Bill_VA
05-23-2013, 08:43 PM
I almost forgot to post my video here. As you can tell from the video I was having a really good time. There wasn't a cop in sight, traffic was polite, and conditions were near perfect. This was my third time on the Dragon and last hot run of a long weekend on the twisty roads in WV/TN/NC. I stayed within my limits and the car's limits and didn't put a tire wrong throughout the run. I really like my Kumho tires, could NOT have done this on my Sumitomos.
http://youtu.be/RpOv10Thd78
The GoPro did a really good job in the front grill. I was surprised how smooth the video was. The camera housing did fog up a bit from the heat of the radiator behind it about half way through.
For the audio, I also had a handheld audio recorder with me in the cockpit with one of those foam thingies on it. I blended and edited the audio a bit to reduce the wind noise, and then put it all together in post-production.
My friend, a DC cop and motorcycle instructor, gave me some tips to riding like this. Never cross the center line, you just never know what's coming, and to be honest it's more of a challenge. Also, always ride with your lights on. Finally, don't drive past yours or the car's performance envelope. I didn't have a single "oh crap" moment all weekend.
The first two times I rode the Dragon, I stayed almost exclusively in 3rd gear. I did this for a few reasons: I could easily blast through every curve and straight without shifting and concentrate on driving and staying within my lane, I wasn't looking to set any speed record, and keeping it in third kept the engine power and torque low enough to not worry about breaking traction when I didn't want it to.
This time, the Dragon was the last "ride" of the 5-day weekend, having driven 1000 miles through some other "rides" and wicked curvy roads already. My confidence in myself and the car allowed me to sometimes leave the car in second and really power through some of the curves and redline on some of the short straights (see after I passed that little pokey Ford Ranger at 11:12).
http://youtu.be/RpOv10Thd78
The GoPro did a really good job in the front grill. I was surprised how smooth the video was. The camera housing did fog up a bit from the heat of the radiator behind it about half way through.
For the audio, I also had a handheld audio recorder with me in the cockpit with one of those foam thingies on it. I blended and edited the audio a bit to reduce the wind noise, and then put it all together in post-production.
My friend, a DC cop and motorcycle instructor, gave me some tips to riding like this. Never cross the center line, you just never know what's coming, and to be honest it's more of a challenge. Also, always ride with your lights on. Finally, don't drive past yours or the car's performance envelope. I didn't have a single "oh crap" moment all weekend.
The first two times I rode the Dragon, I stayed almost exclusively in 3rd gear. I did this for a few reasons: I could easily blast through every curve and straight without shifting and concentrate on driving and staying within my lane, I wasn't looking to set any speed record, and keeping it in third kept the engine power and torque low enough to not worry about breaking traction when I didn't want it to.
This time, the Dragon was the last "ride" of the 5-day weekend, having driven 1000 miles through some other "rides" and wicked curvy roads already. My confidence in myself and the car allowed me to sometimes leave the car in second and really power through some of the curves and redline on some of the short straights (see after I passed that little pokey Ford Ranger at 11:12).