Wilsons Sandbox

> My total point is that if the US is to be loathed and despised, > why does the US assist whenever asked (since WW1)?

Alright, I was really hoping to stay out of the fracas, but in the tune of this comment, I repost the following: http://www.snopes.com/quotes/sinclair.htm It's a little dated (1973; now Airbus is making jumbos, but they aren't really from a single country, I suppose), but much of it still holds.

> > Are you guys serious about that the french, or the rest of europe should > > be "grateful" to the us because of WW2?

By the same token, people in other countries shouldn't be shitting on us as a whole for things the majority of us had nothing to do with... i.e., people complain about the global presence of McDonald's, as if we put them there so we would have somewhere to eat when we travel abroad. Well, the company opens franchises to make money, and I doubt there are enough American tourists in, say, London at any one time to make a McDonald's profitable.

> I don't care what color your skin is or where you happened to have been > born. You don't exactly have a choice in the matter

Well, maybe _we_ don't have a choice for ourselves, but my parents moved to New York so I wouldn't be born in New Jersey! Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. El Krokko

> > I don't care what color your skin is or where you happened to have been > > born. You don't exactly have a choice in the matter > Well, maybe _we_ don't have a choice for ourselves, but my parents moved > to New York so I wouldn't be born in New Jersey!

You do realize why so many New Yorkers are depressed don't you? The light at the end of their tunnel *is* New Jersey!

I never rode an F650 but I have ridden a Aprilia Pegaso 650. Three thousand miles in the last 5 weeks in fact. I admit I am biased but I love this bike! Differences Pegaso vs. F650 vs. KLR Item Pegaso F650 KLR Advantage Frame Alum/Steel Steel Steel Pegaso Fork Inverted ConventionalConventional Pegaso Sus Travel 7.1"/6.5" 6.7/6.5 9.1"/9.1" KLR Engine DOHC 5v DOHC 4v DOHC 4 v Pegaso Fuel Sys Dual Carbs EFI Single Carb Pegaso (BMW has had problens with the EFI) Exhaust Dual Single* Single Pegaso Tank Size 5.8 4.0 6.1 KLR Dry weight 352 388 337 KLR Price $7,800 $8.1-8.6k $5000 KLR Styling Opinion Sexy Teutonic Duct Tape (Duct tape is a good thing) Italian Funk Service $$$ If $$$$ Cheap I bet KLR you can find it. *I heard the second muffler on the F650 is a fake. True? How is that for a biased comparison? As far as tumbles in the dirt, I don't know yet. It did fall over a couple evenings ago when I parked it in the garage. My fault for not making sure the side stand was down all the way. DUH!! Should have used the center stand. Damage consisted of the left hand guard shattering quite spectacularly across the garage floor. The bike ended up resting on the bar end weight and the pegs. No body work touched the ground. No other damage. Even the signals did not touch. The gas tank is plastic. So it wont dent. Probably just shatter. Swinging 8-9 large for a single cylinder bike is a tough one for me. You can find Pegs really discounted. I got mine brand new for the price of a new KLR. But it was a rare deal. I was at the dealer ready to get a KLR the when I remembered the Pegaso I saw months ago at a salvage yard. There is a brand new peg on ebay for 5k now. Plus they now come standard with hard bags. If you are going to consider the BMW you should at least look at the Aprilia. Now imagine what Kawi could do if the sunk some R&D dollars into a new KLR? Look at the technology they are sinking into the new naked bikes. How about an aluminum frame and some real brakes. And an adjustable suspension. I got to ride a cool bike the other evening. An ATK490. That bike was light, maneuverable and peppy. I never rode a real "dirt" bike before. So anybody have suggestions on hand guards? I was thinking Acerbis Rally guards with the add on deflectors, but I don't know if they clear full size levers. Oh, the Aprilia useless hand guards? 100 bucks a pair! Only available as a pair. Dam Italians!;) Charlie T. Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 14:43:24 EDT From: ephilride@... Subject: Re: Subject: NKLR- Don't Do It!

>>snip>At the BMW Rally this year I got to look at the new GS.>snip

By comparison, the others seem crude while the Dakar is refined, highly refined. If I could have only one bike (and overcome my unfounded and misdirected bias against sophisticated electro-mechanical-microprocessor-driven devices), the Dakar would be on the short list, the KLR wouldn't. And as I stated; Don't Do It, because the Dakar sets a different standard and what I knew to be good, is now just so-so. Agreed. The KLR is good and its a bargain and has many, many ...many happy and devoted riders. It is just that I found the Dakar to be more good. And, it's a bargain if you like what it does. --knot