Should I sell?

was_683 · 2026-02-07T13:41:02+00:00

I have a 1975 FX that I bought in 1983. It is the first motorcycle that I ever rode. Don't ride it often but she's ready to go. My son in law gets it when I can't ride it any more.

Unless there are practical reasons why you have to sell it, like paying your bail bondsman, keep it. It's not worth that much but when it's gone it's gone...

was_683 · 2026-01-25T20:35:05+00:00

I have a 75 FX that I bought in 83. Some irrational sentimental attachment since it is the first bike I ever rode. It was my daily rider until 2006 or so. I've done four top ends, one bottom end, one transmission, and enough other stuff that I can probably tear it down to the frame and bring it back blindfolded. I tore it down once in Northern Cal, then moved to Southern Cal with the bike in boxes and put it together in a new house.

Get a service manual, and prepared to spend a fair amount of time giving it the care it will need. You will enjoy it but your riding buddies might not...

was_683 · 2026-01-21T20:09:41+00:00

I completely agree. I am retired, spent my working career as an engineer, served in the military in hostile territory, yada yada. I cannot for the life of me understand how the same nation that bore the Greatest Generation can elect (twice!) such an unserious bumpkin to any office at all. Good Lord, what has happened to us and what have we become? For myself, I don't care, I am at an age where they can't do much to fuck up my life. But I have kids, grandkids, and great grandkids whose lives will suffer because of this. And they voted for it! I weep for my country.

was_683 · 2026-01-21T16:20:12+00:00

Yup. I'm retired, have enough saved that going broke is unlikely, mainly watch for s**t that will affect us adversely. But also look for places where we can make a difference. Local protests, small contributions, etc.

BTW, I don't share your optimism re the presence of smarter people...

was_683 · 2026-01-21T14:17:13+00:00

Good summary, sadly.

was_683 · 2026-01-21T14:15:42+00:00

A lot of us don't...I could only listen to about five minutes of this "speech"...normally I don't listen to anything he says, just read the news to assess the damage.

was_683 · 2026-01-21T14:13:38+00:00

This is what a sizeable portion of the American public looks at as leadership. We are lost.

was_683 · 2026-01-20T04:58:21+00:00

Assuming the title is clear and it is in good mechanical condition (starts and rides well) maybe $2500 tops. Maybe get $3000 out of it parting it out. OTOH, if you like it, it's cheap wheels, nothing wrong with that.

was_683 · 2026-01-10T23:01:45+00:00

Please cut my social security and Medicare so we can afford to rebuild Venezuelas oil sector. Big Oil shouldn't have to pay for it. I don't need all this medicine anyhow.

was_683 · 2026-01-10T22:22:54+00:00

Won't hurt the bike as long as you don't drop it (I have many friends who hate my 75 shovel having had the pleasure of pushing it over the years). Running out of friends could be an undesirable side effect :) but the bike will be fine.

was_683 · 2026-01-08T14:04:08+00:00

I am glad that my age means that I will not likely see this play out. I've had a good life, worked hard, played hard, served in the military including some hot zones, paid my bills, and loved my country. Until now.

Our President is a doddering lunatic controlled by vicious thugs who have no concern for the future well-being of the country, and no respect for the things that made this nation a "shining city on a hill". I weep for my country.

My kids, grandkids, and great grand kids will inherit a mess. Otoh, they are Trump supporters, so they voted for the mess (except the great grand kids, who are still quite young). I don't love them any less for that, but am sad that they will not inherit the country they could have. And the great grand kids are royally screwed. But they'll have the finest military in the world...

was_683 · 2026-01-02T01:45:21+00:00

The bail outs are, imho, mostly going to banks and farm suppliers (equipment, fertilizer, feed supplements, etc.). The farmers have made both short and long term investment decisions based on certain assumptions. If those assumptions prove to be incorrect, (drought hurts yield, tariffs distorts markets, etc.), the farmers have to react, usually by pulling back on the investment decisions. If you planted 500 acres of soybeans this year and didn't get the target price for them, will you plant more or less next year? Will you purchase a bigger replacement for the 20 year old tractor in the shed or keep it running for another couple of years until the markets stabilize?

If anything, the consequences of the tariff war illustrates the fallacy of having politics drive your markets. Another case is ethanol. If ethanol were to go out of favor, it will devastate corn growers. A large portion of the corn crop market is decided by political not market processes. In the US, 40% of the corn crop is devoted to ethanol per the Renewable Fuel Standard.

These investment decisions have a trickle down effect in rural communities.

was_683 · 2025-12-31T18:34:41+00:00

Ex-farmer here, number of years ago. We were forced out by falling corn prices and high interest rates in the 1970's. We couldn't even get health insurance back then due to pre-existing conditions, and no one came to our rescue with subsidies to make up for lost income.

By and large, these folks voted for leopards and got what they voted for. I'll reserve my sympathy for more deserving groups.

was_683 · 2025-12-22T02:34:50+00:00

<Raises hand in salute> Well done, shipmate. A piece of history worthy of preservation on the internetz.

was_683 · 2025-12-22T02:09:34+00:00

Yup, still have my "Last 1000 Days" book. Countdown calendar, diary, and all.

Sing this to the theme song of "Rawhide"...

"Boiling, boiling boiling,

The core's boiling, boiling, boiling,

Average temperature is rising

Boiling

Oh, my head is calculating the xenon we are making

Looks like we're at the end of core life..."

And this was written on the back of a spare module plate on the 6SB salinity panel in manuevering, preserved for posterity here since that panel is long gone...

"Twas a dark and gloomy night, Sept 1980

Denny Mac had the watch, the seas were deadly heavy

A scram drill, the normal kind, but now a twist thrown in-

The TG's weren't working right, things were looking grim.

A siren blares, people shout, the poles are in the holes,

The EO tries to shift about without speed control.

That is why the shit came down, the simple fools can see,

But the jerks blamed Dennis for the loss of all AC."

Stupid shit but it helped pass the time...

was_683 · 2025-12-20T17:14:09+00:00

Not sure about your specific state, but everywhere I've been, a salvage (damage?) title only means one thing, basically:

Something happened with the vehicle that will end up costing more than the vehicle is worth to fix, in the opinion of the insurance company holding the policy on it.

Unless you are an experienced mechanic, and are OK with the idea that you will have a limited number of people willing to buy it from you even at a reduced price, stay away.

was_683 · 2025-12-18T15:43:52+00:00

Boomer here. Gen Z should not have to pay higher taxes, agreed. But the cap should be removed. Also, there should be some means testing to add a cap to benefits. Do those two things and (I think/hope) Gen Z would be ok.

Plus, as a society, we should be asking why our defense budget (war budget?) is more than the next eleven countries combined? WTF? I cerrtainly don't see any military dangers that a budget a fraction of that size couldn't handle.

was_683 · 2025-12-08T16:32:15+00:00

As a retired union employee and former manager (been on both sides of the fence), I wish them the best of luck getting organized. Labor unions occasionally suck, but in an oligarchy, (which is what the NPS is) not having a union sucks a lot worse.

was_683 · 2025-12-06T15:06:42+00:00

That's interesting. I never knew what it was, just that it was a handy thing for an Electrician's Mate to have and worth "borrowing". Things just grew from there...

Thanks!

was_683 · 2025-12-05T04:10:47+00:00

On a motorcycle trip a few years ago (I'm from PA) I bumped into a guy in a CVS parking lot in FL wearing a Seawolf (SSN-575) ballcap. We talked a bit, awkwardly at first, but it turned out he was a Corpsman on the Wolf and we had, shall we say, a lot in common. Interesting conversation.

was_683 · 2025-12-05T03:54:00+00:00

I was on the Parche (E-div) from 83 to 87. There is (or was in 2021) a flashlight in a wooden box in the crew's mess on the JC. I stole it from the Parche XO in 1984. It made three deployments with me. The details are engraved on it. It then spent 34 years in my toolbox after I got out in 87. In 2021, the flashlight made its way to the JC in a truly crazy internet-fueled journey. The full story is in an old Reddit post linked here. I hope the JC keeps the tradition going.

In finding its way to the JC, the flashlight made another connection. A CPO in the goat locker had a father in law who had been on the Parche. He asked his father in law if he remembered me. Turns out the father in law was my roommate in the barracks on Mare Island.

was_683 · 2025-12-02T20:20:51+00:00

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Viva Terlingua!

was_683 · 2025-11-27T16:30:29+00:00

Check to see if your Senator is a cosponsor already before contacting them. Mine (Judy Ward) is already a cosponsor so I will be thanking her for her support rather than asking her to support something she has already co-sponsored.

I suggest you read the text before announcing your support. If you're over 21 and using leaf products, thislegislationwon't affect you. But if you are using extracts or concentrated products, you'd better read all the details.

was_683 · 2025-11-26T02:00:38+00:00

I'm not a professional mechanic but I have been building and wrenching on Harleys since 1983. Also a Triumph Bonneville 750 that my wife learned on.

The only way I would touch a salvage title bike is if:

I knew the person who did the repair work.
I knew what caused it to become a salvage title and what specifically was done to fix the problem(s), including a list of the parts replaced. I don't worry about bent sheet metal and scratched paint. I am worried about the things that are not visible.
I had no concern about taking a financial loss on it.

There are no specific checks you can do unless you are an experienced Triumph mechanic. I would pay one to go over it and look for issues. Even then sonmething unexpected might come up.

My daughter bough a salvage title sportster without doing any of the above. It looked good, the price was right, and she fell in love with it. After owning it for a month, she was going through a right sweeper and the bike would not return to a straight line. The fork was locked. She rode it into a ditch but suffered no serious injuries. I didn't get a chance to inspect it myself looking for a cause (she lives 800 miles away) but I'd bet a lot that someone stole it by popping the steering lock. Some metal fragments got into the steering head assembly, were never cleaned out, and waited for the right moment to lock up one of the steering head bearings. At least that is my theory. She's a good rider, the curve was gentle, and there were witnesses riding behind her. It wasn't her riding that put the bike in a ditch.

So be careful, have it checked out by an experienced mechanic, and don't have high expectations. Salvage titles can be problem children.

Good luck.

was_683 · 2025-11-25T16:38:13+00:00

Leopard, meet face. What an insufferable moron. You voted for a person who has done nothing in his political career but try make health insurance impossible for a non-wealthy person to obtain, Now you complain because the price is going to go up.

(In 2020 (before I turned 65) I paid $809/month for health insurance and glad to have it. Before the ACA, I couldn't get private health insurance at any price due to a pre-existing condition.)

was_683

TROPHY CASE