Pegasus, Zaitsev, hot peppers, the CHP, and more…

An interesting week, this one was….you all heard about Steve’s travails with the forest fire last week, what with being evacuated and all.   We had to cancel the company ride, but Duane and I were able to get together for a short Scooter ride up the hill anyway.

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Duane on the way up to Mt. Baldy

That was a good day…and at the risk of making some of our good friends jealous, I will tell you that the weather here has been absolutely awesome.  Sunny, warm, and not a cloud in the sky.   Contrast  that with what’s going on in the rest of the country and, well, you know.   It’s cold out there!  I spoke to my Mom on the way home from work yesterday.   It was 80 degrees here in So Cal.  It was 4 degrees in New Jersey.  Yikes!

My buddy Marty and I visited my good friend TJ (a top notch pistolsmith) on Saturday for a bit of work on my .45 auto.   What a day that turned out to be.   We wanted to stop at our favorite Italian restaurant for lunch, but they were closed, so we moseyed up the road and found a dynamite little hole-in-the-wall Mexican place (Armando’s in San Gabriel).  The food was awesome, but we experienced something we never had experienced before.   One of the folks ordered fajitas…you know, the food comes out on a steel tray at about a zillion degrees, and the whole enchilada (sorry, couldn’t resist that one) is sizzling and steaming.   I’m not sure what kind of peppers and other spices Armando’s had on that hot plate, but within seconds the entire room (including yours truly) was coughing and sneezing.   The waitresses were running around opening all the doors and windows….they had clearly done this before, and nobody seemed troubled or bothered by it (other than the coughing and sneezing).     I had chile rellenos, and my lunch was awesome.    One of these days, though, I’m going to try the fajitas there.   They’re obviously something special!

So after we left, we had to get back on the San Bernardino Freeway, and when we saw the entrance we were off.  The only problem was that I grabbed the wrong entrance…I picked up the one that was for the high occupancy toll lanes.  Once I had turned onto it, I saw that the regular freeway entrance (for the poor folks like me who don’t like to pay tolls for roads we’ve already paid for with taxes) was just beyond the entrance I grabbed.   I was committed, though.  And there are cameras all over the place.  I don’t have the transponder deal, so I expect I’ll be getting a hefty bill in the mail for that mistake.

But wait…this story gets better.   Once I was on the freeway, I got out of the toll lane as soon as I could…and here’s the clincher:   I exited the carpool HOV toll lanes right in front of a California Highway Patrol officer.   Yikes again.   A carpool lane violation.   That’s a $500 ticket, folks.  On top of the big bill I know I’m going to get for being in the HOV lane without the transponder.   Oh, this was turning out to be a red letter day!

The Chippie lit me up and Marty and I pulled over.   He was a good guy, though…I told him what happened, he checked my license, and he let me go with a friendly warning.   Wow.   I felt like I needed to run out and buy a lottery ticket right away.

And you know what?  When I get the letter from those toll road folks, I’m going to contest it.   The toll entrance was deceptive, and there was no way to get out of it once I started to enter.    Got an ace up my sleeve, too.   My buddy Marty will testify for me if it goes to trial.   Marty is actually a superior court judge, and he just might make a decent witness.  We’ll see.

My refinished Mosin Nagant 91/30...a really fun project rifle!

My refinished Mosin Nagant 91/30…a really fun project rifle!

A few blogs ago I told you about a couple of older rifles I’ve been playing with.   One is a Russian Mosin Nagant.   I am actually having a lot of fun with it.  Those old Russian rifles are inexpensive, they are crude, and they shoot well.

I’ve had the Mosin Nagant to the range a couple of times already, and it sure is fun.   Mine was made in 1940.   It just feels cool firing a rifle that is almost 75 years old.

The Mosin Nagant sure was rough looking, though.   Mine was absolutely caked with dirt and cosmoline.   I guess the cosmoline did its job…there’s no rust anywhere on this 75-year-old rifle, but it sure was funky.   The cosmoline had seeped into the wood as well as the metal work, and you don’t get that stuff off with solvents…you have to heat up the rifle and melt it off.   I bought a heat gun at Harbor Freight for just that reason, and that little heat gun has been earning its keep this week.

This week I took the thing completely apart and I worked on it for hours to get all of the cosmoline, grease, and dirt out.  Then I stripped the stock and  refinished it with 8 coats of TruOil.    It looks amazing now.   In fact, I had it out to the range this morning, and it shoots even better than it did before.   I was out there doing my best impersonation of Vasily Zaitsev (Google that name, or better yet, watch Enemy at the Gates).   The Mosin Nagant is the same rifle old Vasily used at Stalingrad.  It’s a hell of a story.

On the way back, I stopped at Pegasus Hobbies.   That place is awesome.   We work a few projects with our engineering students at Cal Poly that require Tamiya motor and gear kits, and Pegasus helps us with these.   I love that place.  I used to be a big time model builder, and I still love seeing what’s out there in kit form.   It turns out that Tom, the owner, is a serious biker, too.  He’s got Nortons, older Kawis, and other classic bikes.   Some of the kits were awesome, and I snapped a few photos for you…

A Brough Superior 1000...I actually saw a real one once I and wanted to own it badly, but Susie wouldn't let me sell the house so I could buy it!

A Brough Superior 1000…I saw a real one once I and wanted to own it badly, but Susie wouldn’t let me sell the house to buy it!

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A Suzook Katana…I had an ’82 that I just recently discussed on the blog!

I always wanted a Guzzi...and this may be as close as I ever get!

I always wanted a Guzzi…and this may be as close as I ever get!

I’ll be at the plant tomorrow…Steve and the crew have a couple of new custom CSC motorcycles they just finished, and the word is out that they look good.   I’ll grab a few photos for you, so check back in a day or two right here on the blog.

That’s it for today, my friends.   Ride safe, stay warm, and keep the shiny side up!

 

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Comedians in cars getting coffee…

I found this on Facebook a few days ago and I’ve been hooked ever since.  Seems Jerry Seinfeld is doing an Internet-based show in which he and other comedians go out for a cup of coffee in classic cars.   It’s kind of like the original Seinfeld show (no plot, but funny anyway), and folks, these are good.

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Here the link for this good stuff:

http://comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com/

The latest video is with Jay Leno (both Leno and Seinfeld are car guys), and I enjoyed it.  If you poke around a bit on their website, you’ll see that Seinfeld has done about 20 of these with other comedians.   Good stuff, and definitely worth a peek.

 

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Think about this…

The blog I just posted below about that blue-and-white classic Triumph at the Mungenast Museum, and the way Triumph used that exact paint theme (right down to the pinstriping) on a new bike…did you ever see a paint theme and just think to yourself:

     I know that would look great on a California Scooter!

Like Duane’s two-tone turquoise-and-white P-51, reminiscent of the ’55 Chevy.   Maybe a red-and-black color theme recalling the glory days of Indian.  Or maybe all silver, like a couple of bikes we’ve done previously, picking up Porsche’s racing colors.   How about pale blue with orange accents, like Petty’s NASCAR ride.   The possibilities are endless, and here’s a great way for you to move out on your dream machine…

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Yep, you can build the Bike-In-A-Box the way you want it, and you can go as mild or as wild as you want with the colors.

There’s no time like the present, folks, and you’ll never see a price like this one again!

 

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A very special Triumph…

I received a real special photo and a very nice note from my good buddy Carl this afternoon…

Joe:

Just came to the museum today.  Bob Rothenberg is a noted collector and this is one of many bikes and cars.

This Triumph T100RR is one of 50 dirt track racers made.  Hard tail, splayed head, rear tank fuel valves, 12.5K rpm Smiths tach.  All totally original except for alloy rims. 

It’s perfect and it’s beautiful!

Very rare.

Carl

Carl'sTriumph

That’s just super, Carl, and thanks for sharing it with us!

Folks, the museum Carl speaks of is the Mungenast Classic Automobiles and Motorcycles Museum in St. Louis, Missouri.  You’ve read about it on the blog before, and I’ll say the same thing today as I’ve said in the past…if you ever have an opportunity to visit, do not let it get away from you.   The Mungenast Classic Automobiles and Motorcycles Museum is beyond awesome…it’s one of the best museums ever!

I really like the color combo on that classic Triumph, and apparently, so does the modern Triumph motorcycle company.   When Duane and I rode up to Mt. Baldy yesterday, we saw two new Triumph Scramblers in the exact same colors!

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Coincidence?   I think not…there must have been something in the air about blue and white Triumphs with gold pin stripes and matching paint themes yesterday!

 

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Time and temperature…

One of the many things I really like about Duane’s two-tone P-51 is the way he customized it.   Duane added several personal touches to his bike, including a thermometer and a clock…

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These are nicely done.   I’ve always wanted a clock on my motorcycles, mostly because when I’m in my ATGATT mode (all the gear, all the time), I can’t get to my watch (it’s covered by both my jacket and my gloves).

Nicely done, Duane!

 

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A tale of two guns, the fire, Duane, and more…

As mentioned on the blog yesterday, we canceled today’s company ride.

We had another huge wildfire yesterday (it made the national news), and this one resulted in the Boss being booted from his own home.    Yep, Steve and Maureen were of two of thousands of people evacuated when the fire reached right down to their property line.   Steve posted a photo on Facebook very early yesterday morning, and the flames were literally headed right for his home…

Steve's-Yard

We seem to go through these firestorms every year here in the Golden State, but usually they occur in the summer.   The news media is reporting that this one was apparently caused by three transients living in the boonies who started a fire to stay warm.    I suppose there is good news:  No one died in this fire.   And Steve was able to get back in his house last night.

We did have to cancel our company ride, though.   It would have taken us right through the fire, and Glendora Ridge Road, Highway 39, and other parts of our planned route were closed.    Steve wouldn’t have been able to go because the issues around his home, and it just didn’t seem like a good idea.   Don’t despair, though…we’ll reschedule another ride in the near future.   And I actually got out for a bit today on my motorcycle, but more on that later.

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Next topic, if I can change gears for a second…the tale of two guns.   Every once in a while I post a firearms related story on the blog…nobody’s complained yet, and when I talk to our readers, it seems more then a few of you share this interest with me.   The focus in this blog entry is on two old assault rifles…not the black plastic M-16s and other Rambo stuff that’s in the news all the time…but two really old rifles, with designs reaching back a century or more.  I spent a couple of very enjoyable days on the range playing with these….

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The one on the top is a Mosin Nagant 91/30, which is a Russian rifle originally designed in 1891 and then modified in 1930.   These old Mosin Nagant rifles were Russia’s primary infantry weapon in World War II, and you can get them for well under $200 at a lot of sporting goods stores.

Make no mistake…the Mosin Nagants are in rough shape, they’ve been gunked up something terrible with cosmoline for decades, and they’re crudely built.   But, folks are buying them (I see them at the range fairly regularly now).   I had to find out for myself what all the excitement was about, so I bought one labeled as “excellent” (which was still pretty rough).   A lot of folks are buying these things because you can also buy cheap surplus ammo, but that’s not for me.  I ordered the brass, the reloading dies, the bullets, and I rolled my own.   Folks, that old Russian rifle is about as crude as it gets in the gun business, but boy oh boy, can she shoot!   To my great surprise, it’s very accurate.

The other rifle in the photo above is an Argentine 1909 Mauser.    Here’s another photo of it…

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The Mauser uses a cartridge (7.65 x 53 Argentine Mauser) that is just about impossible to find today, so for that one I bought the tools that let me make cartridges from 30 06 brass.   That was actually a lot of fun.   You run the 30 06 case into a special die that reforms it into the 7.65 Argentine cartridge, you trim the newly-formed case to the correct length, and then you reload the new case using the right dies for that cartridge.     The photo below sort of shows the forming steps and the finished ammo…that’s a 30 06 round on top and two of my newly-minted 7.65 Argentine rounds on the bottom…

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I was surprised at how well it all turned out, and I was really pleased with how well that old Mauser shot.   Even though I’ve had the Mauser for years, this week was the first time I had ever fired it.   It shoots 1-inch groups, but with the rear sight at the lowest setting it was still shooting a foot too high.   After researching this issue on the Internet, I found out that’s what those old German engineers intended.   It’s zeroed for 300 yards at the lowest setting!  The theory is that you aim at the center of your target for any distance up to 300 yards and you’ll hit it (as long as your target is about the size of an enemy soldier).

Looking at those two rifles, the Mauser has vastly finer machining, fit, and finish, and the Germans really got carried away serializing things.   Even the cleaning rod has a serial number!

SerialNoS

That got me to thinking about the Mosin Nagant and how rough it was compared to the Mauser.   To cut to the chase…it’s torn apart in my garage right now and I’m refinishing it.   I’ll post a photo when I’m done.  I just like things to look nice, I guess.  Even with its crude build quality, though, that old Russian rifle shot just as well as the Mauser.

Okay, I know, California Scooter is a motorcycle company and this is a motorcycle blog…so back to the main attraction.

Like I mentioned above, I was disappointed that we couldn’t do the company ride today.   I love these events, and I enormously enjoy the riding and the camaraderie.   It’s great…just ask anyone who’s ridden with us.    I was especially looking forward to meeting Duane, who recently bought a beautiful custom P-51.   I hadn’t met Duane even though I had photographed his bike in an earlier blog, and TK told me that Duane was really looking forward to riding with us.   It turns out that Duane is practically a neighbor, too…he’s just a few towns over.

But, we had to cancel the ride today.   What to do?

To make a long story short, I shot an email over to Duane around 10:00 this morning, and by noon the two of us took a putt up to the top of Mt. Baldy for a couple of burgers.  We had a great ride and I caught a couple of what I think are great photos of my new buddy Duane on his beautiful two-tone P-51.   I like them so much I’m including them here in all their 900-pixel wide glory…

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Folks, that’s it for now.   Duane, I’m especially glad we got to meet each other today!

To all of our friends, keep your powder dry, shoot straight, ride safe, and keep your eyes on the blog…we’ll schedule another ride soon!

 

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Ride Canceled Tomorrow…

Folks, there are just too many forest fires going on up in the San Gabriels right now.   Glendora Ridge Road is closed.   We’re canceling our planned ride tomorrow and we’ll reschedule another ride soon.

 

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The Calschman Scooter…

You gotta hand it to our good buddy Steve Lorenz and the crew at Arcadia Cushman…they sure have a deft touch!   Check out this latest note from Steve and his photos!

Hey guys,

What do you think of the new look for my California Scooter?   I added a custom dash, louvered fork cover, and new handle bars.  It was a lot of work but I feel it was worth it.

Steve

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We do, too Steve!  It’s a great look and we’re glad to see this latest custom California Scooter emerging from your design studio!   Awesome work, and thanks for sharing it with our readers!

 

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Another Bike Gone By….

We received another cool letter in response to our “Bikes Gone By” blog from our new good buddy Oklahoma Bob…

Joe:

I don’t have a CSC scooter but have 3 friends who do. Really enjoy keeping up with your blog. Very interesting.

Here is a picture of the ’56 Cushman Eagle I had when I was a teenager in 1958.

Bob 

Bob-Story--Girlfriend-1958-(not-Thelma)

Bob, thanks for that cool photo, your note, and your kind words about the blog.  And regarding that little issue about not having a CSC Scooter…we can help you fix that problem…

Ride safe, and keep the photos and notes coming, folks!

 

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Twin Peaks Steve’s Ultralight…

Our good buddy Twin Peaks Steve sent me a note about catching the same cold bug I had…I guess it’s making the rounds.   Steve also sent me a photo of his ultralight…

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Twin Peaks Steve and his ultralight aircraft

That’s a pretty cool aircraft, Steve, and I’ve often wondered what it would be like to fly one of those puppies.   About the last thing I need is another expensive hobby, but your airplane sure has me thinking about what it would take to get into this sport.

I am just about over my cold (I hope you are, too, Steve), and weather permitting, we’re still on for the company ride this Friday.   If you’re wondering what these rides are like, here’s the video we put together on our last company ride.    You’ll recognize Twin Peaks Steve in that video….he’s the guy with the black Bobber…

More interesting news…Chevy just released info on the 2015 Z-06 Vette…it’s going to have what appears to be essentially the same powertrain as the earlier ZR-1 (a supercharged small block producing north of 620 horsepower).   I’m guessing they’ll sell for $80K to $90K.   Big bucks, for sure.  Interesting times and interesting cars.    The new Vettes just don’t photograph well, in my opinion.   In person, though, these cars are stunning.   They look like a super-exotic, and I guess they are.

The 2015 Z-06 Corvette

The 2015 Z-06 Corvette

The 2004 Z-06 Vette on Glendora Ridge Road....that set of twisties is the actual ridgeline we'll be riding this Friday on our California Scooters!

My 2004 Z-06 on Glendora Ridge Road….that set of twisties in the background is the actual ridgeline we’ll be riding this Friday on our California Scooters!

I bought my Z-06 almost exactly 10 years ago (it will be 10 years in February).     It’s still in like new condition because I take care of it and I don’t drive it much.  In fact, this year it was due for its periodic smog inspection, and the guy at the service station couldn’t believe I only had 35,000 miles on a 10-year old car.   (When I rolled in for the smog check, the odo had just ticked over to exactly 35,000.0 miles.)   I told him that the Vette was not my daily driver.

“What’s your daily driver?” he asked.

“I have a Lamborghini,” I answered, and we both had a good laugh.

The Vette is fun, and it scratched an itch I had all my life.   When I was a kid, having a Vette was the ultimate expression of automotive exotica, and I guess that feeling stuck with me (I just never understood the fascination with other exotics like the 911 (too ugly), the Ferrari (too expensive), or others.   But when I want to have a fun ride, the Vette stays parked and you know what I turn to…yep, my Baja Blaster, which has also seen a lot of time up on Glendora Ridge Road, Baja, Death Valley, and elsewhere…

The Baja Blaster (the bright red one) at a marker denoting the Tropic of Cancer in Baja California Sur, with the Sea of Cortez in the background…

That’s it for now, folks.   Ride safe, stay warm, and stay tuned!

 

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