Ziggy

My dad started me early on motorcycles, we've actually got pics of me in a car seat my dad mounted on the back of his old CB750 that he'd take me all over the place on. I think I was about 3 at that time. When I was about 13, I got a used 4 wheeler that I rode for about a year or so, then traded for a little kx80. Through my teen years, both of my parents rode, and my dad bought a lot of old, tired, barely running bikes to fix and sell, so I got exposure to a lot of different bikes. When my parents were out of town one weekend, I took Mom's bike out and wrecked it pretty good. When they got home, and I told them what I did, Dad took me up to the DMV, and got me the Virginia MC endorsement study guide. He said "I know I can't stop you from riding, but I can make sure that you're legal when you do it." I was 17 when I got my endorsement, and I rode everything that came into the garage until I moved to Ohio when my second child was born. When we moved here we were broke, so when I went in to get my Ohio DL, I didn't transfer my endorsement. It would have been an extra $25, and I knew that a bike wasn't in my future any time soon, so I let it drop. After working on my wife for about 7 years about getting my endorsement again, and buying a bike, we were finally in a position I could drop a little money on a bike, so I started researching, and visiting dealers, and trying to figure out what I wanted. I stopped in a Suzuki dealer, and sat on a sporty looking, naked bike (SV650), and knew right then that was what I wanted. I scoured CL for months looking for one that I could afford, and ended up finding it in Obetz. A red 2001 SV650 naked. It had 12k miles, and a little rash from being down, but I only paid $2100 for it. After riding on my temps for a while, I used the SV to pass the maneuverability course, and started taking my wife with me on some local rides when we could get a sitter. That was when she found out she likes to ride too, and when I realized that the SV, though a great commuter bike, is not ideal for 2 up riding. I sold the SV at the end of December, 2008 for $300 more than I paid, and bought my first cruiser, a 2001 Vstar 650 Classic, on my 9th wedding anniversary. I rode the Vstar from January to April, then realized the final drive was beginning to show some significant wear, and I wasn't in a position to fix it, so I put it up for sale after only 4 months (but 6000 miles ). My wife really liked the cruiser, and was pushing for another, so I started the search again. I really wanted a 750+, so that's what I was looking for. Then I stumbled across a silly deal on a 2000 VStar 650 Custom that the guy just wanted rid of. It had been down once or twice, was kind of ugly, and had been painted several times, but it only had 1200 miles, had most of the mods I was planning for my Classic, and I had cash burning a hole in my pocket. This was the day after I bought it. Two weeks later... And a couple of weeks after that... My wife and I took it down to Gatlinburg and rode the Dragon last July, just before my car died, which revealed the fact that I needed to sell my little bike in order to buy a cage to get the kids to and from practices when my wife couldn't do it. I really didn't want to sell my bike after putting all that work into it, so I called my mom, and talked her into a trade. I loaded up the VStar, and drove to Virginia to do the swap, and brought back her 1993 Shadow 1100. I never liked the Shadow, and really wasn't sad to see it go... Mom apparently didn't like it too much either. She only put 50 more miles on it in 9 years than I did on the Vstar in 3 months! Unfortunately, I find myself without a bike completely right now, and have gone on the hunt again, looking for that great deal that I can both afford, and act on.

I have the Harbor Freight ramps and have used them to load bikes into lots of different trucks, ranging from my 2wd S10 all the way up to stock 4wd Rams and Silverados. I've found that the pitch of the ramps isn't so bad if you back up to a curb for loading and unloading. My subdivision has those sloped "no-cut" curbs, and I just park the truck at the end of the driveway out in the road for a couple of minutes, and run the bike up there. Last summer, I loaded my lowered VStar in a 2009 4wd Silverado that way, and didn't scrape a thing. Also, if you've got a pair of oil change ramps, you can drive the front end up on those, and it'll really affect the angle of the ramp in the back.

That's kinda what I figured. When you start to see more than one of anything with a common issue that has never been fixed, there is usually a reason... Bummer.

I've been looking for a bike for a couple of months now, just trying to find silly deals out there, and came across what (on the surface) looks to be a pretty good deal on a 1990 ZX11. My question has to do with the trans. The ad states the bike doesn't go into second gear, just into neutral when shifting from first. I saw another ad for an older ZX6 that indicated a similar problem. How big of a deal is it to replace second gear?

I had boards on my 2001 V-Star Classic, and really liked them. You must have a Custom, which in my opinion should not have boards. From an aesthetic stand point, boards look heavy and really don't look on the Custom. The Classic on the other hand with the fat tire up front, full fenders, and thick forks just looks right with boards.

On my SV650, the light came on at .9 gallons left in the tank, and I was able to go about 35 miles once the light started blinking. The VStars I had were both good for 40 miles plus on reserve, I got over 200 miles on a 4 gallon tank on more than one occasion.

Unless they've changed the display, Honda's got a Rune at the Columbus Airport in the main concourse. I've always been impressed with the front suspension on those... Just looks awesome!

"A social worker says He's lonely" Don't you feel bad for him?

My wife and I rented a cabin through American Patriot Getaways in Sky Harbor resort, and had a totally opposite experience. Hope you had better weather than we did, it rained every day we were there!

Go Here. Up at the top of the page, it says "Freedom isn't free, but membership is." Right below that is a link to the membership form.

Bring it out... We don't care what you ride, don't even care if you ride. It's not about motorcycles, it's about our soldiers, and honoring them for defending our country. I've been a PGR member for about a year and a half, and make every mission I can. It is the least I can do.

My wife and I left the kids at home and loaded my VStar in a truck for a week in Gatlinburg last month. We went down on Monday, and spent Tuesday on the bike. We rode from Gatlinburg down 321 to the Foothills Parkway to 129, in the early afternoon and had a great time! We were on the Dragon around 3:00 in the afternoon, saw only 1 LEO which was near the resort on the way down, and a pretty good mix of all types of bikes. The weather probably played a role in keeping a lot of people away though. There was rain in the forecast the entire week we were down there, and as it happened after making a clean, dry run South, we got lunch at the resort and it started raining. We tried to wait it out, but after over an hour of rain we decided to go ahead and head back to Gatlinburg. That part sucked, but we got some spectacular pics of the Smokies. The story we tell family and friends is that Dragon is an awesome road, but we didn't find it to be much of a challenge on a nice day, so we decided to try it in the rain. We leave out the fact that we didn't have much choice in the matter. The wife and I

1993 Shadow VT1100C 14k miles and climbing every day as I ride it to work daily tires are good and have excellent tread depth Runs, rides, and looks great and carries a valid Virginia Annual Safety Inspection (I know, it doesn't mean much in Ohio, but in VA all vehicles have to have a 120 point+ safety inspection, and this one was just done in May) It has a fresh oil change, and is ready to hit the road! I've got to sell to replace my cage before the weather turns foul. It still has the stock exhaust, but I've pulled the last baffle for more volume, and I'll probably end up gutting the pipes completely before I'm done. I've got it listed on CL for $3350, selling to OR member for $3000 Located just North of Cincinnati, near Kings Island. PM me if interested.

I bought my first Vstar in January, and put 6000 on it before I sold it in April, I bought my second Vstar in May, and put 2600 on it leading up to last weekend, now I've got a Shadow that I have yet to put any miles on. REALLY don't want my first miles on this one to be in the rain. All told, I guess I've got right around 8600 miles since the first of the year.

Moose, It was my honor to stand on the flag line on Thursday at the visitation for your friend, Army SPC Greg Missman. I wish I'd have been able to do the "Mission of Honor" at his funeral, but I'm sure that the PGR did him proud. I'm glad you found the website and were able to join. Its a decision I'll never regret. Here's the link to the main page: Patriot Guard Riders

I've been a PGR member for a little over a year now, and can't think of a more worth while group to be associated with. Though I've never served, I feel priveleged and honored to be allowed to ride with people that have such pride in their country is really just awesome. It really is a powerful thing to see people, civilians especially, take time out of their schedules to honor those who've made the sacrifice to preserve the way of life that so many of us take for granted. I hate that the reason I've met so many people through the PGR involves laying to rest some of the most courageous individuals our society has to offer. It is a heartbreaking mission that the Patriot Guard Riders have taken up, but it is one that too few of us as Americans have taken up. The important thing about the PGR is that your individual politics don't matter. It doesn't matter if you're for or against the fighting in the Middle East, it doesn't matter if you're old, young, male, female, veteran or never served, able-bodied, or handi-capable. The soldiers that defend this country deserve our respect, and the PGR does their best to make sure that every one gets it. I ride out of respect for those who've done what I could not, to defend the lives of those they'll never know.

I rolled in late, bout 3:45, I must have missed you phop...

U-haul definately sounds like the way to go! Good luck, and get it home safe!

Prayers and well wishes...

I've used hills and ramps, and I like hills best, but it's always good to have ramps, cuz you can't count on Ohio's geography to be on your side.

Any of you guys going on Sunday? I'll be there probably around 3-ish.

I took the whole damn thing. So far, 13600 people (including you) have responded to this Squid Test Survey and have been tabulated. Of those responses, the average grade is 53. Your grade was 75 (from 0 to 100), and 0 out of the 115 questions were left un-answered. The average number of questions answered in this test is 47. A higher grade indicates a stronger sense of common decency, and a lower grade is an indication of conspicuous squidliness and general disregard for civilized society. Your score indicates that you are a halfway decent rider and wise-ass who is way too narcissistic his or her own good.

Just looked up directions to Leesburg, Ohio on Google Maps... About 45 miles and over an hour from my house... I can still help you load it, but getting my ramps there will be a problem. I don't have a truck, and my bike is my only transportation right now. I *might* be able to get them in my wife's car as long as she doesn't need it Friday night.

I live about 30 miles from there, and have ramps you could use to load, but I don't think you'd wanna haul them all the way back down here (near Kings Island) to return them. I could probably meet you to help you load it if you want though.

I'm definitely in for this... I've printed a copy of the flyer and will be posting it at church as well.