jerm1027

I have a Harley Davidson Sportster Roadster 1200. My issue is that the 1st gear is ridiculously long, and the uneven firing order makes the ride extremely rough at low speeds (<20MPH), so when I'm in a parking lot, or single lane neighborhood, the bike tends to buck and jerk, which doesn't really bother me too much, but it seems rough on the transmission. Is it better to slip and feather the clutch to smooth out the movement, or just deal with the jerking? 

I have an air-cooled motorcycle, that I sometimes use moderately aggressive acceleration after a couple minutes of idling and low-speed driving to merge into free-flowing traffic on a main street (40-55MPH). At the same point, I know my car will still be completely cold (both vehicles have same engine displacement of 1.7L).

I know from computers that air-coolers are instantaneous, while liquid coolers take several minutes to warm up (and cool down) due to water's thermal capacity. Does the same hold true for an air-cooled motorcycle engine (i.e. does it get to operating temperature rapidly) or does engine oil an equalizer when compared to liquid cooled engines and thus still takes several minutes to properly warm up? Ultimately, am I causing unnecessary/excessive wear and tear on an air-cooled engine when I merge into free-flowing traffic as indicated above?

I have a 2001 Civic EX and the odometer/tripometer has a large black blot in the middle, which makes the 5th and 6th digits difficult to read on the odometer. Originally it was smaller and didn't cover the 5th digit, but has gotten larger, and I suspect will continue to do so. Is there anyway to replace just that one display, or would I have to replace the entire instrument cluster?

My entire life I've always worn shoes about 1 size too big because they were comfortable on the account of my wide feet. My foot is just under 9.5" long, but I've always worn 8.5 shoe size which should accommodate a foot length of 10 3/16", but they had just the right width, and I've never had a problem with the extra wiggle room. I'd wager I could make a size 8 work if needed (e.g. renting bowling shoes).

I have no experience with wide shoes, so I have no idea how they would fit, and I really don't have the time to sample shoe sizes at a store. Best I can measure, my foot is about 4" wide, but that should have a fair margin of error given my lack of skill and equipment (household measuring tape and straight edge).

Could someone make a suggestion?

Several months ago, I thrashed my car on some windy roads. The car seemed to operating fine even under stressful conditions. On the way back, while in traffic, a car from oncoming traffic made an aggressive turn that forced us to brake hard to avoid t-boning him. After that I noticed the coolant temp skyrocketing. We limped it to the highway until it cooled down and did just fine - it handled 80mph (revving ~4k RPM) the whole return trip until we got off the highway where temps starting to skyrocket (I especially noticed this on on/off ramps). This continueed for a few days. The telltale sign that this was thermostat was that we lost the heater while the car was overheating. After a few days the problem just magically went away. I thrashed it on some steep hills with the A/C cranked to maximize stress and the coolant stayed cool; it was normal and I couldn t replicate the issue. Chalked it up the the thermostat that got stuck closed and got unstuck somehow.

However, now I think it s still, but open. Coolant temp is normal, but I noticed it takes longer for the car to warm up, and when I use the vent, even on the coldest setting, the air is noticeably warmer than ambient air.

Thoughts? Do you think my thermostat is stuck open?

I'm normally pretty good at checking my fluids every time I fill up on gas, but on my 2001 Civic, the coolant reservoir is located directly beside the radiator underneath the battery, which makes it difficult to check. Furthermore, the interior of the reservoir is dirty, so it's nigh impossible to get a read. I took my car to serviced at the dealer last week for an oil change and inspection. They assured me my coolant was fine. However, my car recently started overheating with the heater being intermittently hot then cold. I didn't notice any leaks, but it was hard to tell since there was overflow, plus I lost reservoir cap (presumably from overflow; there isn't any securing mechanism for it). I tried checking coolant levels on on a cold engine, I gave the radiator/reservoir a good shake and couldn't feel any fluid sploshing around so I'm guessing I'm well below the minimum level.

I'm fortunate enough to live in an area that never reaches freezing temperature (even at the coldest nights in dead middle of winter rarely reach or fall below 32*F/0*C.

With that said, can I use distilled water as a band-aid fix until I get a chance to take my car in again?

I have a fuel-injected car, so I don't let it idle to warm up (I wait for 30 seconds or so for oil flow). I drive lightly, but I'm wondering what is better for warming up an engine: late shift resulting in higher, but lower demand revs, or earlier shifting, resulting in low, but torque-demanding revs?

My normal driving is early torque-demanding revs; I keep in mind my cruising speed and use that as my shift point (i.e. if I'm cruising at 35MPH, I know the engine revs around 1700RPM, so I'll use 2000 RPM shift point to keep the average rev-range around 1700RPM)

I usually drive on the highway at just under 60MPH (driving at 2800RPM) in the slow lane (1st lane from the right), so I also have to deal with mergers, which can slow me down to about 45MPH.

Is it more efficient to drive a bit above 60MPH (3000 RPM) in the 2nd lane from the right, and avoid most of the merging slowdowns?

I had an ergonomic evaluation yesterday for my job. I do a lot of clerical work on the computer. When she tried to "correct" my positioning, she was basically appalled that I was using the keyboard on the laptop (Lenovo X230 on the docking station) instead of the keyboard on the adjustable tray. I told her that I didn't like the keyboard tray because it pushes me too far back, and I can't stand the feel of the regular keyboard; it's far too mushy and I'm quite accustomed to mechanical keyboards - I use the laptop keyboard because it just feels better although I prefer a standard keyboard layout. I said I'd use the keyboard tray if there were a better keyboard.

She recommended using a different keyboard or at the very least adjusting my chair height for the laptop dock (which requires a foot rest, and I'd much prefer to have my feet planted. Using my own hardware is basically against policy. She throw some recommendations my way, but had a lot of difficulty doing so because apparently most people want a softer keyboard feel whereas I want a firmer one. So she basically wants me to throw some keyboard suggestions her way so she can recommend them for ergonomic reasons.

I think the problem here is that many of the keyboards I'd like to use are way to flashy (LEDs, decals, general aesthetics) to really be taken seriously. I don't think I'd necessarily a mechanical keyboard, but I would like a keyboard with a firm feel. Any suggestions for a simple, firm feeling keyboard?

I changed the headlight on my 2001 Honda Civic EX Coupe and I forgot to put the boot back in; what role does the boot play exactly and how important is it? I'm in the process of looking for it, and ordering a new one failing that (less than $5), but I would like to know if I should make that a priority.

I have a Yamaha V Star 250 with after market sprockets and chain (went from 16t-45t to 17t-42t front and rear respectively). The recommended interval to clean and lube the chain is every 300 miles. I just cleaned it today after 400 miles and it wasn't that dirty; even the chain guard was pretty clean. With that said, I feel that every 300mi seems a bit excessive.

I live in the south bay area, where it has been abnormally dry, and despite it being very hot for the area lately, still comparatively mild in temperatures, and my motorcycle sits in a garage. It is ridden nearly daily as my primary mode of transportation (but I do have a car I use about once a week). Given that these conditions are pretty ideal for a chain-driven motorcycle (to the best of my knowledge) how often should I clean an lube?

I have both a car (1.7L I4) and a motorcycle (250cc V-twin), both with 5 speed, and I'm curious as to what specifically is lugging/bogging. Is throttle position/fuel flow relative to engine power output? Can it happen with Fuel-injection? Why is it bad? I'm very conservative driver, and normally don't need acceleration or power, so I tend to ride lower RPM. With my car, I notice it gets a little sluggish under 1600RPM, and while I tend to avoid going under that, sometimes I ride it out with a feather foot on the throttle just to keep my speed constant. The ride is still smooth, but the exhaust note (what little there is), gets a little deeper. In 5th gear, this happens when I'm about under about 32MPH or so. If I need to accelerate to get up to a higher speed, say 40-45MPH, I'll certainly do it in a lower gear, but otherwise I'll let it lazily pick up speed with a feather foot (say if I need to accelerate to 35MPH).

On a more extreme example, with my motorcycle (no tach), which is carbureted, I notice the exhaust note gets really deep when climbing steep hills or mountains, even at 50+MPH in 5th gear. Again, sluggish, but still smooth (no jerking or anything of that nature). Sometimes I downshift when I think I can't accelerate at all - If I can't accelerate by half throttle I'll downshift. But if I'm nearing the top of a climb I'll keep a steady throttle (1/3 - 1/2) take a speed reduction, and pick it up going back down. In that instance I'm a lugging or bogging?

I'm currently contemplating putting premium gas in my 2001 Honda Civic EX Coupe 5-spd MT. I've heard conflicting stories about Regular vs Premium gas. On one side, I've heard that all the octane does is prevent knocking or pinging, and putting premium gas in a car that doesn't need just wastes money, and could potentially be detrimental to the car's health. On the other side, I've heard a lot of benefits of premium gas: more power, better economy, and cleaner burns (prevents deposits and build up), the latter being particular important to me since my Civic currently has dirty injectors.

Now, I know octane is key for combustion, and I've seen and heard of many cars that switch between different grades of octane to achieve better power, but I've only really seen this in higher performing vehicles. But, then there is my personal experience with my 2014 Yamaha V Star 250 - I presume it left the lot filled with premium gas and that tank I got nearly 140 miles before having to switch to reserve (~1.6gal). I filled up with regular (twice) as per owner's manual instruction. I didn't even make it to 115 mi before having to switch to reserve. When I filled up with premium, I noticed immediately the exhaust was louder, I had more power, and my driving habit haven't changed much, so I can't find another way to account for the very noticeable discrepancy in fuel economy (74MPG vs 82MPG).

Should I put premium in my Civic? Neither vehicle states an upper octane limit. Premium is 91 here

New rider here, and I have a 2014 Yamaha V Star 250. Now question pertains to filling up my measly gas tank (2.43 gallon; 1.74 gallon without reserve) - the people at the dealership have lead me to believe that I have to eyeball the gas levels on my motorcycle to not overfill it. Now with cars, the pump automatically cuts off when the gas tank is full. My issue is that the pump will not actually pump gas unless there is a firm seal around the nozzle, therefore I can't simply "eyeball" my gas level as I'm filling up. So my question is will this automatic cut-off mechanism work when my gas tank is full, even though it is both very small and a motorcycle?

I'm considering buying a motorcycle as a primary means of transportation and have never ridden a motorcycle before. Two bikes I really like so far are the Kawasaki Ninja and the Honda Rebel (partial fanboyism considering I love my 2001 Honda Civic EX coupe 5-spd MT).

I was considering them new, and was leaning towards the Honda Rebel due to simplicity and styling, but one of my co-workers has a 2002 model that he is willing to let for for $1800, possibly a little less, and it has 1,500 miles on it.

As for my driving, it's typically very conservative. I'm very easy on acceleration using early shift points, and usually stay at, or slightly below the speed limit, but I do push my car once in a while, so I still want it to be fun vehicle to drive. I expect these habbits to fully transfer to motorcycle driving.

So my questions are as follows:

What features will I be missing out on from the 2014 Honda Rebel to the 2002? What are the spec differences?

I think the Ninja might get better economy due to more advanced engine with similar curb weight (does anyone have a definitive answer to this question?), so the I'm wondering: what level of maintenance will the Ninja require? I gathered the Rebel is very low maintenance, so if there a difference in maintenance costs between the Rebel and Ninja, how would the fuel-economy (if any difference there) offset the cost of maintenance?

Basically, which is cheaper to own and drive as a commuter?

I hate spending money at the pump, and while I do have a pretty efficient vehicle ('01 Honda Civic 5-Spd SOHC VTEC), I'd like to keep gas spending to a minimum. I typically drive 59 MPH (when my tachometer reads 2800 RPM) on the furthest right lane. I went over to FuelEconomy.gov and used their little calculator and discovered I could potentially save upwards of $0.52/gallon if I reduce my speed 10MPH. So how slow is illegal and potentially dangerous? My (informal) understanding is the highway speed should be +/- 10MPH of speed limit.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

I'm on Linux Mint 13 (Ubuntu 12.04) and I've been having an issue updating my system. Specifically, I've been getting a "No Address associated with Hostname" error. I've searched around, and found this was a common problem. However, the common solution is to adjust the network settings to change the DNS server. My internet connection is perfectly fine. So, following linked threads, which in turn, linked to more threads, I've finally stumbled upon this in a launchpad bug report:

https://launchpad.net/medibuntu/+announcement/1121...

After running apt-get update multiple times, I've noticed that i only get that error with medibuntu.

THE QUESTION:

what updates are hosted on Medibuntu, and is it safe to ignore/disable from my sources?

Whenever I have my stereo on while the engine is off and then try to start my car (such as waiting at a drive-through), the power gets cut from my stereo, and it takes a little while to start back up. Normally I wouldn't mind this, but I use Bluetooth most of the time, and when the stereo is powered off abruptly, it takes quite a long time to reconnect to my phone. I was wondering, would it be possible and/or practical to install a capacitor to keep the stereo (specifically the receiver, don't care about the speakers) powered on during ignition? Or if there is really anyway to keep the receiver powered on during ignition?

If it's relevant, I have a 2001 Honda Civic EX Coupe and an after market Pioneer receiver (DEH-6400BT).

I have a 5 spd 2001 Honda Civic EX w/ a 1.7L I4 SOHC VTEC engine (Redline at 6800 RPM). I learned driving stick on a 1996 Toyota Corolla/Geo Prizm, and for my Honda, the recommended shift points seem to be a lot higher, and it seems to cruise with a lot higher RPM than what I'm used to driving with automatics as well as that 96 Corolla.

I'm used to cruising in the 1500RPM range, and as a result, I'm usually into 5th gear by 40MPH (which is also the cruising shift point on the 5 spd manual Corolla). According the owner's manual for my Honda, the recommended shift point to 5th gear is 48MPH while cruising, or 58MPH while accelerating. Following the recommended shift points the car is always above 2,000 RPM, and around 2500RPM, which just seems really high for me, and it feels like I'm burning unnecessary gas. The manual says those shifts points are for the best feul economy and performance, the latter being not very important for me while commuting. The manual also says I should be the in the highest gear that allows for smooth acceleration. I'm not very aggressive while accelerating (and when I am, I rev accordingly), and car seems to ride smoothly at 5th gear at the lower speed of 40MPH (feels smooth above 35MPH).

Does it adversely affect fuel economy for me to shift well below the recommend shift points? How would I know for sure that I'm in too high of a gear?

So, I can't reply to comments on YouTube. Whenever I click the reply button nothing happens. The issue occurs in Google Chrome (20...) and Firefox (14.0.1). Anyone knows what causes the issue and how to fix it?

I'm also running Windows 7 Ultimate x64