[El_Flaco]

Re: Passion and Seattle cynicism

You're right, I should just head out to the local range, buy a few boxes of 9mm and blast that stress away!

Until I get a chance to do that, I'll just keep hoping and/or praying that Initiative 51 and the Monorail passed. Yay transportation! Down with crappy Seattle transportation options (or lack thereof).

 

[El_Flaco]

Yup, one and the same.

Writing for The Daily probably isn't helping me develop a healthy, sunshiney world outlook, but it's fun. I write for "Intermission" (the Arts & Entertainment section), so I'll try to get something motorcycle-related in there some day. I'm making progress; the focus for next week is "Travel" so I'm writing about snowmobiling. Hey, (almost) anything with an engine has entertainment potential!

So what do you ride, and where do you hide out on campus? I've probably seen your bike around.

 

[El_Flaco]

Re: Teacher misconceptions

As my Great-Grandfather once said, "exaggeration for effect." Makes for a better story. Example: was it a fun party, or was CRAZY with wild shenanigans occurring non-stop? I'd better stop before I leak out all my good writing and storytelling secrets. (*Snort,* that wouldn't take long...)

 

[SLICKGS]

As I sit here this morning, the tv weather folks predict 3 successive waves of ever-increasing rainfall for us here in the Northwest. All I can say is welcome back home! Yes it is dreary but all that moisture is what makes this area so green and lush. And it is that very rainfall which makes the clear and sunny days so glorious up here. Unfortunately for you, you weren't here to enjoy what was all in all a very nice summer with lots of opportunities to ride without rain gear! The rainy days we're now experiencing are the price we have to pay for the really nice days we have in the spring and summer. You just missed out on the payoff! Hanging out down south with all that smog and congestion is sort of a mind-tricking experience. Sure you get days in the 70's and 80's, but could you actually see the hills surrounding the LA basin? I think not! I fly into the LA area a lot and if you look at the hills you can see what decades of smog have done to the hillside vegetation. The appearance is much like toilet bowl ring! I concur with several of the other responses to your posting, go out and blow up some 7.62! Nothing like gunfire to clear the head up! As far as 999 Ducati styling, I haven't had the opportunity to check one out in person. The articles I have read though, lead me to believe the question is really over form versus function. Every article says the bike is at the very least as good if not better functionally than its predecessors. Additionally, the ergos are such that guys my size (6'0 and 230#) can actually stand to be on the bike for more than 25 minutes at a time. This brings the bike into the realm of possibility (just barely given the bucks involved as well as those interesting desmo valve adjustment intervals!). The only negative comments are about its looks (and sounds). OK, I've never seen a 916 Ducati so I don't have a reference to judge it by, but are prospective buyers planning on hanging their bikes in a prominent place on the den wall or are they going to ride the things? Anyway, that's the opinion of a guy that got a BMW R1150GS for its capabilities and ergos.

L. Malaki

 

[KPaulCook]

Monorail Yes ! Seattle shows it still has some forward thinkers

I was disappointed that Initiative 51 failed but pleased that Seattle folks were not Tim Eyeman robots and said yes to the monorail. 51 was doomed cause it was State Wide. The initiative that goes for a vote in spring has a better shot cause its Regional. Colorado/Devner Metro area found, 30 years ago, that it had to create a Regional Transportatin District (RTD) to get anything done. However, Tim Eyeman, is unforntuately proving that the State legislature in Washington State is wasting time and resources. i.e. who needs a State Legislature when you have Tim Eyeman creating ballot intiatives. Having grown up in Colorado where some would agrue that things/progress happens too fast the new ski resorts, new airports, light rail, and freeway expansion, Washington state is quite different. It seems like things have to reach a crisis point to get things done here in WA.

 

[seruzawa]

Best bike is relative. I submit that riding a seriously race oriented bike on the streets is dangerous. In my experience riding race replicas I've decided that I don't like the lack of visibility from the too far bent forward seating and I don't like the poorer steering response in street situations from the clipons. I also don't care for the poor throttle response of the peaky powerbands of many of the fours.



I'll take a situpstraight naked bike any day over a Duc or a 954 or a GSXR or any other racereplica simply because I am more comfortable and more aware of the surroundings. Plus I can flick the bike much more easily with the wider bars.



An Aprilia Tuono would do the trick, I think.

 

[Leilani]

I would have to agree with several of the comments already posted here, but come on people.....this is a Ducati we're talking about. This bike isn't really for the blue collar working man it's for the top executives in silicon valley etc who have nothing better to blow their money on. The rest of us can just stare and drool, but if you had the extra cash just sitting around with no worries about getting more half of you would at least consider the 999.

 

[KPaulCook]

Re: South King County/North Pierce County

My wife wants to move out your way. But the commute would be hell. Good thing the monorail passed (another socialist mass transit thing right). Meanwhile there is rumour that Boeing will move all of the Renton plant to Wichita cause Ref 51 failed. That is one way to solve the traffic mess i.e. have all the high wage jobs move away.