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timmythecop

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Everything posted by timmythecop

  1. Speaking of instructors, ..... When we parked, the instructors would come out with a tape measure and see if we were 18" apart, crash bar to crash bar. This combined with exact wheel alignment is what they wanted. Each time we got it wrong, we had to duck-walk the bike about 100 yards.
  2. Did I ever drop the bike? Man, I am an EXPERT ElectraGlide picker-upper. I had small, medium and large crashes. So glad I didnt fall off on the uphill grass section. I hear it is murder trying to get it on its wheels on a 45 degree grass hill. The rate of dropped bikes got higher as we went because we were trying to ride out a mistake instead of putting a foot down. Hell, I dropped ol' training bike number 5 just a half an hour before the final test. Sometimes, you knew you were a bit wide, so you would gas it a little and lean more, but the front wheel would clip those slippery as fook cones and on the side you went. The only thing the instructors did after teaching you how to pick it up, was make sure you never got help doing it.
  3. we tested the Buells when they came out, but gave them a pass.
  4. aw, hell, while we are at it................................
  5. Now, over in England, same thing, but on the mighty VFR:
  6. Every time he wants a Slurpee
  7. HD informed my department that they would no longer be producing sidecars. (we put them on in November and take them off in March, so snow and ice are not a problem). So, in comes the Victory salesman. He gives us 10 bikes to test for a week. All the motormen love them. The inauguration is coming up, and that is when we buy new bikes............ Then Victory hit us with the price: 68,000 bones for each bike+sidecar. They thought they had us over a barrel. The Vice President of HD then personally came to DC to apologize and inform us that they will sub-contract a company to make us our sidecars. We just bought 40 bikes from HD.
  8. Here is the best representation of what it looks like. Our course is similar, but not exactly the same.
  9. oh. I almost forgot to mention.. .....when I got on my VFR after 80 hours on the 1000 pound Harley, it felt like a CBR 250's little cousin. The VFR felt so dainty, refined and small. The bars felt sooooo close together and the brakes seemed impossibly good. it's all perspective.
  10. So, if some of you do not know, Timmythecop is not just a moniker, I am actually a policeman. I am a Sergeant with the Metropolitan Police Department, Washington DC. One of the jobs of my department is the movement of dignitaries and especially the protection of the President. This job is done by policemen on motorbikes and the department takes it very seriously. We are not like most departments in that almost all of our cops on bikes are used only for this, so you dont see much traffic enforcement or patrol bikes. After nearly 25 years of asking, I was finally sent to the "FLH Motor School" I heard it was hard, but I figured it was just a bunch of cones and a Harley. I was wrong. It was 40 hours of rules and administrative stuff and 80 hours on motorcycle mastery. It isnt just cones. It isnt just slow speed maneuvers. I was taught how to totally and completely know what the bike was doing, and how to confidently make it do more. A lot of the time I was at full lock, floorboard on the ground, back brake on, throttle on, clutch feathered. I learned how to pick a line. This was important because usually, the cones were just inches wider than the turning circle of the bike. The dance between balance, throttle, clutch, brake. lean and look. Oh, the look. I thought I was good at looking into the turns. I was wrong again. I learned that you cannot glance, you must LOOK, concentrate, see!. I learned that there are no shortcuts, there is no cheating when the cones go up. I learned that the back brake has a use. I learned that steering inputs need to be quick and decisive. I learned to know where the bike is and trust in what I do to correct its attitude. I learned that Harley Davidson FLHTPI motorbikes do what they are designed for rather well, and they are really comfy. I went into the the training with an open mind, I knew it was going to be hard. I had NO IDEA it was going to be THAT hard. One of the toughest things I have done in my life. The mental aspect is profound. The emotional roller coaster was killing me. I went from "I am the man" to "I truly suck at this" a hundred times. I am proud I made it through (the attrition rate is over 63%, 3 out of 8 of us made it), and I learned so much, I know I am a much better motorcyclist for it. Keep your mind open, joy and learning is out there.
  11. Lorenzo will be blaming Rossi for race losses 5 years after Rossi retires..................... He is a petulant cock, and for the first time ever, I understand why he is consistently and vocally boo'ed when he is on the podium.
  12. Lorenzo is officially a BITCH. To hear him whine about Rossi's pass. Definition of sore looser. Soft, Spanish, BITCH. "For me, he didn't need to do this overtaking. He was better today, he would've passed me anyway sooner or later. He didn't need to be so aggressive on me, I think. But, anyway, he will have another opinion, of course." .....when Danny "better safe than sorry" Pedrosa is making more daring overtakes than the "world champion"............you get.........BITCH. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/rossi-lorenzo-odds-over-aggressive-180117899.html
  13. your buffoonery's karate is stronger than my buffoonery's karate.
  14. told you Suzuki were getting it right.
  15. here go...... skip up to the 2:00 mark and see what these guys thought about it.
  16. nothing really special to look out for. Remember that SP1 and SP2 are different (exhaust, swingarm, head bearings, subframe, injectors). also, it is almost a must to have the suspension done, as stock set up is weak. It is about as electrically sound as a 5th Gen, but is easily sorted. Be prepared to pay a bunch if it needs exhaust. Also, it handles much nicer with a 190/55 instead of stock size of 190/50 (but the 55 is the most expensive size). If you get an early SP1, look on the engine cases near the swingarm mount for the mechanic who assembled the engine's signature.
  17. google is yer friend
  18. oh man, just read this. Sending some get well soon from Iceland. Get on Marktplaats and get a 5th Gen.
  19. Those silver surfers are groooovy! I have toyed with this idea
  20. I agree:
  21. Lemmy approves.
  22. Ken talked me into it. Plan is to ride down. Just gotta check with my wife and she is not in this country right now.
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