Ziggy

I would certainly be interested, but lack the funds necessary to make a credible offer.

Competition Accessories has a pretty decent OEM parts dept. Their counter guys seem to have a pretty good grasp on things. I've used them for Mikuni Carb jets. They actually stock most of the more common sizes, and the one time they didn't have them in stock, they shipped them to me for free. They do have a fair amount of gear, but certainly nothing compared to Iron Pony.

Welcome!

I'm signed up to do a St. Baldrick's Foundation Shave event tomorrow in Beavercreek, Ohio and thought I'd throw this out to my OR family. St. Baldrick's is a 501c3 organization dedicated to funding research to develop treatment for all kinds of childhood cancers. One of the ways they're funded is by volunteers who sign up for their Shave Events. The Shavees set a fundraising goal and through the generosity of their friends and family, take donations leading up to their Shave Event, at which time, they sit in the chair and shave their heads to show their support for the cause. I'm signed up, along with my son, to honor my friend Brady Northern. Brady was diagnosed with a Medulloblastoma (sp?), that's a brain tumor, when he was 3. He fought valiantly through several rounds of chemo and surgery, only to lose his battle the day after his 4th birthday. Brady's big sister is one of my daughter's very good friends, and as such, their family has grown very close to my own. So, there's my pitch, I'm trying to meet or exceed my goal to raise $500 by tomorrow evening. If you're willing and able, I'd appreciate your tax deductible donation. The amount doesn't matter, and if you're unable to donate, I'd appreciate your support for my part, and continuing prayers for my friends, the Northerns. No one should ever have to lose a child to cancer. Cancer Sucks! Clicky to see my participant's page Thanks in advance!

I've noticed this myself in the last few months. Thing is, I've got a light smoke tint on my headlights, so when I do lose patience, and start flashing the on-coming car, it usually has little to no effect on them.

I've got a Harley. I bought it because I've wanted one for a long time. I found it on CL for only slightly more than what I had recently sold my metric cruiser. I've enjoyed nearly every minute of ownership of my Sporty. The thing is dead simple, the aftermarket is HUGE, and if I'm out on the road somewhere, there are few occasions in which a dealer or at least half competent shop is more than 75 miles away. When I found it, I was specifically looking for a Sportster 883 that had a 1200 or 1250 conversion, and it just happened that the guy I bought from did a lot of other supporting mods too. Frankly, I couldn't duplicate the mods on another bike for what I paid for this one already done. I like to ride it, and at the end of the day, isn't that what really matters?

I had no idea about JIS screwdrivers. I need to get some of those!

Sears has specials on tools all the time. Especially Christmas and Father's Day like someone said before. My folks got me a 150+ piece mechanics tool set from Sears when I was 13, and that was really just about all I needed for years. As I got older, and the projects got more complex, I've been able to pick up the stuff I needed, but there are a couple of pieces I consider indispensable now. 1) Gear wrenches - spend a half hour fumbling around with a conventional combination/box end wrench in a space too tight for a socket, and you'll wonder why it took so long for someone to invent them! 2) Hex and Torx (star) sockets - kinda the same deal as the gear wrenches, faster and easier a lot of the time. 3) Good screwdrivers - they're not all the same, I especially like the ones with magnetized tips! 4) A good magnet - needs to be strong enough to pick up heavy stuff, but small enough to get into spaces you can't reach. I've got a telescoping one from Advance Auto Parts that has saved me from hours of teardown to retrieve a dropped nut or bolt. If there is an inconvenient place to drop something, I guarantee you will at some point! I gave my son his first tool set for Christmas this year (he's 13) and I hope he finds his to be as helpful as I did.

Going up on Saturday, I'll be the husky fella in the faded OR "Flag" shirt.

Diesel prices are currently higher than gasoline... about $4.19/gal. down here. If I were going to buy a monster that size, I'd want the diesel too, but at that price for fuel, I'd have to think hard about whether I need a truck that size.

According to NADA, Clean Retail is $21,400 using Cincinnati's 45241 zip code. I'd try to buy for around $19k.

This is really the first GW that I've ever been excited about.

Clicky Looks pricey, but pretty much what you were looking for...

Traffic is worst around the Fields-Ertel area (exit 19 from 71) and on Mason-Montgomery Rd., but generally, it isn't too hateful. You get to know the back ways in and out, and you'll get around just fine. Where are you looking to move?

What a great story, thanks for sharing! + Rep for you!

I would totally LOVE to ride today, but I'm gonna be chained to my desk until after 7:00 tonight.

That's a neat little bike, but again, knowing my wife, it'd have to be her first "step up" bike, once she decides that she wants to ride a motorcycle, rather than a scooter. At this point, I've located a couple of old Elite 150s and 125s, as well as a couple Yamaha Riva 125s that'll fall right where I need to be price and (hopefully) size wise. Found an Elite 150 Northwest of Lima for $250 that needs a little work, but that is almost 3 hours from me, and I'll have to rent or borrow a truck to go get it. Still trying to weigh out the decision to try to buy stupid cheap far away, or locally for a little more money.

I definitely want her in an MSF course to get her endorsement. It's not the way I went, but I've been riding something or another for as long as I can remember.

My thoughts exactly, though I really hadn't considered an 80cc 2 stroke... hmmm need to do some more research.

Keeping up with traffic is all relative. This little machine will not likely ever need to exceed 45-50 mph, regardless of who's riding it.

AGREED! But I gotta wait for the housing market to recover a little bit first. We bought in 2006 when I transferred to Cincinnati, and my house is worth approximately $12k less now than it was when we bought. Hoping to move in about 2 years over to Butler County. Gotta get some stuff in order first, is all.

All of the arguements you guys have brought up about teaching her to operate the clutch on a dirt bike, or a pit bike, and the like are great, and they make a lot of sense, but for one problem... She doesn't want to learn how to operate the clutch. Not yet anyway. Knowing my wife as I do, I've learned that I have to work within the bounds that she lays out for me. She'll warm up to an idea over time, and I'm pretty sure that eventually, she'll want to learn how to ride a "real bike", but until then, we're stuck on CVTs and "automatics". I think one day we'll get a couple dirty bikes, because I will definately start my son on one, but if I can't get a machine to work within my wife's perceived limitations, she won't mess with it.

I'd love to pick up a pit bike or other small dirty bike, but I live in an HOA concentration camp neighborhood in which people bitch about my garbage cans staying out at the curb past 5:00 PM the day of pick up. No place to ride, and no transport to take a bike anyplace else = pissy neighbors annoying the local po-po with complaints about unlicensed vehicles running around the neighborhood.

So after nearly 14 years of marriage, my lovely wife has decided that she wants to learn to ride. Now, she's short (4'11, and short legged to boot!) so even the smallest bikes are a little intimidating for her. In addition to that, she can't drive a stick, and she fears that learning how to handle being on two wheels AND learning how to operate a clutch and shift gears is going to be too much for her to handle. So that leaves the most logical machine for her initial foray into motorcycle-dom is going to be a step-through scoot. So here's my plan: I'm going to buy an inexpensive (read: cheap and old) japanese scooter that'll be small enough for her to learn on, but big enough for me to commute to work on. I've found an '87 Honda Elite 150 on Craigslist for cheap, that the guy says needs minor work. Now, I'm no stranger to a wrench, I do ride a Harley after all, but I'm completely unfamiliar with scooters. I've never ridden, nor worked on one before, but I'm eager to learn the do's and don'ts of scooters buying and maintenance. I spotted the Ruckus on here, but I don't wanna spend that much money. Trying to keep my initial purchase price under $500, and total ridable expendature under $700. I know there are at least a few scooter riders on here, so c'mon out y'all, impart some wisdom on me!

Welcome! Get some wheels, and get out on the road!