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You do live close enough to me for that to be practical. Alright eon, but only so long as you promise not to do this:

Heh, yeah I did go a bit overboard on color coordination. Although, believe me, that last bit was totally unintentional. It just HAPPENS that the black/white suit had little bits of red, and the helmet I already had also has little bits of red. Total coincidence. The rest? That would be my black/white fetish at work.

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Girls on bikes are rad. That’s not just what I say, but actually what I think. It’s the same as girls that are into motorsports in general, or who like cars, or those who like watching a sport (whatever that happens to be) with you. It’s kind of unbeatable really. Like Munch says, even better than a girl who rides a bike is one who REALLY rides a bike: has wicked control and clearly doing it because she loves it (as opposed to simply greasing the wheels of a relationship, for instance).

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Unfortunately, I think that’s just plain ludicrous. I live in a house with four other friends, and I’ve already hogged the entire garage with my car, two bikes, and tools. As a result, their cars are all on the street, and I’ve got literally no place to put a trailer. I wish I did, cause I’d really like to reciprocate all the free transportation I’ve gotten from my friends with a trailer of my own.

The far more likely option is a hitch-mounted motorcycle carrier. They’re cheap ($250-300), stowable, and both small and light (80-100lbs) enough to be easily managed by hand. Shame, but I suppose it’ll be best for now.

Hahah. A track day with the ‘spaz sure does sound like fun. Tell you what, if we can convince Ben to come out with us, I’ll bring my motorcycle the next time I go visit my brother in San Francisco.

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I really didn’t like the blue/white Gladius when I first saw it. I was pissed that the got rid of the SV650 (I was thinking of replacing my Ninja 250 with one eventually) and thought it looked girly. Every major motorcycle magazine editorial seemed to echo the same opinion.

The funny thing is, the more I see them IN PERSON, the more I find them to be rather sleek-looking machines. Certainly more sophisticated-looking than the SV styling. Now even the white/blue is growing on me. It really is a pretty cool machine; I think they just hit the nerve of the entire collective SV owners community when they released it and dumped the past favorite.

Cool bikes guys. Glad to hear you’re enjoying them!

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That 3M magic goo doesn’t do the trick? Does duct tape have the potential of leaving irremovable residue or damaging paint? Or is that only if you leave it on too long?

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I’m headed to Pacific Raceways again on Monday. As of three days ago I also now have a pair of GoPros, but one of the SDHC cards I ordered is kaput. I might try to grab a spare card or find an SD laying around, but either way I’ll have something to show. I promise. If they both fail me for some reason, I’ll at least get some before and after photos with the ol’ point-and-click.

When I registered, the 5-day forecast showed 10% chance of precipitation on Monday. It went up to 80% this morning, and is back down to 50% now, so who the hell knows what’s going to happen when the day finally rolls around. I pray for a dry day; rain is no fun without wets.

Hey, speaking of videos, is there any compelling reason for me to use Veoh instead of, say, YouTube? Was that just personal taste on your part? Also, do YOU have any mounting tips for the cams? I can’t use a handlebar mount like Elwood on account of short clip-ons. I also can’t really position behind the windscreen like you do thanks to a dark smoke windscreen (yeah, wasn’t thinking of that at the time). I was hoping to put a cam on the rear seat cowl but it’s not flat enough for a flat mount and not curved enough for a curved mount. The adhesive can be removed without damaging paint, right…theoretically?

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You got a new W-Frame suit. Different colors. And now we match. See what you’ve done?

Sweet vids/pics though. Makes me really wish we had Bay Area weather up here right about now. Looks like my next track day is going to be a rainy one.

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On most bikes all you need to do is loosen a bolt (clutch) and two bolts (brake) and rotate the controls downwards. Sometimes there is interference from other parts, so make sure that they work well in their new positions. You may need to adjust clutch/brake cable play after the move.

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At least that’s what it seems like to me. Textile is cheaper. Leather is better. Use leather in spots that count and save money in spots that don’t. But you’re right, some hybrid jackets don’t make any sense.

I actually own an ’08 streetfighter jacket, but only because I got it on clearance for $115 at the beginning of ’09. I thought that, for the price, it was silly not to have a spare jacket on hand. The new streetfighter looks like a better jacket, but you’re absolutely right that it’s not worth $300 from a value point of view. I think Shift is trying to enter the Dainese/Alpinestars price range via fashion, rather than quality. While I own plenty of Shift products (two jackets, two pairs of gloves), they definitely feel like they’re made overseas (which they are), and have nowhere near the level of quality of the other brands in their same price bracket. I mean, really? $500 for a jacket made in Vietnam?

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As stated elsewhere on many occasions, sportbikes are not good beginner bikes. Yeah, the power is part of it, but there are a lot of other things that make standards a better choice. So yes, the 250R is really just a sporty standard.

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I don’t get the sense that I’m anywhere near as accomplished as you on the track, but all the same I’ve definitely had my share of similar experiences. For my first 2 track days on the Suzuki I ran in “C” mode: about 65% horsepower. All kinds of guys on literbikes and non-throttled 600s, big nakeds, etc. would blow by me on the straights, only to fall behind on corner entry. It’s an amazing feeling. A strange sort of humor. Just makes you grin to the point of cheek/jaw pain all through the corner.

That video says it all

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You saying you’d want to ride anything OTHER than a motorcycle with a Viper engine?

You’re right though; that bike looks unrideable. Granted, that guy looks kinda short (or maybe the bike’s just huge), but it looks like a real stretch to get to the bars. And it’s just ugly. And impractical. I can’t imagine riding that around.

And yes, my Smirnoff Ice is delicious, thank you.

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Good luck with the code update!

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…every now and then I really have a hankering to find myself a more relaxed bike for riding on the street. I’d be the first to admit that my GSX-R is NOT comfortable around town. I don’t know if I can suck in enough pride to end up on a cruiser (not to say cruisers are lame; I’m talking sportbike pride here ), but I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up swapping my Ninja for a more upright naked after about another year.

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So it feels like the gripping ability of your gloves is to blame? That’s interesting…never had that experience before. I’d probably chalk it up to practice, but you could have a bad set of gloves for you…dunno.

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