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DANCE OF THE LEVERS

Turning the key and thumbing the starter button the engine immediately spun over and sprang to life, quickly settling into a smooth idle; the wonder of modern fuel injection. The digital temperature gauge read blank, it would take a few minutes for the engine to warm up and show some numbers in its little window, more than enough time to don helmet and gloves. As the motorcycles engine warmed up, the rider took a walk around looking for anything out of place or abnormal… Oil, tire pressure, lights and other safety checks were already completed.

Mounting the machine and without a thought the rider's left foot swept back the kickstand, as his left hand pulled in the clutch at the same time. In one movement his left foot found the shift lever and stepped down putting the machine into gear with a clunk. With the right hand opening the throttle and the left hand easing out the clutch lever the machine began to move forward slowly at first and then increasing speed at a measured pace, the riders feet found their foot pegs all in practiced and natural manner.

Turning out of the driveway, the rider and machine gained speed quickly, the left foot and hand commenced to shift the motorcycle's transmission into second and then third before coming up to the traffic light at the corner.

With a practiced smoothness the bikes transmission was down shifted to first, the brakes applied and the throttle turned down for the stop. Looking left and right for traffic; the sequence for forward motion was begun again as the rider and machine turned right, this time gaining speed much quicker but just as smoothly as before.

The rider and machine traveled through the morning traffic quietly belying it's capabilities to those who noticed it pass by. Making the trip through the city, the engine and tires began to fully warm up.

Crossing the James River Bridge, the motorcycle's speed quickly reached the legal limit. The rider deftly dodged traffic and crossed over the grating at the center span and began the decent on the other side. Speed now slowly increased from 55 to 70. Without much notice or effort the rider and machine were rolling along at 90, the tach's needle barely reaching the 5000 rpm mark; barely half way to red line.

The sky was clear and no hint of rain in the forecast. The air temperature was in the high 60s and supposed to climb to over 70 as the day went on.

The rider dressed in a full set of armored leathers, with his feet set firmly on the pegs, knees tucked into the tank and his head erect; eyes scanning the road ahead as far as he could see; he was in full control of his ride. The concerns of life, where quickly pushed from his conscious mind, by thoughts of the tasks at hand controlling the high performance machine under him.

Three miles later, reaching the end of the bridge's causeway he slowed the machine back to legal speeds and continued up the road to the next traffic light; once again his feet and hands began the dance of levers without notice or thought. Clutching, braking, throttling and down shifting all at once, the rider’s eyes picking a turn point. Then with the bike slowed it leaned over turned right; all of it seemed perfectly natural to the rider.

Photograph by Charles E Hundley Jr

After the turn the machine gathered speed only to slow once more for another turn. This time the machine turned left but gathered its speed much faster as it rushed toward the next bend in the road a right hand banked turn.

The machine's quiet demeanor now changed as the speed increased, the howl from the exhaust became louder. Downshifting through the gears to second gear from fifth, the throttle rolled off slightly dropping only a few rpms, the rider deftly shifted his weight by sliding over seat to the right; he then put pressure on the right handle bar to turn the motorcycle and set the machine into a lean.

It looked as though it was done too late. But the man and motorcycle dropped into a lean defying gravity. They moved from the left side of the lane to the extreme right side. The motorcycle’s speed raised dust from the inside of the corner as they passed just past the apex of the corner. After passing this point of the pavements edge, the motorcycle began to straighten up from its lean and gain speed at a dizzying pace.

The road now straightened out but climbed up and then fell away. The motorcycle’s acceleration was so hard it lifted the front wheel from the road at the top of the rise. As the machine and rider continued on the front wheel settled back down on earth and began its task of directing the machine on its way.

The rider’s mind now raced ahead to the next turn, when his thoughts where interrupted by a familiar aroma which erupts into his conscious. The smell of fresh cut grass, he instinctively slows the machine. They pass by an old man on a lawn tractor cutting grass on their right. The old man stops and watches the motorcycle go by and waves, the rider waves back.

Now well past homes the machine regains speed quickly. The next corner is a left dropping down and then going up hill; at the top of the hill it sharply turns right leveling off into a straight section.

Abruptly the sound of the machine changes as the rider down shifts; blipping the throttle to synchronize clutch speed with the rear wheel. The engine is now spinning somewhere around 11,000 rpms, the rider shifts to the left of his seat as the machine moves to the right of the lane.

Once again the turn is made looking like it was done too late, the bike leans over and straightens up on the left side of the lane. The rider slides over to the right side of the seat and the bike makes the right hand turn with ease and grace, topping the hill at a speed three times that which was posted on the last sign. The rider eases off the throttle and slows the machine back to legal speed.

The rhythm of corners continues in different patterns throughout the day. The rider's dance of the levers is repeated over and over again. On some sections the machine displays its true capabilities and takes its rider to speeds well over the limits of the law. The rider and machine are enjoying the day.

Photograph by Charles E Hundley Jr

Stopping and taking a break, the rider walks around the machine looking and touching it with a strange reverence and intimacy genuinely saved for a lover or member of the opposite sex. Together they have gone fast and defied the forces of gravity. A team effort between the rider and machine; each one doing its part to make it a safe ride. Only another rider can understand the affection a rider has with the machine under him. It transcends brand and type; the more it's ridden the more it becomes alive and part of the rider.

After the break they roll back onto the road and head out to explore more corners. Rolling down the road the dance of levers begins again and is repeated time and time again.

The machine moves smoothly, the rider controlling it with subtle movements that even other riders don't notice. Motorcycles are deceptive machines, watching a rider on the road belies the amount of physical control and skill required to keep it moving and defying gravity in the corners.

Many folks are drawn to the mystic of the machine, and have found out that it requires more than knowing how the levers work. It's the new riders who learn the hard way, the skills required take time and practice to master, and few do. Learning to stop the machine is the hardest skill to learn, next is the ability to corner the machine at speed.

Riding is fun, but it's serious business too, not for the immature or those who like to show off. A moment of inattention can be deadly on a motorcycle. Overriding your skill level will always end in continuing the rider's education.

The rider is now coming to a straight section of road, which runs for a mile or more, with farm fields on both sides, where the road surface is clean and dry. There's no traffic in sight, a quick check of the mirrors and the rider slides into a full tuck with his chest lying on the bike's fuel tank. His right hand opens the throttle all the way to the stops. The sound of air rushing into the machine's air box and the exhaust sound levels rise to a roar, the tach needle now approaches that red section on its face and the motorcycle accelerates at a mind numbing pace .

The snick of gear changes, with an almost imperceptible drop in engine rpms sends the machine and rider to speeds measured in three digits. The road passes underneath the rider and machine as a complete blur, as if they’re in a time warp. The rider doesn't notice, his eyes are focused way down the road as far as he can see. The view in his peripheral vision is a blur of incomprehensible images. All of his concentration is focused on the task of controlling the machine.

The next corner comes up fast. The rider begins the dance of the levers once more, sitting up braking, downshifting and maneuvering the motorcycle to the outside of the turn to set up for the corner. Down shifting quickly the machine never bucks or wobbles. The front shocks compress under the brakes and then rebound as the brakes are released and the bike enters the turn point. The rider has shifted his body to the inside of the machine, the lean takes an extreme angle. The tires are now being pushed to the limits of traction.

As the bike passes the apex of the corner it comes back to an upright position gaining back the speed it shed entering the corner. It looks like a ballet of rider and machine as they disappear around the bend in the asphalt road. Watching from a distance, the rider and machine disappear blending into the horizon, the wailing sound of the machine slowly leaves, and a deafening silence is left in its place. That is the music which accompanies the "Dance of the Levers".