redkow97

whatever you do, DO NOT park in the shaded areas near handicapped spaces. That is a real good way to get an indignant handicapped person parked on top of your bike even if you don't get a ticket. 1) those shaded areas are usually there to allow for wheel-chair vehicles to set down their lift next to the van. Handicapped people have a boner for nailing people on shit like this. 2) the vast majority of people I see with handicapped hang-tags are 900 years old and can barely see over the wheel - do you really want to trust them to maneuver a 5,000 lbs. car near your 500 lbs bike? unless every single last spot is taken, I usually try to park as far from buildings and other cars as possible (it's not like walking is hard). The only time I'll park on the sidewalk is at Iron Pony (even then, I usually park in the lot... no one cares about my EX500...), or if it's a gravel parking lot and I forgot the metal plate or block of wood I usually keep in my riding jacket. Even that pisses me off - it's the rider's job to be prepared for such things. when i was 16, some a-hole parked his F4i on the sidewalk at the concession stand I was working for my summer job. It was a gravel parking lot, and I wouldn't have cared, but he expected ME to look after his bike. He came over all pissed off that i was "letting" kids touch it. I told him he was lucky none of them burned themselves on the exhaust or pulled it over on top of themselves. the concession stand was 40 feet from a play ground - dude was an idiot. I shouldn't have "let" him park there to begin with. don't be that guy.

what legalities are involved in transporting a firearm on a motorcycle WITHOUT A CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT? I'd love to show up to such a "ride, shoot, drink, camp" event with just my bike. Trailering the bike to the event would make packing a ton easier, but I'd feel like a tool trailering a street bike.

all depends on what's on your CBR and what you put on the GSXR. I'm biased, because I have the exact same track bike as you, but I'd rather have a 2003 600RR with full suspension, track bodywork, damper, full exhaust, power commander, frame sliders, stainless brake lines, shorty levers, woodcraft rearsets, etc. than a stock 2007 GSXR 600. the GSXR is definitely a better platform to MAKE fast, but it's going to cost you a ton to get it fully track prepped... So this "$3,500 bike" will end up costing you more like $5,000 to get to the same point as your current bike. The performance potential is definitely higher, but if your current bike is well set up, I'd say it's better than a stock 2007 Suzuki.

don't we have members scattered across the state with no-mar mounting/balancing equipment? the OP can buy his tire online from Iron Pony.

Doesn't Katie Carney do that stuff? I know she used to... When I met her, she was coaching for STT. www.785graphics.com

I'm not "united" behind OSU. I don't hate them, but I hate the uber OSU fanboys who didn't go to school there. You shouldn't love Ohio State more than your own alma mater, period. Unless your school didn't have a football team, you've got no excuse. Plus I dislike several of Ohio State's players; usually based on the way they allow themselves to be portrayed in the media, but my friend Chase used to work for the team, and would introduce me to players at bars when I visited campus periodically. My sister in law also had class with several of them. Between first-hand experiences, and her input, there are some players that are just regular guys, and some that are total assholes, but I make no qualms about hating the ones I can verify are assholes just waiting to be drafted and make FU money. Todd Boeckman was the worst. Chase tried to introduce him to a group of us, and he totally ignored us. I said, "that's fine; I didn't really care about meeting the second-string quarter back anyway." Suddenly he wasn't ignoring us anymore. He probably would have kicked our asses if someone didn't remind him how bad it would look for him to be involved in such an incident during the season. Whatever. There are times when taking a beating is worth it to call out a douchebag.

Mid-O in the rain is a joke. They ruined that track with the sealer... there was literally 1, (ONE!!!!) person out riding on the damp track the last time I went, and I watched him step the rear out on the front straight while basically bogging the engine in 3rd gear. this was the very first lap of the day. Second lap, the same thing happened, except further down the straight. He never finished his second lap. Crashed somewhere on the back half of the track.

Good looking pup. If I'm not traveling solo, I will bring Henry (aka Hank) to the track with me. He's under 40 lbs, but he doesn't know it. we'll have to set up some kind of fenced in area and let them all tire the hell out of each other. I'm picking up a young shepherd mix for the rescue my wife and I volunteer with on Sunday. We just got a shepherd/collie mix adopted a couple days ago. That dog was SMART. She learned new commands in 2 or 3 tries, and itemized our tax deductions!

Yes. It's too easy to be a Pittsburgh fan, and sure I'm jealous of their success. It's no different than being a Yankees fan or a Rossi fan or an OSU fan. I detest the Steelers, but I don't automatically hate their fans. They at least (seem) loyal; and I respect that. The Bengals are an illustration of what I hate in any team's fans - they're obnoxious when the team's decent, and completely disappear when they're in the shitter. I PRAY that I get a chance to see how Steelers fans react in that situation.

we're married; there is no "my" money except what I can carry in my wallet. Besides, "my" money wouldn't cover the mortgage, the payment on our tow vehicle, satellite TV, utilities, grocery, and a trackday habit. I would never admit to her that it's lopsided, but I do my fair share of superfluous spending. If she wants an iPhone, it's not THAT expensive; especially when I spend $500/month on trackdays all summer. as for 'making other guys look bad,' I'm not doing it to make anyone else look bad; I'm doing it because I know my wife likes it when she thinks people envy her. That sounds totally superficial, and it likely IS entirely superficial - but EVERY chick in the world wants to be envied a little. Like I said in my earlier post, it's a combination of showing that you care, and getting her positive attention from OTHER people. Nothing gets you laid like OTHER girls telling your wife/gf how hot/sweet you are. If they're already thinking it, then great; but women gossip and talk about this shit. To have her boss and coworkers gushing over the flowers I send her at work while they bitch about their own boyfriends makes me look that much better by comparison. consider it a tactical move toward 2xITB

Even after the back injury, my uncle was still doing monthly jumps. Not for hte first year or so, but I know he was back at it eventually. And it sounds like this one's got youth on her side. My uncle enlisted late (24?), and was at least 30 by the time he broke his back. If he can make it back, she should have no problem.

when/how are you going to pick it up? PJ's buying an R6, so I am thinking he won't be opposed to throwing in the Pit-Bull TRS axle pins for the GSX-R If that's the case, buy, beg, borrow, or steal a Pit-bull TRS for that trip.

My uncle Jeff was airborne at Ft. Bragg. He broke his BACK in several places when the dive master spaced a static-line jump for plane speeds. Unfortunately they were jumping from a helicopter, and Jeff ended up sitting on another soldier's parachute. His never had time to fully open after that. Sorry to hear about her foot. I hope she makes a full recovery and is up and running (literally) in a couple months - but keep in mind how much worse it could have been.

I'm not coming from columbus. I haven't made the drive for a while, and always to Gingerman, but I get hit by OH turn pike and IN turn pike for sure. it adds another $17 or something each way onto the drive. irritating.

work pays for my iPhone, and now she's totally addicted. I am 100% sure she's going to buy herself one in the next 6 months anyway. If I drop the $200 on her now, then I at least get the credit for a thoughtful gift, and she can't bitch when I order a set of tires next month.

is Grattan worth the tolls to get there? That's my beef with Gingerman... I think it's a good, cheap track, but the trailer makes the tolls a lot more expensive, and a lot less worth it... I mean, I'll try anything once, so Grattan is probably on the bucket list for this summer; but not if people say, "eh."

I was having this same dilemma... Proflowers.com has a deal where they'll do a dozen red or 2 dozen "assorted" roses for $30. Includes a vase and chocolates. That's a bargain for valentine's day. But girls seem to TWO major things out of valentine's day: 1) you put thought/effort into it 2) something to show their friends how much better you are then THEIR boyfriend/husband. The flowers only take care of #2. for #1, I'm sucking it up and waking up early to make chocolate chip pancakes. If i'm feeling super cheesy, I may even cut them into little heart shapes. Given that I'm out of the house before she wakes up, i'm just going to leave them in the microwave, set her alarm 10 minutes early, and leave a nice note on the bathroom mirror to ensure she finds the pancakes and has time to eat them before work. A card is easy enough. I'm probably going to tape that to the back window of her car, so she sees it when she's about to back out of the driveway. The coup-de-gras will be if I can find a good deal on a (verizon powered) iPhone for her. I know she's going to buy one for herself anyway, so I may as well get the credit for it. IF i can swing that, it'll be in the back of the car when she goes to grab the card.

true enough... I love the look of the V7, but I think you could probably build something just as good, and probably a bit faster for about half the money... Take an old CB750 and start hacking away. Won't cost you $8k, it'll be ONE of a kind with much more plentiful parts. almost 20 more hp, and with all the weight you're likely to cut off, I bet it gets up and goes better than the V7... The only thing I like better about the V7 is the torquey twin.

depends solely on where you ride. a weekend date at a good track will run you over $200 just for the track time. I've ridden Nelson for $80. for season budget purposes, I estimate that all my trackdays average out to about $175/day (that's including the $10-$15 discount most orgs give if you book Saturday/Sunday). Suit rental is $35-$50, plus I would be shocked if they don't want a card or large cash deposit to cover the cost if you crash. Transport to the track depends on how far you're traveling, and what kind of gas mileage your tow vehicle gets... pack poptarts, buy some $5 footlongs, and you're looking at about $30 in food and water (not that you wouldn't have eaten at home anyway). all told, I would count on $250 for a single trackday, with food and gas included. It's still worth it.

don't you mean "being 'that guy' AGAIN?"

i needs better gloves if anyone has recommendations for a decent pair that won't break teh bank. looking for the scorpion EXO 400 of gloves here... /threadjack...

well i hate to say it, but if it's between a set of tires and a transponder, the only thing the transponder's got going for it is that it lasts longer... i need to find some shit to sell on eBay ASAP.

dude, you live like 10 minutes from me, AND we've both got Hondas... I can have your bike prepped in 30 minutes. 25 of that will be flushing the antifreeze. Oh, I wasn't trying to imply that it was me - I've never owned a Suzuki. If i'm being honest, I was trying to avoid revealing that it was a female rider (so as not to discourage other female riders from coming out). I couldn't make this up if I tried, but we came in from our sighting laps in the first novice session, and the Novice group captain asked, "ok, who wants to go faster," and everyone except her raised their hand. She spoke up and said, "that was fast enough." I know she was in the grass multiple times that day, and I watched her go down once. I found out her bike had less than 200 miles on it because she was yelling at her boyfriend about it in the pits later

damn man, the transponder is a total ass-fuck... at least it looks like they hold value. $300 used. yikes. Then another $100 for a race license.

for those who have RACED with MotoSeries: how much is the race license, and do i really have to pay $175 to take their school and learn the race line, and braking/turn-in points before I can buy it? I've completed a WERA race school before, and a 60-second conversation about starting procedures and some of the more obscure flags (that MotoSeries probably doesn't even have at the corner stations) would be all I need to pass any written test they want to give me... I may have to drill 2 or 3 things for wire, and throw yellow plates on my bike, but otherwise, I think i'm sold on riding almost exclusively with MotoSeries this year. Does MotoSeries have a tire vendor, or at least someone who can mount/balance tires at the track? I need new rubber before I can turn a wheel this year...