Is Buddha really in the FBI's witness protection program, as an old thread suggests?
Does ShowBizWolf's hair really look like that in real life?
What does Watcher watch after?
I've really enjoyed being part of this forum for the past year. Thanks to you all, I finished a build project that I really enjoy.
This place is full of great information and good cheer, absent all the drama and obscenities of other places.
But wondering who everyone really is. Or would you all prefer the quiet anonymity of the net?
I'll volunteer - my name is David, and during the daytime I'm a medical doctor. But I'd really rather spend my time tinkering in the garage, and then testing out my handiwork on the road.
I leave in Pacifica, an easily overlooked town just 7 miles SW of San Francisco. I resisted the temptation of getting a motorcycle for years, looking after folks who crashed theirs. But so glad that I finally joined the club. It's one of the best parts of my life. You can't live in a bubble forever...
Cheers to everyone! :cheers:
OK so sorry, brain fart. I've checked out this site for so long that I spaced that the top thread has all the introductions. I didn't go through all 142 pages to figure out who is who.
Mods, please feel free to delete this thread, or merge it with the other one.
But maybe all the regularly active or new members can chime in?
Quote from: Endopotential on May 04, 2017, 11:12:17 AM
But maybe all the regularly active or new members can chime in?
I don't think the introductions do what your post did for most of us.
BTW my name is Josh, which is easy enough figure out from my signature. By day I am a technical marketing manager for a software company in Austin, and I live in Cedar Park TX, a suburb. I also moonlight playing music and writing novels. And I'm a serial hobbyist, do-it-yourselfer and addicted to building things so I take on all kinds of projects, the latest has been an epic deck project, house remodeling, and I am about 90% finish building a pub in my house. And I'm a pretty avid cyclist and mountain biker. I could go on and on about my various hobbies and projects. Actually I think the GS500 is pretty much done. Now it's in repair and maintenance mode, which is less interesting so I just ride it.
I rode motorcycles as a kid and only started back up here in my mid 40s as my dad wanted me to ride with him... similarly he rode motorcycles when he was younger and quit when we all moved to TX in the 80s because it's quite hazardous, and he only got back into it again about a year ago sort of as a pre-retirement gift to himself. I've never owned a road motorcycle until the GS, but I feel like I was born to be on two wheels so I ride as much as I can.
EDIT: In case anyone is interested, I have written two novels and I'm working on a third. Hoping this will become a sort of retirement career for me. Go check them out! joshkarnes.net, or on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Hindsight-Daedalus-Book-Josh-Karnes-ebook/dp/B017E71C4O/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493950059&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=author+josh+karnes
https://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Paradox-Daedalus-Book-ebook/dp/B01K99BZPK/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493950059&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=author+josh+karnes
I agree with Josh. I like the thread. No anonymity here, as it's all out on the web anyway.
I'm Scott, a 28 year old guy from a small town just north of Cincinnati, Ohio. I was born here, and have lived here all my life. I'm an insurance underwriter for a national carrier based out of Cincinnati, but this is a relatively new career to me. I worked in the mortgage industry prior to this. I'm married with two little kids at home, which is probably an odd time to get into motorcycling. My dad rode when he was young, but hasn't owned a bike in the better part of a half-century, long before I was born. I had toyed with the idea of getting a bike for several years, but finally was convinced when my little brother signed us up for the MSF course and then went out and bought an SV a week later. As soon as I got that brand new TU250X out of first gear at the MSF course, I knew I wanted a bike of my own. So, even though my wife wasn't crazy about the idea, I bought one. Most of my weekend and evening time is spent with the family, so I'm commuting with the bike a lot more this year in an effort to get more miles under my belt. The remainder of my hobbies were mostly put on hold when I bought a house and had kids - there's just not enough time to go around! I rarely call a professional for help with anything, so in addition to working on my cars and my GS, I have redone the roof, flooring, kitchen cabinets and countertops, and bathroom in my house over the past three years.
I work for Yamaha, gathering competitive information...kidding. My real name is Tom, my Darkstar alias refers to my love for the Grateful Dead. I've worked in the electronic imaging field for 20 years, particularly in color science and printing. Messed around with dirt-bikes and four wheelers in the 80's. Didn't buy my own moto until I hit my 40's because I was afraid I'd die riding it, pretty sure that will happen anyway, but I'm enjoying myself. Did a ton of research before finally settling on the GS. Got it from a woman who stored it in a garage and rode it very little, so she still had all the original hang-tags and stickers and documentation, but also didn't keep up with the maintenance. That's what brought me here, and I'm very grateful for all the time folks here have invested in helping me. I'm currently out of work because my industry matured, so i ride a lot, but I'm running out of cash. Anyone know an old couple with a garage loft, I'm willing to change my name to Fonzie.
Well a big hello to Josh, Scott, Tom and the rest of you out there!
I'm gratified you feel the same way about meeting (at least online) all the people we've been writing to all these months.
Maybe if you all agree - it'd be nice just to have a single post from each individual member. If you have additions, please modify your original post.
Let's try to save any digressions for separate threads.
Hoping that this can be an singular thread where we can poke in to easily figure out who is who, rather than having it branch out into a thousand different directions.
Hahaha my hair USED to look like that! Pic of me from 2010 (although currently it's getting back to that) :
(https://i.imgur.com/i7JTZpfm.jpg)
My name is Brittney and I'm a 33 year old gal, happily living with 4 cats and working in the lab at The American Red Cross for the past 8 years.
My '98 GS was/is my first motorcycle, I bought it in 2012 and taught myself to ride. I also drive the Johnstown Turtle Van (find it on facebook!) and have a (heavily modified) '94 Dodge Spirit.
I have a degree in Fine Arts from Indiana University of Pennsylvania but I'm not using it. I love beer and being a homeowner. :cheers: Often times on my days off I can be found at my Dad's auto repair shop which has been open since 1972. I've always enjoyed learning from him and working on my vehicles.
I'm always looking to expand my ShowBiz Pizza Place and TMNT collections. I also have a fair amount of Bewitched memorabilia.
Love being a part of this forum!
I get great pleasure from maintaining and repairing all sorts of things. Really not into coaxing that last horsepower out of a machine that was never designed to give it - that I did 'way back when' with MGBs and rally cars. Now I get joy from seeing an 'old' things doing what they were designed to do (that goes for me and the machines).
Other than that I'm an academic in media and communication in Newcastle (the one in Australia). Both my area of study and my geographical location have seen so much change. Newcastle is (for good or evil) the worlds largest coal port - it's a city that had a very strong heavy industry background. I used to work in a steel mill here, a seriously dirty and dangerous place. All that changed, now the city's largest employers are the region's health service and the University. Likewise, the media and communication industries have seen radical change. For an academic that's ideal - it gives us stuff to talk about ;)
Well I am an ordinary idiot (in the nicest possible way) much like everyone else here. What I mean by that is that I have skills that I could teach to anyone here, unlike say the skills required by Einstein to learn the geometry of Minkowski four dimensional curved space in order to formulate his general theory of relativity.
However believe it or not, but I have developed a ground breaking completely new paradigm in sexual philosophy that is a deep as it is broad. I'm not a certified academic which is kinda good because that was the point of the above paragraph. I have solved all the problems that people have in their relationships as well as the ones they don't even realise are problems because it appears to be normal and accepted. What are my qualifications I do not hear you ask. I've done it. Over a period of 30 years with one remarkable woman, it's has been a rollercoaster that is barely believable and at one stage I did not think would ever end much less have me still alive at this point. There are no children involved obviously because it's been full time all the time. I've been down every dead end, followed everything to it's logical conclusion, I was tested to the brink of insanity and I truly believed many times that this madness would not end. So you can believe me when I say it's no wonder no one has worked it out. I feel blessed and chosen for this. She is a woman who is some sort of ethereal other worldly creature with a light that shines bright living in a world of grubs who want to snuff it out, which would have happened. I on the other hand annoy people because I don't really care about anything other than solving the puzzle that we are all presented in life. Of course I did not understand all this till about 15 years into the relationship. And if I knew what was going to evolve, I doubt I'd have signed up. But I probably would have. I have discovered stuff that nobody knows. But like all good science if you can prove me wrong, good luck.
It will be a book maybe a movie one time, but at the moment I'm concentrating on the most urgent and serious problem facing the world namely the non education of the coming generation of children regarding what they need to know in this Brave New World of internet pornography and bullshit.
I was listening to an audio book the past week, or a couple actually, I'm not sure which one it was, could have been The 4% Universe by Richard Panek, a fantastic journey into the story and the many subterfuges behind the groundbreaking discovery of Dark Energy, or the cosmological constant or Lambda or whatever you want to call it, in 1998. The other book was Lee Smolin's The Trouble With Physics, which is also the story of the gestation of String Theory and a rare insight into the politics of theorists at University and how science moves forward, so I'm not too sure which book this came from but there was a bit where physicists have a choice to go with what's popular to go with their heart, job security or intellectual honest to oneself. And Lee Smolin related a tale of one of the Faculties who wanted to hire and their requirements were you don't have to teach, you don't get tenure but you have to have something new, interesting and exciting their only requirement, and this is the point of this lengthy paragraph, is that it doesn't have to be right, it just has to be reasonable. Because this is the only way science moves forward.
My work is both right and reasonable, it's perfect, it's flawless, it is a paradigm without injunctions, it's not based on anyone else's stuff, it's all original and able to be followed with the same logical ability that we see every day on this forum in tracking down a mechanical problem. All I see in academic publications are ever more intricate descriptions of the problems. I explain the problem and provide the solution. Not a theoretical solution but stuff so obvious that it's must be embarrassing to academics whose job it is to work this stuff out. The proof that they know nothing is the solutions that are given to the problem of internet pornography with regards to young children. with an entire world full of think tanks what have they managed to come up with... er how best to filter it how best to ban it, FFS is that all you got. It makes me angry that self professed experts go up before the public and talk utter bullshit while a generation of young people who are being destroyed.
The problem is the peculiar self reflexive nature of the subject matter. For example it doesn't matter what sort of a person you are anyone can be an artist if they have that particular talent, like Picasso for example he was a sublime artist but a pathological psychopath, or all the other peculiar sexual problems of famous physicists like the painfully shy Dirac, or Einstein's problems he got caught up in in his marriage despite his extraordinary ability. In this work however the only credential worth anything is an examination of the person's life you have to have lived this work to teach it. I didn't set out to do anything, just tried to solve those normal relationship problems that everyone is familiar with, the only difference is that I stuck with it and determined to solve what I could. I am about to begin publishing on my website but at the moment I've got a few months of organising all my work first.
Left school at 17 to work in a professional processing laboratory in a basement in Sydney 1973 hand processing E-3 and C-22. I got the mumps one day at work and was sent home so I thought I'd drop my Harley 350 (aermacchi) in for a service on the way, a car moved sideways into me and I went sliding down the road, no damage other than a little graze on my ankle, our family solicitor got me $1000 for that and I bought a ticket and went to London and thus began an extraordinary journey leading to the defining moment when an 18 year old waif literally walked into my 32 year long life. Me and a friend had set up a enterprise in the old electricity substation in Redfern Sydney making slides for Audio Visual presentations. All done by hand using traditional methods which were far superior to what computer printing could do in those days. And thus began the second part of the scarcely believable journey I mentioned earlier and out of which came this work. It's like magic. Now I just write and will moving into a rented house in the hinterland of Queensland surrounded by some excellent motorbike roads to clear my head and maybe bushwalking up all the peaks of the Glasshouse mountains.
Seriously you can see by this and hundreds of similar stories of people who apparently have everything, wealth, fame, power to a limited degree, even some talent.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/lostinshowbiz/2017/may/04/who-let-brad-pitt-fashotainment-gq-style-shoot-interview-happen
Oh well you asked and this is what you got.
My name is Ben, I left my Chicago home of 27 years last year for the blue skies of Tucson Arizona.
Been in and out of several jobs over my life, from package handler to machinist, and decided that riding motorcycles was my passion (also why I left Chicago, can't ride year-round because of snow). Got my MSF certification and got hired by a company in AZ and now I teach new riders all about how to use a clutch and turn their head.
I also currently work part time, possibly full time soon, at Cycle Gear, which to the uninitiated is a motorcycle parts and apparel store.
I couldn't be happier with my current lines of work, and although I've been down on my luck for the past several months things are finally coming up roses!
On my 7th motorcycle, been riding for about as many years, and I refuse to own cars at this point. Currently on a 2000 Ducati Monster 750, but I did have two GS500Es, a 1996 and a 1997, among a few older Suzukis, a Honda CB500F, and a Buell Lightning XB12SS.
Outside of motorcycles I'm an avid PC gamer (where Watcher comes from, way back in the days of Counter-Strike, more about that in a thread in the off-topic section about usernames). Mostly first-person shooters and some limited RPGs like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Dark Souls.
I did used to mountain bike back in Chicago, was part of a local organization that partnered with IMBA and I have my blood sweat and tears in some of the single-track trails. Currently don't bicycle but with a mountain in my "backyard" I'm sure to get back into it.
I'd also like to get involved with HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) and learn to swordfight. Would be a fun little side project. One of those utterly useless skills that's totally badass. :cheers:
Quote from: Watcher on May 04, 2017, 06:13:32 PM
I'd also like to get involved with HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) and learn to swordfight. Would be a fun little side project. One of those utterly useless skills that's totally badass.
First rule, get a sword with an unscrewable pommel, to end them rightly.
I like threads like this....
Let's see..... My name actually is Rich, but no I'm not a big guy. I'm 36, married with a 5 year old son. Also a machinist, but not the useful kind..... I do large scale / high production work. There's a 99.9% chance that I have worked on something that you have benefited from......
I grew up in the military (which means I moved around a LOT) so I never had a motorcycle as a kid. I did spend a good bit of time outside though- hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, golf, etc, etc.. But about 10 years ago I was diagnosed with discoid lupus. Everybody has an idea what lupus is, but that's systemic lupus which is the "bad" one. Mine is more of a skin disease that is really affected by UV light..... and my life changed dramatically! Since I have very limited exposure to sunlight, I drifted towards motorcycles (atgatt takes a new meaning for me). More will be added later I'm sure.....
When I was growing up, I hated moving to a new home (and sometimes a new school) every year and a half. But for the past couple years I've been daydreaming of living a gypsy-ish lifestyle.... and I really want to travel at a slower pace than I did as a child. Motorcycles (and bicycles) give me that opportunity. Speaking of bicycles, I have been getting back into that heavily too. I'm planning (too early to say for sure yet though) on riding from Pittsburgh to Washington DC this year. .
That's enough for now..... I'll add more later though.
My parents named me Christopher, but I'll only answer to Chris. Nicknames include Biddy and big sexy :cool: I'm a 30 year old Welshman who relocated to the east coast of the UK nearly 4 years ago to study to be a nurse.
I was always kept from dangerous things like powertools and motorcycles as a youth. When I was 14 I started to take an interest in cars, specifically the modification and aesthetics of them. At 18 I decided I wanted to learn to ride but my mother and my girlfriend said no, so at 21 I dumped my girlfriend and at 26 I abandoned my mother and left for university (after I became a personal trainer, had my own business, ran it into the ground and spent another year in college to be able to apply for uni). 3 months later I had my full motorcycle licence. :flipoff:
In August 2015 I became very depressed and turned to alcohol to help deal with that :cheers: One day I came across a 1999 GS500 for £500, so I bought it :woohoo:
My username is the number I wore playing american football for my uni, UEA Pirates and their the only sports team at the uni with a number 63. Therefore I am THE 63.
Chris
O0
Name's Quinn, and I'm 23. I study computer science and work in IT Security. Like Watcher, I'm an avid PC gamer as well (PM me your Steam ID, Watcher!). Other hobbies include hiking, fishing, and rock climbing. I also play a bit of guitar. As for motorcycles, I rode dirt bikes as a kid, but wasn't able to get a street bike until last year. My dad has owned bikes my whole life, so I've always wanted to ride. Finally being able to do it feels like realizing a dream.
Quote from: J_Walker on May 04, 2017, 06:28:12 PM
Quote from: Watcher on May 04, 2017, 06:13:32 PM
I'd also like to get involved with HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) and learn to swordfight. Would be a fun little side project. One of those utterly useless skills that's totally badass.
First rule, get a sword with an unscrewable pommel, to end them rightly.
No, I'm not throwing the pommel at my enemy and compromising my sword handle at the same time...
I won't hesitate to do the Mordhau, though.
hi my name is Dominick i am 20 and and in college for i.t .... i am currently a shelf filler at my local grocery store and I also am a huge fan of gaming computers my current rig is a z97gaming 5 ,24 gb of ram , titan black sc , 4460 cpu , and 3 curved monitors :icon_lol:
i wanted to get into motorcycle riding years ago but my parents were hell bent against it but one day my grandpa showed up with a honda rebel 250cc to get me into riding :)
you should have seen the look on my parents faces it was priceless.... now 3 years later and im finally able to afford a new bike :)
Stevo, Aerospace Painter, look up in the sky when a Boeing plane flys by and see my work!
49 years riding, 29 bikes later....Lean and Believe! :woohoo:
(Bikes are my Real Life :whisper:)
(http://i67.tinypic.com/30iwaxc.jpg)
Quote from: user11235813 on May 04, 2017, 05:41:16 PM
Well I am an ordinary idiot (in the nicest possible way) much like everyone else here. What I mean by that is that I have skills that I could teach to anyone here, unlike say the skills required by Einstein to learn the geometry of Minkowski four dimensional curved space in order to formulate his general theory of relativity.
Oddly enough, unrelated to your post, I spent several hours yesterday on Youtube trying to understand 4-dimensional space and Hyper-Cubes. Because I'm a nerd I guess.
Name is Bob and have been around the Sun 31 times; I was born in suburbs of Detroit but have lived in the Illinois for the last 20 years, currently living in the Fox Valley area about 30mi west of Chicago.
During the day I am a Plant Operations Engineer for a large housewares product company; I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in Operations (my name, KGSB, is an abbreviation of DePaul's graduate school). I have a wife of 9 years and two girls (5 and 2).
I am generally new to motorcycling; I spent many a good time on dirt bikes in Michigan, but last time I threw a leg over was about 10 years ago. Took the MSF course in October, rented a Harley in November and I purchased my GS from a college student in Indiana on Superbowl Sunday and have put about 250 miles on the clock since.
Like rscottlow, many weekends are with family, but the weekday commuting is where I rack up most of my miles.
Hello, my name is Simon and I like to do drawings :cookoo:
I'm Phil from Australia. During the week I work as a geophysicist.
I originally started riding 17 years ago as a late teenager riding off-road with friends in the country. The bike I learned to ride on was a Honda TLR200 trials bike and we used to take it into the hills and ravines and challenge each other to see where we could get it through.
Then about 5 years later I decided to get my licence properly and get a bike to ride on the street. In all likelihood it might have been Long Way Round that provided the tipping point (it was certainly on TV at that time).
My first real bike was a GS500. It was second hand, very new and had seriously low mileage (2,000ish km). I had told myself that I wouldn't fall in love with the first bike I saw and so I talked to the guy, who was a young chap, and made him a seriously low offer. He said he couldn't accept it. So I told him that I'll keep looking around and that if the bike doesn't sell in the next week or so that we should talk again once I've looked at a few others. As I was leaving I asked him how come such a new, unused bike was up for sale. He said he'd lost his licence on it and needed to pay the fines.
I got 10min down the road and I got a call from him. He said if I threw another $200 on the price then I could have it. I could hear his mum in the background giving him a hard time to get rid of it. So I drove back and took the bike. I went from nothing to being a bike owner in an afternoon!
I've always been a fairly handy person and have a great enthusiasm for DIY, mechanical things and general making. All my hobbies have that in common. So I really enjoyed the simplicity and accessibility of the GS when it came to servicing it and the odd upgrade. Of course you guys (kerry, bhudda, etc) on these forums have to take a lot of credit for providing the information and assistance that got me going with that. As I went I took some time to document it and contribute to the GS wiki where I saw gaps.
(https://i.imgur.com/bs7Sbb0l.jpg)
While I owned it a bunch of us from Sydney arranged a group ride through Mangrove Mountain and Wiseman's Ferry. It was pretty cool to meet a bunch of random strangers at a petrol station one morning and have a whole string of identical bikes set off into the twisties. Especially seeing as this model is sort of seen as a non-sporty bike ridden by beginners and couriers. We all had a blast, so I recommend you get on and organise something too.
I think I rode that bike around for about 3 or so years after which I upgraded to my current bike, the Honda CBF1000 (incidentally if you look it up on wikipedia that's my actual bike in the driveway). Like the GStwins group I was keen to find a similar online community but unfortunately I have to say I found the CBFers to be incredibly hostile. I don't think that it helps that as a bike it was only really sold in the UK and Europe and generally appealed to a certain sort of older man (which is slightly odd because it's a Fireblade engine thrown in a sport-touring frame). Lots of territorial, exclusive, argumentative, middle-aged grumpy Englishmen.
So even though I didn't own one anymore I continued to lurk around these forums here. You really have a great community and I hope you realise that it's something special when it comes to people being pleasant, helpful and accepting on the internet.
Then a year and half ago my girlfriend decided that she might have a go at riding. What bike has she ended up with? A GS500 of course! So I'm back (if only vicariously). :thumb:
Quote from: philward on May 07, 2017, 06:41:08 PM
So even though I didn't own one anymore I continued to lurk around these forums here.
Don't feel so out of place. I think a few of us no longer own GSs, I'm thrice removed, in fact, but I stick around.
Nobody is actively trying to kick me out and as long as I add some useful info here and there I feel like I'm earning my stay, lol.
My name is Sam, I'm 24 and started riding last season on a 89 GS which I am planning on owning for, at the very least, the remainder of the year. I work as a mechanical engineer, currently in the Aerospace industry in Connecticut. I'm hoping to move out to Seattle next fall, but we will see what happens... I like working with my hands and having projects going on, and while I don't have too much experience with bikes I would love to get into building custom motorcycles (now if only I had a garage, all the tools, more free time, disposable income, and extra bikes...) I'm really glad I finally signed up for and started browsing around the forums, it's great here!
Quote from: Lluraeden on May 09, 2017, 08:02:30 AM
My name is Sam, I'm 24 and started riding last season on a 89 GS which I am planning on owning for, at the very least, the remainder of the year. I work as a mechanical engineer, currently in the Aerospace industry in Connecticut. I'm hoping to move out to Seattle next fall, but we will see what happens... I like working with my hands and having projects going on, and while I don't have too much experience with bikes I would love to get into building custom motorcycles (now if only I had a garage, all the tools, more free time, disposable income, and extra bikes...) I'm really glad I finally signed up for and started browsing around the forums, it's great here!
im from upstate ny we should meet up and go for a ride sometime
I've noticed a lot of really talented builders crop up on this site of late.
Tell us who you are in real life and join in on the fun? :cheers:
+1 !!! :D
My name is Greg , though my first name is actually Phillip and I didn't even know it was until I was 13!
I have been riding and racing since 1973. Started in the dirt then my first bike was a Ducati 450 Desmo. This is why I will never own another Ducati as long as I live . I do wish I had kept it though as it was the fibreglass 4 leading shoe model that are worth a fortune now.
Despite 36 years as a federal public servant my base was science , which is probably why I spent the last half of it in computing.
I am a 2 wheel fanatic. Now days mountainbikes and motorcycles.
When I was racing motorcycles on the track ( until 5 years ago) I did all my own mech work including building up bikes from bits for the bucket classes. I LOVE small motorcycles and HATE 4 cyl. transverse inline motors. Made some sense when motorcycles were aircooled but doesn't anymore.
I am retired and live in what could be described the perfect climate on the East coast in Queensland. Never freezes, never gets too hot or for too long, rarley gets too dry or wet. Have an acre with a workshop and shed for the assembled toys. So I am pretty well cruising.
No decent roads for hard riding for a long way though.
My GS500F is a 2005 chassis with a 2011 motor that I bought as an almost basket case, as a project and was VERY stuffed, except the motor ( I have a thread in project area on it). Mostly just playing building stuff to lighten or update bits.
My main bikes are an MT07 ( FZ07) and a Husky TR650 set up for touring.
I have a big apetite for motorcycle tech and have for 45years.
Interesting thread.
OK, my real name is Farron, and I am a 62 year old consulting electrical engineer based in Dallas, Texas. My specialty is radio design, which I originally got into as a 14 year old ham radio operator. I have a wonderful wife, though she thinks motorcycles are too dangerous and won't even ride on the back of my GS500 around the neighborhood (though when we had a little airplane, she loved to fly with me). We've got two great kids also here in Dallas, and four very sweet grandchildren (also not allowed to ride with me). The bike is an adventure for me since I am not flying currently.
My user name "MaxD" is in honor of my father--it's his first name and our last initial. He got me interested in motorcycles as he had several through my childhood. He was a career Navy enlisted man, and not being able to afford two cars he would leave the car home with my mother and commute to work on his bike. For 10 years his bike was an old Honda 305 Dream that he worked on constantly and kept in perfect condition. Though I did not appreciate it at the time, it was a ground breaking design for both performance and practicality--it's the bike in the best seller "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".
The GS500 is my second real motorcycle after an over 30 year gap of not having a bike. My first was a 1979 Honda CX500 I bought new the last year I was in the Marines. I thought it would be cheaper transportation for going to college than a car. The only time I have ever been down was right after I got that bike and was a green new rider. I started to brake going downhill when a light at the bottom of the hill turned red, in a rainstorm. The rear wheel locked, and not knowing then I should keep it locked to ride it out, I immediately let off the rear brake. The bike instantly slammed down, at about 35mph. But, it did not hurt me any and the bike not very much either. Though not quite a real motorcycle, I also had a $100, 70cc Honda Passport for part of college that I could pass off as a moped for parking in bicycle racks on campus--an advantage over the CX500 at the University of Texas where the parking was a bad problem and you might literally have to walk a mile from parking lot to classroom. I liked it and appreciated the 100mpg it delivered, though with a 45 mph top speed it struggled to keep up with city traffic. Wikipedia reports they are the most produced motor vehicle in history with over 100 million built, and are considered design icons today. I wish I still had it.
I've never taken the time to learn serious mechanical skills, but with the good advice I get from the experts here (I'm pretty much in awe of you guys' knowledge of the inner workings of the bike), I am looking forward to doing some real work on my GS500 as opposed to paying the $129 per hour shop rate. A carburetor rebuild is about to happen, which will be the first time I've ever seen the inside of a carburetor. At the same time I'll be giving this 2001, 3000 miles on the odometer bike its first ever valve clearance check and adjustment as necessary. Also, a tank derusting and new exhaust header bolts and gaskets. Thanks very much to the kind enthusiasts here who have taken the time to advise me. Without your help, I would have considered jobs like these as too involved for me to be able to take the time to figure out.
Wow, I'm surprised you found this thread after a couple years!
New folks, join in :cheers:
LOL witless protection. No nothing like that - my wife said you're "posting too much, ASS you, Srinath" and I preferred to hear that as "you're posting too much as you Srinath"
I am Srinath on all fora I post on except on this one and svportal (where I am Jokester) - which ironically is around the same time I got changed here from Srinath to buddha - so much for witless protection.
I am a software engineer living now between Columbia SC and Charlotte NC. Originally from India, and lived in CA and all over the US for a bit, all 4 corners of the contiguous (or is that contagious) US actually.
Other interests, vintage audio equipment (10 yrs), home brewing though not from scratch yet (just about 1 yr), low carb diet (4-5 yrs)
Cool.
Buddha.
Had to update my original reply! All good updates though so I praise God for that :-*
Jools. Ex Graphic Designer / Photographer / Muso living in the forest an hour west of Melbourne Oz. Been riding and restoring 'bikes all my life. Current project 1938 OHC KSS/KTT Velocette.
Once a surfie, Guitar maker/player, RC flyer, jack of all trades. I can't stand getting anything fixed by anyone else, -I've learned that you can do anything... you just need the 'gumption' to learn how to do it. There are some interesting people here, (including one or two with delusions of grandeur!!!) :flipoff:
www.whittakerdesign.com.au/guitars
www.cigarboxblues.com.au
www.whittakerdesign.com.au/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oR_kGy-i6w
Yes, good idea... introducing the 'real' people behind the usernames! (And I freely admit to being a ShowBizwolf fan!)
My name is Christo and I'm a 67 year old semi-retired IT guy from Pretoria, South Africa. Had a few bikes in my teens and twenties and was fortunate to have owned a 1969 Triumph Bonneville T120R. Shortly after buying it second hand and in fairly good condition, I stripped it completely and rebuilt it to my liking.
In 2016, after a 31-year non-riding haitus, I bought a 1989 GS500. It was in bad shape and not registered, so I replaced it with my current ride, a 2004 GS500F. I've always wanted a Bonneville again and the GS is in many ways a 'mini-Bonneville' to me. The twin cylinder sound is very similar to the Bonne's and its light and playful handling, is a delight.
My other hobbies and interests are, RC flying, electric motor design & building, amateur astronomy and lately, DIY audio systems - the FirstWatt.com kind. (www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs))
Since ShowBizWolf posted a photo, I thought I'll do the same.
(https://i.imgur.com/BwhL0gE.jpg)
My name is Chris, and i like beer, short toenails and Donald Trumps hair! From the UK 😊(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200524/42fdac12a75745c8eae430d17185e93e.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm just a total idiot who likes to scream the proverbials off me bike. oh yeah, also an ancient 60sumfin fart from the uk... 500twins rool mate... ??? :angeldevil:
This thread is makes my day :D
...and thank you Jools!!! :kiss3:
Did you do a lot of graphic design? It's what I concentrated on most when I got my degree... and it WAS really fun... but all it taught me was is that I didn't want to do it for a living :technical: My instructor/advisor took all the enjoyment out of it.
Quote from: SK Racing on May 23, 2020, 06:17:59 AM
My other hobbies and interests are, RC flying, electric motor design & building, amateur astronomy and lately, DIY audio systems - the FirstWatt.com kind. (www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs))
Since ShowBizWolf posted a photo, I thought I'll do the same.
(https://i.imgur.com/BwhL0gE.jpg)
Wow dude - what's your handle on diyaudio, and are you on audiokarma as well ?
BTW those 2 are almost as old as this forum. Maybe even older ???
I am Srinath on both, though I haven't been on those 2 in a while, lately Klipsch community has had my attention and the bike fora.
Cool.
Buddha.
Quote from: The Buddha on May 25, 2020, 07:09:58 AM
Wow dude - what's your handle on diyaudio, and are you on audiokarma as well ?
Double wow, dude. Small world. :o Didn't expect any GSTwins members to be on diyaudio. I'm Skylar88, but I'm not on audiokarma, as I'm mainly into DIY.
I'm a dedicated SS junkie, though. Build all my own gear and when I hear the best commercial systems that the hi-fi shops have on offer, I can only feel sorry for their customers. There is no comparison in the sound quality unless they spend really big money. :dunno_black: :technical:
Quote from: SK Racing on May 23, 2020, 06:17:59 AM
My name is Christo and I'm a 67 year old semi-retired IT guy from Pretoria, South Africa. Had a few bikes in my teens and twenties and was fortunate to have owned a 1969 Triumph Bonneville T120R. Shortly after buying it second hand and in fairly good condition, I stripped it completely and rebuilt it to my liking.
In 2016, after a 31-year non-riding haitus, I bought a 1989 GS500. It was in bad shape and not registered, so I replaced it with my current ride, a 2004 GS500F. I've always wanted a Bonneville again and the GS is in many ways a 'mini-Bonneville' to me. The twin cylinder sound is very similar to the Bonne's and its light and playful handling, is a delight.
My other hobbies and interests are, RC flying, electric motor design & building, amateur astronomy and lately, DIY audio systems - the FirstWatt.com kind. (www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs))
Since ShowBizWolf posted a photo, I thought I'll do the same.
(https://i.imgur.com/BwhL0gE.jpg)
Jislaaik bru. Don't think I ever saw a GS500 while I was in SA. I was born not for from you in Pietersburg. I left in 2006 for Canada where I bought a Spanish 2003 GS500 and then brought it with me to switzerland, along with my 69 Bonnie ;).
I've just bought a 74 Trident (T150) but that's another story, lets just say swiss 2nd hand dealers can be as shitty (if not worse) that anywhere else in the world.
Sterkte over there!
Klein wêreld, nê? ;)
I think I've seen about five GS500's in SA so far. Needless to say, there are not many spares available. My 2004 GS500 was also made in Spain and the Suzuki agents claim it's a grey import.
I so regret selling my 69 Bonnie. Enjoy your's.
I am johnny ro, more or less, on all forums except ADVrider where I misspelled and let it be.
Grew up in glacial till forest near NYC and weekends in my grandpas gas station, East End.
30+ years ago I started to like to see what engineers meant, by looking at their finished products. So I am an interpreter. I stumble with frustration over British stuff from the ending era. I do want a DKW in BSA guise. Back in that day, I gave away my Commando 850 to a buddy, in baskets, purchased new.
For money, I interpret deal terms into IFRS for a trillion $ multinational. I am hugely lucky to have that niche. I say simple things to important people and they pause and reflect. Magic.
The GS is a cheerful good hearted, mid sized (I mean, 40hp) older dog of a bike. My '89 has sporty paint and bars and replaces an '87 SRX250 for short day rides. My old F was too small to be a sport tourer, replaced with V-strom.
Lost track of AK when I settled down to my Parts Express indignias, with Topping-60 and Mac for sound.
My next post is my results of the single key mod, mine came with 3 keys, ignition, tank, seat. Now I use one key.
Quote from: SK Racing on May 25, 2020, 01:21:55 PM
Klein wêreld, nê? ;)
I think I've seen about five GS500's in SA so far. Needless to say, there are not many spares available. My 2004 GS500 was also made in Spain and the Suzuki agents claim it's a grey import.
I so regret selling my 69 Bonnie. Enjoy your's.
Wow I've owned 17 GS500's and I just broke through the 1/2 century mark in 2019.
I've worked on conservatively another 25 or so locals bikes. Lets say 40 total. That's not carb mail in and mail out service.
So there is a distinct possibility I've had my hands on more GS500's than South Africa. WTF ??? Is that like Jeremey Clarkson's reaction to the Bugatti Veyron's 1000 lb torque as having more torque than Mexico.
Cool.
Buddha.
Hey Mods, could I humbly request that this thread be elevated to a Sticky?
It would be a shame for everyone's great introductions be lost into the void of how-do-I-tune-my-carbs queries.
Quote from: The Buddha on May 25, 2020, 05:32:22 PM
Wow I've owned 17 GS500's and I just broke through the 1/2 century mark in 2019.
I've worked on conservatively another 25 or so locals bikes. Lets say 40 total. That's not carb mail in and mail out service.
So there is a distinct possibility I've had my hands on more GS500's than South Africa. WTF ??? Is that like Jeremey Clarkson's reaction to the Bugatti Veyron's 1000 lb torque as having more torque than Mexico.
Cool.
Buddha.
I'm impressed, Buddha. You must be THE expert on GS500 with all that experience.
Hehehe, that last part is funny! :icon_lol:
Quote from: SK Racing on May 23, 2020, 06:17:59 AM
My other hobbies and interests are, RC flying, electric motor design & building, amateur astronomy and lately, DIY audio systems - the FirstWatt.com kind. (www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs))
BTW I've been wanting to get pics of it - but since I am lazy and it is heavy - I'll just tell you. Sitting not 3 feet from me is a Nak PA 7. I haven't used it in a while though. Its not likely the only Nelson Pass one I have either.
Cool.
Buddha.
Quote from: The Buddha on May 26, 2020, 05:49:00 AM
...Sitting not 3 feet from me is a Nak PA 7. I haven't used it in a while though. Its not likely the only Nelson Pass one I have either.
Nice! :thumb: The Nakamichi PA 7 was one of the better amps of it's time.
You should try one of the newer Pass Class A designs. The sound is jaw droppingly good from only a few Watts. But then you need fairly efficient speakers. I use full range speakers (self built) with a very modest 6Wpc Class A amp. The 3D holographic soundstage is absolutely gorgeous. The two "audiophile" shops near me didn't even know the term "soundstage"; - probably because they've never heard a decent soundstage. :roll:
Quote from: SK Racing on May 26, 2020, 08:25:53 AM
Quote from: The Buddha on May 26, 2020, 05:49:00 AM
...Sitting not 3 feet from me is a Nak PA 7. I haven't used it in a while though. Its not likely the only Nelson Pass one I have either.
Nice! :thumb: The Nakamichi PA 7 was one of the better amps of it's time.
You should try one of the newer Pass Class A designs. The sound is jaw droppingly good from only a few Watts. But then you need fairly efficient speakers. I use full range speakers (self built) with a very modest 6Wpc Class A amp. The 3D holographic soundstage is absolutely gorgeous. The two "audiophile" shops near me didn't even know the term "soundstage"; - probably because they've never heard a decent soundstage. :roll:
I have Khorns but those are run by a sae 2200 and the Nak PA7 was fantastic driving my NS1000's, they were mediocre running B&W 801 or 802.
The weird thing is Khorns cant be driven very well with super low power - like those single ended 3-5 watt tube deals don't work that great. They work well on a Cornwall, but lascala's and up need a bit more, 12-30 watt tube or more if solid state. 20-100 watt solid state. In fact the Sae2200 did an extraordinary job of driving wharfedale W90's - I really really wanted to keep those wharfies - but I managed to not sell the Khorns in that window, so the Khorns went back in use.
IMHO cornwall and its replacement chorus are the best for low power, folded horns aren't driveable by super low power, you don't need a lot but 3 and 5 watt single ended tube deals don't cut it.
Cool.
Buddha.
oops wrong thread.