Grabber Orange has Arrived!

Was out looking for a GT Vert' tonight ... and ran across a Grabber Orange V6 Coupe at one of the local dealers. Its very ... Orange! I'll try to get pics next time I'm out that way for y'all ;-)

-Donna

Reply to
Donna, aka Diamondz
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Looking to upgrade to a GT 'vert? Groovy.

Of course you're in South Carolina, so you still have 3 months of top-down cruising left in the season.

Reply to
Ralph Snart

Every piece of skin better be covered if you plan on doing that. With the wind, it will be much colder than you think. You are going to get a lot of strange looks. :)

Reply to
Steve B

I have to ask you, what's your motivation for doing this? If you have ridden a bike through the cold, I imagine you will be ok, just make sure you put a lot of layers on. The heat doesn't do much when it's below 65 degrees Fahrenheit for me. When I get up to 65 MPH, it feels like 35 degrees, with or without the heat. I actually find it easier to stay warm on the bike, probably because of the helmet.v

Good luck...

Sean

Reply to
Fao, Sean

Yes... the more I drive my new vert, the more I realize how helpful the helmet was. Seems that my head takes a "thrashing" in the vert... I am getting headaches, probably from wind noise, cold air, and direct sunshine. Some bikers complain about helmets, but gee, a helmet is a very good thing, in addition to keeping your head from getting cracked open in a spill. I think I'd look a little silly wearing a helmet in the vert though. :) I think I just need to get more accustomed to the vert. It sure is nice having the option of just putting the top up, like when it rains and stuff... on the bike, as you well know, rain is a real nuisance.

Reply to
GT-Vert-03

Well I'm glad to hear that you're having fun, that is without a doubt one of the most important things.

What kind of helmet were you using? Full-face? I haven't tested exactly where I stop being able to hear my passenger on the bike but I can honestly say that I have much less wind noise in the vert then my bike. In the Mustang, I can still hear the radio and hold a conversation. Anybody who might be in the back seat has a hard time hearing us up front though. One thing I do get more of in the Mustang though is stuff in my eyes. The eye protection on my helmet must do a good job :-).

I personally can't understand why anybody would ride without a helmet. I road my bike to the middle of my driveway to change the oil a few days ago, without a helmet on, and I felt totally naked.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, I haven't been riding long enough to have gotten stuck in a rain storm yet. About a month ago though, I was driving up through the mountains of Maryland and watched as the sky quickly turned from blue to black. I must have had the top up no more then 30 seconds before the sky opened up. It started out as such a beautiful morning so I'm sure there were plenty of bikers stuck out in it. I have to totally agree, there are times when the top is a good thing :-).

Talk to you later,

Sean

Reply to
Fao, Sean

Well, I tried it once for about 20 minutes... could hardly breathe... it was extremely uncomfortable... not fun at all... severe wind noise, etc. Never again. I wear a full-face Arai... excellent helmet, but expensive.

That is fortunate! (Not unfortunate) You can imagine what it is like. The worst part is the danger due to the slippery road surface. Even if you're an excellent rider, there's more of a chance of some other motorist sliding into you... reduced visibility for eveyone too. Forgetting about safety and moving on to the comfort and convenience factor... well, when the sky gets dark, you need to pull over and get your rain suit on... then sometimes it rains for just 15 minutes, then the sun comes out and it's hot, so then you need to pull over and take your suit off... and this cycle can repeat quite a few times on a summer day, can be a real headache. And you can never out-smart it... one time it started to rain so I figured, I'll just forget the rain suit, get a little wet, and then it'll probably stop soon, and everything will be fine. But no, it then started to rain more and more, got bad, to the point where the suit was necessary... so i pull over, put everything on while already soaked... pull out, ride for about 3 minutes, rain stops, sun comes out... yes, a convertible car can be way more convenient in certain instances!

Ahhh... this sparks a good question.... my new `03 Stang vert has a safety feature.... you cannot raise the top unless the parking brake is set. Has anyone figured out an easy way to disable this safety switch? I have not looked at it yet, but it would seem that it should not be too hard to disable this. I could picture a scenario where you are stuck in traffic on a highway with no off-ramps or shoulders, and then the sky gets dark and opens up before you can pull off anywhere to put the top up. I'm sure if you raised the top while rolling along at 5 mph, nothing bad will happen. Even if you are able to stop dead on the road in your lane, I wouldn't want to have to worry about the "extra step" of locking that parking brake just to put the top up. Chances are it will already be raining at this point, and you'll be a little excited and distracted... no need for an extra step... that alone might be more dangerous than otherwise. I wonder if the top switch just pops out of the console from the top, or if the console would have to be pulled in order to disable the safety switch....?

Reply to
GT-Vert-03

Rain riding isn't all that bad - a few years ago I bought a new Ducati ST2 and rode it 75+ miles home in a rain storm (it was raining when we left home to pick it up). No problems getting home and the road surfaces varied from well maintained expressway ways to cobblestone streets.

Could be a combination of world-best suspension and brakes and a forgiving power band.

Ironically, the bike was (and is) worth a bit more than my 94 GT Vert, but the Ford will never see rain in my care...

Best regards,

Chris West

Reply to
Chris West

My top only is down in the spring and in the fall.

Reply to
Walt

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