[eon]

Sweet looking bike. I think this bike looks great in all colors but I am partial to black.
I like to take pictures of my new stuff before I ride/drive as it is never that clean again.

And oh, if that helmet is sitting on the rear seat in picture 1 I would get out of that habit quickly. It is oh so easy to drop it from there and it does not do it any good. I lift my visor up and loop it over my mirrors (still not a great habit but it’s not going to fall from there).

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JR, I recommend starting a new thread with your question. It’s considered bad form to hijack someone elses thread.

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Congratulations on the new delivery
You might want to add a pair of motorcycle pants to your list. If you fall your legs/knees/hips are going to want as much protection as your upper body. And in a slide they are going to be in contact with the ground. $100 should get you a half decent pair.

Other than that, where are the pix?

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I’ve been riding around with my rain jacket from my cycling days for the past month. It is PERFECT for motorcycling. It is so good I’ve been meaning to do a review of it for this site. As it’s marketed for cyclists it is not something you are likely to see reviewed on typical motorbike sites, but if you think about it the needs are pretty much the same. In case you missed my original post, it’s a Gore-Tex Bike Wear Pack-Lite jacket. Okay it’s not exactly cheap (retails around $250) but I’ve seen it online for a lot less. And I believe this is the premium rain proof material (according to mountaineering types whose demands are probably more exacting than ours) so there could be alternative brands out there that work well enough for us. Might be worth popping into a local bicycle shop for a look.

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I think it’s a combination of snow and salt/grit = gray dirty water that sticks to everything (also corrodes everything it touches). Takes forever for the grit to get washed away so you are driving in dirty sticky water for months.

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I know the RevIT pants come in long sizes. Not sure if they will be long enough for you unless you expand your waistline, but at least you can go try them on at the BMW shop.

Have you considered the Bohn Body Armor? That might work for you.
http://www.bohnarmor.com/catalog/sizeguide.php#SizePants

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So much to see around here within a short distance. Would like to go over to Yellowstone, up to BC, even down into California and see the redwoods. But this year I’ll settle for Oregon. The trip is being organized by Soundrider.com. I think he’s charging $100 for leading the tour. Apart from that it’s gas, food and lodging. Will know more in a couple of weeks when he posts more details. Something to consider if you cannot make the 2 week trip.

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mrs eon just renewed her lease last September and swapped her 2006 2.0T A4 FWD for the current version (but with 4wd). I was there and heard the sales spiel but the only bit I remember is the car is now longer but lighter. I have not actually driven it yet but I do know the inside seems to have had a nice upgrade.

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I don’t agree that 65mph is the same whatever car you drive. I’ve done over 100 in the A4 without realizing it but 30mph in the Honda felt really fast. Your ass is just inches off the ground, the engine is screaming and you feel every bump in the road. The real fun of a true sports car is in the twisties. Straight line speed is boring. Taking a corner well is fun. In truth all the things that are fun with bikes apply to sport cars. I don’t count muscle cars as sport cars, all they are good for is straight line speed and sounding good. Just like a Harley then

[eon]

My last car was a 3.0 V6 A4 Quattro and I loved it to bits. Practical, reliable and fun. I regret that I sold it (after 5 years and 50,000 miles) but it did pay for the scooter. The ex-wife had a 2.0 Passat and then the A4 but it was not the same car without the V6 and 4 wheel drive. But if you are looking for a fun engaging car then they are still out there and you don’t have to pay mega bucks. My car before the A4 was a Honda S2000 and I cannot say enough about that car. I have never felt so much feedback in a car as that thing. If I ran over a pea sized stone I would know about it. The engine would rev up to 9000 rpm and scream like a banshee. No driver aids, just 240hp in a very light rear wheel drive soft top.

I took my older brother out for a spin who is a long time biker (currently owns a Hond a CBR 1000) and I had him laughing manically as I whipped round bends at seemingly silly speeds. Experiencing side ways g-force in a car is an interesting experience. Jeremy Clarkson is a fan if that matters to you

Ok, I’m rambling again. Sold that car 8 years ago and I thought I was over it. I still look at the lease prices when I consider getting a car….

edit: forgot to mention the gearbox in the S2000 was a joy to use. The gear stick had a very short throw and it just snicked into gear.

[eon]

I would add that every time you have a close call you should hopefully learn something to try and prevent it happening again. Don’t wait for a crash to start pondering where you went wrong! I would go further and say every time something takes you by surprise it’s time to analyzing if you could have done better.

One thing I have learned over the past year is there are not many absolutes when it comes to right/wrong. Post a question online and you will gets lots of opinions. Hell, even the Police Advanced Riding Techniques dvd I’ve just finished watching seemed to contradict a lot of the ‘standard’ advice I’ve learned over the past year. In the end I think you have to do what feels right to you. But hopefully you keep learning

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I’m thinking the cops were polite as they knew they were on camera. Still, can’t help but notice the difference between that and the Cops show here where they seem to go out of their way to rough the folks up as they arrest them, make it look good for tv. I guess that’s what you get when you let a bunch of old jar heads join the Police

I thought you would have picked up on the fact they were stopping folks to have a chat about what they were wearing. That would have pissed me off. If I’m not breaking any law then don’t friggen stop me for a chat. Having said that, I recently heard that it is now a requirement to wear protective gear, jacket/pants etc. Not sure what the exact requirements are or how they enforce them, but I’m not sure I like that being a law. As safety conscious as I am I think that is going a bit too far. Mind you, since we have a public health care system over there maybe it’s for the best. You can spend a few hundred on pants or we can spend thousands grafting your skin back on. Hmmm, maybe I do support that idea.

The reason I got into watching these videos is I had just ordered a safety video by an ex UK Police instructor. I’ve watched some of it this morning and while the production standards are a bit cheesey (it’s a one man effort) the advice is golden. But man, I had forgotten how bikers ride over there. Overtaking into the smallest gaps and squeezing back into traffic, and this is the instructor on the safety video!!! Definitely a different culture.

[eon]

Never used either by the sounds of it. 4200 miles over 9 years is about 450 miles a YEAR. I’ve done that much in one day. I did about 10,000 miles my first year and I think most people do at least 5,000 miles without trying too hard. All means this could be a great bike to buy but I would not give much weight to the previous owners comments as he obviously did not ride it much.

If you do decide to get this bike then as SantaCruzRider says, check into insurance rates before you buy. I’ve a feeling it’s not going to be pretty viewing.

Be safe whatever you choose.

[eon]

Without getting into the semantics of whatever phrase you choose to use, an absolute beginner justifying a super sport as their first bike as they will be “careful/respect/whatever” is a pretty weak argument. The point has been made many times by many people who ride such bikes that they are unforgiving of mistakes. You can be as careful as you like but you simply do not have the finesse to mange the throttle on such a bike without experience. Those who manage to avoid crashing only do so by babying it so much they avoid learning anything.

I do not care if some stranger chooses a super sport as their first bike if they know what they are getting themselves into. But I would hate for someone to come to harm through ignorance.

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I don’t think I criticized Anthony at all. I highlighted the fact that many buyers of GSXRs are young men of the squid variety, something you alluded to yourself. I have no idea if he fits that mold or not and did not imply that he did. I then suggested there are better choices for new riders than that bike. I’m not sure where there was any criticism in there. At least I didn’t suggest he get a bicycle.

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