| Author | Message | ||
     Jerry_haughton |
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| Blake |
Bagger lose passenger! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
That'd be a tragedy. She's the best part of that riding unit. | ||
| Blake |
 Rattlesnake offering itself as target at inner apex of turn, laughing at meager lean of approaching baggers | ||
| Court |
>>>She's the best part of that riding unit. And no slouch of a rider . . her own self . . she is. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
...laughing at meager lean of approaching baggers Lean the White Whale (aka Moby Dork) any further and the title of this thread changes to "Diamondback Bites Bagger!" She's the best part of that riding unit. +1,000,000,000  FB | ||
| U4euh |
Someone finally taking photo's at the snake? | ||
| Bartimus |
Nice pics Ferris, you've definitely got the mean lean down on that hawg.  | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Someone finally taking photo's at the snake? Jim, different Snake: http://www.diamondbacknc.com  Bart, thanks. That was the first time I'd ever ridden the Diamondback, and despite several passes I never felt like I quite nailed that corner. Not sure if it's a decreasing radius or double-apex dealio, or, more likely, it's just me - I'm now officially old enough to be a grandfather (hi Jayden! ) Denise treated me to a night at Little Switzerland for my birthday this past October. The first shot above is shortly after we checked in on Saturday afternoon, and the second photo is early Sunday morning, with yours truly nursing a bit of a Vitamin T afterglow from the night before (it's all Alex and Heather's fault...). The bike had a few more degrees of lean left to offer, but I did not. FB | ||
| Ourdee |
I liked decreasing radius turns (sweepers) when riding gokarts. Go in hot and let the turn scrub the speed off. I don't think I'd try it on a bike. 25 laps and I could take the front outside tire down to cords. Where I rode at had a left hand sweeper dumping into a right hand hairpin. The kart would be flat out entering the sweeper. Stayed on the throttle till the hairpin. Lift turn right and move your right foot back into it. Weeeee. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Ourdee, that sounds like a lot of fun. I've never driven a hi-perf kart - yet another thing I need to add to the FBucket list... The biggest shortcoming on my Road King, besides the awful brakes and horrible suspension, is the limited cornering clearance. It's less bad to the left, like in the shots above, as the second thing to touch after the floorboard is the toe-tang on the kickstand, and it gives a little (actually, it "abrades" a little). To the right, however, the rear floorboard bracket touches shortly after the edge of the floorboard tin starts scraping, and if you're unlucky enough to hit any kind of bump when you're hogged over and the bracket is throwing off sparks, it'll lever the front tire up off the ground. Denise hates it when it does that... One of these days I gotta get a sportbike for this kinda stuff. | ||
| Brumbear |
We got a road up here Guymard turnpike it's short but fun I came across this vid some dude on a wing GRINING like mad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtMEXD4hmKc | ||
| Hughlysses |
When did they name 226A "Diamondback"? There are some great roads in that area. IIRC we talked about having a Buell gathering at Little Switzerland a year or two ago. Wasn't that one of the sites suggested for "April Buell's Day"? | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Brumbear, that looks like a fun little road. Sounds like the guy's riding a rolling machine shop. Hughlysses, not sure on any of your questions. It was my first time to the Diamondback. I suspect it's a marketing ploy by Little Switzerland - y'know, give a twisty road a sexy name and its own "official" photographer and then wait for the moto-tourists to come. Fortunately, the squids haven't ruined it yet, i.e., it isn't lined with radar-toting State Troopers. Our ride on Saturday was almost ended by an ••••••• in a late-model Corvette, however... Between Asheville, NC to the south and Roanoke, VA to the north there are a zillion Buell-worthy roads running up and down the Appalachians, as you know, all "anchored" by the unique goodness of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It'd be easy to put together a multiday worldclass-caliber sportbike ride up here. I've ridden much of this country, and the Appalachians are second to none for anyone hungering for a steady diet of lean cuisine. Ride to grind, FB | ||
| Prior |
Ferris, Was wondering when you'd have that pic posted. I've got a few that I pulled from his website, but not sure if I should hang them or not, don't want to get into any copyright stuff... Great pic, great weekend and even better adventure. We'll just have to get out there again now that we've got that road down- this time I hope Heather is feeling better and the Buell won't be in the back of the pickup for most of the ride... She was still a great sport and that's among the hardest I've pushed the Uly with her on the back, with a sick passenger and the T sponsored fog the next morning as well... Hope Cali is treading you well, my friend. Prior | ||
| Glitch |
Jerry, you ought to post up the picture of you on the S1 (Battle Trax I think) to compare with the photo above, looks to be the same only different bikes. It's nice that you've discovered my old back yard. The map you posted above is the map of "Back Home" That's BigDaddy's and my favorite loop, except of course BigDaddy isn't allowed near Little Switzerland Ann and I lived in North Cove, that would be in the lower right hand corner of your map. I've ridden much of this country, and the Appalachians are second to none for anyone hungering for a steady diet of lean cuisine. The secret's out! | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Alex, good to hear from you. Cali's been a mixed bag in some respects but it's all good, and we've been able to sneak out a couple of times and ride some of our old favorites, including chunks of the old Oktoberfast route. Thx again for yours and Heather's company during my birthday bash. I know not everything was "textbook" but we sure made the most of it. Glitch, I've read posts from you and Big Dad before about that part of the world. I've always wanted to stop and check out Little Switzerland on the way by, but this was our first visit, and we sure enjoyed it. The Diamondback is a lot of fun. It'd be even more fun if the Road King had about ten more degrees of cornering clearance (and better brakes, suspension, and another 50 or so ft-lbs of torque...) Alex and Heather are just out of frame in that first shot above, pushing us down the hill on their Uly. Good thing the RK is so frikkin' wide in the back - it's about the only way I can keep you pesky Buellers behind me anymore. FGramps | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
PS to Glitch: ...BigDaddy isn't allowed near Little Switzerland Details, please. | ||
| Sayitaintso |
I've ridden that stretch of road several times and never knew it had a name. I always like it more than the dragon b/c it was less crowded. I sure hope it stays relatively unknown. First time I rode down from Little Switzerland I almost bought the farm because of a lawn mowing company truck with a trailer heading up the "mountain" thought my side of the road was his side also. I was in the gravel on the inside of right hand switchback and didn't have any more room to give him and to this day don't know how I managed to avoid washing out and lowsiding right under the trailer. I think thats the closest I've come to wrecking on a bike. | ||
| Glitch |
Details, please. It's an inside joke I'm sure Greg would have a good laugh with. It's really about growing up in a rural area, being young, and just by chance BadWeB and 20ish years after being young, Greg and I "meet" and find out our old stomping grounds are the same. We grew up on opposite sides of the same valley, back when a bad ass bike had 70HP tops, tires were bias ply, and there were girls in them thar hills! The Southern Appalachians are full of stories, and some of them are mine | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
back when a bad ass bike had 70HP tops, tires were bias ply... Well, with the exception of the "bad ass" part, you just described my Road King. Heck, you're "only" organizing two major Buell gigs a year right now. I vote that you and Big Dad organize a third yearly Buell-rodeo, in and around Little Switzerland. I, for one, would love to hear your stories. FGramps | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
I've ridden that stretch of road several times and never knew it had a name. I always like it more than the dragon b/c it was less crowded. I sure hope it stays relatively unknown. I suspect the name is recent. Doubtful it'll stay unknown for very long, and I haven't helped any in this regard by starting this thread. Agree, very enjoyable in large part because of the relative lack of traffic. The closest call we had that weekend was a pinhead in a Corvette who thought he needed both lanes to get up the mountain. If ya check out BlindKenny.com's pics on any given weekend, you'll see dozens and dozens and dozens of mouth-breathers who can't stay on their side of the centerline. Damn shame that all ya need to get a driver's license is a pulse... | ||
| Glitch |
I vote that you and Big Dad organize a third yearly Buell-rodeo, in and around Little Switzerland. Way ahead of you! Whether or not BigD will be in country is anyone's guess. The tentative month is June-ish. Once Not March Badness 8 is finished-ish, I'll work on Mountain William's Ride*. I've got to figure out how to make a living at this sort of thing! I'll be year round soon! *Mountain William is a Mountaineer, not a Hill Billy | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
I've got to figure out how to make a living at this sort of thing! Glitch, from what I've always seen and heard, you're definitely the right man for the job. Good luck! Ferris, Was wondering when you'd have that pic posted. Alex, I forgot to mention in reply to your first post that I started this thread mostly in response to the "Dragon Bites Bagger" thread - http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show .cgi?tpc=4062&post=1957510#POST1957510 - which seemed, at first, anyway, like nothing more than a thinly-veiled excuse to bag on Harley riders. This is the first time I've ever purchased photos of myself riding, even tho Killboy has shot me on several different occasions on the Dragon. In the first photo above I really like the composition and lighting (and a bit underexposed, which really adds a lot of richness to the colors), and the fact it represents an unforgettable riding adventure. I only wish more of Denise's helmet was visible behind mine, but overall I think it's just a very beautiful, graceful photo depicting the joy of why we all ride. Thanks again for you and Heather making the journey with us that weekend. I know it wasn't always easy, but it sure was a ton of fun! Take care amigo, FGramps | ||
| U4euh |
it's about the only way I can keep you pesky Buellers behind me anymore. Uhm, now your just showing off,  | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Yeah, probably true. Cheers. |
