The General Motorbikers Discussion Thread

Gah, terrible sensationalist journalism in that article.

As for the subject, my condolences.
 
Jon, thoughts to your friends and family. :(
 
Just sold my Vt500c.
 
For whatever reason I thought you meant the movie and not the country >.<.

Also, not having any discretionary income really sucks right now. My Yamaha is missing a $100 part, and someone is selling a similar style Suzuki that is ready to go for the road (sans title, but thats not too big of an issue) they just dropped to $250. Yesterday was my last day at the call center, and I don't start my new job until the 11th.
 
Just came back from a tour with a friend... which was not that awesome for two reasons: First, it's incredible how many roads are in bad condition around here so you can't really go as fast through the corners as would normally be possible. At many spots, I had to take very much the inside line on my lane because the outside had too many potholes. Result: not much banking beacuse lack of space. And second, my friend dropped her bike when we stopped for a drink. Nothing bad, only the rear break lever is a little bent and probably needs to be replaced, but watching her riding on the way back made me worry - I just hope her confidence didn't get damaged as well.
 
I was at a restuarant at Alexanderplatz in Berlin and these showed up. There were people at the table next to ours and I'm sure I creeped them out by staring behind the woman at these bikes :lol:

Nice VFR
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And this bucket of :woot:
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Nice BMW cafe racer
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Back to the 500 Desmo
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And a Triumph Thunderbird on the other side of Alexanderplatz
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Got Irony?

Motorcyclist dies after hitting head on pavement during protest against helmet laws:

Police say a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he flipped over the bike?s handlebars and hit his head on the pavement.

The accident happened Saturday afternoon in the town of Onondaga, in central New York near Syracuse.

State troopers tell The Post-Standard of Syracuse that 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets.

Troopers say Contos hit his brakes and the motorcycle fishtailed. The bike spun out of control, and Contos toppled over the handlebars. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Troopers say Contos would have likely survived if he had been wearing a helmet.
Click to expand...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...t-helmet-laws/2011/07/03/AGNicNwH_story.html?
 
One ticket, please. Window.
 
Yeah, helmets restrict my right to AMERICA! FREEDOM! These colors aren't DOT-approved!

:rolleyes:
 
Some random riding thoughts: I'm seeing 111F (about 43-44C) running around outside today. For those riding in similar environments, I commend the evaporative (or other technology) cooling collar to your attention. This cools the blood going to and from your brain and helps with temperature induced fatigue. I am currently sitting in a restaurant with my collar soaking in a cup of ice water to 'recharge.' These things are a cheap precaution - mine cost about $6 at a sporting goods store.

Another item that is a good idea is a hydration pack, like a Camelbak. You can get these in backpack, waist pack and even a tank bag form. This will allow you to continually hydrate while rolling. These start as low as $20 at Walmart for a decent one. I recently rediscovered the 'joys' of dehydration on a long hot weather run, so I picked one up. It is astonishing how fast you dehydrate in modern mesh gear at higher speeds. Also, if you fill it with a lot of ice and top it up with water, you get a nice cold heatsink on your back and constant cold water to drink as the ice melts.

Finally, the roads are actually *more* treacherous, what with overheating cars spewing coolant everywhere and the tar sealant close to its melting temperature...
 
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Got my tank repainted today. If you guys recall, I had previously stripped the paint off previously to patch up some dents that my friend thoughtfully left inside, then I removed the metal badge brackets and filled those in.

Today's work: me and Greg (the guy who I bought my Miata from, incidentally) went over the bondo with some better 3M putty, wet sanded, then put three coats of urethane base coat and four layers of clear coat. Three hours of work later...


https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blaro/2011/07/15/5j5ng.jpg

https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blaro/2011/07/15/a8ste.jpg

https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blaro/2011/07/15/IMAG0246.jpg
 
Sweet! so the 550 will be road-ready again?
 
So, after about a year and less than 10,000 miles, I find I must discommend the Nexo Sports brand Cobra Plus gloves. Sure, they checked all the boxes for the usual features in a GP style glove and I got them on sale... but this is what my left glove looks like now, with no crashes, exposures to random chemicals or any use other than for operating motorcycles.

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Oddly, the right one, which you would expect to wear out first, is in better condition - though the palm is eroding on it, too.

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This is the fastest I've had a pair of gloves wear out in some time.
 
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