cowpuc

I 100,000,000 % totally agree with you Jack = wise is the man who knows whats going on between those two wheels!!! Gotta say though, I figured this little trick out years ago when the MX industry went to disc brakes (got TIRED of rebuilding calipers) and to this day,, I can count on one hand the amount of times since regularly cleaning those pistons like this that I have had to pop out a piston and do a rebuild... I know,, sounds as crazy as your ol buddy Puc but hey,, it's worked for me over the years..

No idea if it will help here or not but this may be of interest to someone following this thread. My good friend and brother jakester has been running the darkside for a good while now and has had GREAT success with them.. Hey Bill,, if you get this,, just wanted you to know that I did a LOT of research (including measuring up the subframe on my Yam to see if I could make it happen by doing some altering) and simply could not come up with an economical means of getting there on the 1st Gen brother!! Anyway,, here's some input into,,,, The Darkside We also discuss the new Yam that you are riding Yoop!! Obviously,, LOTS of fun out there at Sturgis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OUTSTANDING my brother Riv!!!!!! :thumbsup: Of course,, as always you shoulda said something cause,, again as always,,, your ol buddy Puc coulda help ya out with some of us magic advice and told ya ya didnt hafta to do all that... As me and Jonas show ya in this video (cause we da man),,,, there are ALWAYS alternatives

I was still single trackin, racing enduro's, lot of Hair n Hounds and even still a little MX'n into my 50's until I broke my back in a Car/Deer accident a few years ago.. I was regularly riding with a very well known Enduro racer named "Young Ted" back then. Young Ted and I rode with many Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois (Teds home state) and Wisconsin riders criss crossed many thousands of miles of Michigans Cross Country Cycle Trails over the years together.. It's funny you bring this up at this time Casey because Young Ted stopped by not to long ago to show me his new KTM factory "loaner bike" that he is racing now that he just turned 90 years old!!!!!! His plans for his 10th running of the Colorado 500 this year were mind boggling. Ted is a close friend of John Penton who both Ted and I (and many others) deeply admire for his defining the true woods bike in the early Penton brand (pre KTM) and also John's efforts in bringing home those ISDT trophy's to the good old USA!! Ted is an amazing young man who I deeply admire and consider to be one of my closest friends (IMHO, there is nothing that binds two brothers like the deep love of motorcycling and thrills associated therein does)... I am gonna go down stairs real quick and snap a couple pictures off the wall in my basement to share some inspiration I still get from one of my life's hero's here..... Just a second.... Here some quick shots.. Got some of Ted on the cover of Trail Rider. Of yours truly in action. A poem I wrote many years ago that got published in Trail Rider. and some pics of gear that hasnt moved in few seasons for obvious reasons!! (sorry but I couldnt help myself,, I LOVED building and riding chops too and included a pic of my camp spot with one of my builds on the way out your way one year LOL) Tell ya what Casey,,, if your body is still able to handle it,, there is simply no funner, no more satisfying way to stay in shape than rippin thru the woods on a dirt bike IMHO.. And WOWZY,, the awesome people you can meet (just like here on VR) along the trail is just flat out amazing!! Puc

An old friend of yours and a dear friend of mine = MiRider, his lovely wife Sue and their GORGEOUS scoot "Candy" (lots of you lop eared varmints dont know this but I actually had the honor of naming Candy Candy and I chose that name Candy because that great big beautiful Harley Tri-Glide has a factory paint job on her that makes her look like a great big piece of candy that is sweet enough to eat!! I HAVE ALWAYS SAID IT - IMHO,, NO ONE PAINTS A SCOOT LIKE THOSE LOP EARED VARMINTS IN MILWAUKEE!!) came our way to help us break in the new E-4 I stapled on Tweeksis's back side.. We had fun! We rode all day! We saw a lot of bikes!! We got hungry cause MiRider kept going and going and going!! Then when we did stop at a resturant for Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches (go ahead,, admit it,, I planted a seed,, now YOU just gotta have a Hot Roast Beef Sandwich dont cha!!!), we got about yappin about the Super Man pj's that @Dragonslayer sent to me for me to wear at Sturgis. Then when I told MiRider and Sue about how I painted my Haines Underwear and my socks Red at the Dollar Store in Sturgis so when Super Man Puc made his debut he would look complete,,, well,,, our laughter got a little loud and that sissy MiRider pretended he needed to pay the bill so people would stop staring at him... The End - of a very fine day but not the end of many more to come I betcha!!! Puc

It did for a short time Snype but I learn quickly and I learned how to stand in front of Tweeksis and pee while I am pointing down at her radiator while Tippy pretends to have that look of "ohhhh,, yea,,, I agree,, that right there is the problem" as the cars go whizzing by (whizzing as in passing us by without realizing that I am peeing,, not the kind of wizzing I am doing = do you follow me here or do I need to put a video together? :crackup::crackup::rotf:

Yep,, knowing how hard my Nephews Strat was on the rear tire and seeing the size on the new one, I could not help but ask about the cost of a replacement when we rode em last year at Sturgis.. The rep looked one up,, sure enough,, 575 bucks ( you could actually by the wheel itself cheaper than the tire).. Then Honda configured the new Wing with the same size tire and offered 2 options for tire selections (followed the unveiling there very closely too) and the prices came down considerably.. I think the last time I looked you could grab one for under 3 bills = just a little more than a new E-4 for an older Venture... @Yoopermoose , does this sound about right for what you ended up paying for a replacement?

WOWZY WOW WOW WOW ,,, GORGEOUS GORGEOUS GORGEOUS PICS YOOP!!!!!! Your making this Troll (no ya bunch of lop eared VR forum varmints, NOT troll as in forum troll = troll as in the troll "under" the bridge that separates @Yoopermoose 's part of Michigan from our part of Michigan ) really proud brother = AWESOME ride along!!! Thank you!! Hope you have as much fun with your new tire as you did with the one you just wore off my friend!!!!

Duey,, my bad,, I even think I remember reading you asking about that - I truly apologize for over lookingy this!! I have never tried the 777. I think I do remember looking them up once to price check them compared to the 230 and noticed that the heavy dutiness was more in weight capacity or something... Nothing leading me to see that they were a super high mileage tire like this E-4 is suppose to be.. That said, they were more pricey than the 230's if I recall and the uptake on the price just didnt balance with the fact that I still would have to swap tires out on the west coast (the only advantage possible at this point with going to a more expensive tire would be if the more expensive tire can make the full circle out and back - the Commander 2's taught me how close but not quite completing the trip REALLY creates an issue because all of a sudden I am dependent on road side Dealerships and everyone knows how that story ends ).. Have you tried the 777's in high temps such as seen in Needles California, Death Valley, Area 51 riding loaded and two up? If so I would LOVE to hear your take on them and would be more than willing to give em a shot if you think +20k in such conditions is a possibility brother!!!!!!! Another tire that I missed in my assessment (forgive me you bunch of lop eared varmints,, my pea brain aint quite a quick as it used to be ) was the Conti Tour!! They proved worthy with a 7k wear on the rear and almost 15k on the front!!! I actually ended up having to swap out the front due to cupping instead of actual wear out too!! The problem I had with the Continenal Tour on the front, I think, stemmed from it being a high PSI tire to get is load rating up.. As I recall, 50 pounds of air to create top performance.. Besides the cupping that I think the high psi had something to do with, the tire also rode funny = it had a hard feel to it of course.. I never really cared for the cornering aspect of the Continentals,, IMHO, the much cheaper Shinko's reign supreme in handling and are a LOT cheaper and,, as with all of them,, the Continentals could never go full circle (rear tire) and still required a swap out... Again,, Sorry @Du-Ron for over looking your pertinent question my friend!! Your ol forgetful buddy = Puc:thumbsup:

Yep,, see those dark "blue" spots in her fir?? Or am seeing things?? Those sure look like Blue Tick spots to me!! I am sticking with my very first gut feeling guess wayyyyy before any of this was even revealed! Jack Russel and Blue Tick!!!!!! Awe,,, come here you precious little thing,,, sit down here for second,,, Uncle Puc got some secrets he wants to whisper in your ear of special places you can stuff your masters favorite socks out in the White Washer Shed when he isnt lookin... That a girl,, you know EXACTLY what I am talking about already dont cha,, awe,, your soooooo cute!!! Now take that sock and lets get started with you corrup,, I mean training...:178::178::178:

videoarizona is 100% correct leroy , under his mentoring - I have been running the Shinko Tourmasters successfully now on numerous incursions behind enemy lines and they have, knock on the top of my wooden noggin, brought me home safely each time.. EXCELLENT low cost tire with a real good feel to them in everything from high speed pursuits thru the canyons to slow speed twisties covered with tar snakes.. The rear I just took off from Tweeksis to mount up this new Dunny on it had just under 6k hard miles on it.. Nothing in the high temps of where this Dunlop is headed and where most of my other tire experiences have been.. As mentioned by Vaz, I too have found the intense heat of the western deserts I LOVE to ride to wreak havoc on tires (and other things,, its a strange place where a gallon jug of water can be more precious then the same amount of weight in gold = really,,, thats true). Had the Shink I just pulled seen the desert it would have been fortunate to have made 5k with my ride style. I tend to full pack, tent and all that, ride 2 up, NEVER pull a trailer (cause I do a fair amount of off road site seeing) and am governed by the Guvna herself (Tippy) at 100 mph when she is on the back so that is pretty much where we hang out once the cities disappear and the horizon's reveal the vast openess of the far west that we love.. I also wickin it up in the twisties and have a natural bad habit to always wick it up when coming out of corners. I also run heavy in traffic and, generally speaking, insist on taking control of my destiny in traffic by insisting that I am always going a little faster than those around me = may sound nuts but I have found a sense of safety when I am watching the cars disappear in my mirrors. When I am around semi's I dont play games with em, if I am in a bottleneck where the cagers are piling up and there is Semi involved I back off and wait for an opening and as soon as it appears its what I call "bye bye time" (Tip has heard me utter those words dozens of times). When bye bye time happens, the Guvna takes charge in speed control and, at times, that lasts until we find our lonely little pocket of freedom spaced carefully between the bottlenecks behind and in front of us... Yes,, I am hard on tires. I DO NOT do the burn out thing though like is so popular these days - I respect my tires more than that. My tire wear is 100 percent earned the hard way. Tires that come to mind that I have ran and associated mileage of them (all cross country comparisons with comparable desert heat time) - packed heavy, riding 2 up and hitting speeds in the triple digits at times, all hand mounted and balanced by yours truly, all worn to bald with an even wear - expect for the Metzlers,, they delaminated at last 20% of tire!!: Dunny Elite 2's (probably one of my favs) = 6500 miles, great all around tire!! Noisy when half worn and gets even louder if hitting the twisties - so much so that you can actually feel the outer sharp edges of the tread vibrating the bars in the tight stuff like the dragon = strange.. Mich Commander 2 = good desert tire, terrible on twisties and in rain or on cold pavement, good high mileage @8000 miles BUT to expensive up front when compared to Shinkos. Also cost me a ton of cash and inconvience because it didnt quite make it back from the coast on a 1 1/2 month outing (normally would have swapped tires at my daughters in Sacramento but this tire was looking like it would make the full trip - it didnt so then I was stuck going to a steale,, I mean dealership). That tire was 230 bucks and I have been buying current, up to date Shinko Tour Masters for $65 shipped and they will do 4500, maybe 5k in the desert - see my point? Full Bore = AMAZING cheap tire that was all I could find in the bargin barrel one year out on the West Coast!! Tire did SUPERB for what it was, handled the heat excellent, got 4500 miles out of it and, get this,, it was like 53 bucks shipped to my daughters!!!! I absolutely would not hesitate for a second to run Full Bores full time!! Dunny 404 = RIP OFF!! Just over 3k miles!! I call them the "tire that will disappear"!!!! Story,,,,, headed for the coast,, got dinking around ghost townin in Utah (flaw in my charactor) and Tip and I discovered the 404 I had mounted new just before we left was almost bald when we pulled into Moab. We found 1,, thats right,,, ONE tire that matched the size/weight reguirements for Tweeks in all of Moab and,, guess what it was? Yep,, another 404 AND the guy wanted 235 bucks for it!! I looked at him and told him I couldnt do that,, I couldnt pay 230 bucks for the same tire that I had just paid 85 dollars for 2 weeks earlier and then found out it was junk.. I asked where the nearest Yamaha shop was and he said "FairField" (or something like that).. We plotted a course thru the mountains to FairField, tented a couple nights wayyyy up in those gorgeous mountains (talk about COLD) at a couple back packing or skier trail heads, when we finally found out way out our kids in California had called the cops to go look for us before we finally landed in FairField with THE CORDS SHOWING!!!! Metzler = it was heading toward being my highest mileage tire EVER when,, at 7500 miles on the tire on the way back to Sacramento from a place called "The Dalles" where we had attended a VR Rally called "Venture West" and had also drifted up to Mount St. Helens with another member here ( CMCOFFEY - you still around Coff? Aint heard from ya for a spell = hope all is ok?) on that Metz. Coff watched me check that tire for pressure and condition (think I checked Exodus's - Coff's bike - too) before we left The Dalles in Oregon.. Time we got back to Sac the tire was IN PIECES (I have pics of it somewhere). It literally came unglued = DEADLY!! Funny thing was,,, I was actually warned about Metzler tires by a very good friend of mine and fellow member here about this earlier in the trip... You may know him = Squidly? Apparently he and his precious wife Lonna had also had a similar encounter with Metzler only theirs blew (if I recall correctly) from delamination and almost ended in trajity.. Swore off Metz's after all that. Avon - good tire,, 7k miles, had a strange random tread pattern that I didnt care for in twisties and also in sound.. At half wear on the tread I could feel the variations in the tread as a buzz in my bars.. Kenda - 4500 mile tire, could never get em to stay balanced - especially at speeds over 90. Good deal if you dont over ride the tire. Noisy when half gone. Actually seemed like a really good rain tire (we got hit hard out east one time running Kenda's). Good tire for tire beads IMHO as long as you stay under 80. Shinko 230 Tour Masters (THANKS videoarizona !!) - Awesome tire!! Cheap,, decent mileage, CHEAP ,, will run from Mid West to West Coast absolutely no problem and can plan ahead and have the swap on sitting at the kids waiting for me.. This is an honest 4500 mile low, 5k high tire when heading that way for us!! It handles the heat REAL WELL, handles the rain REAL WELL, handles the twisties with total dignity and has definitely landed on my list of all time favorites - by the way,, did I say they are cheap?? I havent looked recently but I betcha I can buy one right now for under 80 bucks shipped and have it here in 2 days OR LESS!! Took me almost 3 weeks to FINALLY get a good E-4:doh: to start this crazy testing journey I am on!! Something else that I noticed just recently when mounting this new E-4 (and this is actually in one of my video's in this video series) is WOWZY is it hard to spoon on!!! With the Shinko's,,, lay em in the sun for and hour and I literally can almost pop the starting bead onto the rim without laying a spoon on it!! This E-4 took me over 2,, thats right,, TWO hours to spoon on!! IMHO,, this E-4 is designed to require a Dealership (or someone with a tire machine) to install it.. To many (almost everyone I am sure cause I know,, I am strange) varmints this is normal cause I know they carry tow cards in their pockets but to the few side of the road tire swappers there are left out there CTFW,, I can tell ya,,, IMHO - this is E-4 is NOT the answer.. Seriously,,, Give me a Shink, a set of spoons and this nifty little Bead Buster that VanRiver sent my way (THANK AGAIN RIV!!) and in under an hour I will be back to CTFW - start to finish!! Dunny E-4,,,,, no clue,,,, still in testing but,, it does have a strike against it already in its difficulty to swap out by hand.. I do have that Dunlop (and others) are shootin straight on their claim to 6x back and forth across the country on it or,, lets just say +20k of riding that includes a fair amount of hot tarmac time fully loaded, 2 up at speeds controlled by the Guvna.. What da heck what day hey,, I would actually be impressed if it just makes one good complete full circle of a summer tour for us!!!! We shall see!!

,, when they yanked that tumor out of my abdomine a year ago January, it had claimed my prostrate, a gland, a 2 1/4 inch section of my uretor and a portion of my bladder and was the size of my fist.. They ended up having to almost invert what was once external to tie things back together internally and left me with a bladder that I swear is about the size of a golf ball ... I never in zillion years thought I would say that I now actually miss being catheridized like they had me for a few weeks after they removed my innards = but gotta say,,, having to pee every 1/2 hour (depending on how much I drink) and getting up at night to do so can be a pain in the neck,, or should I say a pain in the pee-er... All and all though,, in all reality,,, that cancer ridden tumor was doubling in size every 90 days and I have no doubt that had those amazing Dr.'s not been there for me in my time of need, I KNOW I would be pushing up daisies and not been able to play with my little grandson or even still be here to :stickpoke:.:witch_brew:,:stirthepot: you lop eared varmints so all in all,,, peeing for a living ain't that bad when ya really stop and think about it

and,,, of course you know this,,, they are actually dogs in little dog clothing so they are subject to an expedited life = 7 years of human life = 1 year of dog life so,,,, by the time they are 3 months old they are able to read already.. Therefore,, I have a hunch that your cute little puppy has read some of your Dr.'s notes and noticed that little phrase on all of those notes that says = "Get Lots Of Excersize" and that is part of her plan to assist you with whether you like it or not :rotf: Sic em Hookshot,,,, SIC EM!!!!!!! He deserves all the he gets

I like running the stock 8's, non iridiums and have very good luck with them. As long as I dont over choke so the plugs get blackened I am usually swapping them out at 12k milesish.. I gap at 32 thou (bottom spec) and when I swap em they are usually at the high end of spec. I am a certified bone head and farrrr from any form of an expert on this stuff but one of the things that concerns me with going with a longer lasting plug is that of the plugs getting stuck in the head from being in two long. I have dealt with this on several scoots back when I was restoring for living and can tell ya, if left to long you would swear the plug becomes part of the casting (I know,, sounds crazy but I really have experienced this). Personally,, I would rather swap out plugs occasionally, know I got good plugs and know that I can get em out when I need to.....

On bended knee I promise, my thoughts and Prayers Up are with you two lop eared varmints! Dont mess around, listen to your Dr.'s and do what they say to the letter!!! I can't imagine life in the club house without you two varmints!!

Just like me,,, that's just a filament of your illumination Duey .. I do have a fair amount of wear on the gear set = 20 thousandths of lash between the gears but far from pointed.. THANK YOU for pointing out the need to keep an eye on that wear though!! WOWZY,, now your scaring me Spence.. The reason I went with the high temp stuff was it is suppose to stay "grease" and not go fluid until 540 degrees farenheight.. My theory is that the reason the pins go dry and the grease from both them and the carrier gears is because it gets hot, turns fluid and then runs down the wall of the pig (as pointed out in the video). I know a lot has been mentioned thru the years of the grease being "tossed" and I always bought that theory BUT have always wondered how the pins were able to throw the grease when they are captured in their guides - never made sense to my pea brain. That is why I searched for (and found this Lucas stuff) a good high temp grease... You know what I am gonna do,,, I am gonna take some of this Lucas and put it in a cap, let it lay in the sunshine outside and see if it turns runny.. If it does I will be making a call to Lucas cause what you are saying is typical to my experience with "normal" greases I have had in my garage too but, IMHO, this high temp stuff should NEVER do that!! One of the great things about these MK1 1st Gens is its only about a 20 minute job to pull the rear wheel to check things... I was planning to pull the wheel at 6k mile intervals just to take a peek Carl.. One of the little things I learned in life is to be careful about how much to trust claims written about any products... That is why I referred to this thread in its title as a "test" = a science experiment that I plan on keeping a very close eye on

ROCK AND ROLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the very best with the (I always wanted to use that little fishin icon thingy and never had the chance till now )!!! Looking forward to continuing the ride along on your adventure Silverado - THANK YOU for taking the time to include us:biker:!!!!!!!!!

I am getting ready for the open road and got talked into trying the new Dunlop Elite 4 to see if we could make it full course with out having to swap out tires 2 or 3 times. It all sounded like a plan until, among other things, I remembered how every time I swapped out a rear tire the drive pins and gear set in Tweeks rear end were well ready for greasing = all of a sudden it dawned on me that I may be setting myself up for a crisis if Dunlops claim of 6 journeys back and forth from coast to coast were valid!! I know all about the Moly thread, have tried many many different forms of grease (had a friend who worked in oil/lube distribution - gots LOTS of that stuff in a wide variety given to me to try thru the years) but nothing seemed to worked. This series of video focuses on another theory I have about what causes the grease to run off the gears and pins.. I have a hunch that it has more to do with heat than what I had suspected so I dug around and found some Lucas grease that is solid all the way to +500 degrees so that is what I set my sights on and am employing in the testing. I was also surprised to see that @Geobob had brought up the dry pin thread this evening.. I am posting these video's out of sync so he can see what the drive pin thing is all about and also see the type of grease I am trying this time around.. I hope this helps somehow Geo!!!! Here ya go!!

Geobob , it is very interesting that you are posting this up now,,, makes me wonder if you were here at the house watching me work on my 83 in front of the garage today!!!!! I am in the process of prepping for the west coast/Sturgis and other summer CTFW activities and was convinced to try one of these new multi-tread, expensive, +20,000 mile E-4's to try not have to swap out rear tires 2 or three times on the journey. While replacing the worn out Shinko that I put on new earlier this spring I noticed that, as normal, my gears and drive pins were dry again too = this is normal from my experience = new tire = grease time.. Then it occurred to me,, what if this new E-4 really is capable of crossing America coast to coast (there and back) 6 times as Dunlop suggests = ,, what if those drive pins and gears that are always dry (and sometimes rust covered) now are subject to x5 on the miles !!!! I went down to O-Reily auto and explained it to them and they sold me some special Lucas grease that is called "Red and Sticky" or something like that.. It says right on the front of the tube it stays grease for temps over 500 degrees and is super sticky.. I have used many many types of greases in that application and, to date, have found nothing that really lasts = I am hoping this new Lucas stuff is worthy. I did make a series of video's thru out the day that covers start to finish of the whole process, including greasing the pins.. You might keep an eye on the water hole over the next couple days if your interested.. I would be happy to start the upload earlier if it may help... Puc

Very fair question Patch,, good eye!! You might be getting snickered by camera angle or something of the sort Patch but I will say this - all of my 1st Gen MK1's ran high on the meter,, 1 or 2 needle widths away from the red zone and this one does exactly as the others.. I ran em hard thru all kinds of ambients including +120 degrees out in Death Valley and they just like to hang out at that 1 or 2 needle widths away from the red.. Matter of fact, the bike that your looking at saw 119 last year on a quick trip to the west coast and same old same old.. Another short note to the readers here before I surrender for another 3 months probation for ing Toeman's thread,,, if you happen to land one of these early 1st Gens, BEWARNED and dont be fooled by what I am talking about here.. True, this early models, at least all of mine, do run high on the gauge BUT they also came with a plastic impellar in the water pump that = left to its own demise = Murphy can (and probably has) destroyed 1st Gen engines because the owners didnt get the water pump updated with the aluminum impellar... If your 1st Gen is prone to actual over heating or it regularly plays in the red zone = check the water pump!!! OK,, now wheres that penalty box (Sorry @Toeman )

She's a dandy Unc!! Little elbow grease and that puppy would be ready to take out and earn some stickers

@jakester - Bill,, you get a chance to toss a leg on the new Wing yet? If so, what did you think? I followed the unveiling of the new one very closely and even joined up on one of the Wing sites to participate in the thrill.. One of the things I questioned early on was the, from my understanding, loss of water jacket area between the jugs when Mom Honda shortened up the engine length. IMHO, preignition can and does destroy pistons and preignition factors include things like running low octane when high octane is required, ignition timing curve, compression ratios and load BUT = a hot motor can also be a factor (again, IMHO) is why I was wondering that. I know that one of the things that HD struggled with on their early water cooled heads bikes was related to this = the exhaust valve water "pocket" was to small and had a tendency to boil over when the bike was shut off/circulation had stopped. It would be interesting to know which jug failed (whether or not it was a pot that had mating jugs beside it) and whether or not overheating was involved... Regardless,, I too think it is WAYYYYYYYYYYY cool that Mom Honda stepped up and just did the right thing with the new scoot..

You betcha Toe,,, any time!

and just for clarity sake,, the "needle" M6 is mentioning here is the same thing that I am referring to as a "Metering Rod" = same thing just using a different name). Most bikes use a "E" clip on the Needle/Metering Rod that hangs down from the carb slide for adustment sake. Our Ventures (except for the Canadian models I am told? @Marcarl , do the Canuckian Ventures have clips on those Needles/Metering Rods?), for some reason have no factory way of adjusting them so "shimming" with nylon washers is a fairly easy way around that malody.. If you do decide to attempt shimming,, its not a bad idea IMHO to steer clear from using metal washers as they add weight to the slide and can interfer with slide movement... Just a heads up.. Again,, this is all being mentioned by someone who has NO experience with the 2nd Gen so a true guru may come on here and blow this all out of the water,,, so to speak..

Yep, even to the point of rewriting History books in some cases..... I will say though,, after spending many hours covering thousands of miles criss crossing our country and talking to people from all walks of life,, it is also amazing how many people out there really truly do still believe in America and what she stands for... Late last night, while sitting on Tweeksis waiting for the local fireworks to start, a gentleman walked up and commented about Tweeks stickers.. As the conversation progressed, the fellow opened up about his time in Vietnam (4 tours) and also his love for Montana. After listening to Tip tell him about our love for "The West" and how great of a country we have and how the old "Cowboy Code" is still alive out there - he walked over to his car and pulled out a little book and gave it to us.. I looked at it and it was a book of "Cowboy Poems" written by the person we were talking to. He signed the book for us and also signed our Montana sticker.. Got home here and started reading and WOWZY WOW WOW WOW,, talk about REAL patriotism coming out in the written word and, get this,,,,, from an author who is alive and well!!!!! As a country with a very special way of life, we may be down but, IMHO,, we are farrrr from out.... As long as there are folks who think the way the author of my little book clearly thinks,,,,,, it is far from over....