Peabody

I second that! :lol: I like the 9mm, mostly because there's so many of em here that its nearly impossible to link one to a shooting. However, they don't have the penetration of a .357 magnum. Also, you may be allowed to own a firearm here, but pulling it out is another issue. The gun law here is 10-20-Life. 10 years for illegal possession, 20 years for using one to commit a crime (not fired). Mandatory Life in Prison for firing a gun during the commission of a crime. Not to mention that you have to prove that you were defending yourself to avoid a conviction.

One of the things I like about New York (and now England) is that they call their towns what they are. The "city" of New York, the "town" of Montgomery. Wallkill, NY is listed as a "village," and rightly so. It doesn't even have a traffic light. Not so in Florida. I've ridden through the countryside and came across signs reading "Morriston city limits." No lights, no buildings, nothing but forest, fields and cattle. Eight miles later I passed a crossroad. The entire "city" was one gas station. And no, not even a traffic light! But it's still called a "city". I guess nobody in our state capital ever bothered to look up the definition.

I thought that kind of stupidity was exclusive in America. If anyone has ever seen "The Simpsons" The exact location of Springfield is a running joke. There's 23 Springfields in the U.S. At least 3 Gainesvilles, and 3 Huntsvilles. At least they're farther than 70 miles apart. I've also been to Climax, Georgia. I've had better.

Not sure if moving will help. I've ridden all over the Eastern half of the U.S., and more than half of the drivers I've encountered were just like your daewoo driver. Don't know how to drive, and don't care to learn either. Lately I've seen what can only be described as "traffic light color blindness." People sit at the green, then take off as the light changes to red. Usually followed by 6 or 7 cars behind them. I usually deal with lane stealers with a solid punch to the window if the horn doesn't get their attention. If they try to play tag with me I get ahead and toss a spark plug over the shoulder. It makes short work out of their windshield and forces them to pull off the road. If that doesn't work, The 2nd amendment does cover self-defense against an aggressor with a deadly weapon (using a car to attack a rider is assault with a deadly weapon). I haven't had to open fire on a cage yet, but I'll be damned if I'm the one going home in a box. I wouldn't blame the maker of the car, although cars are Daewoo's latest venture. They're an arms manufacturer in South Korea. Mostly assault rifles, but I think they make tanks and APCs too. Just bad drivers in cheap cars.

I was sure I had seen a visor for the 650 custom (I used to have a 650). But after looking through all of my catalogs I've come up empty handed. I don't remember having a problem with glare except when the sun was high, but my 1300 is impossible to read during daylight hours. Sorry I wasn't any help.

Yeah, it's hard to claim that we're "smart" when so many idiots over here ride with just enough clothes on to stay out of jail. I would also strongly recommend wearing a helmet. Way too many tards in cages running us off the road. The weather is great down here, but the roads aren't much fun, unless you like straight and flat. The real riding is anywhere north of Atlanta, Georgia. I know Blackhat is flying over that way soon, lucky SOB. Regarding Tampa, cars are insulated and all buildings are built with lightning protection. The high insurance is for hurricanes. When I was in college down there I rode a bicycle. I can say with experience, lightning buzzes before the loud "crack" you usually hear. When it hits it puts off a lot of heat and it sounds like your in the middle of an artillery strike every afternoon. Never got hit, but came very close too many times to count. If you went to Disney then you've seen the closest we will ever come to a "castle" in the U.S. Fantasy inspired plastic and concrete. I've been to the parks 52 times. Last time I went was our honeymoon. Did walking back and forth for hours in line make you feel like cattle in a slaughterhouse? I'm riding to a goth club in Tampa tomorrow that looks like the inside of the haunted mansion. Well worth the trip. Even has a moat around one of the 5 bars. If your feeling really hungry and have the unfortunate experience of finding yourself in Texas, there is a steakhouse there that sells a 72 ounce steak dinner. There's also a burger place in Nebraska that offers a 6 pound hamburger. Are we a bunch of pigs or what? I don't go to the buffets very often. Most days I'm so busy I don't even have breakfast! Shoney's are fairly good too, but we can't eat out all the time. There wouldn't be enough $ left over for all my riding! It sounds like you had a lot of fun. I'm glad you had a good trip.

Snarf, wrong thread, but to help you out, I have heard of one 1300 V Star leaking from a hole in the bottom of the crankcase. You can find it on the Yamaha Riders Club forum. It should be easy enough to find from there. Good exchange rate for you, Arabian! Draggins are $112.99 (56 GBP?) Not sure about the shipping. www.JPCYCLES.com. Hope this helps.

Riding in town, I get about the same. I have gotten over 185 miles before the light came on, but I was riding with a dozen other riders on I-75. I think I was getting a good draft. I ran the bike once until the reserve ran out. (running out of gas on a FI motor is a BAD idea.) I was able to put her in neutral and coast into a station just as it started to sputter. I got about 37 miles on the reserve and the total fill up was 3.71 gallons. The other 1.18 gallons is lost due to the countersunk fuel cap. It leaves a lot of empty space you can't fill up. I'm tempted to switch it out with a top-mounted cap. Hope this helps.

PS, Glad you had a safe trip. I see you discovered the cause of America's wide spread (no pun intended) obesity problem. "All you can eat" being the key phrase here. Regarding the service, contrary to American stereotypes about redneck southerners, the south is legendary for its "Southern hospitality." If you've ever heard the Jeff Foxworthy comedy bit he did before the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, you would know what I mean. We only use the "wind up" on our close friends, otherwise we're going to end up with busted knuckles or busted ribs, and we actually like diversity. The downside is the lack of cultured entertainment. Last time I checked all of the larger city's orchestras went bankrupt years ago. The museums are ok, but nothing compared to NY or Chicago. I'm surprised we have a real Monet in Gainesville's art museum. You were also fortunate to arrive during an unusually cool spring. Although its usually newsworthy, the weather has been good lately. The rule regarding tornados is simple. If they don't reach you their harmless. Tampa is another story. on an average afternoon the thunderstorms roll in daily and lightning strikes an average of 1,100 time per minute. It's the lightning capital of the world. I'm sorry you didn't find a Hops. The other places are nice too. We have an English style pub here (believe it or not, I do have English friends here) that my English friends say is almost authentic. The high ceilings are said to be the only difference. They even serve pints of Guinness and large sandwiches, I think they call them buttys? Odd name, but good. The price of living here is cheaper than most of the U.S. (except for housing prices), but the pay is also way lower than most of the U.S. There isn't a state income tax (yet) because it wouldn't leave us with anything to live on, and we still pay Federal income taxes. Our state (which is in 2nd place for worst state recession) depends on tourism. As long as we have tourists spending their money here (thanks by the way!) living wages aren't necessary to keep the economy going. I have heard that the taxes in GB are murder! Just sorry I didn't get a chance to give you an official "greetings from Florida!" Let me know if you plan on coming back. If I can't find a bike for you to ride, you can always rent a Harley.

They're popular because of the number of dolts who think their better because they're made in the U.S.A. The rest of us know better. As for the price, that's stock. Muffled pipes, minimal chrome and no customization. That's what you get for $16,000. The ones you see and hear on the road run about $25-30,000. 20 or 30 Harleys riding down the road with non baffled straight pipes is called "rolling thunder" because that's what it sounds like. I'll still stick to Yamaha. Best bang for your buck. The Hondas are way more popular overall here. 50,000 HDs sold in 2006 vs. 1.2 million Honda shadow 1100s.

Some day I'll get a chance to get lost out that way.

That's a shame. Thought it would be a great way to start a trip, riding the bike across the tunnel.

SRJ, your a riot. I'm a two hour ride from Daytona. If your planning to come down for Biketoberfest or Bike week next year, let me know. We should ride. Of course if you were there on the first weekend, that would explain the weather. Next time leave the 50 deg. Fahrenheit with rain weather at home! This year I ran into riders from Russia, Italy and Germany. I guess its becoming popular for Europe too. It looks like you have way more events than us, but we do like to go big when we do. 500,000 riders usually show up for Daytona.

Even the paint styles are different over there. Looks good. I don't know what side of the pond your pipes came from, but they are readily available here. It sounds like they took the baffles out when they put the pipes on. If it's open all the way to the bend, then its sans-baffles. Besides quieting the noise down a bit they also provide some back pressure. It's probably the only reason I haven't gone with the Speedstar pipes on my 1300. The factory reps told me I would loose some torque from the loss of back pressure and the heads would scorch in the long run. They're for racing, not running down the highway for hundreds of miles. Maybe that's why Harley's are always broke down on the side of the road over here! The saying "loud pipes save lives" is popular over here too, but I've seen a lot of loud bikes get hit by cars that "didn't see him." For the sake of your hearing (you can't replace that) I would strongly recommend baffling your pipes. They will still sound good, but not so loud.

I'm beginning to wonder which side of the border Yamaha support is on. Sounds like your dealing with the same do-nothings from your southern neighbor. I haven't been able to get them to do anything in the U.S. either. I like the bike, but Yamaha support bites.