The Tail of the Dragon before the BRG

[Wes]

My turn to post some Tail of the Dragon pics! Also a video link. More from the BRG coming soon! It was a great week in the Smoky Mountains!

 

[Wes]

Roberto @Akira and I rode it last Thursday morning before heading over to Balsam for the BRG!

 

[Red-On-Rockwell]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[beemerphile]

My all-time favorite song at 11:00. thx - Lee

 

[TipSTer]

Cool VDO Gildor. I slayed that Dragon many years ago.

 

[dtcoleman]

Might try to fit that in next year. Maybe even thro WVStoc in there too.

 

[Erdoc48]

I need to get my butt there very soon...nice pics! As for the video, you’re riding style is much too conservatively! Nah, just kidding, as that would be my approach speed as well.

My brother sent me a video recently and I’ll post it if I can find it again- it shows that even in the wet, a MC tire has to be at greater than a 45 degree angle to the road surface before losing adhesion (assuming good tread and pliable rubber), so if you see riders in a ditch like the Harley rider, sometimes it means they approached the turn too quickly, became nervous, target fixated and then crash (also lean away from the turn when sitting on the bike, which is exactly the wrong thing to do)...the limits of adhesion of a MC tire are actually quite high and a lot of riders don’t trust the bike to carry them through the turn, so they screw up or ‘lay it down’ which is exactly the wrong thing to do.

 

[Catmandu2]

I slayed that Dragon many years ago

That is a great shot,,, with the RH peg sparking. I rode the Dragon for the first time about a week ago. I can see how it can become addictive. On my first run down,, I passed a van,,, did not get passed by anyone,, did not wreck myself,,, saw another accident being attended by police,,, got some great photo's taken,,, celebrated with an awesome turkey/cranberry sandwich !! I admit to being a bit brain numb at the end of that run,,, processing so much info in approx 15 minutes. But soon I also was thinking,, lighten the load,,, bags off,,, half a tank of gas,,, more suspension,,, better lines,, "must ride it better",, it was a great experience !! CAt'

 

[Larry Fine]

You know you're really cornering when it feels like you're turning upward instead of to the side.

 

[Erdoc48]

Here it is^^...how to corner and not be afraid to do so.

 

[TipSTer]

That is a great shot,,, with the RH peg sparking. I rode the Dragon for the first time about a week ago. I can see how it can become addictive. On my first run down,, I passed a van,,, did not get passed by anyone,, did not wreck myself,,, saw another accident being attended by police,,, got some great photo's taken,,, celebrated with an awesome turkey/cranberry sandwich !! I admit to being a bit brain numb at the end of that run,,, processing so much info in approx 15 minutes. But soon I also was thinking,, lighten the load,,, bags off,,, half a tank of gas,,, more suspension,,, better lines,, "must ride it better",, it was a great experience !! CAt'

Yep, peg and center stand dragged and sparks. I was there on Wednesday I was riding up/down 6 times before I headed down to Atlanta. Fun, but there is a lot of cops and traffic of cars/bikes during the weekend.

 

[hondawayne]

Love the music brother!

 

[motornut]

Went to the Tail 2 years ago, since it was on my short bucket list. Awesome road in the middle of a lot of awesome roads. Was definitely worth the trip. Traveled from the Seattle area and came back through some of the Southern state. Logged about 7,000 miles on my Concours 1400. Just got my old ST 1300 back and would have taken that instead (long story) Loved the pictures and the familiar places. The tree was so cool!

 

[Sadlsor]

It's an easy destination from Suches, such as the April GAstoc (?) meet up.
GA Spring Rally? 20 - 23, can't find the link on my phone, I'll get it later unless someone beats me to it...

EDIT:
2023 GA Spring Rally