Forum Fodder...Dan's Haiku Corner Version 3.0

[Dan Caviness]

RED DEVIL:

I love all MC's...no crotch rocket vs. Harley debate for me!

As a dedicated knee dragger I've ran into some very track worthy Harley's.  They do give up some horsepower, but some of these are fully kitted out with Ohlins suspension, Galfer brakes, steering dampers, slipper clutches, etc., just like my Japanese Liter Bike.  They can dance just fine.

Since I'm just running track days and a little “friendly” club racing as I get older (way too old to race any longer...let the young bucks have the fun and the broken ribs)  I've found over the years that straight line speed has very little to do with the bike's ability.  The same can be said for the rider.  Not to say I haven't pulled a few 1/4 mile runs on her!...;O)

She's good for a mid 10 right out of the box, and mine's had a little "work" as they say.  My usual road racing track is VIR (in Virginia) and we'll hit mid 170's going over the top of the backstretch.  All that's a blast, but making Turn 1 after banging three hard downshifts and sliding your knee?....better...and where you separate the wheat from the chaff.

Running 105 octane (and many dyno sessions) the Honda has run in the high 9’s.  Even with my fat rear holding her back.  Put a 5 foot tall horse jockey on her and it's mid to low 9's.  But that's not my gig really.  Knee dragger, track days, with some instruction and control riding, which is basically trying to keep the young Marines from breaking their necks learning the craft.  Usually just before they are due to deploy over seas...

If I have a pet peeve, it’s against my fellow crotch rocket “riders”.  First of all, the street is NO place to go fast, and every time I happen to be towing a trailer with two or three bikes heading to the track I’ll inevitably see some idiot wearing flip flops, shorts and a tee shirt trying to impress the world pulling triple digit speeds.  Always on a metric bike.  These idiots give us all a bad name.

I’ve owned one Harley, an old FLHR.  Had to sell her because I enjoyed dropping the hammer a little too much on that devil.  Drug some hard parts running canyons back in Cali “in the day”…;O)

Probably going to have to hang up my spurs in a few years…or after my next high side…ouch…
Turns out old men don’t bounce nearly as well as twenty year olds!...;O)

OFF TOPIC and we can take it OFFLINE if it offends.