These are the bikes on my Bucket List. Bikes that one day I will have.
Triumph Rocket III Roadster. British humor is based on exaggeration. When I first straddled a Rocket III, I thought it was a joke… a two wheeled Monty Python sketch. It’s just so huge. It’s a massive bike! But at the same time, it’s very well balanced, it handles beautifully, its brakes are strong… and that torque! That torque is phenomenal. There is just something undeniably cool about this machine… and that something is the 2300cc Triple engine. 2.3 Liters. It’s fantastic. And these bikes are not priced unreasonably… They retail around 17 Grand.
Ducati Multistrada Enduro This is the hotrod of the big 1200cc ADV bikes. 160 horsepower, tons of torque, stunning good looks, and fully capable rider assist technology that I’ve seen and felt work first hand. This bike is one of the bigger Wants on my list here.
Ducati XDiavel S
This isn’t Ducati’s Cruiser. No. It’s not a Cruiser. It’s a foot forward positioned sport bike. Ducati’s quickest bike 0-80MPH. It’s very powerful… but it’s power in control. It’s very cool, fists in the wind, power cruising… badass. You can pitch it into the twists like nothing else with your feet out in front of you. It’s the most unique motorcycle on this list… and somehow… the best looking.
BMW R Nine T Scrambler Great looks… solid engineering background… but there’s something more passionate about this bike other BMW’s. I’ve taken one home as my weekend bike a few times… and each time I get on it, I just cruise till I get lost… not even caring where I go. Few bikes do that for me. This is one of them.
Common Practice is that Semi-Autos and Single Shots are referred to as Pistols on the Form 4473, and Revolvers have their own check box. However, this is quite stupid. The term Pistol can be used for all handguns, and in the past it was quite common for Pistol to be used referring to revolvers.
Arguing that one is not the other and vice versa is like splitting hairs between a Riding Crop and a Driving Whip. The differences do not matter, don‘t even try to make the argument and being a pedantic jackwagon. Because no one should even care. Pistol is as generic a term as “Handgun” and can correctly be used interchangeably.
The 4473 is rife with retrograde thinking. Defining pistol or revolver is just one. Rifle or Shotgun also doesn’t matter. If there has to be any split in type, it should be along the Handgun or Long Gun line. And even there, the line is blurry now with Braced Handguns and SBR’s. I could show you different photos of AR-15’s and it would take the Owner of the gun to tell you which is which. So that’s another thing that needs to be deleted. All the SBS/SBR jackassery that is a part of the National Firearms Act… Which was terrible law making back in 1936 and it’s even worse now.
We have laws and ordinances requiring mufflers on a great many things… but on a firearm it’s illegal, unless you pay 200 Dollars for a TAX STAMP. Something you used to be able to buy from a hardware store for 5 bucks now costs you a Grand, plus 200 bucks, and then you have the asinine wait until His Majesty’s Service deems it’s ready to process your paperwork… average is what, 9 months now? This is beyond retarded. The process for doing a background check to buy a Tactical Shotgun is done pretty much instantly, and if you have a CCW Permit, it’s not even required… and if you don’t pass instantly, the background by law has to be done within 7 days or you can by law go ahead and buy the gun.
But to purchase a bloody muffler – you could have a Baby and start a Family before you get approved for a metal tube with some baffles in it. Never mind you could make a suppressor with stuff most guys have in their garages…. but to buy one requires the Federal Government to deem you worthy and you get to pay 200 dollars for the privilege. Thank you, Sir, may I have another!?!
These laws are utterly useless. They prevent no crime, they serve no purpose. They don’t even make the Feds any money as it requires a whole bunch of people to process everything and at the speed in which they get the job done… if it was a private business doing these transactions, they would be out of business. Well, maybe not – they are selling a product that they don’t have to either buy or produce… selling you a Right. Much like the old Catholics selling Indulgences.
Here’s the deal. We either delete the NFA… Or we make the NFA a Checkbox on the 4473 and they get processed like everything else, all at the same time.
North Carolina is home to one of the best, most advanced 1911 Custom builders in the world, Carolina Arms Group. You’ve read about them before here, and you might again in the future. The owner if CAG is a fellow I call a friend… so it’s not unlikely.
I’ve watched the growth of CAG go from essentially one man with a file to a full fledged Gun Manufacturer. And along the way, the company has evolved in a way that’s quiet remarkable. The quality control gets tighter and tighter, and the standards get higher and higher. The gun themselves have always been amazing. But now I have to admit, these are the best 1911’s money can buy. Period. Let me show you why… Continue reading Visiting Carolina Arms Group Again→
For YEARS I’ve advocated the Remington 870 as the Defensive Shotgun of Choice. I’ve always loved the 870, and I still do.
But…
When you take a Mossberg and add the Magpul stock to it… Something magical happens. You have something greater than the sum of it’s parts.
To explain this… let me explain the pros and cons.
The Mossy has the superior shell lifter for tactical reloading and more efficient and safer unloading. The Mossy also has that tang mounted safety that allows for efficient left or right hand shooting. The Remington system is certainly right hand biased, and shelf lifter makes tactical reloading a bit more tricky as you are fighting against the lifter’s spring while trying to shove in a fresh shell. And you have to finesse the gun and roll it to get it unloaded and cleared. It’s less than ideal.
Where the 870 wins is it’s steel construction verses aluminum, and the fact that you can easier run a pistol grip… if you are Right Handed, and you don’t have prehensile thumbs. But really, we make space ships, fighter jets, baseball bats, and armored fighting vehicles out of aluminum… so I don’t think the Steel of the 870 is really that big of an advantage anymore. It does make the gun a bit heavier, and that’s not too bad in a shotgun… but… now this is more personal taste than any actual advantage.
Now enter in the Magpul stock to the equation. The stock has these spacers that you can put in, or pull out, that let’s you set the length of pull to be just right for you and how you want your gun set up. It also allows a perfect positioning of your shooting hand’s thumb to work the safety as needed – Left or Right handed. The stock’s shape also manages the Gauge’s Recoil very well… making it handle very well while firing. It might be different in the way it feels when holding the gun and walking around… but when you shoulder it and raise that gun up onto target – it all comes together. This is the way a shotgun should be.
So… Yes… I am a Mossberg fan. Specifically, the 590 series. A 590 with a Magpul Stock is my Shotgun of Choice now.
The new 2017 Triumph Street Triple 765 RS is going to turn out to be the Bike of Choice for the Rider Aficionado. It will be one of the best new motorcycles of the year, and it’s going to be… already is… a huge Home Run for Triumph Motorcycles. Now, let’s look at the numbers a bit… This bike has 123 horsepower, which is a big increase for the Street Triple… and it’s 5 pounds lighter than the outgoing bike. Lighter, with gobs more power. But at what expense? Continue reading Triumph Street Triple 765 RS→
BMW Invented the modern Adventure market when it comes to Motorcycles. They made it, and they own it, and despite what everyone else says and does, nothing has changed that. Because of the GS.
When I first came to Motorcycles of Charlotte, I had never ridden a BMW R 1200 GS before. And to be honest, it was intimidating. These bikes are huge. And the GS Adventure version, what we call the “GSA” is even more so. I had never even really looked at one up close before… and initially my impression was that “it’s a water buffalo”. I had no interest in even throwing a leg over a water buffalo, let alone take one out for a ride.
Triumph Motorcycles had a nice event planned for it’s Triumph Champions, and I was invited to go to represent Motorcycles of Charlotte. I happily agreed to attend. The event started in the Florida Keys, all the way down in Key West. “Key” is evidently Floridian for Island. Key also means critically important, so it’s a little self aggrandizing for them to call their islands keys.
This is me, having just landed at the world’s smallest airport. We actually had walk between different aircraft to reach the terminal.
This is the terminal. It has statues on it. The statues have more clothes on than most of the people on the island.
That’s the aircraft I flew in on. It’s made in Brazil. So it’s basically a Taurus of the Sky. Half of them have to go back to the factory for a Fluff and Buff, under warranty. But they have great customer service. And no resell value to speak of. But I did land safely. So I go that going for me. Which is nice.
I’ve talked about the Ducati Multistrada before. But this one is a bit different. This is the Enduro version. Now, everything in the Enduro is based on the 1200 S version. The 1198 CC V-Twin is on board, cranking out the same 160 Horses of Power pulling the same 87 Foot Pounds of Torques through the same 6 Speed transmission.
The differences come in all the areas making the Multistrada more Off-Road Capable. Now, it was alright off road. As long as that off road wasn’t too off the road. But it was lacking… The Enduro fixes all that.
New on the Enduro is larger spoked wheels, taller ground clearance, a heavy duty bash plate under the engine, and new suspension programming and calibration. There’s also a different seat and handlebars… and a shorter first gear. The changes all add up to make the Enduro almost a completely different bike. The 1200S is a great bike for anything on the road. The Enduro is just a great bike for anything. I put a lot of miles on one this weekend, and that included some off roading… and any shortcomings it had before are all gone.
The Enduro isn’t just a motorcycle like the 1200S is. The Enduro is a full grown, well trained, War Horse.
One of my favorite Motorcycles… the Triumph Scrambler.
Just rode this one… It’s a 2016 model with the well known and battle proven 865cc Oil-Air Cooled engine. This engine produces as modest 58 horses and 68nm of torque moving a 500 pound bike… so that sounds like it’s not enough. Sounds as if it’s going to be a dog. But this is one of those bikes where Numbers don’t Matter.
One thing that stands out to everyone looking at the Triumph Scrambler is the Pipes. No, they wont burn you. Yes, you will feel the warmth from them on a hot day if you are not moving. This is like any Air Cooled twin… You are going to feel the engine heat no matter what. These pipes have two layers of Heat Shielding over them. The first plate is angled to funnel air under the heat shields to keep them cool. I’ve ridden these enough to where I know that if it could burn you, it would have burnt me. I don’t even know anyone that has had a burnt leg because of the pipes. I do know one guy that fried his hand when he grabbed the pipe in front of the heat shield… because he wanted to know if it was hot. Turns out, yeah. It was. Don’t do that, and you’ll be fine.
It is such a great bike. There’s something about the classic Triumph Scrambler that really speaks to me. See, the engine is not all that powerful. The bike isn’t really light at all. It even has far too much chrome on it for my personal tastes… and the suspension really isn’t even all that great. But the bike is more than the sum of it’s parts. Everything about it FEELS RIGHT when you ride it. Not looking at it, or sitting on it in a showroom… It Feels Right when RIDING. It feels like this is what Motorcycling should be. What it’s all about.
The bars are at a good height and it gives you a very Fists in the Wind positioning, but with good width for leverage. This makes the bike feel very agile for it’s size and weight. Low speed maneuvers is easy and the bike’s good sense of balance helps that. For going where the pavement ends, standing up on the pegs feels almost as good as on a BMW GS. The bars have enough height, even for a Six Footer like myself, and the big fat rubber sleeved pegs give you plenty to anchor on. The big rubber welcome mats on the sides of the tank give you even more to grip on with your legs… so standing is easy. Which is good. Because I love standing up on a bike.
The engine has enough torque to get you moving… it’s no Rocket III, but it’s more than enough to get the job done. One of the things that helps with this is the ease of shifting. The Shifter feels very good, and communicates well. Unlike on any given Ducati, this one never gives you a false neutral. The shifter it’s self also doesn’t tear up my boot leather. It’s just “Nice”.
I do wish it had better brakes up front. It’s only sporting a single rotor up front, and I would be happier with two. However I do not feel like the bike is really lacking in actual stopping ability. And of course, this model doesn’t have ABS or any Traction Control… this is the last of the Caveman Simple motorcycles from Europe. And I think that’s one of the reasons I really dig it.
When you ride these Scramblers, you get a sense of understated competence from the bike. It’s ruggedly handsome, but not flashy. It’s just simply able to do everything you want it to do… and it does so without any undue drama. It doesn’t cry out for attention. It doesn’t need screaming exhausts, or blistering acceleration or Buck Rogers Fairings… It’s just a good solid motorcycle. And I LOVE THAT. Because after all… It’s a TRIUMPH.
Now I’ve heard some people say that they just “Don’t get the point of a Scrambler”. I feel sorry for those people… The Scrambler, more so than any other type of Motorcycle is a Jack of All Trades type of bike. Meaning it can do anything that you want to do on a bike. It’s a both a great City Bike, Urban Explorer, and it’s also a great Adventure Bike. I’ve seen them in the Uintah and Rocky Mountains, high up on single track trails. I’ve seen them cruising down city streets at night. You do not need a specialized machine for each task… and really the Scrambler is competent at both in the same way that a specialized machine sacrifices one type of riding to better at the other. The Scrambler lets you have your cake, and lets you eat it.
Triumph’s Scrambler is not a perfect motorcycle… and at the same time, it is the Perfect Motorcycle.
British humor is based on exaggeration. When I first straddled a Rocket III, I thought it was a joke… a two wheeled Monty Python sketch. It’s just so huge. It’s a massive bike! But at the same time, it’s very well balanced, it handles beautifully, its brakes are strong… and that torque! That torque is phenomenal. There is just something undeniably cool about this machine… and that something is the 2300cc Triple engine. 2.3 Liters. It’s fantastic. And these bikes are not priced unreasonably… They retail around 17 Grand.
