redkow97

www.spyderleatherworks.com Alexa will tell you everything you need to know. Return the favor by sending your repairs (or lettering, cleaning, etc.) her way. by all accounts, she's good people. Gave me LOADS of free advice when I was shopping new suits, and she was featured in an article in road racing world about what to look for in a good set of leathers. She's as much of an expert as you'll find on race suits.

I called the non-emergency number, so I didn't get your typical dispatcher (I don't think). He was appreciative, but in a hurry when I first reported the accident, because they had already gotten a call. When I said I had actually witnessed it, they slowed down and started taking down my info. If it didn't help anything (i hope it did), all it cost me was 10 minutes of my life writing the witness statement. I think it was worth it.

bump for updated (reduced) prices

bump for significant price drop - I cruised ebay for a few days, and i think my price is a lot more reasonable now.

I used to ahve a picture from an old "Guitar World" where someone (Nicky Sixx?) had a bumper sticker on his bass that said, "DON'T SPREAD AIDS. AIM FOR THE CHIN."

how much do you need the ramp door? I saw a couple 6x10's for sale at work (owner of my building uses our lot as his personal toy shed) if you have any intention of sleeping it in, and don't have a side door, the 'french' doors and a cheap ramp are actually more convenient, IMHO.

actually, Pauly's got a 250 in his garage right now. If I remember right, it used to belong to his wife. The point being that Pauly's got a decent amount of experience working on that particular bike, and it might be even easier for him than most.

it's his first bike. he won't know any better. If it rides and runs okay, wait until next March to really get in there and clean the carbs... Unless you have a free weekend, and think he won't be itching to ride

I work at 7100 right there. I almost wish I still had a street bike. we could piss off the brecksville park rangers during lunch together.

my 3/8 drive torque wrench (which is what I was using) is the old-school style with 2 bars, and the analog reading. They're not terribly precise, but they also never go out of calibration... My 1/2 drive (only really used for axles) is from harbor freight, so I know it's not perfect, but for axles, I'm okay with "close enough." They're being safety wired anyway, and the front is held in place with pinch bolts. The rear is wired, and captive with the chain-tensioners, which are also wired.

it's a helmet - head protection is its primary function, and fashion is a distant second. I think it's a little girly, but it's a Shoei lid for damn cheap. I would wear a pink flowered helmet if it were a good enough deal. Shit, I might do it for fun so my friends have an easier time spotting me on the track...

I do think many LEO's could learn a lot from speaking to the prosecutor(s) more often. This officer seemed genuinely interested in catching the party responsible, but he asked me things that wouldn't hold up in court. "in your opinion, did the black nissan cause the accident?" Yes, that's my opinion, but that's totally irrelevant. A lay-witness's opinion (it's different for experts) on the ultimate issue in question is inadmissible as evidence. I'm not "qualified" to make that judgment in the eyes of the court - definitely not in a witness report (which is a hearsay statement anyway). The officer can ask me those things to help shape his own opinion of what happened, but it's smarter to phrase things in a manner that is factual, but draws the obvious inference of fault. "the black car and the red car never made contact, but a collision would have occurred if the red car had not taken evasive action." Translation: the black car was at fault - but I can't just say, "the black car was at fault," because that's a judgment rather than a fact. Anyway, i hope my statement helps out the victim in this case. If it saved her from a ticket (i found out the victim was a woman from the officer), or keeps her insurance company from jacking up her rates, that's something I guess.

if you want to borrow my wiring jig, I can bring it to Nelson. the new caliper bolts should be the last thing I have to drill. then silicone on the caliper pad-pins, and i'm WERA legal (i hope)

that's just something slow people say

well the first thing you're doing wrong is not looking through the turn. your only indication of speed through a given corner should be what gear you're in, and where your tach was reading when you entered the corner. Looking at the speedometer instead of where you want to go will get you in trouble eventually.

yeah, between rockside and pleasant valley. Southbound lanes. You drive by the accident, or just guessing Independence based on the fact that the cops have nothing better to do than stop by my office?

if you stay in your lane, I don't see how they can possible cite you for failure to control... I would have taken the ticket and fought it. At least I'd like to think I would have.

Black Nissan Xterra didn't check her blind spot and tried to change lanes on top of a Red Grand Prix. The Grand Prix swerved and braked to avoid contact, over-corrected for her swerving, went left,right,left and spun into the wall on the wet pavement. The Nissan kept right on driving. I took issue with that. Plate number was recorded, and I called the police right after I got off the highway (next exit). The accident had already been reported, but they were surprised to hear from a witness. The responding officer just left my office. I filled out a witness statement and chatted with him a bit. He said it's going to be difficult to nail the Xterra driver because they have no way of proving that she actually knew she caused an accident. that kind of pisses me off. IMHO, she knew. Her actions immediately after indicated that she knew. She looked damn shaken up, and immediately picked up her phone. I was hoping she was calling the police, but I'm pretty sure my wife would call me first... anyway, the officer thanked me for making the call, and said at the very least, I probably spared the driver of the red Pontiac a ticket for reckless driving. "I'll tell you right now, everyone who wrecks their car 'got cut off.' I wouldn't have believed her if you hadn't backed up her story." If they do go after the Nissan driver, I think she's pretty screwed. I just had a mock trial problem (real facts and police reports; fake names) that involved a traffic accident. I am uniquely in-tune with what information is needed in a witness statement to make it useful and unambiguous. I stuck to the facts in the witness report, but I think the black nissan driver was clearly at fault, even though no contact occurred... The Pontiac driver swerved and braked purely to avoid contact. The notion that she should have sat there and allowed her car to be hit while traveling 60mph to be sure someone else was at fault is ridiculous to me. I think a jury would see it that way too - not that this will go to trial, but I might make some good business contacts if the parties lawyer up! ...plus it never hurts to have a good relationship with local law enforcement.

Taking the race school doesn't mean you have to go racing. I did one at the end of '09 and never actually raced last year - that's why I have to take the race school again. Waited too long to actually buy a license. Race schools vary, but mine taught me very little about riding (I was about 20 trackdays deep when I did mine), and spent 90% of the time talking about basic race procedure, and various flags. Some race schools spend a full day on bike prep, a full day on classroom stuff, and a full day riding. Obviously the MotoSeries school is probably somewhere in between. The only riding instruction I got at my school was how to block-pass someone and ride a defensive line instead of a "qualifying" line. The notion that you have to be super fast to race is kind of a myth. You have to be fast to WIN a race, but as Grape noted, before trackdays, people would routinely turn their first wheel on track during the race school, and then go out and learn how slow they really were the next day with the novices. The "novice" class was really novices back then. Nowadays, "novice" just means you've never actually raced before. There are "novices" who would place in the top 5 on expert grids, but because it's their first year, they can beat up on the little guys and collect all the contingency winnings. I'm not sure how to remedy that, but it's kind of a "don't hate the player, hate the game" situation. is it "fair" for me (~30+ trackdays of experience) to race against Grape (1 TD thus far)? No, but it wouldn't be "fair" for me to race against experts my first time out either. I think the big thing about racing is competing against SOMEONE. Whether you're fighting for 1st or fighting with someone to not be last, the competition is what makes it different (not necessarily better) from a trackday.

That's me. I have a transponder but havent done the race school. I'll look for familiar bikes for sure.

what size are you? I have some stuff for sale pretty cheap...

hahaha - no, but she'd just roll her eyes at me. If she'd been in the car, I would have "shushed" her and said, "...I think it moved." Where she takes it from there is none of your damn business.

if NL would get a damn repave, they could charge $150/day no problem. I'm sure there's a reason they haven't done it, but I don't understand what it is. At least do the Grattan 3-year plan...

There are like 4 chicks TOTAL on this site, and I'm married. While humorous, it's gonna take more than that to embarrass me Remember, I posted the pic of myself wasted, in boxer-briefs, about to make a naked lap around my friend's back yard. In the snow.

who has the Silver WRX with gold rims and loud exhaust in the Cleveland area? I was at the intersection of Pleasant Valley & Brecksville Rd. on Friday around 3:30, and: 1) your exhaust made my wiener move a little, and 2) your plate says KNE DGR or something close to that If this isn't a member, it should be.