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Copyright 2007 CyclePlane, LLC. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2007 CyclePlane, LLC. All rights reserved.
| Focus on the Customer! Chrissa Pedersen, Part Deux |
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| I rode my new 2007 Hyosung 650cc Avitar, while my husband Mark was on his Moto Guzzi 1000cc Centauro. On our travels Mark is used to getting all the looks at his Anniversary Limited Edition bike. But this time I got the most looks and the most questions. “Hyo-what?” “It’s only a 650?! Wow, looks bigger than that.” “Nice bike. Shure does look a bit like the Harley VRod, don’t it?” |
| This is Harley territory down south and the Pig Heaven Harley Rally was going on in Staunton, pronounced “Stanton” for you Northerners. There were also BMW, Suzuki and Kawaski riders on the Ridge. And they were all curious about a bike most had never heard of or seen before. It was fun being the new kid on the block with the newest toy. This trip Mark and I decided to spend three nights at the Tree Streets Inn B&B in Waynesboro. Followed by, three nights at the Peaks of Otter Lodge at mile marker 86 on the Parkway. Our last night would be at the Bluff Lodge, mile marker 241 just over the North Carolina border. Our idea for this trip was to investigate those vertical side roads that run from the Blue Ridge Parkway down to the valleys and back up into the Allegheny Mountains. We were not disappointed in our choice. |
| We were lucky on this trip because overall the weather was great. Mother Nature waited to thunder and hail until after we had quit for the day and settled in to talk about the days ride. One deluge caught us unawares but luckily there was a gas station nearby where we waited out the lightning strikes. On our last day on the Parkway, we traveled 155 miles south into North Carolina. It was misty and mostly light rain the whole way. Taking shelter during a short-lived downpour, Mabry Mill visitor's center welcomed us with the most excellent fruit cobbler we tasted on our trip. |
| Routes 6, 39, 42 and 43 (south from the Peaks of Otter) were like self-manned roller coaster rides. Banked hairpin turns looked like walls going up the mountain and slides coming down the mountain. Routes 52, 252, 608, 606 and 60 were lots of wide sweepers with views of the valley if you dared look up from the road. Routes 122, 220, 221 and 11 take you through rolling farmland and lake country. And somehow we missed a turn for Route 770 which ended us up on a gravel road with dairy farms. Over all this terrain my Avitar did wonderfully. I had no problem keeping up with Mark on his larger 1000cc bike. The speed limit on the Parkway is 45mph and we found our max speed for the sweepers and blind turns to be about 55 mph. For the vertical roads our speeds varied anywhere from 20 mph to 45 mph and that was white knuckling it. Passing a semi-truck or bus coming in the opposite direction made you hug that outside line. When the road ran out into gravel the Avitar hung in there slipping just a little bit on the hairpins and small crevices carved out by rain. I got full use out of my big fat sassy rear tire with maybe an inch or two to spare on the sides. I never did touch a foot-peg on the whole trip but maybe that’s because I only weigh 125 lbs and am 5’ 3” tall. |
| We averaged about 200-miles a day for a total of 1,800+miles over 9 days. I loved the riding position of the Avitar, legs forward which kept my knees from hurting like they do on a more up-right riding position. I also found I could adjust my body forward or back on the seat to stretch different parts of my back, shoulders and legs. The wide seat was very comfortable and there was plenty of room to strap on a bag to the sissy-bar I added to the bike. The headlight was fine through the one tunnel we encountered. The only addition I would make to the bike after our trip would be a better rear suspension. But for comfort, handling in the turns and highway cruising, I just love my Avitar. With all the interested looks and questions I got, maybe next time we head down south the folks won’t be saying “Hyo-what?” anymore. And perhaps mine won’t be the newest toy on the block but just another Avitar. |
| “Hyo-What?” By Chrissa Pedersen “Hyo-What?” or rather said with a slight southern lilt, “Heeoh-Whut?” That is what we heard at just about every stop we made along the Blue Ridge Parkway on our most recent visit to that jewel of a roller coaster road. I call the Blue Ridge Parkway “Motorcycle Mecca.” That’s because every motorcycle enthusiast should visit it at least once in their life time. It is 469-miles of curvaceous black top with few side roads and spectacular scenery running from Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Carolina – Tennessee border. There are overlooks where mountain ridges fade off into a blue haze. Your wheels cut through the shadows cast by huge vultures that circle in the updrafts caused by the mountains and valleys. Hawks and woodpeckers might swoop across your two wheeling path. Road hazards include turtles, wild turkeys and deer. Larger obstacles are RV’s at the height of camping season. But this June we had the roads virtually to ourselves. |
