redkow97

Good Christ... More badging than a Harley owners group rally. If a car is that fast, you don't have to tell everyone how fast it is.

Clicked on the link. Pic #12 appears to show an RC51 with a WERA sticker on the side. He's running novice plates on that bike. #890. If I get to a computer, I'll see if I can't determine who it is from te WERA website. Can't be too many 890's in the West region.

I'm thinking they have been raced at some point, and it's not just for show. Like someone else said, if I ever hit the lotto, my garage will look similar. Hell, I think I would just keep my current house and store bikes here, then move the family some place bigger. Daddy doesn't have a "man-cave" or a garage retreat, he has a "man-estate" with bikes in the living room.

His for sale thread on the NESBA board indicated that it was sold. Twice actually. I think the first buyer backed out. As far as I know, the second buyer followed through.

Not my style, but I can appreciate the build quality. I don't like the polished aluminum, but if that's the route he's going to go, the needs to swap out the yellow spring with a black one. I would ride it, that's for sure. Not sure I would want to own it, but at least it's a custom build that's made to do more than make noise and track straight down the highway.

Damnit... Shit like this makes me want to quit my job (which I very much enjoy) and do something I hate for double the money. I would probably have to sleep in the garage with this if my wife found out how much it cost, but I think I could live with that. GLWS

I was going to post a vid of an RC51 at full throttle to try and contribute to the Honda love-fest, but I can't find a clip that's worthy. The CBX does sound nasty. I like it.

Big-box stores have their advantages. I bought my wife's ring from Kay knowing that I was over-paying. But I was okay with that because it increases the insured value if it's ever stolen, and their biannual inspections and cleanings mean that if the stone falls out, Kay replaces it free of charge. And we can move pretty much anywhere and still have a Kay location within a reasonable distance to perform the inspections. That said, my wife's ring was only $2400 or something like that. Huge diamonds look silly to me when they're on a tiny hand. They also get in the way. A full karat is about the largest most women can actually wear every day without getting annoyed. My wife's ring is more like .55 or something. As far as I know, she'd prefer a bigger house before a bigger stone.

Don't worry. It all worked out or the passengers of Oceanic flight 815.

Nelson ledges does (or used to do) "fun days" for $120 per driver. I never participated, but a friend of mine asked me about it because he knew I had ridden there. His dad has a Porsche and now tracks it regularly. Nelson was his first time on track. I expect it is the least expensive track time you will find for a car. PIRC also does auto cross and "track cross" events. Track cross is the same concept as auto cross except its a clutch start on the front straight, and then the finish line is on the back straight. Turn 10 isn't part of the timing loop, so there is room to slow down and re-stage.

Will that be competitive? I have very little knowledge of the F1 and F2 rules beyond what I see running out there from the corner working spots. For some reason, I am always flirting with the idea of owning a 2-stroke. It may as well be race legal...

I'm almost thankful that I can't wheelie. I feel like it would only get me into trouble. ...but I'd like to be able to be a squid on the cool-down lap after a race win. Seems like a win deserves some tomfoolery.

almost none - they prefer to rev their engines at the stop light, so they're sleeping when it actually changes to green ;-)

a lot of those "most miserable" lists consider weather and pro sports team success, as well as the strength of the economy. I generally like Ohio. I am sick of winter, but I think it helps me appreciate summer, or even days like today where it was freezing yesterday, and it's 50 and sunny outside.

quick story: before I was in law school, I was working 2 jobs. (That is how I could afford to get into track riding. it also paid for my wife's ring) My second job was mopping floors, emptying trash, and cleaning bathrooms at a pre-school. The owner of the joint was around on occasion after hours (I worked 6-9) changing light bulbs, etc. and we would chat about stuff. He knew I was applying to law schools, etc. So one day Marty asks me, "Chris, you seem like a smart guy - why are you scrubbing toilets?" I told him "I have a girlfriend who wants a ring, and an expensive hobby." He asks "what's the hobby?" I tell him that I do track days on motorcycles and am thinking about getting into racing. Marty stops what he's doing, looks at me, thinks for 4 or 5 seconds, and says, "break up with the girlfriend," and then just gives me this big idiot grin. In hindsight, he was on a ladder at 8:00 on a weeknight changing light bulbs in the building of his wife's business. The guy had a full-time job, but was roped into that kind of crap on top of it. He probably wasn't the least biased person to be talking to

I agree with the generalization that drag racing is "easy," but only until the equipment is good enough to start demanding serious skill. Even with the greatest car or bike of all time, I would find it improbable that man of us could lay down a 9 second run just because the bike was capable of it. that is why I like road racing better. The XR100 is not fast, but it's still not easy to ride it around a road course. It would be easy (and even boring) to drag race it. That effect can be seen on 250's, 650's, and on up the line until you find a bike that is big enough to be "fun" to drag race. I watched "The world's fastest indian" last night, so I'm feeling mildly more respect for the high-speed straight-line racers than I ordinarily might

completely true. I used to work with a woman who learned to ride and bought a pretty nice Honda Shadow. It was a nice solid, reliable, comfortable cruiser. But she was 100% convinced that her bike was faster than my EX500, because mine was "only a 500." And the EX was only a sportbike in the loosest sense of the word. I don't think most people really wrap their heads around 100+ horsepower on a machine that only weighs 600 lbs with the rider... Modern 600's will hit 60mph in under 3 seconds. Modern liter bikes can probably do it in under 2 seconds with a good launch. That's faster than virtually any production car in the world. "Faster than a Lamborghini" seems to register with more people.

i can understand that being annoying. the whole "6 foot" rule is crazy unrealistic though. I always try to give people a wide birth when I pass, but I can't control what THEY do. If I go around the outside, and then they drift wider than I thought they would, the 6' I gave them quickly turns into 3' Really, I think the safest way to pass someone is "as quickly as possible." I don't throw inside passes on people unless I am in Advanced, and I'm confident they won't tighten up their line (i.e. I've observed them for a lap or two), but making a pass deliberately is one of the more important things. a half-assed pass is one that may not happen at all, and then you've put yourself and the other rider in a situation where you both have to adjust your plan at the last second.

so all that modification to obtain a real-world top speed equal to the $500 Katana 750 in my garage... Makes sense.

Did the 238hp Sanger Cycles guy say the bike was only capable of 160? The 5 speed must really hold it back...

I just saw that the "tail" number is actually on the swing-arm. I have seen some teams have them on the lower, as tail sections get smaller and smaller, but as far as I know, that is a first.

Let's assume for just a minute that the 404hp figure is real. Take that for granted. Like I said in my first post, it's an impressive number, but the number doesn't mean anything unless you're having a dyno competition, or comparing it directly to another bike that is the same make and model (i.e. same weight, gearing, and other handling characteristics). Look at a car like the Aerial Atom. "low" horsepower, but HUGE performance. It embarrasses cars with twice or three times the horsepower. I imagine a 400hp cruiser (regardless of manufacturer) can probably easily be out-performed by a stock FZ6, or other comparable bike with less power, but also less weight. The cruiser will have a torque advantage, but I bet it still takes 11+ seconds to make a quarter mile pass. I really try not to bash cruisers, but I do think it's silly to try to turn them into something they're not. If you want to cruise, cruise! Why try to turn a Winnebago into a dragster?

Then I guess the "I" guys were right to complain about me... I asked Monger what a "good" lap time was, and he said "1:25," (which I believe is what Spies had turned the last time he was there) and then grinned at me. I believe I was in the 1:41 range at that point. I would have moved up if I was breaking 1:40

The noise was real, Pauly. And you can't take that away from him.