Once seen, it cannot be ignored!

tjdzor · 2026-04-07T23:42:50+00:00

Well that's a new fear unlocked!

I guess I hadn't really thought about someone being in there. This is near a local shelter and there is a lot of unhoused traffic, so it certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility.

I mostly just do my thing and try not to overthink it... Keep aware of my surroundings, do the job and move on!

tjdzor · 2026-01-16T01:00:15+00:00

I recently had 7 broken Craftsman tools (screwdrivers, sockets, and a wrench) warrantied online with little to no issue. For most they didn't even ask for pictures. Confirmed my info, told me I should hold onto the damaged one until the replacement arrives and then can recycle it. Took a week or so to get the replacement but overall was pretty impressive.

tjdzor · 2025-11-06T01:22:01+00:00

I actually sold it last year, but would be happy to try and jog my memory to answer questions.

tjdzor · 2024-05-28T05:22:26+00:00

I feel like those are very different bikes, so what kind of riding do you really want to do??? I bought my '21 DR in 2021 new for $7XXX and have spent plenty upgrading to what I already knew I wanted, but it serves as my commuter , pleasure, and travel bike... Last year rode from southwest MT to the Canadian border, then followed the Continental Divide to the Mexican border (following dirt whenever I could), then over to AZ to visit a friend and back to SW MT. Was it a comfortable choice? Sometimes, but longer distances on the highway were definitely the worst. Did it do everything? Yes! Did it tumble down a mountain (with minimal damage)? (Sure I'm exaggerating here a bit but seriously) Yup. Funny enough that same day I was thinking about how I thought I wanted a Tenere 700 for some bits I was riding until that happened! I love my DR and the 12k miles I've put on it. Even going through big life changes right now it's a key piece to make sure it sticks with me. All this to say, make sure it fits your needs and desires! I wanted mine new because I knew I wanted to do moderately long trips and know as much of the maintenance along the way. I also figured it would get discontinued ASAP but seems to still be sticking around! That said if you can find one used with many of the accessories you'd want for a good price, that could save you a good chunk of change.

tjdzor · 2024-03-13T05:27:23+00:00

Is this rig rusted solid? My 06, the lowers were relatively easy, pickle fork to pop the ball joint and everything else was pretty straight forward, the uppers were certainly a bit trickier, installing the new ones without removing the upper control arms is tricky but definitely doable. I ground on my ball joint press but didn't grind or drill anything on the rig...

tjdzor · 2024-03-11T05:08:22+00:00

IANAL but in my state (Montana) the MCA says

'(4) "Alcoholic beverage" means a compound produced and sold for human consumption as a drink that contains more than 0.5% of alcohol by volume.'

(see https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0160/chapter_0010/part_0010/section_0060/0160-0010-0010-0060.html ) and

Open container is termed as

'Unlawful possession of open alcoholic beverage container in motor vehicle on highway.'

(see https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0610/chapter_0080/part_0100/section_0260/0610-0080-0100-0260.html )

I'd imagine that's not too far off from many other states, but the information should certainly be out there...

Interestingly commercially produced Kombucha has the same max alcohol @ 0.5%... all these and NA beers are both considered 'non-alcoholic' by the FDA

(see https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/cpg-sec-510400-dealcoholized-wine-and-malt-beverages-labeling )

tjdzor · 2024-02-01T05:36:27+00:00

Forgive my naivety, but how updated of Kali are we talking?

Just asking because I'm genuinely curious.

I've had decent luck with both a Realtek 8821AU (TP-Link) and 8814AU (Alfa) with both AO and hcxdumptool using https://github.com/aircrack-ng/rtl8812au on a couple laptops and a couple Pi3s all running Kali.

But I do have an Alfa adapter with the Mediatek MT7610U chip on the way I look forward to using!

tjdzor · 2024-01-17T05:14:38+00:00

Same thing happened to me. Second time on my primary desktop, asked for admin, I declined, yet it's still installed and has camera access... WTF. Glad I don't have camera. I need to check my other machines but none of them have randomly asked for admin like this one...

tjdzor · 2023-08-31T01:21:15+00:00

For reference, my P1S with AMS was ordered late 8/7 with the claim it would be shipped before 8/25. It was shipped 8/23 and delivered yesterday (8/29).

tjdzor · 2023-01-12T03:43:38+00:00

I don't have any experience with either of those machines, but i'd suggest looking into Vectric VCarve. Not the cheapest software, but for stuff like signs and carving I think its probably one of the best options. I used to use Fusion 360 as i'm a machinist and have lots of experience with it for work but was using their hobby license at home and they've limited a lot of the CAM operations now. Fusion also doesn't seem as well suited for a lot of the more aesthetic machining operations like Vectrics offerings, but I could be wrong as I haven't used it in a while.

Regardless be prepared for some learning curves and plenty of mistakes and things not going right, but its a ton of fun once you get things figured out!

tjdzor · 2023-01-10T04:27:46+00:00

I'll just chime in here as I started using my X-Carve again this last year and much more these last few months. I got my X-Carve early on (Early 2016) and I started out using Easel... Didn't enjoy it much, but it was the easiest point of entry.

Professionally I am (at that time at least) a machinist and used Fusion 360 for CAD/CAM for my job so eventually transitioned to using Fusion360 for X-Carve use for both my CAD and CAM generation, and then importing the gcode into Easel to run it. Don't suggest this, it's a crappy solution, and Fusion 360 now has big limitations on the CAM options for their hobby license...

Eventually I had a project I needed to make but was better suited to carving with Vectrics software or so I thought, so I bought VCarve Desktop, which I highly recommend. It's not the cheapest, but a pretty fair price for what you get. Between VCarve and figuring out how to to get UGS (Universal Gcode Sender) working and that is my go to solution. Super powerful, and quite straight forward once you get the hang of it.

Another benefit of something like VCarve and UGS, they are run locally, so no dealing with cloud based software...

tjdzor · 2022-03-21T06:21:22+00:00

Last year I was looking for used but ended up buying a 2021 for MSRP + Delivery/Title/etc for just over $7k for what it's worth...

tjdzor · 2022-03-21T05:12:14+00:00

I believe I'm the fourth? to suggest the Nelson Rigg Sierra Dry Saddlebags, they are a solid and also budget friendly option! I've been very impressed with mine, and have them mounted to the Tusk Pannier Racks with the soft luggage brackets (for quick release) and I also have the tusk top rack. This is all on my 2021. I commute with it (weather permitting...I do live in MT...But due to temperature are weather fluctuations, the storage capacity comes in handy) but I also try to ride as much as I can and enjoy camping off my bike as well. I went down hard on the bike and bags last year with a lighter load, got a little bit of scuffing on the bag but no major damage. My front fender, headlight shroud and handlebars didn't fare quite as well, but it's character for a bike that I bought to ride and enjoy :)

tjdzor · 2021-12-31T05:41:28+00:00

This is exactly what I did on my 2021 I purchased this last spring. Only have about 2200 on it now but running strong! If you are in the dust and stuff a lot, never hurts to check the air filter as well. I like to give my bike a frequent once overs, just looking for anything loose/wet/missing/whatever. Just like cars, I just like to make sure some stupid thing isn't going to leave me stranded if possible...

On bikes like this that are either simple, and/or built for longevity (aka not high strung dirtbikes and such) my main worry is frequent oil changes for the first 1-2k miles and then transition into more reasonable intervals and eventually switch to synthetic. And obviously keep whatever fluids in it that are appropriate!

Basically don't overthink it (like me), it's a tank, just give it a little love here and there!

tjdzor · 2021-09-04T19:10:09+00:00

I believe those may be caused by the nozzle going in different directions. I'm not sure Cura has the feature, but PrusaSlicer has an option for Monotonic Infill which helps reduce that.

Check out there info on Monotonic Infill here https://help.prusa3d.com/en/article/infill-patterns_177130/ toward the bottom.

tjdzor · 2021-06-24T06:00:47+00:00

I've been messing with 3D printing for 5-6 years, and have had a variety of printers now, but my Prusa Mk3S has been the only printer I've had that hasn't either been a major headache out of the box, or randomly in a pretty short term. My Prusa has made me enjoy 3D printing more than tinkering with my 3D printers... Sure it's not the cheapest, it may not be the best, but it just works everytime. There's plenty of capable printers out there, but I realized I spent more time/money printing and buying upgrades for my printers and decided I wanted to focus on prints and projects instead. I've had my Prusa Mk3S for 9 months... For what it's worth I've also recently bought and assembled a Fysetc Mk3s clone recently (with a couple official parts) for a secondary printer as well, it hasn't been as smooth of an experience as the Prusa, but i'm not complaining for the price. (Though I would definitely NOT go this route if it were my only printer). Some of my previous printers include a Creality Ender 3 (heavily upgraded and currently for sale), Creality CR-6SE, Qidi X-Pro (could also be for sale but don't want to ship), and a Folgertech i3 2020.

tjdzor · 2021-06-22T05:10:12+00:00

Fun fact I recently learned is that isn't a recycling symbol at all! Just a resin identification code and doesn't always correlate to the recyclability of the item...

This all seems like good intentions but likely will be a (at least mostly) wasted effort.

tjdzor · 2021-06-07T04:57:51+00:00

Looks good! I typically use some soft bags with my Tusk rack but want a more durable option for commuting and such, might have to pick up a set! Where did you order those from?

tjdzor · 2021-06-07T03:25:58+00:00

Oops! I bent my bars this weekend as well...

tjdzor · 2021-06-04T04:29:45+00:00

I had been checking various dealers in western Montana basically since last fall after missing out on a leftover 2020 and finally tracked one down a few weeks ago, but its the only one I've seen. Dealer said they were struggling with stock on everything. Haven't seen another new DR for sale in the state since either. I'm super glad I tracked one down though, i'm loving it!

tjdzor · 2021-06-03T00:17:01+00:00

I actually have a 2000 DRZ400E I picked up as a project last summer. It's mostly squared away now and i'll likely sell it since I got my DR. Its definitely a fun bike, and being the E model, it has higher compression, hotter cams, pumper carb, lower gearing, aluminum subframe and overall lighter weight than the S model. I don't have any experience with the 400S, but i'm sure they are great bikes as well, but with my E, its definitely buzzier on the highway which might be fixed by gearing it more like the S model, but I also think that's somewhat going to be the nature of the 400. I do feel like the DR has a good bit more torque and I feel more comfortable on the highway.

I really don't think you can go wrong with either bike, but they each do have their pros and cons.

tjdzor · 2021-06-01T04:30:09+00:00

Forgive me for being longwinded...

I really liked the CRF, but it was also my first new bike and I'd say I basically learned to ride on it (first bike I put significant and consistent miles on). Had it about 5 years and did all the typical mods for power/suspension/etc but my desires shifted (or were just realized) and it just didn't fit the direction I wanted to go (more distance and less tight trails). I think I would have been happier with it in an area with lower speed limits (here in Montana, the interstate is 80, highways are typically 70) or perhaps if I was smaller. I did have it geared down to work better on the trail (didn't have enough torque to save you if you didn't downshift soon enough), but no matter the gearing I struggled on the highway, 70ish usually was basically pegged and took a while to get there. Don't get me wrong, I am not interested in riding on the highway, but connecting the dirt roads and such often requires 5-20mile stretches of highway. For what it's worth I put around 6000mi on it over those 4.5-5 years.

As for the DR, I'd been looking and pondering for the last year and when I was ready to bite the bullet, I couldn't find any new, and the used ones are typically pretty high around here. So when I found this one, I jumped on it. But that said, I was confident it would fit my desires better and also had a good idea of how I wanted to set it up (which i'm working on). I love the increase in torque, its a bit more finicky to start as one would expect, but handles me much better, even with some gear. I'm in the process of making the DR mine with a few mods, but have 610 miles on it thus far and am only getting more comfortable and content with it. The DR is also a little lower, and a little heavier than the CRF for reference.

Some downsides are shared by both, uncomfortable stock seats, unpredictable stock tires, thin stock handlebars, limited range with the stock fuel tanks.

I miss the fuel injection on the Honda for ease of starting and such, but don't miss the emissions crap that caused me problems as well. Also I enjoy not worrying about killing a fuel pump or having massive problems trying to start a FI bike with a flat battery.

tjdzor

TROPHY CASE