Milestones [Archive] - GZ 250 Forums

IRingTwyce

10-29-2008, 12:26 AM

Well, today a few things happened. I passed my first hundred miles, gassed up for the first time, and made my first ride in the dark. :2tup: A few thoughts... 1) 60 mpg rocks, but not as much as it would have two months ago :biggrin: ; 2) it really DOES get colder once the sun is down! :retard: ; 3) I've got to get warmer riding duds; 4) I'm really starting to settle in to higher speeds (50+).

I think this is going to become addicting. :tup:

Dupo

10-29-2008, 02:30 AM

Yep, it becomes very addicting. You've now passed the 'newbie' status on that bike. It all goes smoother from here!!!!

I'll tell ya what i use for cold weather ...

Lower half: long underwear, hunting socks, jeans, a thick pair of leather chaps and ofcourse my motorcycle boots.

Upper half: long sleeve thermal, long sleeve shirt over that, sweatshirt then my VERY heavy/thick motorcycle leather jacket. My jacket is what you would call an 'updated' version of the old school leathers. The arms are bent, its vented, lined, extended arms, thicker leather and taller. Its one of the most comfortable/durable/thick leather ive seen that still resembles the old school leather style.

Head: bandanna, skull cap and a neoprene 3/4 face skull print face mask. When its REALLY cold i put the full face on with a neck warmer and a wind breaker piece that clips to the chin of the helmet to keep the air out.

That setup i can ride down into the lower 40s. 30s are doable but not for long rides. Someday im going to buy myself a dickies full body lined coveralls.

alanmcorcoran

10-29-2008, 05:14 AM

The next 100 miles will be even better and you'll probably still have a $$$t-eating grin on after the first 1000. I'm enjoying going back and tackling some of the roads that I was scared of in the first 500 and seeing how much more relaxed (and fun!) the rides are now that I'm not constantly afraid of veering into the guard rail.

Out here when it gets cold, we make sure to zip the jacket all the way up and close the vent on the helmet. Oh, and swap the shorts in for the long pants.

(Actually, I have an armored Icon Jacket and armored Tour Master [Caliber] pants, both of which have a zip-in/out lining that I'm very pleased with. The Icon was a bit pricey but the pants weren't too bad. You can see them both in the photo Moedad posted of us at Cook's Canyon in the Ortega ride under ride reports. I wear a nylon neck warmer I re-purposed from my ski arsenal that works well to get that spot between the bottom of the helmet and the top of the jacket.)

IRingTwyce

10-30-2008, 02:00 PM

The main issue with dressing for a cold morning ride is that I have to take all that stuff off when I get to work. We really don't have much in the way of a change room, so that could get interesting for someone walking in on me. Plus, here in S. LA it might be 45 during the ride to work, but it will be 75 on the ride home. Makes for a hot ride if you have to put all that stuff back on. I'll be thinking it over for a few days (as I'm offshore right now and you can't very well ride a bike in 3000 feet of water) and seeing if I can't figure something out that will work well for my particular situation.

Dupo

10-30-2008, 02:22 PM

Leather jacket with a zip out liner and zipper vents is tops for those cold morning/hot afternoon commutes.

Easy Rider

10-30-2008, 04:14 PM

Plus, here in S. LA it might be 45 during the ride to work, but it will be 75 on the ride home.

A one piece snowmobile suit, big enough to go OVER your "normal" clothes and jacket for the ride home......and a saddle bag large enough to put it in for the afternoon trip.

michaelp

10-30-2008, 11:11 PM

I'm curios, when is a newbie not a newbie. I have only had my bike for 2 months - anniversary today - but I have put a little over 500 miles on the bike.

On the cold weather gear - I'm in Houston where two days ago I left in the morning at 46 and returned home at 79. I am wearing a Fieldsheer mesh with a quilted liner. For this weather it is warm in the morning and in the afternoon I take out the liner and put it in my backpack.

alanmcorcoran

10-31-2008, 02:57 AM

If you are referring to your forum status, it's strictly about your number of posts. I think it clicks over at 25?

If you are referring to your actual rider status, I don't think there is any general agreement on that. When I took the MSF course, they asked if we'd ridden more than 500 miles (recently, I think.) Personally, I think that after the 3K mark you are technically no longer a newb, but having gotten such a late start, I think I will always consider myself a newb regardless of what it says on the odometer. If I get a bigger bike, I think I'll defintely be a newb all over again.

If you send Dupo some money, you can jump right to "Sponsor" status.

michaelp

11-06-2008, 12:08 AM

Thanks for the perspective. Is it my imagination or did the graphics change on member status - skulls & dollar signs?

alanmcorcoran

11-06-2008, 12:21 AM

Yeah. Think I liked the old better. Not really a fan of connecting skulls or other death symbols with motorcycles. Left turners and guard rails are scary enough.

Dupo

11-06-2008, 12:55 AM

Should i use pretty pink flowers and rainbows instead?

alanmcorcoran

11-06-2008, 02:56 AM

Should i use pretty pink flowers and rainbows instead?

Works for me.

Actually the red letters were fine. Like you still have on the ADMIN button.

While we are nit picking, there's something off about the sans serif font that displays the thread name at the top (bold, looks like about 16-18pts) The lower case tops are uneven and the n's and r's have a weird pixelation that makes the tops look deformed, the "e" is skinny, the "s" is fat, overall a very sloppy screen font. Maybe it's only distorted on my lappie. Anybodt else complain about it?

I'm running an NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS at 1280 X 800. The arial-like font that appears in the "reply" boxes looks fine as do all of the fonts in the user box (name, joined, etc.)

How often do we need to send cash to retain the "sponsor" designation?

Easy Rider

11-06-2008, 11:46 AM

[Anybodt else complain about it?

No. Maybe time to have your glasses checked ??
Let's see......what is it that is supposed to make your eyes go bad.... ?? :roll: :biggrin:

Moedad

11-06-2008, 01:31 PM

[Anybodt else complain about it?

No. Maybe time to have your glasses checked ??
Let's see......what is it that is supposed to make your eyes go bad.... ?? :roll: :biggrin:

I don't like it either. :whistle:

Dupo

11-06-2008, 06:27 PM

Alan,

Just one initial time to retain your sponsorship. Anyone can re-donate at any time they wish.

Ok, no one likes the skulls (tough crowd).

Take a screenshot of the problem so i can see what you are talking about. Everything looks smooth and fine on my end.

alanmcorcoran

11-06-2008, 08:08 PM

http://www.postimage.org/aVfSamS.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aVfSamS)

Okay, notice:

1) The "u" is lower than the "r"
2) The "r" looks weird.
3) The "n" looks weird.
4) The "g" looks weird.
5) The space between the "a" and the "c" in accessories is very tight, almost overlapping. The space between the two "c"'s is normal.
6) The spacing on the left and right sides of the "e" are cockeyed.
7) The "e" should be the same width as the "s" and the "c", but it's squished.
8) Take a look at the top line of the lower case letters in Houston. It's like a roller coaster.

In short, it's a sucky screen font. Looks very amateurish to me. As there are no other fonts that look crappy like this one, it really stands out.

Moedad

11-06-2008, 08:57 PM

Ok, no one likes the skulls (tough crowd).

I meant the header graphic at the top of the page. It looks fuzzy to me too. I kinda like the skulls because it strikes me funny to have them associated with our big bad GZ250's

deputydogg2763

11-07-2008, 01:50 AM

I like the skulls! I have a ton of Punisher stuff, and Have always liked the look of skulls. No complaints here, It is your site. :skull:

Dupo

11-07-2008, 03:23 AM

Alan,

Something is screwy on your end. I do not see anything like that anywhere on the forum. Theres nothing with a font size that large nor is there a font that has those broken up letters like in your screenshot. I'm not sure what would cause that on your end!!

Moedad ... its 'supposed' to look fuzzy.. Blocky actually. Its a filter i used in my paint program to give it a mosaic look.

Ok, the skulls stay !

alanmcorcoran

11-07-2008, 03:44 AM

It may well be on my end, but it's caused by something on your end. I suspect use of a font that you have installed locally that is not present on my system. The font you see is probably a "substitute" for one I don't have.

For the record, I have a pretty plain "vanilla" setup. Windows XP and IE7, pretty well patched up to date.

What font are you using for the thread headline at the top of the page?

Does anyone else see the font the way I see it?

It's the only one that looks like that, so, again I doubt the problem is anything I've done on my end.

Still think the skulls are lame. They just don't look good from an aesthetic perspective. Plus using a row of skulls interrupted by a row of $ just looks like lazy design to me. Your banner graphic at the top, (especially your recent Halloween one) was much more polished looking.

Dupo

11-07-2008, 10:28 AM

Well as far as i know every template made for forums only call for system installed fonts (those that were packaged with your OS). If one were to use anything else, their templates would be useless and cause problems for end users having to setup a download of custom fonts.

Maybe post this in the problems with forum section and see if anyone else see's what you see.

mrlmd1

11-07-2008, 11:32 AM

I see what Alan sees too, and he is extra perceptive to pick these out. It looks like small segments of these letters didn't fill in all the way, giving an uneven look to the printed line. And you could lose the skulls, I think that is an old interpretation of "bikers" and has a certain connotation to it, like Hell's Angels- type characters on here.

alantf

11-07-2008, 03:35 PM

With regard to the postings about riding gear :- I couldn't afford the riding boots at our local motorcycle shop (over 100 euros over here in Spain) so I had the local shoe repairer fit non-slip rubber soles over the leather of my cowboy boots, and I've now got a great pair of boots for not much money. The great part is that the heels stop my feet slipping off the pegs, & the pointed toes fit great under the gear change.

IRingTwyce

11-07-2008, 05:03 PM

As far as boots go, I've just been wearing my steel-toed work boots. Oil and slip resistant sole. But they tend to be VERY dirty because of work. I might buy another pair of 'em just for riding, but they were $150. I'd rather find something more cost effective. If I bought another pair of them for work, then I might try cleaning up the old ones to wear for riding.

Water Warrior 2

11-07-2008, 08:28 PM

I road with cowboy boot style foot wear for most of my riding career. Picked up some AlpineStar boots last year on clearance. A world of difference in comfort and safety. Check for clearance/closeout items at New Enough for end of season savings.

Dupo

11-08-2008, 01:30 AM

5th_bike

11-09-2008, 01:40 AM

Should i use pretty pink flowers and rainbows instead?

Along with the skull, would you have a place for this chromed steel summit of US culture ? :

http://www.postimage.org/PqzNOnS.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=PqzNOnS)

Rather than skull guy I've always been more of a mudflap girlie man.

mrlmd1

11-09-2008, 03:15 PM

And you could lose the skulls, I think that is an old interpretation of "bikers" and has a certain connotation to it, like Hell's Angels- type characters on here.

Well call me a hells angel then lol.

Skull covered bandanna ... check
Skull patch sewn onto vest ... check
Skull levers ... check
Skull pin ... check
Skull + skeleton dude strapped to my bars .. check!!

Don't get me wrong or misinterpret what I'm trying to say. I'm not disparaging you, or implying anything bad about YOU personally, just that I think that the skulls don't go with the GZ image. It's sort of making a GZ rider into a bigger badder biker wannabee. Your bike is a lot different than a GZ and that logo can fit very well for you and that bike. I don't think the kind of bikers associated with the connotation behind skulls ride a GZ.
Hell, if anyone showed up at a Hell's Angels gathering on a GZ he'd probably be run off out of town by the laughter if not something more brutal.
And not the pink flowers and rainbows you suggested - they are more for small imported cheapo scooters, IMHO.

And how did we get on this from the original thread anyway? Our ability for free association is getting way off the mark.

Easy Rider

11-09-2008, 09:46 PM

I don't think the kind of bikers associated with the connotation behind skulls ride a GZ.

That's OK; Dupo doesn't ride a GZ anymore either !!! :shocked: :biggrin:

alanmcorcoran

11-09-2008, 11:35 PM

Your bike is a lot different than a GZ and that logo can fit very well for you and that bike.

Ease - read the whole post - saves you time and keystrokes! :whistle:

Dupo

11-10-2008, 12:42 AM

Honestly, i looked like that when i rode the GZ too :)

mrlmd1

11-10-2008, 12:48 PM

By the way, what determines how many "skulls" you get? Related to the quantity or quality of your posts?

alanmcorcoran

11-10-2008, 02:05 PM

Think its related to the amount of space left in the box after typing in "god" or "guru" or whatever (in a lame Courier font.)

mrlmd1

11-10-2008, 02:18 PM

Thanks, but I'm waiting for the Official Answer from Dupo, he assigns them skulls to the rest of us.
And are you a triple sponsor, or just gave a BIG donation to get 3 $$$ signs?

alanmcorcoran

11-10-2008, 02:48 PM

I don't actually remember what I gave the first time and I don't know how my recent donation stacks up against the others, but I'm pretty sure my second donation was at least as large as my first and my $$$ did not change. So I'd say there is no relation.