Show us your motorcycles

[gondolaguy]

Tapoco, North Carolina
May 22, 2005

Motorcyclist Larry Zoia (aka "Larry in Michigan") shattered the record yesterday on an eleven-mile stretch of US Highway 129 in North Carolina known as the Tail of the Dragon in a display of skill and patience that had motorcyclists and sports car drivers shaking their heads and talking to themselves while law enforcement officers checked the calibration on their radar devices.

Mr. Zoia turned in the longest non-stop time in history for negotiating the 318 turns, riding at speeds that would elicit middle-finger erections, horn-honking and jeers in a supermarket parking lot.

"I've never seen anything like it," one observer noted. "I didn't think a bike could go that slow and still remain upright."

Another observer stated, "It might have been an optical occlusion, but the sun, moving from east to west in the sky, seemed to pass him during the run."

The rider directly behind Zoia said, "Sixty minutes into the run, I knew I was watching history in the making as he entered the third turn, bolt upright, as leaning at that speed would result in a certain crash."

A local law enforcement officer commented, "He didn't register on my radar at all, so I walked along beside him for a while, just to make sure it wasn't a hologram or some other cheap Yankee trick."

At the end of the historic run, another observer commented, "He was so slow, I was looking for a slimey trail behind him."

The light went on simultaneously for all present.

There was a new sheriff in town.....and he was called

"The Snail of the Dragon".

---

I'd like to believe that a Wing holds the record for Tail of the Dragon, but my knowledge of physics makes me think it's more of an urban legend. There's no question experience counts, but a modern sport bike just has huge advantages in weight, stopping power, acceleration, CoG, etc. Here's how a modern race bike looks in real time, imagine going off at Isle of Mann http://vimeo.com/53551115