Honestly, these Rotax engines are supposed to be pretty bulletproof (for BMW, at least). As for the spark plugs, before even buying the bike I pulled up its manual to check out the maintenance schedule. Plugs aren’t due until more than double my mileage, so I’m hoping the air filter (which is, actually, due for…

Way ahead of you. You need female torx to pull off the brake calipers on this thing.  Read more

I’ve picked up more hex keys since that oil change, but I think you’ve still got me beat. I’m jealous Read more

Ask and ye shall receive
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God, I would love to do the NEBDR. I’ve actually got a trip coming up that’s pretty entry level, but working towards being able to do bigger rides like that. Stay tuned Read more

How do you know that’s all you have in common, until you meet them? Read more

Apparently it was a conversion! I don’t think Chevy offered a dually on the Suburban, at least for that generation
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Y’know, I’ve heard of this sponge before, but I’ve never actually seen it. The parts diagram for the master cylinder assembly only shows a cap, locking section, and rubber seal — all of which are intact on my bike. I wonder if it’s something that went away in the refresh for 2013

It’s from Super Yaki! It was a limited release, so I don’t think they’re still selling any, but you can find them around  Read more

Y’know what? The FFVII bike has some Honda vibes too, in its frame design. You might be on to something here, but I think it’s a bit smaller than the 650 Read more

Wait, those are a thing?

I actually almost bought one back in 2020, a T100 for sale locally for about five grand. Getting on it, though, it just felt massive compared to other bikes I’d ridden. A T100 is 503 lbs wet, and a T120 is 520 -- that’s a lot for a beginner who’s still learning to park Read more

I managed to scuff the Insta360 with a drop, but I had a cover over the lenses so they weren’t hurt. I do think they’re more vulnerable than a GoPro lens, with how they stick out from the camera body, but you can also get plastic lens protectors that make it a nonissue Read more

Not an ad! We got a review copy of the camera, but that’s it. I’ve genuinely gotten more and more frustrated with my own GoPros over the years, and these are all my honest thoughts on the Insta360 Read more

Oh this is WILD Read more

I realize I’m giving a lot of “benefit of the doubt” today, and may just be feeding trolls, but I do genuinely hope more information can help people understand. Call that the naïve optimist in me. Anyway:
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The whole “there are only two genders” thing always gets me. It really doesn’t contradict anything I said in the first couple paragraphs to justify the cis/trans terminology, only my little caveat at the end. Read more

As soon as I saw Esses marked red on Shinigami Eyes (https://shinigami-eyes.github.io/) I knew this wasn’t going to end well Read more

The term “cis,” in any context, is just a boring old modifier meant to get more specific within a broader category. If you’re a chemist, talking about isomers, that’s your broad category — within it, you can focus on cis isomers or trans isomers, differentiated by the arrangements of their bonds. The same thing… Read more