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LOLOLOLOLOouch.... fell off the chair there. Sorry, this is a load of horseshit. Let's take a look at it: Mass has nothing to do with a tire loosing it's inflation. It's based on the size of the molecules and the permeability through the rubber. In fact, the molecular mass of N2 is less than O2 and CO2, the principle components of 'air'. There's some water in their as well- depends on where you live. But the fact is that the effective mass of the elements changes even more slowly than the molecular mass and you're looking at a 6% _increase_ in mass from N2 to O2. I thought everyone wanted _lighter_ wheels anyway (btw, using only nitrogen would lighten your wheel assembly by about 2-4 grams). Cough-bullshit-cough-cough. The heat capacity of common diatomic gasses are all about the same. Heat capacity is determined by the molecular degrees of freedom (how the individual molecules can stretch, bend, or move). All diatomics can do is stretch N=N ..... N = N then back to N=N. Triatomics have more exotic bending modes. So...the heat capacity of the diatomics is generally less than triatomics, because they have fewer modes to adopt. It's outlined in the equipartition theorem- you can read it here. Oxygen isn't the culprit here...well not entirely. O2 already makes up about 20% of the atmosphere. If oxygen was that reactive to the rims, then why dont the OUTSIDE of rims rust away? Because there's a protective oxidation layer already on any exposed aluminum or magnesium. Essentially, in the first millisecond of exposure to air, any aluminum or magnesium oxidises (same as anodizing). The oxidation layer is impermeable to further oxygen...no more oxidation. It's called passivation and its the reason that the Statue of Liberty hasn't rusted away as well (it's copper of course). The best thing you can do is put DRY air in your tires. Water is far worse, because it carries ions around which conduct electricity. O2 can act as an oxidant, water carries the charge, and voila- you can turn a perfectly good rim into a battery with the rim serving as the sacrificial reductant (it turns to rust ) And air is dangerous? I better go get the duct tape and plastic bags, I guess. There's an expression I've read for this sort of thing: Snake oil is exactly that- Rendered snake.

Beautiful work, Paul. You and Jaap have fun now, ya hear? I'm really going to miss a video of his emmantaler cheesehead going round the track, though.

In person, it doesn't look that real, nor was it all that gruesome. The tissue has been replaced with polymers- they are dry and a 'flat' finish- not like real muscles/nerves/etc. at all. They mostly look like very, very realistic and detailed models, which of course they are. I didn't learn all that much from it (had a LOT of courses in physiology), but to see the relationships between the various organs, and to see how all that stuff is packed in was cool. Most interesting to me was the blood system, which is very delicate and reminded me of fractals. He managed to keep the shape of the vessels down to about 0.5 mm. Blood follows nerve tissue, so you could see the really delicate stuff and make out fingertips for example. ...ok, reading your note again...maybe a week of it would get a bit gruesome. An hour or so in a museum was just intersting. I got a picture of Craig Breedlove's 'Spirit of America' that I'll try to post up sometime. Damn, that's a big ship. J

Sorry Antonio- I didn't see Johnny Winter (I looked, too). Did see some decent blues, some good jazz and and some museum action. If you're not squeamish, check out 'body worlds' exhibit when it comes to a museum near you. http://www.msichicago.org/bodyworlds/index.html Here's a tip- parking in Chicago is stupid expensive- as bad or worse than San Fran. Take public transportation. Thanks for the suggestions guys. Jason

That's great, Jim! I wish you many happy miles (kilometers) of riding! Beautiful bike, and thanks for all the pictures Brian.

Don't have heated grips, but the electric gloves by gerbing work nicely for me. The problem with electric gloves is that the wires are a PIA. The advantage is that they heat the backs of your hands. Jason

So the wife and I are going to Chitown for a couple of days this next week. Any good Blues bars or Jazz bars we should see? Anyone want to meet for a drink? Mar 14 or 15... Thanks, Jason

more than you imagine.

I'm just embarassed.

Pulled off the KLR650 forum in response to the question 'what is a tankslapper'. I immeadiatly thought of Tx Add it to your collection, my man.

I think looking after your luggage is just sensible. It's easy for that stuff to fall off. I check and recheck that I'm in 6th gear when I'm cruising.

It's the 'chisel where a screwdiver would work' attitude that's so endearing, Martin. I'm afraid I suffer from the same affliction to some degree. Mostly, I limit my bodging to zip ties. Love 'em. J

Look out Martin! Speakin' of which, where is the constable of the quiz? He should be wipin' the floor with us.

Opel?

It's hard to be smooth or even prepared if you don't know the road. Drive it 4 or 5 more times, then worry about going faster. J

1929 Newmount?

1) could be preignition, but if it's really a rattle, then check things like fasteners- oil cooler bracket, both exhausts, things like that. 2) you might also verify that you do have oil pressure. Pop off a valve cover and both spark plugs and crank the motor over. Oil should seep out of the rockers. If you want to do it right, then drop the oil pan, clean it out and have the bypass tested. Since it is still under warranty, it's not a bad idea to go ahead and have it looked into. Jason

No worries- they'll come off on their own shortly.

Good News, Jim! Let us know when. I'm stocking up on vino now.

True, but no aftermarket exhaust options are cheap. Well, there's the JC Whitney option, I suppose, but (JC Whitney is a US aftermarket supplier for cars/motorcycles...extra, extra cheap) Hmm, on my mac, opt-5 gives ?, shift-opt-2 gives the euro- €. Not that I'll remember that....

Cyrus 50cc? Jason

Ah ha! got it- Berini 3, Dutch I knew I had seen it somewhere- Jaaps latest quiz (30!) let me stumble across it again

I can't dispute the blue license plate joke. ....it's true. ok, Minnesota state slogans: Land of many cultures; mostly throat. If you love Minnesota, raise your right ski Minnesota- 10,000 lakes and not a single shark or Minnesota- land of 10,000 Petersons You know of course why people move to Minnesota? to protect Ontario from Iowans. Is this thread successfully highjacked? J

yeah, yeah. Why don't you see MN cheerleaders on the field? To keep them from grazing.

Wow, that's cool. I look forward to seeing more of your movies. And welcome to the forums! Jason