[gremlin]

..............I'm completely motorcycle obsessed.....so being able to shop for a second person is really too much.  At the end of the day, i do all this shopping and she's only half as engaged in this whole process as me.

She'll probably pick something that wasn't even in my top 5..........

**COFF**COFF**

A word from the (now) wise.......

I got SWMBO'd all worked up and took her bike shopping.  She chose a pretty little Hyosung GV250 cruiser style bike.  Studied up, got her learner permit, and has put a total of 10 miles on the bike over the last 2 years......

[mattsz]

I got SWMBO'd all worked up and took her bike shopping.  She chose a pretty little Hyosung GV250 cruiser style bike.  Studied up, got her learner permit, and has put a total of 10 miles on the bike over the last 2 years......

You gotta have something in the shed to keep your B5 company when you're not riding it!

[heloego]

Gremlin, that's a nasty **COFF** you have there. 
Maybe a bit of ram air from a nice ride will help.

[Burddog]

I just returned from a road trip on the BMW to Billings MT for the BMW International rally.  About a 5 hour ride for us from Sturgis. Also went over Beartooth pass . What a wonderful ride.

It was a good reminder for me that no matter how much experience you've got, road conditions can cause a wreck any time.  The final bridge on the pass just about caused me to dump the bike.  They have steel expansion joints to the bridge, and it had been raining slightly.  It was a sweeping left corner, and I was probably doing 35 or 40 mph... as soon as I hit that wet steel, the rear tire slipped very quickly.  It slipped hard enough that my foot came off the right side peg and hit the ground which caused the bike to correct upright quickly.  I was able to keep it up, but man... it got my attention.

Things like that make me un-enthusiastic about my wife riding... but I guess life is full of danger.  We're at risk every time we get in our cars too.

Not sure what that adds to this discussion but that was my weekend.

[Burddog]

I should add that my Dad was riding about a car length in front of me on the Beartooth pass.  His rear tire slid out on him as well.  Simply dangerous.  If anyone ever takes this ride...BEWARE on those bridges. They don't need to be icy.......just wet on that steel expansion joint.  It was like hitting black ice in a corner. Thankfully they are only 3 or 4 ft wide.

[suitcasejefferson]

I got both my daughters into dirt bikes at an early age, and they loved it. They both became very good riders without any real injuries. ATGATT for them. My ex wife hated motorcycles, even refusing to let me have one. But she did not try to stop them from riding, because it would strain the already poor relationship with them. The oldest one wanted to get into racing MX. Even I said no to that. Some of the worst injuries I've had in my life were from racing MX as a teenager. And they weren't doing triple backflips back then. IMO, anyone who does something like that truly has a death wish. And they will eventually get their wish. Or worse.

Shortly after she turned 18, the youngest daughter decided she wanted to try street riding. Again I was against it, having about a zillion close calls, but she promised to stay out of town, and that we could go for rides together out on rural roads. She is on the short side at 5'4", so I got her a nice used Honda Rebel and a new helmet. To avoid spending another $1000, I elected to forgo the super expensive gear, and just made sure she had a heavy jacket, jeans, gloves, and boots. I myself am not an ATGATT rider, but this was my daughter.  She got her permit, then, as I suspected, lost interest before it ran out (6 months in AZ) I was out about $2000 for the Rebel and helmet. Still have the helmet. I played with the little Rebel (meaning I spent money on it) for a couple of years, then sold it. I was actually glad she lost interest. Saved me a lot of lost sleep

About slippery things, one of the worst things about AZ is the slippery gooey stuff they use to fill cracks in the roads with up north. They have a large tank truck full of this goo, and a crew walking behind it with wands spraying it in the cracks (it is sprayed into the cracks hot, then solidifies to a point, but it is still plenty slippery. I've almost lost it more than one leaned over around a curve when I hit a patch of this stuff. As far as I can tell, it never hardens, and the state admits they have never done any traction tests on it, since the roads were apparently built for cars, not motorcycles

[Ice]

That crack filler is a kind of asphalt.

 The filled crack is known by various names in different places. Tar snake and tire snake are two that come to mind.

[ROVERMAN]

The wonderful thing about the roads in SE MI is that they are so rough and full of bike eating pot holes that i can't really go fast enough to have slippy issues. . All joking aside, i have actually noticed a drop off in motorcycling around here. The weather has been nice so i have to conclude that scanning the road constantly for massive holes is taking the fun out of riding.
Roverman.