So I got my motorcycle license last year and have been looking for a steal of a deal on something small, cheap, and easy to ride. Found this 2004 Honda Rebel 250 earlier this week and negotiated a trade for some stuff I had that I wasn’t using. The previous owner said he bought the bike a year ago for his wife and she rode with him, but hie sold his bike about 3 months ago and she won’t ride without him. He owns a go-kart/golf cart shop and I met him earlier this evening. He changed the oil etc last riding season and has put about 150 miles on it since then. I went to check it out this evening with a co-worker who is an avid rider. He rode it and said it checked out as solid. We made the trade and I followed my coworker back to my house as he rode it. It was about a 30 mile ride and highway/interstate, which I’m not comfortable with just yet. I don’t intend to use it for much more than putting around town/learning to ride/riding to work. Should be a fun little toy/project.

2004 Honda Rebel 250
8,100 miles
Windshield
Crash bars
Saddle bags
Jardine exhaust (which sounds great at low speeds and strained at interstate speeds)

The shift linkage has trouble accessing Neutral from First and First from Neutral. Easy to get to Neutral from Second. I figure it just needs some tinkering and accessing Neutral from a stop is a common problem with the Rebel. It’s a little dirty, gas is old, but otherwise seems to run good. Brakes are strong and a 30 mile interstate ride didn’t seem to give it any issues. I’ve basically got like $400 in the bike so I don’t have too many concerns using it to learn on. The previous owner said the battery was going bad and gave me $75 cash at the close of the deal for one. He said it would hold charge for 2-3 days, but if you let it sit for longer the battery will die, hooked up or not. I’ve got the battery on a battery tender now and the tender says the battery is still good, but I’ll probably replace it. He also said the tires are only a few years old to his knowledge, but I’m gonna replace them too just out of an abundance of caution. I’m pretty exited to play with it.

I’ll get better pictures this weekend when I clean it up.

Welcome to an exciting new chapter in my motorcycle ownership. I've been thinking for awhile now that I'd like to get a dual sport bike. Seems to align more to my usage for motorcycles and to add as skill to riding resume. I had been actively searching for a bike, but needed to sell the SV first. I'll spare the purchase details, but the SV was sold last Saturday and Ryan and I headed out last night to check this little thumper out.

The guy we met was very nice and a avid motorsports enthusiast. He picked this up last year to trail ride with his friend who then decided no longer wanted to trail ride and focus solely on racing so he lost interested. 

It's a 2007 DRZ400 "S" model with about 7900 miles on it. It's also one of my favorite factory Suzuki colors. Blue and white. Over the last year the guy rebuilt the carb, installed a KTM'esque headlight, Yamaha fender, FMF exhaust, re-jet, 3x3 mod, Bark Busters, bash plate, Renthal controls, new tires, and a new battery. It looked to be well cared for and not beat on so we struck a deal and she's now tucked away in the garage.

It's basically turn-key right now. There is a lowering link kit installed so I have a OEM linkage on the way to return it to factory height. Once that's done I can properly adjust the suspension for my weight. At the 8,000 mile mark I'll likely change the oil, flush the radiator, check the spark plug, and valves. 

Otherwise it's good to go! I'll be keeping a list of Maintenance and mods up-to-date below like my SV thread. I'm looking forward to doing some bike-packing this summer. Basically loading up my hammock, bottle of bourbon, and back-packing stove to chill in the GWNF.

2007 DRZ400s
Mileage at Purchase: 7,909
Current Mileage: 8,864

Maintenance and Mods:

• OEM Dog bone linkage installed, chain clean & lube, suspension tuned for baseline - 8,036 (6/28/2019)
  
• Coolant flush and changed to Engine Ice - 8,080 (6/29/2019)
  
• Gear shift level fix - 8,080 (7/2/2019)
  
• Spark plug change and valve clearance check - 8,093 (7/4/2019)
  
• Oil & Air filter change - 8,094 (7/5/2019)
  
• Extended fuel screw & jetting update - 8,650 (8/8/19)
  
• Seat Concepts, Stainless front brake line, MCCT install - 8754 (8/14/19)
  

Hello guys, 
I hope everyone is having a great summer. This month we received an email about a scholarship for any and all current undergrad students. Fresh Prints is company that is giving the opportunity of a $1,000 scholarship and they are accepting applications until June 30th. 
For anyone interested:
The application takes just a few minutes to apply. https://apply.freshprints.com/scholarship6/?source=newclub&school=JMU&club=Madison%20Motorsports&test=none&group=controlgroup&clubemailsent=2019-06-07T11:12:06-04:00
For more information contact Jolijt Tamanaha, jolijt@freshprints.com  
Or follow the Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shirtjustgotcrazy/
Thanks for your attention, I wish everyone a great summer.

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, 
and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, 
one of the four beasts saying, 

Come and see.





Current To-Do list:

1. Remove seats, clean and shampoo carpet
   
2. Remove headliner, re-finish
   
3. new heater core and hose routing
   
4. Align hood and add hood spring
   
5. Tyres
   

Thought we had a thread, but I can't find it....

Two things - I need to get some PDR and/or panel replacement done on the Cadillac due to a hail storm that blew through the other day. I have State Farm, it is covered, but I don't have to take it to a preferred state farm place. Any recommendations? I was thinking Matchless Auto body in Vienna since that is close to the house and has good yelp reviews.

Next - I want to get the truck painted. It's a 1999 F250 and not perfect. I have new doors to hang on it to solve some rust problems, but I want the whole thing to be sanded down and given at 5-10ft paintjob in Black. Basically just want it good enough to avoid having overspray and tape lines and shit everywhere. Any recommendations within 50 miles for that sort of thing?

Surprising no one, Porsche has officially announced the 718 GT4 and Spyder.  40ish more horsepower at 414, more downforce, current GT3 brakes and suspension, yadda yadda.

It got an 8000 rpm 4.0L, which is great, but it turns out that it's a bored out version of the Carrera motor, not an actual GT engine. And it has the same max torque as the old motor.  The car is a full 120lbs heavier than the old model, while using the same gearing that was too tall for the 981 GT4.

I expected this car to be more expensive than the previous gen, but a base price of $13k more, puts it at $100k before you start adding options.  If you figure $10-15k in options for a sensible build, you're right in used 991 GT3 territory.  Porsche says the GT4 is 10 seconds a lap faster around the 'Ring which should translate to it being about as fast as a 991.1 GT3 around a racetrack, but I would think with the same tire the GT3 would still be faster since it has more power, and weighs about the same.


Still, being able to configure the car the way you like it, and roll out with a full warranty is definitely worth something.  Will be interesting to see how insane the dealer markups are.


https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2019/pro...ngine.html

I went off-roading in the Shenandoah Valley last year with some friends. We decided to go again this year, but add a Top Gear-esque "challenge" element to it.

Challenge Rules:

• $1500 purchase price. Ish.
  
• All wheel drive required
  
• Vehicle may not be equipped with Low range
  
• No sharing what you bought 'til you arrive in August (Matthew is coming on the trip but we know what each other bought)
  

• It runs well
  
• The transmission shifts through all five gears on its own
  
• All the windows, door locks, rear hatch, and sunroof work
  
• It is blue and has most of its clearcoat (minus a small spot on the roof)
  
• The tires are all matching and have decent tread remaining - about four years old
  
• It drives well, no real steering slop or front-end slop under braking
  
• Someone installed an "Eonon" Android head unit with USB/Bluetooth and some of the speakers work
  
• It'll do 70 mph and not overheat or otherwise make me worry (for now)
  

• The dashboard is a Christmas tree (ABS, DSC, Brake fluid, transmission failsafe, Service Engine Soon)
  
• Although the turn signals, headlights, high beams, hazards all work, the cluster doesn't really tell you about it
  
• It only sometimes knows how to make door chime sounds
  
• Occasionally it doesn't realize you've closed the door or buckled your seatbelt
  
• It's dirty as shit inside
  
• Headliner is falling down a bit in the rear
  
• Headlights are foggy (but can be polished)
  
• The Eonon head unit is impossible to figure out and some of the speakers do not work
  
• Keyless entry remote doesn't work - the door lock cylinder was replaced and a separate key is required to operate the locks
  

In a recent development, I somehow ended up with dealer access to buy cars at Manheim. 
It has been ok'd to buy cars directly for friends/family for $500 over price/fees. They run everything from beaters to practically new cars through, but it'd probably be best if you had a specific model in mind to go after.  I can share some previous results so you can get an idea of pricing. 

We can talk details if anyone is interested, but the cars would still have to go through the dealership for title/taxes/etc. 


Here are a few examples from last week at Harrisonburg.
(if you sort by price, you can see which ones had a trunk full of nose candy)  

Mine seems to be getting power but it's dead

Who is coming to play? HPDE? Race? Work? Beer drinking?

I have a little bit of work to do on the civic of doom still... drivers side axle swap, drop on the new old hood, re mount my rear lexan with the new setup... maybe change my right side net up