vf1000ride

PA6 polyamide plastic, tank was made by Acerbis for Ducati.

You have hit the nail on the head, thank you for agreeing that the average gas station has "crap on tap". My owners manual calls for a fuel grade that has never been available in the Usa. It wants you to run "unleaded 95RON" so basically the equivalent of mid-grade.

Ok, you win. You guys can keep your E10 and soon to be E15. I will take my bike and move to a country that still uses 100% gas and doesn't have these issues. Just keep a hearty "told you so" handy for when your bikes start having problems. I will gladly add your manufacture to my list. Oh, btw, I don't know how you get your decades worth of E10 use but I seem to remember E10 started to replace MTBE sometime in the 2003-2006 time frame. E10 was not pushed hard into production until late in 2007 when the Energy Independence act was written. So I say this in the kindest way possible but suck it, both my bikes were designed and manufactured before E10 became the only choice for fuel. The fuel suppliers and the government F'd me, not Ducati or Triumph. Granted Ducati has since taken over the job of screwing me by doing nothing to fix their fuel tank design but we can continue pointing fingers clear to the end of time at this rate seeing as you are only willing to point the finger at vehicle manufacturers and refuse to concede that the gov and the fuel companies should also share the blame for mandating a fuel be used that was known to have already damaged the fuel systems on thousands of vehicles in this country.

It amazes me that you guys continue to think the fuel issue is only Ducati. Triumph tanks have problems, KTM tanks have problems, boat manufactures had problems, even Porsche has problems with their tanks. Aprilia has tank issues, bmw has started to seal their tanks because they have had problems with their tanks swelling. Just because your bike hasn't had a problem doesn't mean the problem isn't relevant.

How about a few pictures to back up my rant. Just so the naysayers can see what they are in for when their bikes go to shit. New tank gap at the key. Nice and even, the tank is centered on the frame. From the top you can see the gentle dish shape on the top of the tank but it is even and nicely contoured. Now to a tank that has been on the bike for somewhere around 8 months. It has had fuel in it and I ride the bike a fair amount. Here is the same angle shot of the key, you can see how the tank has distorted enough that the key is no longer lined up in the center of the cutout in the tank. And another picture taken from above to show how the nice gentle contour on the top of the tank has turned into a a wavy ocean of rippled and distorted plastic. The other thing that you can't see in these pictures is that from new tank to distorted tank, the plastic swells up so much larger that the handlebars begin to hit the tank on both sides. Not only does it damage the paint finish but you can imagine the fun of getting a finger crushed between the bars and your tank when you are trying to maneuver in a parking lot.

Hows about you google "Ducati fuel tank lawsuit", "triumph fuel tank warping", "ethanol fuel tank damage". Its a known issue that E10 is extremely damaging to plastic fuel tanks on motorcycles and any plastic parts in any vehicles fuel system. Its not just a motorcycle problem. So far Ducati has warrantied the tank for me on my 3 previous replacements but it has taken a class action lawsuit against them to force them to do it and that has a limited window to be able to claim against them. It has been proven in the courts that the fuel used in the USA is damaging the fuel tanks used by Ducati so who knows what other bike manufacturers are going to have trouble with the ethanol in their tanks in the future, especially if they increase the amount of the blend. On your other statement about getting a drum of fuel to keep at home. What? My bike holds 3.5 gallons total. At 45mpg I would never be able to ride my bike more than 50 miles from Columbus and still be able to make it home without needing to use blended fuel. What kind of bullshit solution is that. How about you buy my bike being it must be a problem with the way I care for it. Then I can buy something that may have the same issues in a few years.

All I can say is that I have had to replace the gas tank on my bike 3 times in the last 4 years due to the damage caused by the current E-10 shit the USA currently calls gasoline. When they go to E-15 I am 100% fucked regardless of how good some overpaid money grubbin talking head says it is. Plastic and alcohol don't mix, end of story. I paid good money for a motorcycle that is in a continuous state of being destroyed by the fuel we are forced to use. Tell me how it sounds like a good plan to want the government to mandate we use something we already know will damage our vehicles. Oh and I am another person with a tank that holds less then 3.5 gallons.

Go with the higher power acog being he is familiar with it for the longer shots. Then side mount an RMR holo sight next to it for the CQB stuff. Just roll the gun a little further over to the side and you get new sights.

Go for the EoTech, they make everything badass. And, as a bonus, if you start with an awesome battle rifle you end up with one righteous boom stick.

I use the chin curtain for my RF-1000. Like others, it helps keep bugs, grass and other stuff from getting up inside the helmet with you. I wasn't as thrilled with the breath guard as it rubbed my nose funny and never sat in the right place.

It's not good for oil height but works well for sag. Stop by the local sewing store or Walmart and get a cloth tape measure. MM on one side, inches on the other. Probably cost you more in gas to get there than what they cost. As a side benefit, they don't scratch the paint if you drop it on the bike.

Figures, I will be at work that night.

It's not gonna make you any more dead, why not try it at that point. It's when your alive and doing well that it turns things for the worst. If somebody is hard set on doing something dumb before picking up a firearm. Why not try a stun gun. Have your pistol on the shooting bench out of arms reach (flailing range, not just fingertips). Dry hump yourself with a taser or stun gun and when you regain your wits see how well you can get to your firearm and shoot your target. Your body will be in shock, your adrenaline will be maxed out and if you got yourself good enough with the stun gun you will still be partially incapacitated. Oh, and have a friend record it and show everyone.

You hit the main points with your post. My main reason to get a revolver over the semi-auto was to have the highest impact energy versus weight hanging on my belt. Comparison for me; Pros: Compact, reliable, simple function, smooth edges(on the hammerless), high muzzle energy, light weight. Cons: 5 shots, light weight causes harsh recoil I don't really consider it that much wider than my other guns. Across the cylinder it is 1 1/4 inches. My 1911 is 1 3/8 at the grips and my XDM is 1 3/8 across the slide rails. I am sure the LC9 and the single stack smaller guns are much thinner but the snubby hides well just due to the widest area being a very small portion of the guns overall size and shape. Extra ammo is also a little easier to carry if done right. I use speed-strips instead of a circular speed-clip. They lay flat and I can put 12 extra rounds in the back pocket of my jeans and you wouldn't ever notice what it was.

I vote for the Triumph sprint. I have a red 2006 so I am biased. Does everything my Ducati sportclassic can do and is 10 times as comfortable doing it. It looks very similar to the VFR but has a power advantage with the 1050cc motor. You won't feel like your missing much if you move over from your 998. Last fall I rode down to the dragon on it. We did a 5 day, 1800 mile trip and I felt great on the bike even averaging over 350miles a day for days on end. Here I am at the top of the blue ridge parkway on the way back. Notice the other two bikes, a Ducati ST3 and a V-Strom. They are buddies of mine I work/ride with from here in c-bus. Both of their bikes are very capable for sport-touring also and have been mentioned as options. Another shot of our group from a different overlook on the parkway.

It's not a bad little revolver. It's closer to evil, or maybe possessed. With .38 specials in it the recoil is controllable and kick is about the same as a full frame 40S&W. Once you put the .357magnum in it the recoil is very close to unbearable. The gun weights 12oz loaded so the recoil is harsh to say the least. Of all the people I have let shoot the gun, only one person other than myself has fired more than 2 rounds from it before handing it back. Everyone got to shoot a full cylinder of 38's to get a feel for the trigger, then the first shot with the 357 is followed with an expletive of some sort. I recommend to anybody interested in the airweight to go shoot one before you buy it. Fun view from the business end.

S&W 340pd scandium airweight in .357 magnum with the CT laser grips.

That was me. Bike is back together and has a little over 500 miles on it since the accident. When I get home I will throw up the links for the pictures of my bird encounter. Edit: here is a link for the bike rebuild. http://www.ducati.ms/forums/77-sport-classic/142461-bike-rebuild.html And all my pics on photobucket of the accident damage. http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/vf1000ride/bike%20accident/ Edit#2: Fixed the photobucket link so it is the full site and not the mobile version.

If the military would issue our troops with a real blade like they used to and not that silly little thing they have these days. They wouldn't need tomahawks.

It was made by AMT (Arcadia Machine and Tool). Long since out of business. High Standard is making them again and they are selling north of $800MSRP but it doesn't seem like I have ever seen one for sale new, only used at a gun show. It's a cool little handgun, 6" barrel and 9 rounds of 22magnum. AMT had a whole line of magnum chambered semi auto handguns. The original Auto Mag pistol was chambered in .44amp Automag II was in 22magnum Automag III was in .30 Carbine Automag IV was .45winmag or 10mm magnum Automag V was in .50AE The Automag II - V series all looked vaguely like a long slide 1911 the III And a V

Whats really sad is I have lusted over so many guns and then just ended up working a lot of overtime and purchased the darn things that my list is kinda short. For pistols I would love to get my hands on an Automag II, I had one years ago and sold the thing. Wanting to buy another one ever since. For a rifle I am will probably get an FAL or a socom16 next. Not sure I want anything in .308 and expand to another caliber but I love the looks of both of those rifles.

I laugh at 1000 rounds of ammo being considered a big purchase. The most I ever picked up on loaded ammo for personal use in one day was just over 5,000. None of it was .22 either, all pistol ammo 9mm-45acp. Biggest purchase all in one caliber was 3,100 or so of .30-06 ammo. Largest bullet purchase for reloading was 7,000 bullets. Heck, just yesterday a buddy came over from work and we loaded 1,000 rounds of 40S&W for him. It took just over 3 hours of work on the reloading bench to pound them all out. God forbid I am a crazy man now. It's a shame that in the 16 years I have been collecting and shooting guns I have watched so many attempts at taking away our rights. Most of these attempts have only proceeded to push law abiding people into buying more guns and ammo. Every time one of these unstable jackholes thinks that killing a bunch of bystanders is a good fucking idea it just makes me cringe. I would like to propose a law that states that unstable mofo's need to only go on shooting rampages in locations where there are other heavily armed people. Tactical pistol traning ranges, police departments or military bases. At least then it will be a fair fight.

My last car stereo I had was in a 2001 VW GTI. This was the week I finished installing it so I hadn't hidden all the wires yet or gotten the battery and cap mounted. JL 300/4 on the seat for mid/highs. Subs are Eclipse 88100dvc 10" wired parallel for 1ohm . Orion HCCA 275G4 running 1200W. My Audio Control EQL and some of the passive crossovers.

Look into the Timberland Pro series of shoes. Over 100 different shoes from sneakers and dress shoes to 14 inch mining boots. http://shop.timberland.com/category/index.jsp?size=112&sort=&categoryId=4397219 I personally have been wearing their 6 inch pit boss line of boots for roughly the last 10 years and love them.

A couple from Mid-Ohio Vintage this year. A few more at http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/vf1000ride/2012%20vintage/