Learned'd VIII: Less Bewbs, Same Nonsense

[MinisterofDOOM]

They think she had a mild stroke,seems like the cancer has moved to her head.

Wow!

Best of luck to both of you!

[frapjap]

Some comic relief for the day

[sx moneypit]

They think she had a mild stroke,seems like the cancer has moved to her head.

Wow!

Best of luck to both of you!

Thank you Chris!

[RCA]

Spammers are getting more and more aggressive. NICO mods are doing a great job cleaning it up atm.

Well done guys!

[Razi]

Thanks!
I try to swat em as soon as I see em.
They really want us to check out their kitchens.

[TurboSauce]

:O Razzafraz. Hai *blushes*

[Razi]

Suuup

[MinisterofDOOM]

Was passed by a Ferrari 328 in town yesterday. I hate that, from the front, all mid-engine '80s Ferraris look extremely similar. Every time I see the nose of one I get excited and think it's a 512BB, but it never actually is.

[Kompresshun]

I don't mind the 328, but i'm more of a 308 guy personally.

I just got done looking at things I shouldn't

[MinisterofDOOM]

I am getting more and more serious about buying a (possibly new) bike lately myself. I've started to realize that bikes are so cheap that even if I finance one, I will probably save as much on gas as I end up paying for the thing. Most of my driving is within a 5 mile radius these days, except when I'm going for joyrides. So a bike would make a LOT of sense. I've been eying the BMW F800GS Adventure, but it's nearly twice as much as an XR650L which is still a great bike for what I need. The Beamer would be a lot more highway-friendly, though. But...I LOVE my '84 XR500, so I can't imagine I'd dislike its modern descendant with disc brakes and electric start (big singles are tedious to kickstart).

There are only 3 '80s Ferraris that matter in my book.

1: F40


2: 512TR


3: 512BB

[Kompresshun]

I never have really wanted one until recently and for similar reasons. My daily commute is about 15 mi and I don't go many places when I'm not with my wife. It's insane how cheap new bikes are... used makes little sense unless you want a specific model. That Honda CBR500R in the pic is $6499 brand new.

For me my Ferraris are the 250 GTO, 250 California, 288 GTO, 308 GTS Targa, 550 Marenello, and the 458. I like a lot of Ferraris though.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I like a lot of Ferraris though.

Me, too! I'm kind of a Ferrari fanboy, to be honest.

That list was '80s only. If we're looking all around...

250 GTE, 575M, and F12 top the list. Fairly decent span. I tend to prefer my Italian horses with their engines in the front, but that doesn't mean I'd say no to a mid-engine model.

As for the 458, though...as fantastic as it is, I'd rather have an MP4-12C. I think I might take a P1 over a LaFerrari if they ever actually MAKE the P1.

[nissangirl74]

Thanks for the condolences guys.She is able to stand up now,but her mind is still a little foggy.She might get to leave the hospital in a few days but she is going to need some short term help at home i believe.

Prayers are with you.

[frapjap]

Good morning folks!
Had a good weekend, showed Jesda the Boston area yesterday. There needs to be more time in a day!

[WDRacing]

Funny you mention bikes Chris, I've been looking at the 250 CRFl. Ideal for where we're moving pretty soon. I've wanted an on/off road type for about as long as I can remember.

These are only $4999ish.

[Bubba1]

[
250 GTE, 575M, and F12 top the list. .

As for the 458, though...as fantastic as it is, I'd rather have an MP4-12C. I think I might take a P1 over a LaFerrari if they ever actually MAKE the P1.

My Ferrari list is 330America (think 250GTE with 4 liter V12 instead of 3 liter), 330 P4 (think ultra sexy lemans racer), 250GTO.

Next tier: 275GTB4, F40, 275GTS-4 NART (convertible), 250GT California spyder (the Ferris bueller car), and the Daytona.

I'm a Ferrari purist, must be a V12 have a third pedal. That excludes V8 Magnum PI stuff 308/328 from the 80's and anything new.

[Kompresshun]

I actually love the F12 more than the 458, I just had a brain fart and couldn't remember the model name at the time. I appreciate the pure Ferrari's, but i'm not biased towards them. There are some that I just don't care for, but i'd enjoy driving any of them given the opportunity.

Funny you mention bikes Chris, I've been looking at the 250 CRFl. Ideal for where we're moving pretty soon. I've wanted an on/off road type for about as long as I can remember.

I looked at the Honda CBR500R and the Honda Shadow 750 Phantom this weekend. Both of which come in under $9,000.

I keep wussing out of getting one though. I get scared of the obvious dangers and don't know that i'd truly enjoy it, since i'd probably be paranoid most of the time. I've talked myself out of one about five times already in the past year. Plus it's very impractical in our current lifestyle, so I might be able to use it 2-3 times a week at best.

[Hijacker]

Morning guys!

So I got my SPL sphericals in last night and they're a b**** to get in via vise or c clamp. Put them in the freezer last night and it's still a pain. Gonna take the knuckles and bearings to a shop today and see about getting them pressed in.

[WDRacing]

New parts posts require images!

Are you missing a Magnaflow hat by chance?

[Hijacker]

I can oblige



My S14 non-ABS 5 lug hubs arrived at the dealership yesterday as well. It was like christmas!



And I finally have all my hardware stocked up and ready to swap my GKTech knuckles if they ever get here.



I need to decide if I want to stick with hard rubber bushings for the FLCA or put in a spherical bearing.

[WDRacing]

Got spherical everywhere else right? Might as well stay consistent, unless cost is prohibitive.

When I rebuild mine next year I'm going all rubber. Cheap and it works as good as I'll ever need it to. I've read too many ugly stories about poly and sphere's are pricey. I'll probably suck it up and have a shop do them all. That way I don't end up with a 240 in pieces for over a year because I don't feel like dealing with it.

[Hijacker]

the rears are going to be full spheres, but I might end up sticking with hard rubber for the RLCA just because there's no good option to replace the factory bushing with a spherical. I'm putting SPL T/C rods up front, so the only rubber would be the FLCA bushing. I know the LCA bushings front and rear would clobber precision once a lateral load is put on the suspension, but hard rubber should reduce that sloppiness a lot. It just seems inconsistent to put sphericals in all my links, but leave the control arms with rubber. I'm no where near done with the suspension, so I've got time to decide. Heck, I might be able to get some QAs that fit the stock locations if I'm lucky.

[elwesso]

Got spherical everywhere else right? Might as well stay consistent, unless cost is prohibitive.

When I rebuild mine next year I'm going all rubber. Cheap and it works as good as I'll ever need it to. I've read too many ugly stories about poly and sphere's are pricey. I'll probably suck it up and have a shop do them all. That way I don't end up with a 240 in pieces for over a year because I don't feel like dealing with it.

I agree with you. I have mostly poly/solid on my Q and it's overall more hassle then it's worth. The ride suffers, and eventually they start getting noisy and may even lock up. I originally went that route so I'd "never have to replace a bushing again", and as it turns out it's way more expensive and troublesome then just going with OEM stuff to begin with.

Damn those engineers, maybe they know what they're talking about.

[Hijacker]

The S13 is no longer a daily, and I plan on running KW coilovers. They should gel well. I decided against poly a while ago due to issues they have fairly quickly after initial break in.

[Razi]

Damn.
Those SPL sphericals.

[Hijacker]

I'm sorry, Custom Care Care of York, VA. I couldn't hear you over me saving $150 dollars not having you do 30 minutes of work.





$150 to press in a few bearings is ridiculous. Picked this little 12 ton up on Craigs for a song. Less than half what the shop wanted to charge. Now if the kids will give me more than 5 minutes alone, I might be able to use the damned thing.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Funny you mention bikes Chris, I've been looking at the 250 CRFl. Ideal for where we're moving pretty soon. I've wanted an on/off road type for about as long as I can remember.

These are only $4999ish.

Since we've got Corben Dallas MultiChris going on, and we're all talking about bikes, I'll just go with this even if it was for Doppelganger.

I'd probably be happy enough with a 250, except that the frames tend to be too small for me. Which is why I love my XR500 so much. It fits PERFECTLY. So comfortable to ride. Exactly the right ergonomics.

Unfortunately, this timely review popped up on Jalopnik yesterday:
http://rideapart.jalopnik.com/rideapart ... -513823098

So maybe the 650 ISN'T the bike I need. I'm even taller than the reviewer, with much longer legs (36'' inseam). It's hard enough to find pants and cars that fit...silly that I'd have the same problem with motorcycles.

I'm not QUITE as worried about the tire complaint, considering that I'd be doing more on-road stuff. I've always been kind of disappointed in how un-confidence-inspiring most dirt tires manage to be on asphalt. So I guess this is just a switcheroo on that front. I also wonder if the reviewer just wasn't used to that much torque. The XR500 makes gobs of torque and also has a stupid short first gear (you don't even need throttle to launch, just let out the clutch, even on steep hills) and I'm a lightweight scrawny kid and basically learned to ride offroad with that thing without much trouble. I've only dropped it once (while moving, anyway...it's so easy to ride that sometimes I forget that it weighs so damn much, and when I stop I fail to brace adequately and it just goes over...hahaha).
But the XR500's tires have never scared me, so they might just be better. In fact, I had a BLAST riding the thing in some goey mudflats last summer, getting so sideways the driftastic JDM folks would be jealous, and those tires kept right up with me. My legs were covered in grey mud and it might have been the most fun I've ever had on two wheels.


Honestly, the thing that bothers me the most is that the XR650L has no kickstarter. I know I said that kickstarting big singles is tedious, but I'll take tedious over stuck ANY DAY of the week. As I said before, I'm a scrawny lightweight and even when I was scrawnier and lighterweight I was able to kickstart the XR500 (in fact I'm generally the only one the bike will start for...picky damn thing). As long as there's a compression release and you're not stupid enough to abort the kick halfway through, it should be entirely doable. Just less ideal than electric on a daily basis.
I guess I just need to test-ride one. I can stand all day on the XR500 (and, in fact, I do, especially in the twisties, as it helps dramatically lower the COG on such a heavy bike).

[Kompresshun]

I think I'm most interested in the Honda CBR500R and the Suzuki SV650 right now. I also like the adventure bikes a lot too though, but I'm probably going to whatever is the most comfortable and doesn't scare the crap outta me in the end. I plan on going to take the motorcycle safety course in the next month or so, then going on and getting my license. If I don't chicken out by then, I'll probably pull the trigger on one in a few months.

[Hijacker]

What's up, bishez?

[frapjap]

Mornin' Bart.

Anyone have quick cures to quiet down a mild exhaust leak for inspection? Header wrap perhaps?