Cobras, RIP?

[SCOBRAC]

My Cobra is, aside from a boyhood dream ( I was born in 1966), a replacement for a 1000cc sport bike I had to sell when I bought a house in 1996.

It was fast, 150 mph, 0-60 in 3.2 seconds and ran 1760 feet in under 12 seconds... It was potentially dangerous. 75% of all these bikes were crashed in the first 24 months they were on the road. I look at the car the same way I looked at that bike, with a sliver of fear, a good deal of respect and a certain amount of caution. I look at my car the same way, except the car is more dangerous from the standpoint that it draws a good deal more attention than any bike ever could. Good and bad.

Fortunately I lived out most of my speed racer fantasies in my youth. Yes. I street raced, I raced trains, I evaded the cops in high speed pursuits, went 120 mph in the fog with 1000 feet visability. (120 fps gives you less than 10 seconds to react). God only knows why I am not dead and nobody got hurt. I think it was in large part luck, small part skill and perhaps the ignorance of youth.

Even still this car scares me. But not enough to sell it. Samuel Clemmons once defined courage, not as the absence of fear but what you do with it... If you aren't of afraid of a car that essentially trumps a Busch series (and some Nextel Series Cup.. Yes Nextel) car, with 1500 additional pounds of steel and a full cage you are a fool.

The list of dead drives is long and distinguished who bounced checks the cars they were driving, or the tracks they were racing on couldn't cash. Two of my biggest heros come to mind, Ken Miles and Derek Bell. It might be as simple as a bird strike, a rock or debris cutting a tire. I was once nearly killed by a bumble bee...

At 100 mph on my Ninja I was going through the Napa Valley. Helmet on, visor down except for a 3/4" gap to get some air. I saw it coming, got ready for the strike lowered my head a little (it was going to make a huge splat on my helmet) It hit me square on the cheek and exploded on my face. Now this was a bumble bee, the big fat black and yellow kind. It almost couldn't fit in the gap in my visor, but it did. Had I not seen it I would have fallen off the bike. With a closing speed of 120 mph the bee strike felt like I had been hit in the face by a 2x4.

I think my point is it can happen anyplace, at any time. It has happened to better drivers to us and will happen again. Be prepared to react. Have a plan. know how much throttle it takes to induce oversteer. Practice at 25 or 35 miles an hour on a deserted street or better yet private property. Know the limits of adhesion on the tires you drive, know what it feels like when they are slipping, because the are whether you know it or feel it.

Be safe,