GoldWing World    

Fuzzy Gapping

On May 14-20'th I took my FZ1 to Deal's gap to meet with the FZ10A riders group. Due to the additions / changes I've made they nicknamed my bike the "Fuzzy-Wing" which made me grin since I am after all an old GoldWinger at heart (G) ... This is a quick chronicle of the events and my experiences riding the area.

I towed my bike because I was delivering some air conditioners to a friends cabin near Lake Toxaway NC and because the highway really eats up a sport-bike tire and mine were getting pretty worn after the Iron Butt I had just finished the weekend before anyway - upon arriving in Toxaway I rode the local roads like 276 and the Blue Ridge parkway. While riding these I discovered the Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground at http://www.blueridgemotorcyclecamp.com  - if you've never been there I HIGHLY recommend it. Nicer then T.W.O. in my opinion!

After a few days of this it was time to head for Deal's Gap (US 129) and meet my FZ10 buddies, so back on the trailer the old boy went, and off I was again - hauling a truck and trailer across roads best suited for a bike. Talk about God's country! As I arrived in Robbinsville and got directions to Fontanna Village where we would be staying it began to rain which it threatened us with the rest of the weekend. In fact as I arrived rain was pouring down and I unloaded the bike and settled into the cabin in the rain. Fontanna Village (which doesn't appear to have a web site) was most likely created as homes for those working on Fontanna dam and is currently used as camp-grounds and cabins for large groups visiting the area. Lots of fishing and river activities take place around here as well as the sport-car and motorcyclist roads so this is a busy area ...

Later that Friday we all headed out on the still-damp streets and took a trip along the Cherohola Skyway http://www.main.nc.us/graham/cherohal.html  into Tennessee where we saw our first wreck of the weekend. A 40+ lady on a GL-1800 GoldWing Trike had lost it around a corner and flipped her Trike. One of our members was a first-responder so as we stopped and controlled the accident scene he assessed her condition and prevented the idiot-passerby's from removing her helmet, moving her etc. until the ambulance arrived. Turns out she had a broken arm, collarbone and ribs but appeared to be fine otherwise.

Going down and back across the Gap (hwy 28) for the first of many passes that day was uneventful from that point on and I was impressed with the FZ1 riders - most of them, like me were middle-aged long-time riders who had taken track days, liked riding fast but not too aggressively and knew what they were doing. A few pushed a bit more then might be safe on the street (and two of those had minor incidents during the weekend) but all wore great safety gear and knew their limits and how to stay safe. Like Gold Wingers the FZ's in question were outfitted uniquely - each custom tailored to his or her owners individual tastes - from drag-strip rigs to sport-touring set ups and everything in between there was every variation you can imagine. Also present amount the 70+ riders was Ivan of Rockland Motorcycle http://www.ivansperformanceproducts.com who makes some awesome performance kits for the FZ. He had his 150 HP (at the rear wheel mind you) FZ1 there he was letting anyone ride and also donated a ton of door prizes ... Great guy!

After riding all day it was time for the cookout and door prizes - with 50+ awesome prizes including new sets of tires and a FastBag most of us won something! Good food and friendship, just like WOTI gatherings led me to the conclusion that ALL bikers are fun not just Wingers (G)

Saturday looked gloomy and we went for another ride across the Cherhola since we'd been restricted the day before - my tires were pretty trashed from all the runs on the Dragon the day before but I didn't realize HOW badly worn until I hydroplaned twice coming down the mountain in the rain and finally had to slow down to stay safe. Coming back across the Gap for one last run on my now shot tires I saw the first accident that I truly can say 'could not have been avoided' by the cyclist. A car driver had reached down for a bottle of water and run out of his lane T-boning a rider on a black Triumph Trophy JUST as he came around a corner where he could have seen the car - even if he'd been looking there was nowhere to go and nothing to do except what he did: bounce off the car's windshield! One ironic thing - the sign you can JUST see in my mirror says "the place to put your two wheels down" ... heck of a place to put your bike down, eh?  One broken wrist, bruised ankle and a busted bike later he was off to the hospital with the car driver mumbling apologies and us all glaring at him. The Dragon is the last place to take your eyes off the road, much less start fumbling around for a water-bottle on!

Loading up I took my bike and shagged tires back to Texas, where I long for the roads I've left behind. The FZ1 is an awesome touring machine (as I proved by doing the Iron Butt on her) except for tire wear which is only about 4-6,000 miles but is really in it's element on roads like the Dragon.

Comfort with sport-bike like handling and the ability to modify the bike to meet almost any need make the FZ a bike above most. While I love my Wing (which alas is for sale now) it was always lacking in the corners and a bit heavy around town - so far with the exception of rain protection my FZ1 appears to be a much better fit for my needs. Now if I can just get moved to North Carolina ...