Just a little twisty Action Today....

[triplethreat]

I've been riding motorcycles since 1971 and for the last 20 or so years, for me it's all about the twisty stuff. I live less than 20 miles from the world famous "Deals Gap" or as many like to refer to it as "Tail of The Dragon. US Rt. 129 is a long road, but that specific section, "Tail of the Dragon" is an 11 mile stretch of road with .......318 turns in it. Yep, not a typo....318 turns in 11 miles.

So today, after putting a new rear shock on my bike last week, I decided to take a ride and test the new shock and all of the setting that were dialed in by my suspension guy when I bough the shock. So I made a pass in, then turned around and came back out. Stopped for a few minutes to hydrate and made another pass in, turned around and came back out. So today's total for turns is approx. 1,272 turns while I was smiling from ear to ear. That is all!

 

[Hoopy Frood]

That road will create lots of smiles. Fer shure.

 

[triplethreat]

That road will create lots of smiles. Fer shure.

Yep, and those type of roads are Everywhere down here. When I lived in the St. Louis area, I had to ride all the way down to Potosi to find some decent twisty stuff. The Ozarks has it's share too.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Yessir, done the Pig Trail and down around Mountain Home, Harrison, and points further south. Good fun. And The Three Twisted Sisters in Texas. And The Devil's Highway, aka Route 666 in Arizona. And Wolfe Pen Gap Road. And Utah 12. And Cottenwood Canyon. And so on, and so forth. LOL

Peggy wants to head that way this fall, we haven't been out that way in quite some time.

 

[txloser]

Sounds like fun. I’ve driven but not ridden Deals Gap.

I do miss riding. Mostly sport touring bikes(RT’s and a Concourse 1400). A GS and Tenere as well. Been about 8 years since since I’ve swung a leg over a bike now. My favorite around here was NW Arkansas.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Sounds like fun. I’ve driven but not ridden Deals Gap.

I do miss riding. Mostly sport touring bikes(RT’s and a Concourse 1400). A GS and Tenere as well. Been about 8 years since since I’ve swung a leg over a bike now. My favorite around here was NW Arkansas.

Shoot, you're not too far from The Twisted Sisters. Good rides, but the road surface detracts considerably since it's sometimes hard to tell if it's loose gravel or just lousy chip and seal.

 

[triplethreat]

Yessir, done the Pig Trail and down around Mountain Home, Harrison, and points further south. Good fun. And The Three Twisted Sisters in Texas. And The Devil's Highway, aka Route 666 in Arizona. And Wolfe Pen Gap Road. And Utah 12. And Cottenwood Canyon. And so on, and so forth. LOL

Peggy wants to head that way this fall, we haven't been out that way in quite some time.

I've only been down south of Branson once, and that was years and years ago. We picked up Rt. 14 and took it over to where Rt 7 heads south and rode that all the way down through Russellville and on into Hot Springs. My riding buddy at the time had a good friend that was over in Little Rock, so we rode over there and visited for a day or so then headed back home. I kind of wish I had done more AR trips while I lived in the St. Louis area, but I'm pretty content with the roads around E. TN and North GA too. I remember when we first moved down here and doing 350-400 mile days....all of us on sportbikes. We'd do that several times a year. Anymore, and about 4 hrs and a couple hundred miles and I'm ready to call it a day.....well, I should say my body is ready to call it a day. I'll be sore tomorrow after 4 passes through Deals Gap. LOL

 

[triplethreat]

Sounds like fun. I’ve driven but not ridden Deals Gap.

I do miss riding. Mostly sport touring bikes(RT’s and a Concourse 1400). A GS and Tenere as well. Been about 8 years since since I’ve swung a leg over a bike now. My favorite around here was NW Arkansas.

I'd like to have a dollar for every pass through there that I've made since moving here in 2006. I had a ST1300 for about 6 years and now, I've got one of the new Suzuki GSX-S1000 GT+ bikes. It definitely a SPORT-touring bike. Removable hard bags, Electronic Cruise Control, Quickshifter, 3 driving modes, ABS and Traction control.....but it's more like a 1000cc Sportbike.

 

[jim_de_hunter]

Dragged my Jayco 195RB through Deals Gap last year right after we bought it. Nobody believes that I caught a poorly driven Mini while pulling through dragon.

 

[triplethreat]

Dragged my Jayco 195RB through Deals Gap last year right after we bought it. Nobody believes that I caught a poorly driven Mini while pulling through dragon.

Well, one thing is for sure, that's not the road to be pulling a camper through. I've been up there literally hundreds and hundreds of times and over that time span of 2006 till now, I've escorted full size tractor trailers through it. Every once in a while, a tractor trailer driver gets bad info and sees it as a shortcut to get to wherever he/she is going. Most of us locals will get in front of the tractor trailer (there's no place for them to turn around up there once they get on it) and stay a turn or maybe two ahead of them, warning oncoming traffic to stop and get over. You should see the look on some of their faces when they are pulled over because we've waved them down, and all of a sudden, a few seconds later a full size tractor trailer comes around the corner. A lot of the corners up there are so sharp that they have to get completely in the oncoming lane to be able to make the corner....so we run cover for them. Every once in a while, there will be a Blount County sheriff's Deputy up there and he or she will take over and we go on with the rest of our ride. And one thing is certain, they will be receiving a ticket when they get to the bottom or the top, depending on which way they are headed.

 

[Tony_in_AZ]

We have not ridden the Deals Gap yet.. We still get out on our 2013 Goldwing airbag bike when we can.

I have ridden legally since 1970 with a license. Before that it was Cushman , Salsbury and Mustang scooters. Received my first 4 citations in 1968 on a Mustang scooter at age 14. Mom was not thrilled with me. After that was taken care of , the court sent a final closing letter that my father learned about the incident since my mom had not told him. LOL

 

[triplethreat]

We have not ridden the Deals Gap yet.. We still get out on our 2013 Goldwing airbag bike when we can.

I have ridden legally since 1970 with a license. Before that it was Cushman , Salsbury and Mustang scooters. Received my first 4 citations in 1968 on a Mustang scooter at age 14. Mom was not thrilled with me. After that was taken care of , the court sent a final closing letter that my father learned about the incident since my mom had not told him. LOL

LOL....you were a "Hooligan" in your younger days........maybe even still, who knows? Your comment brings back a few memories for me. At the age of 8 or 9, my uncle, who lived next door to us, brought home a Cushman Scooter and my brother and I rode that thing around our huge backyard for a few years. I guess that was my official start of loving motorcycle related stuff....and that was circa 1963 or 1964.

 

[Tony_in_AZ]

LOL....you were a "Hooligan" in your younger days........maybe even still, who knows? Your comment brings back a few memories for me. At the age of 8 or 9, my uncle, who lived next door to us, brought home a Cushman Scooter and my brother and I rode that thing around our huge backyard for a few years. I guess that was my official start of loving motorcycle related stuff....and that was circa 1963 or 1964.

Likely I still qualify as a hooligan at my current age.. Before the Scooters there were go karts, a Taco mini bike, tote gotes.. It is an untreatable disease I guess?

I am thinking & looking around for a Cushman scooter. May buy one, not sure.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Likely I still qualify as a hooligan at my current age.. Before the Scooters there were go karts, a Taco mini bike, tote gotes.. It is an untreatable disease I guess?

I am thinking & looking around for a Cushman scooter. May buy one, not sure.

Some things get better with age, a Cushman scooter isn't one of them. My brothers had one, but got rid of it before I was old enough to take it over. Had to start with Honda.

 

[triplethreat]

Some things get better with age, a Cushman scooter isn't one of them. My brothers had one, but got rid of it before I was old enough to take it over. Had to start with Honda.

My very first motorcycle was a Honda.....a CL100 Scrambler. I'm now on #29 of my lifetime. This one may be a little faster than the old Cushman scooter was....LOL

 

[Hoopy Frood]

I started on an S65 Honda in 1964, and had around 25 bikes between then and 2000, minus three years the Army stole. But bought my '99 VFR in 2000 and never bought another bike since then. I did buy a 1986 FJ1200 new in 1986 and kept it for about 30 years. Still riding the VFR as nothing else really trips my trigger like the Honda. I've always ridden the UJM, or sport touring bikes, never been fond of cruisers, too much form over function. Did some dirt bike riding in the 70's and 80's on various Yamaha's, Suzuki's, and a Bultaco. Couple motorcycle trips overseas, and South America, but most riding done in the US. Been coast to coast, and north to south. My car used to sit so much in the warmer months, the battery would often be dead when I tried to start it.

 

[Sleeping Rainbows]

The first time I crested 140 mph was on a 1980 GS 1100. Yours looks like it might be a little faster.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

I owned a 1980 GS1000G, the shaft drive model. Put some serious mileage on that bike in the 3 years I owned it.

 

[triplethreat]

The first time I crested 140 mph was on a 1980 GS 1100. Yours looks like it might be a little faster.

LOL...it is, but just by a little bit.....They've got it speed limited via the ECU to around 155 mph. I've had two different CBR1000RR bikes though that would stop registering at 186 mph on the speedometer...but you still had about 400 RPMs left before the rev limiter would kick in. I had both of them up there when I owned them at my top secret high speed testing area.

This one, pictured above is a Sport Touring bike, but it's also a flyer. Electronic cruise control, ABS brakes, 3 different drive modes, Traction control, and a Quick shifter that can be turned on or off. The bags on it are removeable too, which is a nice touch

 

[Tony_in_AZ]

Most MPH I did was on a 1979 Yamaha XS-1100 I bought new. It was shaft drive, It had a lot of driveshaft jack when under hard throttle... In 1979 Running south from Flagstaff on the I-17 thru the Verde Valley area I let the Yamaha run. I saw an indicated 143mph. I doubt the speed-o was accurate, likely it read a few mph fast. Fast bike. Handled like crap

Common engine conversion on Cushman scooters is the Vanguard twin cylinder engine of 22hp