Any tips for taming the 'Dragon'?

[Mike on a Trike]

Finless, as one who spent most of his life in CA, AND has driven the Dragon on multiple occasions, a couple of thoughts:

1) You are absolutely correct, that the the mountains out west are bigger and craggier than in the east, and there are many fun mountain roads in CA

2) There are many fun twisty rides in the country, but I have never been on any road that is nearly as challenging as the Dragon....it is constant turning back and forth with rolling terrain and on some turns roads that bank away from turns, etc.....not big fast sweepers, but tight hairpins. From my perspective, it is like a rollercoaster. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea as all have different tastes, but I have extremely fond memories. And, as others have said, there are several other roads in the area that have less traffic, are faster with big sweepers that provide an opportunity to take in the beautiful landscape there in the Smokeys.

If you haven't been, take the opportunity sometime and you will discover what the buzz is about.

[BikerDoc]

Go do the Snake less traffic and cops. 100 miles north Shadyvalley TN. Same amount of turns.

I thought the Rattler was much better than the dragon

[clinard]

Thoughts for riding the Dragon...heavy on the mayo light on the mustard
Ride according to your ability.
If an oncoming rider pats the top of his helmet LEO's ahead.
Dragon Pitt has some outstanding bar-b-que

Other roads worthy of riding:

*The Devils Triangle North of Oak Ridge TN


The hwy 62 and the hwy 330 legs of the ride are pretty tame. However, the 116 connecting leg can get the heart pumping in places.


http://www.devilstriangletn.com/


*The Snake North of Johnson City TN


Centers around Shady Valley Country Store,


http://www.shadyvalleycountrystore.com/


* Back of the Dragon


VA Route 16, two lane road over the three mountains between Marion and Tazewell, Virginia.


http://backofthedragon.com/


*The Diamondback & The Devils Whip Little Switzerland NC


226A is the best part of the loop.


http://www.diamondbacknc.com/


http://www.thedevilnc80.com/store.html


*The Rattler Lake Junaluska, NC to Hot Springs NC


Some folks will add a trip to the Bobarosa Saloon at Del Rio TN onto the ride. Best part of the ride is from Ferguson Supply at Fines Creek NC to Hot Springs NC. Ferguson Supply is a good stop for food, gas and goodies.


*The Wheels Through Time Museum Maggie Valley NC


A really good place to visit. Lots of antique motorcycles that you normally only get to see photos of. Plan on at least 1/2 day or more.


http://www.wheelsthroughtime.com/


*The Copperhead Loop Near Ashville, NC


http://www.motorcycleroads.com/75/13...head-Loop.html


*Six Gap North GA near Blairsville GA.


Worth riding once I wasn't overly impressed by it. Good scenery. One place worth a stop is the grave of "Princess Trahlyta" The web site belows gives the legend. Be sure to take a rock with ya.


http://www.cherokeegold.net/stonepilegap.html


http://www.sixgap.com/


*Moonshiner 28 Starts at the Deals Gap Store.


http://www.moonshiner28.com/

[MarkLawson]

Ride it both directions, as it is two different rides on the same road. Ride your ride, not someone else's. Be safe and stay in your lane. Never speed in excess of your visual stopping distance, as there are plenty of blind curves. There are a ton of potential reasons for traffic to come to a stop, including accidents and big rigs that were just following their GPS's and find themselves in a curve too sharp to stay in their lane or stay in the road.

Just keep your eyes open & enjoy!

[Deer Slayer]

If you drag body parts, yours or Spyder's you are in trouble!

[finless]

Bob

[Deanna777]

There are many pull-offs on the Tail of the Dragon, if you are holding someone up pull off! STAY IN YOUR LANE! or risk injury. Have fun! Check this site:http://tailofthedragon.com/

Thanks for link to the Tail of the Dragon. Some day I will ride the " The Tail of the Dragon" This is on my bucket list. Deanna

[markyodo]

We just did "Ohio's Tail of the Dragon", Ohio SR 555 ("the Triple Nickel") 2 up on an RT SE6.
This is where the semi auto transmission came in real handy.

The "lean" was critical to my comfort. Looking ahead to where my end point was in the turns. Expecting the unexpected. Plenty of defensive driving on the blind turns.
Overall I was impressed with my stock RT performance. Even with the weight almost at full capacity the Spyder didn't waiver even when pushing the throttle through the tight turns.

Enjoy the ride.

[MarkLawson]

There's always Florida...

[ARtraveler]

Did one of my Dragon's today. Kept it between 40 and 30 mph depending on where. Posted 35 and 25 depending on where. Met 3 cars in 20 miles. Great day for riding in the mountains. I don't cross the center line and there is no room for error when it comes to the edge. Most of it is cliff and ravine. Slow and safe is the way I like this stretch.

EDIT: I have at least two Dragon Type rides for the North to Alaska travelers. I am going to show them off at normal speeds. There may be some that want to try them "after hours." It will be light here until 2:00 AM or so while they are here.

We will see what they have to say about the Alaska Dragons after they try a ride.

[ARCTIC]

Anyone who's ridden both care to compare the tail of the dragon to bear tooth?

[doctorlbug]

I have a cabin in the area of the dragon and Cherohala.
I have riden both. If you want a leisure scenic view with pull off's just to enjoy the mountains, then hands down its the Cherohala. But if you like being buzzed by crotch rockets in a hurry to nowhere, then go ahead and do the dragon. They are both fun, depending on you mood at the time of the ride.
The Cherohala is 35 miles long, and the dragon is 11 miles long, both have about equal amount of nice curves and turns.

[Bob Denman]

There's always Florida...

I LIKE that!!
I'm gonna have to ride the Gator, and get the shirt...

[dlby]

CHEROHALA is very nice (5 thumbs)

Tail of Dragon was fun (4 thumbs)

Just get out & get lost in Smokies (off the Charts)

Hard to explain the peace & views in the area

But heck--i can find fun roads anywhere

IT sounds to me like more of us need a Snickers Bar or -----

Just go ride more[emoji41]

[donkes]

take your time, enjoy the ride, and do it on a weekday

[Woodsrider]

Weekday, end of season is real good (I like it in October personally). Stay a few days and hit Cherahola Skyway, pop through Maggie Valley and down to the Casino, lots to do.

My last ride on it was an FJR and I did it once 2up with the wife and then went back and soloed for a sportier experience, it's a lot of fun but watch out......cars and bikes will swing wide into your lane, so don't push the envelope, you need an escape route.

I hope to go back there this fall, don't know if I'll take Spyder or my old water buffalo.

[Ex Winger]

Been there not going back.Nice road Nice country but the idiots that can,t ride or think they can.Can kill you.First time there saw 2 crashes in less than a mile.Female rider crossed the line almost hit me then went into the ditch.We stoped to help then another rider crossed the line scraping the chrome of his bike but kept it up.If you go ride early or mid week
Bill

[Oldmanzues]

Legend and the sticker/pin/tee shirt are the reason the fame of the Dragon. I would say Ohio 555 (used to be 666) is a much more technical road to ride at speed. Lots of good roads already talked about on here. Will not repeat them.

The thing about riding any road, Ride your ride, not somebody elses. If they are trying to push you. let them go, do not ride over your skill level. In my younger days, I was riding a ST1100 and passed a guy on the Dragon( not over the yellow line). He sped up to keep up/pass and crashed, saw him Go down. His bike was a lot better then mine, real pocket rocket, his skill was less. I think he lived but left in a medic unit.
It has been said and with good reason, there are no bad roads in WV, Ky, Tn. I found lots of good ones on my CB750F, ST1100, Spyder GS and a whole lot slower on my 2010 RT
Oldmanzues

[pickelhead]

I am not dissing it just not understanding the mystic about it?
In my opinion it has or gets way too much "fan fair" for a road in the hills. I just cannot relate to it being on many other roads far more extreme through-out the country!

And yes I watched a cycle video of the entire road! So even though I have not ridden it, I just don't get the "fan fair" it gets......

I mean my god.... It's like the most talked about road on this forum! Again I just don't get it.

I am not dissing it... just saying it's not that big deal of a road based on many I have been on out here in the west.

Bob

The DRAGON is one of the most famous if not the most famous motorcycle rides in North America, if not the world. It has 318 curves in 11 miles, ranking it number one as the curviest road in the USA. I'm sure there are other routes that are also fun to ride, but there is only 1 "Tail of the DRAGON"!

[Mike,P]

I am not dissing it just not understanding the mystic about it?
In my opinion it has or gets way too much "fan fair" for a road in the hills. I just cannot relate to it being on many other roads far more extreme through-out the country!

And yes I watched a cycle video of the entire road! So even though I have not ridden it, I just don't get the "fan fair" it gets......

I mean my god.... It's like the most talked about road on this forum! Again I just don't get it.

I am not dissing it... just saying it's not that big deal of a road based on many I have been on out here in the west.

Bob

Well yeah ,, you are kinda dissing it... You watched the video and you think you can get the change in elevation or the tightness of the corners both banked and offset??? I've been all over this country / Big mountains n little and the Dragon is a hoot if you have no traffic... Been through there at insane speeds dragging knees in the corners on my sport bike and flat out embarrassed Rickey Racer types in full leathers on my 1200 GS ADVENTURE... I can't even believe you think you can comment on a road ,,, you never rode by watching a video! I'd be embarrassed to type that..

[Mike,P]

OK doing a little research I think I get it.

Out there, there are not many roads that are as big a challenge. This "Tail of the Dragon" is one of them. Thus it gets a lot of attention.

Out in the West we have MANY MANY roads like that all over the place! So I think I get why I am so numb to the entire "Tail of the Dragon" thing and not impressed. It's because out here, it's a norm outside of the cities in just about any rural mountain roads!

Demographics I think

Trust,,,, if I was out there I would want to ride that road! I am sure it is a challenge and to be honest I might have to add it to my bucket list. But in the end I have a feeling I will have been on far more challenging roads already.

Bob

You've been on far more challenging roads ????? Many Many roads like that ALL over the place??? Name 3,,,,, with 318 curves in 11 miles... Name three with the changes in elevation with so many off camber turns / That's when you go into a corner that tightens up as the road surface is going away "Extreme opposite of banked" People travel from all over the world to ride Deals Gap,, The "Dragon" and although the world is full of nice roads,,, anyone who's actually RIDDEN the Dragon says : it lives up to the hype.. BTW it's a nice road to ride at a leisurelypace toooo if you're not being pushed by fast traffic!!!

[Mike,P]

Lots of good advice for the op in this thread:: like ,,ride your own ride,, be careful n have fun.. Do it a few times n try to get s rhythm goin.. Pay attention and enjoy it!!! It really is a hoot and a roller coaster as someone else described..

[blacklightning]

We have a group that goes to the Maggie Valley/Gatlinburg area every year (7 years running). This year we will be there from 6/10-6/14. There will be atleast 3 spyders in our group this year. Normally we do the dragon on a Thursday or Friday to avoid traffic. We will be doing about 300 miles each day and riding each and every road from parts of Georgia, N.C., S.C., and Tenn. So, don't just do the dragon, hit the surrounding areas. They are all loads of fun for different reasons.

[finless]

You've been on far more challenging roads ????? Many Many roads like that ALL over the place??? Name 3,,,,, with 318 curves in 11 miles... Name three with the changes in elevation with so many off camber turns / That's when you go into a corner that tightens up as the road surface is going away "Extreme opposite of banked" People travel from all over the world to ride Deals Gap,, The "Dragon" and although the world is full of nice roads,,, anyone who's actually RIDDEN the Dragon says : it lives up to the hype.. BTW it's a nice road to ride at a leisurelypace toooo if you're not being pushed by fast traffic!!!

Not hard out here!

Here is just one but I can name probably 50 or more just in our local mountains.

Highway 39 from Azusa to Cyrstal Lake Café. Click the link.

24 miles, probably 1,000 curves and an elevation change of 4,000 feet.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/34.1...d34.324238!3e0

Want more?

OK here is another route to the same location. One stretch of that is what you see in my video above. 34 miles and FAR more challenging corners and switch backs. Many many hair pin turns. I could try to count the corners but I am sure it's close to 2,000 and probably more than that!

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/34.1...d34.324238!3e0

Want more? All I have to do is move east 20 miles and go up yet another mountain.

Have you ever been in the Rockies or Sierra Madres? These are mountain ranges! 1,000's of very challenging roads people die on every year. They just don't get the fame.

The many roads we have just in or local San Gabriel or San Bernardino mountains are extreme twisties because in 20 miles you can change altitude 5,000.

Bob

[dlby]

Sounds awesome!

One of the most beutifull and peaceful places around