redkow97

if ANYONE thinks they're going to be too slow, I have a story for you that will make you feel a million times better. it involves a GSXR 600 with under 200 miles on it, and a rider who didn't want to break 50 on the straights. Not exaggerating. (Craig, you might actually have been there to witness this as well) I'm sure the coaches/instructors/control riders have ALL dealt with someone slower than you too.

^ +1 the mechanical condition of the bike matters 1,000 times more than the model and style of bike. If it holds fluids, has solid brakes, and your tires aren't bald or cracking, suit up and ride.

it's actually my first day BACK at work this week. I effed my shoulder/back so badly over hte weekend that it hurt to breath Monday morning. I honestly couldn't have made it to work, or sat there without crying out in pain... Then I got a fever that night and stayed home yesterday, downing Tylenol cold & sinus and fighting cold sweats. It was a blast. I basically HAD to come in today to avoid losing my job. I get sick time, but I also work on (partial) commission, and it's my ass if shit doesn't get done. Clients only give a shit for so long when you tell them you're sick and can't make it into the office. Thankfully SCHOOL is closed today, so I can stay late at work to catch up without missing class. as a kick in the junk though, our boss sent out a "policy revision" basically taking away 5 vacation days a year from everyone who has been with the company more than 5 years (that would be me). Thanks for that.

1982 Honda CX500 Turbo http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/2189635025.html I was just curious about what it was, because it said "turbo," so I checked into it on wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CX_series Standard power output from the non-turbo engine was "close to 50hp." here's the stats on the turbo model " CX500 Turbo In 1982, this version of the bike received a turbocharger and a very complex fuel injection system with multiple redundant fail-safe systems. The following year, all CX500s and GL500s were enlarged to 650 (actually 673 cc), and the turbo version got a much simplified fuel injection system. Factory turbos fell out of favor with the motorcycling public for various reasons, causing Honda to cease production of the CX650 Turbo after the 1983 model year. The CX500T was the world's first turbo-charged production bike, as opposed to the Z1R TC which was fit with an aftermarket RayJay turbo by Turbo Cycle Corporation, before shipment to select Kawasaki dealers. The CX500T also featured fuel injection and a radical fairing. The CX500 Turbo (also known as the CX500TC) was only produced for the 1982 model year and was superseded for the 1983 model year by the CX650 Turbo which was itself based upon the naturally aspirated CX650. The CX500 Turbo was sold only in limited numbers, with a total of around 5,400 manufactured. The Turbo's powerplant was based on the water-cooled V-twin with four pushrod-operated overhead valves per cylinder used in the shaft-drive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CX500 introduced a few years earlier—itself a groundbreaking design. In fact, the engine case was retained nearly intact from the original CX500, having been designed from the outset to accommodate turbo-charging. The turbocharger, at peak boost providing approximately 19 psi of over-pressure, nearly doubles the power output of the engine when on-boost. The engine case is one of the few items carried over from the original CX500; the suspension, brakes, frame and fairing all differ significantly from the earlier CX500. The base engine also was used in the [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_GL500[/ame], a touring machine aimed at being the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Gold_Wing's little brother, and the CX500C, a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custom_motorcycle model with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopper_%28motorcycle%29 styling. The CX500 Turbo, although capable of superb acceleration when on-boost, suffers somewhat from an abrupt and large step in power when transitioning from off-boost to on-boost. Furthermore, being the first production Honda motorcycle with fuel-injection, the engine control system is complex and, by current standards, quite bulky, requiring two separate enclosures as well as a number of pressure-carrying hoses." Seems like a bike that would be cool as hell to own, but just hell to work on and find parts for. I want to go test ride this thing just to find out what ~90hp feels like on a 500cc bike that's older than me! but FI in 1982 is pretty cool, IMHO. Gotta admire Honda for trying.

the 4.0 was an I-6. I am sure of that. The 3.8 is a slightly bored Jeep Liberty 3.7 V6 ...I think Another thing Jeep folks seem to forget is that the larger tires many of them install drastically reduce their towing and braking capacity. a friend of mine thought he was going to tow a boat with his 2007 Wrangler with the 3.8. He MIGHT have had a prayer if he didn't have 37" tires on it.

Just choose a track and a date... mid-Ohio seems to make sense, and we could all rent a garage or two and hang out. I would plan to camp in the paddock whether I ride both days or not.

you must not be looking very hard. Watch Tosh.0 on comedy central. You'll see a lot of similar stuff.

will a wrangler do well with 4 bikes? I figure you're looking at at least 2500 lbs., and may want to look into trailer brakes.

If that's how it comes across, then I'll have to dial it back a bit - I don't "love" nelson; in fact I didn't ride there once last year. I think it's worth riding a couple of times a season, and it's undeniably cheap (for a reason). That's the primary appeal, and frankly, probably the only reason it's still open. the run-off areas in some turns are far from ideal, and the surface makes that more of a risk than it might be at other tracks - but almost every track has some place where you can say, "man, I really wish..." and then cite some safety concern. Being aware of those places allows you to dial it back a bit there.

if you're giving up the inside line as often as your previous post implied, 1:15's aren't going to happen! ;-)

18 year olds can drink on a military base. If you're 18 and you want to get wasted that badly, by all means; enlist in the military. It's legal - that doesn't mean your CO will tolerate it.

I don't disagree, and I think racing there requires some amount of ignoring the lack of run-off, but... 1) at a trackday, there's no reason to force a pass. People can be idiots and make bonehead moves, but that can happen at any track. 2) you and Gixxie750 are probably the only two people on this board who come close to getting near 1:09 at Nelson. For someone in their first season of trackdays, it would be a hell of an accomplishment to get down to 1:15's at Nelson...

I don't see a problem with it. The school could just stop holding dances all together instead. I believe my high school flatly disallowed anyone over 21 from attending our homecoming dances. You had to prove that your date was enrolled at another school. You COULD bring anyone under the sun to prom, but they may have had breathalizers there. I know they kicked people over 21 out for being buzzed.

I read one word that I (completely) believe in that article: "COULD." this could be a breakthrough. It could change the global economy. Etc.

In some cases, I think you're right, but in this case I think of it more as "civil disobedience." He's DOING something rather than just bitching about it, and then being a pussy and turning off his camera just because the man in the blue shirt told him too. Whether or not this particular "battle" is worth fighting is debatable, but I can appreciate that he's standing up for privacy rights.

Mike - check out youtube for 17hmr vs. .22lr ammo comparisons. I was actually JUST looking at some of these last night for fun. that tiny round freakin' explodes inside whatever it hits...

I don't think multiple years of being homeless can be un-fucked with a lot of fame, and 2 weeks of rehab. Put yourself in his place: You're there for 2 weeks, being told everything you know and do is wrong. At first you tolerate it, but a couple weeks in, you get pissed enough to say, "fuck this shit - I get it. drugs bad. love good. I'm out." I would be surprised if he's leaving because he WANTS to give up on sobriety; he's just sick of being told what to do, and thinks he knows enough to do it on his own. (this happens every week on "the biggest loser," btw) I don't think it's atypical for rehab to take more than one try.

sorry to hear it. Out of all the cruisers on the market, I think the Warrior is the first one I'd choose to own. I'm sure you'll get another one, or something even better. Hell, it's still cold out; I don't know how much of that $6500 you need to throw at something more important, but a $1500 fixer-upper and another grand in parts could make summer come pretty quickly

Thank James May for that I love the guy, but he focuses on all the things I don't give a shit about in a car. If he hates a car, I probably couldn't find fault with it.

eh, their track is a piece of crap - the rider didn't even touch a knee down that I saw... No confidence in the surface. But it's a fair approximation of your favorite back road. Color me un-shocked that a $150,000 POUND (so what, like $260,000 dollars?) tube-chassis open-wheel car with 500hp is faster than a $20k bike...

agree. My parents had an 89 Aerostar that was (mechanically) great, except for rusting like crazy. It was a Ranger with extra seats. They even had a 4x4 model with the 4.0 V6 that the ranger STILL uses, and the last generation Mustang used... Once Ford went to the taurus-based chassis though, and got away from the truck engines, the "windstar" and whatever its successor was were junk. My parents had 2 of those. One had a head gasket go, and the other needed the engine replaced for some reason. I was at college, and didn't pay much attention at that point... if you're going to buy a minivan, Dodge/Chrysler has them figured out.

on a really hot day, at race track speeds, i've had my eyes dry out - but that was probably more due to the fact that I was sleeping between riding sessions, and my lenses dried out before I ever got on the bike... for street riding, i can't tolerate having my visor up unless i'm doing less than 20, so wind isn't an issue. Even then, my eyes water; not dry out.

I can't bring myself to throw a bunch of cash at a $225 rifle. if this were a bolt action .270, or even a .223, I'd be more inclined to spend a lot on it - but it's not. I'd like to be able to hit beer cans up to 200 yard, but that's going to take time, money, and practice. THEN maybe i'll see the value in spending more on my scope than my rifle.

well, scopes and scope rings are going to cost more than I anticipated, but I'm going to hold off on making a purchase for a few months anyway. In motorcycle terms, buying a scope at this stage would be like installing a power commander, full exhaust, and woodcraft rearsets without really RIDING the bike first. I think my money is better spent on range time and ammo for the time being. that will get me proficient at shooting with open sights in the 50-75 ft range, and allow me to buy a couple high capacity magazines before the weather gets good. when the time comes, these rings have gotten positive reviews http://theconsumerlink.com/product_detail.asp?BID=Millett&T1=TCL+DT00701&navStart=0&. and they're supposed to work with the rails that came with my 10/22 When it comes to scopes, I think the big question is whether I want to go with a standard 4x, or pay more for something that's adjustable from 3-7x. I think the answer is yes, but we shall see

My uncle's version of this saying was, "ask a woman how many pairs of shoes she has and she has no fucking clue. Ask a man how many guns he has and he knows EXACTLY how many, even if he has more guns than his wife has shoes."