Dark and Gray ..............
.......... was a Gray Horse kinda' day!
Several years ago, I bought a Dark Horse from Gregory Polaris in AR. This was their first one off the truck and my original plan was to create a "Bomber" out of it, similar to the Kings Mountain model. But, I didn't think we could do it justice so I opted to have them repaint to change it up and keep it stripped down. They put some beach bars on it, I had a Corbin seat custom built to push me back an extra 2+ inches, and we lowered the boards. A Dirty Bird 2 into 1 exhaust, Stage 2 A/C and eventually, Stage 2 Cams finished it off. It looks like no other that I've seen and I no longer refer to it as a Dark Horse; I renamed it "Gray Horse!"
Today was a windy one, 82 deg and sunny. I needed to run out to my sisters for a quick visit so I jumped on it and took the long way. The route I took was similar to the Ninja route I discovered a few days ago. I spent most of the ride at a high rate of speed, pushing the bike through the corners with a smile on my face. However, this bike has one glaring difference from my others. The boards are lowered and I've got leather on the outside edge with a butt load of fringe hanging off them. So, when you go through a tight corner you're not scraping, but sort of .... tugging. You can feel the leather actually grabbing and it does it often since those boards are down lower. Anyways, I just don't push it as hard as the Chieftain.
For the most part it was uneventful except for one corner that had me puckering. I was coming in at a high rate of speed when as I entered into a right hand sweeping turn, I found myself going over a hump of sorts and now the bike is lifting up. At 80mph I'm floating and then .. compressing the suspension as I come off it and back into the corner, or what's left of it. Problem is I'm in a turn and the boards are grabbing more than expected because I just compressed the suspension and I can't get it turned.. That center line is now underneath both tires and in front of me, I've got a vehicle approaching me from the other direction! Well, the good news is, I kept it out of their lane ( well.. .sort of) and they looked to be going the speed limit. I can only imagine what they were thinking seeing a 1/2 ton of man and metal headed at them as I'm trying my damnedest to avoid a head on collision. As I flew by 'em, I was shaking my head (pissed off at myself) and waving at them, letting them know I was the moron and ... well .... ..sorry! I hit that same spot on the Ninja a few days ago, doing at least 10mph faster and it didn't phase the bike. Point being .. I was more than surprised!
The other thing was, it was a friggin' windy day out there today! Doing 90mph down some of these roads, with a strong wind slamming you from a 90deg angle is a bitch. More than once as I was going through some treed areas, and I got nailed not with not just leaves, but small tiny branch tips breaking off. That shit hurts! Doesn't help that the bike has no windshield. Which reminds me; I need some ear plugs. The wind noise is brutal with no windshield. Maybe some of them custom fit ones you see at the rally's. And, can't hurt when riding long distance and the drone of a good exhaust will wear you out as well?
One more great day of riding, in the record books!
Several years ago, I bought a Dark Horse from Gregory Polaris in AR. This was their first one off the truck and my original plan was to create a "Bomber" out of it, similar to the Kings Mountain model. But, I didn't think we could do it justice so I opted to have them repaint to change it up and keep it stripped down. They put some beach bars on it, I had a Corbin seat custom built to push me back an extra 2+ inches, and we lowered the boards. A Dirty Bird 2 into 1 exhaust, Stage 2 A/C and eventually, Stage 2 Cams finished it off. It looks like no other that I've seen and I no longer refer to it as a Dark Horse; I renamed it "Gray Horse!"
Today was a windy one, 82 deg and sunny. I needed to run out to my sisters for a quick visit so I jumped on it and took the long way. The route I took was similar to the Ninja route I discovered a few days ago. I spent most of the ride at a high rate of speed, pushing the bike through the corners with a smile on my face. However, this bike has one glaring difference from my others. The boards are lowered and I've got leather on the outside edge with a butt load of fringe hanging off them. So, when you go through a tight corner you're not scraping, but sort of .... tugging. You can feel the leather actually grabbing and it does it often since those boards are down lower. Anyways, I just don't push it as hard as the Chieftain.
For the most part it was uneventful except for one corner that had me puckering. I was coming in at a high rate of speed when as I entered into a right hand sweeping turn, I found myself going over a hump of sorts and now the bike is lifting up. At 80mph I'm floating and then .. compressing the suspension as I come off it and back into the corner, or what's left of it. Problem is I'm in a turn and the boards are grabbing more than expected because I just compressed the suspension and I can't get it turned.. That center line is now underneath both tires and in front of me, I've got a vehicle approaching me from the other direction! Well, the good news is, I kept it out of their lane ( well.. .sort of) and they looked to be going the speed limit. I can only imagine what they were thinking seeing a 1/2 ton of man and metal headed at them as I'm trying my damnedest to avoid a head on collision. As I flew by 'em, I was shaking my head (pissed off at myself) and waving at them, letting them know I was the moron and ... well .... ..sorry! I hit that same spot on the Ninja a few days ago, doing at least 10mph faster and it didn't phase the bike. Point being .. I was more than surprised!
The other thing was, it was a friggin' windy day out there today! Doing 90mph down some of these roads, with a strong wind slamming you from a 90deg angle is a bitch. More than once as I was going through some treed areas, and I got nailed not with not just leaves, but small tiny branch tips breaking off. That shit hurts! Doesn't help that the bike has no windshield. Which reminds me; I need some ear plugs. The wind noise is brutal with no windshield. Maybe some of them custom fit ones you see at the rally's. And, can't hurt when riding long distance and the drone of a good exhaust will wear you out as well?
One more great day of riding, in the record books!
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| Gray Horse |
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