Inane ramblings to avoid thread jacking

[Betty Rage]

  sadness 

[scott_araujo]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/b8ab/

[Joshua]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/b8ab/

That is a badass toy .

[duc_fan]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/b8ab/

 

I love ThinkGeek.


As far as this place being a ghost town, while I can't speak for anyone else:

Work has been (and will continue to be) bizarre

I'm also trying to find a house (finally gave up and I'll be renting this schweet view house in Stevenson... which means I need to move... again... but it's a really cool house)

Now I need to find a washer/dryer for the rental

Need to get in to a doc to get this thing on my tailbone fixed... it really sucks to sit at work all day right now.  Apparently whatever they gotta do is gonna take several days to recover, so it's gotta be scheduled in advance.

Trying to maintain the car (needed tires... got those mounted/balanced on my good wheels, now I need to raise the suspension before installing on the car)

Went camping last weekend.

Took a lady friend for a ride on the SS last weekend as well.  Next time she wants me to go faster.    I think that'll be this weekend for her b-day.

And the next three weekends are already booked.

So yeah... dunno about anybody else, but I only have time to read this every few days or so right now.

Hey, at least life ain't boring.  

[duc_fan]

I... was out at a flight test all day in Boardman, OR.

Reminded me of Edwards AFB/Dryden Flight Research Center down in the Mojave... sans the cacti and Joshua trees.  Otherwise, same kind of environment, down to the mountains and windmills in the distance.

Two aircraft, three launches, three recoveries. (one aircraft launched/recovered twice)

Everything worked.

Nothing broke.

Weather was great.

It was a very good day for this airplane nut. 


Didjoo know that some aspects of stealth technology were pioneered at Boardman?  There used to be a radar cross-section model stand out there... seriously, the patches in the asphalt are cut and angled like the doors on the stealth aircraft in order to reduce or eliminate the effect of ground noise on the radar testing.

Yes, I am a total airplane geek, and I'm having a grand time at Insitu. 

[duc_fan]

Oh...

So my ladyfriend from Sandy wants to do some more riding.  The SS was just not designed for 2-up.

I really need a bike that I can ride from freaking Hood River to Portland on a regular basis without killing myself (ergonomically speaking).

Needs to be a comfortable yet sporting motorcycle capable of carrying 2 people while comporting itself well in the twisty bits.

That sounds like an MTS1100S.  Or something ridiculously expensive like a K1200GT.

I can't afford to spend 9 grand on a used Multistroodle S-model, and I refuse to go into debt for a toy.

Soooo...

What path should I be looking at?

--Non-S model Uglystrada
--Ducati ST3/ST4s (with drop pegs and a Sargent seat to better fit my frame)
--Triumph Tiger
--Triumph Sprint 1050
--BMW R1100S
--Yamaha FZ1

So I started looking at what I thought would be cheaper alternatives that I could get now or early next spring... particularly the FZ1.  Found out that those wankers, for a reasonably newish example, are in the same ballpark as a non-S Multistrada and ST3/4s.  There's a 12k mile ST3 with all bags on CL: http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/mcy/1374057462.html.  I'm wondering if it would be better to settle on a non-S-model Multi in order to get something within the foreseeable future.

(Thinking aloud)  I wonder how much the CBR track bike, the 900SS, and the GTI project would be worth if I sold them all?  Then I might be in reach of a low-mile MTS1#00S.  I'd be down to the GTI VR6 and the one bike.  Hmm... might also save me on insurance.

[ryandalling]

The strada is an awesome bike. It is fun in the twisties and IMO there is no better two up bike on the market. There are some riding style differences to get used to when you get off of a supersport... so don't expect it to be the same type of riding. However, it sounds to me, from your writings, that it is more of the style you are looking for anyhow...

At my house, the bike just gets used more often than anything else now... side bags... top bag... and a comfy passenger seat.... the top bag even has a back rest for the passenger.... I find myself riding that for short trips to the grocery store too....  the bike could easily become an almost year around singular form of transportation.

[scott_araujo]

Dan, why go non-S Multi?  May as well get the S model especially since better suspension will also help with 2-up.  For the difference in price take the upgrade.  I think you should probably go take a test ride on one.  I think you'd love it or hate it and then you wouldn't need to agonize over the decision any more.

Thought about a V-Strom?  It's the Japanese cousin of the Multi.  Not as fancy but more available used and cheaper.

The new 800cc BMWs are nice too.  Have you looked at the F 800 ST?  Probably the same as a Multi on price and limited used availability but a really nice bike and the back seat looks good.

As a super low budget option, if you can find a Kawasaki ZR-7 with a Corbin seat, you're probably golden.  The stock seat sucked front and back.  This isn't the Ninja, it's sort of the remake of the KZ.  They only sold them for a few years in the states but I only paid $5500 new out the door.  My wife and I would do long rides 2 up no problem when I had one.  It's not as fancy or sophisticated in any respect but it was a great little bike.  I held my own against much faster machines on Palomar.  You'd probably need to rejet, almost everyone did to get rid of an off idle stumble.  Oh, and get rubber covered foot pegs for the rear.  They buzz.

Scott

[desmosome]

imo:

1) remove passenger pegs
2) find a girl who rides

[ryandalling]

26 bike pile up on I-5??? Wow... all choppers.... and from an Outlaw biker gang according to the paper....

[desmosome]

they really need to put front brakes on those choppers

[duc_fan]

Yeah, after visiting MotoCorsa this weekend, and having my passenger swing a leg over the backseat of the Multi (her surprised expression: "wow, that really IS a lot more comfortable!"), screw it, I'll just get the Multi.

Unless a smokin' deal shows up this fall, I'll wait 'til spring.  I think I'll be selling the SS to fund a large part of the Multi purchase.  I want an S-model.  Won't buy one new, because I don't want to waste money on depreciation, and I've seen enough nice used S-models out there to know that it only takes a little patience to find what I really want.

Ryan, nice to hear what you've got to say about the Multi as a near-universal form of transportation.  That's what I'm looking for, especially since I'll be commuting from Stevenson to Bingen during the workweek.

Yeah, the guys at MotoCorsa (and even my dad once or twice) are saying I should keep the SS, since I'm not making payments on it.  That's a nice thought, but I'd like less debt, a smaller bike payment, lower insurance costs, etc.  That, and once I had something as fun to ride as the Multi, I don't think the SS would get ridden enough to justify keeping it.  It would go back to being a sub-1000-mile/year garage queen.  Even Arun was talking about how much fun the Multi was compared to the Desmocedici on a ride he took out through the Gorge and up along the Klickitat River.  Actually, that conversation was kinda funny... as we were walking back to the car, my ladyfriend laughed and said she couldn't believe I hadn't bought a bike from MotoCorsa yet.

Okay, enough thinking on this topic.  I've thought it to death.  Now it's just timing and financing.

Know anyone that wants a nice looking 2001 900SS?

[scott_araujo]

You could sell the CBR and keep the SS as your track bike.

Also, the 795 Hypermotard is due out next year at sub $10k.  Comfy and back seat looks pretty good also.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/23/ducati-launches-hypermotard-796-prices-it-below-10k/

Multi is probably a better all around bike and commuter though.

Scott

[duc_fan]

Oh, the CBR will be going down the road, too.  I'm not rich enough to add to the garage without ceasing.  For the sake of financial soundness, I need to stock the stable with: one moto (the Multistrada), one 4x4 (Z71 Tahoe or K5 Blazer), and one GTI (which may eventually get traded for a Golf or Jetta TDI).  I gotta tell ya though... part of me is sorely tempted to keep the SS and use the CBR as a down payment for a Multi.

I'm spending too much money housing and insuring vehicles as it is, and that's with two GTIs and a motorcycle (the CBR has no ins.).  I really don't need to add another insurance expense.

The motard looks really cool, and I'm sure it's a total hooligan roost-mobile, but the gas tank is tiny.  I need at least 150 miles, if not 200 miles of range (200+ would be even better).  My SS will go 150 miles/tank consistently (on the street... track use is another story).  Multi should do at least that, if not further.  The other weekend when I went from White Salmon to Sandy, to my parents' house, to church, back to Mom & Dad's, out to Sandy again, then back home... I had to fill up twice. 

Oh hey, also wanted to say: thanks guys for being around to bounce ideas off of.  I may or may not do something you specifically mention, but regardless, the discussion helps my reasoning.

[Betty Rage]

Happy anniversay honey.