A Sad But Fascinating Story - Honda's NR-500

[Guest]

Dallara,

Feel like I know you (plus many others - Pat, CycleRob, Deans BMW, boxermania etc) through all your posts in the three plus years that I have been visiting this exceptionally good board.

Irrespective of manufacturer, I sense that the overwhelming majority of readers and members of this board welcome a fascinating, and well told, trip back in recent history to revisit some of the incredible and out of the box innovations that have been the necessary precursers in getting to where we are with today's great motorcycles!

Finish the story - can't wait for the next installment!

Sincerely

Ian Gore
New Zealand
01 R1150R -32,000Km

[dallara]

Sorry, Folks...

But I am afraid I will not be completing the NR-500 saga as I had promised. I received the following today from the site owner and head moderator:

I also dont really want pictures of women and stuff on my site - I want to keep everything as r1150r related as possible. That is the core of what this site means to me and most of the people that come here - this is why they are here in the first place, right?

And:

So, thanks for understanding, and hopefully you can make a change so we can once again enojoy your company. Again, to reiterate, I am not considering banning you unless I dont see a change. This is completely up to you, ok?

There was more to the message, but it is apparent that material straying too far away from BMW's and R-1150-R's is not really something the owner wants here.

I can understand his position, and it is his site, so I won't be posting any more "Moto Trivia" bikes or other non-BMW or non-R-1150-R material. I honestly want to respect and honor his wishes and don't want to feel I am violating any rules, written or unwritten.

My apologies to each of you that wanted to read it, and I sincerely appreciate the kind comments you have made about my past postings.

Maybe one day I will write that book, after all...

Thanks again, and again, I am sorry.

Cheers!

Dallara

[NoRRmad]

Hm. Twisted knickers here. That's too bad; I was enjoying the NR-500 articles.

[CycleRob]

Dallara,

I like the race engineering mastery at Honda, it's IMO one of the best in the World. They do formula one cars and their wizards can monitor and change the ignition timing from afar while the engine is screaming around the track.

There are issues on this site that greatly influence Doug's forcefully encouraging the "1150R only" rules. Near the top is bandwith. If we have Honda pics and other unrelated topics pushing us over the plan's monthly byteflow limit, the site goes "off line" for a couple days or a week plus. Remember those couple of outages we had last Summer? They prolly forced Doug to upgrade from the Silver plan to the Gold plan. That's money coming out of membership dues and when push comes to shove, Doug's bank.

The other thing is that, to some people, it's just like the reception you'll get like when you last were talking to your wife about other women you used to date.

I bet there's a Honda Netboard somewhere where the readers will be smart enough to correct you (like you asked). I'm not scolding you, just pointing out that we need to stay focused on the reason we're here in the 1st place.

[darthrider]

Board Spokesman Uncle Robbie said to Dallara:

just pointing out that we need to stay focused on the reason we're here in the 1st place.

Hmmm...this thread is 1 week old and has 23 posts & 692 views - and a number of members & guests wanting more. And you think Dallara should leave and go find a Honda board.

My "Eye Candy" thread was 3 weeks old at last post and has 92 replies and 4107 views. I don't think there are any 50R images on there, should I leave too and find a Misc. Motorcycles board?

Even your thread about a Las Vegas party took some hits as I recall. I bet there are special boards for that too.

It seems a lot of us must be confused about "the reason we're here" as judged by where so many of the hits are landing.

Personally, there's not too much more info on the 50R I need after 4 1/2 years of owning one and talking about it on here. And most board queries I'm qualified to answer have been done to death and don't need my input.

I hang around for two reasons: I've made a few good friends on here, some very interesting acquaintences, met a lot of pleasant chaps, and a very few I have no use for whatsoever, just like "real life". And I love the talk about motorcycles and riding motorcycles...not *just* BMW's and riding BMW's. I have much to learn and share on motorcycles and intend to do both. And I will continue to do that here, or I will leave and do it elsewhere if I'm not allowed to.

I know what the name of the board is. I also know what the "fine print" says about what should/should not be posted on the main board. Maybe you ought to take a peek. More importantly, I can read the hit stats and see where at least some of our interests lie.

Maybe "Off Topic" would be better for Honda stories and pics of all kinds of bikes...and parties in Las Vegas. No diff to me.

I'll tell you one thing, people better start speaking up about what they want to see on here before a lot of us with something to say start looking for other boards as you suggested that Dallara do. You may really be too busy "seeing the invisible" and "doing the impossible" to know.

[scottybooj]

whoa, all i can say is whoa.

dallara, i welcome your posts and hope to see the conclusion to the NR-500.

Then I can sleep.



If Doug has a problem with bandwith, then i respect his decision to restrict non-bmw stuff, but then why would we have an 'off topic' section? or pat's playhouse?

i say keep 'em coming.

as for nude and lude pics, just post a link that way we can save bandwith and chaste eyes.

[dallara]

Scottybooj said:

If Doug has a problem with bandwith, then i respect his decision to restrict non-bmw stuff, but then why would we have an 'off topic' section? or pat's playhouse?

That's a very, very, very good question, Scotty, but I doubt you will get an answer...

Alas, I believe the NR-500 saga story will have to end here, as I have been told I have to "change", etc. or risk being banned from the site, etc. I don't want to rock the boat, so I will no longer be posting any stuff like this or the trivia bikes, etc. Nope. Only pure, unadulterated, homogenized R-1150-R posts, period.

Oh, and CycleRob...

Your analogy about the wife-girlfriend thing doesn't really apply in my mind... I have a BMW, Honda, and Kawasaki all in my garage, and they aren't the least bit jealous of each other!

And you won't have to worry about me wasting any more bandwidth here. I doubt I will be posting much, if at all. If the costs of the site are getting too high for Doug then he should have another membership drive or raise the fees... However, it does seem that guests have just as much say here as the members, so why would anyone join?

I better stop there...

Cheers!

Dallara

[NoRRmad]

Boy, have I seen this happen before.

Dallara, I hope you see that Doug's concerns have to do with this site becoming too raunchy for general consumption, and not with your enjoyable and knowlegable posts on the motorcycling world. You seem to have chosen to interpret his messages to you in the worst possible way.

There is the Playhouse for anything you want to post, without restriction, and Off-Topic for your motorcycling posts not related to the R1150R. There's the Members' Section for complaints about management.

It really doesn't seem to me to be too much restriction to put your posts in the appropriate place. I hope you agree; I'd miss your posts.

[Deans BMW]

Dittos to what NoRRmad said.

I thouroughly enjoy your posts re the Honda and the M/C trivia.

I really enjoyed the Big Bend trip that you put together and am looking fwd to the next Texas ride.

[Acacia]

The character, color and texture of this board is the diversity of its contributors and in particular, its paid members. It has international participation. A rich diversity of gender and society. You open it up to world wide diversity and what do you expect?

Contributors who own and ride BMW's (And, some who dont currently own BMW's, but have a tolerance for those other riders), but have real lives and a passion for motor cycling cannot be sterilized into mindless conformity. Sanitise, emasculate and bleach their interaction and you will get entropy.

Do some need to cool down now and then? -Certainly. Do some make mistakes - including Mods? Absolutely.

Darth wrote;
"I hang around for two reasons: I've made a few good friends on here, some very interesting acquaintences, met a lot of pleasant chaps, and a very few I have no use for whatsoever, just like "real life". And I love the talk about motorcycles and riding motorcycles...not *just* BMW's and riding BMW's. I have much to learn and share on motorcycles and intend to do both. And I will continue to do that here, or I will leave and do it elsewhere if I'm not allowed to..."

What is the opposite of entrophy?

[arkline]

R1150R
This is the main section for the R1150R website. Only R1150R (or at least motorycle-based) topics should go in here.

It would be a shame to not hear the rest of this story. It would be a shame to miss out on the Mototrivia and Eye Candy threads. It would be a shame to miss out on the motorcycling anecdotes, jokes, and insights that all the members of this board have and readily share.

It would be a shame for us to forget exactly why we came to this place in the first place. There are places here to post about whatever you think or care about outside the biking end of it. But mainly it is about the bike and motorcyling - the thing that brought us together in the first place.

I like what George said:

I'm better than that... mostly.

Over the years, I think I've come to the conclusion that we are all better than that...mostly.

So, if Dallara hasn't left the building altogether, I'd welcome the end of this story. If someone objects, then they should post their objections publicly. If someone wants to post an image to the Eye Candy thread that shows the hideous creation called the Roadog, that wouldn't be a bad thing either. And if you've got a line on the infamous Spagthorpe, post a Mototrivia too.

[Deans BMW]

I can't wait for the Spagthorpe pics.

[dallara]

To NoRRmad, Dean, Acacia, & Arkline...

I dunno'... To me this was pretty plain:

I want to keep EVERYTHING as r1150r related as possible. That is the core of what this site means to me and most of the people that come here - this is why they are here in the first place, right?

(emphasis added on the word "everything"...)

That, and some other PM's from Doug made it pretty clear to me what restrictions he wanted me (and maybe it's only me...) to adhere to or risk being banned, period, and I plan to do just that - strictly adhere to those guidelines.

So, no Honda posts, no Yamaha posts, no Ducati posts, no KTM posts, etc... And no "Moto Trivia" posts... No racing posts... No pictures... No ride posts... Nothing if it does not have to do with R-1150-R's specifically.

According to the powers that be:

Most of (my) posts are not what many consider valuable...

and

This is completely unacceptable and must stop immediately.

It has also been suggested that I have nothing "positive" to contribute to the board... So I will read it, and refrain from posting unless it is specifically about R-1150-R's.

Otherwise, I have "left the building..."

Cheers!

Dallara

[darthrider]

What is the opposite of entrophy?

Acacia -
Seriously, I don't know what "entrophy" is.
I looked it up in Webster's. I still don't know what it is and now I have a headache.
I tried Google and ended up in a lot of physics and chemistry sites. At least I *think* that's what they were and now I have a migraine.
Sometimes I can "cheat" my way into a definition with my thesaurus...it's not in there.
I dropped out of college after a year and a half to drink beer, chase girls, jump out of airplanes, drive fast cars and ride fast motorcycles. I learned a lot of things but missed some others.

So...could you explain "entrophy" and/or "entropy" and then maybe I can figure out what the opposite is?
If you don't, I promise my head will explode and it will be your fault!

[Bones]

Hmmmm.......
Something is "up" that I don't know about.

Very little of what Dallara posts is valuable? I kind of keep track of what I have learned over the past couple of years from the board and its members, and in a "Rubber meets the Road" sense (practical things), Dallara's posts have been quite helpful to me. Maybe I only read the good ones?

I have learned a bunch of things about suspension, traction, bike feedback, engine things, brakes (goodness, let's not go 'there' re ABS and servos) from his posts. Most of those posts have instigated my going out to read and research in greater detail, elsewhere, like Tony Foale's book, etc.

I guess if we stick ONLY to R1150R topics, strictly, we will have to limit the discussions to oil filters, fluids, fuses and battery chargers.

I don't frequent the other topic sections, only the main board....maybe I am missing something?

Guess I should keep my mouth shut on helmets and injuries, too, as they are not 1150R related, specifically.

Guess we should have some input directly from Doug and the moderators on this.

Doug?
Moderators?
What did I miss?


Bones

[Deans BMW]

Guess we should have some input directly from Doug and the moderators on this.

I think that would be approtriate.

[arkline]

Dave,

If I might be so bold as to offer a definition of entropy...

Entropy is the tendency for physical systems to, over time, spread all the energy out such that the energy in one "place" is the same as the energy in another. That is why an engine cools down to ambient temps when it is no longer running. Heat (energy) flows from higher concentrations to lower concentrations. Think of it as universal (and I do mean the universe) heat death, in the long run. Entropy is a large concept to be applied to large and closed systems where there are no new energy inputs and no factor that can rearrange the way that energy flows. Think of entropy as a sort of chaos, kinda.

In communications systems, entropy is a measure of how much information there is in the system. The less information there is, the more uniform the signal, the more entropy the system has. If one part of the signal looks pretty much like all other parts of the signal, there isn't much information being transmitted or available.

Pretty off the cuff for something I haven't read or thought about in about twenty years or more. Of course, I could be completely wrong. There are real engineers here aren't there?

[Acacia]

Dean, Bones,
Your suggestion to the Mods. I think is on the mark.

Dallara's posts of no value? What? Wow, that is loaded as well as very empty! There are few motorcyle enthusiasts I have met that are as passionate and generally knowledgable about their love for riding and sharing their experiences as Dallara is. This comes accross in his writing. Push his buttons and that colorful passion comes through too. Sit and reason with him and he calms down. Now that is my experience and opinion.

Darth,
Sorry for the headache. Here are some pointers.

Entropy - Can be used in a number of different contexts. Arkline is onto one. Can be used interms of limited gene pools, inbred = serility and deformities, is another example. Another is a social system that does not allow diversity, individuality, creativity and Freedom - eg the old Comunist systems vs freemarket and demorcary

Websters New Encyclopedic Dictionary offers 2- this is the one I am using, "the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity." In short nothing new into a system, the system dies, or chaos as Ark says.

The opposite - new DNA into the exisitng blood line and you get what animal husbandry is all about. (Or, seen the movie Deliverance? ). Add new ideas and diversity to a subject and all benefit - or else close our minds, censor everything and lets go back to the dark ages, are extreme examples.

What is going on? Dallarna has been censured. "condemned sternly", "officially repremanded" . "Threatened with removal from the site".

Sheesh, this line is not about bikes anymore- See yah!

[CycleRob]

NoRRmad said it best (with my added keyword enhancements for speedreaders):

Dallara, I hope you see that Doug's concerns have to do with this site becoming too raunchy for general consumption, and not with your enjoyable and knowlegable posts on the motorcycling world. You seem to have chosen to interpret his messages to you in the worst possible way. There is the Playhouse for anything you want to post, without restriction, and Off-Topic for your motorcycling posts not related to the R1150R. There's the Members' Section for complaints about management. It really doesn't seem to me to be too much restriction to put your posts in the appropriate place. I hope you agree; I'd miss your posts

darthrider quipped:

Even your thread about a Las Vegas party took some hits as I recall. I bet there are special boards for that too.

My "Vegas Party", as you call it, provided an extremely rare opportunity, with my Sept 19th Las Vegas wedding, for me to meet Arizona, Texas and possibly West Coast 1150R board members that I assumed would ride their 1150R's to the MGM Grand Hotel to join up for a talkative group Dinner and owner bike perusal. I reluctantly did not put it in the Group Ride section, where it belonged, because, seeing the invisible, I knew ahead of time almost nobody would see it there.
BTW, I think your signature: "I've spent most of my life on motorcycles, the rest I've just wasted..." is one of the site's best. I'd keep it. I chose mine from a Salada teabag tab because it is so true . . . and in my case, where wrenching is my expertise, it often applies.

As far as Dallara's lengthy Honda posts, I didn't have a problem with them and quite frankly couldn't wait to when he would get to the part where 2 widely spread apart connecting rods controlled 1 huge Oval piston. Sometimes DougSiteMaster yells at members (via E-Mail), including me (long ago), for site infractions and that is absolutely his right . . . on his site. Before labeling him a prik, be aware he also E-Mails letters of thanks and gratitude, and in one, confided that his relationship with his wife parallels mine with mine (a rare good thing). His buttons being pushed by Dallara may be just a matter of too many little things, too many times, for too long.

BTW, My 50R is 733 miles away in my brother's Georgia basement about a half hour ride from my 1st new house. I haven't ridden much in the last 6 weeks (plus) due to moving and the Pennsylvania house selling preparations - - - so I am also PMS-ing (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome). On the plus side, I've rediscovered how very appealing a good wife is.

[BobFV1]

Dal -

Don't go, but if you do, please let us know where so we can follow. You are a rare and valuable resource to motorcycle lovers of all types, everywhere.

Thanks for the great story about the Hondas - even those two strokers, which sound like wet, um, never mind

Let's hear the rest of it...