench if he wants that. Think it's flat enough to mail to him? (for reference, Josh Herrin runs the ADR catch-can bracket on his personal XR100. Totally serious. )

don't scare the guy! it's not like a first-timer at CRP is going to drop 5 positions because he ran the wrong carb jet! just show up with the bike safety wired, and street tires mounted up. The rest is just gravy. I would advise that the folding shift lever and bark-busters are nice items that keep you riding more than wrenching. that said, we have one or two spare shift levers if anyone needs one to get back on track.

How do you mean? I'm sure there were plenty of guys named Jesus who were born in that region of the world at the approximate time Jesus lived. I'll even go so far as to say I believe this person was a great human being, who we could all model our lives after and make the world a better place. ...why he has to be the son of god to make him a relevant example for the religious is beyond me though. I would say the same about whether or not he was married. What difference does it make? Either he was a good person, or he wasn't. Hell, even if he was completely fictional, that doesn't remove or eliminate the lesson or example.

Did I miss the part where he put street-glide bodywork on a goldwing? Because unless I missed that, I don't see how a goldwing's handling abilities are at all relevant to how capable the bike pictured is. Like I said, it's capable of carrying 2 people in comfort, and doing it in style, I just don't see what that has to do with "the right rider."