[Clay Dowling]

Good entertainment, and I like the advice for setting up the impromptu cone weave. Certainly better than using the road dashes at 50mph on a back road, which I would never recommend anybody do.

[Clay Dowling]

I have yet to do a U-turn in a box in real life.

Got to do one this very morning. Box was defined by the sides of the road and the blocked off road between me and the gas station. Did a nice quick U-turn and I was on my way. Unlike all the cages who had to wait until the road opened back up, or turn around in a driveway. Very nice.

[Clay Dowling]

it’s kind of cool. Although I still think I’d have to pry that silly gemstone looking thing off the top of it. On the pink/champagne looking helmet with the red stone, it looks like the rider would be connected to the mother ship.

Overall, I have to say that this looks like it would be silly looking on my heavily chromed cruiser. Maybe on a white BMW R series, with the white helmet.

[Clay Dowling]

First, the bike has to function well. I don’t want to deal with an unreliable machine.

After that, given that bikes are a more ego driven purchase than a practical one, I’d say looks are pretty important. But just like with clothes, what one person finds as their ideal look others will think is hopelessly dull, and others will think it’s pass-me-the-eye-bleach hideous.

[Clay Dowling]

Wind resistance from your body is a lot more powerful that seems reasonable, but it’s definitely there.

A friend rides a vstar 250, and loved the mileage. Didn’t love the strain at highway speeds, so he put a small windshield on it, maybe twice the size of a flyscreen, and saw a 10mpg improvement in his fuel economy.

[Clay Dowling]

You don’t get into three digit land in a Saturn casually. It takes a fair amount of determination, and a long stretch of road.

[Clay Dowling]

“Maybe if everyone rode they’d understand and be a little less of an asshole in their cage.”

Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the result we’d get. Some people are hard-wired to be jerks. The sort of people likely to choose to ride a bike are also likely to recognize that there are more important things than being first off the line and taking that very important cell phone call from your boss. Among other things, there is that very important act of not taking the call from your boss.

[Clay Dowling]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint,_Michigan

That’s the area where I live. It ain’t Pleasantville. I expect a salesman is going to try to get every advantage he can, and the Flint area is known for some of the worst customer service at the retail level of any city. It isn’t uncommon to have trouble finding somebody to sell you something.

Like Elwood said, you’ve got to deal straight up with folks. If you take a hostile approach, you will get hostile results. If you’re cool, chances are they’ll be cool too. Even the “crooked” dealer will probably be okay to deal with if you’re straight up with him.

Not saying to trust these guys. That would be stupid. Verify that what you’re signing is what you agreed to. On a used vehicle, verify that it works properly.

[Clay Dowling]

The neighbor across the street is a state cop, and there is a very high rate of firearms ownership in my area. As a result, we can leave our houses unlocked, keys in the ignition, power tools in an unlocked garage, and there aren’t any problems. Also, the town I live in is a suburb of Flint, and kind of small. So the cops know who is around, and if they see outside miscreants it is pretty obvious. The last group that tried to move in and set up a drug house found themselves in a world of hurt when three police departments descended on them. I’m told there was gunplay. Don’t know if anybody was killed, but the drug house is gone.

[Clay Dowling]

Man, not even gonna bother. Anything less than a corvette isn’t going to touch it when I ride it normally, anything more than a corvette and I’ll have a fine view of their tail lights.

Around here, the corvette or the mustang are about the fastest cars we’re gonna see. There is one dealer for the expensive European sports cars, and the guys who buy those don’t need to prove anything. Also, we have a minimal youth population in the Flint area. Either they’ve wised up and moved to someplace with jobs, or they’re too dumb to hold a job and the only car they drive they stole.

Might be amusing to cruise down the main strip on a Saturday night though and see if there are any dolts wanting to try it. But not really gonna bother to race them. There’s noplace to go.

[Clay Dowling]

usually lose value. You just got lucky with the ones you picked up.

What you usually do is you keep it as a slick, sporty ride around town. The only kink is that if you’ve got a BMW to be riding, you probably aren’t that interested in the Ninja.

[Clay Dowling]

And a reminder to the rest of us to be aware of what’s going on around us. There was a motorcycle this morning that I had the devil’s own time seeing. I did see him before pulling out, but it was a near thing. We just aren’t as visible on our bikes, so it’s important to keep alert for the folks who miss us.

Also, to keep our speeds at levels appropriate for our circumstances. 65 in a residential area is asking for trouble.

[Clay Dowling]

Is not the norm. And the ninja is so common that the market is flooded.

Depreciation is the norm. Only partially based on mileage. Age is as much a factor. You also have a fashion-conscious bike and got caught in a model change.

Just the same, can’t fault buying a BMW bike. If I had the money, and didn’t mind the 70 mile drive, I’d get one in a few years.

[Clay Dowling]

Write computer software by day. Build furniture and brew beer by night. And lately, binding books, which other than a difference in materials isn’t very different than building furniture. I even use all the same tools.

[Clay Dowling]

drlapo, I’m assuming that you’re riding a 650 Ninja there, so you can probably keep even with my cruiser, if you push it. If you’re riding a 500, you’ll notice me as that thing that keeps getting smaller in front of you.

Anyway, most modern cruisers have a fair amount of speed, and none of them top out at 45mph. If they do, they probably also have a cloud of blue smoke trailing them, because there’s something seriously wrong with their engines.

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