0-On the contrary, I do not care about motorcycles, motorcycle customers, motorcycle companies, or people foolish enough to want to devote capital to the attempts of motorcycle companies to attract motorcycle customers. Along with jet skis, basketball, the UFC, bowling, Golden Corral, and many other things, I believe that the world would be a vastly better place if motorcycles had never existed.
1-Luigi might very well win his 8th title in red. What a story for F1, and Ferrari, and the lad from Stevenage, and Kim K if that were to happen!
I think I get it now-the striving, the moral autism, the seething distaste for low status whites. Those people hurt you when you were young, and the tip of the blade broke off and never came out.
Maybe a Good Will Hunting moment is in the cards?
Sheesh, I’m basically a shrink now. Time to print that diploma and open my practice!!!
"Little man syndrome," also known as the Napoleon complex, is a social stereotype suggesting that shorter men overcompensate for their height through overly aggressive, domineering, or attention-seeking behavior.
He is very short and the story my unspecified close relative told me about playing basketball against him made me roll my head back and close my eyes from laughter…
He’s an epic dude though. Would not want to be on opposite side of his mercenaries
When one comes from low class routes, he feels he must denounce them absolutely in order to prove he belongs to his new ‘high class’ cohort in a way that someone who has belonged there all along doesn’t consider.
Apropos of nothing in this column, I saw a gorgeous S2k in silver yesterday in Maine and thought "what if...." as I do. What do you say? Still worth it today or is it a memory lane car now?
I mean, it depends. Jack will tell you an S2000 is slow and you should buy something faster.
I will tell you, on the plus side I think it’s a great experience, the car costs basically nothing to run (aside from tires which are starting to get limited and pricey) and it’s a money in/money out car where you can basically get out of it what you paid.
On the downside, they are going for silly money like everything else, and your dollar is probably more wisely spent on a Miata (new) or a 987 Boxster or Corvette (used). I don’t know if I could write a $25-30k+ check for a 20+ year old XX thousand mile roadster today like I did 20 years ago when it was 4 years old and 36k miles.
If you’re not phased by that, go drive one for 20 minutes and you’ll know immediately if you love it or hate it. I can understand both viewpoints. If you want to get more specific, feel free to shoot me an email at my username +22 @gmail.
We need a poll on how much of the readership will listen to Jack! My feeling on s2ks is it depends greatly on where you live and what kind of driving it will meet. Fantastic cars in some places, terrible in others.
When the billionaire CEO of the multinational computer company announces his company's revolutionary new OS to a worldwide audience of starry-eyed fanboys, what he's REALLY saying is, "Yeah, I'll bet Becky Slater knows who she shoulda gone to the prom with NOW!"
2-strokes are internal combusion's gift to hick-town, white-trash, wannabe boy-racers (like this aged out juvenile delinquent), friend. They're God's perfect engine.
... and yet, pound for pound, there's nothing like 'em. I was Midwest bred and buttered on 2-stroke dirtbikes. Funnest motorcycle I ever had as an RZ350 2-stroke street bike. It was just insane when it came on the pipe.
You've summed up my entire shtick, young man. If it's a deeply flawed platform capable of running way WAY better than it has any right to, I'm going to climb all over it.
I play in the very deep end of the air-cooled VW T1 world where each and every HP comes at a price about 10x what those ponies go for in GM/FoMoCo/Mopar-world. Don't care. Love 'em.
my favourite engine is the flathead ford and that has to be the worst power per dollar mill out there
its so awful i spent some time studying the architecture to design a new block that would be improved in nearly every way but completely interchangeable with stock parts unlike the aluminum one motor city flatheads prototyped years ago
I ride a 4stroke 400. I was on a 300t this last outing.
The 400 is less fiddly, weighs 20lb more, comparatively sips fuel, makes tractor tier torque, and I find to be a much better package for what I aim at. I benefit more from displacement and fuel savings then I ever will from winding out the 2 stroke.
I ride technical single track in the mountains and at altitudes starting a mile high. I also don't want to haul a gallon of gas, or more, along to make sure I can get back.
The Joy-to-Risk ratio quickly starts to be against me at about 12 hours of riding per year. I limit myself accordingly. But until then, it's a lot of fun.
Moments ago, while walking to Whole Foods, I observed a 20-something BBIPOC woman, walking a dog with a bullring through her septum (the woman, not the dog) … wearing a HARLEY DAVIDSON baseball cap.
" I believe that the world would be a vastly better place if motorcycles had never existed."
Jesus, dude, even (some) Redditors can see the appeal of a motorcycle. You sound like a ten year old griping that "Porky's" was ruined by the shower scene.
I can afford a porsche gt3 a mortgage and 4 kids. You have never asked a girl out went to william and marys sadder sister school and sell porn to losers. And you make less than the other baruth while pretending your rich.
I work with my dad like most successful people in history
Online ego always makes me chuckle a bit. I tend to wear it on the sleeve without shame.
It’s ok. That’s probably expected of here. I’ll still share my Golden Corral with you Sherman. I don’t really want to eat there (I’ve only been there twice about 20yrs ago…so I can’t speak much to its current state), but we can line a mashed potato and gravy volcano with overcooked short ribs and bitch about peasants.
FWIW I’m fine to do that at a Wendy’s and with any member here. Play nice boys, we need our yins to the yangs.
I have not been in a LONG time; probably 25 years.
I did darken the door of Ryan’s, a similar establishment, on a number of school trips.
This ol’ boy named Caleb, who was admitted to Emory and Georgia Tech but chose to run his family’s junkyard instead, taught me an interesting tactic at Ryan’s:
If you get there at about 3:45 PM, you’ll pay the lunch price for the MEGA Bar. If you can contain your urges for 15 minutes, you’ll get fresh tracks on the dinner food at 4:00 PM.
Interestingly enough I’ve a friend that lovingly (and deservingly) goes by “Fat Joe” that originally let me on to the buffet hack. On the plus side he’s much smaller these days.
I try not to fault people too badly for the choices they make starting out in life that seem to reflect poorly later fiscally. If he loves what he does and makes a living he’s content with, I’m all for it - even if it seems a “waste”.
As a person who spent a fair amount of time in junkyards in my youth, they helped me more than they’d know. Including providing transportation to my schooling in Detroit. The former would be Files Auto Wrecking. Known to be the “bottom rung” of yards. He employed a grease covered cross dresser named Jamie who was alarming to see ripping apart a car with a dirty bra over his shirt. Still, he was a kind dude. Extra side note: I watched him rag doll some dude at an Arby’s for calling him gay. Just happened to be having lunch.
Anyhow, the owner of Files passed away about 8 years ago. Both in his obituary and public comments he was heralded as a saint. Giving to children’s groups and orphanages his entire life. It really changed my entire outlook. He was an excellent human and that alone is commendable. Not everyone follows that path no matter the educational or professional background.
I myself had full mechanical engineering rides to both Kettering University and two other more local but prominently regarded universities. I declined and took my partial scholarships in design. Fiscally for the longterm it was boneheaded, but even my engineering friends struggled badly for years as we all graduated into the beginnings of the recession. I was ahead for awhile, swapping a few times.
The stories and ties I have wouldn’t be there without the choices I’ve made and in the end I’m happy to have ended working for myself in the end, though I am a bit jealous of the 9-5 schedule they get to keep.
Like many “gifted” children I knew during my adolescent years, Caleb failed to approach his ultimate potential.
In his case, he applied to college because a guidance counselor essentially forced it upon him. I doubt his parents were even aware of the existence of Emory University, let alone its location and reputation.
He would not have prospered at Emory or Georgia Tech.
Anyway, I can recall a time during the late 90s, during which my family was driving back from the lake house to our “regular” house with a boat in tow. This necessitated crossing over the Appalachian Trail at least once (or taking a VERY long detour).
There we sat, just north of the AT (at Hogpen Gap). On a hot, summer Sunday afternoon. In a Toyota Land Cruiser that was wheezing with the twin demands of the boat behind us and maintaining some semblance of air conditioning. We sat still in the thin(ner) air because a motorcyclist had ridden directly into a sheer rock face at what appeared to have been impressive speed. The local authorities were cleaning up the guts, etc. as the road finally reopened.
My father said: “That is such a shame … he’s going to leave a stain on that beautiful rock face.”
I learned about that from YOU and about CalcSD.Info from my nemesis, Harelip.
He’s kinda like you in some ways. He was bragging, braying really, about dating a married woman recently. She’s a Brazilian au pair who, according to someone who encountered them at the dog park, lacks the key characteristic you would associate with Brazilian women.
You forgot rascal scooters, and we could also go after ADA ramps—-as that famous tweet goes, “entrances must instead demand great feats of climbing and leaping”
We didn’t have anything of the sort during my childhood; it was a special treat on trips to “Atlanta” (the exurbs of Atlanta an hour away) with my friends’ parents.
Mine would never take us, no matter how much I begged.
1. “Year of the Dragon” I don’t think I already told this story, but we celebrated New Year’s Eve in Boston this year. As we were walking back to our hotel in a large crowd following the fireworks in the hahrbahr, my 13 year old daughter says loudly “I can’t believe it’s the year of the dragon.” I said “oh, is it the —“ and she yelled “year of dragon deez nutz!” The crowd on the sidewalk exploded. I’ve never been prouder.
2. The wokesters are even trying to cancel people who went to the UFC fight. Social media is all aghast at comedian Nate Bargatze, perhaps the most benign inoffensive human on the planet who also manages to be pretty funny, from poor Tennessee roots and is a big UFC fan, went to see it and now want him stricken from society. I cannot imagine having enough free time to possibly care.
3. Any thoughts on the tempest in a teapot that is the MA lacrosse team that had (kind of) to forfeit their spot in the playoffs because some of the seniors were photographed smoking cigars at their high school graduation in violation of the school’s anti drug/alcohol/tobacco policy? Reading the WSJ comments, they are pretty split between “they signed a policy and violated it” and “OMG WTF who cares about a cigar?” I’m pretty far in the latter group, and think it’s a pretty fascinating commentary on the types in education today who can’t introduce any nuance or judgement into their policies and enforcement, and might not realize that a celebratory cigar at a graduation might not warrant the same punishment that, say, a blackout kegger in the woods or being caught with a baggie of nose candy or black tar heroin might. But ‘rules are rules’, amIright? Link here if anyone wants to read it.
My friend used to smoke cigarettes between matches at high school tennis tournaments. It was probably frowned upon. The war on nicotine has been a giant mistake.
I don't care about UFC, or whatever it is, but I'm glad it happened. I was prompted by YouTube to watch a replay of the opening ceremony, with Zack Brown I think singing the National Anthem. That flyover is one of the best things I have ever watched. I highly recommend watching it.
I doubt I can recall a moment where I was so inside-out American as when I watched that event live. Watching Justin Gaetje beat the fucking shit out of Ilia Topuria had me on my feet in my living room shouting and throwing punches. Watching Josh Hokit beat the fuck out of a tomato can and toy with him, and then go back to his silly WWE style schtick was really good fun too.
I'm not a Trump nut hugger and I'm not a guy who watches all things UFC, but having been training in MMA since last fall I've become very interested in the fine details of it. Like the arm bar Hokit did and then didn't finish because he was clowning around and enjoying himself. Or the liver punch Justin took from Ilia and then continued to fight- because I've been liver punched in a brawl and thought I was going to die and afraid I might not.
I also liked the ring girl dresses, which I thought were reasonably tasteful if not a little Mar a Lago for my standards. The flyover, the band, the heroes escorting the fighters out, all of it.
But Justin v Ilia will go down as maybe my favorite fight of all time. It was an absolute brawl. Even my wife was like "holy shit this is a great fight!"
I can tell you this much -- in the middle of all the kerfuffle, it was possible to buy a gen-u-wine 'murican (York factory) HD used for pennies on the dollar, as all the heartland bikers sold them off to buy Indians. I got a 15k mi. Road King with hard bags and some extras for $5000.
Thanks, Steve. I generally (that reads "always") overpay for stuff I REALLY want.
This time I didn't. I wasn't jonesing bad for a Road King, but it was on my radar as a "someday" thing for at least a decade. The time was 100% right in late 2024.
I spent $1200 making it exactly what I want (different seat, fix the cruise control, etc.), but I love this thing a lot more than I thought I would.
I doubt it. Most dealers and buyers have no idea where the stuff is made. There was a period of time where several Ducati models were assembled in either Italy or Thailand. I asked a few dealers if they could get me VINs so I could check where a particular bike originated. One salesman said to me at one point, "I have no idea where these are made."
Yeah, the entire Scrambler line was offshored to the Pacific Rim, but part of that is economics and part is because the factory was at MAXIMUM capacity for a time so they kept those spots for the big money lines that carried the name. Scrams were entry level, like the Dodge Colt of Ducatis.
I can't be punched in the head. MMA people are great to spar with as they don't "forget" unlike others. Or maybe I just have a punchable face that gets to them.
You'd think they'd be roid-raging meatheads, but serious MMA guys are mostly calm people with healthy egos - the kind of people who walk away from street fights they could easily win, and will kick your ass with great reluctance only if you leave them no other option.
Full disclosure: I am a 54-year-old desk jockey and no kind of a fighter. But those of you putting down MMA/UFC are missing out on a great sport.
I am the most casual of UFC watchers, basically tune into the big fights, but the biggest problem I have is the enormous amount of time between the fights, them yapping about shit I don’t care about. Nothing was going on a couple months ago, and I happened to come across the Rhonda Rousey card so I watched the undercard matches for a while, waiting for the title bout. Probably 2 hours on the couch, 10 minutes of action seen, and then the main event last less time than it took me to swipe my v card. Her opponent tapped out faster than my gf could ask “is it in yet?”
I'm 53 and train MMA (Jits/boxing/etc). Probably some of the nicest and calmest people I've known since I stopped doing dirty laundry for the wrong people are MMA guys and gals. One guy I train with is 47 and a black belt, lifelong wrestler, very dangerous and very nice. But he's a recovered homeless addict with a lot of life under his belt too. All that makes for some interesting conversations.
The good it does you in terms of cardio, keeping the dog in you, and helping you stay calm under stress is really hard to understate in terms of long term benefits to your mind and body. If you ever wanted to try it, give it a whirl. You'll never be this young again.
Rumor has that Harley is also bringing back the Sportster in nearly the same configuration as the one they cancelled a few years ago, only the 883 though, not the 1200. I don’t care one way or the other about lgbtq or whatever the acronym is, and I wish that Harley wouldn’t virtue signal with the group, I don’t care about what an individuals sexual proclivities are, and I wouldn’t want to be known by mine, when we are talking about the rainbow crowd , we take merit out of the equation. It just seems like identity politics to me, and it’s just another way to divide us.
Yeah, the 1250 kit is almost 2k. You can find 1200 parts that ape the stock dimensions for about 800 if you don't need race parts. But the Sportster uses 4 (!!) gear driven cams, so cam swaps can be expensive and a mofo if you need a lopey idle. It's a neat platform and I'm glad it's coming back. But the market is loaded with 883s that have like 5k miles. They're slow and stupid, like an International Scout, but also like the Scout they have a certain charm you cannot find anyplace else. Hopping one up is good clean fun.
Did this 20 years ago, then cams, then heads, then lower bars and rear sets which required 2 into 1 exhaust, then the race version 883R slip-on which is LOUD and pops on decell. Cases look like shit and the whole thing is worth maybe $4k, but it'll power wheely in first gear. Love it.
I might be misremembering but I think the 883 has shorter gearing than the 1200 so a converted 883 is quicker than a stock 1200. They also sound great https://youtu.be/RY6TdEDVtpY?t=517
Also, you reference the Mask movie. The Mask movie I know was the dreadful Jim Carey flick, notable only for introducing my friends and I to Cameron Diaz and resulted in us all sitting silently, mouths agape in my buddy Chris’s basement when she strutted out in that red dress. Holy shit.
I had a Cameron Diaz bikini photo inside my locker in junior high. Ironically, was given to me by a female friend. How did she know I would like it so much?
"Klein is the mook who wrote this about having his foster kid yanked back away from him, probably because the agency was worried about additional tattooing taking place"
how weird do you have to be to get a child repod without getting cps called
"But now the vibe has shifted and the gravy train has come to a halt"
good. i hope they lose money. straight white christian men are very tired of being at the bottom of the pile.
"Hey, gay person, we know you’ve been riding a Harley for 24 years and have 280,000 miles on the road, but now we need you to do the pride thing"
reminds me of that south park episode lol
"It has a pretty strong manufacturing gay subculture, even"
just fabricating homos out of raw materials
"will trip all over themselves to praise the “wonderful comedy” of “Druski” humiliating and parodying Erica Kirk before her husband’s body was five months cold in the grave"
has anyone told erika kirk (not for long as shes changing her name soon) to give a shit about charlie?
"Fernando has put his head down and driven tractors to the podium"
who do i have to bribe and/or drown to get this poor man in a decent car
"They’re all still slower than a Radical SR8, but you do get a better stereo"
thats the tradeoff for being a real car that can be used every day
"It takes serious engineering to make a 200mph bike"
easier when you can just copy what already works and iterate on that
"I can’t say how fast my ZX-14R would be without the restrictor, but I can say that it gets to an indicated 185mph on Ohio freeways without anything like difficulty"
ong we need to get you a supercharger kit for that thing. 350whp at the very least
My goal is to whittle down to 185 and claw back to 200 by packing on my lower body mass and increasing by back width. I'm down at 197 or so right now from 218. But I'm a mere 6 feet tall. So, I'm victim weight below 200.
A friend in jr high worked at a pharmacy in Milwaukee and they were playing at a local club. My friend said they came in to buy cigarettes the afternoon of the show and were dressed in their leather.
Give me thousands more low brow American events from flyover country. Hold them all in DC so the enemies of the USA have a front row seat. It will never make up for the millions wasted on PBS, but it’s a start.
A friendly reminder to all that not one PBS or NPR station shut down after they “lost” their taxpayer funding. Just think of that whenever anyone anywhere in the media propagandizes doom and gloom on any subject. F them.
I'm really never going to be in any Harley (or Indian for that matter) demographic, so it's not terrible news per se that they are coming back home. I just wish that decision (any others made by other companies) wasn't purely financial. But that would be stupid right? If you want to stay in business, not piss off the shareholders, etc. etc. you got to play that game.
This morning a small-ish local company hired me on (with benefits), and amidst all the corporate butt-fuckery I've endured and witnessed, part of me is happy. The other part is trying to come to terms with making roughly 70% less money. I am thankful to be working at all; It's more than the token unemployment breadcrumbs that are going to expire in ~2 weeks. Time to suck it up, buttercup.
I am on the fence about going to another interview I had next week - with a vast corporate empire - for a management trainee position(?), and at the outset I am required to show up in suit/tie. And I'm sure putting on a false front shiny happy people person mask wouldn't hurt either.
I bailed essentially at the last minute. I feel like a total shitbird for doing that.
The whole ~year has been a mindfuck and I think I devalued my time to the point that I was desperately seeking anyone to say yes to me. That, and the fact that the job was a graveyard delivery route, working 4/10 or 4/12 shifts for >$20/hr. No way that was going to be sustainable (in f-ing CA) let alone good for my health.
Are we getting another Thunder Dome now that the Iran War is winding down? The points in the “Memorandum of Understanding” represent a catastrophic surrender, and make this whole undertaking something that should sink the entire Republican Party and anyone associated with Trump for the next decade.
It’s BRUTAL. The much lamented deal Trump ripped up in 2018 wasnt even this good for Iran!
Hey at least we were able to murder hundreds (thousands?) of innocent people in the process of killing one 86 year old man. That man, it must be said, has been replaced by even more hardline cohort. Who, it must also be said, had a lot for their families killed.
Surely that spells good things for future relations!
I think Trump is an absolute disgrace of a person and a fucking moron to boot. I have thought this for over a decade. Even *I* didn’t think it was possible for him to commit a blunder this bad.
I’m retired because I figured out he was going to win in the Summer of 2015 when everyone will still calling him a clown, and bet on it in the market when the S&P was only at 2000.
I really knew almost nothing about him, but when he insulted McCain and got away with it I looked into his methodology and realized he’d win.
The only defense I'll give is that Biden/Kamala's people wanted to tangle with China. We might lose the Iran conflict Vietnam style by putting $300B into subverting their society with capitalism. The Chinese would have sunk three carriers and put 150,000 servicemen into caskets before we gave up and let them have their own island.
1) I don’t think anyone was actually going to go to war with China. No one (outside of some defense freaks and, seemingly, Israel) has that much of a death wish. China does not want a war with us. They are too smart for that, even if we are not.
2) Even if that were true, we don’t live in that reality. We live in this one where none of those people have any real power at present, and continuing to blame them gets us nowhere.
I see several possible explanations, in no particular order of likelihood or how bad/good they make Trump look:
1. He simply bought what Bibi/Mossad were selling. 'Greeted as liberators. Iraq but successful. You'll accomplish what those pussies before you didn't have the balls to do.' This makes him look gullible and foolish.
2. $250M from Miriam. Self explanatory.
3. 'The next Butler will be successful Donald. Or perhaps we will take out Barron instead.'
4. 'If you don't go in with us, we're opening with nukes.'
5. 'If you don't go in with us, we're opening with nukes but on US soil. In flyover, of course.'
The war was dumb and Trump, though he is Israel’s #1 shabbos goy, was dumb to fall for doing it. Anyone could have seen the result from inventorying the competitive landscape honestly and some people lied to Zion Don ro get this done.
That said, pretending that a former hooker (who blew people she had never met before in semi-public NorCal orgy clubs before being elevated to the VICE presidency) would say no to the very same people including her Jewish husband is the height of delusion.
This war was getting done. The question is will we learn anything, I’m guessing no, nothing
North America produced more oil in 2025 than the Middle East did, and the trend is only going our way. There's an astounding amount of oil in Central America that will be exploited soon which will go a long way to replacing any disrupted Middle Eastern oil production. What Trump has actually done is thrown a monkey wrench in the neocons' ambitions, and that mean's Israel's ambitions.
I never thought of wokist DEI as a cover for offshoring but that makes sense. One thing you can be sure the woke crowd cares no one whit for middle America, we are deplorable heathen to them.
As to hareley, good thing they recognize again the core tenets of their durable appeal, made in USA being a part of this. However I hope that their newfound "pride" does not trap them into only making aircooled barges. Id still take an aircooled 750 tracker looking bike that Harley has serialy failed to build despite the inspiration from stroz and others. . . But as Triumph has proven an inspired bike company can remain true to heritage and still rollout a range of bikes that appeals to a wider demographic. The sprtester S was the usal lame non rider corporate cliniced attempt. It looks great imo, and its only short of mid controlls brakes and suspension from being desirable to those who ride something other than aircooled v twins for whom it has no appeal either.
Dont get me wrong, i love my 1200 sportster, its a modern day vincent that starts with a button, well made and full of charisma. It has crap brakes, you can lteraly feel the headstock bend under "hard" braking and these is near zero suspension, which is an upgrade on a hardtail. Its a modern antique, which is really cool, but there is so much mroe Harley could and should do. Yeah we have the pan America, but thats just one bike.
As for the UFC fight my take is slighty different. The whole crowd who applauded the nude and semi nude spectacle that was the Biden Trans gay gathering at the white house, has a problem with a UFC fight as unbecoming the presidency/ As much as trump seems to drop the ball these days, his ability to upset our "betters" and poke his finger in their eye makes his presidency one slaw rolling orgasim for some of us.
BTW gay people I know tell me they are not into the spectacle or into self singling out. The gay motorcyclists I know are lesbians and their motto seems to be that their sexual orientation should not dictate everything else about their life conforming to some marketing idea of what gay is.
I guess I'm nonconformist (tongue in cheek) because on a harley i wear a full face arai helmet, not some pudding bowl fake biker thing. I know i shouldn't judge the sunday ride fake badass biker dentist on a harley but I do. It is but one hobby and we should accept all comers, but still.
I think certainly an aircooled sportster needs to be appreciated in context.
It’s more modernized antique than modern bike and all the more glorious for what it is. There is no point in expecting good brakes but they are good compared to drums, or expecting anything approaching modern suspension rather one sound just appreciate there is some. It is modern in that it’s reliable and starts ona button .
My 1986 Yamaha 4cyl ujm is objectively superior in almost every way which misses the point.
Most of us are normal people who aren't trying to make an entire personality out of our queerness. Most trans people are trying to pass as their gender and not to take up too much space, and most gay people aren't out in public wearing butt plugs and harnesses in public parades. What you have is a minority of very outspoken people who take up all the attention and make a spectacle. It's hardly the most egregious thing going on, but it's pretty goofy.
I agree. People who dominate an experience with their gender or sexual orientation are about as annoying as straight men who talk about how much pussy they’re (not) getting. It’s similar behavior, on opposite sides of a spectrum…and I avoid both of them like the plague.
Im a millennial who is not anti gay. Religiously, i disagree but we all have our demons. But the modern gay movement has completely ruined any support i have especially with the current going after teenage kids to turn them. It will cost me 20k per year for private schools because i do not trust illinois legislators to keep it out of the schools
I know a few guys from the ZZR-1200 forum who went to ZX-14's and got them over 200mph. It became quite the thing and there was a point in time I was thinking about doing it, because I've never done 200mph on a motorcycle.
I did 155 ish on i88 right before naperville road. If i went to dekalb on the r1, yes but i never wanted to go out of my way to do it. I think street triple top speed is maybe 160
Coming down out of the hills on I-80 after midnight when there's no cops or anybody else on the 3-lane road was one of the better places. Out in Eastern Oregon during the week there was another good place, though I forget where exactly now. Was out there on a trip with friends.
That's how I did it on my ZX-14R, but on a stretch of I-5. One loop to make sure it's clear, then a few more loops to stretch the legs. Due to traffic, my best was 175 indicated on the speedo, and that was slightly up hill. I was aiming for the speed limiter, but never got there. Interestingly I don't feel at all inclined to try again.
I got my 1978 GS750 up to 110 one night on a desolate stretch of highway 6 in Texas. That’s when the voltage regulator failed, all the lights went out, and flames came out from under the seat.
0-On the contrary, I do not care about motorcycles, motorcycle customers, motorcycle companies, or people foolish enough to want to devote capital to the attempts of motorcycle companies to attract motorcycle customers. Along with jet skis, basketball, the UFC, bowling, Golden Corral, and many other things, I believe that the world would be a vastly better place if motorcycles had never existed.
1-Luigi might very well win his 8th title in red. What a story for F1, and Ferrari, and the lad from Stevenage, and Kim K if that were to happen!
I think I get it now-the striving, the moral autism, the seething distaste for low status whites. Those people hurt you when you were young, and the tip of the blade broke off and never came out.
Maybe a Good Will Hunting moment is in the cards?
Sheesh, I’m basically a shrink now. Time to print that diploma and open my practice!!!
"Little man syndrome," also known as the Napoleon complex, is a social stereotype suggesting that shorter men overcompensate for their height through overly aggressive, domineering, or attention-seeking behavior.
I exhibit no tendencies towards napoleon little man syndrome… just saying.
Fortunately it is a disease that does not strike all short men.
I won’t weigh in on parties currently under discussion, but the best example of Napoleon Complex that I’m familiar with has to be Erik Prince.
THAT guy… whoever snubbed him for prom really affected the world in outsize fashion.
Oh, shit. I just had like 20 things come into sharp focus as Erik Prince tangential happenings. Dang.
He is very short and the story my unspecified close relative told me about playing basketball against him made me roll my head back and close my eyes from laughter…
He’s an epic dude though. Would not want to be on opposite side of his mercenaries
When one comes from low class routes, he feels he must denounce them absolutely in order to prove he belongs to his new ‘high class’ cohort in a way that someone who has belonged there all along doesn’t consider.
...although... is Sherman really "high class" because he made some coin off a butthole-showing website?
Note the quotes.
Rumor has it sherman makes less than bark
Bark reproduced.
At least twice!
Apropos of nothing in this column, I saw a gorgeous S2k in silver yesterday in Maine and thought "what if...." as I do. What do you say? Still worth it today or is it a memory lane car now?
I mean, it depends. Jack will tell you an S2000 is slow and you should buy something faster.
I will tell you, on the plus side I think it’s a great experience, the car costs basically nothing to run (aside from tires which are starting to get limited and pricey) and it’s a money in/money out car where you can basically get out of it what you paid.
On the downside, they are going for silly money like everything else, and your dollar is probably more wisely spent on a Miata (new) or a 987 Boxster or Corvette (used). I don’t know if I could write a $25-30k+ check for a 20+ year old XX thousand mile roadster today like I did 20 years ago when it was 4 years old and 36k miles.
If you’re not phased by that, go drive one for 20 minutes and you’ll know immediately if you love it or hate it. I can understand both viewpoints. If you want to get more specific, feel free to shoot me an email at my username +22 @gmail.
Already have a couple of slow 987s and I don't listen to Jack. I'm here for the entertainment. Thanks 🙏
We need a poll on how much of the readership will listen to Jack! My feeling on s2ks is it depends greatly on where you live and what kind of driving it will meet. Fantastic cars in some places, terrible in others.
When the billionaire CEO of the multinational computer company announces his company's revolutionary new OS to a worldwide audience of starry-eyed fanboys, what he's REALLY saying is, "Yeah, I'll bet Becky Slater knows who she shoulda gone to the prom with NOW!"
Apple's Tim Cook is likely thinking of ~Brad~ Slater.
Hey Jenny Slater, hey Jenny Slater.
"Moral autism."
I gotta use that!
Reading this makes me want to buy a motorcycle even more.
I went up a mountain on a dirt bike today with a brother-in-law and, while I think two strokes are trash, it was a good time with beautiful views.
Nay I say -- nay my good man.
2-strokes are internal combusion's gift to hick-town, white-trash, wannabe boy-racers (like this aged out juvenile delinquent), friend. They're God's perfect engine.
No two combustion events are the same! Madness.
All true
... and yet, pound for pound, there's nothing like 'em. I was Midwest bred and buttered on 2-stroke dirtbikes. Funnest motorcycle I ever had as an RZ350 2-stroke street bike. It was just insane when it came on the pipe.
Had an RZ 350 race bike. It was fun.
Wave runners have never been the same since they went four stroke
I had a Kawasaki MC1 when I was a kid. It was a 90cc mini motocross bike. It was wicked fast compared to 4 stroke XR75’s and XR80’s.
I had a Kawasaki S3, generally regarded as a pretty quick bike, but my Yamaha RD400 could run away and hide from it.
I think for power density, it’s either that, an electric motor or a jet engine…
In short, not a lot of great choices 😂
2 strokes are one of those thing where i like it becuase its flawed
i do very much want to fiddle around with an old 750 mach iv though
You've summed up my entire shtick, young man. If it's a deeply flawed platform capable of running way WAY better than it has any right to, I'm going to climb all over it.
I play in the very deep end of the air-cooled VW T1 world where each and every HP comes at a price about 10x what those ponies go for in GM/FoMoCo/Mopar-world. Don't care. Love 'em.
Two strokes, when they work, are awesome. Same power half the displacement. Just some wasted fuel
preaching to the choir
my favourite engine is the flathead ford and that has to be the worst power per dollar mill out there
its so awful i spent some time studying the architecture to design a new block that would be improved in nearly every way but completely interchangeable with stock parts unlike the aluminum one motor city flatheads prototyped years ago
RE : old air cooled VW's :
Low compression single ports 4-EVER ! =8-) .
My '59 #113's 36 hp engine still has a rod knock yet I drive it to Death Valley and other places, nary a problem .
-Nate
I have one for sale. Kawasaki 1974 H2750 Mach IV. Complete but needs total restoration.
Sissy bar included. No insult, just a fact.
really? what state is it located in?
You're on the wrong coast for me; that's mighty tempting.
CT
bit of a drive for me
not sure i can make it happen man. sorry
I don’t want to get into the weeds too too much here, but:
If two strokes are trash, what do you ride on dirt? Just go all the way to 400cc, or ?
I ride a 4stroke 400. I was on a 300t this last outing.
The 400 is less fiddly, weighs 20lb more, comparatively sips fuel, makes tractor tier torque, and I find to be a much better package for what I aim at. I benefit more from displacement and fuel savings then I ever will from winding out the 2 stroke.
I ride technical single track in the mountains and at altitudes starting a mile high. I also don't want to haul a gallon of gas, or more, along to make sure I can get back.
Technical single track. How wide ?
This sounds like a level of expertise I will not reach so salute your shorts 🫡
30-36" sometimes less.
My knuckles were smacking plantlife on both sides this last outing.
It's slow at 10-15mph most of the time.
If you're riding out in the desert presumably a different animal.
Two - Smokes _are_ trash but like most other trash they have their uses .
-Nate
Do it
It's _ALWAYS_ a good time to buy a Motocycle .
-Nate
I don't think I've ever read 52 words that made me want to buy several motorcycles more than these.
Thanks for your continued service to the ACF community, Sheman.
Same. And I don’t even own a motorcycle, and probably would kill myself if I did (due to having no skill combined with a need for speed).
The Joy-to-Risk ratio quickly starts to be against me at about 12 hours of riding per year. I limit myself accordingly. But until then, it's a lot of fun.
The onky thing more fun than a motorcycle is a trollop with an aversion to condoms or a snow mobile
Always wanted to try’s. Really fast snowmobile
Go with the trollop.
Im joking! Snow mobile on good trails are awesome. I haven’t been in years. Lets all go visit mdstreeter and rent some next winter
Join the loser Grom riders club with me and the guy Jack mocked in the post cause motorcyclists are all inclusive, remember?
Being old enough to have once caught the attention of Harley riders while refueling a Yamahopper, I feel you.
BUY MY STREET TRIPLE
I should have bought the street triple my brother just traded in
God works in mysterious ways. Giving you a second chance
"Sheman" is a very funny misspelling.
lol
Moments ago, while walking to Whole Foods, I observed a 20-something BBIPOC woman, walking a dog with a bullring through her septum (the woman, not the dog) … wearing a HARLEY DAVIDSON baseball cap.
The European equivalent of this person is wearing Rosso Corsa.
Please tell me the dog was a pit bull.
It was!!!
I saved that in case someone asked.
Of course it was.
And the point is, what?
Sherman got really turned on
" I believe that the world would be a vastly better place if motorcycles had never existed."
Jesus, dude, even (some) Redditors can see the appeal of a motorcycle. You sound like a ten year old griping that "Porky's" was ruined by the shower scene.
This is the man who called me, a 5 time and current motorcycleist , “risk averse”
You’re a bean counter. A bean counter who couldn’t find ANY other JERB than working for daddy.
I’d call you risk averse even if you got into bugchasing.
I can afford a porsche gt3 a mortgage and 4 kids. You have never asked a girl out went to william and marys sadder sister school and sell porn to losers. And you make less than the other baruth while pretending your rich.
I work with my dad like most successful people in history
Working for daddy is not compatible with “success,” sorry.
Nepobabies aren’t successful!
Big words for a boy who doesn’t even make just under 300 k per year
Cats out of the bag man. You are basically poor. Short. AND poor
I did NOT need to know what that was.
unbridled degeneracy
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?
Online ego always makes me chuckle a bit. I tend to wear it on the sleeve without shame.
It’s ok. That’s probably expected of here. I’ll still share my Golden Corral with you Sherman. I don’t really want to eat there (I’ve only been there twice about 20yrs ago…so I can’t speak much to its current state), but we can line a mashed potato and gravy volcano with overcooked short ribs and bitch about peasants.
FWIW I’m fine to do that at a Wendy’s and with any member here. Play nice boys, we need our yins to the yangs.
I have not been in a LONG time; probably 25 years.
I did darken the door of Ryan’s, a similar establishment, on a number of school trips.
This ol’ boy named Caleb, who was admitted to Emory and Georgia Tech but chose to run his family’s junkyard instead, taught me an interesting tactic at Ryan’s:
If you get there at about 3:45 PM, you’ll pay the lunch price for the MEGA Bar. If you can contain your urges for 15 minutes, you’ll get fresh tracks on the dinner food at 4:00 PM.
Interestingly enough I’ve a friend that lovingly (and deservingly) goes by “Fat Joe” that originally let me on to the buffet hack. On the plus side he’s much smaller these days.
I try not to fault people too badly for the choices they make starting out in life that seem to reflect poorly later fiscally. If he loves what he does and makes a living he’s content with, I’m all for it - even if it seems a “waste”.
As a person who spent a fair amount of time in junkyards in my youth, they helped me more than they’d know. Including providing transportation to my schooling in Detroit. The former would be Files Auto Wrecking. Known to be the “bottom rung” of yards. He employed a grease covered cross dresser named Jamie who was alarming to see ripping apart a car with a dirty bra over his shirt. Still, he was a kind dude. Extra side note: I watched him rag doll some dude at an Arby’s for calling him gay. Just happened to be having lunch.
Anyhow, the owner of Files passed away about 8 years ago. Both in his obituary and public comments he was heralded as a saint. Giving to children’s groups and orphanages his entire life. It really changed my entire outlook. He was an excellent human and that alone is commendable. Not everyone follows that path no matter the educational or professional background.
I myself had full mechanical engineering rides to both Kettering University and two other more local but prominently regarded universities. I declined and took my partial scholarships in design. Fiscally for the longterm it was boneheaded, but even my engineering friends struggled badly for years as we all graduated into the beginnings of the recession. I was ahead for awhile, swapping a few times.
The stories and ties I have wouldn’t be there without the choices I’ve made and in the end I’m happy to have ended working for myself in the end, though I am a bit jealous of the 9-5 schedule they get to keep.
Like many “gifted” children I knew during my adolescent years, Caleb failed to approach his ultimate potential.
In his case, he applied to college because a guidance counselor essentially forced it upon him. I doubt his parents were even aware of the existence of Emory University, let alone its location and reputation.
He would not have prospered at Emory or Georgia Tech.
Are you not a Redditor yourself?
Anyway, I can recall a time during the late 90s, during which my family was driving back from the lake house to our “regular” house with a boat in tow. This necessitated crossing over the Appalachian Trail at least once (or taking a VERY long detour).
There we sat, just north of the AT (at Hogpen Gap). On a hot, summer Sunday afternoon. In a Toyota Land Cruiser that was wheezing with the twin demands of the boat behind us and maintaining some semblance of air conditioning. We sat still in the thin(ner) air because a motorcyclist had ridden directly into a sheer rock face at what appeared to have been impressive speed. The local authorities were cleaning up the guts, etc. as the road finally reopened.
My father said: “That is such a shame … he’s going to leave a stain on that beautiful rock face.”
I have TWO reddit accounts, one to sell silver coins and one to show off my dick to strangers.
Every man dies, but not every man lives.
I once called my son a Reddit mod. He doesn't start arguments with me anymore.
i recall some redditors talking shit about you on reddit some time ago with you responding but i have zero desire to find any other account activity
Did you get greater than 90% spot on reddit?
They why are we STILL waiting on the ACF BIG DICK ALPHA MALE leaderboard???
Bro it is like LPSG you gotta verify to see the discussion.
I learned about that from YOU and about CalcSD.Info from my nemesis, Harelip.
He’s kinda like you in some ways. He was bragging, braying really, about dating a married woman recently. She’s a Brazilian au pair who, according to someone who encountered them at the dog park, lacks the key characteristic you would associate with Brazilian women.
In which remote Appalachian back holler was your family's lake house?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhymcCYC3jk
I feel so bad
Lord have mercy
Tell the truth, now
Shit
Hey!
Tell the truth
How 'bout you call your grandaddy down on the delta in Cleveland
Lake Erie, you tell me all about it, son
Ok
Oh
I'm callin' my granddad
Granddad, ya
And he still don't answer
Better call him again
That outta do it
No, he still don't answer
What are you gonna do?
Better call him again, now
Yeah, that did it
Oh, here he come now
He so happy, too
He just sold the house
Here's a little tune he taught me
The words are his:
I woke up this afternoon, HOOOOO
I saw both cars were gone
I woke up this afternoon, lord mommy
I saw both cars were gone
I felt so low down deep inside
I threw my drink across the lawn
I felt so low down deep inside
I threw my drink across the lawn
Lake house was not in Appalachia because the local lake(s) are TVA lakes, which means they own the shoreline, not you.
Which means your dock can only be a maximum of 1,000 sq feet, and not every lot qualifies for that.
Which means that you can only fit three or maybe four boats on your dock at any given time.
No doubt pirogues tied up after a hard day’s work huntin’ an’ wrasslin’ gators.
Sounds positively awful. How did you survive growing up with that? Podcasts from year 3?
me ma was a podcast and me da was a longform video essay
It was my cross to bear.
No bowling? Who pissed in your cheerios today?
But what would the gloabalists' slave labor in the third world ride to work if motorcycles did not exisit?
Onsite prison housing that would obviously be more efficient.
You are stirring the pot again. You just can’t resist.
I am putting forth my genuine POV.
All of the commentariat is attacking me, illustrating that they think that those items I listed are important!
You forgot rascal scooters, and we could also go after ADA ramps—-as that famous tweet goes, “entrances must instead demand great feats of climbing and leaping”
Claims to be a hillbilly, doesn't like Golden Corral.
We didn’t have anything of the sort during my childhood; it was a special treat on trips to “Atlanta” (the exurbs of Atlanta an hour away) with my friends’ parents.
Mine would never take us, no matter how much I begged.
It's okay, Sherman. That's why Baskin-Robbins has 32 flavors. There's something for everyone.
1. “Year of the Dragon” I don’t think I already told this story, but we celebrated New Year’s Eve in Boston this year. As we were walking back to our hotel in a large crowd following the fireworks in the hahrbahr, my 13 year old daughter says loudly “I can’t believe it’s the year of the dragon.” I said “oh, is it the —“ and she yelled “year of dragon deez nutz!” The crowd on the sidewalk exploded. I’ve never been prouder.
2. The wokesters are even trying to cancel people who went to the UFC fight. Social media is all aghast at comedian Nate Bargatze, perhaps the most benign inoffensive human on the planet who also manages to be pretty funny, from poor Tennessee roots and is a big UFC fan, went to see it and now want him stricken from society. I cannot imagine having enough free time to possibly care.
3. Any thoughts on the tempest in a teapot that is the MA lacrosse team that had (kind of) to forfeit their spot in the playoffs because some of the seniors were photographed smoking cigars at their high school graduation in violation of the school’s anti drug/alcohol/tobacco policy? Reading the WSJ comments, they are pretty split between “they signed a policy and violated it” and “OMG WTF who cares about a cigar?” I’m pretty far in the latter group, and think it’s a pretty fascinating commentary on the types in education today who can’t introduce any nuance or judgement into their policies and enforcement, and might not realize that a celebratory cigar at a graduation might not warrant the same punishment that, say, a blackout kegger in the woods or being caught with a baggie of nose candy or black tar heroin might. But ‘rules are rules’, amIright? Link here if anyone wants to read it.
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/ipswich-lacrosse-cigars-graduation-photo-2e4152c2?st=BG3Zt1&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Good on your daughter! Well done!
My friend used to smoke cigarettes between matches at high school tennis tournaments. It was probably frowned upon. The war on nicotine has been a giant mistake.
Also, women...
I remember being able to buy cigs in jr high school no one cared. Now I’m all hopped up on Zyn and they’ll probably ban that.
I use zyn to lose weight. I think it’s probably safer than ozempic
Yeah and you won’t end up looking like Olivia Wilde
I mean, shes too skinny buy instill would
There is a cure for “too skinny”
We bought clove cigarettes thru the mail in the 80’s.
Those werent even real. I probably had my last clove twemty years ago before they made them illegal
Would have been 81 or 82. They had Indonesian writing on the packs. We smoked them while we were skateboarding on half pipes.
They had them here in 2006 while i was in college
Gah
Father of the Year!
It’s all upside down, no drinking till 21 but you can vote at 18. Should be the other way around.
The bureaucrat worships at the altar of black and white. Follow the policy and no harm can come to them.
Damn, Baruth, from Falco to Philip Glass, with a whole lot of great moto content in between, you are definitely not Koyaanisqatsi.
I always preferred the After The Fire version.
Thank you for giving me a reason to listen to Der Kommissar.
Agreed
Koyaanisqatsi…I haven’t heard that word in a very long time.
I don't care about UFC, or whatever it is, but I'm glad it happened. I was prompted by YouTube to watch a replay of the opening ceremony, with Zack Brown I think singing the National Anthem. That flyover is one of the best things I have ever watched. I highly recommend watching it.
https://youtu.be/UOlxpAcmRIs?is=_a-IUKMpHoK59Iue
I will readily admit that the flyover was top notch
Concur.
holy shit that was awesome
It's almost a litmus test. Which do you prefer: UFC and flyovers or colored pillars on the White House and bare boy boobies?
I doubt I can recall a moment where I was so inside-out American as when I watched that event live. Watching Justin Gaetje beat the fucking shit out of Ilia Topuria had me on my feet in my living room shouting and throwing punches. Watching Josh Hokit beat the fuck out of a tomato can and toy with him, and then go back to his silly WWE style schtick was really good fun too.
I'm not a Trump nut hugger and I'm not a guy who watches all things UFC, but having been training in MMA since last fall I've become very interested in the fine details of it. Like the arm bar Hokit did and then didn't finish because he was clowning around and enjoying himself. Or the liver punch Justin took from Ilia and then continued to fight- because I've been liver punched in a brawl and thought I was going to die and afraid I might not.
I also liked the ring girl dresses, which I thought were reasonably tasteful if not a little Mar a Lago for my standards. The flyover, the band, the heroes escorting the fighters out, all of it.
But Justin v Ilia will go down as maybe my favorite fight of all time. It was an absolute brawl. Even my wife was like "holy shit this is a great fight!"
Will be interesting to see if Thai hawgs trade at a big discount in the used market.
I would suspect ‘yes,’ but I also know that most people have no idea or care where stuff comes from.
I can tell you this much -- in the middle of all the kerfuffle, it was possible to buy a gen-u-wine 'murican (York factory) HD used for pennies on the dollar, as all the heartland bikers sold them off to buy Indians. I got a 15k mi. Road King with hard bags and some extras for $5000.
I frankly love it.
Good for you. I also tend to like finding screaming deals on out of fashion stuff.
Thanks, Steve. I generally (that reads "always") overpay for stuff I REALLY want.
This time I didn't. I wasn't jonesing bad for a Road King, but it was on my radar as a "someday" thing for at least a decade. The time was 100% right in late 2024.
I spent $1200 making it exactly what I want (different seat, fix the cruise control, etc.), but I love this thing a lot more than I thought I would.
Like, a LOT a lot.
Road Kings are the best Harleys. Touring chassis and timeless styling and tech.
I think so. Mine’s a “Classic” with EFI.
That means the soft bags?
Fender guitars
I doubt it. Most dealers and buyers have no idea where the stuff is made. There was a period of time where several Ducati models were assembled in either Italy or Thailand. I asked a few dealers if they could get me VINs so I could check where a particular bike originated. One salesman said to me at one point, "I have no idea where these are made."
Yeah, the entire Scrambler line was offshored to the Pacific Rim, but part of that is economics and part is because the factory was at MAXIMUM capacity for a time so they kept those spots for the big money lines that carried the name. Scrams were entry level, like the Dodge Colt of Ducatis.
It was certain Monsters, too.
Yeah, that's right. Forgot. Thanks for letting me borrow a neuron, homie.
UFC is emphatically NOT "human cockfighting."
It's human douchefighting.
That phrase came from a fellow with a lot of interest in human cocks.
sounds like a harley enjoyer then
I did mma for a bit. I never fought in a match but i knew a lot of guys who did. They were slightly douchey but mostly good guys
Obviously, I'm talking about the day-glo personalities UFC promotes.
I can't be punched in the head. MMA people are great to spar with as they don't "forget" unlike others. Or maybe I just have a punchable face that gets to them.
You'd think they'd be roid-raging meatheads, but serious MMA guys are mostly calm people with healthy egos - the kind of people who walk away from street fights they could easily win, and will kick your ass with great reluctance only if you leave them no other option.
Full disclosure: I am a 54-year-old desk jockey and no kind of a fighter. But those of you putting down MMA/UFC are missing out on a great sport.
If you are a real fighter, why waste your time fighting drunk losers who might stab or shoot you? Would Marc Marquez go street racing in Cleveland?
I am the most casual of UFC watchers, basically tune into the big fights, but the biggest problem I have is the enormous amount of time between the fights, them yapping about shit I don’t care about. Nothing was going on a couple months ago, and I happened to come across the Rhonda Rousey card so I watched the undercard matches for a while, waiting for the title bout. Probably 2 hours on the couch, 10 minutes of action seen, and then the main event last less time than it took me to swipe my v card. Her opponent tapped out faster than my gf could ask “is it in yet?”
I'm 53 and train MMA (Jits/boxing/etc). Probably some of the nicest and calmest people I've known since I stopped doing dirty laundry for the wrong people are MMA guys and gals. One guy I train with is 47 and a black belt, lifelong wrestler, very dangerous and very nice. But he's a recovered homeless addict with a lot of life under his belt too. All that makes for some interesting conversations.
The good it does you in terms of cardio, keeping the dog in you, and helping you stay calm under stress is really hard to understate in terms of long term benefits to your mind and body. If you ever wanted to try it, give it a whirl. You'll never be this young again.
Rumor has that Harley is also bringing back the Sportster in nearly the same configuration as the one they cancelled a few years ago, only the 883 though, not the 1200. I don’t care one way or the other about lgbtq or whatever the acronym is, and I wish that Harley wouldn’t virtue signal with the group, I don’t care about what an individuals sexual proclivities are, and I wouldn’t want to be known by mine, when we are talking about the rainbow crowd , we take merit out of the equation. It just seems like identity politics to me, and it’s just another way to divide us.
This is true. I’m stoked. The 883 is fine and can always be bored out.
The conversion kit is what two grand and you get all new parts.
And it’s not that difficult to do.
Yeah, the 1250 kit is almost 2k. You can find 1200 parts that ape the stock dimensions for about 800 if you don't need race parts. But the Sportster uses 4 (!!) gear driven cams, so cam swaps can be expensive and a mofo if you need a lopey idle. It's a neat platform and I'm glad it's coming back. But the market is loaded with 883s that have like 5k miles. They're slow and stupid, like an International Scout, but also like the Scout they have a certain charm you cannot find anyplace else. Hopping one up is good clean fun.
Did this 20 years ago, then cams, then heads, then lower bars and rear sets which required 2 into 1 exhaust, then the race version 883R slip-on which is LOUD and pops on decell. Cases look like shit and the whole thing is worth maybe $4k, but it'll power wheely in first gear. Love it.
I might be misremembering but I think the 883 has shorter gearing than the 1200 so a converted 883 is quicker than a stock 1200. They also sound great https://youtu.be/RY6TdEDVtpY?t=517
To my knowledge, this is correct.
Yes, and certain models have a cassette type transmission, so you can fiddle with ratios if you want. Sort of.
Also, you reference the Mask movie. The Mask movie I know was the dreadful Jim Carey flick, notable only for introducing my friends and I to Cameron Diaz and resulted in us all sitting silently, mouths agape in my buddy Chris’s basement when she strutted out in that red dress. Holy shit.
I had a Cameron Diaz bikini photo inside my locker in junior high. Ironically, was given to me by a female friend. How did she know I would like it so much?
she was hitting on you
or not
i have no idea
With 20+ years of hindsight, I'm pretty sure she was.
Harley's stuck. Badly.
They can't change AT ALL without losing their Harleyness.
Are we certain they’re not making more money from selling t-shirts to Boomers?
That'd be A LOT of shirts.
I enjoy seeing all the Harley guys out wearing their uniforms.
There are Harley retail stores that only sell merchandise.
"NYSE: HOG"
made me lol
"Klein is the mook who wrote this about having his foster kid yanked back away from him, probably because the agency was worried about additional tattooing taking place"
how weird do you have to be to get a child repod without getting cps called
"But now the vibe has shifted and the gravy train has come to a halt"
good. i hope they lose money. straight white christian men are very tired of being at the bottom of the pile.
"Hey, gay person, we know you’ve been riding a Harley for 24 years and have 280,000 miles on the road, but now we need you to do the pride thing"
reminds me of that south park episode lol
"It has a pretty strong manufacturing gay subculture, even"
just fabricating homos out of raw materials
"will trip all over themselves to praise the “wonderful comedy” of “Druski” humiliating and parodying Erica Kirk before her husband’s body was five months cold in the grave"
has anyone told erika kirk (not for long as shes changing her name soon) to give a shit about charlie?
"Fernando has put his head down and driven tractors to the podium"
who do i have to bribe and/or drown to get this poor man in a decent car
"They’re all still slower than a Radical SR8, but you do get a better stereo"
thats the tradeoff for being a real car that can be used every day
"It takes serious engineering to make a 200mph bike"
easier when you can just copy what already works and iterate on that
"I can’t say how fast my ZX-14R would be without the restrictor, but I can say that it gets to an indicated 185mph on Ohio freeways without anything like difficulty"
ong we need to get you a supercharger kit for that thing. 350whp at the very least
Geeze, are you trying to kill him? The man obviously has no self control when it comes to speed, err velocity.
nah hes got self control
at least enough to have not died on a 1.4l bike
Seems more likely he has enough skill to out weigh the lack of self control.
Shame he lost so much weight and i cant make a fat joke
Give me time, I'm gaining it back under the cover of lifting weights
I gain and lose basically by my stress level. Im down twenty in two months after tax season
bulking season and so on
My goal is to whittle down to 185 and claw back to 200 by packing on my lower body mass and increasing by back width. I'm down at 197 or so right now from 218. But I'm a mere 6 feet tall. So, I'm victim weight below 200.
Theres some good people who foster. God knows i coildnt do it. My kids are annoying enough but there are a lot if weirdos who do it
A shirtless Rob Halford once stood behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. He didn't even grab my ass.
shoot him a dm and ask him to finish the job
🤣
The three most important factors in real estate AND your comment:
location, location, location.
LMAO. It was at a meet & greet before a concert. They signed my Painkiller album. We were posing for a picture.
Very valuable context!
A friend in jr high worked at a pharmacy in Milwaukee and they were playing at a local club. My friend said they came in to buy cigarettes the afternoon of the show and were dressed in their leather.
Awesome.
Give me thousands more low brow American events from flyover country. Hold them all in DC so the enemies of the USA have a front row seat. It will never make up for the millions wasted on PBS, but it’s a start.
A friendly reminder to all that not one PBS or NPR station shut down after they “lost” their taxpayer funding. Just think of that whenever anyone anywhere in the media propagandizes doom and gloom on any subject. F them.
Here’s the America I want fed into the veins of American youth, relentlessly: https://xcancel.com/Trav_A_22/status/2045136218438955119#m
its so peak
I want that video shown in every American grade school every morning right after the Pledge of Allegiance. Everyday.
We would have much better young men and much better young women who would love those young men.
Imagine a society where this was regularly shown to children on network television (0:01:33 runtime): https://youtu.be/MIHvz7KTHsA
Somewhere Andrew Jackson is smiling.
I'm really never going to be in any Harley (or Indian for that matter) demographic, so it's not terrible news per se that they are coming back home. I just wish that decision (any others made by other companies) wasn't purely financial. But that would be stupid right? If you want to stay in business, not piss off the shareholders, etc. etc. you got to play that game.
This morning a small-ish local company hired me on (with benefits), and amidst all the corporate butt-fuckery I've endured and witnessed, part of me is happy. The other part is trying to come to terms with making roughly 70% less money. I am thankful to be working at all; It's more than the token unemployment breadcrumbs that are going to expire in ~2 weeks. Time to suck it up, buttercup.
I am on the fence about going to another interview I had next week - with a vast corporate empire - for a management trainee position(?), and at the outset I am required to show up in suit/tie. And I'm sure putting on a false front shiny happy people person mask wouldn't hurt either.
Easier to get a job when you have a job. Go get 'em.
Please keep us posted
I bailed essentially at the last minute. I feel like a total shitbird for doing that.
The whole ~year has been a mindfuck and I think I devalued my time to the point that I was desperately seeking anyone to say yes to me. That, and the fact that the job was a graveyard delivery route, working 4/10 or 4/12 shifts for >$20/hr. No way that was going to be sustainable (in f-ing CA) let alone good for my health.
Sounds like a wise choice.
Employers who underpay invite a degree of last-minute reneging, quitting without notice, etc.
Are we getting another Thunder Dome now that the Iran War is winding down? The points in the “Memorandum of Understanding” represent a catastrophic surrender, and make this whole undertaking something that should sink the entire Republican Party and anyone associated with Trump for the next decade.
It’s BRUTAL. The much lamented deal Trump ripped up in 2018 wasnt even this good for Iran!
i only hope this will forever prevent the us from doing isreals bidding ever again
100bn to bomb iran then 300bn to give them reparations are you fucking kidding me
Hey at least we were able to murder hundreds (thousands?) of innocent people in the process of killing one 86 year old man. That man, it must be said, has been replaced by even more hardline cohort. Who, it must also be said, had a lot for their families killed.
Surely that spells good things for future relations!
I think Trump is an absolute disgrace of a person and a fucking moron to boot. I have thought this for over a decade. Even *I* didn’t think it was possible for him to commit a blunder this bad.
This iran war was happening no matter what. They wanted it 10 years ago. Im very disappointed in trumps falling for it. What is disaster
Ripping up the JCPOA was dumb in 2018 and looks even worse now.
Trump and his cabal of the stupid, shameless, and power hungry should have to wear this around their necks for the rest of their political lives.
It’s going to destroy his otherwise positive legacy. He saved us from hilary. Ill never forget thay
I’m retired because I figured out he was going to win in the Summer of 2015 when everyone will still calling him a clown, and bet on it in the market when the S&P was only at 2000.
I really knew almost nothing about him, but when he insulted McCain and got away with it I looked into his methodology and realized he’d win.
The only defense I'll give is that Biden/Kamala's people wanted to tangle with China. We might lose the Iran conflict Vietnam style by putting $300B into subverting their society with capitalism. The Chinese would have sunk three carriers and put 150,000 servicemen into caskets before we gave up and let them have their own island.
Plus you had that ghoul Newland that wanted to square off with the Ruskies.
1) I don’t think anyone was actually going to go to war with China. No one (outside of some defense freaks and, seemingly, Israel) has that much of a death wish. China does not want a war with us. They are too smart for that, even if we are not.
2) Even if that were true, we don’t live in that reality. We live in this one where none of those people have any real power at present, and continuing to blame them gets us nowhere.
I see several possible explanations, in no particular order of likelihood or how bad/good they make Trump look:
1. He simply bought what Bibi/Mossad were selling. 'Greeted as liberators. Iraq but successful. You'll accomplish what those pussies before you didn't have the balls to do.' This makes him look gullible and foolish.
2. $250M from Miriam. Self explanatory.
3. 'The next Butler will be successful Donald. Or perhaps we will take out Barron instead.'
4. 'If you don't go in with us, we're opening with nukes.'
5. 'If you don't go in with us, we're opening with nukes but on US soil. In flyover, of course.'
Its #1
Appealing to his vanity was a chip shot. That said, he has been trolling them pretty hard today at the G7.
Says you. The Blumenthal story of Charlie Kirk’s last message to trump says it could be any of these.
The war was dumb and Trump, though he is Israel’s #1 shabbos goy, was dumb to fall for doing it. Anyone could have seen the result from inventorying the competitive landscape honestly and some people lied to Zion Don ro get this done.
That said, pretending that a former hooker (who blew people she had never met before in semi-public NorCal orgy clubs before being elevated to the VICE presidency) would say no to the very same people including her Jewish husband is the height of delusion.
This war was getting done. The question is will we learn anything, I’m guessing no, nothing
Yeah I think so. And I hope this is the last time we go to war for Israel.
Sucks to go to war for the Jews but also I don’t hate bombing brown people so
if its free and involves zero potential casualties of americans then sure but thats not the case
“Why not both” meme
IM KIDDING RONNIE
Well, if we're going after rogue nuclear armed terror states...
Henry over here trying to nuke the comment section!
none of us here signed the nuclear proliferation treaty so it checks out
So you’re suggesting bombing israel then rather than the country literally named “Aryan,” correct?
No way. Lebanonsraum will continue unabated and the various Likudniks are doubling down. If I were Donald I'd avoid buying any pagers or cell phones.
lol @ Lebanonsraum
Nice one Sherm.
AMERICA FIRST! NO NEW WARS! -> AMERICA FIRST? NO, NEW WARS!
(after https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/works-on-contingency-no-money-down , not original to me)
I'm not an expert, but I wish that, having gotten involved, we'd finish the job (admittedly, I don't have a firm "defintion of done" right now).
Indont want ground troops in iran nor do inwamt to nuke them. The war was always unwinnanle
You need to turn autocorrect back on. :).
Sean A
Good ol' Miguel Sanchez
COMPLETE AND TOTAL REGIME CHANGE
The cool thing is that Iran has now learned that they can just put up a toll both on the Strait or Hormuz any time they like!
Excellent bit of 4D Chess from DJT and Alias Vance.
It was extremely magnanimous of Trump and Bibi to hand over control of the world’s oil supply to Iran.
Such a kind apology after all these years of animosity!
North America produced more oil in 2025 than the Middle East did, and the trend is only going our way. There's an astounding amount of oil in Central America that will be exploited soon which will go a long way to replacing any disrupted Middle Eastern oil production. What Trump has actually done is thrown a monkey wrench in the neocons' ambitions, and that mean's Israel's ambitions.
To be fair I believe they are splitting it with Oman in a pseudo Panama/Suez arrangement.
It's the old Polish joke: A Pollack walks into a bar holding a huge pile of dogshit in his hands and says 'Hey guys, look what I almost stepped in!'
I never thought of wokist DEI as a cover for offshoring but that makes sense. One thing you can be sure the woke crowd cares no one whit for middle America, we are deplorable heathen to them.
As to hareley, good thing they recognize again the core tenets of their durable appeal, made in USA being a part of this. However I hope that their newfound "pride" does not trap them into only making aircooled barges. Id still take an aircooled 750 tracker looking bike that Harley has serialy failed to build despite the inspiration from stroz and others. . . But as Triumph has proven an inspired bike company can remain true to heritage and still rollout a range of bikes that appeals to a wider demographic. The sprtester S was the usal lame non rider corporate cliniced attempt. It looks great imo, and its only short of mid controlls brakes and suspension from being desirable to those who ride something other than aircooled v twins for whom it has no appeal either.
Dont get me wrong, i love my 1200 sportster, its a modern day vincent that starts with a button, well made and full of charisma. It has crap brakes, you can lteraly feel the headstock bend under "hard" braking and these is near zero suspension, which is an upgrade on a hardtail. Its a modern antique, which is really cool, but there is so much mroe Harley could and should do. Yeah we have the pan America, but thats just one bike.
As for the UFC fight my take is slighty different. The whole crowd who applauded the nude and semi nude spectacle that was the Biden Trans gay gathering at the white house, has a problem with a UFC fight as unbecoming the presidency/ As much as trump seems to drop the ball these days, his ability to upset our "betters" and poke his finger in their eye makes his presidency one slaw rolling orgasim for some of us.
BTW gay people I know tell me they are not into the spectacle or into self singling out. The gay motorcyclists I know are lesbians and their motto seems to be that their sexual orientation should not dictate everything else about their life conforming to some marketing idea of what gay is.
I guess I'm nonconformist (tongue in cheek) because on a harley i wear a full face arai helmet, not some pudding bowl fake biker thing. I know i shouldn't judge the sunday ride fake badass biker dentist on a harley but I do. It is but one hobby and we should accept all comers, but still.
“an upgrade on a hardtail” LOL.
I think certainly an aircooled sportster needs to be appreciated in context.
It’s more modernized antique than modern bike and all the more glorious for what it is. There is no point in expecting good brakes but they are good compared to drums, or expecting anything approaching modern suspension rather one sound just appreciate there is some. It is modern in that it’s reliable and starts ona button .
My 1986 Yamaha 4cyl ujm is objectively superior in almost every way which misses the point.
Most of us are normal people who aren't trying to make an entire personality out of our queerness. Most trans people are trying to pass as their gender and not to take up too much space, and most gay people aren't out in public wearing butt plugs and harnesses in public parades. What you have is a minority of very outspoken people who take up all the attention and make a spectacle. It's hardly the most egregious thing going on, but it's pretty goofy.
Anyone making a spectacle of themselves is annoying and I don’t want to be around them.
What they are making a spectacle out of is secondary.
I agree. People who dominate an experience with their gender or sexual orientation are about as annoying as straight men who talk about how much pussy they’re (not) getting. It’s similar behavior, on opposite sides of a spectrum…and I avoid both of them like the plague.
Just stahp 🛑
Ah yes, we have plenty of (married) ALPHA MALES on ACF who love to talk about how MANLY and TOUGH they are.
Same thing.
I haven't investigated this group, but it sounds promising: https://www.gaysagainstgroomers.com/about
Im a millennial who is not anti gay. Religiously, i disagree but we all have our demons. But the modern gay movement has completely ruined any support i have especially with the current going after teenage kids to turn them. It will cost me 20k per year for private schools because i do not trust illinois legislators to keep it out of the schools
You’ve pretty much summed up what my freind Debbie says.
Iwas trying to find some word other than normal because that slips into normie with its own meanings.
But yeah Basicaly normal people who happen to be gay
I’m not even sure what the intersection between gay and trans is. Historically both were ostracized but beyond that what’s the connection
I know a few guys from the ZZR-1200 forum who went to ZX-14's and got them over 200mph. It became quite the thing and there was a point in time I was thinking about doing it, because I've never done 200mph on a motorcycle.
The fastest ive been on a bike was 155. That was enough.
I've been over 160 a couple of times. According to GPS 167 is my max.
On the right road, it's not really scary. But I think I'm too old to do that anymore!
On the right road, i would probably do it. Not a lot of right road here
I hear you on that.
Down and back on I-88, no? Check for cops, circle back, go for it.
I did 155 ish on i88 right before naperville road. If i went to dekalb on the r1, yes but i never wanted to go out of my way to do it. I think street triple top speed is maybe 160
Coming down out of the hills on I-80 after midnight when there's no cops or anybody else on the 3-lane road was one of the better places. Out in Eastern Oregon during the week there was another good place, though I forget where exactly now. Was out there on a trip with friends.
355 is great but cops police it at 1am. Thats where i got my 40 over
That's how I did it on my ZX-14R, but on a stretch of I-5. One loop to make sure it's clear, then a few more loops to stretch the legs. Due to traffic, my best was 175 indicated on the speedo, and that was slightly up hill. I was aiming for the speed limiter, but never got there. Interestingly I don't feel at all inclined to try again.
[ROAD SUGGESTION REMOVED BY USER SINCE THIS IS A PUBLIC POST]
The reality is im not going out of my way to do it. So the right road I would be on
Same
I got my 1978 GS750 up to 110 one night on a desolate stretch of highway 6 in Texas. That’s when the voltage regulator failed, all the lights went out, and flames came out from under the seat.