I am thinking of riding the dragons tail this week. How long does it take to finish it? Also, I have been riding for a handful of years and am taking my SG on the ride...obviously, I don't want to wreck and I don't ride like a maniac on a crotch rocket. I really have no idea what to expect....so anyone have any info that would suggest if I should do it or not? Thanks!
Is the dragon's tail dangerous to ride?
kicker0927
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I spent the first 24 years of my life living not much more than an hour from the Dragon. I've been across it dozens of not 100s of times. Some one two and some on four. I've even pulled a 17' boat through there.
I drove my family across there this summer in our SUV.
It's tricky in the best conditions. Mostly because you almost never operate a vehicle under those conditions. But, BY FAR, the biggest concern is the popularity that it has gained. There's way too many that think it is a bleeping amusement park ride instead of a public road. A lot of those guys think as long as they are between the ditches, they're fine.
It's super beautiful up the Smokies. You should do it just to say you did. But, as a native East Tennessean, I've got to tell you that it isn't that special. If you love to run the twistes, there are dozens of roads similar to it all over East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.
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I drove my family across there this summer in our SUV.
It's tricky in the best conditions. Mostly because you almost never operate a vehicle under those conditions. But, BY FAR, the biggest concern is the popularity that it has gained. There's way too many that think it is a bleeping amusement park ride instead of a public road. A lot of those guys think as long as they are between the ditches, they're fine.
It's super beautiful up the Smokies. You should do it just to say you did. But, as a native East Tennessean, I've got to tell you that it isn't that special. If you love to run the twistes, there are dozens of roads similar to it all over East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.
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Sorry Tim,
It's under the perfect line.
Killboy Failure Dragon Fest.
It's 570 pages long.
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2,410 Posts
I'll take a look. BTW, when you comin' home?
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The better 1/2 and I rode it two up last October on a monday morning and the traffic wasn't bad at all. Rode it a total of three times. Took it real easy the first time thru increasing my speed with each subsequent pass. The third time thru we did have a power ranger come up behind us but I just held my pace and he went by when he had a opportunity to do so safely(and rather quickly I might add:eek). Look forward to riding it again in the future.
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If any hesitation, this suggestion is worthwhile. I didn't want to deal with the carnival so rode it around 8:00a on weekday. E M P T Y. Can ride it at your own pace.
And FWIW, I puzzle over the "318 curves in 11 miles". Having ridden many tightly coiled mountain roads before, after riding the "dragon" I didn't come away with the sense it had that many curves. I finally parked my eyeballs before the PC screen and watched a video of a friend who recorded the entire length from the resort to the lookout. I counted every curve, included the faintest of bends, and only came up with 187! Not even close. :dunno Now, some have responded that the 318 total count also includes before the resort and after the lookout as well, but dang, the road straightens out notably in those areas. It's still a twistfest of a road, but there is something funny going on.
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Actually Steve, this is my philosophy of riding anyhow. Since I can, I always ride when others aren't -- usually leaving the house at dawn and back before 9:00 AM. Especially smart in the summer here -- I can leave the house at 5:30 AM, temp is 75 degrees. Get in a 100 mile ride and home easily by 9:00 AM when temp is hitting 90 already.
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I plan too. Thanks for writing it! :thumb
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You would be wrong as it has happened in the past. I live about thirty minutes from there and some one usually wrecks every weekend, especially during the summer months. Most are out of state and try to run it beyond their abilities.
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I don't understand your response. Are you saying a semi wrecks every week on that road?
Here's my post:
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Go for it and ride the Dragon. As others mentioned, I definitely would ride it mid-week. Too many crotch rocket riders on weekends that think the Dragon is their own personal race track. That includes a dude on a yellow gl 1800 who is actually a pretty good rider and has humbled a few crotch rocket riders there.
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That's interesting. I used to know this guy (friend of a friend) who would race sport bikers on his GL1500. He was GOOD. Just goes to show what pro racers say all the time: 80% man - 20% machine.
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I was watching youtube a few weeks back and seen a guy on a goldwing throwing that bike all over the turns on the dragon. Looks like a nice ride if the conditions were good with other riders and weather.
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Ok
I can't say as I haven't been on the others, but it was real twistie and I remember for a fact alot of switchback turns, but since I haven't been on the dragon or 129 I can't really compare.
So if the dragon and 129 are really that much worse then holy friggin s***
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Is it this guy here? His handle is Yellow Wolf. He is being filmed by a guy whose handle is "Fuse" and Fuse is not too shabby either with his 1800 on the Dragon keeping up to Yellow Wolf. Yellow Wolf's claim to fame is riding the Dragon back and forth for 1000 miles in 24 hours. Yellow Wolf has a few "exclusive" riding buds who call themselves the "Wolf Pack."
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Could be the same guy but he would be older than me -- and now I'm 62. Oh man. That's great! I can hear the photographer's bike dragging on every curve. I don't believe either bike got out of their lane -- meaning they didn't use the whole road.
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No, just that there is a bike that wrecks about every weekend during the summer and that a semi HAS hit a bike before. Thats all.
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Never heard of this place, and now a club I belong to are heading there in a couple months, so I'm going with them. I'll have to research this a bit more. I just thought it was just another twisty road, but looks like this one is pretty famous (or infamous) 
-JP
-JP
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