n_maher

^^^ I like the black a lot better than the silverish/chrome picture you previously posted. If they made one in Lucifer Orange it'd be a no-brainer.

My $ goes to the Duc, springs can be changed to adjust the suspension easy enough. Second place goes to the Aprilia, in my book.

The monster 821 sounds like pretty much exactly what you're looking for. Has most (all?) of the tech from the sweet Monster 1200, plenty of power, and not at all built to bargain bike standards based on what I can find online. The BMW R NineT Urban G/S might also be worth a look.

The Speed Twin or Duke would get my vote and while I love the look of the Indian, I'd dock the it lots of points for being a ridiculous 1200cc. For a city bike I'd be looking for something no bigger than 800cc but in reviewing a few man'f sites that seems like a unicorn and makes me like the Duke that much more. Otherwise the Duc is seriously hideous to my eyes and looks (wheelbase-wise) like it'd be a bear to handle is slow speed situations.

Wuhoo! Happy Birthday, Todd! Here's to hoping the gas/heat is back on and at the correct pressure.

Christmas came early in NH. A few weeks ago my wonderful wife authorized the procurement of a new bike and I've gotten out some late-season rides. Today's was particularly cold. New ride is a Scott Genius 940, picked up for ~20% off as a floor model. It's truly amazing how far things have come in the 6+ years since I bought a mountain bike.

Happy Birthday!

Can't say that I have, or would, as I tend to not prefer sherry-aged stuff.

This. Hang in there guys, it's a doubly tough time of year to suffer losses so severe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday, JP! Have a great trip.

Winter Mode: ACTIVE Between snapping a 3/8 to 1/2 drive adapter and finding a nearly-stripped lug nut it wasn't the smoothest transition but it got done. Test drive went fine and tires roll smooth so I'll chalk it up as a win. Damage lug will be replaced tomorrow. Also converted the tractor to winter duty which went pleasantly well. Now, if it'll just consistently start for the next 5 months that'd be great.

Maura didn't finish all of her braised short ribs last night so I preserved some of the fries that came with my burger. Breakfast was good.

We got around 4" overnight, then a bunch of sleet/rain, then a bit more snow before it left town. Now it's back below freezing and cleanup is basically impossible. Here's to hoping that it's warm enough tomorrow to soften things up to clear some of the driveway.

It just started snowing here. We're on tap to get a wintery mix overnight which is a nice way of saying it'll likely be absolute shit tomorrow morning.