| Author | Message | ||
     Captpete |
I won’t comment on the helmet thing. However, my niece, an MD, who has spent enough time in ER’s, recently asked me if I still had my donorcycle. | ||
| Captpete |
Oh, and I loved the skin-graft comment. How many times have I been passed by two or three of them blasting down the interstate, swapping lanes as if they were chasing a first-place trophy, with their T-shirts climbing up their backs in the wind in an effort to catch up with their helmets. Makes me wonder. But no amount of admonishing will change their thinking. I suppose it’s the same inherent thought process of the young that makes our 21-year-old combat pilots so good at what they do. The big difference is training, which channels that belief in their immortality. | ||
| Blake |
On helmets... I support free choice. I also wish everyone would wear a helmet. I don't buy the "burden on society" logic either. If I did, I'd also want all automobile occupants wearing helmets too. Aesquire, Are airfoils symmetric like a bicycle wheel? I think the effect with which you are familiar is indeed induced by aerodynamic drag, not airfoil type lift. When encountering wind from the left, one must lean left to maintain balance. From that, we can deduce that wind from the left creates a force pushing to the left that acting through the center of pressure tends to try to tip a bike/rider to the right. More wind speed requires more leftward lean. The wind is pushing bike and rider over to the right, the rider reacts with more lean to keep from running off the road. Make sense?  Court, Yes, I'm intimately familiar with the aerodynamics of satcom antennas. Kinda helps when you need to figure loads to size the structure. | ||
| Grizzlyb |
About Buell and BMW, I didn't want to keep this short story from you. I was at my BMW dealer today and saw a 2001 X1 Buell in his showroom. He took it in when a guy bought a GS. So he thought lets ask Grizz what kind a bike this is. I told him to take the keys and ride it. He did. Went for a quick run and we had to wait over an hour for him to return. He smiled from ear to ear and asked me: WHY THE HELL ISN'T BMW MAKING A THING LIKE THIS? He hadn't had fun like this in years. Would be nice to see a GS frame with a X1 motor in it with a total weight of 195 kg?. ciao Grizzly | ||
| Dynarider |
I also believe in freedom of choice. And I choose to support helmet laws. Glitch, would you also support hp limits? After all who really needs 170hp in a bike or even 70 for that matter? Cut down on the velocity of bikes & the amount of bikes being sold to squids would dry up to nothing. Wouldnt need a helmet law then & be saving all kinds of lives. This is a country that supports freedoms, we dont have people dying in wars for the right to have more laws imposed upon us. That crock about bearing the medical bills of others is just that..a crock. Medical costs are rising thru the roof & it doesnt have shit do with a couple of lidless riders. Look around at all the mega million dollar new hospitals being built. Just in my town in the last 3 years they have built 2 new hospitals & working on expanding another. So far something like 113 million dollars has been spent on these "improvements" You think health costs arent going to go up as result? Im all for freedom of choice. Granyed I had a bit of an awakening last year & will wear my helmet on the highway & on long trips, but I would be kidding myself if I was to state I was going to wear it all the time around town. I think I can speak better than some others on this subject as my mother was killed in a bike accident back in 1995 just outside of mitchell SD. She was with my stepdad on the back of their Goldwing & she always wore her helmet, but for some reason that day she simply decided not to & the accident they had ended up being fatal for her. My mom died in the pursuit of doing something she loved, I wish we could all be so lucky. I would much rather die as the result of a bike accident than to wither away slowly as the result of cancer or be crushed in some industrial accident. | ||
| Glitch |
I'm not going to get into a political debate. I made a statement and my logic behind it. HP limits, of course not, but, I would support a graduated license like they have in Australia. My 2  | ||
| Southernmarine |
I hate to interrupt the General Discussion with this question, but I'm about to have a stroke over this bike. I was riding out in town with my wife and two of my boys this morning, doing some honey-do's. I spotted what I thought was an X-1, bright yellow, looking pretty. I told my wife I had to check it out, not a problem with her (Thank you God for this woman ) Anyway, got to talking with the owner. IT'S FOR SALE. 1999 X1, Beautiful Yellow, not a scratch on it, well taken care of, all recall's done, needs new tires, bike only has 3300 miles on it. Here's the catch, he want's $6995 for it. What's a '99 X1 worth? He let me crank her up, Oh My God, it roared underneath me, I fell in Love. | ||
| Dynarider |
Way too much cash. Seems like $5000 is the going rate for the X1's. | ||
| Carlost |
I'm sorry but I can't feel too bad for guys that buy the farm 'cause they weren't wearing helmets. States like Illinois, Delaware and Florida got a lot of blood on their hands as far as I'm concerned and getting political...this is another reason that I'm no longer an AMA member. My condolences to the family and Godspeed. | ||
| Southernmarine |
I just looked at Kelly Blue Book. They have a '99 going for $6995. He's asking exactly that. I'm gonna see what I can do to get this thing. Thanks. | ||
| Henrik |
Southern: MCN lists '99 X1 as going for $6900 Henrik | ||
| Jst |
My personal opinion and $.02 (for what it's worth) having experienced what a '99 X1 can do to\for you first hand. I would look at very low end book value for one. For some reason '99 X1s seem to have some teething problems. It seems that they worked out the initial problems by the '00 model year. On the other hand my '99 Em Too (in my eyes) has been flawless. JT | ||
| Southernmarine |
Thanks Henrik. I got a small look at the bike and it looks like it has been very well taken care of. Hell, '99 X-1 with only 3300 miles and being in as good a shape it's in I'm willing to spend money for it, that is if I can come up with it. If anyone else is interested in it I'll see what I can do about getting the info for you, just let me know, drop me an email. rdlassiter@aaahawk.com I'm riding a Blast, just got it. Was actually looking to upgrade to a 9S or 9R next year, or upgrade the Blast, but now I'm interested in this Bike, felt great underneath me. | ||
| Ray_Maines |
The '99 X1 will need a "Race" ECM, or PCIII and some Dyno time, to straighten out the fuel injection but other than that it's a great bike. The bike is worth whatever a buyer is willing to pay, maybe $100,000,000 if Paul Allen is drunk and has his check book with him. | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Bob, Read Ray(s) reply above and do a search at Cycletrader. I know there are other X1's forsale in Arizona and probably much cheaper! -JW:>  | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Some interesting stats from the Center for Immigration for 2002. There is no evidence that the economic slowdown that began in 2000 or the terrorist attacks in 2001 have significantly slowed the rate of immigration. More than 3.3 million legal and illegal immigrants have entered the country since January of 2000. By historical standards, the 33.1 million immigrants living in the United States is unprecedented. Even at the peak of the great wave of immigration in the early 20th century, the number of immigrants living in the United States was only 40 percent of what it is today (13.5 million in 1910). Immigrants account for 11.5 percent of the total population, the highest percentage in 70 years. If current trends continue, by the end of this decade the immigrant share of the total population will surpass the all time high of 14.8 percent reached in 1890. Immigration has become the determinate factor in population growth. The arrival of 1.5 million immigrants each year, coupled with 750,000 births to immigrant women annually, means that immigration policy is adding over two million people to the U.S. population each year, accounting for at least two-thirds of U.S. population growth. Although immigration has a very large effect on the overall size of the U.S. population, it has a much more modest effect on the age structure in the United States. The nearly 16 million immigrants who arrived in the United States since 1990 have lowered the average age in the United States by only four months. The percentage of immigrants without a high school diploma is 30 percent, more than 3.5 times the rate for natives. Since 1990, immigration has increased the number of high school dropouts in the labor force by 21 percent, while increasing the supply of all other workers by 5 percent. The poverty rate for immigrants and their U.S.-born children (under 18) is two-thirds higher than that of natives and their children, 17.6 percent versus 10.6 percent. Immigrants and their minor children now account for almost one in four persons living in poverty. The proportion of immigrant-headed households using at least one major welfare program is 24.5 percent compared to 16.3 percent for native households. One-third of immigrants do not have health insurance — 2.5 times the rate for natives. Immigrants who arrived after 1989 and their U.S.-born children account for 95 percent (7.5 million) of the 7.8 million increase in the size the uninsured population since 1989. The low educational attainment and resulting low wages of many immigrants are the primary reasons so many live in poverty, use welfare, and lack health insurance, not their legal status or an unwillingness to work. Immigration accounts for virtually all of the national increase in public school enrollment over the last two decades. In 2002, there were 9.7 million school-age children from immigrant families in the United States. In 2002, 39.2 percent of immigrants 18 and older were citizens and they comprised 6 percent of all eligible voters. Immigrants and natives exhibit remarkably similar rates of entrepreneurship, with about 1 in 10 being self employed. -JW:> | ||
| Blake |
JW, The more things change, the more they stay the same. We are an entire country of immigrants. It's the natives that got screwed.  | ||
| Aesquire |
Southernmarine, You could probably find a '01 M2 for $7000 or so at a dealer, you can shop for a better deal used, or if it's love, go with it. (read the knowledge vault section for Ray's tips above) Didn't mean to exasperate the helmet controversy, sorry. Blake, airfoils can look like the cartoon clark -y , a flattened tear drop, or be symetrical like on a aerobatic plane, wheels are axially symetric by nature. While the dumbell shape of a H-D disk wheel cross section is a cruddy airfoil, you still get lift with angle of attack in a crosswind. I could well be off on the magnitude of the force, (and I'm not claiming this as a prime cause of crashes ) but the vector acts about 1/3 back on the wheel, to the right (in a left crosswind). The "failure mode" in Bicycle races was the countersteer effect making the bike lean more into the wind. | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Wasn't knocking legal immigrants, just thought it was interesting reading. -JW:> | ||
| Southernmarine |
Thanks for all the advice ya'll. My dealer here only carries the Blast, 9S and 9R in Buells. Hell my dealer is the one who got the bike for this guy and they've taken care of it for him. Great place, great people. I'm gonna see what I can do about getting this X1, hey 99 with 3300 miles, great shape, I'll see what I can do. I'm looking at other bikes and comparing this to the other's I see, this is a good deal. The other X1's I see are about a 1000 - 1500 less but have 12000 or more miles on them. AAAGGHhhhh. Jonesin for this bike, damn. You guys got me hooked, I'm not looking at any other bikes but Buells. | ||
| Jim_Witt |
From Cycletrader, 1999 BUELL X1, LIGHTNING - Reactor yellow w/low mi, Supertrapp muffler, tank bra, Second Look seat, K&N air filter, 1203 cc, has new tires, great bike, 4995 mi, $5700 obo, ask for Matt or lv msg, 623-556-5378 or 623-640-1769 (Surprise, Arizona). Also notice (Or Best Offer). Bet ya if you had $5,000 cash, he'd sell in in a heart beat. There's not much of a market for used Buell (at least in Arizona). -JW::> | ||
| Carlost |
Is there such a thing as a cheap, good shock for an M2? | ||
| Blake |
Carlos, The upgraded/recall Showa is pretty darn good... compression and rebound damping and preload adjustablility are decent. I've been running on the track with mine fine, and with leathers and safety gear I weigh in at close to 240 LB. The only complaint I have is that I could use a bit more spring rate. On the street I have found that the recommended damping settings are unnecessarily harsh. I run with compression three turns out if riding with no luggage or passenger on the street. On the track compression damping gets cranked up to 1/2 turn out. No matter what rear shock you find, I doubt it will be very cheap. I think even a new Showa is near $500. The cheapest Penske is closer to $800. Not sure about WP. You might give Lindemans, Racetech, or Traxxion Dynamics a call to see if they will rebuild/tune your factory rear shock. Last time I checked Racetech and Traxxion were not working on the Showa rear shocks. Lindemans Engineering might... Lindeman's Engineering 520 McGlincy #3, Campbell, CA 95008 408-371-6151. (San Francisco Bay Area) What is bothering you about the Showa shock? | ||
| Ray_Maines |
Southernmarine, I should probably quit while I’m ahead but I’m going to add to my above stated opinion of ’99 X1’s. From what I know of these bikes, which isn’t too much, the forks respond very well to a RaceTech rebuild. It’s not that the stock forks are bad but that RaceTech equipped forks are GREAT! The rear shock has issues that need to be resolved but I don’t remember much about it and am going to defer to someone that does. Work hard to get the best price you can and then never ever look at Cycle Trader On-Line again. Never look back. Somebody, somewhere is going to get a better deal, but that’s OK, you’ll be out riding yours and having fun. | ||
| Ccryder |
Carlos: For ~$650 Works Performance will customize a compression and rebound adjustable shock for your M2. They will even taylor the damping and spring rate for your riding style and your weight. With the upgrades in material and design they have made a VERY nice shock. Just my $0.02 and about 10k miles on one. BTW they will make it to fit either for the 1st or 2nd recall shock length. They need to know that when you are ordering since the 1st recall shock is ~.77" longer than the 2nd. Happy Easter to all. Neil S. | ||
| Rick_A |
IMO the true natives got screwed long before the "immigrants" were in the picture... | ||
| Ray_Maines |
How far back do you want to go? The "natives" are immigrants too. | ||
| Iamike |
Why people are afraid of helmet laws is because it won't stop there. Look at the cycle laws in Europe and aftermarket limitations. Not much freedom there. The one thing about liberals is that they are always crying about being pro-choice, yet they are always trying to tell us how to live our lives! | ||
| Glitch |
"The one thing about liberals is that they are always crying..." I'm not liberal. And I'm not crying. And yes I am aware of the "slipery slope" argument as well. I was only telling what I thought would keep motorcycling cost down, and rider skills up. Don't read stuff into anything I say, I try to be plain and straight forward, because in forums, newsgroups, and the like, things seem to be like an old black and white TV, a lot is lost in the translation. | ||
| Iamike |
It's easy to get caught up in the movement on something. Look how the anti-smoking nazis have taken that situation. There are communities that are actually banning smoking in your own home. I don't smoke and I always wear a helmet - but when someone starts telling me how to live my life, I get pissed. If you support their argument then you become part of them. After helmet use if mandated and the accidents continue, what's next? Banning motorcycles? It's too late to change your mind then. I've been trying to avoid the family Easter stuff but I hear the wife calling. Later, |
