I need some more music for my MP3 player. I’ve got Nightwish… And Honest Engine. But I need some variety.
I need Operation Mindcrime, Empire, Final Cut, Pulse, Delicate Sound of Thunder, and some newer more modern albums of the same epic nature.
Monthly Archives: March 2012
A little Vid on the Hawk
Killer Cool Retro Classic
Now this is freaking cool as all get out. A small 250cc Cafe Racer from Cleveland Cyclewerks, called the Misfit. $3195.00 brand new, and it gets 65MPG+. I really dig this bike. Retro Cafe is just cool. Not all bikes have to look like Fat Boys, Dirt Bikes or Rocket Ships.
Glock Rescue
A customer traded in an old and battered Glock 22 Gen 2. All the finish is worn off the slide, the frame is hammered, the trigger wouldn’t reset. This pistol had certainly seen better days.
As a pistol to take in for trade… we probably shouldn’t have, because we can’t resell it. So I’m taking it so I can rebuild it.
I had stock trigger group components from my Glock 23 that dropped right in and fixed this old Gen2’s main problems. It’s a working gun again. Not the best of guns, but at least it’s functioning. Dirtpile ugly, but it’s going to be reliable. The slide is going to have to be refinished completely and the frame, I’m going to have to retexture to hide the wear and dings. I’m thinking about cutting the frame down to a G23 length, so I can use 23 and 22 magazines, making a Hybrid gun that a lot of custom Glocksmiths have done… allowing one to conceal well, yet still shoot well. Like what SIG did with the 1911 C3.
This is already a fun project.
V-Twin Sports Riding
There is something about this Honda Superhawk… It’s very different from other bikes I’ve ever ridden. I guess its because I’ve never had a V-twin sport bike before. The bike is very deceptive… It feels like a 600, its light and narrow, and is very agile… More like a 600 or 750 than a 996. But the torque… It come on like a force of nature and the speed builds so effortlessly. It’s amazing.
I’ve had other sportbikes, I’ve had cruisers… I’ve never had a machine that I enjoyed riding so much as I enjoy this one. This bike is my favorite out of everything that came before it. I don’t know what could top it in terms of pure unadulterated pleasure.
EDIT:
Thanks to Horde Member M… Had a brisk ride home after he helped me tighten my chain. He’s rolling on a sports bike too. Hooliganism makes one feel young again for a moment. And that’s a good thing when taken in small doses. My Chain, once to a proper tension, is at the maximum length of stretch. I’m going to replace it. The Sprockets are in better shape than the chain… the chain is in ugly shape. With my Chain Break History, I’m just going to remove that nagging doubt.
Not everyone of my friends understands the Motorcycle thing, and even fewer understand the “Rice Burner Crotch Rocket” thing. What’s funny is that the guys giving me the most crap about also own Japanese bikes and one even drives a Honda car. So “Rice Burner” isn’t exactly holding water… but it is certainly a rocket.
Guys, no, as much as many have said or are thinking… I don’t want to die. Yes, I understand I hold my mortality in my hands, but I don’t want to die. I’m just not afraid of dying. There is a difference, an important difference. I’ve done performance driving courses… I think I would really like to take a Performance Riding course. I’m still green on a Sport Bike, and still learning this bike… I think a course would really be a good idea.
Shooting
Someone likes Slipstream Styx
Yes, the Slipstream Styx is an advanced blend of Slipstream and a special carrier oil formulation that enhances the Anti-Corrosion properties. This is for maximum protection in maritime environments. It started when we were contacted by an organization that does maritime security in pirate infested waters… such as off the coast of Somalia. Gundoc was all over this because of his US Marine background. Anything that could help his brother Marines.
The Styx (named after the River Styx that one crosses to get into – and back out of – hell) formulation also has a great side effect even if you don’t jump fully armed into salt water… It’s even slicker! I’m not kidding – if you have tried Slipstream… imagine it even slicker… It’s like we Sliptreamed Slipstream. I’ve been running it in all my guns now. My AK, Glocks, AR, M&P, Shotguns, Lever Actions… all of them. Amazing. Freaking amazing stuff.
Less is More?
There are two pistols in 9mm that I actually want. As of right now, everything on the market on most gun store shelves… I don’t want. I just don’t… they don’t do anything for me. I’ve no interest in them. But coming soon, we’ve got a couple that have made me raise my Ogrish Eyebrow in interest.
First is the Strike One pistol from Arsenal Arms.
The second is the Caracal pistol.
The Strike One, to me, just seems really interesting and I really dig the super low bore axis and full 5 inch barrel. I’d like to see some accuracy tests. I’d like to do some accuracy tests. The new action and some innovations in this gun make it most interesting.
The Caracal has been tested by our friend Rob Pincus and he is all over this handgun… If Rob really likes something like this, it’s worth taking a look at. I’ve read what’s out there, seen the pics and vids…. But I want to get one and shoot it.
Now, none of these handguns are any revolution in hand held weaponry… both are firing the same 9mm rounds that everything else is, and as a result, we’re going to have the same terminal ballistics, effective ranges, and ammunition supply as everything else. So why do I want these guns? Because I’m looking for something other than the same routine. For the last several years I’ve become painfully jaded about the handguns on the market… there are no perfect handguns out there. Maybe there is something here that is getting us closer to that. Both of these pistols have something in common, other than in caliber… Simplicity. They are both very simple pistols in design and mechanics and that’s something I truly appreciate… when Less can be More.
Take my new Motorcycle for instance… the Superhawk really is a very simple bike. It’s a simple V-Twin with very little technology going on in there… other bikes of it’s type are using computers and electronic fuel injection… The Superhawk has a pair oversized carburetors and a choke lever. But everyone how has ridden one as almost universally agreed its one of the best rides – in the world. It gets there not just by being simple, but by doing simple very well. So simple, it smacks of elegance.
The Glock Pistol illustrated this beautifully when it took the world by storm. Yet the Glock is not perfect at all. Rob Pincus has pointed out his distaste for the requirement of Dry Firing the weapon to disassemble it. Springfield has corrected this from the XD series in the XDM series. The M guns don’t require it and the mechanism is about as complicated as a Slingshot. Maybe that’s what I am looking for… the simplicity of design, distilled down the it’s most basic form that interfaces with the shooter like it was coded in the very DNA.
Until we achieve a completely Matter-Energy Conversion power source that can feed the energy requirements of hand-held Directed Energy weapons or Electro-Magnetic Mass Drivers… we are going to be forced to continue to use cartridges as we know them today… and Simple Elegance is the best we can aspire to.
My Honda Superhawk 996
Well… I did it again. After looking at Kawasaki’s, Suzuki’s, Yamaha’s, and a couple Hardly’s… I came home with another Honda… another Red Honda. This is the Superhawk 996, a V-Twin. Yes, I sold a Honda with 4 cylinders, 4 Carbs, 4 Pipes… and bring home a Honda with 2 Carbs, 2 cylinders, and 2 pipes… and it’s Twice the Bike. I am not nearly as fatigued from the ride from Orem, and admittedly I got home a lot quicker.
This bike really and truly is a Torque Monster. In Orem, on State Street… about 5 blocks from where I bought it, I was nearing an intersection that had turned Yellow. So I just goosed the throttle like I always did on my Magna… expecting a quick burst of speed, nothing big, just enough to get through the yellow light. That’s not what happened. What happened was this hairy beast of a monster let out a roar and I wheelied through the intersection like a madman. Thankfully there was no Law Enforcement around to witness this because I don’t think they would buy my excuse.
Carving up the canyons on the way home was pure enjoyment.
What’s funny though… the motorcycle “Wave”. I saw a lot of motorcycles out today… passed by tons of them going the opposite direction. I used to always get “The Wave” from other bikers. Not One. Not that I cared or expected it. But there it is.
The Superhawk is a strange bike, I’ll admit that. Very light and narrow for a 996cc machine. The bike wants to cruise at 80 MPH at 4K RPM’s. Just really sedate compared to the Magna at the same speed. It just burbles along… singing it’s song… and then I downshift and open the throttle… and the Superhawk gets straight up PISSED. The whole tone of the engine changes and the power comes on in a huge way. 110 horses and 80 pounds of torque come to bear… this is a great deal more power than the Magna had… and the Magna is considered a “Muscle Bike”. Huh. The Speedo on the Superhawk goes up to 180 MPH. I didn’t test that… but I believe it can get up there. I did inadvertantly hit a triple digit speed making a pass on a long straight. The speed rolled on effortlessly and the bike felt solid as a rock. I was shocked when I looked down and saw how fast I was going. I instantly pulled that in…. One doesn’t want a ticket on the first day of ownership… that’s bad luck.
Overall, I am full of Happy Happy, Joy Joy feelings with this motorcycle…. and it looks so good… I don’t think I could ever get tired of looking at it. In fact, I sat on the porch of Ogre Range just looking at it for the longest time. Gorgeous bike.
New Gun Opinions
We got in the Ruger SR22 and the new TC Dimension.
First the Ruger. Of the small .22LR tactical pistols… SIG Mosquito and Walther P22 are the most common of these… I think the Ruger is the best one made so far. Very good machining and good polymer. It doesn’t feel cheap. Fixed barrel, so it has great accuracy potential. I like it, if I am honest. But it does have a really crappy trigger… hopefully the trigger smooths out with use. If it did, the gun would really shine. Ruger needs to clean up the toggle-like triggers and make a version that has an extended threaded barrel with target sights. So, yeah, I think it’s worth buying. If you look at one in the store – ask the Clerk to put on the Large Grip. Feels great in the hand with the bigger grip on it. (and my hands are not huge… really kinda average. My glove size is just “Large”)
TC’s new Bolt Action Switch Barrel. Clever idea… futuristic styling… interesting way they do the barrel swap with an included torque wrench system that makes the barrel swapping consistent… adjustable length of pull with the stock spacers… overall, someone did their homework coming up with this one.
But I hate it. I don’t actually like anything about this gun and I would be money this gun is going to be a huge commercial flop and TC should stick with making Encores with new names. I think this new gun looks like a SciFi Channel prop and feels like something made by NERF. I hate that rifle. Fortunately TC is making a solid rifle in the VENTURE series if you want a TC Bolt Action… great price for the performance value and you can’t go wrong with it. For 450 bucks you can get a whole new rifle… verses 300 for just a new barrel. Come on. Metal Tube, or a whole new rifle in that new caliber you want. I understand every penny counts, but really? Unless you are a wildcatter and are coming up with new stuff to test – and you don’t want an Encore for some reason… Well, then maybe this new Dimension is for you.