Is this a member here caught stunting at the dragon?

[FIZZER6]

For those of you who have never ridden the Tail of the Dragon I can tell you from experience (been there 7 times) that it draws scores of squids, and cruiser dudes, many of which have never ridden anything but flat Florida roads and the Dragon is one of the most difficult roads to ride fast for an inexperienced rider. My first time on it was about 18 months after I started riding and I had to take it super slow, letting other bikes and cars pass me the first time through! It is a lot of dips, banked curves, decreasing radius curves, people parked on the shoulders around blind curves, no guard rails, lot of steep drop offs and lots of oncoming idiots in your lane! In other words the perfect recipe for crashes!

The only way to really enjoy it is to ride it at 8am or on a weekday, NOT on Saturday or Sunday. I actually think it's 10X more fun in my sport car than on the bike because the curves are simply too fast to ride quick on a bike when you may have to deal with an oncoming truck in your lane leaned over!

I will be going back to the Smoky's on the FZ6 this September but not for the Dragon...for Hwy 26 and the Cherohala Skyway! :rockon:

 

[Norbert]

Wow, you know you have skillzzzzz when you can breakdance on a bike in a corner.

how does this even happen???

 

[Erci]

This one is by far my favorite!

All the gearless ones going down just upset me. Sure they asked for it, but it's still sad.

At least the guy above, clueless as he might be (or was he doing that on purpose??) is wearing gear.

 

[FIZZER6]

This one is by far my favorite!

All the gearless ones going down just upset me. Sure they asked for it, but it's still sad.

At least the guy above, clueless as he might be (or was he doing that on purpose??) is wearing gear.

he has to be doing this on purpose. My guess is he was going very slow behind a cruiser and just wanted to do a crazy pose for the camera. He appears to be in control (even if his lid has taken a spill previously!)

 

[Humperdinkel]

All I can say is , Good Lord

That place is just :squid: central by the looks of it :shakehead:

 

[Humperdinkel]

If the Lady following is a member she may be able to shed some light on it :thumbup: She has a great looking AGV aswell

 

[FB400]

OK, so let's just say the Dragon 'aint on my list anymore!! Looks like a horror show, gets me pissed just looking at photos

 

[skooter65]

This is a great thread...keep the photo's coming!!

+1^ I am a little scared of the dragon now

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

Man, I hate to see all the people being scared away from the Dragon by this thread. Guys, it's not this bad…LOL. Yes, you'll probably see a crash or two while you're down there, but nothing like these.

I've been 3 times now and I saw one wreck each time. Whoever said it earlier was right on the money. You don't ride it on Saturday or Sunday (that's what 28 and the Cherahola are for). Stick to early in the morning (bonus then is that the cops aren't out yet) and weekdays.

One problem is people like to show off for all the photographers now. If you notice, obviously, all these crashes were caught on camera. They know where Killboy and others are sitting and wanna show just how stupid they really are. Just ride it. Enjoy the road and the views. And for God's sake…USE THE PULLOFFS when faster riders are behind you!

The normal rule of riding applies. Ride your own ride. Don't try and keep up with other riders and don't be a squid in front of the cameras.

 

[Kazza]

Wow.

I mean, wow.

Nothing like a dumb squid :squid: or a newbie with TOO much confidence.

ATGATT and RESPECT for your BIKE, the ROAD, the CONDITIONS and other ROAD USERS.

Again, WOW......

 

[VEGASRIDER]

One problem is people like to show off for all the photographers now. If you notice, obviously, all these crashes were caught on camera. They know where Killboy and others are sitting and wanna show just how stupid they really are. .

I'm not entirely sold on this, I mean we have a similar area out west where a well know photographer camps out and takes all kinds of pictures.

Photographer Rick Clemson usually takes his photos up at Palomar Mountain near San Diego just about every weekend. I don't think he's caught nearly as many action crash photos as Killboy. The roads are different as they are worlds apart but still challenging to say the least even though I have never ridden the Dragon.

I think another member said it best, lots of riders who are experiencing cornering for the first time, not knowing how to corner or they have very poor technique such as not looking where they need to. It's constantly one corner after another, and unless your a seasoned rider, it will eat you up. Lot's of straight line riding for most folks from Florida or wherever else.

Kind like sking, nice gradual slope thinking you have great skills and control until you hit that side of the mountain that is marked as a Diamond, meaning very challenging, not for beginners.

 

[Johnstrat1927]

HOMAGE TO BABE RUTH, pointing to where he is going to crash lmao

Ouch! This must have been so painful for his ego.

 

[agf]

With the number of bikes on the wrong side of the road, I honestly thought his was on the road from Birregurra down to Skenes Creek in Victoria, until I saw a few rego plates(he he he)

 

[Esra]

LOL yeah that got me, i was looking at the pics thinking, what's wrong with that, and then realised it's not in Australia.

 

[2006_FZ6]

Who said anything about stunting?! Dude's just adjusting his shift linkage.

Nah, that's kvanek waking up his JUNK!!! :BLAA:

 

[Jim Karam]

Don't let these idiots scare you away! Here's a shot from last week celebrating my 70th birthday at the Dragon. (I apologize for the freebie screengrab, but Killboy has gotten enough money from me over the years!) For the record, I also prefer Cherahola Skyway or Rt 28 because they're not quite as tight, but the Dragon's not that big a deal as long as you pay attention. The green line on the attached map shows my favorite one-day loop that I ran again last Tuesday. It's worth the trip!

 

[scottsst]

how about some of the 4 wheeled crazyness on the Dragon

 

[FIZZER6]

I have to say one thing.

If you are going to crash wearing no gear...at least do it in front of a professional photographer! :BLAA: