redkow97

This. There are flashes of normalcy; maybe even intelligence, and then just when I start to think, "he's a kid - I was young(er) and dumb(er) once too," I click "new posts" and find another post that makes it harder and harder to feel sorry for the guy... No one here WANTS to hate anyone, but most are quite unwilling to tolerate or coddle irresponsible behavior and (repeated an serious) squidly posts.

^ I have heard that said about Hayes before as well. By several broadcasters and journalists. I think Josh commented on it himself when Rossi was hurt last year, and there was a rumor circulating that his name was being thrown around as a possible temporary replacement rider. The GP bikes have TONS of electronics, and he would have been forced to learn them damn quick. I believe he commented on that, even tho nothing ever came of that rumor.

I literally just spent 3 minutes figuring out how to give 'rep' purely for the initial post in this thread.

you have to make yourself the most interesting thing in the world. practice in a fenced area. usually treats are the motive, but you have to gradually phase them out. Most dogs aren't going to just follow you around, but if they come back EVERY time you call them (even if there's a squirrel or another dog), that's good enough 99.9% of the time. not sure how it will work with a husky. My dog follows his nose - training a hound not to follow a scent is like trying to train a teenager not to get a boner when watching porn. Certain things are juts hard-wired in their anatomy. I don't know enough about huskies to know how hard it will be for you. getting the dog to "heel" is another good thing to practice. Get her to sit, and then get her next to you and say "heel" before treating her. Eventually, when you say "heel," the dog should understand where she has to go to get the treat. Once you've got that down, start moving (a couple steps at a time). The dog should get the idea that she then needs to STAY next to you when she's on a "heel" command. using a leash initially may keep her focus better.

what's "alot?" (that's not a word) the more I think about this, the more this thread is pissing me off... I don't understand how anyone can fail to see the hypocrisy in "I want what's best for the dog," but in the same breathe saying, "...but I need to get at least $300 for her." If I couldn't care for my dog any longer, I wouldn't be looking to charge anyone to take him off my hands, I would be actively offering compensation to anyone who could care for him in an ideal environment.

purebreds are usually "specialists" in some regard. Huskies are built to pull and withstand cold. Hounds are made to track. Etc. Mutts can be the best of multiple breeds, or they can inherit the bad traits from both. Puggles; for example, have been known to drop dead while playing, because they have a beagle's energy and enthusiasm, but a heart the size of a pug's, and the associated breathing problems. Usually mutts are kind of a toned down version of multiple breeds, which generally makes them good pets. That doesn't mean a purebred (insert your favorite breed) doesn't make a great pet already, it just means that mutts are less likely to have character/temperment flaws caused by inbreeding or over-breeding a given bloodline. Shepherds tend to have hip problems, beagles have some issue with their eyes that's common, dalmations... well, they're just retarded...

can we seriously just ban this kid? I have called him out on some things and attempted to give him the benefit of the doubt on others, but his dog thread has me fuming. More irritation than he's worth at this point.

^ making others pay for YOUR poor judgment is a dick move. Mistakes have consequences. This one cost you $1k. I think you'er getting off cheap in the grand scheme of things. The dog is the one who is going to suffer.

For a purebred Husky that young, $500 is a pretty reasonable adoption fee IMHO. Most rescues charge primarily to cover vet bills (of all the dogs, not just the one being adopted) and to prevent situations exactly like this one. $500 avoids adopting out to people who can't afford a dog, or think it's a good idea on a whim. My wife is on the board of directors for Secondhand Mutts. There is no way in hell they are going to pay you for an owner surrender, but if you'd like help placing the dog in a great rescue program, PM me and I can see if they have space to take the dog. www.secondhandmutts.org has more info, but I think they'd be more inclined to take the dog if approached by someone they know. they're not wild about accepting owner surrenders.

I'm on board with Chevy's view. Don't let anyone decide for you, but when my dog goes, I will be right by his side if at all possible. He wouldn't leave me if I were checking out, and I have no intention of leaving him. If it's going to give you nightmares or permanently scar you, then of course that's not worth it, but I think not being there would be something most peopel will regret. Sure it's a sad memory, but it's still a memory.

shit. I have class - at least I think I do. May still try to ride one day though; especially if it's discounted, or waives the membership fee.

really depends on the neighborhood, and the individuals living there. my neighbor to our right is awesome. He's worked for Lincoln electric for 30 years straight, has 2 kids in college (wanna talk more about the 20 yr old daughter?), keeps his yard looking great, and snow-blows out the bottom of my driveway if the plow comes by before I get home. The lady to our left is a ghost. Her lawn service doesn't come often enough, and her garbage cans stay out at the curb (empty) 5/7 days of the week... The people across from us speak spanish and have small children. that is all I really know about them. Their yard is well-kept too. 2 streets away is Brookpark road. Not 'dangerous,' but hardly classy. I'm in a little nest of safety ...enhanced by owning a firearm and a vicious dog.

don't worry - with STT, you can just register in Novice and be bumped up

you make a good point. I've always done the string measurement using as much length as possible though. The more you have, the more obvious small changes in angle are. I was taught to tape the center of the string on the tire, then rotate that portion of the tire to the front of the swing-arm, and extend the string backward, anchoring the free ends to jack-stands, or something similar. You're essentially extending the plane created by the edge of the rim, and thus seeing exactly where your back wheel is "pointing." Perfectly straight forward is the goal. the longer the string, the more precise you can (try to) be.

if it's in the budget, I've been meaning to learn Grattan. If my bass sells this weekend (have a CL buyer looking at it), I could probably book sooner than later.

Everyone starts off at a different level, but I showed up thinking I could ride pretty well. I had about 3 years of street riding under my belt. It took about half a lap for me to realize I didn't know jack shit about riding at any kind of moderately quick pace. By halfway through my second day, I could drag a knee in the slower turns. Come hang out at one of the MotoSeries days, or meet up with some of the guys who are riding at Mid-Ohio in June. Ask lots of questions. Everyone there loves riding - it's highly unlikely they wouldn't love talking to you about riding.

personally, i really think levers are a cosTmetic (sic) modification. If you're doing it for looks, then by all means, go with shorties on both sides. I agree that they look better. I have them on my bike, and I like them, but I find myself adjusting them all the way out anyway, and if they broke, I would not want to spend the $$$ to replace them. The $200 buy-in buys a LOT of replacement stock levers. (CRG's were on my bike when i bought it)

This. You will learn more about riding in 1 day at the track than 2 years on the street. I know a guy with that generation R1 (2006 I think), and he absolutely embarrasses people with "faster" bikes. It's plenty capable in stock trim. Pretty sure all Buck has added is track bodywork.

don't upgrade a bike from 2004. You're sinking money into something that's already depreciated quite a bit, and isn't going to stop any time soon. putting $400 rearsets on a bike that's 2 years old is a significantly smaller 'upgrade' (as it pertains to percentage of the bike's total value) than putting them on a bike that's 8 years old. buy a trackbike in the $3500-$4500 range with all the expensive upgrades already on it, and then just ride the shit out of it. if your bike is ~4 years young, or newer, you probably don't need to upgrade much at all until you're in the top half of the Advanced group, or fighting to win Novice races. IF that's the case, then i'd go springs, brake lines, brake pads, suspension, rearsets, case covers, exhaust, clip-ons, levers, slipper clutch, quick shifter. ...or that approximate order. A damper is more necessary at Nelson Ledges than most tracks, but really more of a crutch than a necessity many places. Proper suspension tuning can eliminate a lot of head shake. I believe my (Scotts) damper has 6.5 turns of adjustment. I have never taken it past 2 turns. Energy release from the chassis is good. When in doubt, throttle out. The head will stop shaking if the front wheel's an inch off the pavement. Not kidding. the bike WANTS to go straight. loosening up on the bars corrects most issues. Cinching down your damper is a lot like tightening up.

This is less and less true as you get into the pro ranks. At the club level, yeah, it's 90% rider and 10% bike, but at the professional level, the top HALF of the field are all capable of turning laps within a second of each other if they were all on the same bike. If I were DiSalvo or Holden, I would be rather pissed off by the implication that it must be the bike that's allowing them to be so competitive. Like TPoppa pointed out with the Buells, it's not EVERY Duc that is crushing the field. I will admit that I was surprised to see PJ Jacobsen as high up on the field as he ended up (4th or 5th?), but I think it's too soon to be adding weight to the bike. Herrin and Eslick seemed to keep up just fine; the Ducs just managed tire wear a lot better.

I wanted it to be a phone quality picture of a treadmill. Then I could have made fun of you for being slow on foot too.

an engine is like 1/4 of a motorcycle. It's a very important 1/4, but look at any major racing series - the best chassis is usually the one winning. BMW and Kawasaki have monstrous horsepower numbers from their liter bikes, and yet both struggle in World Superbike. BMW is getting better. Why? Because they're figuring out the chassis setup. Even Suzuki's moto GP bike puts out plenty of power. The problem is that they can't get the thing to turn and still maintain speed AND traction.

initially, i was a little pissed off by that, but that has subsided into sad acceptance. It didnt' hurt that it was pretty funny, too.

not that it's 100% relevant to this thread, but I am strongly in favor of always counting the number of rotations on your axle adjusters rather than going by the little marker lines. If you don't have string and some jack-stands to do a real alignment check, counting the turns has seemed to be the next best thing for me.

There might be hope for you yet.