Very cool bike and a great photo!
The head pipes remind me of my old Honda 400 Super Sport.

*Massive grin* Oh my goodness it's you!
....Fan-boy moment aside, many many thanks! As I said in the submission info box, the HDR can go one of two ways and I always fear using it!
Just looked up the 400 Super Sport and I see what you mean!, All clustered together as the come down in a bit of a wiggle!
Thanks for faving the pic too!

Hey, thank you!
It's nice that you recognized my flea bitten mug.
And I agree about the HDR format. Sometimes it comes out as
over-produced, like the photo is trying too hard to be cool, but I do
think it works well with machinery and industrial type scenes.
Holiday snaps of the coast don't do as well, in my opinion.
Cheers!

Of course I recognize you :P
Inspiration to many and all round good guy are you not!? Haha.
On the HDR note though, I certainly wouldn't go applying such an effect to holiday snaps, and it makes me cringe a little when I do see it done! But I guess you're definitely right with the industrial thing.... needs some metal somewhere to go down well!

Thank you again for the kind words!
And I agree, more metal in them HDRs.
Cheers, my friend!

Jeez I've never realized you've gone through this many bikes! Haha

I'm super jealous, I'm finally signing up for the MSF course next week and I have my eye on a used Ninja 250R

How're your bar-end mirrors?

I've had.... a few >.<
This pic shows all of the ones I've been through bar the one above: http://i59.tinypic.com/8xpldg.jpg
(I also have a chinese 125 down the side of the house at the moment and a Yamaha CW50 moped I'm doing up!...again not pictured xD)
So yeah... a few xD

I know my parents aren't super jealous as they're the ones I'm borrowing the storage from!
I'm guessing the MSF course is a bike license for you over there?... Either way, the Ninja 250 should be an epic way to set the ball rolling! Enough power to get you out of trouble and have fun... but not enough to pile you through the nearest hedge at a moments notice x3
As for the bar end mirrors... the one in the picture fell off and I no longer have any on it ! I just check over my shoulder more :P Whilst it was on there though it was handy, but not very useful... certainly not comarable to a decent set of normal mirrors, but gave a rear view of sorts :)

Wow that's quite the collection!

I can definitely see storage space being an issue, especially if you don't have access to a garage after you move out. I've been reading up on bike locks/rotor alarms and stuff to try to get prepared for theft

I'd love to get the newer Ninja 300 as my first bike if I could, but I'd feel horrible laying a new bike down. It'll at least be cool to say that I have something with a carburetor, and soon I'll be able to move onto something even more fun

The MSF here is an optional training course that some organizations run, and if you pass, they give you a waiver on the spot to automatically get your full motorcycle license at the MVD. Even better, they supply their own bikes so curious people can see if they even enjoy riding before they make any large purchases. You also get to see people do obnoxious stuff like bring in a Hayabusa to learn on

I obviously haven't got all of those anymore, and some of them I only rode for a couple of months! But I suppose the current three are more than most xD
As much as I'd love to take the next step and move out soon, I need to save money up first before jumping in at the deep end.... a larger pay packet would be handy as well as I genuinely on my current wage can't even afford to keep a small studio apartment on rent without using ALL of my money towards the bills, fuel and food etc. Kinda sucks, but agreed, storage may become interesting!

Definitely try and get hold of a decent padlock and chain or hefty disk lock... or both! Don't necessarily have to be new bits of kit either and you may find a bargain second hand. The ABUS padlock and chain for mine is worth about £180 ($300?) and I only paid £50 ($85?) so worth looking around! It's a heartbreaking feeling to wake up one morning and find out your pride and joy has gone. I've had that twice now and it REALLY sucks :(

I'd certainly advise against a brand new bike as a first one though... as beautiful as they may look, there's a 90% chance it'll get scraped in one way or another and you'll be kicking yourself and it will kick your wallet! x3
I've never owned a FI bike, only carbed ones... as childish as it may be, killswitch backfires only happen with a carb :P
Just pick up some experience on a cheaper bike and start to run up from there :) I've never owned a brand new bike, but have lusted over plenty xD

The MSF course thing sounds awesome though! ... Even if just for the entertainment of someone trying to use a spaceship (Busa) to learn on :P

Urrrgh you've had two stolen? It's scary how easily they can (supposedly) be lifted up and placed into the back of a truck by a few guys D;

A studio loft is what I'm trying to get as well, somewhere near the community college that I'm switching to after my summer classes are over at another. Xena disc lock alarms are what I've been looking at so far, since they seem to be the equivalent of putting a U-lock on a bicycle, but I'll definitely have to add a cable lock so that people realize that there's deterrents on it

You ride "ATGATT" right? I'm heeding everyone's advice that I will lay my first bike down at least once, so I've picked up an awesomely sexy Alpinestars jacket, and I think I'm prepared for the MSF now. I'll have to wait on the rest of the proper gear until I actually get the bike though

Are killswitch backfires when you purposely hold the killswitch while in gear to make it hiccup? I think I've done that to save myself from the throttle getting stuck on something with a tiny 2-stroke engine

The Ninja 300 is finally fuel injected, along with available ABS brakes, but the roads/asphalt here are so warm that I doubt I'd need ABS here, and the 250R should hopefully be just as fun :3

Feel free to reply with a briefer response because we're quickly reaching walls of text here x.x

Yup... two >.< First a monkey/pit bike and second was another Bandit 400 >.< Monkey bike annoyed me, but I was seriously pissed when the bandit went :(
Those disk locks seem like half decent bits of kit! :D But as you've said, they don't stop people lifting it off into a van like a chain round a lamp-post would, but it's a good deterrant for any oppertunist thieves :)

I do ride ATGATT 99% of the time. I should all of the time really, but there's the odd occasion where I go half a mile with just the lid and a jacket, but after the gear saved my body considerably after my crash, I swear by the stuff! Best to heed that advise, as grim as it is >.< Even if it's just losing your balance at a set of traffic lights >.<
Alpinestars stuff is good though, well known and made to a really high standard... as the price tag often suggests >.<


As for the killswitch thing, yeah, bring the revs up high in gear and hit the killswitch for a couple of seconds with the wheels running the engine and pulling fuel through, flick the switch again and all the unburnt fuel gets ignited with a nice bang and a flame out the back :P
Never done it with a 2-stroke though!

Sorry... I don't do short replies >.< It's a weakness of mine :(

Ohhh it's for the flame! I'm totally going to try this, just not during the MSF haha

I'm going to try my best to ride ATGATT even though Arizona is known to hit 110°+ here in the summer...I figure I'll need a decent hydration backpack

I agree that high quality gear is really pricey, but hopefully it'll save me from any more medical bills. I'm going to spend forever figuring out which helmet to get next...I'm completely happy with that mesh jacket though. Definitely has a racer feel/look to it which is neat!

Well, the enormous bang that scares small children as well as the flame :P
Yeah... that is a bit toasty >.< Don't know if you can get hold of Goretex stuff where you are? That's supposed to be extremely breathable?...
I don't have to worry about that a whole lot here... We're lucky to see that great big star we call the sun xD

I've managed to obtain a set of full race leathers from my dad recently and I have to say that they feel a lot more secure and safe than the top and bottom separately. Glad you're happy with the jacket though! Non of my gear is top notch or expensive, my lid is the most pricey bit (AGV Numo in black) Best thing with helmets is to go try them on though... Might love the look of one, but it'll suck if it gives you bad headaches all the time :P

Goretex rings a bell but I think it's more for waterproofing and not breathability, although I'll ask about it when I head back to Cycle Gear to inevitably try on some pants

It's so hot here that it's illegal to not have air conditioning if you're renting out housing to someone...the heat gets obnoxious sometimes

I'd kill for full racing leathers, but I'd only be able to wear them in the winter here :P I do most definitely wanna try the track someday though!

I got my A-stars jacket from Revzilla (they're an amazing site/people) after trying it on in a different colour at that local store, and I don't think I've ever been this excited to see a cardboard box at the door :P

Yeesh...that is a bit warm then >.< Warmer weather (or by the sound of things your winter) here is rare in itself CD
Usually cold, wet and miserable!
Track day would be amazing! From what I've heard for tracks over here is that you need full leathers, a bike that conforms to the regulations (noise and such) and a helmet with an ACU gold sticker on it :S
I think I may have heard of Revzilla before actually.... certainly not hears anything bad about them though!

I envy the rainier climates after living in the desert for so long :P I don't mind getting all wet sometimes, but ABS brakes sound like a must over there

All leather track suits look so neat, but I'm confused about where you would change into it during a track day. I guess they have rooms and stuff for that

We should just switch houses for a month or two xD I want hot weather and you want awful weather xD
I've never personally experienced ABS brakes... just skidding tyres!
Don't know about others, but I always wear full clothing underneath the leathers... Easy to get changed anywhere x3
I imagine there's gotta be places to change though :)

It takes a while to adjust here :P Like being in an oven where most of your body's energy gets spent trying to not get heatstroke

Oh yeah I think they usually wear a layer of that under-armor stuff that wicks away moisture, it must not be unlike preparing to wear a fursuit