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Nick Comstock
Nick Comstock MegaDork
12/15/21 8:53 p.m.

E21 BMW 320is in the north Carolina hills near the dragon. 

RevRico
RevRico GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
12/15/21 8:54 p.m.

Rallycross

California back roads in the miata is a close second though

80sFast
80sFast Reader
12/15/21 8:58 p.m.

Letting my son drive on my lap. 

jerrysarcastic (dork in training)
jerrysarcastic (dork in training) Reader
12/15/21 9:20 p.m.

My first car was a '63 bug with 1200cc engine. By definition it could not break the speed limit in most situations. Sure was a lot of fun though!

msterbeau
msterbeau New Reader
12/15/21 11:09 p.m.

I don't understand this question.  Speed limit?  

My experiences are along the same lines and many others so far. Small-displacement motorcycles are always a ton of fun, and you feel like you are going fast no matter what the situation. My little 350cc air/oil-cooled Suzuki feels waaaay faster than it probably is. Several years back a few buddies and I made a day of starting at the moto cafe for coffee, riding the twisties to our local air museum, checking out all the planes, riding more twisties to a spot for a bite, and on the way back there was a looooong fairly steeply downhill straight, so I gunned it in sixth, full tuck, and saw the needle bouncing around the fabled ton. Next stop I was crowing about getting up to 100mph and the rest of the guys were beyond dubious with their insistence that my speedo must be *very* optimistic. Still tons of fun even if at the flattest of flat-out it reads 100 at 75-80, and normally is under the limit:

I also have fond memories of trying my best to maintain momentum in my beloved metallic brown Toyota Starlet on twisty mountain backroads. It had a bit of weight reduction, and plenty of period tire for the weight (185/60-13 Yoko A008) but the drivetrain was stock, with the anemic 1.3 pushrod, single-downdraft carb 4K-C and the crazy-tall fuel-mileage final drive, so every drive felt like a victory if you could maintain or build momentum. laugh

The other one that is always fun is TSD rally. When it is nighttime, dark and maybe damp, possibly on a gravel road, and certainly a twisty road, and you have already taken a wrong turn and are running a couple minutes behind, and still need to keep an eye out for road signs, tricks and traps and the like, going anywhere near the speed limit feels like plaid speed.

Nick Comstock
Nick Comstock MegaDork
12/16/21 5:31 a.m.

On the two wheel side I'm gonna say my little 883 Sportster in east TN. The thing was far from fast,  had very little cornering clearance but was a blast to ring its neck around those tight twisty two lanes.  I would be hanging off the side,  scraping pegs and pipes like crazy then roll on the throttle through the corner and it would get all angry and shake its head in protest as the chassis got all twisted up all while barely keeping up with the local drivers that grew up on those roads.  That was fun. 

jh36
jh36 Dork
12/16/21 6:40 a.m.

My cb550k as a young fellow. It was just a joy to be out and free. 

madmrak351
madmrak351 New Reader
12/16/21 10:52 a.m.

Absolutely agree with the small displacement motorcycle, especially the Ninja250. Western vacations have provided some fun drives. Colorado’s million dollar hwy in a motohome with a trailer. A California mountain back road kind of like the tail of the dragon only about 75 miles long. First my wife said can you slow down some I am getting queasy. Then About 10 miles later she said that doesn’t help any speed back up. Also a late fall ride up an abandoned beach in Oregon in a Taurus rental. No one in sight for miles firm packed sand and about 6 or 7 parking brake initiated spins just for giggles.

gearheadE30
gearheadE30 Dork
12/16/21 11:38 a.m.

My CX500. Maybe 45 horsepower if I'm lucky, and redline in 4th is ~80 mph meaning you get to shift a lot. It's not the slickest transmission, but the ratio spacing is nice and tight and the V twin sounds wonderful through that Supertrapp. Knobby tires means you get to feel it squirm and wiggle even at sane speeds. Agreed on the comments about California back roads too, but I've always driven them in cars that had no problem going quite a bit faster.

(at a buddy's place for a get together; those aren't all mine lol)

 

Tom1200
Tom1200 UltraDork
12/16/21 11:55 a.m.

All of my small bore motorcycles have been two strokes so they were easily capable of exceeding the speed limit and very easy to get it trouble on.  Modified Yamaha RD350s tend to turn one into a hooligan. 

I'd forgotten about my wife's Geo Prism; we are a very tight twisty road following some friends in their Spitfire and MGB and the little Prism was great fun to hustle along at 45 mph. 

 

MadScientistMatt
MadScientistMatt UltimaDork
12/16/21 1:16 p.m.
gearheadE30 said:

My CX500. Maybe 45 horsepower if I'm lucky, and redline in 4th is ~80 mph meaning you get to shift a lot. It's not the slickest transmission, but the ratio spacing is nice and tight and the V twin sounds wonderful through that Supertrapp. Knobby tires means you get to feel it squirm and wiggle even at sane speeds. Agreed on the comments about California back roads too, but I've always driven them in cars that had no problem going quite a bit faster.

(at a buddy's place for a get together; those aren't all mine lol)

 

Wait... you made a CX500 into a dual sport?  I've only seen one picture of setting one up for dirt use before. I had one in street trim for a while - my first motorcycle, actually.

Mr_Asa
Mr_Asa PowerDork
12/16/21 1:58 p.m.

Only happens when I have people in the vehicle with me.  Those situations can be driving 18 hours round trip to get fireworks and bring them on a military base, or taking a girl out on a date who was a lot more "liberated" than I was at the time, but they always involve other people.

wspohn
wspohn SuperDork
12/16/21 4:47 p.m.

Whupping my friends in their big noisy V8 powered cars, with my antiquated MG in the autocross.  cheeky

Even though it doesn't seem like it, driving one of these monsters:

 

We convoyed for two hours out in the boonies in central Florida for a week long excercise. The cab of the LMTVs is basically a steel box. It was loud, uncomfortable and extremely hot (no a/c). I was pulling a full water buffalo so I could only do 54mph (57mph downhill).

Once we got to the site, I was to drive out to a remote location and set up a tent with comm equipment. The roads were not maintained very well and parts were pretty rough. I had to air down the tires and go veeeeery slow otherwise it would beat you to death. I didn't care though. It was a blast!

malibuguy
malibuguy GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
12/18/21 4:52 p.m.

a "street race" between my 83 malibu with a 229v6 and a 1.9L 94ish Escort automatic...no one knew we were racing getting to the highway speed limit in these cars was a double-digit journey.  I won round 1, before round 2 the passenger in the Escort got in my Malibu.  Then the Escort won.  That was like 5 years ago and we still talk about it to this day.  BTW the wins were basically half a car length at 60mph

 

Shaun
Shaun Dork
12/18/21 7:37 p.m.

On lovely summer day a few years back I was driving my 96 civic hatch which is on somewhat lower eibach springs with 4 wheel disk brakes from the si shod with 15" RPF1s and some kind of sticky 205 section tires (it looks gearhead in other words) on the way to the Nesstucca River from Portland Oregon.  At a stop sign in one stop sign Yamhill I was greeted by a parade every cool old  fast road and street legal racecar ever rolling through the stop sign making a left down the road I was headed on.  After a couple minutes of very much enjoying the moving automotive history and just after a 60s Red Ferrari of some sort or another a perfect silver Porsche 356 convertible stopped and waved me in.   I took my cue and rolled along with the the parade waving at the folks watching along the route and as well as the befuddled rally volunteers at check points.  It was very civilized 30-40 mph stuff through Willamette valley wine country then over the coast range to the sea.  They didn't want trouble with anybody.  It is a great road-  I know why they chose it.  The guy in the 356 gave me a lifetime accessible smile.   

irish44j (Forum Supporter)
irish44j (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
12/18/21 10:46 p.m.

I could tell you, but this is a family-friendly forum. 

*aside* from that,  basically any country backroads in the Porsche, or any ski trip on unplowed snowy roads when I had my WRX on Blizzaks. 

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