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	1,750 reputation	bio	website		visits	member for	10 months
18 badges		location	Cambridge, MA		seen	May 20 at 17:34

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Dec 12	comment	Battery shorts when key is turned quickly I think some more information might be useful. What's the exact sequence of actions? How much time passes? Call me a skeptic, but I would think that a battery "shorting" to "dead" that quickly is likely to be pretty dramatic, and I don't see how a fast key turn could result in shunting that much current. I think there's a good chance that something else is going on.
Dec 12	comment	When looking at a transmission, how can I know if there is a LSD? Would all LSD types necessarily exhibit this behavior when turned slowly (by hand) with very little torque (again, by hand?). My understanding is that many types of LSD require a significant difference in either wheelspeed or wheel torque in order to lock up.
Dec 12	comment	Would a Triumph Thruxton be suitable for everyday use? +1 I may get struck down for saying this, but most all modern, fuel injected motorcycles are fairly low maintenance. I agree with @hillsons that a bigger concern may be the suitability of the type of bike (cafe racer) than the make/model of the bike. As a daily rider and for going to the store, I'd personally consider a bike where storage isn't an afterthought--something with good hard cases.
Dec 10	comment	What happens when under-filled coolant overheats? Refilling with water from a hose is the typical way to flush a coolant system, but since the K1200 wants a vacuum fill, and you've found out that without that you get an incomplete fill, I'd imagine you'd end up with an incomplete flush this way. The dealer or a good owners group may be a good source of information here. I know there's a fantastic group for older K bikes like my K75 at www.motobrick.com, I'm sure theres similar sites for the newer fancier Ks.
Dec 4	comment	Will Putting An Extra Quart of Oil In My Car Ruin It? my understanding is overfilling leads to increased oil consumption, which means oil smoke out the tailpipe, which can foul the cat. A couple of my vehicles have explicit warnings against overfilling on the oil filler that state something like "overfilling can lead to catalytic converter damage"
Dec 3	comment	Will Putting An Extra Quart of Oil In My Car Ruin It? If the car were driven for many miles (>100--1000), I'd be concerned about fouling the catalytic converter, which can get expensive. I didn't see anyone mention this point on this post or the linked post.
Nov 29	comment	When looking at a transmission, how can I know if there is a LSD? i think generally these things use all the factory transmission housings, so to tell the difference you'd have to open it up.
Nov 29	comment	Is it normal for a car's first oil change to be sooner than the regular interval? I very much doubt there's any loose bits or "metal shavings" rattling round in your new engine as it rolls off the assembly line, but a new engine experiences more wear as the parts "mate" with eachother. These wear particles end up in the oil, so a quick first change is a good idea.
Nov 27	comment	How old is too old for a new tire? @mikes I like that rule of thumb for motorcycle tires, where the consequences of failure are generally higher. But some passenger car tire manufacturers will warranty their tires for up to 5 years...so these tires would then go directly from under warranty to in need of immediate replacement?
Nov 27	comment	Does Downshifting (Engine Braking) Cause Extra Wear and Tear? I believe you're correct re: engine braking coming from throttled intake rather than from compression.
Nov 27	comment	Does Downshifting (Engine Braking) Cause Extra Wear and Tear? ..are you sure that your owners manual doesn't advise UPshifting early to save fuel? i.e. make the shift from 2 to 3 early?
Nov 27	comment	Is it OK to replace only 2 tires on an AWD car? I'll mark my own possible dupe, but there's some subtle (or not-so-subtle) differences between the conditions here
Nov 21	comment	motorcycle headlight with single SPDT relay 70A is WAY more than you need. It will certainly work, but you only need 10-20A. Two 20A relays may be easier to hide somewhere on the bike than two 70A relays.
Nov 20	comment	motorcycle headlight with single SPDT relay With the SPDT, your lo beam would stay on even when the key was out, as the relay is normally closed, so you'd have a direct path from the battery to the lo beam. This is why you need two SPST relays. You shouldn't use any of the NC terminals for this application.
Nov 19	comment	motorcycle headlight with single SPDT relay @RoryAlsop lo and hi beam on separate circuits means you need two relays
Nov 19	comment	Which relay to use for bike headlight your single bulb actually has two filaments in it--one for the low beam and one for the hi beam. each is on its own circuit, so you need two relays.
Nov 16	comment	The battery is fine but my car will not start not even a clicking sound The lights (and all kinds of other accessories) should go off when you turn the key to "start." This is "load shedding" to make sure that all the battery's capacity is available for the starter and engine electronics.
Nov 16	comment	What's the correct fusing for a headlight relay? You can safely use a 20A fuse on 14ga wiring. The chart you reference is concerned with sizing the wire for voltage drop over runs of differing length. When it comes to fusing for overcurrent protection, the length of the run isn't a factor, just the size of the wire.
Nov 16	comment	Which relay to use for bike headlight for what it's worth, this source says that an H4 bulb will fit an HS1 socket, which means that this H4 Single Headlight Relay Kits should be a direct fit for your motorcycle. If you choose to make one yourself, you're basically replicating this kit.
Nov 16	comment	Which relay to use for bike headlight +1 very good comment on potentially outstripping the generator/alternator's ability to charge the battery. Add-on LED lighting may be more efficient.