Jack M

Word. Skiing/snowboarding is a wholly un-green thing to do. A ski resort spends millions of dollars a year on energy to keep it covered with groomed snow, to haul people to the top, and to keep those people warm, fed, and illuminated at night. Skiers and boarders spend hundreds or thousands of dollars per car to get to and from the resorts. I'm sure this is a partial accounting. This does not bother me. This crowd getting holier-than-thou about the environment doesn't quite add up. Who here has painted their roof white to reduce global warming?

At least it's still about $1.75 cheaper than it is in Europe.

In 2002 all Burton Alpine product was moved out of the main catalog and put into a separate catalog. That was the first year of the Speed, 03 was the second. However in 2003, the graphics were a light gray background with a red blood splatter, like this: So maybe you've got some kind of limited edition or something. Actually it could be a prototype. Every Burton prototype I've ever seen says what year it is. I've never seen the year in the graphics of any production board. Too bad they didn't use those yellow graphics, I like them better than the bloodbath board, even if they sort of look like Volkl.

Sorry to hear it Randy. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I just got those from a google image search. Here is a pic of an FZR400RR. Pretty sweet. Apparantly the trick thing to do was to shoehorn an FZR600 motor into the 400's frame, because the 400 had an aluminum frame whereas the 600 had a steel frame.

Yamaha FZR400 Honda CB-1 (also 400cc)

hippies.

Funny, I was in Missoula for a wedding this weekend when you wrote that. Seems like a real nice town and a great place to play, if a bit "crunchy". Snowbowl is 15 minutes from town, has 2800' vert, and 85% expert terrain (not sure what that means for carving). And then in the spring there's whitewater nearby and legendary fly fishing.

I'll second the beemer. You may stand a better chance of finding a cheaper used F650GS or whatever else the non-CS version has been called. And if you come across an Aprilia Pegaso, it's basically the same bike.

Suzuki GS500 Kawasaki Ninja 500 Suzuki Savage (aka Boulevard S40)

I think anything modern over 500cc is too big for a petite female beginner. The FZ6 basically has the R6 motor fer pete's sake! I'd strongly suggest checking out the Kawasaki EX500 (Ninja 500) for a sporty bike, Suzuki GS500 for a standard, and Suzuki Savage for a cruiser (a 650 single with a very low seat - yeah it's over 500 but it's not exactly modern). The 2005 GS500 has a sporty fairing now, and perhaps a more forward riding position to go with it, but older models don't. If even those are too big, they make a Ninja 250, a Nighthawk 250, and I believe Suzuki has a 250 cruiser. If you have to have a Ducati, look no further than the 620cc bikes. If she flat out refuses to get a true beginner bike, I'd say Suzuki SV650 (not the S), hands down. Or if you can find a used Hawk, they're cool bikes.

is Killington open yet?

TD-0.5

The '97-'98 ('99?) model years have known issues with the head, leading to major repairs or engine replacement. My highly-trusted Subaru mechanic/used Suby salesman won't even buy those years to sell on his lot. In 1997, they changed from a two valve head to four, and had serious problems. I'm not sure if it was solved in '99 or '00.

Hmmm..... perhaps a dating game??? We could call it "Courting Carvers"!

IMO the only use for an SUV is if you postively need 3rd row seating and off-road capability, which is possible if you're a skiing family and your kids want to bring friends and your cabin is at the end of a long dirt road. Otherwise, I think they are overweight and generally misused. The extra weight increases your odds of sliding off the road, and also rolling over. That said, I am a big fan of the Outback. I really don't like the Forrester. It's the wannabe Outback, and I don't like the look of it. And I think it's a favorite among lesbians. "Not that there's anything wrong with that" - it's just not the image I'm after. I would love an Outback XT or Legacy GT Wagon, but I would definitely chip that thing as soon as I got it. The stock fuel consumption is abysmal. I believe there are chips/flashes out there that allow you to change power maps on the fly - like from economy to sport or valet or whatever. I'd research that heavily. I'd probably go for the turbo over the 6cyl because turbos afford more flexibility with software. For example, I could chip my VW Passat and get 38hp more out of the 1.8 liter turbo engine, taking it to 208hp. The V6 can only get like a 12hp gain from a chip. Speaking of VW, you might also consider a Passat GLS wagon with 4-motion (all wheel drive). But if you need a little extra ground clearance, the Outback wins. Long term cost of ownership on the Outback might be a bit lower too, but if you buy cars every 75-100k miles, it's probably a wash. Very happy with my Passat, very comfortable ride and the 1.8T in stock trim has good pep. But my next car will probably be an Outback. One drawback to a turbo is having to buy premium gas - which really stings right now. But I think the suby H6 and VW V6 need premium too...?

this officially makes Donek a "Mom & Pop" operation!

only the most avid skiers have any appreciation for the quiver.

(snap snap snap, head weave) I am an expert at talking friends into big ticket purchases. Snowboards, guitars, motorcycles, cars... Speaking of big tickets, anyone want a pair of tix to the Rolling Stones in Boston on Sunday?

It will be a carving machine compared to the Feelgood. Why spend all that money on gear and trips from the gulf to CO, only to ride a compromise board. Get what you want and enjoy yourself!

How is the outward pressure reduced? The centripetal force is not reduced if the bike is going at the same speed/radius. There's a picture of Nicky Hayden doing that, granted his elbow is on the red & white track curbing, which is raised slightly, but yeah it's cool. Also, above you said the center of mass of a bicycle is down very close to the road. I think you meant the roll axis is down near the road? Surely the center of mass of a bicycle can't be any lower than the wheel axles, right? Or higher...? And you also said that due to the castor effect, the front wheel of a moto/bicycle would flip around backwards if it didnt' have the bike behind it. I highly doubt that. Doesn't the trail prevent that? The tire contacts the road behind the pivot point, so it follows or "trails" the pivot and is therefore stable. If the fork had negative trail (which would be "lead" I guess) then it would be unstable and would flip around backwards. otherwise, good points and thanks for the cool diagrams! And I was out on my moto yesterday, weaving back and forth in my lane at about 35mph with no hands on the bars, and it was quite easy to do. I wonder at what speed does throwing your weight around have little effect.

Looks like it would be a good BX board. I continue to believe that anyone who does not spend at least 40% of their time in the pipe or is not serious about doing fakie tricks or riding fakie should be on a BX board.

Are you saying that to turn a bicycle to the right with no hands on the bars, you must first lean to the left slightly? I can't imagine that being true.

I agree. I think what the Kieth Code experiment is trying to prove is that you can't turn a motorcycle without bar input in a reasonable amount of time when the bike is traveling over a certain speed. Presumably, this is due to the gyroscopic effect of the wheel resisting the imbalance from you hanging off to one side. But I really doubt the gyro effect could keep the bike upright forever. Eventually the bike will turn. I think.

http://bomber.smugmug.com/ECES