TIME for the DRAGON ! . . . (pics)

I've wanted to go to Deal's Gap 129 for years and finally a plan with my brother (Harley Dyna) and a friend (ZZR1200) was somewhat coming together. Time off work, rentals, hotels, and other details were so up-in-the-air, that I didn't start a pre-ride thread here. Turns out my bro couldn't make it. Plans quickly simplified -

Box U-Haul - - $1,200 and 10 MPG !!
U-Haul trailer for 2 bikes - - $39 a day
Last minute airline tickets - - $550 each
Rental ADV bikes like the V-Strom - - $200 a day
Rental Harleys - - $90 - 190
camping - - as low as $15.00 a day
Hotel - - ranging from $59 - 139 and even higher.

So I convince my friend that my old Utility Trailer with new bearings and tires will make the 1,200 miles without fail, and we carried 3 spare tires and plenty of tools. This allowed us to ride the bikes we were familiar with and not have to ride 600 miles in one day just to get there. It took a couple days to get the trailer set to go, with wheel chocks and "Canyon Dancers" on the handlebars. The bikes were strapped-in from 4 directions and only needed the most minor strap adjustments.



- '06 FJR - - - '02 ZZR1200 -




My bike will be the blue FJR for this trip as it has anti-lock brakes and huge luggage capacity. (and grip heaters, 145 HP, seat-heat, huge windscreen, fuel injection, combined brakes, Pilot Road II's , lights that work . . . )
(OK - I never did a write-up on the FJR )

The Kawasaki has Pirelli Angels, top box, taller windscreen, extended handlebars.

 

2:00 AM thursday 24th, bikes are loaded, bags packed - who needs sleep !
Getting an early start ensures that we can get a hotel room and be rested for Fri morning - we didn't want to be on "The Dragon" on the weekend.
On the way up 75 we stopped in at Robins AFB South of Atlanta for a FREE admission air museum. 4 buildings and planes outside, you could spend 6 hours there. There's a SR-71, U-2, B1 a, and plenty more. With lunch we killed enough time to avoid Atlanta's noon rush hour.

We make our way into a beautiful State Park campground that has rental cabins overlooking a mountain stream, but we can only have an overnite stay, so we leave and end up in Blairsville (I think) in a pretty nice Best Western. We stay there 2 nights. $89.00 includes pool, breakfast, innanet, we were prepared for much more Spartan digs.

Fri. Morning comes and we decide to exercise the bikes before hitting "The Dragon". I had been running 93 Octane for a couple tanks to get my bike ready, but honestly, I didn't notice a difference. The altitude change was supposedly going to mess with the computer mapping, but there were no hiccups outside of the bike stalling when the clutch was pulled, while riding.
That only happened 4-5 times, then went away.

((thread-building in progress - my computer is running real buggy))

 

All I get is adds. (

 

Nice, I took two road trips through Deals Gap when I lived in Florida. I didn't even end up in the hospital on one of those trips!

Why not just post the photos as image links into your post, rather than link us to your photobucket page?

 

I loved the tail of the dragon. It was so much fun. My parents live at the bottom end of the North Carolina side, so every year my family and I go visit and I take a few rides.

 

Its a great place to ride, I go there every year in the fall. Can't wait to go, just made my hotel reservations today.

 

I've ridden it many times. Take your time and it's a lot of fun. Ride like a fool and you might just become one of the 5-6 fatalities they have each year. I saw more cars this year than in the past, and that means you must be even more careful.

 

I rode it on my Norton back in '80 and '81 before it had gained its current level of fame. It's become too popular, you can't hold little "personal TT's" like you used to be able to.

Still worth the ride.

So is the whole Shenandoah Valley/Skyline Drive - Blue Ridge Parkway run. That's just for sightseeing, but what sights to see! Highly recommended.

 

I'll cut to the chase -

Fri afternoon we finally rode The Dragon, and it was alot like this :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc74LM7tkQI

(except slower)

But there were absolutely NO cops, and we shared the road with "The Annual Miata Club Meet" which had SCCA Race Prepared Miatas with roll cages and sticky tires, along with Harley Baggers riding 2-up, and Mini-vans driving slow. And a wide variety of sportbikes.

There are many, little "pull-off's" and you are expected to use them so you don't spoil someone else's fun with your slowness. The tighter turns are marked ahead of time with "slow down" painted on the road, possibly by the Miata Club, as the markings didn't look "Official".

"Use second gear!!" They got THAT right ! I was using FIRST in uphill hairpins a couple times. Some 3rd gear while going downhill and on the few places where the road straightens out a bit. I was expecting strict enforcement of the 30 MPH speed limit, and was surprised to see none of that. Maybe the cops are out on the weekends??

We had PERFECT weather due to an unusual cold front that brought record low temps, lower humidity and clear skies. I saw 60* in the mountains on Sunday afternoon!


THE DRAGON !!

Scenic overlook mostly filled with low clouds

A better view of The Smokies

And this is where God put a bunch of leftover boulders ;-)

 

It's the trucks you gotta watch out for, thats what got me my first time through there. Maybe they finally banned heavy vehicle traffic, but I doubt it as it still a state highway. Glad you had fun.

 

I believe this is from the Nat Geo channel. Not a bad idea for people to check out before hitting the Dragon.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=K16YnmJN0fc

The part about the trucks starts at about the 5 min mark. Truckers using the new GPS technology are mistakenly taking the dragon more and more as a possible short cut not realizing how tight are the curves.

Anybody ever taken there vintage SECA through it? How well did your Norton handle on the Dragon Fitz?

 

2 trips to the dragon with my 81 Seca 750, 2001 and 2011. Each time I rode there from PA via the Blue Ridge Parkway. Dragon is an amazing road and each time I was impressed with the way the bike handled. Always wished I had more time at the Dragon to ride at off peak times with no traffic.

 

Here's a couple videos showing a high level of law enforcement -

busted for holding a small camera

more than a cop-a-mile