It is with a heavy heart that we at Top Gun say goodbye to “The Old Top Gun”, Elden R. Carl. Elden passed away in the early hours of September 24th, 2021 due to post-surgery complications arising from a motorcycle accident earlier this year. Elden logged well over a million miles on motorcycles and hundreds […]
We have been working for a long time to create a website devoted to Elden’s shooting career and we are happy to announce it is live at eldencarl.com! We will be shifting the “Recollections of a Combat Master” articles to the new site and posting new content there as well. We hope you will visit.
Here is another find from Elden’s archives. This 1960’s era photo and letter from Dallas Police Department Detective Jack Donihoo was found at the bottom of a box where it had been for over 50 years. The letter reads as follows: Dear Elden, This picture was taken in the squad room before I had aquired […]
Sixty-two years and more than a million miles later, the best motorcycle I’ve ever owned is sitting in my garage. It’s not for sale and you can’t buy one like it or build one unless you know how to make the more than three dozen improvements that took place over a 15 year evolution. Some […]
From the editor (Pat Rose): As I’ve been looking through Elden’s archives on motorcycles and pistols, there have been a few surprises. A good case in point is an article written by Elden for the Feb/March 2000 issue of Dual Sport News. He was a regular contributor to the publication in the late 1990’s and […]
My use of a two-handed pistol hold began in 1955 when I purchased a Ruger
This is Part 2 of Elden’s article; please see Part 1 from July here. Early on the August weekend morning of the 1959 Leatherslap, I mounted my motorcycle, a 1955 A.J.S. 500cc British single, and headed north on Highway 395, a two lane road that now runs adjacent to a huge freeway. As I approached […]
This ride took place earlier in 2016 but we didn’t want to post it until we had the final product where we wanted it. And yes… they are planning another long ride for Pauline’s 90th in 2017!
On a recent ride to Baja, Elden Carl logged his 200,000th mile on KLR-650’s. The big mile occurred on the return trip from Ensenada to Tecate, with Rod Morris and Todd Vosper along to witness the event. Elden’s KLR’s have performed well over the years, a testament to his maintenance prowess and attention to detail. […]
I loved flying jets. I enjoyed some of the other aircraft I had the opportunity to fly, but flying passengers in a Citation business jet is nothing like pushing the throttle up and slicing towards an impending merge with a bandit. Or tipping into a 45 degree dive from 15,000 feet towards a target 3 […]
(Photo: Elden (firing) and the great Ray Chapman (observing) at a demonstration circa 1963.) If you are an aficionado of modern combat pistol shooting, you may know that of
To all our friends and family, we wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and hope you have a Happy and Prosperous 2015. Ride safe!
When we think about a motorcycle frame we normally are thinking of an item to which engine, swing arm and front steering parts are attached.
Reaching back 15 years, this article first appeared in the now-defunct Dual Sport News. I thought it would be a worthwhile look back at some of Elden’s developments with the KLR-650. This will probably get me in trouble, but Elden will be 80 this
If you are serious about motorcycling, you are likely to be the type of person reads your favorite moto mag for the riding techniques and safety articles, not just the latest product reviews. You may also buy an occasional book or DVD to further enhance your skills. But do you also occasionally attend some type […]
We are generally not fans of most aftermarket parts. Not that we are necessarily fans of the major manufacturers either, but we often find that aftermarket parts lack the quality, and more commonly, the fit of the original factory part. Additionally, customer service can be spotty. We try very hard at Top Gun to ensure […]
I thought it would be fitting on this 70th anniversary of D-Day to reprint
Image credit United States Marine Corps (This article reprinted from 2006) I loved flying jets. I enjoyed some of the other aircraft I had the opportunity to fly, but flying passengers in a Citation business jet is nothing like pushing the throttle up and slicing towards an impending merge with a bandit… Or tipping into […]
(Photo credit United States Marine Corps) Military pilots use formations in a calculated way to achieve an objective. That objective might simply be to move more than one aircraft through congested airspace, or it may be to provide mutual support and maneuver space to allow the flight to react to, or engage the enemy. Although […]
KLR-650 Chain Master Upper Chain Run Control Device* (*Engineered using a stock KLR-650 with properly adjusted chain.) You know we are big fans of the KLR-650 and we think it’s one of the two finest big-bore multisurface motorcycles on the market. For some reason though, the folks at Kawasaki have produced a motorcycle for […]
We see Kawasaki has added a 2014 “New Edition” KLR650 with revised springs and rebound damping at both ends, and some mods to the seat (and we will try to get some feedback on it ASAP). However, here at Top Gun, we’ve had a selection of KLR-specific springs available for several years (and the original […]
Between 1990 and 1992 I hated my 1989 KL650 so much I almost sold it. I saw no possible way I was going to overcome all the built in flaws mainly in suspension and engine. Then I found former European pro motocrosser and Ohlins expert Stig Pettersson (Pettersson Pro Suspension 714 323-5779) , who built […]
by Rod Morris We just finished rebuilding the engine in my 1996 KLR650A and I wanted to share
This photograph first appeared in the Tenth Anniversary edition of American Handgunner magazine; to be specific, the September/October 1986 edition. It
by Todd Vosper I consider myself a pretty safe rider; I wear full armor even on short errands, try hard to remain conspicuous and take advantage of proper lane positioning, and try to keep track of all my threats using a good scan and mirrors. I’m not saying I’m perfect mind you, I make plenty […]
by Elden Carl Over the years I have seen lots of poor fitting aftermarket parts. Many of them did not contribute to rider safety and in fact some negatively affected handling and performance. The internet has accelerated this
Honest… I had collected several articles for source material about multitasking but it seems that while I was reading those, emailing readers, doing my nails, and walking the dog… I managed to misplace them. Can I ask you to trust me? A few months back I had the idea to do an article on multitasking. […]
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