redkow97

you think 2 teeth is going to be enough of a change? If you're really hitting the limiter that early, I would go up a tooth in the front as well.

damnit. I have friends coming into town for the weekend, and Sunday is my anniversary, or I would at least stop by and visit with people. It has been way too long since I've seen the old NESBA crew. I know Dave and Mike from Big Meenie Motorsports will be up there riding (not instructing). Dave has a 250GP bike and an immaculate Triumph 675 that he can't seem to stop crashing. Mike rides SV650's. They are both plenty fast, and very hospitable.

probably exactly what you think... the new ZX10 would be faster, more expensive, and even more overkill for street use. The Ninja 1000 chassis and engine were plenty competent up to about 9/10 riding. Beyond that I recall complaints of front end chatter. do they make hard luggage for the Ninja 1000? seems like a touring wind screen and a set of hard bags would make this thing the fastest way to travel across the country...

talk to an insurance adjuster about deer claims. they have some awesome stories. my favorite was a brand new Cadillac that employed similar logic to Pauly above (too late to brake, so i'm going to accelerate and hopefully get in front of the deer). The deer came THROUGH the rear passenger window. Driver stopped. got out and ran. The deer thrashed and destroyed the interior of the car before eventually escaping. Between the damage to the body and the interior, it was totaled. she got the car replaced, and within a few months, it was 'stolen' from her driveway. The cops showed up and found it in the lake in hear yard with the antenna sticking out of the water. Initially they thought she was an idiot and left it in drive, but they pulled the car out and found it in park. The shifter (or something in the transmission) had failed. 2 totaled Cadillacs within a few months of each other. Both complete freak accidents.

i'm not used to people accurately stating the traffic code! This is the GENERAL breakdown: speed limit under 55: 5mph over = 2 points. 30mph over = 4 points speed limit 55 or over: 10 mph over = 2 points. 30 mph over = 4 points OVI, street racing, and other serious traffic offenses are 6 point violations. That is not an exhaustive list. Reckless opp is probably a 4 point violation, and other offenses fall in the 4-6 point range. Point of warning: the definition of "street racing" is extremely broad. Basically if you are travelling in excess of the posted limit, and driving along-side another person who is also speeding, you can be charged with street racing. Keep that in mind if you're cruising down the highway with your buddies, doing 80+ http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4511.251 In relevant part: "The operation of two or more vehicles side by side either at speeds in excess of prima-facie lawful speeds established by divisions (B)(1)(a) to (B)(8) of section 4511.21 of the Revised Code [...] shall be prima-facie evidence of street racing."

if you can stomach the author's inflated ego, "No Angel" by Jay Dobyns is a quick read and gives some interesting insight into the "outlaw MC" culture. (in Mr. Dobyn's defense, he ghost-wrote the book, so I can't say for certain that it's his ego, and not the persona the co-author gives the 'character.' I enjoyed the book quite a bit.) The cliff-notes version is: - motorcycle gangs are exactly as pointless as we think they are. - they take themselves so seriously that it's laughable. The feuds between clubs have no basis or root. They just hate each other and talk about killing each other. I'm relatively surprised anyone in this scenario actually pulled the trigger, but once someone does... - 90% of their criminal activity is illegal gun sales and drugs (but nowhere near the scale of SOA type shit. We're talking buy 4 or 5 guns private party, and sell them at a small mark-up to felons who can't get them legally. And you'll likely have some small-time dealers doing local business.) - all of the members need to have day-jobs. Being a full-time outlaw isn't practical or profitable.

I get that people panic in certain situations, over-brake, lock the wheel(s) and the bike ends up on its side - and I don't really fault them for that ...but own up to it and say so. "I fucked up and panicked" is a lot more accurate than "I had to lay 'er down." There is always going to be more stopping traction from 2 wheels gripping the pavement than from a bike sliding on its side. Always. I just posted a few weeks ago about crashing in a super-stupid situation. I grabbed a fistful of brake while trying to swerve. Totally my fault. There, I said it. Even this group isn't going to pile on and make fun of me for it.

sell it to me for $20

you ride horses AND bikes and you've lived past 20? that's impressive I like to joke w/ my boss about riding horses being more dangerous than racing motorcycles, so I come across as "hating" horses. Really though they are some of the coolest and smartest domestic animals around. I wish I were less of a pussy and wasn't afraid of them.

You sure your clutch isn't slipping? I can move the katana around the garage and driveway without giving it throttle, but I don't just drop the clutch...

Tough Mudder was a great thing to train for. I did two in 2013, and was really happy with its effect on my fitness. I haven't done another since then because my experiences at the events got worse each time. The first one was its own experiment. Our goal was just to complete all the obstacles (on our own) and finish. We did, and our time was pretty respectable. We started in the 8:40 heat (third of the day) and made excellent time. My "I pulled this out of my ass" goal was to finish in under 2.5 hours. We ended up finishing in about 2.75 hours. For the second TM, we were in better shape and had done a ton more hill training. I was thinking we'd shave 30+ minutes from our prior time, just by knowing how to tackle most of the obstacles more quickly, and we were dead-set on not walking at all. Jog or quit. We also planned meetings w/ the wives so we could change into clean socks at certain obstacles. Our plan was really good. ...but we started in the 10:40 heat, and the crowds were ridiculous. With better training, it took us a full hour longer than our previous time. We literally spend 45 minutes standing in line for "Everest." I ran up and caught the edge on my first try, wanting to complete the obstacle myself, and someone insisted upon pulling me up, damn near dislocating my shoulder in the process. another tough mudder would be hard on my knees. I really think training for the first two screwed them up pretty badly... But I would insist upon starting at 8:00 or 8:20 if I did it again. Any later and the wait at the obstacles is just intolerable. by way of update, I did okay on my 2015 goals for a while, then fell off the wagon and gained 7+ lbs. of fast-food and beer. I've been running 3 times this week though, and between nicer weather and owning a jogging stroller, I think I'll be back in a good routine this summer. Nora enjoys being pushed around and watching me do pullups in the park, so no excuses.

now that you mention it, I did see him at GP indoor, and I remember him writing a 'review' of the experience the following day. I have no problem with Brian disagreeing with me. I don't recall ever saying his opinion(s) was/were invalid. Where I have taken exception is when he stops debating and starts insulting me (or my bike, or whatever) for having an opinion that is contrary to his.

Hahahahahaha. Where has he been anyway? Did he get banned while I wasn't looking? I've had him blocked for a long time now, but it still shows when he's posting, just not what he says.

When I find a bike I've never heard of before, I immediately go on eBay and see how many parts are listed. That said, for $1000, you could part it out and probably break even if something catastrophic happens with engine internals... I also like the idea of having a $1k bike for ADV rides, because it's going to hit the ground. Not it might; it will. If this is running for $1k (count on buying new tires, and be happily surprised if you don't need to), get it, ride it, and if you love ADV riding, then buy something nicer and break even selling it.

I have told this story before, I think... I was never into bikes growing up. I liked cars. Then the guy I was subletting my room to for summer in college came home with this, for $600 I thought it looked like the perfect mix between sport bike and cruiser. He started shooting his mouth off about how fast it was, so I went online to confirm, and damn if it didn't beat a Mustang GT to 60mph for $600... I wanted to buy a cruiser, because I thought knee-dragging was dumb (or I convinced myself of that when all the sportbikes I went to look at were either bought out from under me, or in horrible shape...) Then I found my '97 EX500. The price was right. I was sick of shopping. A new age of awesomeness in my life dawned. The End.

it better be a can-am spyder, or I vote ban hammer.

depends on how long the old plate is expired. I had my street plate hanging on my garage wall for a couple of years and had to buy a new plate when I got a street bike again. That wouldn't have been the case if I had it associated with another vehicle sooner. I don't know how much sooner though...

damn. that's pretty reasonable... I have to get a quote on making some repairs to mine. A new one might make sense soon

so how do you win? by revving your engine loudest at the stoplight?

I've never heard anyone regret buying the quiet inverter generators, I just can't rationalize spending a grand on something that I don't use very often. it's definitely nicer to have a quiet one at the track, but a high-quality extension cord and some thoughtful placement are cheaper options. My $230 Chinese 3200 watt peak 2500 watt continuous genny is quieter than my snow blower or lawn mower by quite a bit. I know, because I changed the oil on all 3 at the same time, and ran the snow blower out of gas. I'm working on a way to run a small fan and pipe the generator exhaust out of my garage. Then it's all completely contained, and doesn't bother anyone at all. At the track, you build it a little barrier, or use vehicles to block the noise. I even saw someone throw plywood over the top of their truck bed with the generator up in it. that worked surprisingly well. Seemed to push the sound upward.

for home use, it's not terribly difficult to build a sound barrier either. I try to be careful about prohibiting air-flow through the frame, but I lean a sheet of plywood up against my generator to block the sound from traveling directly into my neighbors' windows... We have a pretty good situation where I can put the generator near the house on our (covered) back porch, and then just run the cord through the ground-level window with a towel shoved in to keep a decent air-seal.

the stock fenders do look pretty bad, but they keep shit off the bike... could it be trimmed or painted to look less wide? there were portions of my fender I WISH I could have cut off, but I compromised by painting them flat-black and leaving the narrow center portion body-colored. Visually, it appears narrower that way. I'm happy with how it looks, considering that I didn't have to make any permanent changes to achieve the effect. /$.02 Overall, I really like how the Bandit turned out.

I can't "advise" on such matters, but there is nothing wrong with talking to the prosecutor - especially if you have to appear in court anyway. I appreciate when people are respectful of my time. Whenever you interact with the prosecutor (either by phone, or in person) suggest you SCHEDULE a conversation rather than trying to hash it out right there. (unless he or she has time to talk about it on the spot) And don't fall into the trap of trying your case to the prosecutor in the lobby, or over the phone. You have a resolution in mind. Leading with that will send the message that you're not looking to argue for an hour; you just want to compromise on an admission everyone can live with.

needs a front fender to be practical. Otherwise, slow-clap for you. I dig it.

how's that math working? in a 55 zone, 10 over is 2 points and it doesn't jump to 4 points until you're 30 over. You were 15 over, which is firmly in the 2-point violation range. Were you wrong about being back down to 4 points?