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Hey guys it is with some guilt that I am finally able to post up. Many times I tried but just could not seem to be able to finish. The last few weeks have been really tough mentally,physically and emotionally. The surgeon is confident that the tumor has been totally removed so that is a good thing. The bad is my liver is fooked. Today was chemo training and what kind of chemo they are going to hit me with. Gonna be at least 6 months worth and hope for the best. That starts in 4 more days. It sure was a kick in the ass after only been retired for just over a month. I owe our own Nivin a huge load of gratitude. Yes he is part of my renal group and a decision that he made turned around one large obstacle that was causing some me some major issues. Thank you my friend I will forever be grateful. So that's pretty much it for now. Thanks to each and everyone of you guys and gals for the good wishes. Bless you all. Maybe one day I'll be able to shake your hands and thank you in person.

Best to give credit to the photographer @TimTheAzn

A few pictures (funny how the best, craziest shit just happens, and no cameras are there. You just dust off and act like nothing happened) Tinman at our first fill up on way down A smoke break, somewhere on SE Ohio Crossing into WV Yay! A break at the park in Philippi WV, near the mummys Into the Appalachians Merry, still somewhat clean awesome foot-across mushroom on side of road Tim Peter and Tim, discussing the degrading road conditions no doubt Peter, ever enthused the rare Danimal selfie Dinner at camp night two. Beautifully marbled Ribeyes and green beans (first night wasn't shabby either, right Tim?) Arrival at the Old Clark Inn On Saturday's ride, stopped at some random spot to pee. Climbed up on some rocks and found this 1967 Geo marker. Pretty cool random find from that rock this road turned very bad. Started with lots of muddy areas, got much worse Tinman catching his breath after we picked his bike off the deck in one muddy section Four RX3's in all their glory Merry never ran better than she did on this trip At the back gate at Greenbanks Radio Observatory By front entrance. Looking at dish someone built in their backyard! Nova is pictured Spruce Knob, highest point in WV Seneca Rocks Humminbird action at Old Clark Inn Nice fire pit behind the Inn Beer is good! And thus ends my pictorial of the RX3 Rally

Another beautiful weekend passes by, without me so much as lifting a fucking finger to make progress towards the big trip. Progress as in ...working on the DR650, doing planning, finalizing Insurance details...any number of hundreds of things that will need to be done. So rather than doing these things I did what comes naturally to me lately/....I rode the fucking wheels off of Merry again. She's running so well right now...begging me with every twist of the throttle to leave the Suzuki at home and take off for parts unknown NOW on Merry. Tis nice having options. Saturday up at the crack of 10am and on the road. Wandered East a bit, in and out of the PA line. Then generally SW towards Marietta. Goal was the Ring Mill campsite just NW of Marietta proper. I'm sure I integrated parts of the TOT into this weekend, but continue to be amazed at the number of excellent dirt/gravel I am finding just by wandering around. So for Saturday's dinner had no real plans/ Typical meal though...so looking for meat and veggies along the way. Amish folk seem to be done with asparagus, and am seeing little left in green beans (my two favorites) so when I saw one last bag of greenbeans at a roadside stand, I grabbed them, even though some in there looked like they had seen better days. Stopped at a small grocery store and picked up a pack of 6 chicken cutlets, and some local sauce for some flavor. Found the Ring Mill campground in the WNF...beautiful place and only one spot taken. Took #1 next to the river and set up. No potable water here, but clean outhouse. Nice little covered bridge Arrival at Ring Mill Country Bob's Secret Sauce (not bad really...kind of like a sharper A-1 sauce) Chicken cutlets, green beans and Country Bob Looking around the Ring Mill site after eating, the 1800's Ring Homestead Sunday, breakfast of pan fried Spam, scrambled eggs and coffee and back on the road home. Took a while to break camp. Was cold as FUCK Sat night (made it down to 38 degrees where I was) and there was a lot of condensation inside the rain fly. Laid out in the early morning sun to dry, as I HATE packing away wet gear (note to self, try to remember to bring a large towel. Towel can be used to dry off tent, and then strapped to top of rear box to dry while underway) Random road, SE Ohio Selfie using new camera's smart phone remote. Works pretty well! More SE Ohio landscape Bucolic Pulled my chair out at this spot, sat for 45 minutes, brewed another cop of Joe Passed by a small drag strip. Stopped and watched some cars burn fuel and tires lol That's all for now....till next time

Issue resolved, mods please close this thread

here's a few pictures from last weekend's wanderings Left in the rain Saturday afternoon. Rode secondary stuff down to Kingston Ohio. Mark offered his garage, so I didn't have to set up the tent in the rain. Was awesome having a dry spot to sleep and cook. Ended up just staying in the garage all weekend. Merry upon arrival, happy to be dry to warm up, some rum n coke, and chili Sunday am woke up to nice skies, and removed my luggage and went for a ride down to the Ohio River, zig zagging a bunch of great dirt roads This one went on a LONGGG time, was called Straight Run Road Sunday late afternoon got back to Mark's around 5. Stopped at a Corner Store and got some corn meal. Decided to have fresh fish for dinner. Mark's pond is well-stocked. Figured 2-3 small bass would be perfect his pond weapon of choice is a #3 Mepps Aglia spinner After putting a couple of 12" bass on the stringer, a beautiful 20" bass absolutely exploded on the spinner and after a great fight (2 jumps) had her in hand. Was far too nice a fish to kill, so she went back in. Estimated 4-1/2 lbs. Easy 5lbs if she had eggs. her bretheren, already cut into bite sized chunks and washed and into the oil... yyuyuyuuuuuummmmmm a little tarter sauce, some beans and all is well in this little corner of the World Monday saw Mark as I was leaving, thanked him for his generosity and started another wandering home Love this barn painting near Mark's in Kingston. Dunno why....love cats saw this odd display of bells on a backroad That's it for now friends. Soon...very soon the dissasembly and rebuild of the DR650 begins. Lots of pictures then I'm sure.

Almost got the new body work sorted on the ZRX. Also installed a new Corbin on the mean streak

Really wish I was joining you all. It's going to be perfect day and I'll be spending it coaching new riders down in Rio Grande. Got my touring bike packed up for the weekend.

I would strongly advise anyone getting into a Dodge or Jeep to buy the finest factory warranty available.

Got it dirty

Picture of @NinjaDoc and Mrs.Doc

So yea, things just got interesting. they gave me 4850 after deductible.

Well, the FatDuc did the trick. Stalling, coughing snd surging is gone. This new bike is incredible to ride. Dances like Izzy does, but with another 30 hp and stronger brakes. And that Ohkins shock soaks up all the rough stuff. She performed flawlessly on Saturday. No regrets selling the Multistrada or Supersport.

This was taken 2 days ago but I rode it to Little Switzerland and back. The trip was scheduled to keep going down to the dragon but a pesky hurricane messed up those plans and ended up riding home a bunch early.

Update: They are pony'ing up the $1400. Just requiring a general release from further litigation. Little bit of a hassle but they sent all they needed in one email. Although, I did have to follow up to get an answer, it wasn't too overly complicated. Here is the email I received (after requesting an update) Derek, Sorry for the delay. I did have your claim reviewed and following is what we show: Tire $159.66 Bar end slider $187.67 Helmet $549.99 Boots $179.99 Under cowl cover $265.05 Total: $1,342.36 Attached please find a General Release for your review and signature. Please sign the bottom of the General Release where indicated and return the General Release to me via e-mail (please forward the original General Release by mail to: K&N Engineering, 1455 Citrus St., Riverside, CA 92507). Once I receive the executed General Release (via e-mail) I will issue you a check in the amount of $1,342.36. If you have any questions please let me know. Thank you,

I followed Andy and Jacob on the 4th to get some footage of their riding and finally got it uploaded last night

Had a wonderful time this weekend at PIRC. A full 3-day long weekend of motorcycle racing is always a good thing. Had good times with @ricer1 @TimTheAzn @what @tall_tracy @jacobhawkins . Nice seeing @Isaac's Papa and @dpgasser showing up as well! Full Album of Photos (anyone is free to download any of the photos if they want) https://flic.kr/s/aHsm7utDHa Here are some of the highlights:

I am downloading my last few months worth of photos ave can across this one. My thoughts and prayers are with you Jerry.

Was this the mount you used???

Because "Canton" Also, he wants to avoid the dealership because he defaulted on this bike loan after he stunted the shit out of the baby Ninja. (speculation)

That's gotta be MANDARIN orange????

The ending was incredibly special with Roger Hayden's first win since the passing of his brother Nicky Hayden. Huge support from teammate Toni Elias. Podium for Superbike and Superstock 1000

Izzy is delivered. Multi is awaiting her new owner. The new girl is just a Jim Dandy of a bike. No regrets.

FJR are okay if you mod them, pretty rare to find one in stock form I did find this pic of @JustinNck1 on his before mods.

Eclipse Trip: Wife and I took a few days’ to ride, ”Slow” down thru Kentucky to Crossville, TN. area to view the Eclipse. We traveled on curvy back roads most of the time until we were returning home trying to out run the thunderstorms that slammed us around McArthur, OH. First night was in Slade, Kentucky with pizza at Migules. Next day we followed the (KAT) route south staying on the asphalt down past Jamestown, TN. near Crossville, TN. It was hot and traffic was picking up so we headed back into the forest with tree cover and Mountain rocks that were wet to stay cool while we waited for the Moon thing. After the event we stopped by the former secret town of Oak Ridge grabbed a snack and headed back on the (KAT) route to Jellico, TN. and spent the night at Pine Mountain State Park Lodge. Next morning we started heading home still trying to stay on the back roads to stay cool but still try to beat the storms. We had a great time. I love the asphalt back roads of Kentucky. Here is some video clips of the trip.

Man, had a shit ton of work to do today to prepare for having the next three days as vacation days. Did get it all out. Mainly because I told a few folks not to bother me, and it worked! Am leaving at 7am tomorrow, riding towards Marlinton WV to attend a "Rally" of other owners of the RX3 bike I'm riding. Should be fun to finally meet other like-minded folks (not fucking likely says I lol) Riding down with a guy from Grafton who also purchased one, after seeing mine. Have never ridden together. He's into precise routes and timelines (ohhhh Brother) so should be interesting. May be Merry's last big trip. We'll see. So get you moonshine ready and lock up your daughters....I'm on the loose

I am home, that was epic. Thank you everyone for the guidance and help...it was much appreciated.

Date codes are only one factor of many when considering a tire's quality/life expectancy. Many other factors such as temperature where stored, how long have they been stored, have they been sitting in sunlight, have they been in a humid shed, have they been off the wheel, on the wheel, sitting with water in them, etc. This is why you check a tires physical condition (hardness, signs of cracking, loss of shape, odd coloring, etc) I just had a bike on the lift this weekend that had tires with a 2009 date code. Guess what, they looked perfectly fine and they guy was railing corners on a Goldwing with them. I understand you're trying to help, but this topic has been beat to death lately. People need to worry less about date codes and more about tire pressure. That is the #1 cause for premature tire wear or poor handling.

My neighbors are assholes. Luckily I just worked on the local police officer's R1, so I texted him this. He said he will have it taken care of.

Rode it to work. When I got home I had an hour to change the rear tire. I managed to get the tire mounted and clean up the swingarm before I went to watch my daughters' volleyball games. Tomorrow I hope swap out the front tire before another volleyball game. I got 6000 miles out of pilot road 2s. That's 3 times the mileage I got out of a set Q3s. I'm giving Roadsmart 3s a shot this time. I could not pass up the $100 rebate and the stellar price Mike @RidersDiscount gave me.

I escorted Doc to Hocking Hills after skipping the meal in Caldwell. I Hope he made it to his destination, He seem tired. I went to dinner later and could have sworn I saw Doc with a pack of Harley Pirates at a local watering hole. He had a Vest on with "Property of Neil Ubich" and his new biker name on the front was "Love Doctor" I hope he comes back to us soon. I would hate to see him operating a Aid Station at Sturgis next year.

The bi in bike implies there are two of something just like homo implies that there is one. Both of these words are, I'm sure, very familiar to you.

Mounted my new bodywork. @RidersDiscount You can start sending me stuff any time now....

1. smooth on throttle and brakes (this should address your spinning up the rear issue and "overworking" the rear suspension) 2. smooth on counter steering for corner entry. (this should address the "overworking" the suspension issue.) 3. get someone to take footage of your body position. if it's too hard to actually properly get into position, then do what you can as long as you can still properly smoothly work the controls. (this should help with the excessive lean angle issue) 4. once you get the first 3 up to a certain point, refresh front forks (unless already done) and refresh rear shock. set sag after. 5. if you think I am full of shit, and you really are riding the bike as fast as it can go, ask your next coach to ride your bike, and you follow on his (or someone else who's willing to let you ride their race prepped bike). After you get left for dead within half a lap or likely less, pull back into pits with a fresh point of view. Welcome to the track, where everyone seems to be faster than you, and there is so much to learn! The comradery and improving is truly the best part, I hope you love it as much as I did.

Weather permitting I should be able to make this Roar... B.

I chased a Jschaf all around SEO. (Video )OH. 536

Not everyone lives in the snowbelt, I see. Lol

All the legroom of a super sport with none of the ground clearance.

Odd, I thought he was full of sh*t.

Vacation approved...which gives me about a 51% chance of actually getting the time off. I'll be in Savannah for training until Tuesday the 17th, so I'll probably just head toward Maggie Valley and meet you all there Thursday.

I generally don't share much of my personal life...I felt that the photographer captured the moment exceptionally well though. I've waited over a year for the eclipse so I could get this picture and really could not be happier with the result. The eclipse was an amazing thing to get to see and I will be in Ohio in 2024 to see it happen again.

It's definitely a hobby of mine, which I enjoy a lot, but she knows the frustrations of always shooting others but rarely getting my own photos so she has taken it upon herself to learn more about how to use the camera. There were lots of shots that she messed up because she forgot to move up the shutter speed and/or ISO (if needed) to give a bit more sharpness but I appreciate the fact that she will at least do what she can because she knows I enjoy it so much. ( I should have taken out of manual mode and put it into shutter speed priority)

4th place in sport. There were zero beginners registered when I went to the table, so I did sport class instead. Fourth of four in my age group. I did beat a couple of guys over 40, and the lone woman racing 2 laps. I actually went slower this race than last race (by a minute or so), but I was pacing for a second lap. could have gone much faster my first lap, but damp roots and lack of warmup just had me feeling "blah" the first couple of miles. With pacing being less of an issue on lap 2, I cleaned all of the climbs I hiked on lap 1. The only place I dabbed was on the narrow hubcap trees, when my tire spun on their roots. great trail. Probably my favorite thus far.

Just saved myself $2k, thanks to @2talltim. This unit is a 2006 with 9600 miles. Completely stock, except for the Helibars newly donned PR3 tires. The OTD price of this bike is $700 cheaper than the asking price of the other one. Plus, it's only 2 hours away.