This is how we roll...

[jangro]

> faster than you can crap yourself

I try to avoid that at any speed.

[dogboy]

>Germans

[Travoli]

>2008 Ducati 998cc Monster

My buddy is convinced that this would make a great starter bike.  Who am I to argue?   

[Rupert]

Not all pics of my toys.

The Fazer is the same, but with a nicer exhaust.  Best bike I ever had.  Too much for me.

The Scott I take out at night in the winter, love it to bits. 

The boat is for August, but we try to play once a week on a pond near here.

Travoli... listen to your buddy, sounds like you want to

I do find I go alot slower now than I ever used too... age I guess. When toys start to need to be "comfortable"  you know it is downhill from here I reckon.  Yes comfortable is now important for me.

Dogboy... do you get ANY comfort on that sled? When do you get suspension ?

[dogboy]

>a great starter bike

Well, that white 2007 in the first post was my first street bike:


...but it was my 5th bike overall (I got my first minibike, a green Honda 50, when I was 4) ...and I wrecked it, twice, without anyone's help:)  I drove it about 6 months and then had the front end wash out on me on sand in Cali, getting on the 101.  It was at night, my tires were cold, and I had the bike tipped over a little too much on sandy pavement... it just slid away from me.  I was in full gear, and all I had to do was change the puck on the bike:


The second time I wasn't so lucky and I totaled it when I hit oil, the ground, a car: 


...and then limped away in anguish, with nerve damage from my shoulder to my wrist, back in May. I'm 90% recovered now, although I was on the new Tricolore literally as soon as I could grip the bar again. But that's what it is like with bikes... you either get back up and get on again, or you sell it... assuming you get up at all:) 

So I honestly don't know what to say, if you are serious.  It makes no sense in general, and that bike in particular.  Notice I didn't argue when they said those things should be illegal?  I think the same thing.  Motorcycles are like heroine.  And technology is getting beyond us.  And the more you ride, the more you horsepower you want... and, for me, a hypercompetitive control freak, everything culminates in that bike.  I'm on crack when I ride it.  It is as subtle as a bag of hammers and just as friendly.  It is looking for an excuse to chew you up and spit you off.  I sincerely have have trouble keeping the front end down first through third, when I really get on it, and I've never had it up to top speed in 6th gear, even in the everglades, reaching 145+mph... I still wasn't there and not really getting close either.  Mind blowing.

But you should have the white one when I switched out the stock pipes for the REALLY loud full Termi race system and ECU/Open air box... which bumped me up into 145bph range:

...it was an unbelievable sound that was like rolling thunder. Crazy.



...and then I added some CRG Levers and bar end mirrors:


...and then wrecked it a week later:

[dogboy]

>do you get ANY comfort on that sled?
hehehe that's more difficult than you think to answer:)  If you seek comfort, I think you might be hard pressed to find much, if any, of that in the conventional sense.  But it does exist in the relative sense.  That sled you see there is a custom sled, built to my specs.  I built it out of green Alaskan Birch and wrapped it with 150 braided tuna leader.



...the black splint is runner plastic I jury rigged to fix my rail I broke in an accident in a race, so I wouldnt be DQed, but it's still beautiful to me:)

[Rupert]

Jason... you have to find time to play.....   and you can sleep when you are dead....


Love the way you have the bike in the kitchen Dogboy    My push bike still gets in there, but not the fazer.... familly would draw the line there.

[dogboy]

Wait, not all these are mine... the Ferrari, AMG, Vette are my father's, in PA.  I drive them when I go home.  We have more. (Even a few helicopters and fixed wing aircraft over the years, but no boats, besides my little 2 man zodiac.)  The trucks and the bikes are/were mine, though.  The dogs, I got out of 4 years ago, and I sold the last truck to my dad (which is why it is still in the background in some shots.) Personally, I currently drive our old 1985 500SEL, with 175k miles on it (when I need a car in FL) and my bike is my daily driver.  (You can see the two in my garage in the video.)  My dad typically hands down his 'drivers' to me and my sister.  Before this I had a blk/blk Saab 93 turbo convertible w 95k.

As far as work, this year I worked for a silicon valley based social media oriented tech company for 4 months, out of my house, as an independent sales consultant, and worked the last 5 getting some stake and a little pocket money in a destination art print gallery site, that is still under wraps. Also took a course online at Stanford in Strategic Decisions last month, which sucked, and got 'refunded' (a much politer form of expulsion, online) after I gave the President my... how should we say... 'unvarnished feedback' 

The latest thing going on is I have a meeting with a well backed local company that 'monetizes domains', and for the first time ever, we all talked the same talk, so I think we might have a serious match here.  They are also are big into online charities, so they will appreciate my non-profit efforts as well, and I might even push to just apply my self in this area. Meeting is on the 23rd with the Founder and his CEO, so 2011 has promise.  I really want to get back into the game, but I want to play it at a much higher level, and I need to get out of my house again and socialize more.

I also have to admit, I was sick for a few months this year, as well.  Truthfully, the dogs didn't end well, and we all ended up sick (and in a few cases, dead) and I still get knocked on my ass every year, once or twice, when I get a little cold (or I get stressed out, or in a motorcycle accident, etc:) so I spent a good bit of time sleeping and researching diets.  I'm lucky to say I think I figured out quite a bit of what the doctors couldn't solve last year at this same time, so overall I'm in a better state, overall, and am ready for 2011.

[Rupert]

Jason, I know you know it, its just that your play is ....  well, with the internet....

[dogboy]

>the bike in the kitchen Dogboy

DUCATI is in Da HaaaOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rupert]

Mad   Good luck with the new role.. sounds fun.

[dogboy]

>you can sleep when you are dead
That's really it, right there.  It's just a perspective thing.  Life:Death::Half Full:Half Empty. There is one side that says you are going to kill yourself and the other side reminds you that no one ever gets out alive.

...where's pmac when you need him?  I had a little RMK550, but he's got the real deal.

[Rupert]

There is one side that says you are going to kill yourself and the other side reminds you that no one ever gets out alive.

See, I think you push harder than me Dogboy:)  A part of me envies you.  The other part enjoys being alive.

  I NEVER think I am anywhere near to killing myself.  I lost my enthusiasm for that when I watched a friend fall off a hill over here.  Scarfell Pike its called.  He cart wheeled down through the cloud base below.  I thought he was dead.  He Survived.  He broke everything and now has 4 kids, and seems to delight in avoiding Avalanches in Norway where he now lives.

I gave up trying to climb at that point (Actually a bit later, when I finally realized I was to scared to do it properly anymore ) 

I still love the rush though. Love to try a Ducati  Monster some day.

[dogboy]

>you push harder than me
I feel the same way too! That's why I was cautioning about starting the addiction in the first place.  Dogs are worse.  I don't know... both are just crazy at that level, if you have no sense of moderation:) 

[dogboy]

I saw this last month on US1:



...if they make another Miami Vice, they should consider this car.