me too buddy [&:] me too.. thinking of buying an mp3 player (maybe iPod) just for riding, but not sure if it's safe (not being able to hear surroundings).

 

Thanks for the kind compliment Mozz. You wouldn't have sounded like a jerk at all, but I've decided to keep the totalled bike. It's still a wealth of parts and I might be buying a new 500R this weekend. No red ones have come available at all (except for a few in snowy New England on the other side of the island), but the more I look at those lime-green '06's, the less cartoonish they look. If the salesman up north is willing to talk turkey, I'll be going back into debt and picking up one of those. I'm keeping the wheels, tires, engine, carb, seat, etc. from the current bike and will simply cannibalize parts from it as I need them for the green '06.
Thanks again and ride safely, hombre!
-CCinC

 

Chris,
for comparison's sake, the dealer where i purchased my bike has one '06 left - lime green (www.koups.com). he is asking $4500 for it, but i guess he could probably be talked down a bit more from there. i really enjoyed purchasing from them, because they were a no hidden charges, no games kind of dealership, yet quite personable. i think i paid perhaps $100 on top of sales price for assembly, which was WAY LESS that what my local dealership wanted to add onto MSRP in extra charges. unfortunately, they are in rural Pennsylvania, about 2700 miles east of you!

Take care!
Greg

 

Ha! I've ridden to Philadelphia before:
http://www.calamarichris.com/philly04.htm
It's a long freaking way across Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. The roads didn't start getting interesting until I got to Wheeling, OH.

It looks like I'm masturbating in this photo, but I'm checking the map, because we probably got lost again. It's pretty freakin' easy to get lost in PA when you get off the parkway!

And here I am in Tenessee:


Sadly, the bikes sold in PA are 49-state models and we Californians aren't allowed to license them here.
I'll be lucky if I can find one for under $5,000 in California.
Thanks Greg!

 

LOL!! I was reading your reply during lunchbreak at my desk - lost a mouthful onto the monitor!

 

Chris, I understand the 49 state thing, and I dont know what kind of crap you have to go through to get it legal, if you even can.

Just wanted to let you know there is a dealer here in TX that is advertising and OTD price of $4143 on 06 500rs, or 4868 on 07s for out of state buyers.


Matt

 

4143 looks like a really great deal, but i cant drive that far right now. School sucks [:'(]

Always love your pics chris, keep them coming so I can live vicariously

 

Chris,

Quick question for ya, Does that windscreen on the W650 help out? I'm thinking about picking up a naked bike next year and was wondering how bad the wind would be at highway speeds. Thanks!!

Dave

 

Hey Pang.
I usually prefer no windscreen at all. A steady flow of air is less irritating than the buffeting and turbulence behind a windscreen--even most large Goldwing and touring screens.
The little flyscreen really doesn't do much at all for me; it's for the dog.


And thanks Chupo.

The requirements for importing a 49-state bike into CA are:
~You either have to install all of the pertaining smog equipment and get the bike in$pected and te$ted (which is outrageously ex$pen$ive), or
~The bike must have at least 7500 miles on it.

I've imported a 49-state 500 into California before (I bought a used odometer on Ebay and bolted it onto the new bike for the DMV inspection.) I could easily do it again (now I've got TWO odometers with more than 7500 miles on them! haha) but I'm thinking I'll just ride the train up to the Los Angeles area, or perhaps Oakland. I've seen a few up there for less than $5000. Gracias hermano!

 

Hey chris you should edit this picture a little (crotch) unless you are trying to pick up chicks with it