Okay, so as target ads become the norm, I feel like something unique to what I love about advertising is being lost. Take my scenario: I am chef. I am a graphic design student. I like motorcycles. I recently became engaged. When I look at a motorcycle blog, I really do not want to see ads for (1) Engagement rings or (2) Chef Pants. When I am looking for Kinetic Type tutorials, I do not need to see ads for motorcycle jackets, and so on.

I have always felt that in print magazines well chosen ads actually add to the content of the volume itself. Take for example motorcycle magazines: I have learned of products, tools, gadgets et al that have enhanced my motorcycling experience that were never mentioned in the body copy of the magazine. I have discovered businesses that I would have never have otherwise known about. I have (somewhat falsely) assumed that ads were chosen by both advertising salespeople and editorial staff to make sure that the ads reflect the values of a magazine's editorial criteria. On the web, as advertising matured, it seemed as if this concept (content + ad = complete experience) was going to truly find its potential. However, this has not been the case. My facebook ads constantly try to get me to join a gout study (I mentioned a sore toe, and had the word gout in the topic 2 years ago) and dating sites about divorced women (I'm engaged!). Targeted ads on motorcycle blogs showing women in medical scrubs (work uniforms) creates distraction from the content, and worse, it gives me the impression that the creators of these online magazines/blogs have no true editorial oversight of their own product.
Something has to give. Targeted ads have to grow up, become more refined, and consider what pages they are being view on, not just who is viewing it. Targeted ads right now are the equivalent of the flashing banner ads of a decade ago claiming that I am a winner. In this situation, I am not, and neither is this newest form of advertising.

Entering the Tunnel, Hoping to See Some Light.

Closeup of the beautiful bodywork

Ah, the heads are torqued down, the throttle bodies are back in the manifold, and the radiator is back in place. I finally defeated a pesky M6x12mm hex screw that stripped, after destroying one screw extractor and seriously dulling down another. I can't say I see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I now at least see a tunnel.

Vertical Head and Throttlebody

This bike has been my baby for a few years now. My fiancé has deemed it the Yellow-Black Money Pit. I wish there wasn't any truth to that. Whether it has been maintenance, repairs, or modifications, I have been pouring money into it for about 4 years now. Here is a video of the YBMP before I started doing too many things to it.

This never ending project started when I let one of the cam lobes slip out of time during a timing belt change. After hearing the horrific noise that turned out to be a bent valve and crapped out cam bearing journal, I cried. I had school, I had work, I had a motorcycle that is no longer in production. Parts were going to be extremely hard to come by. My schedule meant this was not a weekender type of job. the YBMP was becoming the YBM-Albatross.


A Little Background:
The Ducati ST4s has a unique engine. Instead of just using a common engine in their lineup, Ducati decided to change the exhaust angle just enough to make parts damned near collectible. Just for the record, the above Wiki article is wrong about the intake valves being different from the 996. The intake valves are the same, at a 36mm diameter, with the exhaust valves the same as the 996SPS at 30mm on the St4s (also the 748SPS diameter). However, the exhaust valve stems are shorter by a few millimeters, making cross application of parts impossible. The article is correct in saying that the ST4s produces slightly more power because of the relatively straight exhaust, but the exhaust angle dropped compared to the 996 exhaust, creating a better flow angle right out of the engine. Some basic, but accurate, specs in model comparisons can be found here. 
My bike was dynoed by the previous owner at around 117rwhp with Staintune pipes and a K&N filter. I have shortened the final gearing and added an aftermarket ECU from DesmoPorsche which, since I have not had it dynoed, I cannot tell you what power gains were made. The gearing was shortened because I do not need a 161+ top speed on a bike with saddlebags. It now only tops out around 155mph. Sorry, you will just have to wait for my slow ass now. Besides, shorter gearing + more power = 1 wheel fun ;) 


On the Repairs:
So the next week or so will be the moment of truth. I just need to refill the radiator, replace the timing belts (correctly), reattach all of the computers, get the TPS set, sync the throttle bodies, replace the tank and go. Hopefully. During the bike's downtime, I checked and replaced the valve shims, polished the ports with a Dremel, and generally covered myself in various petroleum products over the past several months. Machines do not like to go unused for long periods of time, so once the bike is back together and running, it is going back down because the clutch was slipping badly before all of this went down. The brake lines and radiator hoses are due to be replaced soon, too. My fear is that the cost to make the bike run the way I want it to run will be prohibitively expensive. 


Yet, despite the cost, I will get all of it done. The YBMP whispers that it has never been to the Dragon like the Suzuki Bandit 600ST that is languishing in the shed, and she should get to go at least once before I start looking for other, less costly rides. So wish me luck as I get achingly close to actually being a motorcycle rider again and not just a motorcycle owner.

Slide essay  on the word 'final' for ARV 262. I took all the photos. The military garb belonged to my late father.
UPDATE: GoDigital MG is contesting the video, saying that they are defending the copyright for a third party. The beginning sound is from Garageband loops, which gives permission in the privacy statement, and Taps is public domain. The three round volley I am not even sure that it could be copyrighted. Oh well. I know that it is most likely a bot checking for certain algorithms, but I felt I had to file a dispute anyway.

Greetings, and welcome to my blog. This is a 'Hello World' article of sorts, and I hope to grow as a writer to entertain, inform, and possibly enlighten on this page. I will cover a few of my varied interests while trying to tie them into one another to keep this page interesting to all readers, not just a few people that somehow share my opinions.

As I progress, I will divide the primary topics into separate pages—motorcycle interests, art & design, and food. Politics and sports may creep in here and there, but I will try to relate those back to the the three main focal points of this blog. A couple of projects that I plan in the future is the restoration of my motorcycles(s), my current and past work in design school, new dishes, recipes, and the state of the local food movement in my area.