CloverHillCrawler
Well-known member
I don't think I'll ever go to the Smokies again in mid-October. I'll just break it down day by day. I really only had one good day and that was travelling from Raleigh, NC to Maryville, TN.
Day 1 Sunday - Traveled through Isaias. Got pelted with heavy rain, winds, and hail in Md. and Va. on Route 15 most of the day. Family was tracking my location and said that I came close to a couple of tornadoes.
Day 2 Monday - Beautiful travel Day I stopped and ate a packed lunch at the overlook on 19 in Maggie Valley, as I got in late and missed Pops. I also stopped for a break on Moonshiners Highway. Then I stopped again for Sunset on the North side of the Dragon.
Day 3 Tuesday - Day started off nice enough with a visit to 102 Growdon for a smoke, then some jackhole in a BMW tried to take me out on the way to Deals Gap for lunch. He had pulled over for a bike that was ahead of me that I had just let by, so both of us go to pass him on the pull-off and he lets the bike go by, then pulls back out and cuts me off. I just barely stopped before I hit him. He starts then messing with me all the way to Deals Gap. He pulls in and I follow, and when he gets out I just open up on him just long enough to get my point across and leave. I had to go around the corner to a quiet spot on 28 so I could decompress. Rather than go back to Deals for lunch like I was planning, I just continued on to the Skyway. I got lunch at the Hardees in Tellico Plain's and then back to the hotel to get something to eat and go to bed early, as I wanted to go to Clingman's Dome early before the crowds.
Day 4 Wednesday (Hellday) - I start the day off early at 4:30 heading up to Clingman's Dome. I thought I was early enough to beat the crowds, but they were already out. I leave Clingman's Dome after getting some gorgeous views and head to Maggie Valley for another attempt at Pops.
I get there and Pops is closed. I turn the bike off to look up somewhere else to go for country ham biscuits, and when I go to start it back up, it will not go into gear. It will only do Reverse and will go back into Neutral on the restart, but it will not upshift and this is almost a brand new shifter that I replaced last Winter.
I make sure that it is in the sun, in case any moisture was in the there from the trip down, and I retried several times with no luck before I called Ron to see if he could take me in if I could get the F3 towed up there, but he did not have any left hand switches on hand. He walked me through some troubleshooting steps, but as I thought, he also determined it is most likely the new switch.
Several minutes after I get off the phone with Ron, I was able to get it into gear and it was upshifting all the way to 5th, so I kept going, trying to make it back to the hotel, then it stopped working on me right outside of Cherokee. I pulled into the Travel Center near Mission Road as I realized I was not making it back to Dragon City on the F3.
I start calling around to U-Haul's nearby, trying to find a truck and trailer that I can rent, so I can drive back over to Dragon City with the F3 in tow, so that I can stay the night, get some rest, then tow the F3 home. Nobody has anything nearby. In the process of calling around, one guy named Leon in Sylva has a toy hauler, but he is reluctant to rent it to me as he said he had experience with Spyders and it could be used, but it was real sketchy and he really didn't want to do it again. He recommended I call the 800 number so I could have them locate a 16 foot utility trailer. I called and the closest one was in Spartanburg, SC. They told me they would call back after locating something for me.
In the meantime I try calling Dragon City to let them know I am broken down in Cherokee and may not make it back before check out time in the morning to pick up my stuff, and if I do, I will have a big truck and trailer with me that I will need to park at the campground and that I was willing to pay her for parking there until the morning so I could get some sleep before leaving. It goes to a voicemail box that is full, so I can't even leave a message. I wait a few more minutes and call back again, this time it rolls into a message stating that the line has been disconnected. I wait a few more minutes, try again, when I get the full mailbox message again. I also try to text and email them with no response.
At this point I give up. Also, U-haul has not called back either. I am so mad I was ready to drive that F3, in Reverse if I had to, to Dragon City to get my stuff before it disappeared in the morning. I go to leave, and I was able to get into First and I start going to 28, only right as I get on the road, I get a text from U-haul saying that they have something for me in Sylva, it's Leon's place, but he was closing at 4:00 and it was 3:55. So I call my wife on the Sena so she can call there and tell them I am on my way. When she called, he said he had already left for the day, but he thought I was a nice guy from our conversation and he told her he would back and open up to help me out. But I still had to get there. I was in First gear going down 74 doing only about 25-35 mph because the engine would go into a hi temp condition, and I would then have to stop and let it idle and cool down before continuing.
I finally got there and Leon pulled in behind me and started getting me set up. We tried to load it onto the toy hauler front first, but that was a no go, as the nose was going to hit the ramps before the wheels. It took a couple of tries, but we were able to able to back it onto the toy hauler, and I removed my windshield for towing it backwards.
I tried calling Dragon City again to let them know I would be coming with that big pig, but still no answer, just a full voicemail box. No Response, nothing but crickets. At this point, I know I am not staying there for the night and I will have to drive all night home after getting to Dragon City.
Leon was kind enough to give me a pile of moving blankets to use to sleep on when I found a place to stop and rest. I asked him what kind of Spyder he rode, because he had told me he had experience with them. He shot back with, "I'm a Hells Angel and I ride a Harley!" I guess I misunderstood 'experience with loading' and what he was actually riding... LOL.
I don't know if he was joking with me or not. I guess I'll find out later. He asked me to call him and let him know I made it home OK. This man was a true lifesaver for me that day and I will never forget it.
I leave to head off to Dragon City to get my stuff around about 6, I had to take 74, 294, 68, 411, then 72 to get back there, as I could not take the Dragon with a 15' moving truck with a toy hauler attached, that thing is very wide and I was not even going to attempt it with the way my day had gone so far. I stopped at Walmart on the way to get some ratchet straps to better secure the F3.
I finally get there at about 11:30, pick up my stuff, and leave, as this truck took up their whole parking lot, turn around at the boat ramp, and head home. I finally stopped at Buc-ees in Sevierville at about 1:30 to get something to eat and I can tell you one thing, that brisket is dry and tough at 1:30.
I make my way up 40 and 81 and every rest stop is full of trucks, so I just kept going till I hit the next Buc-ees in Rockingham. I get some good sausage biscuits and tots and try to catch a cat nap. Not happening, some idiot's car alarm is going off every 2 minutes. At this point, I just gave up and kept on driving till I got home.
I called Leon and let him know I was okay and that I wanted to take him out to dinner the next time I was down there. He said that wasn't allowed and he was going to take me out somewhere, so if anything good came out of this, it is my new friend Leon.
The lady at Dragon City finally sent me a text several hours after I got home, I let her know I was ok now and thank god that there are still people like Leon around and left it at that. I had recommended Dragon City after my first trip there a couple of months ago, I would like to rescind that recommendation at this time.
It is a clean place with decent amenities, but if anything goes sideways, the boss lady doesn't even want to talk to you. Searching online, I found similar things have happened to other people, I also found the reason why the place is so nice now is that she hired a bunch of local contractors to fix the place up then never paid them. She currently has the place up for sale and apparently all of the contractors she owes are racing to get liens on the property before she sells it. It really too bad, because it is a nice clean place and her staff are amazing, but she is a putz and has no business being in business.
I got some rest yesterday, then today I went out and pulled the right panel off, disconnected the left hand switch and connected the spare one I have. No issues with going into gear. So the paddle shifter that is less than 10 months old has already failed. I looked it up, and parts have a 1 year warranty. I bought it from Brooks and installed it myself so I am not too sure if I contact them or BRP directly, but I am sure Ryan there will point me in the right direction.
Day 1 Sunday - Traveled through Isaias. Got pelted with heavy rain, winds, and hail in Md. and Va. on Route 15 most of the day. Family was tracking my location and said that I came close to a couple of tornadoes.
Day 2 Monday - Beautiful travel Day I stopped and ate a packed lunch at the overlook on 19 in Maggie Valley, as I got in late and missed Pops. I also stopped for a break on Moonshiners Highway. Then I stopped again for Sunset on the North side of the Dragon.
Day 3 Tuesday - Day started off nice enough with a visit to 102 Growdon for a smoke, then some jackhole in a BMW tried to take me out on the way to Deals Gap for lunch. He had pulled over for a bike that was ahead of me that I had just let by, so both of us go to pass him on the pull-off and he lets the bike go by, then pulls back out and cuts me off. I just barely stopped before I hit him. He starts then messing with me all the way to Deals Gap. He pulls in and I follow, and when he gets out I just open up on him just long enough to get my point across and leave. I had to go around the corner to a quiet spot on 28 so I could decompress. Rather than go back to Deals for lunch like I was planning, I just continued on to the Skyway. I got lunch at the Hardees in Tellico Plain's and then back to the hotel to get something to eat and go to bed early, as I wanted to go to Clingman's Dome early before the crowds.
Day 4 Wednesday (Hellday) - I start the day off early at 4:30 heading up to Clingman's Dome. I thought I was early enough to beat the crowds, but they were already out. I leave Clingman's Dome after getting some gorgeous views and head to Maggie Valley for another attempt at Pops.
I get there and Pops is closed. I turn the bike off to look up somewhere else to go for country ham biscuits, and when I go to start it back up, it will not go into gear. It will only do Reverse and will go back into Neutral on the restart, but it will not upshift and this is almost a brand new shifter that I replaced last Winter.
I make sure that it is in the sun, in case any moisture was in the there from the trip down, and I retried several times with no luck before I called Ron to see if he could take me in if I could get the F3 towed up there, but he did not have any left hand switches on hand. He walked me through some troubleshooting steps, but as I thought, he also determined it is most likely the new switch.
Several minutes after I get off the phone with Ron, I was able to get it into gear and it was upshifting all the way to 5th, so I kept going, trying to make it back to the hotel, then it stopped working on me right outside of Cherokee. I pulled into the Travel Center near Mission Road as I realized I was not making it back to Dragon City on the F3.
I start calling around to U-Haul's nearby, trying to find a truck and trailer that I can rent, so I can drive back over to Dragon City with the F3 in tow, so that I can stay the night, get some rest, then tow the F3 home. Nobody has anything nearby. In the process of calling around, one guy named Leon in Sylva has a toy hauler, but he is reluctant to rent it to me as he said he had experience with Spyders and it could be used, but it was real sketchy and he really didn't want to do it again. He recommended I call the 800 number so I could have them locate a 16 foot utility trailer. I called and the closest one was in Spartanburg, SC. They told me they would call back after locating something for me.
In the meantime I try calling Dragon City to let them know I am broken down in Cherokee and may not make it back before check out time in the morning to pick up my stuff, and if I do, I will have a big truck and trailer with me that I will need to park at the campground and that I was willing to pay her for parking there until the morning so I could get some sleep before leaving. It goes to a voicemail box that is full, so I can't even leave a message. I wait a few more minutes and call back again, this time it rolls into a message stating that the line has been disconnected. I wait a few more minutes, try again, when I get the full mailbox message again. I also try to text and email them with no response.
At this point I give up. Also, U-haul has not called back either. I am so mad I was ready to drive that F3, in Reverse if I had to, to Dragon City to get my stuff before it disappeared in the morning. I go to leave, and I was able to get into First and I start going to 28, only right as I get on the road, I get a text from U-haul saying that they have something for me in Sylva, it's Leon's place, but he was closing at 4:00 and it was 3:55. So I call my wife on the Sena so she can call there and tell them I am on my way. When she called, he said he had already left for the day, but he thought I was a nice guy from our conversation and he told her he would back and open up to help me out. But I still had to get there. I was in First gear going down 74 doing only about 25-35 mph because the engine would go into a hi temp condition, and I would then have to stop and let it idle and cool down before continuing.
I finally got there and Leon pulled in behind me and started getting me set up. We tried to load it onto the toy hauler front first, but that was a no go, as the nose was going to hit the ramps before the wheels. It took a couple of tries, but we were able to able to back it onto the toy hauler, and I removed my windshield for towing it backwards.
I tried calling Dragon City again to let them know I would be coming with that big pig, but still no answer, just a full voicemail box. No Response, nothing but crickets. At this point, I know I am not staying there for the night and I will have to drive all night home after getting to Dragon City.
Leon was kind enough to give me a pile of moving blankets to use to sleep on when I found a place to stop and rest. I asked him what kind of Spyder he rode, because he had told me he had experience with them. He shot back with, "I'm a Hells Angel and I ride a Harley!" I guess I misunderstood 'experience with loading' and what he was actually riding... LOL.
I don't know if he was joking with me or not. I guess I'll find out later. He asked me to call him and let him know I made it home OK. This man was a true lifesaver for me that day and I will never forget it.
I leave to head off to Dragon City to get my stuff around about 6, I had to take 74, 294, 68, 411, then 72 to get back there, as I could not take the Dragon with a 15' moving truck with a toy hauler attached, that thing is very wide and I was not even going to attempt it with the way my day had gone so far. I stopped at Walmart on the way to get some ratchet straps to better secure the F3.
I finally get there at about 11:30, pick up my stuff, and leave, as this truck took up their whole parking lot, turn around at the boat ramp, and head home. I finally stopped at Buc-ees in Sevierville at about 1:30 to get something to eat and I can tell you one thing, that brisket is dry and tough at 1:30.
I make my way up 40 and 81 and every rest stop is full of trucks, so I just kept going till I hit the next Buc-ees in Rockingham. I get some good sausage biscuits and tots and try to catch a cat nap. Not happening, some idiot's car alarm is going off every 2 minutes. At this point, I just gave up and kept on driving till I got home.
I called Leon and let him know I was okay and that I wanted to take him out to dinner the next time I was down there. He said that wasn't allowed and he was going to take me out somewhere, so if anything good came out of this, it is my new friend Leon.
The lady at Dragon City finally sent me a text several hours after I got home, I let her know I was ok now and thank god that there are still people like Leon around and left it at that. I had recommended Dragon City after my first trip there a couple of months ago, I would like to rescind that recommendation at this time.
It is a clean place with decent amenities, but if anything goes sideways, the boss lady doesn't even want to talk to you. Searching online, I found similar things have happened to other people, I also found the reason why the place is so nice now is that she hired a bunch of local contractors to fix the place up then never paid them. She currently has the place up for sale and apparently all of the contractors she owes are racing to get liens on the property before she sells it. It really too bad, because it is a nice clean place and her staff are amazing, but she is a putz and has no business being in business.
I got some rest yesterday, then today I went out and pulled the right panel off, disconnected the left hand switch and connected the spare one I have. No issues with going into gear. So the paddle shifter that is less than 10 months old has already failed. I looked it up, and parts have a 1 year warranty. I bought it from Brooks and installed it myself so I am not too sure if I contact them or BRP directly, but I am sure Ryan there will point me in the right direction.
Glad things worked out in the end! I can say that the area you were in is bar none the best place to ride a bike I can think of the bride, and I love it down there, when we get back to Maine it is like a letdown to ride the roads up here! Good to hear you found your Gremlin and got back safe!
