Well my luck just ran out today...

Last week I got off work early, at around 1am instead of my usual 6am.  The ride home was so beautiful that I just stayed out for a while to cruise around town for a bit.  I got stopped twice for doing slightly more than 10mph over the limit.  Luckily neither officer saw me just a few seconds earlier smoking the tire across the intersection.  Both times they were sitting in parking lots about mid-block and I had been on the slowdown side of a stoplight launch.  And both times the officers were just full of comments and questions about Max.  Needless to say, after the second "Just slow it down" warning, I decided it was time to behave myself and go home.

Today I had to go in to work for a meeting.  I could have called in to the meeting but I wanted the ride anyway so I threw on the gear and hit the freeway.

Wow! It’s been a long time since I blogged about my life and times with Max.  I'm going to try to do a condensed edition to get caught up and hopefully stay caught up.  The weather has been too amazing to spend it sitting at home in front of the computer and work has actually had me busy enough that I haven't had time to do my personal stuff there either.  Damn work!  How dare they!?

Let's see, what happened after my ride to Globe?  I don't remember very well.  Everything is a blur…kind of like going 120mph on Max.

I finally got my 'repainted' side panel and to me it still looks like crap.  I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that can see the imperfections though.

        I decided to write an update to my last blog.  Reason being I'm not feeling to good about my situation now. I guess I wrote  that blog out of frustration. The frustration of being so Limited in how I communicate via this site. I threw myself on the block and let everyone see how I was surviving  in the 'Stone Age'.  I made it sound kinda Bad and kinda funny with a Positive Twist to it. A Good side and a Bad side. Like Yeng & Yang  ( Yeah Right!!!)         
       Well and good. I recieved a lot of positive feedback and made some new friends. Which I'm very greatful for, I truely am !  I had some members offer some sound advise and many helping  hands ! It was a really Great Feeling !  I was feeling more like a member, like I could contribute regardless of my handicap.  That of coarse opened my eyes to so much more. And the more you interact the more you See and Understand !  Thus the more you want to Communicate and Contribute !            
     So, Like I said in my last post--Good Thing ! ??? Right ! ???----No ! Not Good !!!  Now that I have so much more than I had before , I'm even more frustrated ! In order to really Communicate and Contribute on this site, I need to change !  To evolve out of the 'Stone Age', To at least what is, somewhat present day !  You Know--be able to watch video, post up video. Or maybe just to post up  some pictures !  You have know idea how many times I've had requests for pictures and felt helpless ! I've even had members offer to post up pictures for me and couldn't !  That is So So Laim !!!   I've gotten to the point where I just can't accept it anymore ! It was somewhat easy before to just pass it off as being Novel or Old School . Or I would weigh the cost and time vs. how much I utalize the computer, and that made it OK !  Well it's not OK anymore !  I have always been one that resisted change. DieHard to the point it cost me a job ! (another story). So now that I have a reason to change---This site, You people-- I have to try !  I don't know the first thing to do yet ? But I'll figure it out !  Guess I'm going to have to find /hire someone to help me !
        So until I am able to Make It Happen, I don't feel much like contributing as it leads to more frustration and this Laim Feeling !  I'll be around, just not as much. Consider me Under Construction.    Sincerely, Mark 

Details:

The benefit ride is going to start at our location

Langstonmotorsports
1622 Illinois Ave. Suite 1
Perris CA 92571

Riders will be here at 9am
The ride will start at 10am

The ride takes a little over an hour each way and we should arrive in Palm desert Between 12-1pm.

Arrival location:

Elephant Bar
73833 Highway 111
Palm Desert CA 92260
(760) 340-0456



This is where the raffle tickets will be sold.  Raffle tickets will be around $10.00.


Once leaving the location the raffle will begin at 3:00pm back at

Langstonmotorsports

I recently had some conversations with some members. It  got me to thinking. I like to call them conversations, even though we were conversing via this site. It makes me feel like it's no different than talking to someone on the phone or face to face. You see-- That's the thing ,or one of the things I was thinking about. The way we communicate ( the physical parameters) has a lot of bearing on What we know about somebody and How we know somebody. Take Me for example . I am a real cripple when it comes to computer skills, internet skills and the PC I use !  I have a 15 yr old desk top and I'm still on dial up ! On top of that I don't type, I hunt and peck ! All of these things are Not Good when it comes to making friends and getting to know people on the web. As a matter of fact they're about as Good as having a stick in a boomarang contest !  Anyway these limitations cause me to shorten the things I say , which effects the way I say them. This can lead to mis-communication and mis-understandings-Not Good ! It also causes me to shorten conversations and not ask as many questions. Therefore I get a lot less information about something, or someone--Not Good ! And in turn, I shorten the answers and information I give about something or myself--Not Good ! (Well maybe Good ! About myself ?) So you see how crippling these limitations can be !       Hell, That's why I don't have an Avatar!  On the other hand, In defense of my laim situation. It makes me think about what I'm going to say. To choose my words a little more carefully--not in a manipulating/plotting way or anything! In a more efficient,caring  manner ! ( Yeah Right !--Seriously !) -- Good Thing ! It's also taught me Patience ! (that comes from all the benefits of dial-up)-- Good Thing ! (Yeah Right !)  It also makes me re-read what I've written, because my hunting & pecking is full of mistakes. So sometimes I realize that's not what I was trying to say, or the right thing to say-- Good Thing !  There's a lot about communicating on this site both Good & Bad  It affects What We Don't Know and Who We Don't Know --On this site !    To Make A Long Story Short--I've been lucky ! With all my communication problems I've managed to make some friends (they know who they are--I hope). I've gained a lot of knowledge,   and I have enjoyed every minute doing it !   Thank You-- StarVMax.com and all who contribute !   Mark                                                                

Has been over a week since I got back from the Dragon and the best time I ever had at the Dragon. Tuskeegee hotel was an awesome place to stay, the total lack of cell phone coverage and internet a blessing. 

By far the best thing that could have happened to this years Dragon VMax Warrior Fest was the Deals Gap Rock Slide earlier this year. Sounds weird but the fact that the road was closed for a couple weeks, reopened just a week before we go there - but only partial (the rock slide in Tennessee is still there), made for an awesome experience. During the week the Dragon was open from 8am - 8pm with 2 troopers present at most times. No less and no more.

Bikes and cars were super rare, no traffic and once you knew about the location of the smokey bears, it was great fun - always keeping it safe of course!

"If It's Too Good To Be True ?"

Well I had an experience yesterday, Reminded me of one of the many things my Dad use to tell me. I was getting ready to wash the Cobra. Had the bucket full of car wash stuff and all the things required for the elaborate wash process I put myself and My Cobra thru ! That's why I'd been putting it off for a week !!! Anyhow I decided to put it off a while longer,It was kinda hot out. So I thought I'd go on line and check my email. Well to my surprize there was this reply to a craigslist advertisment I had half-heartedly replied to the day before. I saw this craigslist ad for a 2009 Yamaha VMax,340 miles, Vin#,Da,da,Da,da and so on. Then I saw $2800 ! Must be a misprint ? Well could'nt  be $28000 ? What the hell, So I replied.  Well today I get this reply from Karen ? Alias ? I don't know ?,maybe Bruno ? Well at the time I don't realize this is Bruno Rippoff. I think     she 's Karen 33Murry, with this low milage 09 VMax for only $2800 !!! She thanks me for the reply and apologizes for her late reply because she's had trouble with her laptop. You see, She's currently away on a trip for UNICEF. She verifies the $2800.00 price,  340 miles, perfect condition etc. Now my hearts racing. Is this right ? Well she states she's not selling this bike for profit or lack of money. All she can say is some recent events in her life has changed her perception of things she considered important in the past ! She's going to donate the money to charity after she sells the bike ! Holy Crap, How lucky can I get ? Better hurry reply back, tell her to consider it sold, call me--at this phone #. Better leave another #!!! My hearts racing faster,I'm walking around in circles thinking I'll drive there tonite it's not to far. Better get to the bank before it closes. Hope she calls right away!

Well it sure is funny how greed can easily manipulate us, Especially when it's something that we really desire--Like a Max !  I didn't tell all the other stuff in her/his reply that initally made it very believable.  Very Professional Con Artist At Work, And working  on Me-Help !  That's when my Dad's advise kicked in !  If It's Too Good To Be True, It Probly Isn't ! So I stopped, took a deep breath,  took two steps back, and did a little more research which made realize I was being scammed !  Thanks Dad. Hope he's lookin down on me , say'n Atta Boy !

Legal Disclaimer – Any opinions, riding practices, feelings about other members, product or retail suggestions, religious beliefs, or beliefs in extra-terrestrial beings dressed in fairy costumes expressed in these blogs are those held solely by me, the blogger.  Especially the riding practices, don’t do what I do.  Sometimes I’m not safe at all and I know it.  Believe me, I reprimand myself quite often.  It’s just sooo damn much fun.

For those of you just joining us, you may want to jump down to the first blog titled ‘The Beginning’ and read them from the bottom up.  Again I apologize; I am playing catch up from my first day with my new V Max and I’m documenting the experiences and emotions I have related to riding this unbelievable machine.

Its Tuesday April 20th and Vanessa just left for work, kids are gone to school so… what to do?  Housework? No.  Work on the back yard landscaping? No, that’s way too much physical labor.  Hmmmm, I know!  I’ll ride Max!  But Where?  I’m bored with Casa Grande.  I think I’ve gone down every road in town at least 3 times, just to be riding.  And there are cops EVERYWHERE!  Every time I think about lighting up the back tire or just punching the throttle, a black and white appears.  Geez guys, let a guy have some fun.  It seems like I ride into Chandler every day even on the weekends so that’s getting a little old as well.  I want some mountain roads, twisties, and amazing views.  I would really like to find some beautiful backgrounds for some good pictures of Max.  Globe isn’t that far and I hear it’s a nice ride.  Shoot, I think I can even find my way without mapping it on Google first.  That’s it then.  Bundle up, grab the MP3 player, gas up (again), and hit the road.  Yeah I know, not supposed to use an MP3 player with earbuds while riding because you can’t hear anything around you.  I don’t listen to music though, I actually listen to audiobooks.  Kinda cool, especially listening to sci-fi thrillers or mysteries.

Grrr, there's that damn side panel with the patch of paint missing again.  It is really pissing me off.  Two calls to Seth at the dealership and all I get told is, “I’m still trying to get in touch with the painter.”  Bullshit!  He’s just waiting for the can of spray paint to get there.  I’m also starting to feel with my butt dyno that she just doesn’t quite have the pep that she did the first few days.  Man, I hope I didn’t screw up big time with the break in.  Maybe my butt dyno just needs calibrating.

Everything’s quiet and cool riding out through Coolidge and Florence.  A comment from somebody at a stoplight in Florence causes the grin to appear.  No horsing around or showing off.  Just nice, easy riding.  Everything about this bike just feels right.  Smooth, poised, balanced, ready to strike with a flick of the wrist.  I actually like the stealthy sound of the stock pipes.  To me, they have the perfect little rumble at lower RPMs and then they jump right up and snarl at you when you open the throttle up.  They are perfect to me, but I also realize that is probably because I haven’t heard any of the others in person yet.  Sure wish I had an X-Pipe, wink, wink.

On Highway 60 now and heading toward Superior and then Globe.  The highway is wide open so I kick the speed up a bit and cruise for a few minutes around 110mph.  I just can’t get over how easy it is to get there and how smooth it still is.  Oh, now the road is narrowing down from 4 lanes to 2 so time to let off and take it easy again.  Oh shit, perfect timing!  Just after the 2 lane reduction there’s a cop coming toward me.  Speedo says 70 and the speed limit is ??  Crap.  55 I think.  Oh well, he didn’t do anything and besides, the guys on the forum say the speedo is 10% off anyway.  Anyhow, a few little twisties and nice viewpoints later and I’m in Superior.  Damn that was quick.  Need gas.  Sure wish this thing had a bigger tank.  And I’m never ready for the little pullover viewpoints until I blaze past them.  Here’s a couple of shots I did manage to get though.

You can see the quarter sized patch of paint that came off my side cover.  It’s just embarrassing.  Stupid dealership.  Oh, and the side screws holding the intake scoops vibrated out yesterday so I had to get stainless replacements.  You can see one of those here also.  I’ll touch those up one of these days. 

And I just had to take of picture of a thistle.  I hadn’t seen one of these since I left Kansas 7 years ago.

Ok thanks Oliver!  I guess now I’ve got an audience so I’m actually a little nervous.  These blogs were just meant to be a way for me to document my experiences with Max.  Well I guess it’s no big deal.  I’ll just keep going on like I was.  I may have to explain things a bit more sometimes though so everybody knows where I’m coming from.  I know what I mean (most of the time) but you might not.  Know what I mean?

See, I’ve got the greatest job in the world.  I’m an Automated Equipment Specialist at Intel Corporation.  I maintain the robotics equipment in Intel’s chip fabrication factories in Chandler.  It is awesome!  I’ve always loved robotics and as it turns out, I’m pretty damn good at fixing things.  15 years of working at my dad’s hardware store in Kansas really gives a guy a good learnin’ at wrenchin’ and fixin’ things.  J  Catch my little redneck slang there?  Well, I work the night shift, 6pm to 6am, on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and every other Saturday night.  We always have a few routine and scheduled maintenance things to do every night but the majority of the time we sit like firemen, waiting for something to break so we can run to the rescue and get the factory back up and running.  And did I mention that we are pretty good at fixing things?  All that means is that things don’t break very often at all.  This gives me all the time in the world to get caught up on reading this forum.  Yeah! 

OK her first service is done on April 20th, 2010 with 1200 miles on her.  Man I don't trust these dealership dudes.  How the hell do I know if they even did anything?  I mentioned the paint coming off of the side panel to the service tech and he said that they wouldn't have had the bike custom painted.  WHAT?  The sales manager told me they did!  Now I don't know what to believe.  Oh well, as long as it gets fixed I don't really care.  Seth, the sales manager, came out and looked it over.  He said he would call the painter (yeah right) and see what he wants to do about it and he assures me that it will get taken care of.  And damn, they used that spray polish on her again.  Sure it looks nice on the body parts but the overspray makes spots all over the engine and they never wipe them off.

Had a great friend and his wife come get me while the service was being done.  Took me out to breakfast (I paid though, of course...geesh) and drove me around so I could get a couple of things done.  I had been told of this place in Gilbert that sold nothing but helmets and I was definitely in need of a new one.  He had an AWESOME Shoei helmet with a dragon on it.  I love dragons but this one was just a bit more than I could afford.  I picked up a sweet HJC IS-16 for a lot less than I had expected to spend but it was the one the owner recommended.  And since the helmet was less than I expected, I bought a new riding jacket too.  My old leather one was about 2 sizes too big because of my long ass arms.  This new Tour Master fits perfectly.  The liners are a bit of a pain in the ass but they sure work good.  Oh and new gloves too, gotta have new gloves...and maybe some sunglasses too.  Holy crap I've got to stop spending money.

Alright, back to the bike.  Her first service done, I've got all new gear too.  Backpack is stuffed with all my old crap.  I've still gotta figure out some way to carry things on this bike.  I'm almost shaking with excitement because I don't have to stress the break in period anymore.  This time I still take it easy cruising down through Mesa and Chandler.  I’ll have plenty of time to open her up on the 87 out across the desert.  Or do I take the 10??  Hmmmm, I hate the 10, way too many stupid people on that road.  Highway 87 it is then.  At the outskirts of Chandler, just as you get off of Arizona Avenue and get on highway 87, there is a little dogleg.  A short little turn to the left followed by a quick jump back to the right and then she's WIDE open.  Well, I had a little pickup in front of me that was creeping along.  I took the first left really slow to let the truck get some distance on me.  Then the turn to the right, still in 1st gear, just starting to come out of the lean and I start to crank open the throttle.  Her ass end kicks out and the smoke is a rollin'.  FU&$!!!!!  That was cool!  I just powerslid my friggin V Max!  Never done that before.  It was cool too, nice and smooth.  Gunna have to work on that...build up some powerslidin' skills.  Anywho, I lean into the wind and go WOT.  Blast past the little truck at about 115mph and start into this long sweeping curve to the right.  Its a lengthy curve that does about a 90 degree angle in about a 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile.  Well let me tell you something, at 135mph, that curve scared the shit out of me.  I'm leaning into it like crazy and I'm still drifting toward the center line a little bit.  WOW!  Ok let off a bit before you crash you idiot.  Wouldn't want to scratch Max all up.

The rest of the ride home was a blur.  I held my speed to within what I consider a reasonable distance from the speed limit.  90-100mph is nice.  I did test the limiter a couple of times when the road was clear.  Yep, 147 is all she'll do.  Might just have to check into FX's top speed fix.  Why?  Because more is always better, right??  I just can't get over how smooth Max is.  It feels like I'm flying.  Just floating on a cushion of air.  The mirrors work their way inward going that fast though.  That's a little annoying and I'm definitely going to have to fix that later.  Ok now a turn to the right again by Sacaton and I'm on highway 187 heading back toward the 10 and Casa Grande.  This road is fun because it has a few of those water crossings that dip down pretty good giving you that queasy feeling in your stomach if you take them fast enough.  What's that you say?  Fast enough?  Well let's see what Max can do about that!  I roll into the first dip at about 120, still accelerating and my friggin ass comes off the seat.  Then coming off the up-slope, the front wheel comes off the ground for an instant.  HOLY SHIT!  Ok, that’s really dangerous.  I like it but I don’t want to die just yet.  I take the rest of the dips just a bit easier.  Well, I did try to pull a wheelie coming out of the last one but my timing was off so I missed it.  Gunna have to work on that too.  For now I just want to get home and ditch this backpack.  The kids will be home soon so my fun for today is done.  Well, almost.  I did leave a nice long black snake on the road leading to the house.  I’m going to have to check on the price of a new back tire soon.

Ride it like you stole it. Check!  Mark that one off the list.  Shit, I think Max could possibly even outrun the police radio.