redkow97

I think JRP's probably a pretty good guy, but even his friends have to be rolling their eyes at him with increasing regularity. JRP succeeds big, and fails bigger. That's how he got rich, and it's how he's getting poor quickly. p.s. - he's divorced from that hot wife. I believe that's when he found god.

I'm not sure what's funnier, calling JRP a Presidential candidate, or an AMA Pro Superbike racer.

who needs a rear brake anyway?

Friends of mine live in Carmel (Orchard Park Drive). Dave & Jill have a 3 yr old who will instantly assume anyone on a bike is "uncle Chris." if you're close by, they're pretty much the nicest people you could ever have as neighbors.

"a friend will help you move. A best friend will help you move a body."

I am kind of against the "buy a busa and be done with it" mentality. It's not that I have anything against hayabusas (or ZX14's for that matter), but I feel like you will get used to ANY amount of horsepower. With that in mind, the differential between your daily driver and yoru bike is more important than anything else. Maybe even having 2 bikes. Driving my ranger around made my EX500 feel fast as balls! Riding my EX500 during the week made my F2 feel like a rocket. Selling them both and buying my 600RR for track (only) use makes it feel pretty potent every time I ride it, simply because i'm not on it more than a couple times a month. there's a balance somewhere in that range for everyone. I'd hate to have a turbo 'busa and be bored with it. I'd cry... What else would there be to look forward to?

I'm not overly optimistic about changing the system, but if you've already decided it's not possible, then you definitely won't. I still think it's worth promoting the best candidate and taking an hour or two ever 4 years to go stand in line and vote.

We could eliminate 100% of car/bike accidents by banning cars too. Doesn't make it a reasonable idea. Try outlawing bikes and watch riders across the country (and probably smokers, sky divers, etc.) finally band together for a single common goal. If the freedom lovers allow our freedoms to be legislated away, then we deserve it.

So giving up is the obvious solution? You're smarter than that, Pauly.

I never liked the iPhone until I owned one. I was looking at Droids a bit before Verizon got the iPhone, but basically it had about 2 things I really wanted that the iPhone lacks, and then about 200 things I would never touch. Wasn't worth the change for me. I have to say that the iPhone is stupid-simple. That alone is glowing praise. My 3G is paid for by work, so for free, it's awesome. My wife's iPhone 4 (I'm on AT&T, she's on Verizon) is nicer in some ways, but not enough that I feel the need rock the boat at work by asking for an upgrade.

who paid for this "independent" investigation? The Japanese gov't? Dorna? both have a vested interest in the racing being run. Unless the riders hire their own investigators and also find that it's safe, why would they believe someone who stands to make money off a finding of safety? But assuming the study is accurate, I hope Stoner does boycott and Lorenzo wins it. That will make the championship race a lot more interesting!

i wish they'd televise rally races...

what's the budget? the EX650's can be found for pretty cheap. This is an '08, so not quite old enough to be a "great" buy, but they'r eonly asking $4400, which means $3900 isn't too far off. http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/2551270919.html '06 for $3k (sketchy history though) http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/2543944546.html '07 for $3k http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/2497193718.html '05 SV for $3800 http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/2524462136.html but really, for $2500 or so, you should be able to find a first-gen SV and rock that thing HARD for a long time.

it's about what will get people elected. Being "tougher on crime" gets judges (re)elected. In drug cases, there are minimum sentences based on the weight of the drug. the way they're calculated is retarded though. The packaging is weighed with the drug, so heavy containers add to the weight of certain drugs. Obviously 40 lbs of weed can be distributed to a LOT of people, so the possession charge probably didn't earn the guy a year, but the intent to distribute on top of that may have. But really, it goes back to getting elected. "i'm going to be tougher on drug dealers" is something you can campaign on. "i'm going to be tougher on puppy stompers" just sounds ridiculous. If i'm being honest, I think we over-sentence on a lot of crimes. As noted in my previous post, 6 months for X crime doesn't sound like much when it's not you serving the time. The same is true when people get 13 years for attempted murder and such. But contemplate how long these sentences would feel if it were YOU. Someone who is being released today from a 13 year sentence may never have seen a cell phone smaller than the one Zach Morris used. CD players were basically brand-new technology when they got locked up. They'll never know what an MP3 player is. AOL instant messenger came and went while they were locked up. Laptop computers were huge, and cost 4 times what they do now. I'm not trying to suggest that some people don't deserve to be locked up for a long time, but seemingly short sentences change a convict's life quite a bit more than you'd think.

i tried using that coupon months ago. They never had the damn things in stock.

the assumption that we'll never expand from a two-party system is what perpetuates the two-party system. Perhaps we can't get a viable third party off the ground, but trading out "republicans" for libertarians is just as good. Scaring the Republican party into changing its ideals doesn't seem to be working. I don't care what "party" I vote for, or what you label them - sound policy is what wins my vote, regardless of that candidate's chances of winning. You can't build support for ideals by voting for the next best thing, or the lesser evil.

is your wife a tech nut, or is she just going to keep the base-settings applied? for people who liek to mess with stuff, I vote Droid. for people who don't, iPhone 4 is tough to beat. the touch-screen keyboard made me nervous as hell, but I have zero problems with it. You owe it to your wife to have her at least play with an iPhone 4.

abstaining from voting isn't "sticking it to the man," it just means that you're not part of the voting population, and neither major party will ever pander for your vote. I'm all about trying to get Ron Paul a republican nomination, but stick to your guns when the general election comes around. I voted Bob Barr in 2008 because I definitely didn't want Obama elected, but McCain couldn't possibly earn my vote either. I'm sure the Republican party knows my general political leanings based on where I live, and the fact that I'm a white male in my late 20's. If they do their homework, they also know that I should have voted for McCain (statistically), but didn't. They ought to be asking themselves why. in your case, they're just going to see, "this guy doesn't vote anymore." Whose opinion do you think they're going to care more about in the future?

Don't upgrade from a Blast to an EX500. Find a good used EX650, or first-gen SV650. You'll pay marginally more, but get a LOT more bike. It's nothing against the EX, but moving from a blast to an EX500 is like moving from a nicely optioned Cavalier to a base-model Civic. If you're going to upgrade, make it more worth-while (IMHO). My EX500 was a 1997. I sold it on here a few months ago. Nothing wrong with the bike, but it was getting to the point where I wasn't riding it often, and it needed a rear tire, and my insurance was up for renewal. I was looking at sinking $400 into something I really didn't ride very often; so I sold it. Shaun's on this site every so often, and I know he rides my old bike a LOT more than I was. win/win. Now this EX250 vs. Blast 500 debate intrigues me. I would LOVE to ride both back-to-back at Nelson or BeaveRun and see which produces better lap times. I'm actually surprised there are so many people who feel the 250 will be faster. maybe for outright top-end speed, but Buell's usually handle their business in the turns. And as noted, the additional torque will definitely get it out of a corner quicker. Depending on the track, that might be more helpful than an extra 10 mph on the straight. It's funny to me that you can literally go through the carousel at Nelson in 5th gear on either of those bikes, and you're at top speed about where a 600 is shifting into 4th! I can only imagine what it's like on a bigger track. I saw 89 mph indicated at the apex of the final turn coming onto the front-straight at Summit. I'm sure I went faster when I wasn't stealing glances at the speedometer. So that's ~3,000 feet of WOT in top-gear for smaller bikes

we just got a new one today ourselves He's about 7 months though, so almost house trained. boxer/beagle/dachsun mix (we're told). looks beagle sized with more of a boxer face, but bigger ears. So far I love him. He's up for adoption, but there's always a danger that we have a "failed foster" situation. the rescue has been calling him Memphis. I kind of dig it.

I think your blast is too rich for my (cheap) blood, but stop on over if you want some time. My wife has done the MSF course, and then a little seat time on my EX500. Buying "her" a bike would be a rationalization for me to have a street bike around Just something to take out for fun, and maybe commute every so often. blast + beaveRun would be a fun little time for you though. room on my trailer for September WERA round. Just sayin'

I concur. These are the people who give responsible riders a bad reputation. no helmet? Okay, it's your legal right to make a bad decision. illegal parking lot race. Alright, dumb AND illegal, but I can understand the logic behind, "it's a parking lot - we're not putting anyone else in danger." Passengers? Now you've lost me. Dumb on all counts. Not surveying the "race course" before accelerating to 100mph on it? that would have taken what, a whole 60 seconds in a parking lot? The cruiser's lack of power is probably what saved the rider! I'm impressed a cruiser guy knew how to use the front brake!

depends on the puppy. we recently had a foster dog who was a freakin terrorist. little bastard bit me hard enough to draw blood and bruise my hand for days; and was just a general nightmare. I would have cringed if I'd actually hurt him, but there were definitely multiple occasions that I wanted to.

I posted that vid on Facebook earlier today. guerrilla marketing is the only thing that will give Ron Paul a prayer in this election. I've got bumper stickers on order for my bike, and my cars.

how much hp do these make? somewhere between EX250 and EX500? The wife's got her M endorsement, and I wouldn't mind an occasional street ride.