tntviper1 Posted June 14, 2019 #1 Posted June 14, 2019 well 2 weeks out to head to the tail of the dragon and the Cherohala skyway, getting bike looked over for tires brakes etc, thinking of a smaller front (130-90) based on feedback here. 09 RSV we are trailering the bike to NC from michigan, then riding. any tips for roads down there? things to pack you wish you hadnt forgot? LOL getting excited for this trip
slowrollwv Posted June 14, 2019 #2 Posted June 14, 2019 I hope you have a great trip. But my advice is to not try the dragon on the weekend it is very crowded. If you have time you should go a little north east of the Dragon to Marion VA. and take RT 16 to Tazewell VA. it is called the Back of the Dragon and it surely is just that. Have fun and ride safe.
tntviper1 Posted June 14, 2019 Author #3 Posted June 14, 2019 slowrollwv said: I hope you have a great trip. But my advice is to not try the dragon on the weekend it is very crowded. If you have time you should go a little north east of the Dragon to Marion VA. and take RT 16 to Tazewell VA. it is called the Back of the Dragon and it surely is just that. Have fun and ride safe. sweet thanks i will look at that also we will be there for 3 days then off to NC
DanielM Posted June 14, 2019 #4 Posted June 14, 2019 Can get busy on weekends. There are a ton of great rides in the area, the dragon being just one of them. Moonshiner 28 is a must in my opinion. Take note of approximate time you ride the dragon and checkout your pictures at http://www.killboy.com Depending on how much time you have, I recommend jumping on skyline drive at North end of Shenandoah national Park and heading south that way. Skyline drive turns into the blue ridge parkway at the southern end of Shenandoah. Beautiful drive from tip of skyline until end of blue ridge. Another interesting side trip on the way down or back is grandfather mountain. Though riding the steep switchbacks to the top on your bike is not for the faint of heart. Here are a few pictures I have on my phone. Ones of us on my old 2003 RSV while riding were taken by killboy.com. Waterfall picture, if my memory serves is a great stop along moonshiner28. Of course you need to visit the tourist trap deal's gap resort for photos and tree of shame. One bit of advice, NEVER cross that centerline and watch out for idiots coming the other way that do! Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
cowpuc Posted June 14, 2019 #5 Posted June 14, 2019 Sounds like fun,, nothing but best wishes for an AWESOME time on The Dragon from my end brother.. Advice ,, ride your ride and pull to the right a little to let the faster riders slide (kids on dirtbikes with street tires on em ), watch your speed cause The Dragon is monitered pretty well, spend LOTS of time riding figure 8's in a parking lot with all the gear onboard if your gonna switch to a smaller front tire = The Dragon is no place to be learning a "new" feel IMHO, double check your brakes for operational function (check for sticky calipers) and tire air pressures.. A thought on CTFW down there,, I would definitely take the time to ride the full Dragon/Cherahola loop but would also drop down into Kentucky and ride/explore the Red River Gorge.. It is BEAUTIFUL CTFW and is much quieter then the side of Dragon for dropping a tent if your into such adVenture:happy34:.. Ride hard, have fun but be safe! Puc
DanielM Posted June 14, 2019 #6 Posted June 14, 2019 Grandfather mountain... Picture of the road was taken by my wife while we were riding back down. She was terrified. Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
DanielM Posted June 14, 2019 #7 Posted June 14, 2019 tntviper1 said: getting bike looked over for tires brakes etc, thinking of a smaller front (130-90) based on feedback here. 09 RSV I ran an smaller front tire for 200k miles between my 2003 and 2012 RSV's. Made a fairly decent improvement in handling. Agree with puc that you should consider getting the feel for that change prior to tackling the dragon. You are in for a great trip. Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
tntviper1 Posted June 14, 2019 Author #8 Posted June 14, 2019 DanielM said: Can get busy on weekends. There are a ton of great rides in the area, the dragon being just one of them. Moonshiner 28 is a must in my opinion. Take note of approximate time you ride the dragon and checkout your pictures at www.killboy.com Depending on how much time you have, I recommend jumping on skyline drive at North end of Shenandoah national Park and heading south that way. Skyline drive turns into the blue ridge parkway at the southern end of Shenandoah. Beautiful drive from tip of skyline until end of blue ridge. Another interesting side trip on the way down or back is grandfather mountain. Though riding the steep switchbacks to the top on your bike is not for the faint of heart. Here are a few pictures I have on my phone. Ones of us on my old 2003 RSV while riding were taken by killboy.com. Waterfall picture, if my memory serves is a great stop along moonshiner28. Of course you need to visit the tourist trap deal's gap resort for photos and tree of shame. One bit of advice, NEVER cross that centerline and watch out for idiots coming the other way that do! https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190614/5d8be0aaec7a588b848112ca8b2eede4.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190614/01519e9ed766992a676d95cb6dbcf77a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190614/895509b9ed7aea7e0c2f1f1ed82c3a25.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190614/37b4e8fbbadf2e40626753a6cf97386e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190614/af274d55c6d9c32ac48128301c50d1d9.jpg Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk the waterfall is on our list, great pictures brother
dave_wells Posted June 14, 2019 #9 Posted June 14, 2019 We are going to be down that way on the 27 thru 30. Staying at the Iron Horse MC lodge. We will be in Morganton and Asheville in the beginning of the week On the weekend I would not ride 129 after 9:00 am. There are plenty of fun roads to ride. Be safe
tntviper1 Posted June 14, 2019 Author #10 Posted June 14, 2019 dave_wells said: We are going to be down that way on the 27 thru 30. Staying at the Iron Horse MC lodge. We will be in Morganton and Asheville in the beginning of the week On the weekend I would not ride 129 after 9:00 am. There are plenty of fun roads to ride. Be safe Dave to funny, we also will be at the iron horse, check in on the 28th, leave on the 1st. i think cabin 101 PM me when your there
djh3 Posted June 15, 2019 #11 Posted June 15, 2019 I have rode the dragon twice from the Tn side. Last time which would have been my third I left Deals Gap there on the NC side going North. My first corner going up looked similar to this.
Venturous Randy Posted June 15, 2019 #12 Posted June 15, 2019 Interesting this popped up as I was on the Dragon today in my Miata. It was an absolutely beautiful clear day and the temps were in the upper 70's most of the day. We took off Thursday just after noon from Johnson City, TN and stayed at a motel in Pigeon Forge as the cost there during the week is about half or less what a comparable room would be in Gatlinburg, or Knoxville. We left out this morning after a crappy breakfast at Shoney's and drove toward Wears Valley and got on the new section of the Foothills Parkway and got off on 129. For a Friday, the Dragon was pretty busy and there were several TN State Troopers around. One was even on a dual sports type bike all lit up pulling some guys over. We did not encounter any crazy bikers, but did some crazy driving car guys. There were so many bikes at the Gap that it was hard to find a place to park a Miata. I looked from one end to the other and did not see either a 1st, 2nd or 3rd gen Venture. I did see a 1974 Yamaha 250 street bike that looked brand new. The only bike that looked like a 2nd gen Venture was one turning in at the Fontana Dam road. From there, we went thru Bryson City and took the old road to Cherokee and had dinner at Granny's Restaurant, which was packed, but still got us a table within about 5 to 10 minutes. The buffet food was really good and was about $4 less than breakfast at Shoney's. From there we went across the mountain thru Maggie Valley and then up 209 to Hot Springs, NC. All together by the time we got home about 9:30pm, we had put 400 miles on the car and none were interstate and most were curvy mountain roads. Probably easily over 1,500 curves and my arms are tired. As far as the Dragon being patrolled, I heard one guy fussing because he got a ticket for going 4mph over on the 30mph speed limit on the Dragon. If you want to go faster, 209 from Lake Junaluska to Hot Springs is just as curvy and 55mph speed limit and did not see one cop. We had a great couple of days and got in some great mountain driving. Randy
dave_wells Posted June 16, 2019 #13 Posted June 16, 2019 tntviper1 said: Dave to funny, we also will be at the iron horse, check in on the 28th, leave on the 1st. i think cabin 101 PM me when your there We will be in the old homestead cabin at the top of the hill. Getting in on Thursday Afternoon Look for the 2018 Venture with Ohio plates Looking forward to meeting up Pime rib for dinner Saturday Dave and Robin 740-803-3069
Venturous Randy Posted June 16, 2019 #14 Posted June 16, 2019 DanielM said: Grandfather mountain... Picture of the road was taken by my wife while we were riding back down. She was terrified.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190614/8c1a4f1421aa67c2c2b1f916e4db9e4b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190614/baffafc06bdd902e0a6242362a2522d2.jpg Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk That curve going up to Grandfather mountain is know as Forrest Gump curve as it was in the movie. Randy
Sylvester Posted June 16, 2019 #15 Posted June 16, 2019 If you can handle a little extra saddle height, you may want to think about leveling links on the rear of your RSV. They raise the rear 1" and level the bike. That is the same thing the 130 tire does except it lowers the front 1". With the leveling links you can keep the 6 inch wide front for more stability and traction. This is what I did to my 02 RSV in 2003.
DanielM Posted June 16, 2019 #16 Posted June 16, 2019 Sylvester said: If you can handle a little extra saddle height, you may want to think about leveling links on the rear of your RSV. They raise the rear 1" and level the bike. That is the same thing the 130 tire does except it lowers the front 1". With the leveling links you can keep the 6 inch wide front for more stability and traction. This is what I did to my 02 RSV in 2003. Seconded. Leveling links help. I did both mods on my old RSV'S Sent from my SM-G975U1 using Tapatalk
tntviper1 Posted June 17, 2019 Author #17 Posted June 17, 2019 ended up getting new tires, cracks in the tread on old tires. went with shinko WW 777
dueyk1111 Posted June 19, 2019 #18 Posted June 19, 2019 went down to tail of the dragon 3 yrs ago. loved every minute of my time down there. went on line to famous motor cycle roads to ride in that area, gave me a map of 20 roads to ride in that area. printed it off n took it with me. met so many nice folks everywhere all the time i was down there, they would ask where i was going n say while your in that area, go out n ride county road such n such, did it and always had a good ride. first road i road was called the rattler, scraped my floorboards 3 times in the first 5 miles, said to self, slow youz a-- down or your gonna get hurt. next one i rode was called the diamond back, ended up kiss'n a gardrail, very lighty but still kissed it none the less. stopped very shortly after that, surveyed the damage, small scuff mark on the saddlebag that will stay forever as a reminder.said Thanks to the man upstairs for watchin over me. might go back again this year, haven't decided yet. got 10 days at laborday weekend:12101:
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