redkow97

to get started, definitely this. that will get you moving toward the backing it in part. as for wheelies and stoppies... find a grassy space and practice?

May I ask why you're sold on the 50? for the $500 price range someone else posted, you could pick up an XR100 or CRF100. There is a CRF100 (2007?) in Medina for $500. Needs a rear wheel, but its otherwise complete, and pretty clean. You can spend a bunch on the big bore kits, but it will still be a modded 50, and slower than a 100...

Not a bad metric. Granted, we had help from student loans last year, but my wife and I survived on $42,000 in 2012. I am probably being far too judgmental, but I really question how some people spend their money. I know people who make more than my wife and I did COMBINED last year, and somehow they have massive credit card debt, and no assets to show for it... That just boggles my mind.

do YOU think it's free money, or does he? Because I've got news for one of you, that shit comes back to bite you in the ass. Matt (Imprez55) isn't the type of scenario I have a problem with. Having a career plan and moving back in with your parents to pay off education debt and/or save a bit before moving out is not an issue in my mind. Your buddy is. 5 years of school, with no real plan or reason. That's wasted money. Shame on the government for letting him borrow it, but shame on him for accepting it as well... How much debt has he racked up, for no real reason? I'm looking at $76k in student loans that are already accruing interest, and I have to start paying down July 12, 2013. I'm not thrilled with that, but considering I have a Juris Doctorate, a career plan, decent job prospects, and an aggressive repayment plan for the debt that stands to save me tens of thousands in interest, I feel it was worth it. then again, I also planned on having $80-$90k in debt by the time I graduated, and have a contingency plan for if I can't find a job in the legal field... man do I feel like I sound old for 29.

I think it speaks to the leaps and bounds EBR has made that another team is fielding them. I've seen AMA riders move away from the BMW while the EBR is starting to get noticed. Who saw THAT coming? Has anyone heard the latest on Blake Young having (or not having) a full time ride? Attack Kawasaki has contracted with him to test and race their CRT bike at all three American MotoGP rounds (which is fucking awesome), but while that's cool as hell, it's not a gig that allows him to compete for a championship in any series. I'm afraid the best he can hope for might be filling in for an injured rider (ala Tommy Hayden last year) or (and perhaps this is his move) try to impress someone on the world stage at the MotoGP rounds, and land a WSBK or BSB seat for part of the 2013 season?

I'm not against higher education, i just think people should be able to articulate a reason for pursuing their college degree. I'm also not against letting my kids (hypothetically) live at home beyond 18 if they need to; so long as they have a real plan on how and when they are getting OUT and supporting themselves.

my mistake - i forgot they bored out that block.

"maintains the stock appearance" is a subjective standard. It's a poorly written rule if the intention is to actually force the use of the stock tank. If the Graves crew is breaking the rules, someone should protest them. Or pull a Pegram and but a bike from them.

3.0 or 2.3?

I would like to see a breakdown of where they actually make their money though. merchandising is not an insignificant stream of revenue. And in terms of entertainment, the teams who dunk a lot probably get higher TV ratings than teams who shoot 91% from the free throw line and have a better record. again, entertainment sells; not necessarily good competition.

I also have at least one friend who did the "career change." Frank is 34 and lived in his parents' basement until last month. He's a great attorney, but he is definitely getting a late start.

Well a lot of times, I think people are obsessed with getting an education rather than actually qualifying themselves for a job. I went to college not really knowing what I wanted to do. Big mistake, in hindsight. Even if I had known what I wanted to do, I still wouldn't have known what major to choose to actually be competitive in that job market after graduation. Using my family as an example... As noted, I went into undergrad not knowing what I wanted to do. I declared English as my major after absolutely demolishing first year composition classes, and realizing I was good at it (plus the girl I was trying to bang at the time was majoring in English, so I could schedule stuff with her). I also started in the pre-law program, but after a year and a half, I decided I really wanted to go into journalism, specifically automotive journalism. Write for motor trend, right? Sure! toss me the keys. I can be witty and analytical! WRONG. I found out later than 1) such publications prefer an engineer who can write over a writer who knows a bit about engineering; 2) a photography background isn't a bad place to start either, because you can produce a full sample piece on your own and save your eventual employer the expense of sending along a second person; 3) I should have been driving competitively (SCCA autocross) as soon as my feet could reach the pedals. So bottom line is that I got a degree that really didn't qualify me for many jobs... I was lucky to land a technical writing gig that turned into other business opportunities within the same company. My brother got dual degrees in Chemistry and Biology. He's been in school since 2004, and is still a couple of papers away from finishing his PhD in Chemistry. When I ask him what he's going to do after graduation, he says, "I don't know - either get paid to do research, or teach somewhere, I guess." In his case, he's gotten enough connections through his academic 'career' that his employment prospects are pretty good, but still, neither of those jobs were what he actually planned on doing when he started undergrad, or even when he started his PhD. We both went to private schools too. My brother went out-of-state. I would NEVER spend that money over again.

love the 599. If I weren't such a nice guy, I would hope yours gets stolen and wrecked so I can afford to buy it from your insurance company.

A post in another thread got me thinking about this, but I thought it better to start a new thread for everyone's thoughts rather than derailing the original... Anyway, the comment was made that "30 is the new 18" as far as 'kids' moving out of their parents' house. I wouldn't say this is universally true, but a lot HAS changed in the last 20 years or so. As my high school government teacher told my class "we lied to your parents. We told them they should go to college, but they would have made just as much money applying at the steel mill right out of high school." Both my parents have associates degrees. And supported 4 kids in a nice suburb. But that's another major change in and of itself. By the time my dad was my age (29) he had 2 sons with a third on the way. My mom had my sister (11 years younger than me) when she was 35. Now it's not uncommon for people to have their first kid at 35. My baby sister is in college now. She lives on campus, but I've started questioning the need for that as well. It used to be that you went away to college because there were no colleges within reasonable commuting distance. How many of us can say that now? So my roundabout point is that "kids" these days are starting life years later than their parents did (4-6+ years of college), and with more loan debt. 30 may not be the new 18, but I think 24 is the new 18 for sure.

One thing they said that wasn't a joke (i'm paraphrasing): "it's not about racing, it's about entertainment." "the show" is more important to them than the competition. DMG can't dictate what people will find entertaining, so they are left to cater to it. I realize the outlandish rules changes were proposed in jest, but frankly that IS what more people want to see.

wait til Erik Buell sees that large diameter single front-brake disk and sues Honda for infringing upon his patent.

that girl is 18 or 19 and decently hot. No way she is any more than AVERAGE in bed. Hot chicks take everything for granted and expect to be worshiped. In my experience, girls with self esteem issues are WAY better in bed, because they are desperately seeking approval, and frankly can't afford to say 'no' to kinky shit. Finding a girl who is a liveable balance of hot and crazy really tough. That one's not going to be hot enough OR crazy enough... In 3 or 4 years, maybe.

The yamaha is dominant because Graves can program a fucking traction control system. There is no reason that Suzuki, Kawasaki, BMW, and Honda (who are back this year) shouldn't be competitive. The Buell and the KTM made things interesting, but were 'low tech' efforts. I think completely eliminating traction control would bring the racing back to awesome, but it's really not Hayes's fault that he was great without traction control, and is fucking insane with it. The race for 2-5 is pretty tight in Superbike. Daytona Sportbike has been great racing for the last 3 years or so. I prefer the AMA over Moto GP or WSBK. I've met some of the riders, and I know more of the tracks. That alone puts things in perspective, and makes it way more interesting for me.

if you haven't noticed, NASCAR is about crashing, and soap opera bullshit. Think about what passes for "reality tv" these days. housewives bitching about each other and at each other. That's what the NASCAR drivers do too. Until the AMA starts running ovals, where the crowd can see every turn (and more importantly, every crash), they won't get live attendance. Until they get soap-opera drama where Yates is jump-kicking lappers in the chest EVERY RACE, they won't get TV ratings. What's good for racing isn't necessarily good for entertainment.

Hailwood's map with elevation is definitely worth looking at. T1 is the big up-hill I was thinking of. I still really like the look of 8-10 though, with the switch-backs the track pulls, and the rise in T10. Otherwise, the end of the back straight looks like lots of passing, and you can probably see the section of track right after that doubles-back on itself.

is higher shaded? In Texas, I'd guess that fetches a premium price. Any hard braking zone will provide potential for passing, but if you're looking down the straight, you will lose some perspective for the speed. It's much easier to see what 200mph looks like when it's crossing in front of you than it is when it's coming straight at you. looking at the track map, T12 will be the hardest braking zone, and turn 8/9 would be a fun section to watch them flip-flop through. Hard to say much more without knowing the elevation changes. I seem to recall one of the braking zones at COTA being up-hill, which means they will be hauling ass prior. They'll definitely hit 200mph coming into 12...

From what I am reading on Facebook (from people who actually give a shit about who the Pope is), Benedict criticized John Paul II for not resigning when his health became an obstacle to full performance of his duties. Not stepping down himself would be hypocritical ...not that the Catholic church has ever had a major objection to hypocrisy in other facets of life, but I think it's a relevant point. The other thing that has been brought up is the "Guiliani effect." Resignation gives Benedict the opportunity to campaign for his own successor, which is unheard of in the modern era of the church. At this point in my life, I expect nothing from the church but the same old same old. I don't care who the new Pope is until he starts surprising me by making sense.

yeah, get used to pulling your arms out of the sleeves and letting the top half hang. I have a green bungy cord that is the proper length to be a decent 'belt' at the track. I can sit pretty comfortably in mine, as long as I have shit posture, and am in one of those nylon folding chairs. But you'd rather they be too tight. If they're loose enough to be "comfortable" under normal walking conditions, there is likely enough slack that a stretch panel could twist or bunch into a place where it would NOT be good...

Not even remotely true. I worked on a case where a guy won $68,000 that the lottery commission knew about (they don't track amounts you can collect at the point of sale). I'll be generous and assume he won $80,000 total. He had stolen $415,000 and spent $200/day on average to win the $80k.

You ever thought of just doing 2 year leases?