Chairmen of the Politically Incorrect

[gamekeeper]

I have started to slowly refinish my 16 gauge although it was in excellent shape and nearly unused when I bought it, I didn't like the blued action/lock plates etc plus the Beechwood stock looks cheap, well it only cost me peanuts ($92) so I can't complain. Compering it to my recent purchase of the 20 gauge Winchester 37a the 16 gauge handles much better the balance is fine and weight for weight not as much difference as I thought. I'll post photos before and after when completed. I'm a little disappointed with the 20 gauge although it was in unfired brand spanking new condition it seems heavier than the first one I had back in the 70s probably my old age and memory have something to do with it...

[OldWin]

Hey you won a page buddy!
My little 20ga 870 youth model has ugly wood too. I redid it but it looks blotchy and not much better. When it was time to do the birch wood on my post-64 94 carbine I did a little research. Fieblings leather dye isn't oil based, and will soak into the cheaper hardwoods much better than traditional stick finish. After the coats you desire, simply go over it with Tru-oil or a similar top coat. I was really impressed with the result.

[gamekeeper]

Yes I followed your advice when I gave the Stevens .410 a makeover and was very pleased with the results. I would love to do the Winchester 37a as the wood is quite light in color but feel it would be sacrilege as it still looks brand new after 50 years as a safe queen. I did however throw away the white line spacer, can't stand the sight of them, my spares box has a few I have removed....

[OldWin]

Haha yeah I get it. The 94 I did looked unused, but the micro thin wood finish was coming off, so.....
I hate those spacers too!

Just stopped for a break at camp. Left the house with the DRZ this morning and have logged about a 100 miles of backwoods riding on old dirt roads and trails. Beautiful day to ride. Have barely seen a soul all day.

[OldWin]

Got the new diggers on the old TW. Should make a big difference in the woods. Wanted them on before hunting season as we usually get some snow.

[Walt]

Early on Wednesday morning, my shooting buddy, my motorcycling buddy and I went on an ATV ride in the Jemez mountains of north central New Mexico. My goal was to find an Indian pueblo ruin that I had visited a couple of times about 15 years ago but haven't been able to locate again. We didn't find it on this trip either. Nevertheless, we had a great day traveling old logging roads that are slowly reverting back to nature. We did stop at a ruin dating back to around 1200AD with relatively high standing walls to take a picture. The tree in the photo is called an alligator juniper and it probably was around at the time these pueblos were inhabited. Zoom in if you can't see the "scales".

[Walt]

Jay, thanks for the pictures. I'm planning on taking my TW up to the same location to retrieve a lost water bottle on Tuesday. I know I'll be spending more on gas than the water bottle is worth but it sounds like a good excuse to get outta town again.

[OldWin]

Awesome pictures Walt, thank you! Looks like Awesome riding out there. Every time I make it out west, I just wish I had my Jeep and dirt bike with me.
That sounds like a perfectly good reason to ride up there to me!

[OldWin]

Here's a few from my 115 mile ride on the DRZ this past Tuesday.

[Walt]

Very nice, thanks! You are obviously getting along with your DR-Z very well. Great pictures

[OldWin]

Yes. I've been happy with the DRZ, and it does what I want for most applications. It's plenty of bike for me at this stage of my riding career.
Another 10hp, especially down low, and 25lbs less weight would be awesome if I had to nitpick.

[gamekeeper]

Great photos guys I guess I gave up motorcycling way too soon but if you knew the roads and traffic over here I'm sure you'd understand,
I went on another unsuccessful Squirrel hunt yesterday, my son suggested that we try a different wood where he used to catch a lot of Squirrels, well it was big wood with a lot of mixed timber but even using his thermal we saw zero Squirrels. My son used to trap and shoot Squirrels on this estate for 10 years and has never known it to be so unpopulated by Squirrels. Rabbits are only occasionally seen and are struggling to maintain their limited numbers so we let them be

[OldWin]

I dread the day I will have to stop riding. The TW should keep me riding for a long time though. I will definitely age out of the DRZ.

That's weird there are no squirrels. Ive never seen that here. Do you have any theories as to what is causing it?

[gamekeeper]

No one seems to know why they have disappeared, this area is one of the few areas that's Red Squirrels exist so for several years the Grey Squirrels have been trapped to help save our native Reds, the funding for all this pest control pays for full time trappers to trap nearly every wood in the area you can't walk very far without seeing cage traps for live catching and bait stations nailed to trees. The native Reds are protected and quite rare and I'm not seeing any of them either.

[OldWin]

That's really strange. We have a lot of both grey and red. Greys seem more prevalent in town, reds seem more plentiful in the woods.

[41Redhawk]

Got the new diggers on the old TW. Should make a big difference in the woods. Wanted them on before hunting season as we usually get some snow.

I used to work at a Yamaha dealer when the TW was first released. I'd guess it was mid to late 80s. The first time I jumped one of our dirt hills it was interesting! Great biles for doing what you do with it! It will not be confused with a YZ though!

[OldWin]

Got the new diggers on the old TW. Should make a big difference in the woods. Wanted them on before hunting season as we usually get some snow.

I used to work at a Yamaha dealer when the TW was first released. I'd guess it was mid to late 80s. The first time I jumped one of our dirt hills it was interesting! Great biles for doing what you do with it! It will not be confused with a YZ though!

Welcome to the PI thread 41Redhawk!
Haha you got that right! They came out in 87, I believe. I started out looking for an old, simple, 4 wheeler. I got frustrated because they were either junk or people wanted ridiculous prices. I ended up buying my 2008 TW and I like it better. The TW has a cult following and a crazy amount of aftermarket support. I've a lifelong rider, so I know what you mean. In spite of that, it's really fun to Pitt around the woods on. I also have a Suzuki DRZ400 when I need to pick up the pace.
I even talked our fellow Levergunner Walt into buying a TW this year!

[41Redhawk]

Got the new diggers on the old TW. Should make a big difference in the woods. Wanted them on before hunting season as we usually get some snow.

I used to work at a Yamaha dealer when the TW was first released. I'd guess it was mid to late 80s. The first time I jumped one of our dirt hills it was interesting! Great biles for doing what you do with it! It will not be confused with a YZ though!

Welcome to the PI thread 41Redhawk!
Haha you got that right! They came out in 87, I believe. I started out looking for an old, simple, 4 wheeler. I got frustrated because they were either junk or people wanted ridiculous prices. I ended up buying my 2008 TW and I like it better. The TW has a cult following and a crazy amount of aftermarket support. I've a lifelong rider, so I know what you mean. In spite of that, it's really fun to Pitt around the woods on. I also have a Suzuki DRZ400 when I need to pick up the pace.
I even talked our fellow Levergunner Walt into buying a TW this year!

Perhaps you remember the BW 200. There was also a 80 and a 350. They were released in the same time frame as the TW was. They had ATV tires on them. They were even more interesting to ride!

[OldWin]

Got the new diggers on the old TW. Should make a big difference in the woods. Wanted them on before hunting season as we usually get some snow.

I used to work at a Yamaha dealer when the TW was first released. I'd guess it was mid to late 80s. The first time I jumped one of our dirt hills it was interesting! Great biles for doing what you do with it! It will not be confused with a YZ though!

Welcome to the PI thread 41Redhawk!
Haha you got that right! They came out in 87, I believe. I started out looking for an old, simple, 4 wheeler. I got frustrated because they were either junk or people wanted ridiculous prices. I ended up buying my 2008 TW and I like it better. The TW has a cult following and a crazy amount of aftermarket support. I've a lifelong rider, so I know what you mean. In spite of that, it's really fun to Pitt around the woods on. I also have a Suzuki DRZ400 when I need to pick up the pace.
I even talked our fellow Levergunner Walt into buying a TW this year!

Perhaps you remember the BW 200. There was also a 80 and a 350. They were released in the same time frame as the TW was. They had ATV tires on them. They were even more interesting to ride!

ain't.

I certainly do haha! I haven't seen one in the wild in a while though. They bring good money now.

[Walt]

I headed up to the Jemez Mountains again yesterday with my TW with the intention of finding a water bottle one of my buddies had left behind on our trip up there last week. My more pressing intention was to relocate an ancient Indian ruin that I had found about 15 years ago and had visited twice a few months apart but have been unable to locate since then. I had marked the ruin on Google Earth but had neglected to bring along a GPS. I finally brought it yesterday and quickly found my objective. It was a huge place, the fallen walls are almost a third of a mile long on top of a mesa. There are very few visitors that come here. An interesting find was a mutated cactus in the midst of the ruin.

Jay, the bike worked well; me, not so much. The ride kicked my butt although it was only a 30 mile ride. The worst parts were the downhill trails full of loose rocks. Altogether I did have a good day.

[OldWin]

That's awesome Walt! I'd love to ride out there sometime. I find that stuff very interesting.
I had mine out yesterday on the trail too. The biggest suspension shortcoming of the TW is WAY too soft fork springs. It's an easy fix, though. Bradley Performance has two different rates of springs. Another thing many do is switch to Seat Concepts seat. You can get a couple different heights. While not the most comfortable thing going, they will go anywhere. I find if I keep my speed around 35 or less off road, and stand up once in a while, I can ride most of the day.

[Walt]

My biggest problem was in picking my way through the pointed 6 - 8" rocks, my back tire would bounce sideways off a rock, completely messing up my direction of travel, pointing me to places I didn't want to go. You had mentioned front wheel washout but It didn't appear to be a problem for me; I had the tires aired down to 12 psi.

[OldWin]

Yeah I ran between 8 and 10 in my stock tire. My traction is much better with the new tires. They can still deflect a little, but its better. Im still experimenting with pressures. Im running about 15 right now. It's a big tire on a light bike. It definitely takes getting used to, but the little bikes are quite capable.