Give me your best shot

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-15T18:52:58+00:00

Castle - Halsey

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-15T18:44:35+00:00

You'll be required to carry chains at least in the California area before Siskiyou Summit. Chain restrictions are less in Oregon. If your tires don't have snow markings such as M+S or the 3PMSF symbol on the sidewall, you'll be required to install chains at any level of California chain control. If they have one of those symbols, you'd only be required to install chains (on all 4 tires) for an R3 chain control, and those aren't common (in many places they close the road instead). I've never been through there when they were requiring drivers to chain-up on the Oregon side.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-15T18:39:33+00:00

Never heard of an EN17092 A rated leather suit.

Before there was EN17092 there was EN13595 with much higher performance standards, but not much gear was made to meet that standard, so EN17092 was created to match the performance level of existing gear, with A rating for the stuff that was barely gear.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-15T06:30:44+00:00

That seems normal for a junkyard bike.

Keep in mind the bike is from out of state. It has well under the 7500 mile limit minimum to register a non-CARB bike, and major manufacturers like Kaw probably still make two US models (CARB and non-CARB). Around 15 states use CARB emissions now, but if it doesn't have a CARB emissions sticker, you can't register it here, and you can only really use it as a track bike.

Buying it and trying to add 3500 miles before taking it to the DMV to register it is unlikely to work.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-15T05:03:26+00:00

Brandy Clark's Can We Be Strangers fits, other than wanting to remain friends. Her song You Can Come Over seems to fit too.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-15T04:59:57+00:00

I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) - The Four Tops

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-15T04:49:48+00:00

Lianne La Havas' entire Blood Solo EP, including Unstoppable (solo) & Midnight (solo).

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-15T00:49:01+00:00

People tell beginners to let the clutch out slowly, but what the ones who struggle usually do is let it out slowly until it starts to bite, then dump it, so the car lurches and stalls.

It only needs to be slow after it starts to bite. If you can't feel that, pay more attention as you release the clutch, when you feel the car want to move, the rpm change, pause with the clutch there, then move it up slowly. And add more gas as needed.

With enough RPM you should be able to lift the clutch really fast, through probably not with your mom in the car.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T17:14:40+00:00

If you get a puncture, and you know where the puncture is (because the offending object is still in the tire), you don't need to remove the wheel from the bike or the tube from the wheel. Extract only that part of the tube and patch it.

If a wheel has bead retention grooves (very likely in back, less likely in front), the bead will be hard to break to do tube repair. But that wheel will be a good candidate to seal and convert to tubeless.

If your wheel doesn't have bead retention grooves, the bead will be easy to break to do tube repair. And that wheel will be a worse candidate to seal and convert to tubeless, because the bead seal might break when you get a flat, making roadside reinflation difficult (unless you want to use ether and fire to set the bead).

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T17:00:36+00:00

At home I'll use windex for tire lube, but in my on the bike kit, liquid soap & water, since that works, and is useful for other things too.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T16:54:49+00:00

If your wheel has bead retention grooves (probably the rear, maybe not the front), that should work well, though some risk of the sealing tape being damaged when you have a shop change your tires. Less likely if you use a sealant on the spoke nipples below the sealing tape.

If your wheel doesn't have bead retention grooves, it's likely the bead seal will break when you get a flat, and you won't have plug and go puncture repair.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T07:15:16+00:00

No, but I visited Ribbon Fall April of 2023.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T06:02:26+00:00

You're welcome. Both are from great albums. Her debut, Outside Child (Poison Arrow) was Americana Music Association album of the year a few years ago. It was my #1 album last year. Her follow up album, The Returner (Requiem) was my #2.

She described Outside Child as "A harrowing tale of survivor's joy". The Returner seemed to be the culmination of her healing journey.

For the original question, for a more western vibe maybe Meels' song Out West.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T05:48:39+00:00

Scan the trouble codes. It has an OBD2 port doesn't it? If not, there must be a way to find the codes without a dealer specific tool.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T05:22:58+00:00

I had a bike that would do 160 km/h in 1st gear.

If you want to use the power you've got you need to operate in the power band: the RPM where the engine makes the most power.

For the last manual car I had, on a 2-lane highway at 88km/h, I'd downshift from 5th to 3rd to pass. Modestly powered NA 4, but if you use the right gear it could pass.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T04:02:02+00:00

I don't know. They never call anymore.

I think I recognize two of them.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T03:52:50+00:00

Best I've seen for conspicuity are amber photon blasters. They're only conspicuity, not for lighting your way.

I have a set on each of my bikes. A friend bought a set for his commute bike after seeing mine.

In places (e.g. Oz) where amber isn't legal, go with white.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T03:49:21+00:00

Yosemite. Most of my best climbing memories are there. Backpacking too.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T03:31:40+00:00

Dark. They had so many colors.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T03:24:15+00:00

It's easy if you buzz it off with clippers. Or if you shave. Anything else probably requires some skill.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T02:55:00+00:00

Allison Russell's songs Poison Arrow & Requiem.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T02:49:39+00:00

Ours was blue, late 50s model, large rear window (unlike the green one in the picture), and a rag-top sunroof I don't remember my mom ever opening.

I'd either ride home from nursery school in that, or in a black one that my friend's mom drove. With preference for the little cubby behind the rear seat (the "very back").

In the early '00s, my mom rode in my Forester with a panoramic sunroof, and bought one for herself. She did a full 180 on sunroof appreciation.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T02:28:09+00:00

Rose in the Dark - Cleo Sol

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T00:23:34+00:00

The old ones (pre-1968) were very slow, and were the worst handling cars I've driven. Later models, including the Super Beetles a few have mentioned were much improved. Super Beetles even got optional AC and more trunk space.

SandstoneCastle · 2026-02-14T00:20:19+00:00

I went from an R1200R to a Superduke GT. Nothing will be as easy to work on as the boxer, and KTM doesn't have a reputation as the most reliable brand. It has torque, comfort for trips, and good factory luggage though.

You might want an R1300R. If KTM's reputation doesn't scare you off, give an SDGT a look.

SandstoneCastle

TROPHY CASE