felix42o

The hybrids (as they are now) have a big advantage in stop and go traffic, where the regenerative braking can help out the most (or so I have read). This is why the city ratings are higher than the highway, and also why the EPA's testing system is unreliable for the hybrids. As for the EV1, and most early electric and hybrid attempts, batteries have always been the big issue. The range just wasn't there, nor was the battery pricing / life expectancy. I doubt very seriously that any of the conspiracy theories out there hold any water. As an aside, does anyone remember when Dodge introduced an early (say 1996 or so) hybrid based on the Intrepid sedan of the time? IIRC, it was all aluminum-bodied, used electric motors up front w/ a small gas engine, and got 80 MPG or so. There was a full write-up on it in Car and Driver or something, but I can't find it. I'll post a link if I come across it. Edit: Here's the wiki story (fwiw), if interested http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Intrepid_ESX

The Honda ST series is set up like this. I know it's bad, but I look twice every time, continuing to confuse it with the new Norge ...

Good post. Happy Thanksgivng.

It's easy to say that the Big 3 (as it were) were asking for this, but the UAW has as much, if not more, of the blame to hold here. These guys have been squeezing every last penny off the top for years, and a little research into the U.S autoworker's compensation program goes a long way to explain some of the problems. Add in the current trade agreements for autos coming to our shores vs the ones we're allowed to sell overseas and costs of running a pension-based industry and it's stacked against the domestics pretty heavily. Not that they couldn't have done more sooner, but their hands are bound much tighter than those of foreign car manufacturers. As for big ass SUV's, sub-prime mortgages, interest only notes, and air-cooled, 2-valve bikes that suck more gas than they should...well you can holler all day about the plastic-faced corporate "bad guys" making this stuff, but when does the guy buying this stuff (the end user) have to take his share of the blame? What happened to caveat emptor? Stuff doesn't stay on the market if people don't buy it.

Well, that should get me going in the right direction anyway. It's exacerbated by moisture, so my thoughts were targeted at handlebar switchery or the ignition itself, but inspection turned up nothing unusual. I think, as Ratchet offered, that the new coastal environment, while scenic, is going to expose a new round of gremlins that the Nevada desert covered up. Gstallons, the battery is new ( Thanks all for the help. Fortunately it's no real issue day to day 'cause it stays on a tender, but it's a new issue that's been working it's way up the priority list.

I know I'm overthinking this, so I'll submit this problem for ideas from you all. My bike has either a very slight, or a very intermittant short which drops the voltage down low enough to prevent starting if left to sit for more than, say, three days. I've checked most of the connectors, grounds, etc. but it could be anywhere. Any ideas on troubleshooting a short down to a circuit? I know there's a way to do this, but I'm drawing a blank.

These things run really lean as is; only gets worse once you start freeing things up with intake/exhaust mods. There are better, less band-aid oriented ways to fix it, but for most of us the Power Commander (with a good map) seems to be the ticket.

No, just being a smarta**. I agree with the logic.

I'm guessing it was the crash, not the filter, that caused the pilot to buy the farm. Just the same, I try to remove the pan each time as well. It only adds a few more beers to the process.

Ahhh...much better now. Welcome back; sounds like quite a vacation!

I hope more people agree with ferguzzi...that will make it easier to get one!

I wonder if the production would be limited as well? That is unbelievably good looking.

Wow, that's a nice bike. Wonder if he'd take a Tenni for trade...

My first bike in high school was a '72 CB500 that the guy wouldn't sell unless I found a buyer for the 185 TwinStar next to it. After some convincing and price haggling (I think he wanted $450 for both) I talked a friend into buying the Twinstar so I could get the 500. A short bus ride across town and the deal was done. Unfortunately upon arrival, we couldn't get the little 185 to start. Both had sat for quite awhile and the carbs were all gummed up. So, seeing as how the 500 was running (kind of) and there was a good length of rope laying there we concluded that the obvious fix was to tow the one with the other back to the house. After very little talk about the risks involved, Don rode the 185 in trail, with me piloting the 500. Amazingly, other than a lot of clutch slipping and a few near rear-endings, we made it the whole 7 or 8 miles through town without either crashing or getting busted by The Man. My Dad was always telling us "you damn kids'll never learn. You'll just either survive or you won't I guess". Sounds about right.

I figuered it had something to do with the 700 point drop in the Dow the other day.

Besides the obvious, I thought I read somewhere a pretty interesting story on this bike...something about it being bought for next to nothing (like 10 pounds or something) as a barn find, by the previous owner who (I assume) restored it to it's current state prior to going on loan. Sound familiar at all?

A fine example of pesky speeding laws getting in the way of Darwinism. Of course, it seems he did his best by avoiding the shirt and helmet... Glad the people in the car weren't hurt.

There we go...

That picture of Rollie flat out on the Vincent was what got me into bikes to begin with. And my '72 CB500 (first street bike I ever had) cemented the deal. Personal opinion, but those are my two. After that, the old V-max ads always got my heart rate going!

Just so it's on the record, I don't really like the choppers all that much, either. Or the 'tuner car' set. And worst of all, now that I'm thinking about it, are the extended-swingarm, NOS-bottled 'drag bikes' riding around on the street. Still, to each his own I guess.

Different strokes... A lot of modern customs are throwbacks to the past. With choppers and bobbers, a lot of the stuff was being done by returning GI's after the war with leftover Harleys, and it comes back in to fashion I guess every so often. Hot rodders follow similar patterns for sure, and regardless of utility, few people would turn down the keys to a '32 Highboy roadster. Or at least the people I know. I chalk it up to people wanting to create something different. It's definitely original. People sometimes look at me funny for riding a Guzzi, so

Far as I know, Ghezzi-Brian doesn't produce whole bikes anymore; only the parts to make them. They show up every so often on cycle trader/ebay/etc.

The magazine articles have been just hard enough on this thing to pique my interest, that's for sure. Awaiting feedback from the first testride of a forum member...

Missed the GP race, but caught most of the WSB at Brno. Great racing there today, as well.

Looks like aviation-grade circuit breakers and hyd lines, as well... Nice job; looks great.