Uncovered the Hot Rod today, put air in the tires, key in the ignition, opened the petcock, lifted the CR carbs choke a hair, switched ignition on, thumbed the starter, and VROOM! Let the bike warm up while I suited up, then headed for the gas station to fill up with high octane. From the station I headed north to the twisty back roads. I took it easy for the first 20 miles or so, then decided to have some real fun.
(I wish that I could show you a map of the ride I took today. I tried to copy a map from MapQuest and highlight the route, but couldn’t figure out how to do it.)
Anyway, the roads I chose were rolling with MANY tight turns. I was heavy on the throttle, late braking, and hard on the throttle as I came out of the apex. A few power wheelies were appropriate in some sections and the front wheel always felt light through 2nd and 3rd gear. No knee dragging, but close in some turns. Decided to see what 90+ HP could really do in the straight sections and up the hills. The roads were too tight to do more than 80 MPH, but it got there in a hurry! Perfect weather let the Hot Rod really run well. I was on top of the rev limiter from 2nd up to 4th and it was all GO! My timing into the turns felt perfect and smooth. Powering out of the turns was great fun and scanning the road and chasing through the gears kept me busy. I established a nice rhythm as the 30 plus year old bike did what I was thinking. (high praise for the YSS rear shocks and Progressive fork springs)
I didn’t want to stop, but I was near the end of my loop and the tank was getting low from all of the hard riding (I am lucky if I got 25 MPG). On the last straight section I looked behind me and the road was empty. I came to a complete stop, revved the bike to 5K and dropped the hammer, 1st gear (wheel spin), 2nd gear (wheelie), 3rd gear (rev limiter), click up to 4th and hang-on brother! Let’s do that again the Hot Rod asked. Okay…. One more run.
Sparty
