Tom,
I was out riding when that freak storm hit too. I was in some of the canyons
west of Boulder so the wind wasn't too bad.
I regularly commute from Boulder to Golden on 93 which is notoriously windy
so I know how you felt. Semi-trailer trucks occasionally get blown over on
their side on this road! I have ridden in really scary winds along there but
the GTS has always performed admirably...
Joe.
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Sheraden [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2001 8:58 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Servicing Issues
Speaking of GTS stability, my Sunday ride was a fine
example. I left the house in Denver early Sunday
afternoon. Sunny, 75 degrees F. Perfect. As I
headed into the mountains, I rode into some cloud and
the temperature dropped slightly. On my way home the
temperature began to plummet and the wind picked up.
Leaving the shelter of mountain canyons and arriving
onto the expansive, Denver plain, I realized that a
major cold front was coming in. Temperatures had
dropped into the 30's F, a very light rain had begun
to fall, and the winds from the north blew steadily at
about 40mph with gusts up to about 75 or 80mph.
Unfortunately, my return route was primarily east, so
the GTS and I were taking the brunt of the crosswinds
at a perpendicular angle. To counteract the wind and
maintain a straight line I pretty consistently angled
the bike at what seemed to be 10 or 15 degrees to the
left. The gusts were displaced my line by 4 or 5
feet.
I was nervous! Occasional dust storms peppered me with
nearly opaque walls of sand and gravel. I kept a lot
of forward pressure on the handlebars, hunkered down
on the GTS, and kept repeating rather hopefully, "this
is an extraordinarily stable bike!"
After about 20 miles of riding through downed tree
branches and other obstacles, I passed through the
cold front and the wind began to subside. I pulled
onto the hard shoulder and called my wife to let her
know I was still alive.
Fifteen minutes later, as I pulled into my driveway,
safe and sound, it began to snow lightly. Enjoying a
hot cup of Ovaltine (seriously)in my comfy leather
chair, I reflected that things might not have gone so
well on another bike.
-ts
p.s. Here's a link to the article on the storm
yesterday. Be sure to cut the full URL.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,11%257E36462,00.html
> At high highway speeds, the KLR & Virago are VERY
> scary compared to the GTS.
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