Joined
·
2,394 Posts
I'm the original owner of a lightly modified 1979 GS 1000. I usually only take it out only once or twice a month to keep the gas fresh. One day I was going to take it up Lookout Mountain, the local Deal's Gap. I was waiting at the light and there were no cars ahead. Sweet. The light was about to change and a Corvette swings through the yellow light in front of me and roars up the mountain.
The light changes and I accelerate smartly behind him. I wish I had my CBR instead of a 25-year-old superbike. But still, 1000 cc's are to be reckoned with, and I came up right behind him. I never realized how wide and how low those new Corvettes were until I rode a bike behind one. The rear tires look like mini steamrollers.
Now the rear tire on my GS is only slightly wider than the front tire on my CBR. Plus they both have tubes and are bias-ply. But I have Works Performance shocks and Progressive front suspension, with a fork brace. I have to brake for the first turn, but not because I was too fast for the turn, but I didn't want to crash into the rear of the Corvette.
He had to slow down because he only had about eight inches of clearance on the driver's side before he would cross the double yellow, and the same on the passenger's side before fiberglass would be kissing the guard rail. A lot different from a race track where the rear end can be slid out. I had about eight feet to manuever in, riding from tire track to tire track as the road bent left and right.
The Corvette owner was working up a sweat, but I was relaxed, going slower than usual and staying right on his tail. Then he had to slow down because a bicyclist was in his path. He was able to get around and thought I would be stuck behind the biker at the curve. But I just went into the other tire track and roared up behind the Corvette. This PO'd the Corvette owner. He was squeeling the tires coming out of every turn (takes a lot of torque to break loose those big meats), but I stayed with him.
About half way up, he pulled over to let me pass. If he knew how old me and my bike were, he probably would have driven off the edge. Coming down the mountain, where instead of horsepower you just need good brakes, the story might have been different. This happened two months ago, but I still feel good about it.
The light changes and I accelerate smartly behind him. I wish I had my CBR instead of a 25-year-old superbike. But still, 1000 cc's are to be reckoned with, and I came up right behind him. I never realized how wide and how low those new Corvettes were until I rode a bike behind one. The rear tires look like mini steamrollers.
Now the rear tire on my GS is only slightly wider than the front tire on my CBR. Plus they both have tubes and are bias-ply. But I have Works Performance shocks and Progressive front suspension, with a fork brace. I have to brake for the first turn, but not because I was too fast for the turn, but I didn't want to crash into the rear of the Corvette.
He had to slow down because he only had about eight inches of clearance on the driver's side before he would cross the double yellow, and the same on the passenger's side before fiberglass would be kissing the guard rail. A lot different from a race track where the rear end can be slid out. I had about eight feet to manuever in, riding from tire track to tire track as the road bent left and right.
The Corvette owner was working up a sweat, but I was relaxed, going slower than usual and staying right on his tail. Then he had to slow down because a bicyclist was in his path. He was able to get around and thought I would be stuck behind the biker at the curve. But I just went into the other tire track and roared up behind the Corvette. This PO'd the Corvette owner. He was squeeling the tires coming out of every turn (takes a lot of torque to break loose those big meats), but I stayed with him.
About half way up, he pulled over to let me pass. If he knew how old me and my bike were, he probably would have driven off the edge. Coming down the mountain, where instead of horsepower you just need good brakes, the story might have been different. This happened two months ago, but I still feel good about it.
nothing like making someone feel like they wasted money 
