You guys have heard the Grilling While Armed segments on Armed American Radio.
Mark and I will be doing a book on this.
Recipies, Guns, and photos…
It’s going to be fun.
Monday’s Motorcycle: Honda VFR
One of the motorcycles I had in the past and truly enjoyed, was the VFR. It uses THAT engine… that one that I just can’t help but to love… Honda’s V-4. Lots of power at the low revs, lots of power in the middle, and lots at the top. Honda has put this engine in the Magna, and made them in a couple different sizes… all good.
My first was a 500CC, then later a 750, and then an 800. The 500 wasn’t my first bike, my first bike was also a V-4… the Saber.
But the Saber pretty much became a cruiser, and Honda used the badge on the Shadow line of bikes… pity… But the V-4 lived on the Magna… I’ve had a few Magnas. One of each Generation. The last was the best, undoubtedly.
The Intercepter though… that became known simply as the VFR. And it’s lived it’s life as a dedicated sports bike, then went the path of the Sports Touring as Honda decided to bring the inline-4 out as the dedicated sports machine. I used to hate the CBR because of that. It’s Commercial Airliner looking fairings and Non-V-4 engine. The VFR kinda became tired. The sporty looking bike for Old Guys. Well, now I’m an Old Guy. And it’s looking good. It’s looking really good.
It’s not a perfect Sports Touring Bike… It has it’s flaws. But it’s got some great points. A new double clutch system, that V-4 engine in a 1200 sized Value Pack of Moto-Goodness. It’s also fairly heavy, and people are saying it’s not as powerful as it should be. But I think this is forgivable giving the fact that the power delivery is low and mid-range designed for what it’s for… Sports Touring.
| Engine type | l-c V4 |
| Valve train | SOHC, 16v |
| Displacement | 1237cc |
| Bore x stroke | 81.0 x 60.0mm |
| Compression | 12.0:1 |
| Fuel system | PGM-FI |
| Clutch | Wet, multi-plate slipper or dual-clutch automatic |
| Transmission | 6-speed |
| Claimed horsepower | na |
| Claimed torque | na |
| Frame | Aluminum twin-spar |
| Front suspension | 43mm Showa inverted fork with adjustable rebound damping |
| Rear suspension | Single Showa shock with adjustable spring preload and rebound damping |
| Front brake | Dual Nissin six-piston radial calipers, 320mm discs |
| Rear brake | Single Nissin two-piston caliper, 276mm disc |
| Front tire | 120/70-ZR17 Dunlop Roadsmart |
| Rear tire | 190/55-ZR17 Dunlop Roadsmart |
| Rake/trail | 25.3 deg./4.0 in. |
| Seat height | 32.1 in. |
| Wheelbase | 60.8 in. |
| Fuel capacity | 4.9 gal. |
| Claimed wet weight | 591 lbs. standard, 613 lbs. automatic |
| Color | Candy Red |
| Available | March |
| Warranty | 12 mo., unlimited mi. |
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
The show is done now. The final show was last night. I have some of my freedom returned to me now!
But I’ll never forget the experience. I was a part of something special… Especially the Friday Night Showing that we did. There was some wind and rain… it rained through the whole show. But it was the best show we did.
The dancing girls, wearing their thin white Egyptian costumes… dancing in the rain… arms raised, shoes kicked off… I witnessed the pure joy in those dancers, dancing in the rain like that… it was the most beautiful stage performance I have ever witnessed. It was an honor to be there. The audience must have thought so too because they didn’t leave. The audience was just as packed at the end as at the start… they stuck it out in the rain, thunder, and lightning… and it was a fantastic show for everyone.
I’ll never forget it.
Worth
I’m writing this post to a certain woman I know who is unappreciated and mistreated by her husband. You know I’m into bikes. I love all motorcycles. So forgive me the Moto-Metaphor. Anyway. One of my favorite brands out there are the Triumphs. Classics, all of them. The old ones, even more so, even more desirable because they are now rare.
I knew this guy once. He had a great old Triumph. But he ignored it. He pushed it aside in his garage. Eventually it ended up in the back with an old paint tarp thrown on it so he didn’t have to see it and it ended up with some junk piled on it.
What he didn’t know was that old Triumph was worth more than his newer bikes, even worth more than his house. But he didn’t realize this and didn’t take the hints about it… and he only paid attention to his new flings.
Finally someone asked him for it and he gave it up… just to get it out of his garage.
The new owner knew what he had. He cleaned it up. Turned it up. Restored, very easily and simply it to what it should have always been… People saw this classic Triumph riding around town… Every biker would double take and rubber-neck looking at this fine machine.
The old owner was mad. Demanded it back… but it was too late. New owner just laughed and enjoyed his new Truimph. He rode it everywhere… Just enjoyed riding that wonderful machine.
To the person I’m writing this too… You are a Triumph in every sense of the word and your husband doesn’t realize your worth. One day he will. And it will be too late and it will be his loss and not yours. Don’t let him throw a tarp on you.
WTF, Rossi?
Rossi had me going there for a minute.
Oh, a Circuit Judge in .22 Magnum? Okay, I’m down. “It wont let leave you hanging.” Oh, that’s good. Don’t want to mess with a Hanging Judge! LOL, Rossi… Using your knowledge of Western Lore… Your Crazy.
Oh man… AND it can shoot .45 Colt and .410 SHOTGUN TOO! It’s MAGIC! Those Wacky Brazilians… They can do anything with Voodoo Magic these days. Even turn a Kenyan into a Hawaiian. You guys are crazy.
That’s it. I’m ordering one. Hell yes. A .22 Mag than can also throw down some wicket .410… I’m in. Give me one, Rossi! I’m holding my breath over here!
DAFUQ? Discontinued? It’s the first featured product on your Web Page? Discontinued! WTF, Rossi? I want this! What can I do? I’m going to call customer service!
Wait. What was I going to call them about? Ah screw it… it will come to me… I’ll just stare at this picture of this adorable blonde girl while I try to remember.
SQUIRREL!
Your gunna kill yourself on that.
Good Hell… If I had a dollar for every time I heard that. Sport Bikes and Sport Touring Bikes are no less safe than any other motorcycle.
I humbly submit though, that the fact of the matter is that the opposite is true. Sport type bikes are more agile and stable at speed. Sport Bike Riders wear more protective gear. Sport Bike Riders are more attentive and strive for continual riding improvement.
As evidence of this theory, look at the news reports of the fatal accidents in Utah this year. Following the reports on KSL.com, I believe damn near all of them were on Cruisers. Loud Saves Lives, they say. Maybe… But the lack of gear kills. I thought about this because the other day I saw a guy on a Harley… and he was actually wearing a helmet. This stood out in my mind, because it was the first one I had seen all year.
Now, my buddy Fenris wears a lid… But he’s been the only cruiser jockey that I know that will wear one regularly. No one else does. Actual motorcycle jackets are few and far between. The uniform for cruising is a Dew Rag and a Vest. I’m not aware of any dew rags earning a Snell 2010 rating. And that vest might look cool… But where is the CE rated Armor?
No. I’m not going to kill myself on my machine… I’m not suicidal. Which is why I wear my gear and ride a bike that has better technology for avoiding danger.
You Harley guys… You gentlemen, are going to kill yourselves.
Uprising Update
In Uprising Russia we come across a couple wanting to help our heroes. The know where Musket is. But our heroes find out that these people are Vampires.
Turns out Vamps don’t like Zombies.
Fire for effect!
It seems that the news media would have us believe that most of these wild fires across the west have started because of target shooting.
This is bullshit.
I’ve fired millions of rounds, and the only fire I caused was when I fired tracers – after protesting because I thought there was a risk – and lit half of Camp Williams. Regular ammo just doesn’t cause fires. I doesn’t.
The Libtards are going to use it to enact more gun control.
The Fighting Lever Action
The subject of Lever Action Rifles has been stirring a lot more emotions lately. And it’s not my fault. I blame Tracy for this. Tracy is a local cowboy out here that comes out to Crusader Training using his Lever Action rifles.
To run a Lever defensively, you need not all the modern accessories… the gun is serviceable as is. You needn’t run it with your support hand far out in front as is the modern style. These are not modern guns so you keep your support hand in a location where you find balance and support to work the action. You run it under the same theories as you run your tactical shotguns… fire one, reload one. Fire two, reload two. Keep the gun topped off as much as possible. Standard rifle tactics apply other wise. I find it best to keep ammo not in individual loops like is popular, but in a pouch so you can carry more ammo in bulk rather than a small fixed amount. I like to keep this pouch on the Strong Side, not the Support side like is popular with Shotguns. Reason being is that it’s easier to reload with your Strong Hand than it is the Support Hand. Easier and more efficient. This might be counter to other’s doctrine, but this is what has been working for me for some time now.
Winchester pattern guns or Marlin pattern guns both have their Pro’s and Con’s and one is not clearly better than the other in Rifle Calibers. But I must say that I am quiet fond of the Winchester 92 Pattern guns for Pistol Calibers. But that’s just a Flavor Preference and not a Technical one. I do like the ability to drop a cartridge into the open top if you’ve run the gun dry.
As far as caliber selections… you can argue the benefits of all the options. .44, .45, .357 and such… all fine and well. I’m fond of the .45-70 for my Big Medicine. But don’t discount the Classic .30-30 Win. Ammo is cheap enough an it’s enough gun to drop an Elk let alone Deer or Assorted Baddies. And as far as trajectory goes, the .30-30 offers about the best there is. Especially with LEVERevolution ammo from Hornady.
Crusader Weaponry will be teaching a Lever Action Focus Course in the near future. If you are interested and serious about training with us… Post such below and Emails will be kept for organizing the class. We’re looking at this Fall.
Monday’s Motorcycle: Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Drifter
I borrowed one of these machines for a couple days while I was in between bikes. It’s low slung, mean, and powerful… yet easy to ride, mellow, and it takes it really easy… because it doesn’t have to hustle.
It’s wide. Very wide. And it has floorboards. Huge planks. The seat is sprung so even riding over a curb is nothing. I’ve been riding this bike every night for the last couple weeks as part of the Stage Production I’m in, and I just love it. The thing is a riot! It’s like Kawasaki put a set of bars on a Caddy. Cruising at highway speed the bike felt like it was just burbling along at 2000 RPM’s… yet it never lacked for speed, acceleration, or the desire to just keep going.
However it’s not without it’s faults. It’s so low and wide, it doesn’t have much lean angle at all… you cant rocket around the curves on these things. And it’s brakes are not likely to pull the fillings out of your teeth.
But I don’t care! I love this bike. Unfortunately it’s not mine and at the end of the show I must give the keys back. But the owner has said I can take it for a spin whenever I like. This will have to be done from time to time as I’ve fallen in love with this machine. It’s very generous of him to allow me to straddle this machine. Because letting another man ride your Bike is like letting another man ride your woman.
My buddy Fenris has a Vulcan 900, and it’s a cool bike. But the discontinued Drifter is a whole different ride. With it’s super wide bars, couch like seat, Indian style fenders… it’s one of the coolest bikes I’ve ever ridden.