I’ve had my best luck with Dunlops, good compromise between wear and sticky. Pirellis are good and sticky but wear fast, Metzlers are sticky and tend to wear better but still aren’t as good as Dunlops, and the Bridgestones I tried were so greasy I burned them off faster than even the Pirellis.

Agree 100% on that. ^^.
Had Bridges on my RR at first; it moved around a bit. not enough to freak me out, but I could feel it. They were also the ones where I only got about 4500mi out of them before hitting the wear indicators (OEM tires) Next set were Dunlops, and I really liked them.
never got to try the Metzlers though.

I've always wanted to learn to ride a motorcycle. One of these days Alice...

I often use the Metzeler Lasertec up front & the Dunlop in back.

I wouldn't call that "cool". I would call that idiotic. He not only put his own life in danger, he put everyone else's on that highway.

As for the thread starter, I bought my first bike in 09 and I looked at mostly personal listings. I don't recall seeing as much of those don't waste my time ads as I see these days. Of course, I didn't test ride any bikes at that time because I didn't have the experience nor a license at that point. I bought my first bike without ever having ridden. But I did check it out real well and I got a lot of advice on that particular model. I was going for a cruiser and a lot of people recommended a Honda Shadow 750 or a Yamaha VStar 650(?). I ended up with the Shadow.

Recently, I upgraded to a Harley. I test rode bikes at 2 dealerships and I'm pretty sure I could have test rode at the other 2 places, as well, if I chose to do that. The first place, Gail's Harley Davidson in Grandview made me fill out a form that basically said if I wrecked it, I buy it. The paperwork made it sound like they would require that I followed/rode with someone from their dealership. But when I got out there and asked about that, the salesman said they weren't planning to ride with me unless I wanted them to. Of course I declined and test rode a couple bikes by myself.

The other place, Topeka Harley let me ride without anything other than a copy of my license. Of course, they did know that I had a bike and was looking to sell it or trade it in to them.

I do wonder, however if its up to their discretion as to whether they allow you to test ride solo or whatever.

yeah; I've test rode at 2 dealerships; though, each time I rode up on my bike. so, that might have something to do with it. neither time did I have to sign any sort of 'break you buy' etc. so, that was nice. One of the test rides was with a Ducati Monster 1100. ......man, I LOVE that bike. so much fun.

I'd probably walk out the door if I was asked to sign some paper stating if I wrecked the bike I would be buying it.

I wouldn't want some old grandma that can barely see over the steering wheel pulling out in front of me causing me to dump the bike and lose 10-15k at the same time.

yup.
I think both places just verified that I Had a motorcycle endorsement on my license and haad a sales guy go out with me. the dude at the Ducati dealership was breaking all sort of laws lol. Fun guy.

Higher end dealerships will give you a test ride. I have test ridden BMW, triumphs, and ducatis. With the Japanese makes I don't think it's very common. (those japanese I4s are so close to one another, I don't think it's really even necessary)

You're going to owe them if you wreck it, whether you sign a paper or not...

If by "you" you mean grandma and grandma's insurance, ya.

yep; really just a matter of ergonomics that fits a person; styling etc.
they're all within a few lbs of each other, a HP or 2, and a LB or 2 of torque.

Screw it, it's my B-day and I’m in a good mood :)
can't find a pic of my F4i
R.I.P ZX6R
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/a...yze-KC/ZX6.jpg
600rr (sold)
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/a...e-KC/CBR-1.jpg
Track Day
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/a...yze-KC/Mug.jpg
Session (on the left). In the Red is a smokin chick who was like a nationally ranked rider.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/a...C/TrackDay.jpg

First of all those that NADA stuff is crap and secondly it's damaged. The value is what anyone else can go out and the same product for at it's cheapest price within 200 miles of you. Not picking on you but Frankly I think most people way over value their bikes, that's why they get all pissed when someone offers them so much less.

I got two bikes in my sights and both are 2006. One is an r-1 raven with lots of after market goodies with 13k miles on it and it looks brand new. The guy really needs to sell it and is in the middle of nowhere so it takes a could hours to get to him. If I get this it will be somewhere between $5,500 and 6k. YOUr NADA value on that bad boy has to be at least $7,500. The other bike is a 2006 ZX-14 with 10k on it. The add ons on this are:

Power Commander III With Brocks Performance Map Upgrade- $350
Brocks Performance Titanium CT Megaphone Full System- $1895

o Full Titanium construction with Carbon Fiber tip
o World class craftsmanship, fit, and finish
o Lightweight systems weigh as little as 8 1/4 lbs.
o Great for everyday riding (noise reduction insert available)
o 18mm O2 bung pre-installed
o The BEST exhaust that can be purchased for the ZX14
o Check it out!!

Puig Racing Double Bubble Shield- $70.00
Full Carbon Fiber head fairing and front fairings $600
Rare special edition fairings and tank colors. $2000
Extra like-new seat so you don't have to keep taking off the seat cowl every time you have a passenger- $200
Also have a like new $249 Geza Gear Elite-Plus Series Motorcycle Cover w/mirror covers and storage pouch Check it out!!
Racing Levers-$200
SpeedoHealer already set up and calibrated $80; the sped you see is the actual speed, this is nice since most bikes are 5mph off or greater
K&N Air Filter- $30
Fender Eliminator kit $20
Newer DID Gold Chain $80
Brand new Racing Battery purchased in June, 2012- $80

I am looking at 5k.Your NADA average value is $7,515 with no extras.