redkow97

I hear this argument a lot, but I don't understand the logic behind it. Not every job is meant to support a person. The minimum wage was not created to keep everyone above the poverty line. I had minimum wage jobs in high school and college. I was not working 40 hours a week, because I was going to school full-time, and my employer didn't need me full time. But during summers, I worked for $9.25/hour through a temp agency. You know what "qualified" me for that job? Passing a drug test, and showing up on time every day. That's it. That place (America's Body Company - Great Lakes Truck Equipment, if anyone cares) was begging for people to apply to work on their assembly lines. They were paying the temp agency $11/hour in 2002, and the worker was bringing in $9.25 of that. I had a similar experience working for Eaton Electrical the following summer. Both of those positions were full-time, and I was trained on the job. Yes, I was/am modestly mechanically inclined, but they didn't know that when they hired me. All they wanted was a clean piss-test and reliable attendance. Those jobs are out there - maybe not as many of them as there were in 2002 and 2003, but if I was able to find them over summer vacation, someone else with even mild motivation should be able to find them if they're looking year-round.

New vehicles are almost never financially justifiable until the existing vehicle is literally falling apart and virtually un-drivable. It is inconvenient to have your daily driver in the shop every couple of months when things start going wrong, but even when your maintenance expenses start to equal the payment on a hypothetical new(er) vehicle, you're still not paying interest on the new(er) vehicle's balance, and (in theory) you can only replace so many components before you're out of things to break and replace... The exception would be trading down to a less expensive or more fuel efficient vehicle, but you're talking about going from a 5.3 to a 5.3 and eating $5k difference. No change in economy. So my vote is keep it if you're happy with it... In another 50 or 100k miles, the timing might have been right!

see my comments on the article... I couldnt' resist. I really don't think increasing the minimum wage is a great option. It will improve the lives of the best un-skilled workers, but I think it makes the other 80% an unjustifiable expense. Realistically, the best un-skilled workers were gaining skills, and hoping to be promoted to a better position anyway. All this does is make a "minimum wage" job less undesirable for people who already have greater skills, but are not paid what they feel their skills are worth. For example: While I was waiting for bar results, I was making $0/hour. I didn't bother getting a minimum wage job for those few months. I was able to do side-work, apply for salaried positions, and get things done around my house. Those things were worth more than $7.25/hour to me. Had minimum wage been $11.50/hour, that would have been a RAISE from when I was working as a law clerk. (I was paid $11/hour - not because it's a low-skill position, but because 4,000 other local law students would also have been happy to work for that wage, and benefit from the experience I was gaining. That's capitalism...) Anyway, my point is that had I been able to go work for $11.50/hour rather than $7.25, all those minimum wage workers would now have been competing with ME, and my educational background. How do you think they would have faired? I have cashier experience from when I was a teenager. I have sales and IT experience from past 'real' jobs. I have a bachelors degree, and a J.D. Any employer who looks at my application, and the typical minimum-wage worker's application is going to realize 2 things immediately: 1) I am qualified, reliable, and easy to train. 2) I will not be planning to keep this job for any longer than I have to. #2 is obviously a draw-back to hiring someone over-qualified, but frankly, I don't think it would (or should) dissuade most employers. What's the turnover rate for their existing minimum-wage staff? I would guess 75% of those people don't last a year before they're fired, stop showing up, or leave for some other reason. If you're only going to get 6 months out of a minimum wage employee, why not let them be 6 months of competent work, and have them give you 2 weeks notice at the end of it?

I just keep coming back to the same question: Why? What skills do minimum wage workers have that warrant greater pay?

100% of my motorcycle riding this past year was with OMRL, so I probably only did 400-500 miles. But there was a lot of fun packed into those miles Next season, I'm hoping to log at least 2,500 miles commuting alone. That would be less than 2 days a week from May through September. If I can swing the iron butt trip, that would add a couple thousand more miles as well.

Mark's reputation is flawless, but his expertise might be a bit overkill for tuning a stock ecu on a less-than-built bike. Plus Brian supports the site.

Gas money is a valid consideration for those getting 10mpg with an enclosed trailer. I get more like 20-23 with my setup, and the weather risk at Mid-O has cost me a full day of riding in the past. I'll ride in the wet literally anywhere else.

you may as well post that in the politics forum ;-) There are differences, but ultimately it's the same track regardless of who you are riding it with. I split my riding time between NESBA, STT, and MotoSeries, because those were the orgs that ran dates close to me. Which one I ended up attending almost always came down to scheduling and cost. I don't know which orgs run Putnam these days. MotoSeries has been there at least once a summer for hte last couple of years, but NESBA used to do a lot of dates there, and then shut down their midwest region, so that's out. Indy Ducati has done dates there as well. They might be your best bet as far as number of dates.

So you're claiming that a faired standard is the best starting point for a do-it-all bike? I was leaning more toward a naked sportbike with a touring wind screen and dirt bars. 17" wheels open up tire choices for pretty much any type of riding. Basically, an FZ6 with upgraded suspension and luggage.

Putnam is probably the best combination of close and affordable for you. Mid-Ohio is closer, but also the most expensive track day around. Plus it's worthless in the rain, whereas Putnam is still rideable. If you want to come up to Nelson Ledges for a MotoSeries day, you won't find a cheaper track or a more fun paddock. If I can get it running and track-safe, I'll bring the Nighthawk out in Beginner (maybe even Intermediate) and see if I can't embarrass some people on real sportbikes

I don't even remember what bike(s) I owned when this thread began. I think I'm officially sold on having 3 sub-$2k bikes rather than trying to do everything with a $6k+ bike. I'm only up to 2 at the moment, but they cost a combined $975, so I'm getting good value at least :-P

I had a long response, but I deleted it until we know more...

Regarding the fuel filter issue, I drained some gas from te tank through the petcock. It flows pretty well, so I'm optimistic about the screen.

Well, it's in my garage. Upon closer inspection, there is more work to do than I first thought, but that always seems to be the case. As far as I can tell, the bike is complete, and my biggest challenge will be routing wires, cables, and hoses that I didn't un-hook, and never saw in their factory locations. Other than cosmetic flaws and the items the seller mentioned, all seems well. I'll post pics when I'm at a computer instead of my phone, but it looks pretty much like any other $500 bike with the tank and carbs removed.

Well, I have a (street) bike again. Hopefully it's running well enough in June that I'm confident it will make the 2000 mike trip. Lots of work to do before a ride around the block is even an option.

So every woman who uses her sexuality to get ahead is a skank? What about when your wife or girlfriend gets all gussied up to go out to dinner? The fact that Miley Cyrus has a larger audience and greater success in drawing attention makes her a skank? I just don't see or understand where the line is drawn. Miley plays the part, but I've not seen any evidence that she's actually banging anyone, let alone everyone. If she's such a skank, go bang her and prove it.

and because I know the "attack" is coming: I have absolutely no shame in admitting "party in the USA" is a catchy song. If I owned an iPod, it would be on there.

I won't fight you on Kanye being an idiot - he's exhibited idiotic behavior on many occassions, but what factual support do you have for Miley Cyrus being a "skank?" I think she's a brilliant manipulator of the media and public perception. She's managed to transition from child-star to a viable adult musical artist, stay in the limelight for "controversial," but ultimately harmless displays of sexuality and/or marijuana use (most notably on stage, in Amsterdam ...where it's 100% legal.), and has put out some damn catchy music along the way. I don't expect everyone to be a fan, but calling her a "skank" is just petty.

if I make it, we can trade for a few hundred miles. You can dictate the pace on whatever I'm riding to keep me from getting too boisterous ;-) and I think $80/night in a hotel is WAY high, but a safe figure for estimating costs. Realistically, all I want at the end of a long day of riding (especially that first day) is a shower and a pillow. I would plan on packing a thermarest and letting whoever else I'm bunking with fight over the bed. A place to shower and sleep is just that on a trip like this. (IMHO). I would think this trip could be done for more like $500 if 3 or 4 like-minded cheap-asses shared rooms.

stopped reading others' responses after page 1. My wife had this done a couple of years ago. I would have considered it, but $3k toward racing sounded like a better idea anyway, my wife (and her sister) have both been very happy with their treatments. The only thing that is truly annoying is wearing glasses instead of contacts for the month (or however long it is...) leading up to the surgery. If you're already a glasses guy, then you won't even notice the difference. My father-in-law also had this done years ago, and he's been happy as well.

$30 isn't too bad. I'll have to see what kind of shape the current 20 year old filter is in, but I can't imagine it's in great shape at this point. I have a couple of different in-line filters in my work bench. Maybe I'll run some rate-of-flow tests to see how much it slows things down with gravity on its side.

what do you consider "higher RPMs?" We're talking about an oil-cooled bike, so 8500 RPM is redline.

I am hoping it's not that hard to get running. To get it running WELL is a different story, but that's how carbs are... The seller reports that it ran 6 months ago before he snapped the throttle cable and started taking the bike apart. Now he's moving to FL and doesn't have time to complete it before he leaves. At least that's the story. I'm counting on replacing: - throttle cables - front wheel bearings (the wheels is currently mounted with 1 bearing! It wasn't ridden that way, but has sat that way) - spark plugs - fuel hoses - fuel filter (i'm betting this will be an addition, and there isn't one stock...) - air filter - tires and then a really good carb clean should be about all I need to get it running. That's the best-case scenario... Worst case, I will hit you up and see what's what. My mechanical abilities are not all that high, but I've also never failed to complete a job once I worked up the courage to take it on. I need to just bite the bullet and pick up a non-running XR100 motor to take apart and tinker with. Just learn how it all works, and then apply what I learn to bikes with 3 more cylinders

Fully perforated leather jackets are on close out at IP for $150 If I get the bike running, there ways seems to be a deal like that around.

I'm debating mesh, or attempting to perforate the old field sheer 2-piece leathers I have worn once. They are ugly, heavy, and snug on me, but I got them for free... A few hours with a leather punch might be very worth the time.