redkow97

1986 - the Kawasaki Ninja 900 (first "ninja" sold in the US. Also featured in "Top Gun") - top speed 151-154mph (depending on source)

citations: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092099/trivia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_GPZ900R

check that on snopes. It's a bird, not a dwarf hanging himself.

some kind of tall bird with a long neck (looks like a rope).

i'd like to see the breakdown of the costs to clear the road vs. stabilizing the mountainside.

I'm betting it's about $40k to clear the road, and 1.96 million to stabilize the mountain...

Get the white gixxer. It's the hotness! 600's for a small bike are the way to go...my opinion is the smaller cc's are just too weak for keeping you out of close calls.

It's laughable to me that people refer to 600's as "small" bikes. only in America...

I'd contend that an I4 600 is uncomfortable and overkill for street riding. The OP said she tries to avoid the highway. Why get a bike that is designed for comfort-sacrificing aerodynamics, and 150+ top-speed?

the Duc, or a 650 twin (kawasaki or suzuki) would be a substantial jump in power, and tons more practical and comfortable than any of the "R" bikes listed.

FZ6 is the only I4 600 that I'd seriously consider for street riding.

parts@nesba.com will get you a good deal. you can ask for a price quote. I don't remember what mine cost (maybe $24 shipped?) which is way better than the $35 or $40 you'll find it most places.

as for installation, I would just make sure to clean the surface really well and apply the stomp-grip in direct sunlight. (unless it's a billion degrees).

You just want it to be pliable, and give the glue a chance to really set well.

PBR premium?

because that's worse than the guitar hero 'controllers?'

If they (tires) have a giant flat spot down the center then you' date=' obviously, don't spend too much time leaning side to side. [/quote']

I just think any form of pre-judging is silly and pointless.

if you look at the tires on my 500cc 50hp commuter that shuttles me to and from work, that's hardly going to give you an accurate picture of my riding ability.

the more I read of this thread, the less I want to participate in any group rides. "120 mph in the straights" - great. I hope you 'lose' me. That doesn't sound like anything I need to be associated with.

if i get the chance to make a group ride, I hope the real thing proves to be more fun than this thread makes it sound. I'll pitch-in for popsicles.

i like when other people post pics of their guns. Helps me convince the wife that I'm not a paranoid redneck for wanting one.

Not that it is a perfect tell-all' date=' but tires are the rat fink of riding ability. One can gauge another rider's skill level by a simple glance at a front and rear tire. [/quote']

...or the guy is using all the tire because he has huge balls and shitty body position.

i'm working friday, and riding to work.

my boss is uber-christian, so I doubt he'll be in the office, and whoever IS in charge here on Friday has historically kicked everyone out of the office by 3:30

The one guy in another department is hilarious. The first nice day of the year, he sent something like, "as ranking officer, I declare it 'happy hour.'" this was around 2 PM on a Tuesday. I don't recall why so many of the higher-ups were out of the office that they didn't notice...

^ so if it's a passing free-for-all, won't the slowest riders always end up in the back, regardless of where they start?

My point was really about the ego involved in someone 'deciding' who should be up front, and how you define "faster and more experienced." If rider A has ridden the route 1,000 times, that gives him experience. If rider B has an expert WERA license, that makes him fast. I'm going to guess we probably get more people with rider A's experience.

shit, where's QuickZX9R when you need him?

...tits on a bull

Faster more experienced riders to the front. Newbs to the rear. Passing should only take place to correct the riding order. And really you shouldn't have to pass, if you are holding up the rider behind you wave him by. Stop to count bikes before turning onto a new road or at a major junction. If the group contains really new riders, or someone who has never ridden a particular road before, then put an experienced rider in the sweeper position. Rinse. Repeat.

Let's assume for a second that everyone here agrees with you 100%; who determines who is a "faster and more experienced rider?"

why the hell do they want "loud pipes on the right?" Why does it matter?

I'm a firm believer that "loud pipes annoy neighbors and give cruiser riders a bad rep," but even if the 'guide' is hinting at the noise 'saving lives,' what would be the purpose of keeping louder bikes to the right?

for $3500, your friend should get a pretty decent 600. Good luck.

at 140 lbs., you're probably not going to need to adjust much...

The problem is that the Japanese test riders are usually 160 soaking wet, and the average American is 225 or something silly.

As others have noted, an SV650 doesn't have compression or rebound adjustments stock. the cheapest upgrade would be to purchase cartridge emulators from RaceTech.

You drill out the holes in the damping rods to the point that they don't actually "dampen" the flow of your fork oil, and then the cartridge emulator acts as a valve that opens under slow, steady pressure (like turning), but stays relatively firm under abrupt pressure (like hard braking).

I had them in my F2, and a friend of mine had them in his 06 or 07 SV.

^ i'm also curious. If you're saving ~50% on ammo, how long before the necessary equipment pays for itself? I'd consider splitting stuff with a buddy of mine if I ever get around to buying a firearm...

^ need to update the "bikes" section of your profile

Welcome, from just around the corner.

Ohio (fully?) adopted the castle doctrine?

Probably a CYA for the police. They send it to a grand jury, a panel of everyday folks summoned for jury duty. The evidence will be presented, and these people will vote whether or not there is any evidence of wrong doing by the resident. Most likely, they will side with him, but that will be one more notch in the post in case this dead guys family wants to pursue a wrongful death case. Then not only have the police deemed it a justified shooting, so has a grand jury.

The family could still pursue a wrongful death case. A grand jury determines if the state can bring CRIMINAL charges. the family's wrongful death suit would be a civil matter, so it won't matter what the grand jury thinks.

I'd wager that the prosecution is putting this in front of a grand jury so they can't be accused of being racists (assuming the victim was black).

There IS a legitimate and gross inequity in the charge and conviction rate when a deadly encounter involves people of different races. In this case, the prosecution will be able to say, "we tried to charge the white guy of killing the black guy, but the grand jury said no."

and as a point of clarity, there is a HUGE distinction between "let's not pursue ________ charges," and deeming it a "justified shooting."

Maybe its just because I grew up in the burbs but the last place I would want to raise kids is Tremont or any of the "trendy" areas

Tremont can be "trendy" and dangerous within a few blocks though...

with 3 kids, I'd stick to places that are more uniformly safe.

It's a tough compromise to reconcile good schools with "close-ish to CSU." I'd suggest Medina, but that gets pretty far South.

I grew up in Broadview Hts., and the Brecksville/Broadview Heights public schools are really good. If i heard "we got 25 out of 25 on our state school report card" one more time, I was going to stab somebody. But I appreciated the qualify of education when I went to college and realized how dumb some high school graduates are...

Honestly, in your shoes, I would try to move into Seven Hills (the buffer zone between 'trashy' Parma and expensive Independence) in an area that allows your kids to attend Independence schools. They have a great district, and the city gets shit-tons of tax money from the businesses on Rockside alone (I work in Independence).

P.S. - given that you're retiring from the Army, keep in mind that there's a VA hospital in Brecksville (unless that's being closed). Might be a good place to find a job.

Hahahahaha that is so cool! They wheelie, highside, lowside, all of it! And without the pain too. lol

without the pain, without 80% of the expense and; unfortunately, without 80% of the fun.

...but I'll take 20% to tide me over.

dude. holy shit.

Glad to see the chicks gone again...

that ugly one was running her mouth way too much, and turns out she couldn't drive for sh*t anyway...

"I'm a race car driver"

I'd like to see her 'race' resume.

I haven't watched every episode, but I did see that clip where she 'admits' to team Lambo that she's a race driver. Previously, her navigator had said the driver had entered "a couple drift competitions" or something.

My brother and I have talked about trying to get on Bull Run. The idea was to be the first team to ride. (separate bikes, thank you) But I doubt the producers would go for that. It would either limit the challenges too much, or increase their liability insurance!

That said, I wouldn't bring a super nice car. I would LOVE to enter a Subaru WRX, but it wouldn't be an STi. I think there are at least 3 things to consider for that competition:

- road course manners (i.e. acceleration and handling), but this is probably the LEAST significant of the factors.

- off-road ability (it seems like there are a lot of dirt challenges, so maybe 'ground clearance' is the better way to phrase it)

- GAS MILEAGE. That's why I wouldn't bring an STi.

in season 1, Team Scion got eliminated right away, but I remember them saying, "i love that everyone else had to stop on this leg, and we could drive straight through." That is a HUGE advantage for the actual rally, and should help keep you out of the challenges.

the only 'performance modification' I'd make to any car I entered would be this: