Honestly, this has to be like the season ticket owners owning the Green bay packers grift. It's so some dude can say he owns a Porsche or Ferrari in his business. It's so stupid, It has to be this.
Dec 13, 2023·edited Dec 13, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
I'm not a Packer or much of an NFL fan at all, but isn't the fan-ownership thing a charming and effective way of keeping community control? [SEE REPLIES]
Who gets paid? It might be charming and effective but it's still a grift.
Owning stock in a company gives you a real sense of ownership in most cases, but with the Packers, the entity isn’t quite set up in a traditional manner. Shares don’t include any equity interest, don’t pay holders dividends for their stock, cannot be traded, and have no protection under securities laws.
Owning Packers shares is like being a club member in a European soccer club. It lets you vote on who the “board of directors” is, and is what keeps the team in Green Bay due to all the restrictions. We bought one as a Christmas gift for my dad during one of the sales because it’s a cool “fan club” sort of expression for a team that you like.
With no Reg D filing for "Drift Capital", despite offering securities under it!
I'd also bet the Venn diagram of Mr. Lieberman's followers interested in sending Drift Capital money and real accredited investors are a pair of binoculars.
Dec 13, 2023·edited Dec 13, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
Accredited investors only, no registration. I think the SEC defines accredited as over $1 million net worth exclusive of primary residence and $200k income, but that's from memory only. The way this is written sounds like the investors simply buy an interest in whatever cars the fund owns. The manager can decide what to do with the assets.
On the surface it's no different than any other pooled fund, you can make money if the assets appreciate. That's assuming there are actual assets, ie the cars and the investor money doesn't end up buying this Instagram tool a nice place to hang out.
Would I invest in this? Of course not. In the right hands though one could certainly make money buying the right cars for resale.
There's no exemption I'm aware of for filing the notice-only Reg D for an offering under Rule 506(c), which is what they claim to be using.
Per Drift's press release "The Fund interests will be offered only to accredited investors, including "qualified purchasers" as defined by Section 2(a)(51) of the Investment Company Act, in reliance on the exemption from registration set forth in Rule 506(c) of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act."
§ 230.503 Filing of notice of sales. [Regulation D]
(a) When notice of sales on Form D is required and permitted to be filed.
(1) An issuer offering or selling securities in reliance on § 230.504 or § 230.506 must file with the Commission a notice of sales containing the information required by Form D (17 CFR 239.500) for each new offering of securities no later than 15 calendar days after the first sale of securities in the offering, unless the end of that period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, in which case the due date would be the first business day following.
Dec 13, 2023·edited Dec 13, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
There are plenty of regs that govern when you don't need to register, I don't practice securities law so I don't know offhand exactly what this is sold under. I do know from litigating some unregistered securities cases that the SEC doesn't care one iota unless there is a large loss. If a qualified or accredited investor buys into something that should have been registered or wasn't properly disclosed, good luck to them. The SEC isn't gonna help.
Late-stage capitalism: where the difference between showing your ass for money in the Accredited Investor sense and showing your ass for money in the OnlyFans sense is solely down to how much money your mommy is willing to spot you.
Just gained a little more faith in auto enthusiasts as a whole when I went to Jonny's instagram after seeing this and saw the vast majority of commenters calling him out for the bullshit that this is.
I mostly stopped riding motorcycles when my daughter was in the house, mostly....
I will wear my cheapest casio (f91w) with pride, I will never rent or borrow a watch to be anywhere with people that it might matter to, that is a whole different level of narcissism.
I can’t imagine the level of self loathing I’d have if I were to wear a borrowed or rented watch around. Like how fucking shallow and vapid can you be?
That makes the modern world go round. No one needs luxury cars or McMansions.
I dumped TV 3+ years ago. Antenna or nothing and usually nothing. They still do the MB + Lexus Christmas ads? MB used to do Santa with MB cars as the reindeers and Lexus used to park a car in the driveway with a bow that would be small for King Kong to wear. Because, dag nabit, you and yours are freakin' worth it. The neighborhood has to see that you've made it.
My parents bought a Lexus (for my mom) one December, sales guy asked if it was a Christmas present, Dad said yes and simultaneously mom said “it better not be!”
Dec 14, 2023·edited Dec 14, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
Where the hell are you all meeting these women?
My wife thinks those ads are the most absurd thing she's ever seen and laughs at them. On the other hand, I keep asking her when my ES Ultra Luxury is going to show up in the driveway with a big red bow on it.
The bow is a Lexus thing. When I bought my ES350, they had a big old bow that they put on the hood so I could take a selfie next to the car. Like it was part of the Lexus CPO branding or something.
there are a handful of watch nerds on here who would notice an haute horlogerie item and make an informed comment, but not mistake a yellow invicta for a yellow gold submariner.
I like the hobby and will engage with someone about it, but short of wearing a gold Nautilus to the airport I don't notice what anybody wears in public.
A crisply delivered “nice watch” is an easy way to initiate a conversation.
I was at a hotel bar last night with a college friend of mine who was passing through town. He has a background in lender finance and subprime auto finance, and he likes to have a good time. He had on his 5711, which a hooker clocked immediately.
She commented on it, and he immediately said “Oh … it’s fake,” after which she left us alone. It’s not fake, but that was the correct response!
I was at a fundraiser one afternoon and some guy started chatting with me about my SARB035. He was clearly smitten. But to me it was just an everyday watch; I bought it before it had nostalgia attached to it.
Oh, oh. I subscribed in high school when it was still called Gentlemen's Quarterly. I also wore tailor-made suits, sports jackets, shirts and pants back then. Raised with champagne tastes and all that... Kohl's these days, IF I'm feeling flush.
Dec 14, 2023·edited Dec 14, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
I once rode about a mile on the back of a friend's motorcycle. I was probably 22 at the time. (I'm way, way, way beyond that now.) That was after I'd ridden a bicycle from Seattle to Boston, and then written an article on bicycle safety, in the process of which I learned what I suspected, that riding a motorcycle was many times more dangerous than riding a bicycle. I'd never had any particular desire to ride a motorcycle, but that knowledge gave me a powerful desire to stay off of them. Which is why I only rode a mile on the back of my friend's motorcycle.
Caution genes run in the family. My parents put seatbelts in the '57 Chevy wagon in 1960. I had Bell hard shelled bicycle helmet serial # 7022--had to mail order it back in '75. When she was 7 I took my niece for flying lessons. I knew it was a lot safer in the sky with an instructor's hands on a second pair of controls than it was to be in the shotgun seat with someone who didn't now how to drive in the driver's seat. I'd taught a few people to drive, including one notorious woman from England who'd never learned, who after scaring the crap out of me coming off of Rock Creek Parkway into a parking lot and almost crashing into the curb, said, "you're not a bold creature, are you!"
I've taught roughly ten kids (some now are adults) to use a clutch and to shift gears, but alas, my efforts have not slowed the adoption of slushboxes. One of my former students owned a car with a manual for a number of years. But no longer. She has a husband who at least didn't drive, and may still not drive, but I think she was hoping he'd learn to drive if she had an automatic, but didn't think he would if she kept the manual Forester.
I find riding a bicycle on the road much scarier than riding a motorcycle. On the motorcycle I can accelerate away from oblivious cagers. On the bicycle I’m totally at the mercy of the cars and trucks that are supposed to share the road with me. Like the old people that drive at what they are looking at or the yahoo in the lifted pickup. I stick to the converted rail road grade bike trails.
Completely agree. Road cycling is way riskier to me. At minimum, all the dangers of motorcycling without the ability to get away and the protective gear, assuming you wear at least the basics. People like to mess with cyclists.
It helps to have a rear view mirror that attaches either to your helmet or your glasses. I also never ride without wearing one of those lyme green jerseys that's visible from the international space station.
Of course, today there is a huge amount of distracted driving going on, which is why I almost never ride on the streets anymore. But that would also scare me off of riding a motorcycle. But to you who do ride motorcycles, I wish you safe travels.
A dorky mirror isn't going to help at all when someone tries to attack you with a skateboard or a full-size pickup or follow you for 20 miles (real examples from my experience). My problem was never people not seeing me. It was people seeing me and thinking it would be a good idea to mess me up. I've never had a comparable experience on a motorcycle, even a little one like the Grom I took to work today.
In my 65,000-plus bicycle miles the only time I was attacked was in DC when someone sitting in a car at a light tried to hit me with his fist, barely grazing me. (I'm sorry you got attacked--sounds bad.)
The mirror was most helpful riding through the Great Plains of Montana and North Dakota, as well as the TransCanadian in Ontario, the former when grain trucks would pass us, bearing down on their horns. With the mirror, I could quickly see whether we were in any danger or not. Only once were we in danger, and I called to my companions to get off the road, onto the shoulder, and we were unscathed.
Similarly, riding in DC, which was where I rode more than half of my total mileage, I could keep an eye on all sides of me, avoiding a lot of stress, and enabling me to easily see behind myself.
What part of the country were you in that people attacked you, and when (what years)?
I still ride road on occasion, although I mostly stick down mountain biking now. Crashing into a tree at 10-15 mph is a lot less concerning to me than getting plowed over by a SUV that is driving 50.
In a past life, I used to commute in the city by bike and ride 250 miles/week on my road bike. I felt pretty comfortable navigating traffic and taking the lane. This was all pre-COVID, when there were still plenty of rude and distracted drivers, but not to the extent I see now. It's really tough gaining the confidence to ride road in a manner that keeps you safe without cowering in the gutter when cars are coming if you don't put in a ton of miles every week. Sometimes I wonder if I should even bother with a baby on the way in a few months.
A good friend of mine who is an avid cyclist got hit by a taxi in the SODO district of Seattle a few years ago. Knocked him out and he came to in the ER. Lucky he didn’t get messed up too bad and there were witnesses.
100% agree. I keep to the woods, which is funny, because people seem to *think* it's riskier than the road. Honestly (and after a few injuries myself, though nowhere near as extensive as Jack) I fell into the same trap. This year - I trained for a charity ride. Selflessly it was great to raise money for a good cause, that personally impacted a close friend. Selfishly I wanted to know I could do a century ride.
Road biking is WAY riskier than mountain biking AND motorcycle riding. Pretty sure the helmet was wearing ME for protection. Being passed at 50 mph by giant SUVs feet away is quite unsettling.
After that experience I think of the risk between Mountain and Road biking like the difference in driving vs flying. The severity and frequency are orders of magnitude apart.
People ride their road bikes up and down M28 between Marquette and Munising, and up and down US-2 between St. Ignace and Manistique. The speed limit there is 65. I set my cruise at 69 and get regularly passed by more impatient drivers. I can't imagine the terror it would be to have THAT screaming past you.
Years ago a friend of mine’s Giulietta died on the way home from an Alfa Club meeting on 405 near Kirkland. It was quite scary just standing on the shoulder while cars went by at 70.
A family member of mine has commuted by bike for ~20 years.
Once he was in a nighttime accident with a competitive road rider, who was training *with his head down, in full tuck* on an unlit bike path, my family member left for the hospital in his wife's car, the lycra spandex guy who hit him left in a LifeFlight.
More recently he was hit by a taxicab making an illegal u-turn in the middle of a three-way intersection. He reluctantly went to the doctor. Needed some sort of drainage put in to drain the wound, then surgery, then abut 6-7 months of physical therapy.
I wonder what the actuarial tables actually say on this.
I've had close calls on a motorbike at highway speeds. And PLENTY of close calls during urban bicycle commuting.
Gotta say---for about a year and a half, commuting to work by bicycle, I had close calls ALL THE TIME. Taxicabs in BureaucracyTown seem to view cyclists as enemies of taxi drivers everywhere, fares they should've had. Had a boomer in a Suburban actually hit me on a bicycle one evening - it's funny, when you get hit, your shoes fly off, like in a Looney Tunes cartoon.
Really interested if anyone has good ("fair comparison") data on bike commuting versus motorcycle commuting. Not sure how such data would come to exist.
I don't have answers to your questions, but for perspective, I'd need to know approximately what years you're talking about. Distracted driving came roaring in with the iPhone, and the rise of automotive infotainment has fueled it. We're talking 2007 on. I have done very little riding on the streets since then, because I don't trust drivers to see me.
I remember vaguely from my first bicycle safety article that I wrote (1975) that a couple of crashes between cars and bicycles out of 100 are fatal, and that the rate of fatalities in M'cycle-car crashes was much higher. I didn't have such stats in my second (much more recent) bicycle safety article, but here it is:
All I can think of is my buddy trying to play Axel F on one and the tinny sound. Me thinking how did Rush get the opening of Subdivisions out of something like that. I know different machines.
The Casio watches I've had don't die; they just start losing functions. The last one stopped being used as a watch when the function to change the time went away. It lives on a back corner of a workbench, where I use it now and then as a stopwatch, just watching the seconds for half a minute...since iirc 2016.
Well my wife liked it so much she bought one for herself! Casio is shipping ridiculous fast, it showed up the next day. The full metal poly-chrome oak is friggin sweet in person. Guess I'll need to buy another color and share with her. $500+ may seem a bit high for a Casio, but they did a really good job with it.
1. I don’t think Farah needed to call Camissa to ask permission to talk shit BUT I think Farah did do a disservice to the guy by going half off the top of his head and half hysterical slobbering Rocket Man Bad Because I’m a Liberal And He Fired My Wife, all basically unresearched, and threw it against JC’s allegedly actually researched piece.
I’m bored enough that I’ve listened to both podcasts in question and watch JC’s YT video, and at the very least JC has driven and seen a CyberTruck.
Farah, on the other hand, seems like the kind of guy who would actually chop off his own penis if he thought it would prevent one innocent college girl from being slapped on the ass, because he’s so desperate to not appear to be the kind of privileged person he is.
I forgot what 2) was supposed to be but I’m going to be teaching my 11y/o daughter to skeet shoot with a 20ga soon, so that’s pretty cool. Once again she’ll be way more badass than the boys trying to date her.
Sir, I humbly wager he has already chopped off whatever was visible from his vantage point, repeatedly and is now just looking for validation that he's a good person.
Any and all shooting you have your daughters do is a benefit to the world in general as well as to them; prevents them from joining that "Everytown" group of mentally ill cat ladies.
I grew up hunting pheasant with my dad in SW Washington state. I’ve shot trap a couple of times and it fun, but then I tried 5 stand. That was another level of fun, even though I was using my dads old 20ga Browning Citori over/under
I’m working with an 870 Wingmaster myself right now. I’m just starting out (my first full season) so it’s a steep learning curve. I’m coveting a nice O/U but apparently there’s nothing worth buying new under about $2500 and that just isn’t in the cards this year. I’ve been watching the used market, nothing yet, or maybe next year…
Used is the way to go, especially with the demographics of O/U enjoyers getting older. A friend of a friend inherited a really nice one and didn't care one bit. I should have tried to buy it
Dont overlook used guns. I'm seeing prices starting to come down. I bought a gently used Citori 725 complete set in case early this year for $3800 which at the time was a deal. Now I'm seeing trap models with ALL the features being listed for around that price. Nice entry level Citoris can be had under 2K no problem.
For *serious* competition this might not be the thing, but I'd consider a used Browning from the Belgium years.
Can get lovely 12 ga o/u for under 1500. 2500 would get you one with nice furniture, maybe a bit of burl/figure to it. Downside, with the older guns the chokes are fixed--built into the barrels themselves You will sometimes see one gun with multiple barrel sets)
Sounds like you're taking a good approach with your daughter.
I don't have a daughter but I took my niece for flying lessons when she was 7. (It's much safer in the air, with an instructor who has controls, than trying to teach someone to drive even in light traffic.) Years later, she thanked me for that.
One time I came upon a teenaged girl with a flat tire. I told her I could change the tire in 10-15 minutes, or I could simply give her instructions and let her do it, so she'd know what to do next time and it would probably take twice as long. She took the instructions.
It IS brilliant. My first time was by the side of the road on a dark night. It's so long ago now it doesn't matter, but prior experience would have made it much easier and less stressful.
It wasn’t my first flat but I had one the night of my winter formal my senior year. 5 degrees in the mountains of northern PA changing a tire in a powder blue tux, it was the 70s. I was glad I knew how to do it.
That was probably a course at the local high school, true?
The local VoEd high school used to have a one or two session class on car basics 101--basic parts, basic checks, changing a tire and responding to mechanical emergencies on the road. Hell, that should be included in a high school class called “Adulting 101,” which also includes basic financial fundamentals!
When we first started dating I was appalled to discover my future wife had no idea how to change a flat tire. Her father didn't believe girls should do such things. Next brake job on her car I demonstrated on one wheel and made her take off the others. She has no desire to do it ever again, but she knows how.
Dec 14, 2023·edited Dec 14, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
Kudos to you for showing her how. I suppose, what with AAA and ubiquitous smart phones, she may never need to do it, but it's always possible that she will, even if low probability. Also, tires keep getting better. It's well over a decade, and probably 150,000 - 175,000 since I had my last flat.
Tires are magic. I have a set of Pirellli Cinturatos that are at least 20 years old on the Miata (I swear I'm changing them for winter tires tomorrow) and they still hold air. Never understood the ultra high treadwear ratings however. Tires age out way before they get down to their wear bars it seems.
I've had the Michelin Pilot Sports on the '08 Civic (stick) for two seasons now--just got the snows on for their second season today. I couldn't tell you what the longest is that I've ever had a set of tires, but I don't think it approaches 20 years. I'd love to have the Michelins that long--the car's a joy to drive with them--but it's not going to happen. If I get three more seasons out of them that will be good. I can't remember the brand on the snows, but they're also quite good.
I had hoped the rise of interest rates would be enough to kill off the worst of these scams (why risk owning 1/100,000th of a Carrera GT when a savings account pays 5.XX%) but I really should stop underestimating the ingenuity of people looking to prey on the financially illiterate, and the credulous idiocy (or cold blooded ruthlessness) of their celebrity endorsers.
As for risk as a dad, you better believe I think about it. I still own fast cars but my use of them is regrettably turning more toward the New Balance Vette stereotype lately. My older boy is already showing signs of being a daredevil as well as a driver (he’s able to do things with his power wheels I didn’t think were possible, and he would drive my UTV solo if I let him) so I need to be very cognizant of setting a good example.
"My older boy is already showing signs of being a daredevil as well as a driver (he’s able to do things with his power wheels I didn’t think were possible, and he would drive my UTV solo if I let him) so I need to be very cognizant of setting a good example."
Another good point. I find myself explaining my choices to my son quite a bit, hoping to prevent him from something really bad when I'm gone.
Probably waste of time on your part. He won't remember a thing you mention until he's upside down in a CRX Si broadside to an Oak tree cause you know, the damn trees never look. One thing does seem to work though. First time I rode with him, during his learners permit period, he didn't put his seatbelt on. Soon as the car moved I punched him on his arm. Pretty hard. When he rolled the CRX he had the belt on. The sunroof was open. No pain, no gain.
How different was the handling in, say, a 1990 CRX Si versus the Civic EX Sedan of the same year, which, from what I understand, had the same suspension as the Si. Basically they yanked the hatch body off and dropped the sedan body onto the same chassis.
My Mom had that Civic Sedan (slushbox, not stick), and it was a little roller skate! No propensity to roll, low center of gravity. Fun little car! 😁😎
There is a significant difference in handling due to wheelbase. All things being equal, a CRX will thrash a hatch in club racing but it's much more likely to sniff out a wall or two.
Oh I mean like as I'm doing something, e.g. "I'm okay going a little fast here because I know the road, but once we get to xx I'll slow down because there are deer."
My wife has convinced my kids that daddy is wreckless. There are some cars they won't get in. I think it's a bit dramatic, but at the same time if it prevents them from doing any of the truly idiotic things I did in cars, then I'll accept it.
The average PORSH GT234 owner would really rather be in his ML63 anyway so this just saves the annoyance of having to move it out of the garage to get to the Peloton or something.
Agreed: your friend should stop riding and be a dad. I quit riding when my son was three months old and started again when he was 16. I hadn't planned on quitting, but I started feeling something I'd never felt on a motorcycle before: fear. Being a dad is too important a job to outsource.
This is an open thread, and we've already brought up motorcycles...so: why aren't Honda Magnas (especially the last-gen VF750C) more sought-after? They're about the same weight and power as a 1200 Sportster, yet no one seems to want them. Is it because they're so Japanese (as in, not a V-twin)?
Dec 13, 2023·edited Dec 13, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
Not a cruiser guy, but I think that people generally gravitate to the quintessential example of the type. Harley people want to be rebellious, American, and ride a big vibrator. A big Honda cruiser may be reliable and highly specified, but it is not really any of those things.
When people want to play hippie, they go for a VW Bus, not a period Chevy Van or Dodge A100, even if the domestics were more reliable, more powerful, and perhaps even more numerous in period.
I've been seeing a lot of VanLife Youtubers in my recommends saying they are giving it up, either as a pause or forever. MB Sprinters seem very popular. They don't call themselves hippies, but they do tend to be "Free Spirits" until the money runs out.
The context was about collectibility, so by "play hippie", I meant in terms of collecting, not full-time vandwelling, hence the reference to the A100 (1964-1970) and its contemporaries.
But I agree that current vandwellers are in some ways the cultural heirs of hippies, but for day-to-day living they are much more practical than collectors and the options are far different than they were were 50+ years ago. I imagine that the proliferation of violent, insane homeless addicts has made living on the street a different proposition than it was 10 years ago, plus the rise of Work Form Home opportunities removes some of the impetus, but what were some of the common reasons that you heard?
I have an '86 Dodge B250 high top camper van in 2 tone brown that we call Uncle Rico.
If I gave a shit about Instagram this thing would have tons followers. Seriously, everywhere I go with it people want to stop to talk about it. It might be because I out it together for the Gambler 500 and it has a bit of an off road personality, but no doubt there's been a revival in the popularity of vanning.
Pre #vanlife old conversion vans seemed to sell for roughly scrap value for the most part. I've always found them pretty appealing as all around utility vehicles, poor fuel economy aside. Back in college my brother's friend moved cross country with a motorcycle twice for summer co-ops by buying a $700 chevy conversion van, driving out to CA, then selling it out there. A rust free G20 conversion van with a CB radio is on my bucket list of rigs to own at some point.
For awhile the old conversion vans were selling for less than a white, bare metal interior version of the same van. Around here they became rather popular with the "day laborers of questionable immigration status" due to their prices.
When I got mine (for free, abandoned in a friend's storage lot) I thought the same thing, who wants these hanta breeding beds? But then people started offering 5 figures for it...
It's given us so much more though. We did a lot of back woods camping in the rockies with it and have been nearly coast to coast. It sleeps 4 and is a joy.
Dec 13, 2023·edited Dec 13, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
I’m still riding as a dad in fact I got back heavily into motorcycling after my son was born. I agree on being much more aware of my own mortality and the serious consequences of me getting hurt/killed, so I’ve gotten *very* selective about where and when I’ll ride. Basically I avoid anything resembling even moderate traffic.
As to your Magna question: metric (Japanese) cruisers just plain aren’t collectible, with a few exceptions. A perfect first gen V65 might pull $4k, an 84 Vmax still has relevant stoplight performance *to this day* and they tend to trade in that $4-5k range. Kaw ZL900 eliminator also comes to mind as a muscle bike of that era that is finally reaching somewhat collectible status. A 90s Magna 750? Not enough performance, still too new and kind of generic. One thing I’ve learned is that there’s basically every other motorcycle, and then there are harleys. They generally cost 50%+ more than the equivalent jap bike when new, generally fewer are sold, and that is later reflected in resale value. My now sold 1980 Low Rider retailed for $6000 new, double that of my 1978 XS1100 MSRP. Crazy when a Shovelhead Harley feels just like the 1930s era tech that it is and the XS11 was ripping 11 second quarter miles and setting cross country endurance records. They sold a ton of XS11s and now the best one in the world might sell for $5000, rider grade bikes go for $3000. A “rider” FXS sells in the $7k range, $10-12k for a really nice one.
I sold my Shovelhead because I didn’t like having $6k tied up in “jewelry” that I only trusted to ride locally and worried about devaluing. But I gotta say that single crank pin 45 degree heartbeat is just its own thing and I’m hooked. Maybe not for another few years but I will definitely be back on a carbureted harley of some sort.
What fascinates me about the early Hell's Angels is that they were OBSESSED with riding skill, doing tricks, and showing each other up. The proper descendants of the Sonny Barger originals are the Starboyz and the wheelie kids, not the meth dealers on Breakouts.
Dec 14, 2023·edited Dec 14, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
Interesting.
That apparently didn't last very long, as Evel Kinevel hated them and said something to the effect of "they belong in penitentiaries...it's not at all about the riding of the motorcycle".
Dec 14, 2023·edited Dec 14, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
A friend got my Sonny Barger’s autobiography which I initially rolled my eyes at (“hey you ride a bike? Here’s a book about bikers!”) but it was actually a pretty good read. My impression of the HA is that as it grew as a club it attracted more guys that didn’t hold riding motorcycles as the main focus of membership. But at its original core it was guys that loved to ride and hated having to work “normie” jobs to pay for all their riding (hence the drug dealing etc). And unlike say the StarBoyz a lot of the HA guys were heavy drug users. And Barger says openly in his book that he wishes it was “acceptable” to switch to a fast sport touring bike because Harley ended up being stuck in the retro scene but they were tied at the hip image-wise and the fact that they were buying an American make (many OG HA members were vets).
I'm tempted by every motorcycle but I am especially tempted by '88 Honda Magnas - just something about their styling and that chin fairing plus shaft drive and a V4 with enough but not outrageous power.
I’m not a Honda guy whatsoever but I’ve started to keep an eye out for the right 83-86 V65 Magna as well. It melds a lot of what I like about the XS1100 with even more power, a tall top cruising gear, and a bit of the laidback cruiser look which I used to hate but now sort of enjoy in moderate doses. I’ve got a 96 Virago 1100 in the garage now as my winter flip project, so it seems that Shovelhead Low Rider from earlier this year may have opened the door to appreciating cruisers.
It’s a real perk to be “into” this sort of older bike that the market doesn’t really care about. You get to enjoy an awesome machine for short money and oftentimes find a fanatical group of fellow owners who will help you keep it running right.
I am too old to make hurtful generalizations about anyone outside the Porsche Club of America but: the cruiser scene in America depends on owning an American bike, preferably a Harley-Davidson. It's ownership-based, rather than achievement-based, because everyone's short on time and it's easier to spend money than get time on two wheels. The Magnas are great bikes and last forever but they don't get you in the club.... and everybody who doesn't want to be in the club is riding something that's either faster or more comfortable.
Dec 14, 2023·edited Dec 14, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
To answer seriously a rhetorical or comedic question, some of it has to do with the movie Easy Rider, which I have not seen.
There's actually a really good article in there: is it noble, because they're trying to grasp at freedom and masculinity, or is it completely pathetic because they're doing so in a very lame and somewhat degenerate way, and maybe a typical Prius-driving accountant is actually more masculine, because he is secure in his true identity, which is a productive law-abiding member of society, plus he's not wearing assless chaps?
The same thing goes for some of those really pathetic group trips that Jack has parodied, or that guy who bragged about his vasectomy in Outside Magazine.
When does a directionally-correct but weak attempt at self-improvement become more contemptuous than maintaining the status quo? And should we blame these men, or the society that created them?
The sentiment of Easy Rider of a guy throwing his watch away and cruising along with his buddy across the country without a care in the world and zero obligations, unplugged from society is something that resonates with a lot of men, especially a lot of guys so mired in said obligations and society. I happen to really like the movie. Where things get perverted is when the basic premise of "motorcycle = freedom" gets turned into "motorcycle = cliquey lifestyle/branding exercise." For me motorcycling implies a degree of solitude, or at most a few other people riding along with you to some remote place or good roads. To ride over to the harley dealership on a saturday for some pancakes? Sounds pretty gay!
My neighbor used to do some rides with the local HOG (Harley Owners Group) chapter. Everyone was on a new or almost new (often financed) latest and greatest fuel injected under warranty baggers (Street Glide or Road Glide these days iirc). The overwhelming majority of the people in said group are clueless with a wrench and hence entirely reliant on the warranty if something goes wrong. Dealerships don't like to or just plain won't work on anything older than 10 years old, and there's just not that many independent motorcycle repair shops around any more. To many people in this "club," a Harley is about the only thing they know, and these lame group rides and social events are about the only flavor of motorcycling that they know. It's been fun helping my harley-only neighbor broaden his horizons. First by dipping his toes into the UJM waters with a '79 DOHC CB750 (turns out messing with quad carburetors isn't as fun as I make it look), then he got a cheap well worn 1st gen DL1000 V-strom for $2200ish that I got him riding some gravel roads on. Now he's thinking adventure bikes. The Road King sits all but forgotten. I think it was also eye opening to him to see just how stinkin cheap of a hobby motorcycling can be when you're not in that "HOG" world.
I didn't have time to get very far in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but very early on he called out a couple for not knowing anything about their machines.
QE2 was known to occasionally repair her own vehicles when out driving even in old age (partly due to her wartime occupation, and partly due to driving British vehicles).
I need to try reading Zen again, I tried back in college and just didn't have the stomach for all the philosophy (mental masturbation, if you were to ask me back then). Shopcraft as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford is another good one. He's a good substack to read as well (https://mcrawford.substack.com/)
I recently read "Jupiters Travels" about what passed for a "lib journalist" in the 70s riding across the world on a Triumph 500. It was a good read, aside from his musings about entertaining accepting the advances of some arab man when he was riding through northern Africa.
Jack and I are both big fans of Bob Jones' self-published "XS Eleven Heaven" as far as entertaining moto-travelogue and all around pleasure-reading for any sort of motorcyclist.
Dec 14, 2023·edited Dec 14, 2023Liked by Jack Baruth
A Sportster won't get you in "the club," either, unless you're a girl. But I like them anyway, because I'm 5'7" and a Sportster (Shortster?) fits me like they had me in mind when they designed it. I like Magnas too, and you can get a really nice one for $2500 right now as winter approaches. My biggest concern with the Magna is those four carbs tucked together down in that V4. Carbs always give you trouble sooner or later, and I would not enjoy rebuilding and syncing them. The Sportster has one big carb hanging off the right side of the bike (pre-2007). Easy peasy. And a belt drive that lasts 30k+ miles. And the Evo never needs a valve adjustment.
I'm getting old. I should probably just buy a Vulcan S and be done with it.
Honestly, this has to be like the season ticket owners owning the Green bay packers grift. It's so some dude can say he owns a Porsche or Ferrari in his business. It's so stupid, It has to be this.
"My name is Elmer J. Fudd. I own a mansion and a yacht."
Played by Bugs Bunny! 😂😂
I'm not a Packer or much of an NFL fan at all, but isn't the fan-ownership thing a charming and effective way of keeping community control? [SEE REPLIES]
Who gets paid? It might be charming and effective but it's still a grift.
Owning stock in a company gives you a real sense of ownership in most cases, but with the Packers, the entity isn’t quite set up in a traditional manner. Shares don’t include any equity interest, don’t pay holders dividends for their stock, cannot be traded, and have no protection under securities laws.
I didn't know about any of the facts in the last sentence: that changes everything!
Owning Packers shares is like being a club member in a European soccer club. It lets you vote on who the “board of directors” is, and is what keeps the team in Green Bay due to all the restrictions. We bought one as a Christmas gift for my dad during one of the sales because it’s a cool “fan club” sort of expression for a team that you like.
Yeah, I think I'm a "shareholder" in the Browns by those standards, someone gave me a "share" and I lost it.
Even when they’re both worthless, being a packers shareholder is better and im a bears fan
I'm also a Bears fan. I'd take the Packers shareholder scam over the McCaskey family.
Must be a typo … it’s GRIFT Capital!
With no Reg D filing for "Drift Capital", despite offering securities under it!
I'd also bet the Venn diagram of Mr. Lieberman's followers interested in sending Drift Capital money and real accredited investors are a pair of binoculars.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231213625182/en/Drift-Capital-Expands-Portfolio-with-Iconic-Porsche-Carrera-GT-Acquisition
Ol' Eden looks like he lives quite the life. https://www.instagram.com/edencooperofficial/
Accredited investors only, no registration. I think the SEC defines accredited as over $1 million net worth exclusive of primary residence and $200k income, but that's from memory only. The way this is written sounds like the investors simply buy an interest in whatever cars the fund owns. The manager can decide what to do with the assets.
On the surface it's no different than any other pooled fund, you can make money if the assets appreciate. That's assuming there are actual assets, ie the cars and the investor money doesn't end up buying this Instagram tool a nice place to hang out.
Would I invest in this? Of course not. In the right hands though one could certainly make money buying the right cars for resale.
There's no exemption I'm aware of for filing the notice-only Reg D for an offering under Rule 506(c), which is what they claim to be using.
Per Drift's press release "The Fund interests will be offered only to accredited investors, including "qualified purchasers" as defined by Section 2(a)(51) of the Investment Company Act, in reliance on the exemption from registration set forth in Rule 506(c) of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act."
§ 230.503 Filing of notice of sales. [Regulation D]
(a) When notice of sales on Form D is required and permitted to be filed.
(1) An issuer offering or selling securities in reliance on § 230.504 or § 230.506 must file with the Commission a notice of sales containing the information required by Form D (17 CFR 239.500) for each new offering of securities no later than 15 calendar days after the first sale of securities in the offering, unless the end of that period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, in which case the due date would be the first business day following.
There are plenty of regs that govern when you don't need to register, I don't practice securities law so I don't know offhand exactly what this is sold under. I do know from litigating some unregistered securities cases that the SEC doesn't care one iota unless there is a large loss. If a qualified or accredited investor buys into something that should have been registered or wasn't properly disclosed, good luck to them. The SEC isn't gonna help.
My guess is he's selling units of an LLC. People do this all the time without talking to the SEC. I'm not going to read into it to confirm.
I always wanted to buy unregistered investments as part of an LLC when I grew up.
Notice Eden aping the widely circulated picture of Bezos climbing out of the water. For that reason alone, no dice.
Late-stage capitalism: where the difference between showing your ass for money in the Accredited Investor sense and showing your ass for money in the OnlyFans sense is solely down to how much money your mommy is willing to spot you.
😂
I thought Late-Stage Capitalism was the time when the failures of SOCIALISM become too obvious to deny.
StIil hasn’t happened then. Too many people are oblivious
Um...Well...Yeah...
I scrolled down to say this, but in my heart knew that it had already been said.
Just gained a little more faith in auto enthusiasts as a whole when I went to Jonny's instagram after seeing this and saw the vast majority of commenters calling him out for the bullshit that this is.
I mostly stopped riding motorcycles when my daughter was in the house, mostly....
I will wear my cheapest casio (f91w) with pride, I will never rent or borrow a watch to be anywhere with people that it might matter to, that is a whole different level of narcissism.
I can’t imagine the level of self loathing I’d have if I were to wear a borrowed or rented watch around. Like how fucking shallow and vapid can you be?
Agree, he says from his leased BMW*
*I don't own or lease a BMW
I heard someone joking about "That Type of Guy" in LA:
Zero-options, leased white over black BMW 328i,
financed rolex submariner,
job paying 80 or 90k
[cry-laughing emoji]
Pathetic.
Well, it starts with the delusion that anybody gives a shit what you're wearing watch-wise or any other way wise.
That makes the modern world go round. No one needs luxury cars or McMansions.
I dumped TV 3+ years ago. Antenna or nothing and usually nothing. They still do the MB + Lexus Christmas ads? MB used to do Santa with MB cars as the reindeers and Lexus used to park a car in the driveway with a bow that would be small for King Kong to wear. Because, dag nabit, you and yours are freakin' worth it. The neighborhood has to see that you've made it.
The Lexus bow ads were catnip for women and a holy terror for men just trying to keep the bills paid!
My parents bought a Lexus (for my mom) one December, sales guy asked if it was a Christmas present, Dad said yes and simultaneously mom said “it better not be!”
Where the hell are you all meeting these women?
My wife thinks those ads are the most absurd thing she's ever seen and laughs at them. On the other hand, I keep asking her when my ES Ultra Luxury is going to show up in the driveway with a big red bow on it.
I should really own an ES UL but I couldn't afford that AND the Chrysler.
The bow is a Lexus thing. When I bought my ES350, they had a big old bow that they put on the hood so I could take a selfie next to the car. Like it was part of the Lexus CPO branding or something.
I had them put a bow in my wife’s telluride. i didnt do it for my own car because that would be lame
The SNL spoof of the Lexus holiday commercial is a classic.
https://youtu.be/WcEylCwkSxE?si=OgmUr9x_KJaHHUsu
"Your father hasn't worked since last March"
That HURT to watch.
So, vintage SNL.
🤣
Exactly!
So, it's high school?
I don't think we even KNOW anyone who would look at or care about what watch you might have on your wrist.
there are a handful of watch nerds on here who would notice an haute horlogerie item and make an informed comment, but not mistake a yellow invicta for a yellow gold submariner.
I like the hobby and will engage with someone about it, but short of wearing a gold Nautilus to the airport I don't notice what anybody wears in public.
A crisply delivered “nice watch” is an easy way to initiate a conversation.
I was at a hotel bar last night with a college friend of mine who was passing through town. He has a background in lender finance and subprime auto finance, and he likes to have a good time. He had on his 5711, which a hooker clocked immediately.
She commented on it, and he immediately said “Oh … it’s fake,” after which she left us alone. It’s not fake, but that was the correct response!
IOW it's a sausage magnet. Might help you recruit investors for Drift Capital, but it won't impress the ladies.
I was at a fundraiser one afternoon and some guy started chatting with me about my SARB035. He was clearly smitten. But to me it was just an everyday watch; I bought it before it had nostalgia attached to it.
Check out Eleven James, which is now shuttered.
I have never heard of this company, then again, I have never opened the cover of a GQ magazine……
Oh, oh. I subscribed in high school when it was still called Gentlemen's Quarterly. I also wore tailor-made suits, sports jackets, shirts and pants back then. Raised with champagne tastes and all that... Kohl's these days, IF I'm feeling flush.
Totally understandable
I heard it was cool once before it went all modern and retarded.
Haven't looked at it in decades.
I promise you're not missing anything.
I once rode about a mile on the back of a friend's motorcycle. I was probably 22 at the time. (I'm way, way, way beyond that now.) That was after I'd ridden a bicycle from Seattle to Boston, and then written an article on bicycle safety, in the process of which I learned what I suspected, that riding a motorcycle was many times more dangerous than riding a bicycle. I'd never had any particular desire to ride a motorcycle, but that knowledge gave me a powerful desire to stay off of them. Which is why I only rode a mile on the back of my friend's motorcycle.
Caution genes run in the family. My parents put seatbelts in the '57 Chevy wagon in 1960. I had Bell hard shelled bicycle helmet serial # 7022--had to mail order it back in '75. When she was 7 I took my niece for flying lessons. I knew it was a lot safer in the sky with an instructor's hands on a second pair of controls than it was to be in the shotgun seat with someone who didn't now how to drive in the driver's seat. I'd taught a few people to drive, including one notorious woman from England who'd never learned, who after scaring the crap out of me coming off of Rock Creek Parkway into a parking lot and almost crashing into the curb, said, "you're not a bold creature, are you!"
I've taught roughly ten kids (some now are adults) to use a clutch and to shift gears, but alas, my efforts have not slowed the adoption of slushboxes. One of my former students owned a car with a manual for a number of years. But no longer. She has a husband who at least didn't drive, and may still not drive, but I think she was hoping he'd learn to drive if she had an automatic, but didn't think he would if she kept the manual Forester.
I find riding a bicycle on the road much scarier than riding a motorcycle. On the motorcycle I can accelerate away from oblivious cagers. On the bicycle I’m totally at the mercy of the cars and trucks that are supposed to share the road with me. Like the old people that drive at what they are looking at or the yahoo in the lifted pickup. I stick to the converted rail road grade bike trails.
Completely agree. Road cycling is way riskier to me. At minimum, all the dangers of motorcycling without the ability to get away and the protective gear, assuming you wear at least the basics. People like to mess with cyclists.
It helps to have a rear view mirror that attaches either to your helmet or your glasses. I also never ride without wearing one of those lyme green jerseys that's visible from the international space station.
Of course, today there is a huge amount of distracted driving going on, which is why I almost never ride on the streets anymore. But that would also scare me off of riding a motorcycle. But to you who do ride motorcycles, I wish you safe travels.
A dorky mirror isn't going to help at all when someone tries to attack you with a skateboard or a full-size pickup or follow you for 20 miles (real examples from my experience). My problem was never people not seeing me. It was people seeing me and thinking it would be a good idea to mess me up. I've never had a comparable experience on a motorcycle, even a little one like the Grom I took to work today.
In my 65,000-plus bicycle miles the only time I was attacked was in DC when someone sitting in a car at a light tried to hit me with his fist, barely grazing me. (I'm sorry you got attacked--sounds bad.)
The mirror was most helpful riding through the Great Plains of Montana and North Dakota, as well as the TransCanadian in Ontario, the former when grain trucks would pass us, bearing down on their horns. With the mirror, I could quickly see whether we were in any danger or not. Only once were we in danger, and I called to my companions to get off the road, onto the shoulder, and we were unscathed.
Similarly, riding in DC, which was where I rode more than half of my total mileage, I could keep an eye on all sides of me, avoiding a lot of stress, and enabling me to easily see behind myself.
What part of the country were you in that people attacked you, and when (what years)?
Hard to do anything but smile at someone on a Grom
I still ride road on occasion, although I mostly stick down mountain biking now. Crashing into a tree at 10-15 mph is a lot less concerning to me than getting plowed over by a SUV that is driving 50.
In a past life, I used to commute in the city by bike and ride 250 miles/week on my road bike. I felt pretty comfortable navigating traffic and taking the lane. This was all pre-COVID, when there were still plenty of rude and distracted drivers, but not to the extent I see now. It's really tough gaining the confidence to ride road in a manner that keeps you safe without cowering in the gutter when cars are coming if you don't put in a ton of miles every week. Sometimes I wonder if I should even bother with a baby on the way in a few months.
A good friend of mine who is an avid cyclist got hit by a taxi in the SODO district of Seattle a few years ago. Knocked him out and he came to in the ER. Lucky he didn’t get messed up too bad and there were witnesses.
Never heard a better real-world reason to ride a literbike in my life!
100% agree. I keep to the woods, which is funny, because people seem to *think* it's riskier than the road. Honestly (and after a few injuries myself, though nowhere near as extensive as Jack) I fell into the same trap. This year - I trained for a charity ride. Selflessly it was great to raise money for a good cause, that personally impacted a close friend. Selfishly I wanted to know I could do a century ride.
Road biking is WAY riskier than mountain biking AND motorcycle riding. Pretty sure the helmet was wearing ME for protection. Being passed at 50 mph by giant SUVs feet away is quite unsettling.
After that experience I think of the risk between Mountain and Road biking like the difference in driving vs flying. The severity and frequency are orders of magnitude apart.
People ride their road bikes up and down M28 between Marquette and Munising, and up and down US-2 between St. Ignace and Manistique. The speed limit there is 65. I set my cruise at 69 and get regularly passed by more impatient drivers. I can't imagine the terror it would be to have THAT screaming past you.
Years ago a friend of mine’s Giulietta died on the way home from an Alfa Club meeting on 405 near Kirkland. It was quite scary just standing on the shoulder while cars went by at 70.
100%
A family member of mine has commuted by bike for ~20 years.
Once he was in a nighttime accident with a competitive road rider, who was training *with his head down, in full tuck* on an unlit bike path, my family member left for the hospital in his wife's car, the lycra spandex guy who hit him left in a LifeFlight.
More recently he was hit by a taxicab making an illegal u-turn in the middle of a three-way intersection. He reluctantly went to the doctor. Needed some sort of drainage put in to drain the wound, then surgery, then abut 6-7 months of physical therapy.
I wonder what the actuarial tables actually say on this.
I've had close calls on a motorbike at highway speeds. And PLENTY of close calls during urban bicycle commuting.
Gotta say---for about a year and a half, commuting to work by bicycle, I had close calls ALL THE TIME. Taxicabs in BureaucracyTown seem to view cyclists as enemies of taxi drivers everywhere, fares they should've had. Had a boomer in a Suburban actually hit me on a bicycle one evening - it's funny, when you get hit, your shoes fly off, like in a Looney Tunes cartoon.
Really interested if anyone has good ("fair comparison") data on bike commuting versus motorcycle commuting. Not sure how such data would come to exist.
I don't have answers to your questions, but for perspective, I'd need to know approximately what years you're talking about. Distracted driving came roaring in with the iPhone, and the rise of automotive infotainment has fueled it. We're talking 2007 on. I have done very little riding on the streets since then, because I don't trust drivers to see me.
I remember vaguely from my first bicycle safety article that I wrote (1975) that a couple of crashes between cars and bicycles out of 100 are fatal, and that the rate of fatalities in M'cycle-car crashes was much higher. I didn't have such stats in my second (much more recent) bicycle safety article, but here it is:
http://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2012/09/21/bicycle-accidents-helmet-fit
You have priorities my good man.
Nothing wrong with a Casio watch. Now if it is one of those horrible little keyboards from the 80’s all bets are off.
I actually kind of think they are cool, but no, I don’t have one😂🤣
All I can think of is my buddy trying to play Axel F on one and the tinny sound. Me thinking how did Rush get the opening of Subdivisions out of something like that. I know different machines.
But Casio watches are cool.
Freaking great song!
I think all of us that grew up in the era thought the song was about where we grew up and what was going on around us.
And it was.
Especially the part about going back.
The Casio watches I've had don't die; they just start losing functions. The last one stopped being used as a watch when the function to change the time went away. It lives on a back corner of a workbench, where I use it now and then as a stopwatch, just watching the seconds for half a minute...since iirc 2016.
Change the battery at 12:00.
Casios are great! Been trying to stop myself from overindulging on the new full metal ones.
https://www.casio.com/us/watches/gshock/product.GM-B2100PC-1A/
Absolutely are. Just do their job
Well my wife liked it so much she bought one for herself! Casio is shipping ridiculous fast, it showed up the next day. The full metal poly-chrome oak is friggin sweet in person. Guess I'll need to buy another color and share with her. $500+ may seem a bit high for a Casio, but they did a really good job with it.
1. I don’t think Farah needed to call Camissa to ask permission to talk shit BUT I think Farah did do a disservice to the guy by going half off the top of his head and half hysterical slobbering Rocket Man Bad Because I’m a Liberal And He Fired My Wife, all basically unresearched, and threw it against JC’s allegedly actually researched piece.
I’m bored enough that I’ve listened to both podcasts in question and watch JC’s YT video, and at the very least JC has driven and seen a CyberTruck.
Farah, on the other hand, seems like the kind of guy who would actually chop off his own penis if he thought it would prevent one innocent college girl from being slapped on the ass, because he’s so desperate to not appear to be the kind of privileged person he is.
I forgot what 2) was supposed to be but I’m going to be teaching my 11y/o daughter to skeet shoot with a 20ga soon, so that’s pretty cool. Once again she’ll be way more badass than the boys trying to date her.
Sir, I humbly wager he has already chopped off whatever was visible from his vantage point, repeatedly and is now just looking for validation that he's a good person.
even if he didnt chop it off he still cant see it
Any and all shooting you have your daughters do is a benefit to the world in general as well as to them; prevents them from joining that "Everytown" group of mentally ill cat ladies.
I did trap for a few years in high school - always a good time running a plain jane 870 which was in no way set up for it but it was the gun I had.
Nothing wrong with an 870. Love the one your with!
My dad carried one during his vacation in Southeast Asia.
They work well. Do not need a fancy over under for that trip.
I grew up hunting pheasant with my dad in SW Washington state. I’ve shot trap a couple of times and it fun, but then I tried 5 stand. That was another level of fun, even though I was using my dads old 20ga Browning Citori over/under
I’m working with an 870 Wingmaster myself right now. I’m just starting out (my first full season) so it’s a steep learning curve. I’m coveting a nice O/U but apparently there’s nothing worth buying new under about $2500 and that just isn’t in the cards this year. I’ve been watching the used market, nothing yet, or maybe next year…
Used is the way to go, especially with the demographics of O/U enjoyers getting older. A friend of a friend inherited a really nice one and didn't care one bit. I should have tried to buy it
Dont overlook used guns. I'm seeing prices starting to come down. I bought a gently used Citori 725 complete set in case early this year for $3800 which at the time was a deal. Now I'm seeing trap models with ALL the features being listed for around that price. Nice entry level Citoris can be had under 2K no problem.
Though for trap singles, I reach for my BT99.
For *serious* competition this might not be the thing, but I'd consider a used Browning from the Belgium years.
Can get lovely 12 ga o/u for under 1500. 2500 would get you one with nice furniture, maybe a bit of burl/figure to it. Downside, with the older guns the chokes are fixed--built into the barrels themselves You will sometimes see one gun with multiple barrel sets)
nice one - https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1023742814
Also nice - https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1024253473
(Have to check the photos for what chokes the barrels were made with to make sure it's right for what you want - https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/2162416/Browning_A5_barrel_choke_marki )
Sounds like you're taking a good approach with your daughter.
I don't have a daughter but I took my niece for flying lessons when she was 7. (It's much safer in the air, with an instructor who has controls, than trying to teach someone to drive even in light traffic.) Years later, she thanked me for that.
One time I came upon a teenaged girl with a flat tire. I told her I could change the tire in 10-15 minutes, or I could simply give her instructions and let her do it, so she'd know what to do next time and it would probably take twice as long. She took the instructions.
My son and daughter both had to change a tire in their respective driver ed courses. I thought that was brilliant.
It IS brilliant. My first time was by the side of the road on a dark night. It's so long ago now it doesn't matter, but prior experience would have made it much easier and less stressful.
It wasn’t my first flat but I had one the night of my winter formal my senior year. 5 degrees in the mountains of northern PA changing a tire in a powder blue tux, it was the 70s. I was glad I knew how to do it.
Sounds pretty awful. Although 5 degrees is a lot colder now than it was in the '70s. (We're a lot older now than then.)
That was probably a course at the local high school, true?
The local VoEd high school used to have a one or two session class on car basics 101--basic parts, basic checks, changing a tire and responding to mechanical emergencies on the road. Hell, that should be included in a high school class called “Adulting 101,” which also includes basic financial fundamentals!
Yes. The local Catholic high schools. One for boys and one for girls.
Mom: "You failed your driving test? What happened?"
Dad: "She did a handbrake 180."
Daughter: "Hey, the instructor never said HOW to turn the car around."
When we first started dating I was appalled to discover my future wife had no idea how to change a flat tire. Her father didn't believe girls should do such things. Next brake job on her car I demonstrated on one wheel and made her take off the others. She has no desire to do it ever again, but she knows how.
Kudos to you for showing her how. I suppose, what with AAA and ubiquitous smart phones, she may never need to do it, but it's always possible that she will, even if low probability. Also, tires keep getting better. It's well over a decade, and probably 150,000 - 175,000 since I had my last flat.
Tires are magic. I have a set of Pirellli Cinturatos that are at least 20 years old on the Miata (I swear I'm changing them for winter tires tomorrow) and they still hold air. Never understood the ultra high treadwear ratings however. Tires age out way before they get down to their wear bars it seems.
I've had the Michelin Pilot Sports on the '08 Civic (stick) for two seasons now--just got the snows on for their second season today. I couldn't tell you what the longest is that I've ever had a set of tires, but I don't think it approaches 20 years. I'd love to have the Michelins that long--the car's a joy to drive with them--but it's not going to happen. If I get three more seasons out of them that will be good. I can't remember the brand on the snows, but they're also quite good.
I had hoped the rise of interest rates would be enough to kill off the worst of these scams (why risk owning 1/100,000th of a Carrera GT when a savings account pays 5.XX%) but I really should stop underestimating the ingenuity of people looking to prey on the financially illiterate, and the credulous idiocy (or cold blooded ruthlessness) of their celebrity endorsers.
As for risk as a dad, you better believe I think about it. I still own fast cars but my use of them is regrettably turning more toward the New Balance Vette stereotype lately. My older boy is already showing signs of being a daredevil as well as a driver (he’s able to do things with his power wheels I didn’t think were possible, and he would drive my UTV solo if I let him) so I need to be very cognizant of setting a good example.
"My older boy is already showing signs of being a daredevil as well as a driver (he’s able to do things with his power wheels I didn’t think were possible, and he would drive my UTV solo if I let him) so I need to be very cognizant of setting a good example."
Another good point. I find myself explaining my choices to my son quite a bit, hoping to prevent him from something really bad when I'm gone.
Probably waste of time on your part. He won't remember a thing you mention until he's upside down in a CRX Si broadside to an Oak tree cause you know, the damn trees never look. One thing does seem to work though. First time I rode with him, during his learners permit period, he didn't put his seatbelt on. Soon as the car moved I punched him on his arm. Pretty hard. When he rolled the CRX he had the belt on. The sunroof was open. No pain, no gain.
Every CRX either HAS rolled or WILL roll!
How different was the handling in, say, a 1990 CRX Si versus the Civic EX Sedan of the same year, which, from what I understand, had the same suspension as the Si. Basically they yanked the hatch body off and dropped the sedan body onto the same chassis.
My Mom had that Civic Sedan (slushbox, not stick), and it was a little roller skate! No propensity to roll, low center of gravity. Fun little car! 😁😎
There is a significant difference in handling due to wheelbase. All things being equal, a CRX will thrash a hatch in club racing but it's much more likely to sniff out a wall or two.
I'm guessing the appeal of a CRX is the same as an E30 3-Series or R32 GT-R.
"Oh, it's light! Oh, it's nimble! Oh, it's raw!"
Oh, it shakes and rattles. Oh, it's too small to be practical. Oh, it's unrefined.
“Explaining my choices”
I’ve got nothing but hormones, adrenaline, and getting tail as reasons for why I did the dumb shit I did.
Oh I mean like as I'm doing something, e.g. "I'm okay going a little fast here because I know the road, but once we get to xx I'll slow down because there are deer."
My wife has convinced my kids that daddy is wreckless. There are some cars they won't get in. I think it's a bit dramatic, but at the same time if it prevents them from doing any of the truly idiotic things I did in cars, then I'll accept it.
This shadow proscription will be one of the first things against which they rebel, methinks.
My dad tells me often; hide your keys, son.
Great! Now i can lose money in cars and never even have to go through that nasty business of actually driving and enjoying them.
also, something tells me this shilling is going to run afoul of some very interested regulatory bodies at some point.
The average PORSH GT234 owner would really rather be in his ML63 anyway so this just saves the annoyance of having to move it out of the garage to get to the Peloton or something.
Modern Porsche “enthusiasts” are closer spiritually to art collectors than car folks
https://youtu.be/X95cMWwY1Nc?si=QmJlc6NauqQ5RVjs
More Uncle Ruckus, please!
Art for people with ocd by people with ocd.
You mean dilettantes who're easy to fool and rip off?
Agreed: your friend should stop riding and be a dad. I quit riding when my son was three months old and started again when he was 16. I hadn't planned on quitting, but I started feeling something I'd never felt on a motorcycle before: fear. Being a dad is too important a job to outsource.
This is an open thread, and we've already brought up motorcycles...so: why aren't Honda Magnas (especially the last-gen VF750C) more sought-after? They're about the same weight and power as a 1200 Sportster, yet no one seems to want them. Is it because they're so Japanese (as in, not a V-twin)?
This:
“Being a dad is too important a job to outsource”
"I'm not the stepdad, I'm the dad who stepped up because the original dad got cut in half by a light post!"
Not a cruiser guy, but I think that people generally gravitate to the quintessential example of the type. Harley people want to be rebellious, American, and ride a big vibrator. A big Honda cruiser may be reliable and highly specified, but it is not really any of those things.
When people want to play hippie, they go for a VW Bus, not a period Chevy Van or Dodge A100, even if the domestics were more reliable, more powerful, and perhaps even more numerous in period.
I've been seeing a lot of VanLife Youtubers in my recommends saying they are giving it up, either as a pause or forever. MB Sprinters seem very popular. They don't call themselves hippies, but they do tend to be "Free Spirits" until the money runs out.
The context was about collectibility, so by "play hippie", I meant in terms of collecting, not full-time vandwelling, hence the reference to the A100 (1964-1970) and its contemporaries.
But I agree that current vandwellers are in some ways the cultural heirs of hippies, but for day-to-day living they are much more practical than collectors and the options are far different than they were were 50+ years ago. I imagine that the proliferation of violent, insane homeless addicts has made living on the street a different proposition than it was 10 years ago, plus the rise of Work Form Home opportunities removes some of the impetus, but what were some of the common reasons that you heard?
I have an '86 Dodge B250 high top camper van in 2 tone brown that we call Uncle Rico.
If I gave a shit about Instagram this thing would have tons followers. Seriously, everywhere I go with it people want to stop to talk about it. It might be because I out it together for the Gambler 500 and it has a bit of an off road personality, but no doubt there's been a revival in the popularity of vanning.
Pre #vanlife old conversion vans seemed to sell for roughly scrap value for the most part. I've always found them pretty appealing as all around utility vehicles, poor fuel economy aside. Back in college my brother's friend moved cross country with a motorcycle twice for summer co-ops by buying a $700 chevy conversion van, driving out to CA, then selling it out there. A rust free G20 conversion van with a CB radio is on my bucket list of rigs to own at some point.
For awhile the old conversion vans were selling for less than a white, bare metal interior version of the same van. Around here they became rather popular with the "day laborers of questionable immigration status" due to their prices.
When I got mine (for free, abandoned in a friend's storage lot) I thought the same thing, who wants these hanta breeding beds? But then people started offering 5 figures for it...
It's given us so much more though. We did a lot of back woods camping in the rockies with it and have been nearly coast to coast. It sleeps 4 and is a joy.
Van life, huh?
I like the cut of this guy's jib!
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-11/a-creepy-free-candy-van-goes-up-for-auction-in-san-francisco
https://babylonbee.com/news/audiences-disappointed-as-napoleon-movie-is-about-some-french-guy-not-a-quirky-high-school-student-with-awesome-bowstaff-skills-and-cool-dance-moves
I fall over a lot. Harley is too heavy to pick up.
As are their riders.
Lol. So true
I’m still riding as a dad in fact I got back heavily into motorcycling after my son was born. I agree on being much more aware of my own mortality and the serious consequences of me getting hurt/killed, so I’ve gotten *very* selective about where and when I’ll ride. Basically I avoid anything resembling even moderate traffic.
As to your Magna question: metric (Japanese) cruisers just plain aren’t collectible, with a few exceptions. A perfect first gen V65 might pull $4k, an 84 Vmax still has relevant stoplight performance *to this day* and they tend to trade in that $4-5k range. Kaw ZL900 eliminator also comes to mind as a muscle bike of that era that is finally reaching somewhat collectible status. A 90s Magna 750? Not enough performance, still too new and kind of generic. One thing I’ve learned is that there’s basically every other motorcycle, and then there are harleys. They generally cost 50%+ more than the equivalent jap bike when new, generally fewer are sold, and that is later reflected in resale value. My now sold 1980 Low Rider retailed for $6000 new, double that of my 1978 XS1100 MSRP. Crazy when a Shovelhead Harley feels just like the 1930s era tech that it is and the XS11 was ripping 11 second quarter miles and setting cross country endurance records. They sold a ton of XS11s and now the best one in the world might sell for $5000, rider grade bikes go for $3000. A “rider” FXS sells in the $7k range, $10-12k for a really nice one.
I sold my Shovelhead because I didn’t like having $6k tied up in “jewelry” that I only trusted to ride locally and worried about devaluing. But I gotta say that single crank pin 45 degree heartbeat is just its own thing and I’m hooked. Maybe not for another few years but I will definitely be back on a carbureted harley of some sort.
What fascinates me about the early Hell's Angels is that they were OBSESSED with riding skill, doing tricks, and showing each other up. The proper descendants of the Sonny Barger originals are the Starboyz and the wheelie kids, not the meth dealers on Breakouts.
Interesting.
That apparently didn't last very long, as Evel Kinevel hated them and said something to the effect of "they belong in penitentiaries...it's not at all about the riding of the motorcycle".
Not surprised -- I'm relying on the Hunter S. Thompson book, which goes into considerable detail on their stunting proclivities.
There's a shorter version of the clip, but this has another interesting story:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xt2idpSSe4
A friend got my Sonny Barger’s autobiography which I initially rolled my eyes at (“hey you ride a bike? Here’s a book about bikers!”) but it was actually a pretty good read. My impression of the HA is that as it grew as a club it attracted more guys that didn’t hold riding motorcycles as the main focus of membership. But at its original core it was guys that loved to ride and hated having to work “normie” jobs to pay for all their riding (hence the drug dealing etc). And unlike say the StarBoyz a lot of the HA guys were heavy drug users. And Barger says openly in his book that he wishes it was “acceptable” to switch to a fast sport touring bike because Harley ended up being stuck in the retro scene but they were tied at the hip image-wise and the fact that they were buying an American make (many OG HA members were vets).
I'm tempted by every motorcycle but I am especially tempted by '88 Honda Magnas - just something about their styling and that chin fairing plus shaft drive and a V4 with enough but not outrageous power.
Yeah, the 1988 VF750 is a nice bike. I'm partial to the Magna V65 musclebikes and will probably have one in the barn eventually.
I’m not a Honda guy whatsoever but I’ve started to keep an eye out for the right 83-86 V65 Magna as well. It melds a lot of what I like about the XS1100 with even more power, a tall top cruising gear, and a bit of the laidback cruiser look which I used to hate but now sort of enjoy in moderate doses. I’ve got a 96 Virago 1100 in the garage now as my winter flip project, so it seems that Shovelhead Low Rider from earlier this year may have opened the door to appreciating cruisers.
As they say, you can build a thousand bridges but if you ride one cruiser they call you that cock-suckin' bridge-builder.
"cruiser" as a word sits uncomfortably close to "hanging out at the park past dark flashing your lights" cruising.
It’s a real perk to be “into” this sort of older bike that the market doesn’t really care about. You get to enjoy an awesome machine for short money and oftentimes find a fanatical group of fellow owners who will help you keep it running right.
I am too old to make hurtful generalizations about anyone outside the Porsche Club of America but: the cruiser scene in America depends on owning an American bike, preferably a Harley-Davidson. It's ownership-based, rather than achievement-based, because everyone's short on time and it's easier to spend money than get time on two wheels. The Magnas are great bikes and last forever but they don't get you in the club.... and everybody who doesn't want to be in the club is riding something that's either faster or more comfortable.
Why would I want to join a cosplay club that dresses like the Hells Angels?
Because it's still better than putting on a Ralph Lauren shirt and sitting out at the golf club?
To answer seriously a rhetorical or comedic question, some of it has to do with the movie Easy Rider, which I have not seen.
There's actually a really good article in there: is it noble, because they're trying to grasp at freedom and masculinity, or is it completely pathetic because they're doing so in a very lame and somewhat degenerate way, and maybe a typical Prius-driving accountant is actually more masculine, because he is secure in his true identity, which is a productive law-abiding member of society, plus he's not wearing assless chaps?
The same thing goes for some of those really pathetic group trips that Jack has parodied, or that guy who bragged about his vasectomy in Outside Magazine.
When does a directionally-correct but weak attempt at self-improvement become more contemptuous than maintaining the status quo? And should we blame these men, or the society that created them?
All chaps are assless.
I always kind of wondered about that!
Chaps are perfectly acceptable when actually working cattle.
ACAA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWkSyF7tNgQ
The sentiment of Easy Rider of a guy throwing his watch away and cruising along with his buddy across the country without a care in the world and zero obligations, unplugged from society is something that resonates with a lot of men, especially a lot of guys so mired in said obligations and society. I happen to really like the movie. Where things get perverted is when the basic premise of "motorcycle = freedom" gets turned into "motorcycle = cliquey lifestyle/branding exercise." For me motorcycling implies a degree of solitude, or at most a few other people riding along with you to some remote place or good roads. To ride over to the harley dealership on a saturday for some pancakes? Sounds pretty gay!
Well there is usually free beer also…
My neighbor used to do some rides with the local HOG (Harley Owners Group) chapter. Everyone was on a new or almost new (often financed) latest and greatest fuel injected under warranty baggers (Street Glide or Road Glide these days iirc). The overwhelming majority of the people in said group are clueless with a wrench and hence entirely reliant on the warranty if something goes wrong. Dealerships don't like to or just plain won't work on anything older than 10 years old, and there's just not that many independent motorcycle repair shops around any more. To many people in this "club," a Harley is about the only thing they know, and these lame group rides and social events are about the only flavor of motorcycling that they know. It's been fun helping my harley-only neighbor broaden his horizons. First by dipping his toes into the UJM waters with a '79 DOHC CB750 (turns out messing with quad carburetors isn't as fun as I make it look), then he got a cheap well worn 1st gen DL1000 V-strom for $2200ish that I got him riding some gravel roads on. Now he's thinking adventure bikes. The Road King sits all but forgotten. I think it was also eye opening to him to see just how stinkin cheap of a hobby motorcycling can be when you're not in that "HOG" world.
I didn't have time to get very far in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but very early on he called out a couple for not knowing anything about their machines.
QE2 was known to occasionally repair her own vehicles when out driving even in old age (partly due to her wartime occupation, and partly due to driving British vehicles).
https://outpostmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Elspeth-Beard-Lone-Rider-6-768x926.jpg
I need to try reading Zen again, I tried back in college and just didn't have the stomach for all the philosophy (mental masturbation, if you were to ask me back then). Shopcraft as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford is another good one. He's a good substack to read as well (https://mcrawford.substack.com/)
Since you're a father now, it will INFURIATE YOU
>>I need to try reading Zen again
A common misperception. I submit you're much better off with Robert Fulton's 'One Man Caravan'.
A little less navel-gazing and a little more crab-walking your bike across the Afghan border because they wont let you Ride it in.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/142819
I recently read "Jupiters Travels" about what passed for a "lib journalist" in the 70s riding across the world on a Triumph 500. It was a good read, aside from his musings about entertaining accepting the advances of some arab man when he was riding through northern Africa.
Jack and I are both big fans of Bob Jones' self-published "XS Eleven Heaven" as far as entertaining moto-travelogue and all around pleasure-reading for any sort of motorcyclist.
Ah a fellow Matthew Crawford enjoyer
A Sportster won't get you in "the club," either, unless you're a girl. But I like them anyway, because I'm 5'7" and a Sportster (Shortster?) fits me like they had me in mind when they designed it. I like Magnas too, and you can get a really nice one for $2500 right now as winter approaches. My biggest concern with the Magna is those four carbs tucked together down in that V4. Carbs always give you trouble sooner or later, and I would not enjoy rebuilding and syncing them. The Sportster has one big carb hanging off the right side of the bike (pre-2007). Easy peasy. And a belt drive that lasts 30k+ miles. And the Evo never needs a valve adjustment.
I'm getting old. I should probably just buy a Vulcan S and be done with it.