Finally, you will not ever make money buying project bikes and fixing them up. Hail axiom 2: you can spend $5,000 to add $500 to the value of your bike.

Also, buy what you will want to sell. You will want to be selling an unmodified bike in very good cosmetic condition. So buy those. A popular model such as a fireblade if truly in stock form is a great CL find. Buy those and if you must modify them, keep the original parts and revert to stock for the sale. You will…

If you are thoughtful and careful, you can go through all the bikes you want as you progress as a rider without loosing money on each. Bikes hold their value on CL and if you are very deliberate about what you buy, you can even make enough money on each to cover some of your maintenance and insurance. Follow this…

Ditto that. Be predictable on the road. Bears repeating.

There will come a day soon when you go into a curve too hot and have a personal code brown. The best way to be prepared for this is to practice your counter-steering so goddamn much that is is second nature. Push the right bar to turn right. When you are going code brown on that hot corner entry, it is near certain…

Seriously, I wish I had known: if you can’t find your dipstick to check your oil, it’s probably because you have a sight glass. Boy did I feel dumb.

All the gear, all the time. Also, if you ride in shorts and flip-flops, you look like an idiot to anyone who knows anything about actually riding fast and effectively. Finally, all the gear, all the time, no exceptions.

s2000 ap2. Pic is mine in South Dakota badlands.

NP because station wagon. America needs to embrace the station wagon. Maybe if we’re really good and embrace the station wagon, we will get interesting products like a Chevy SS wagon.

Whenever I’ve listed a used car or motorcycle on Craigslist, I get a number of inquiries from a fifth category that you did not comment on: people offering ridiculous trades.

I have one. Here are the drawbacks: it’s loud, always loud; stiff suspension means the old lady will not like the ride quality; being a convertible means I am nervous leaving it parked outside in winter (we had 10 feet of snow in Boston last winter); visibility sucks with top up—insane blind spots; no payload—if one…

Damn, I wanted to like the Chevy SS and had intended to try to arrange a test drive. There are a couple on lots within an afternoon’s drive from me in Boston. Oh well. I just this weekend brought home my new (to me) e39 540i 6sp. I guess I’m not so excited about the SS anymore. I suppose I should probably still go do…

Recent Jetta, probably a 2014. When I was in high school in the ‘80s, VWs had character. I had a rabbit, brother had a Scirroco. Friends had various Golfs, Jettas, etc. VWs always had a distinctive feels, smell, sound and a very engaging drivability. They felt light, quick, and connected to the road. There was engine…

It’s common and relatively inexpensive for companies to file patent applications just before a public reveal. I would not attach too much significance to this until there’s some secondary indication that the product may be brought to market. The company may have simply been being defensive about the reveal of the STi…

Harley Davidson Ford F150. A naked appeal to some guys’ desire to have a Harley logo on something they can take out on the streets.

It appears the suicide doors were on both sides. Still only thing that redeemed the car.

Certain Saturn sedans had a suicide door on curb-side, given great access with no B pillar. It was a redeeming feature on an otherwise profane car.

Forgot to add: also cross-shopped new WRX but dealers don’t have them in inventor with the automatic (CVT).

Just bought an Acura but cross-shopped the 335i, 535i, and V6 Accord—all in the 2-year-old range. Here’s why we bought the 2013 TL: the missus will be the DD, which limited us to automatic transmission. Also, the car choice was ultimately about pleasing the missus more than me. Reviewing forums suggest that the…

Lol. Nailed it.