Username: |
Badkaw |
Full Name: |
Kenton Russell |
E-mail Address: |
(Hidden) |
Last Logged In: |
June 10, 2013
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Registered: |
July 23, 2005
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Total Posts: |
1 |
Status: |
Barton |
Home Page URL: |
http://topekasportriders.com
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Birthday (Year) & Occupation: |
1964 dept head for cj/legal studeis (college professor +)
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City: |
Salina
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State/Province: |
Kansas
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Country: |
USA
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Personal Quote: |
Don't let the past remind you of what you are not. -the Beatles (sort of...)
Discernment is the wisdom to realize that evil lurks everywhere and that all that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to stand by and do nothing. -Sir Edmund Burke (partially...)
If not for the Bible we could not know good from evil. -Abraham Lincoln
The more knowledge I gain, the more I realize just how much I do not know. -The wisest man that ever lived (King Solomon)
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Bike Model (Ex - M2, XB12Rr, S1W, P3): |
Kawasaki
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Model Year (Please enter full 4-digit year): |
1981
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Color: |
ELR scheme
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V.I.N. (To aid in problem resolution. Will not be displayed or shared otherwise.) : |
(Hidden)
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Servicing Dealership: |
Topeka Harley Davidson / Buell
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Performance Mods!: |
Loose nut attached to the handle bars.
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Problems/Miles (Please be specific): |
Carbs are way to big for the stock motor. It's a little long and there really isn't anything that I can do about that (not good enough to build my own frame).
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Other Mods/Misc/Customization.: |
Inverted front suspension from a '97 ZX7R, gixxer single-shock swing-arm, PM wheels (3.75 and 6.25 x 17s) with oversized full floating rotors and PM breaks, Sharkskinz 916 rep tail section, WesTek custom built exhaust (along with numerous other mods by WesTek), Graves rear-sets, Mikuni 36mm flat-slides, Graves clip-ons. Have a couple parts on order from Japan, and hoping to have the spare motor built before spring of '07 (just trying to be realistic).
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Favorite Rides (Roads and Routes): |
Anything in the Ozarks; especially around Eureeka Springs. Mullholland Drive to the Rock Store in Southern Cal. Highway 99 and Hwy 4 in Kansas.
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Why I do/don't ride a Buell: |
I am planning on purchasing an XB12R for track days...but don't have the money quite yet. Also, I'm just not a big fan of the motor in general; but specifically: push-rods (put the cams up-stairs!), and that transmission doesn't like clutchless up-shifts while in a wheelie (I've ridden lots of Buells in the past). I can deal with the rest of the motor's short-comings and call it 'personality' or 'character' or something metaphysical like that.
But the thing that really pisses me off is the marketing position that a 984cc bike is in a class with 599cc 4 cylinder motorcycles. Why? B/c of where the manufacturer is located? Don't make excuses...make motorcycles...the kind that the customers are asking for. XBs are close...almost close enough for me...but that motor. Oh well, I'm just one guy.
But I do truly root for Buell, and I'll have my Firebolt track-bike someday.
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How can Buell improve their motorcycles?: |
Change the motor: get the cam out of the botom of the motor and put it (oh, or THEM!) over the head (too much internal reciptrocating mass in direct association with the valve train...nice for torque [I guess], but bad for rpms and bHp); and do SOMETHING about the transmission.
Wife had a Blast! and it was okay. Clutch engagement sure could have been smoother. She's riding a 1988 Honda Hawk 650GT and simply put, it's just a better bike in every measure.
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Life History/Philosophy: |
Riding motorcycles since age 4 and racing them since age 9. God, family, country.
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Top speed on 2 wheels (mph): |
180mph on modified ZX11.
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Preferred engine oil (brand/grade): |
Castrol for my old air-cooled bikes and Mobil 1 for my newer (liquid cooled) bikes.
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