Hello from So Cal

[NoExpert]

Hello, my name is Joshua, I'm 39 years old and live in So. Cal. Last January I bought a new 2014 R1 after totaling my 2014 R6. My wife (from Europe) and I are planning to move somewhere in Europe in the next year or two. Just looking to make new friends and learn a few things.

Please excuse the mess in the garage...

[jompy]

Welcome in Josh or do you prefer Joshua ?
Great looking sausage
Cali's nice , i was there for a just over a week in the mid 90's , me & my mate were walking down the road in longbeach when a pick up drove by with a lad hanging out shouting "FAG'S" at us , we weren't sure if he wanted a cigarette or that it was so uncommon around the longbeach / LA area for people to walk , then there was the guy that worked in the 7/11 that i nearly got in an argument with because he wouldn't believe i didn't care about Prince Charles & Lady Diana splitting up , to add to start it all off he asked me if i was Australian when he first spoke to me . . . . . . . off & then there was the barmaid that thought i was German neither of us could understand although we were both speaking english & my mate who was with me had to translate for the pair of us
Loved the the place , had a fantastic holiday & 99.9% of people were really friendly . . . . . even managed to drive around Mirimar & watch the Tomcats & Hornets doing circuits .
Well enough about me , give us a bit more about your biking history so we can get to know you

[watzy160]

Welcome Joshua. You can learn a lot here. Lots of knowledgeable people.

I can't see your bike though!

[petepassion]

Hi, welcome to the forum.
I can't see the picture either.

Dave.

[Chappo]

Welcome to the forum Josh

[NoExpert]

I made a small change, maybe the pic works now?

Josh or Joshua, either works.

Sounds like typical stuff for CA. Trust me, it's only gotten worse, except now that kid could go to prison for yelling "fags" cause they'll call it a hate crime. Gotta love it.

Back in December 2001 I bought a new 2002 Suzuki GSX-R600, had a minor get off early on then nothing major till I totaled the bike in September 2005. Bright side I rode the bike home and the car that turned into me got towed home. I hung it up for a while, then in May 2014 I looked at a new 2014 R6 in matte grey. My wife said I should get it, so I did. January 2015 I'm going home from work and hit a steel center cap bouncing around on the freeway on ramp while leaned over. Bike goes sliding into the guard rail at about 50 mph and bounces off just in time for me to slide under the guard rail. I wasn't too bad, but the bike was beat up. Had a shop do the crash estimate a week later and while there saw a new 2014 R1 on clearance for a nice price. The insurance company said the R6 was a total loss so I took a night to think about the R1 then went back the next morning and put a deposit on it. So now over 18 months later still have the R1 and am quite happy with it.

That's just the bike history... as for riding, currently it's a lot of commuting to and from work. When I can, I ride up in the local mountain roads or take a longer cruise down to my brother's place in San Diego (not far from Miramar). In my down time I'm usually tinkering with the bike or my rifle (built it from parts), always liked working on mechanical objects. I've done a few little things to my bike so far, nothing fancy like engine work though. I also currently have a FlashTune ECU interface setup, but will be changing to a Woolich Racing Log Box Pro in the future for easier tuning.

Family history... after the war, my grandfather (mothers's side) raced flat track locally on his Indian motorcycle. This is what put motorcycles into the family as my mom, dad, three aunts and uncle as well as a few cousins have ridden or raced motorcycles at some point. I got bit at age 12 when my uncle took me to a local dealer to look at motorcycles. At that point I wanted one, but waited till I thought I was a bit more mature... not sure that part ever happened, even now.

My wife is from Poland, I've been to Europe twice and we're planning another trip there for next spring to look for jobs and places to live (I'm liking Lucerne, Switzerland myself). Mostly I'm a bit burned out with life and the people here in CA. Great place to visit, sucks living here. Just ready for a change of pace and some new scenery.

[jompy]

The grass is always greener
i have a mate who's a veteran but still serving part time that lives in Germany & he loves it .
Thats a really good write up buddy , my mate & i popped down to San Diego which is why we did a detour around Miramar . While in San Diego we wanted to visit the sproose goose but it had moved the year before , just our luck but we did do a tour on the Queen Elizabeth and wandered around San Diego , ended up in a car sales place that had a Delorean & a nice 65 mustang

[R1Clarky]

welcome in m8 - great intro & the bike looks good - you won't regret the move to europe so good luck - we have a lot of polish people in the uk & so far i seem to have only met the nice ones - enjoy the forum pal

an R1 a day keeps insanity away

[samr1]

Hi josh welcome in that's fair intro banger don't look bad either


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[watzy160]

Nice one Josh!!

I can see the pic now and the red paint scheme looks awesome dude!

[NoExpert]

Thank you all for the warm welcome!

Part of me agrees with the grass is greener theory, I mean we do live in a desert so just about any grass is greener than the grass we have here.

For me it's more of the little slower pace. CA has gotten a bit too crazy for me.

[Redjj]

Welcome Josh, great intro.

Wishing you and the wife well in your plans to relocate - life is what you make it.

Great bike too [emoji3]


Alis volat propriis

[jompy]

Nothing wrong wife a foreign wife , mine Welsh
Like Clarky vast majority of the polish people I have met have been sound , I was brought up Catholic & there were quite a few Polish at our school

[NoExpert]

The R6:












And Gramps:




Last yet not least, my wife on the M25 with me spotting:

[PJC]

Great posts there Josh. A very warm welcome from sunny Northumberland. I do like the colours on your sausage, really suites it. You need a sense of humor here so take a breath and enjoy the fun

[Steve R1]

Welcome to the forum Joshua, I think this is the best opening post we have ever had , commenting on the last photo, I thought the M25 was the orbital motorway around London

My nephews wife is polish and you could not meet a nicer lady or indeed family.

Your old R6 had different lights compared to the ones we get over here, this was mine



Glad you were ok after your off and you now have a beautiful R1

Good luck with the move to Europe

Welcome

Stephen

[NoExpert]

No worries on the sense of humor PJC, I always like a good laugh, even if it's at myself.

Very nice R1 and R6 Steve. I did an HID conversion on my R6 headlights using bixenon projectors and some RGB halo rings. This is why they look different. I also installed a bulb into the position indicator so it would light up like the EU models.



The rifle receiver is made by LRB and they stamp it M25. It's based on an M14 action.

[Steve R1]

Ah that's why they are different , they look great. Did the hid conversion on both the R6 and R1 to help with commuting in the dark, they made a big difference

Thanks for the explanation re the M25


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[LOCKE]

Welcome in mate. Good luck with your future plans, life's too short so make it happen.

[jompy]

No worries on the sense of humor PJC, I always like a good laugh, even if it's at myself.

Very nice R1 and R6 Steve. I did an HID conversion on my R6 headlights using bixenon projectors and some RGB halo rings. This is why they look different. I also installed a bulb into the position indicator so it would light up like the EU models.



The rifle receiver is made by LRB and they stamp it M25. It's based on an M14 action.

M14 , class rifle so assault rifles . . . . . . . are you a colt or Kalashnikov kinda guy ?

[NoExpert]

I've shot both and always go back to my M25. That said they both have their strengths and weaknesses. The AK's can go through hell and back and still function due to their loose design. AR's are a bit more temperamental and need more maintenance but, tend to be more accurate. It's a trade off. This is why I like my rifle, it can get pretty dirty and still run and has good enough accuracy for my needs. Downside is it's heavy, some day I'll change the barrel to lose some of its weight, but for now it's about 15 pounds.

This was getting the scope dialed in at 100 yards, the group in the center is five shots, three through the elongated hole just to the right. This was with surplus ammo, not match ammo.

[jompy]

Cool , i've always had an interest in guns and my dad used to take me .22 rimfire shooting on a local range but with many things lack of cash has been my problem .
Theres a couple of the guys on here shoot , from memory Donny shoots game & samr1 shoots clay pidgins i think

[DobermanGuy]

Welcome form a native 'Merican. Fantastic looking bike. I wish to depart from our great country from time to time as well.

[Moise]

Welcome form a native 'Merican. Fantastic looking bike. I wish to depart from our great country from time to time as well.

Can't be much fun for you at times, politics has descended to new lows in both the UK and US this year.

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[NoExpert]

Hoping you guys can help me out with this... I'm on a couple other European motorcycle forums and most refer to my R1 as an RN23 based on serial number. In the US we usually just go by year and model, so 2014 R1. In the U.K. it would seem you go by, well, not really sure what. I see 14B and 14BE, where exactly are these numbers from? I've seen them in part numbers, is this the part number for the bike? I know new parts for the 12-14 versions start with 1KB (sort of surprising the differences between 09-11 and 12-14). Just curious where you guys get the designation from.