^wow, I need a real pair of boots.

Any suggestions for more "street" style and less racing style with the protection though?

I do not care for the really clunky HD boots with the metal "HD" logo everywhere, etc... but also don't want a racing style boot.

 

Looking at these:

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...Air-Boots.aspx

Thoughts?

 

Those are nice looking Stogie and AS makes some great products so you should be good protection wise. I had some race style boots and I never wore them because it just was a pain bringing extra shoes and stuff. Those I feel you could easily pull off with some jeans and not get a second look.

Oh, I know I should have worn boots anyway and def. will now if I pick up another bike. I have seen friends go down and ankles are always really really bad

 

Just read through this thread and missed the first post about wearing your gear so I gave the link a read. Since we are talking about gear I figured I would repost it just as a reminder how important gear is.

I hope someone didn't repost it in the last few pages as I have not read every post.

Link to Story
The Girl

 

I have these: http://www.rideicon.com/product_deta...=3126&id=11071 and I love them. Good protection, look nice, and they're comfortable... so I can wear them to a destination, then have no problem keeping them on the whole time I'm there...

 

^ Nice! I was looking at those, too.

 

^ Yeah, I recommend them. I was looking for something that I could wear while riding, but also wear in a social environment as a lot of the riding I do is to/from meets and events and I didn't feel like wearing boots and lugging along a change of footwear. I found these at my local CycleGear and love them!!

 

I got a pair of Icons that similar to JB's.
http://www.rideicon.com/product_deta...iew&view=front

It works very well and it's very well ventilated. You won't have to slap on any shoe diapers for the AZ heat

 

Those of you interested in an Alpinestars jacket check out this deal:

http://www.newenough.com/street/clos...le_jacket.html

And heres a few others on closeout:

http://www.newenough.com/street/clos...kets_and_pants

New Enough also gives you a discount if you are an AMA member.

 

I love my AMA discounts + other perks. I definitely recommend to any rider to become a member.

 

i wear these alpine start SMx-1 boots

http://www.alpinestars.com/SMX_1_Sho.../p/251307.html

i like them but i have mine in all black. pretty comfortable too.

 

Thanks! You just saved my buddy lots of $$$

 

Buddy is looking into a Ducati Monster. How reliable are they? Heard the maintenance costs have gone down recently. Any reason why they're going for cheap off CL?

Thanks!

 

Wow. Just wow. No, I am not bidding...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HONDA...item4cf06994b2

 

^ Wow, definitely watching that bidding. wonder where it will end up?

 

It's at $31K and the reserve is not yet met!

 

Ducati is coming out with a Monster 796, so you'll probably see the 696 prices drop a bit. Maintenance has gone down a little bit b/c they have increased the service intervals for the valve adjustments. They still need to get done, they just went from ~3k to ~7.5k. Price has not come down, just the interval.

They are reliable bikes, but need to be taken care of... so expect to bring it in for maintenance fairly regularly. B/C of that, the cost of ownership would be more then a Japanese brand. This is actually the reason I went with Aprilia over Ducati. The maintenance on the Aprilia's are very similar to Japanese brands, so that kind of won me over...

 

^Just watched a show on HD Theater channel about the Ducati story. Used to build radios before WWII. Holy cow, what a cool company. Basically, all their bikes are pretty much completely hand built.

The also had a show about he MV Agusta factory. Pretty awesome, too!

 

^ Twist The Throttle on Discovery HD Theater. Great show and I've seen them all. They're due for some new ones though. It's been ~7 months since they had a new episode... and even then most are from 2009.
.

 

Saw the MV Agusta show.

MV Agusta....so awesome.

The way they build their bikes is amazing...each one is its own work of art.....and no time limit on how long it takes to build one.

 

I occasionally ride with one Monster owner and a former colleague has another. From what they say they sound pretty reliable, don't know the maintenance cost.

One of the reasons the desmo motors are so expensive to maintain is that the valve adjustment is pretty tricky since it used to be (still is?) you had to hand file the desmo cam followers since they only came in certain fixed increments which were bigger than the cam adjustment tolerance. Like bucket on shim cam followers you had to go to the Ducati and get the followers. I knew someone with a Duc Paso and he said valve adjustment at least half a day.

Don't know why they're going so cheap on CL, both guys I know love riding them.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100716/...joe_perry_hurt

Joe Perry rides a Monster 696, glad to read he's OK

 

Legend - Thats in Interceptor in your avatar right? What year? My brother had an 85 750. It was his first bike and it was beat, but it served him well.

 

Just got two new 'replica' mirrors and a replacement rear blinker (winker) unit in the mail for the CB750. Looking forward to getting the grab bar and rear winkers on.

 

Yes, it's a 85 500 I bought new. Fun bike to ride around Maryland country roads. Rode a friend's 750 a few times, also very nice.

 

I think those mid eighties Interceptors are so cool. It's nice to see them on the road still.



Terry

 

^

My brother regrets selling his. I think he sold for ~$500 back in the late 90s. I loved the sound of that v4. He ended up getting an 87 CBR600 Hurricane. It was involved in a hit and run at college (by a college employee and vehicle). He tried fixing it up but ended up selling it on eBay for $1800 back in 01-02. In 04 he picked up an 03 VTR1000F Superhawk.

He misses the Interceptor though. So do I. The new one is pretty nice. Im not sure if I like the huge motor they stuffed in it, but it does pack a punch. Id love to pick up a mid 90s 750.

Stogie - Got those mirrors on yet??

 

dude , the ninja 250r looks sweet! would i get raped by civics though?

 

Better pic of my 500 baby ceptor

 

Youve kept it in excellent shape. How many miles do you have on it?

 

There's a reason for that sound, the 1st generation V4 motors from Honda used 360o cranks, the 2nd generation used 180o cranks. On the 360 crank all the crank pins are aligned, on a 180o the pins are 180o out of phase. This is the 360 crank out of my Interceptor.



The 360 cranks tend to sacrifice low-end torque for high-end power, they also have a distinct sound. Due to the much longer exhaust timing they require more complex exhaust systems, so all the early Honda V4's have a larger collector that sits under the motor. This is the exhaust collector for a 500 Interceptor, which is bulky and heavy.




With the exception of the RC30 and RC45 models all Honda V4's after the 1st generation went to 180 cranks. They had more low-end torque and a more rumble-like sound versus the more rev'y sound of the 360 cranks.

IMO, the mid/late 90's were the best Interceptors.

 

Thanks, it has almost 54K.

 

Nice. Thanks for the info. I didnt know they had 360* cranks.

And the 90s were great for the Interceptors. Id love to pick up a cheap one and convert it to a street fighter.

 

Looks great. Such a classy looking bike. Clean and svelte, like it should be.




Terry

 

Blinkers.... PITA. Something wrong with a ground I think somewhere. Naturally, it in the fronts, which are hard to unwire. Probably going to replace the blinker unit, too. Electronics have come a long way since 1978!

 

I have a version of the same engine in my Varadero. Terrific engine.





Terry

 

Whats wrong with them? Hyper blink? Not working at all?

I had to google what the Varadero is. Pretty cool. How long did they produce it?

And that motor is pretty torque-y. My brother has no problem lifting the wheel in third, stock gearing too. Do you have any issues with the CCTs?

 

The Varadero is still production. I'm sorry, CCTs?




Terry

 

Cam chain tensioners.

And I just checked the Canadian Honda site and its still in production there. Its not on the US site.

 

Nope, never a problem.

Actually, the Varadero isn't built for the Canadian marketplace either. Honda doesn't promote or endorse the bike for Canadian use. Honda Canada buys German market Varaderos, ships them to Canada, and then converts them to Canadian specification. This is done at their own expense. The big traillies don't have a strong following in NA, but are very popular throughout Europe.



Terry