2008 Vintage Rally at TWO Suches, GA

[indyrick]

Re: Able to attend afterall!

Originally posted by TopCatGr58
Well,

PS, Indy, if this guy can run this Victory Vision thru there, then you should be able to run your Bandit, just maybe not as fast!?

Glad to hear you're heading out TC and good luck with your neck. Sorry to hear about your bout with the neck pain.

Yes, if the Victory can go thru I should be able to. The Bandit is a quick, light turning motorcycle compared to others I've been on and I seem to do relatively well on the faster turns but those tight turns (switchbacks, turns posted 10-15mph) ....I hate those turns..... I'm just not very good on those.

I would like to gain enough skill to be able to enjoy the route I'm on without fighting it so much. I'll be very happy if I can gain that by the end of the rally.

Gary, I'll look into staying an extra day or two.

indy

[mrsixtysix]

Re: Re: Able to attend afterall!

Originally posted by indyrick


The Bandit is a quick, light turning motorcycle compared to others I've been on and I seem to do relatively well on the faster turns but those tight turns (switchbacks, turns posted 10-15mph) ....I hate those turns..... I'm just not very good on those.

I would like to gain enough skill to be able to enjoy the route I'm on without fighting it so much. I'll be very happy if I can gain that by the end of the rally.

Gary, I'll look into staying an extra day or two.

indy

Rick,

Pretty humble statements from a guy who once did over 100 miles of high speed twisties with less than 5psi in his front tire!!

The Bandit is a very smooth and easy performer, I am sure the only problem is experience with this particular bike. You should be able to not only enjoy the route, but look forward to each 10 or 15mph sign!

I hope you can stay...we have a lot of fun in the smaller groups and get to do a little exploring. Here are some photos of Phil, Marty, Bruce and I 'exploring' some red Georgia dirt last year....this road looked killer on the GPS!

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Indy,

I have to say that the Sportbikes I've ridden....not many at all really, have very narrow set handlebars, and because they are designed to handle fast speeds and turns at those speeds, the very slow switchbacks ARE a bit more difficult to maneuver because you actually have LESS turning leveridge with the narrow bars. I have a hard time negotiating small turns and such at slow speeds with my brother's Yamaha 600, and my nephew's 600 that I had the opportunity to ride.

My 11 has Goldwing bars with a 32" wingspread, and so I have plenty of leveridge for handling it as the slow speeds, and am comfortable at the modest speeds that can be attained thru the GAP on the 11.

Of course my bike also has modified steering geometry....~2.5" of trail instead of the 6" stock, due to a front end encounter decades ago that bent my frame's steering neck inwards, so it's lighter steering than a stock 11 anyways!

I cut my teeth on the twisties in NC at the rally in '02 with Gary providing instruction, and just "Played" with it. By the time I returned to Suches in '03 I was able to hang fairly close to Gary on his Bandit at the time. Bruce now rides the Bandit, and MartyA has his Crotchet, I'm still able to run with them most of the time, they don't set too fast/severe of a pace with the larger pack, but they sometimes like to run off alone for a second run with just the advanced riders and machines, I don't bother to try to run with them then!

Try grabbing the bars farther towards the ENDs and see if it feels like you can turn the bars easier on your slow speed maneuvers?? If so, then you "might" want to look into getting a set of bars a little wider to give you more LEVER action?? JAT!?
T.C.

PS I remember a similar Road encounter IIRC on the '03 Suches Rally with Rob leading the way...lots of gravel.....fun!!

[MaximPhil]

Thanks for the pictures of last year Gary. Good memories.
Yes I am coming. Meeting up with MartyA in PA for Friday.
He says we can make good time on the superslab????
New Tires on already. Oil change and plugs this week end.
It will be good to see all the NEW bikes at the Vintage rally
and all the old friends of course.
Maxim Phil

[nashville_bill]

I finally got the Friday off, so I will see y'all on Friday afternoon. I'm getting excited already and it's over a week away. I'm bringing my FJR because I've never been there on it. Hey, it's a yamaha.

See you then!

[Brent]

awards

Bill,

Glad to hear you will be at Suches. I look forward to seeing your modern bike, & riding with you again.

I have ordered a few Classic Japbike awards, which sadly your bike will not qualify for. However you could be in the running for the dreaded Harley Award, If you haul that FJR on a trailer from Nashville.

[MartyA]

FJR does NOT trailer....

[nashville_bill]

I guess I'll have to do without an award because I plan on riding. However, if the weather is rotten, I might stick a bike on the trailer. I should ride Mary's Ninja and get the 70+ MPG.

[Brent]

Other bike awards

"...does not trailer."

"I'll do without the awards...I plan on riding"

Cheers. Cheers! Y'all have expressed the spirit of this rally;

classicjapbike RIDERS association - it is about riding & the people; BS, & tirekicking,etc.

I understand about bring the odd "other brand" bike, or a bike designed & built in different century...My heart goes out to you and former VPs of XS/XJ owners association.

I will see if I can order some "other bike awards" that you can qualify for (besides the dreaded trailer queen harley award).

[mrsixtysix]

I have a 300 mile ride for Sat. I got some input from Brent. Since we have not done the 'Classics' in a few years as a group this will be nice. It includes Deal's Gap, Cherohola Skyway, 28 from Robbinsville to Franklin, and a few other fine roads...not all twisty, but still an all a nice first day ride. Day 2 I have some ideas and a route about 200 miles of stuff a little closer to Suches in case guys want to bug out early. Will have to work on lunch stops and such, but should be OK. Will post here if I can get a final maps stored, may take a day or two, I am working 12 hr every day until I leave so don't count on it!!

Is 300 too much? Do you guys want to Deal's Gap? The Skyway? Any input?

[mrsixtysix]

Well this sucks!! Post from TWO list, no gas available, no store:

Just to let you know that Dales has closed up shop as of last night.
Everything has been cleared out, inside and out.
He needed to go on disability and was not allowed to own a business to do so.
Needless to say, get your fuel/cigs/etc.. before you come up the mountain.
We wish Dale the best of luck...

We'll keep you posted if the store goes back into operation by someone else.

[jetmechmarty]

I was coming home from the XS650 rally in Townsend, TN today, and I got detoured all over the place. I rode the length of the Cherohala Skyway, then to Lake Chatuge via Hayesville. My backside is saddlesore for sure. I have no idea how far we went as my speedo broke on the way up. We were on the bike for 12.5 hours including stops.

[MaximPhil]

Route of Ride Saturday

Hi Y'all,
Having lost my navigator and too cheap to get GPS i will probably be lost in North Carolina Friday night so don't wait up for me Leave the light on though
Gary can you post the route you are planning for Saturday as I might have to join in from the North. Lunch Stop?
See y'all soon
Phil

[jetmechmarty]

Gasoline

I was riding in the area last weekend. The gasoline situation is very bad down here. Most places have no fuel. I stopped everywhere they had it whether I needed it or not. Buying it where I live means a long wait.

[nashville_bill]

There was no gas in the Nashville area over the weekend, but it has improved this week. Now, most stations have gas although it is $3.99 and up. Two weeks ago it cost around $3.50 and down.