Scrapin' pegs at Deals Gap

[cjbear11]

So let me first put the old argument as to whether or not it's possible to scrape pegs on an '83 NH 650 to rest; YES, it IS in fact, possible! Muahaha! It was a blast!

Also, for those who were able to attend the NH rally at Kickstand back in May, you're going to be totally jealous of me. While at Kickstand, I was able to witness the wedding of MO's daughter! It was great! One of the best weddings I've been to in a long time, complete with a fiddle player, fireworks, plenty 'o  , and those balloon candle things! lol.

Talk about a great trip down to the Smokies. The weather was perfect! I can't wait for our Rally next year! Here are some pics from my trip, and a video of me riding Deals Gap. Enjoy!

The wedding:











Blue Ridge Parkway:













Awesome tunnel on BRP:



Deals Gap:











Kickstand, and other pics:















Scraped peg:



One of the reasons I love riding is the way it brings people together. My friend and I ended up riding with these guys on Sunday. On the right is my buddy David. He and I rode down there together. In the middle is Phil from Georgia. We just started talking at Kickstand and decided it'd be fun to hit the road. On the left is Matt. He is actually from Indiana as well, and we met at Deals Gap when he and a few other people were admiring my Nighthawk. So we all rode Deals Gap, Cherohala Skyway, and 28 to Wayah rd. It was a blast!



Matts bike:


Phils Bike:


And finally, here is my video. Right about 7:26 you can see the bike start to get shaky. That's when I scraped the pegs the first time. The initial freak out moment caused me to throttle down for a split second before I hammered it on through. That's why the wheel let go for a second:



It was an awesome trip! I can't wait for the Rally! Loki, I plan to keep up with you man! Hope you all enjoyed the pics and vid!





 

[ariwhiteboy]

Man cj, there aren't even words for the envy I feel in my heart right now!  Looks like a great trip! 

P.S. What's up with the chandelier at Mo's?  Hopefully that's permanent cause it's sweet!

[cmyers]

I am jealous. Glad you had a great time and came home in one peice

[coffee_brake]

Very cool, thanks for posting the pics!

[JB1290]

Looks like a great trip. I'm very jealous.

[Laminar]

And finally, here is my video. Right about 7:26 you can see the bike start to get shaky. That's when I scraped the pegs the first time. The initial freak out moment caused me to throttle down for a split second before I hammered it on through. That's why the wheel let go for a second:

Figures it's when you were showing off for the camera man...I definitely have to get a set of those Metzelers for my Nighthawk.

[LOKi]

Was Mo drunk at the wedding?   

[cjbear11]

And finally, here is my video. Right about 7:26 you can see the bike start to get shaky. That's when I scraped the pegs the first time. The initial freak out moment caused me to throttle down for a split second before I hammered it on through. That's why the wheel let go for a second:

Figures it's when you were showing off for the camera man...I definitely have to get a set of those Metzelers for my Nighthawk.

Those tires are friggin' sweet. They have so much grip it was unreal. I had full confidence going into turns. At the end of the day Sunday, I checked my tires and they had that nice little fuzz going on that told me they were working hard, but had plenty left. I could have pushed them way harder. I had to replace the rear for this trip because I had already worn it down. Turns out 9-10k miles is about it for that tire. They were both new in Feb, but I did do an Iron Butt, as well as many other trips, including a 3k miler out to VT and Maine. So, it actually faired very well.

So I also forgot to post that to cap off the trip, after my final run on the gap, headed down by the lake, I recieved....



LOL! I thought it was humorous. The cop was way cool. This was on a monday at 12 in the afternoon. He was sitting in a turn off after the gap once you get to the lake. He was a younger guy, and it's not like he didn't know what was going on a mile up the road on the dragon. He pretty much told us he was only issuing a warning before I could even shut the engine down. So it seemed like he was just letting everyone do their thing on the dragon without a fuss which was very cool, but once down by the lake it was time to slow it down.

Here is one more shot where you can really see how close my peg is. One more shot and you would have seen sparks. I was scraping pegs left and right on Monday!  

[cjbear11]

Man cj, there aren't even words for the envy I feel in my heart right now!  Looks like a great trip! 

P.S. What's up with the chandelier at Mo's?  Hopefully that's permanent cause it's sweet!

Oh, and they were for the wedding I think Ari

[cjbear11]

Was Mo drunk at the wedding?   

Lol. I think that's rhetorical.   

[Laminar]

LOL! I thought it was humorous. The cop was way cool. This was on a monday at 12 in the afternoon. He was sitting in a turn off after the gap once you get to the lake. He was a younger guy, and it's not like he didn't know what was going on a mile up the road on the dragon. He pretty much told us he was only issuing a warning before I could even shut the engine down. So it seemed like he was just letting everyone do their thing on the dragon without a fuss which was very cool, but once down by the lake it was time to slow it down.

Where was that guy when SoupSkin was trying to catch up to our group? How fast were you going?

I'm sure those Progressive springs are treating you well, too.

[SirSeanSean]

That looks awesome. Out of curiosity, what type of camera mount are you using? I'm looking to buy some tires that have a good amount of grip for corners. What model metzelers are you using?

[Laminar]

Lasertecs, if my memory is any good at all.

[fishball]

Excellent CJ, thanks for sharing.

[hppants]

That brought back some real sweet memories.  Man, I wish I was there right now.

Thanks for sharing with us CJ!!

[LOKi]

So you have found your max lean angle. How do you turn even faster though?

Hint:





Can't wait to see the video.

[SirSeanSean]

Lasertecs, if my memory is any good at all.

Thanks.

[cjbear11]

That looks awesome. Out of curiosity, what type of camera mount are you using? I'm looking to buy some tires that have a good amount of grip for corners. What model metzelers are you using?

I'm using a RAM mount system that I mount to my engine guards. I like it a lot. Mostly vibration free, and you can turn the camera any way you want.

Laminar is correct btw. My tires are Metzeler Lasertecs.

So you have found your max lean angle. How do you turn even faster though?

Hint:





Can't wait to see the video.

Yea I took your advise back in May about leaning off the bike. I tried it while I was in VT and it awesome. I was actually leaning off the bike in these pics. All weekend reallly. It's hard to tell by these pics, but that's how I was able to scrape the pegs. I could lean more though, and that's what I'll be working on for the rest of this year.

[LOKi]

Yea, I can tell your weight is shifted to the inside.

You can see that even better in this shot

You can lean more than that though. When you lean a lot it makes it really hard to drag pegs. The more you lean the less likely you are to drag a peg. I take turns pretty fast and have never dragged a peg. Tell the truth I'm terrified to drag things on a bike. Did it all the time on the scooter but that had maybe a 25% lean before the belly pan hit the ground.

On the street dragging a peg can be very dangerous. If the peg hits something mid turn what happens to the bike. I saw footage of a guy catching his peg on a reflector in the road. Didn't turn out to good for him. It's different on these roads though. They are so smooth that it's unlikely to have anything to screw you up. I do the same thing for the cameras on the dragon. Don't lean off so far so the bike is leaned over more.

[cjbear11]

You can lean more than that though. When you lean a lot it makes it really hard to drag pegs. The more you lean the less likely you are to drag a peg. I take turns pretty fast and have never dragged a peg. Tell the truth I'm terrified to drag things on a bike. Did it all the time on the scooter but that had maybe a 25% lean before the belly pan hit the ground.

On the street dragging a peg can be very dangerous. If the peg hits something mid turn what happens to the bike. I saw footage of a guy catching his peg on a reflector in the road. Didn't turn out to good for him. It's different on these roads though. They are so smooth that it's unlikely to have anything to screw you up. I do the same thing for the cameras on the dragon. Don't lean off so far so the bike is leaned over more.

Yea. You're right. I could lean more. I was really scootin' on the Dragon. I made it to the overlook in about 11 min on my best run. I felt I could have been more effiecient with leaning, and braking though. So that's what I need to practice now. I still have the rest of this year to ride, and I'll be reading up on these topics over the winter.

Dragging my pegs was cool in that I've never done it before, but also a bit freaky. My boot would catch the asphalt everytime.

LOL! I thought it was humorous. The cop was way cool. This was on a monday at 12 in the afternoon. He was sitting in a turn off after the gap once you get to the lake. He was a younger guy, and it's not like he didn't know what was going on a mile up the road on the dragon. He pretty much told us he was only issuing a warning before I could even shut the engine down. So it seemed like he was just letting everyone do their thing on the dragon without a fuss which was very cool, but once down by the lake it was time to slow it down.

Where was that guy when SoupSkin was trying to catch up to our group? How fast were you going?

I'm sure those Progressive springs are treating you well, too.

I was going about 57 in a 40. Like I said the cop was way cool.

I do love my progressive suspension set up.

[SirSeanSean]

Thanks for letting me know about the tires. I think I'm going to get a pair installed this October. I can't wait. And I think that I will pick a Ram mount my self as well. We've got some nice curves in the roads here in VA that I kinda want to show.

[chromy]

CJ,
  Thanks for wetting our appetite for next May!   Also, great job keeping it between the lines!
Chromy

[luckylindy]

Great report and pics.  Now I must go ride some twisties.

[Hangster]

Awesome ride , really liked the vid (nicely done )....

[cjbear11]

Thanks guys!