ReconRat

Do all front tires feel bonkers when they wear out? You'd think the front suspension went haywire, until replacing the front tire. I only use Dunlops, so was wondering if it's just Dunlop or is it all brands of front tires. No clue here. (Not counting cheap original stock front tires.)

Not sure I've seen this map comparison before, but most of us knew the urban areas were certainly dangerous for violence. What I see is not gun violence (guns admittedly are everywhere.) What I see is people violence, or locality violence. Certain groups of people are simply more likely to use violence without remorse.

I put new tires on both 919s before riding to Florida to stay. Wanted the high mileage "harder center" tires. I put Dunlop RoadSmart II on the hooligan 2002, and Michelin PR4 on the laid back 2007. Impressions so far, are that are both are about the best you can get for high performance, semi-touring, high mileage, wet weather traction. Only difference I could tell, was a bit of handling difference between the two. Noticeable at high freeway speeds, probably on grooved pavement, and mostly when road is wet. The PR4 seems to "hunt about" a little bit, whereas the RoadSmart is more stable. And it didn't happen all the time, just on certain roads. Not a big deal, and probably mostly tire tread pattern. Turn ins and twisties are about the same, but I'm so used to the Dunlop style handling, I probably don't have a good assessment of that yet. (and haven't really thrashed the 2007 to find out.) The newer RoadSmart II front tire might be a multi compound now. It wasn't before. I think the PR4 front has always been multi.

I don't know if it was the moving, packing, or the new climate, or all of the above.... but I dropped from 178 to 151. Now doing pushups, sit-ups, and squat thrusts to try and get some back. Maybe bicycle, hiking, swimming, or sprints coming up. btw, BMI ratings have gotten downright mean. 145 is lean and perfectly normal for me. BMI ratings think I should be a notch lower than that, like 129... I don't think so.

From what I'm hearing from people in the mountains along the path, everything is booked and a large crowd is expected. The small towns are expecting 100 times their populations showing up. It should be a zoo. Get there early and bring your own food, water and gasoline.

I bought bike camping gear, all lightweight stuff. It doubles as backpack gear. Check the "packed" size of tents, many have poles that are very long. Not sure how to get that on a bike. Not many packed short and small tents to chose from. A couple of the camping websites are good about listing that packed size. Make a list of which ones seem like it will fit on your bike. I went with a mil-spec "coyote" solo tent. Hard to find. Also picked up an older model Eureka two person tent that packs pretty short. Got both foam mat and mil-spec air mattress, but have no opinion yet. Except the foam mat won't fit inside anything. It has to roll up, strap tight, and hang somewhere. Figured I might make a water-proof bag to fit that. Note: the solo tent and the air mattress actually fit inside a single compression bag, about 8"dia by 12" long. Didn't really compress that, I did for the sleeping bag and a little pillow. Wait till you try to pick out camp cooking gear for the bike. lol, good luck. And yes, self-inflating. Also, one of those silver survival blankets works well on the ground, as a heat reflector. Well, so does pine needles...

Air Force bought 12 (AR-5 / MA-1) for the XB-70, and didn't follow through on more purchases. Used up the older M4 and M6 instead. I had a chance at a show, to buy a surplus M6 with a legal 14.5 barrel when they were dumped on the market. Sorry I didn't grab that up, they were gone in a hurry. They weren't cheap either. edit: And yes, fits in buttstock and floats, hopefully.

I've got one. Always wanted one. I have the Henry camo. It's my understanding that the latest model is much better than the early models. Dunno yet. All 22LR semi-autos are finicky about ammo type. Typically 40gr round and/or a higher velocity 22LR cartridge is needed to cycle the bolt consistently. Wouldn't recommend sub-sonic. Regardless, some brands will work, and some won't. For me, it's mostly Winchester SuperX works fine. I don't care for the "hyper" 22LR stuff. Get the extra magazine(s) for the storage space in the buttstock if they aren't there. edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armalite_AR-7

Just wanted to mention that good hardware stores often have links and half links available. Or out of stock, lol. Used to always carry them, back-in-the-day for broken chains, and still put a few in my toolkit even though I use riveted chain.

Or be crazy like me, take a link out when it's stretched too far, and continue using it. Till that day I found one link pin broken on one side and ready to let go. oops... Not recommended. I do recommend rolling the chain around a few times and take a close look after lubing it. Never know what you will find.

Most oil temp applications monitor the sump or tank(if dry sump). Oil temp, similar to water temp, flows fast and temps remain consistent throughout, unless revved up or subject to load. Monitoring maximum temp is best done with a temp sensor on the head somewhere. Granted, most motorcycles skip the head temp sensor and go with an oil temp sender. So your choice, return side of cooler for approximate sump temperature, or supply side of cooler for approximate max temperature. edit: or install two senders and gauges... booya!

I've seen federal data that spits stats up other ways. I noticed the major category is motorcycles with engines 1200cc and larger. Not too surprising, since half of all sales are exactly that. Also noticed a strange thing, odds are in your favor with a helmet, medical insurance and sober. Apparently those without those 3 items are a major contributor.

No one mentioned rentals yet. But good luck finding Kawasaki and Honda to rent locally. And might have a bit of travel to get to a rental. Example is EagleRiders rentals. Versys and NC700 are available... in Madrid Spain only.

Probably the rarest type connector. Fords, some Mopar, and some mil-spec types. Don't see any aftermarket for that, you're looking for OEM mostly. Had those on an old Ford van, that had the battery in a box behind the driver. You might try a marine outfitter place, those batteries are in a box and maybe right angle like that. They might sell that type of terminal cover. edit: I'm an idiot, I thought that was on your car/truck and heavy gauge. Looking again....

2Pcs Auto Car Battery Terminal Cover Insulation Boot Black Red 55mmx50mm Moroso Battery Terminal Boots 74114

Interesting... OSU transportation did a study like that too. But short story, I did a road check on the hivis orange and hivis green, on a long straight road. Two guys on bikes in the distance in front of me. The orange was good up to a mile, and the green was good up to two miles. When the closure rate might be only 15 to 20 seconds in a mile, distance counts.

Geez... nice notch cut into the caliper. It's a goner...

I've fixed cracked aluminum castings various ways. None lasted forever. All methods leaked again. Probably the number of heat and cool cycles just crack the patch. Even a weld. Super glue impressed me, it was just so easy to do, even if having to put more on often. Trying to fix or plug up a large crack or hole is a waste of time. But it might work for a while.

I went a few years ago. I would certainly go again. Wonderful small venue show. I rode North of Columbus, and took back roads over to the West. It was a wonderful day. If there is a wind, it might be a bit chilly on the field, but you'll have a riding jacket anyway.

True. Multi-weight gains it's viscosity when warm/hot. Not when cold. I should have made that more clear.

It's a human reaction to laugh at another's despair. Not unusual. Not empathetic, but whatever. (Like I've never fallen down, or laughed when some one did so.) Maybe she gets the last laugh. I've seen a few big ladies slim down, and become absolutely gorgeous.

Oil that streams out like water, with lots of dripping, instead of a viscous stream that sticks together, is a no-no signal to me. It means the viscosity is gone-gone. Chewed up by the gear train. I look for something that will hold up better. Turning dark means it's holding the contaminants like it should. Dark is a signal to change oil. If there's a lot of it and/or too soon, I'd wonder about the oil filter. Either dirty and bypassing, or goofing up and bypassing. Definitely, some filters work better than others. Unconfirmed, is that the extra filtration in some premium filters, causes unwanted back pressure, resulting in an unwanted bypass of the filter. Something like it might even happen with the wrong weight of oil. Dark oil can also be combustion bypassing the rings into the oil. Always check oil to see if it smells like gasoline. It should not. Gasoline will also drop the viscosity rather quickly. Goofed up fuel shutoffs are also a source of that on carb bikes.

Mostly yes, it's MA. Either it's an oil that didn't quite fit into MA1 or MA2 by spec, or it's actually an old bottle of MA oil, from before the time of the new specs. lol. The JASO docs actually say that is what they do with oil that is somewhere between MA1 and MA2. They give it the MA designation. Still quite acceptable oil, unless there is a need to stick with MA2 specs for a catalytic converter. Dunno about that. I got one, but don't care one way or the other. Maybe I should. Again, dunno...

Interesting. But only see 10w30 in dino and 25w40 and 25w50 in synthetic. Not seeing a 10w40 anywhere.

I've heard of everything from paint stripper, oven cleaner, brake cleaner, caustic soda dip... not tried any one of them, so dunno.... and have doubts about oven cleaner or caustic soda on magnesium.... edit: oh, and the best one yet from the interwebz.... Permatex gasket remover