| Author | Message | ||
     Rocketsprink |
I crashed there a few years ago. Went down in an oil slick the police believed was dumped on purpose. Very minor damage to the bike. Me? A concussion. Went and purchased a new helmet. Sat in the cabin the rest of the day with a bad headache. Rode the Dragon a few times the following day. Then went to the lookout with a fellow Bueller. Sat there until it was pitch black, and dragged knees on some night runs. Best time I had there. before or since. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
"Went down in an oil slick the police believed was dumped on purpose." Seriously? What the heck is wrong with people? | ||
| Rocketsprink |
I was told by the police that they've caught people throwing mason jars filled with oil on the road. A guy with a few 5 gallon buckets of oil spreading it. I guess they wouldn't make that up. Said something about the local bear hunters not being fond of the traffic cause it messes up their hunting, not to mention their dogs getting hit when they wander onto the road. I can understand their frustration, but to me, that is attempted murder. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Does it represent the number of crashes by type of bike, or demonstrate differences in damage between types of bikes? A machine without a fairing is not going to leave several pieces of plastic behind. Elaine, have you ever been to the Dragon??? FB | ||
| Fresnobuell |
From what I see in the two pictures, it looks like he cut the apex a little too tight, and his back wheel dropped off the pavement, then it highsided him when the sidewall rubbed the edge of the asphalt. I think you are correct except my guess is he ran the previous turn wide rather than cutting the 2nd turn too tight. Although if he ran into the hill hard enough momentum might have carried him over to the highside? | ||
| Preybird1 |
I think those bikes behind him were chasing him down and he panicked and made a mistake and paid the price. But any crash you can walk away from is a lucky one! | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
Im actually impressed. He was actually wearing a lot of gear compared to most Harley riders Ive seen. Im also impressed that the harley could take that kind of crash and ride away. Glad he is ok. | ||
| Rmzmzm |
Elaine, have you ever been to the Dragon??? No I have not. It is a trip I have been wanting make, but haven't made it a top priority yet. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
That's cool. Based on your earlier question, I was just curious if you'd ever been there. My comments to Court weren't meant to represent the results of any sort of scientific study, simply some observations from having ridden the Dragon on a handful of occasions over the years and seeing the average "clientele" there with my own eyes, and from following along via the internet. The Tree of Shame - which should more accurately be called the Tree of Fame, as it appears to be a badge of honor to pose for photos in front of it with bloody, freshly road-rashed skin and parts of your bike hanging from the tree ("Hey, look at me! I'm such a frikkin' awesome rider that I crashed on the Dragon!!") - has a truckload of sportbike parts hanging off of it. When you finally see it in person, you'll have a much better image than what I'm able to convey in words. And the Tennessee Highway Patrol, who on any given weekend during the season may have a dozen or more officers stationed along the Dragon with radar guns pointed at you, are NOT there due to an occasional dresser/bagger rider getting in over his or her head. Rather, they're there as a result of years and years and years of idiot sportbike riders launching themselves off the roadway into the trees and being carried out in helicopters, or, worse yet, in body bags. I'm no saint on a motorcycle, and I've run the Dragon on a pretty good clip on several occasions, although the last two times I've been down there it's been on a weekend, and with all the THP presence it's more like riding along in a particularly scenic parade. I took a little exception to Court's comment about dresser riders, and tried to illustrate my point based on my observations. Your mileage may vary.  Take care, FB | ||
| Glitch |
I remember back in the late 70s my first trip to Deal's Gap and the Crossroads of Time. Things certainly have changed now that the world knows of The Dragon. Sadly, not much good change, although there is some. The good? Ever since they started advertising The Dragon, it's become a Squid Magnet, leaving the roads less traveled, less traveled. Sometimes the best kept secret is best kept secret. With regards to skill on twisty roads, I have seen all kinds of bike wadded up, tossed down, thrown over, and I can't recall one type of bike being the victim of a poor rider more than another. | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
It's funny when people see the "dragon" sticker on my bike and ask about it. "Yeah, I've rode The Dragon a few times, but it's so damn crowded. I really prefer Suches." "What's Suches?" "Exactly" | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
prey = 'I think those bikes behind him were chasing him down and he panicked and made a mistake and paid the price' How did you come up with that conclusion? | ||
| Hughlysses |
One thing regarding Rocketsprink's comment above- we should all try to avoid needlessly pissing off the locals when we ride in these locations, especially Suches. It's easy to forget people LIVE there and use those roads for daily travel. And they're not all just rich seasonal immigrants either. I've seen riders do some pretty bone-headed stuff around Suches, like getting behind a family sedan obviously on the way to church on Sunday morning, riding ON their rear, pulling wheelies, making all the exhaust noise they can going past churches having services, etc. That's the kind of stuff that makes locals hate motorcyclists and do what they can to make us stop coming to their areas. A little consideration can go a long way. | ||
| Sayitaintso |
That's the kind of stuff that makes locals hate motorcyclists and do what they can to make us stop coming to their areas. A little consideration can go a long way. Not that I'm really into going to rallys, but take a look at Myrtle Beach and you can see that you've hit the nail on the head. Eventually it gets to the point where they say the extra income from the visitors just aint worth the cost in quality of life. | ||
| Britchri10 |
+1 on Myrtle Beach. I was there on vacation with my family last summer (without a bike). The bikers even managed to P*** me off with their antics & I think I am quite understanding when it comes to motorcycles! | ||
| Sayitaintso |
That was last year.....after the crack down on bikers. I had the misfortune of being there for a family reunion/golf vacation a few years back. Half was during the regular bike week and half was during "black bike week". It seemed like the first 1/2 of the vacation was straight/shorty pipe HD fest (loud as hell but well behaved); the second half sport bike hoodlums (loud, stunting, dangerous, and all night long). The second 1/2 of the week I really wanted to crank the car radio loud as hell on my way to our 7:00am tee times, just to get a little payback. | ||
| Britchri10 |
My experience was driving in a car w/my wife & 11 Y.O. son in a 25 MPH no overtaking zone parallel to the beach & having two sportsbikes sitting on my rear fender revving away, trying to pass. Eventually, they cruised past mouthing obscenities at me. (No helmets or safety gear). This kind of thing was repeated almost every time we ventured out in the car + late night "passes" by sportsbikes revving their B*****KS off. if this was after a crack down, before must have been something else! Charming! | ||
| Court |
>>>I took a little exception to Court's comment about dresser riders, and tried to illustrate my point based on my observations. Your mileage may vary. My comments weren't directed so much at the dresser mounted riders as they were the general mindset of folks who think roads like Highway 129 are a race track. The preponderance of sport bike parts is likely in proportion to the folks playing on the road. The sport bikes, it's a matter of simple physics, are designed to handle far better than any sort of touring bike. Regardless of your level of skill riding a dresser (and yes, also a sport bike) on a heavily traveled, highly technical, poorly designed and heavily patrolled public highway is stupid. I've ridden The Dragon and a host of similar roads and have nothing but pure luck to thank for not having performed similar machinations more than a couple times. I was hard headed and it took me a while to learn. We got to the point where when Erik and I (following the Buell event where we lost 9 bikes in 1 morning) didn't even ride because there was always someone eager to do the Joey Chitwood act on a public road. We even took a guys bike once at the Blue Groove Event (but . . that's another story and Britta thanked me for it) Point is . . doesn't matter if you're in a Saab, Subaru, FLHTC or a Desmowhatever . . if you are riding at that level . . you're needlessly and stupidly placing yourselves at risk. While many folks are giggling and laughing at the chaps tumbling through the air (face it, the guy looks "unbright") all I could think of was the family on vacation in the car coming the other way. I've lost nearly 2 dozen friends over the years here on Badweb and the Buell forum that preceded it. I recall a Badwebber calling me, after having put 2 Buellers into 2 helicopters in 2 days . . their lives changed forever . . asking if he could come to NYC to "recover" for a day or two. What had started as a gathering of friends eroded into a crash fest. In each and every case someone spews something about "Gosh, I don't know how it could have happened?" followed by a lot of feigned hand wringing. In more than one case I've ridden with these folks and watching them leaping the tops of hills on twisty roads with hidden driveways well into the triple digits and simple shook my head . . let them call me a chicken and ridden off on my own. I think after the little story about a stunt I pulled appeared in Backroads magazine in 1997 (and it was the TOTAL squid move) I changed my mindset. I also understand why so many AMA racers would never ride a motorcycle on public highways. Bottom line is . . the guy may have stood a better chance in that fight armed with a bike designed to handle better . . but I'm betting he'd have been bitten one way or another. When you ride like that on a public roadway you place yourself, your family and others in needless risk. Court | ||
| Jaimec |
Any time you charge full tilt into a blind turn, you are just ASKING to be killed. I learned that lesson long ago. Just check the Killboy site for the number of photos of 18 Wheelers on that road completely blocking BOTH lanes. Every time I've ridden that road, I keep that image in mind. If I can't see completely through the curve, I'm taking it SLOW. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
Court "Bottom line is . . the guy may have stood a better chance in that fight armed with a bike designed to handle better . . but I'm betting he'd have been bitten one way or another. When you ride like that on a public roadway you place yourself, your family and others in needless risk. " Im curious to how you think this guy was riding when this happened. Yes, he had an accident and we assume all day long what caused it, but its wrong to assume he was riding like a jackass on an ill-handling bike. | ||
| Court |
>>>Im curious to how you think this guy was riding when this happened. Don't try to bullshit me. I'm an experienced motorcyclist and did years of test riding. I will be the first to concede that . . . "Martians may have shot a ray toward Earth that interfered with the operation of his electronic throttle postion control" and caused the accident." But I'd be willing to bet he was:
Bottom line is no one but him, the camera person and the guy behind him knows. I'm sure there have been cases of a catastrophic mechanical failure at the worst possible time. I saw it happen to Danny Eslick in the recent Daytona 200. But . . if I had to bet right now . . I'm going with stupid all the way. | ||
| Sayitaintso |
Yes, he had an accident and we assume all day long what caused it, but its wrong to assume he was riding like a jackass on an ill-handling bike. I didn't get that same thought from court's post. I took it as he was saying that the guy was riding beyond his and/or the bikes' abilities, and that a better handling bike may have compensated for his lack of ability/skill/knowledge....but he doubted it. | ||
| Court |
By the way . . the operative word in this entire thing is "ASSUME". Note . . . as I did that in the same sentence I was told "we assume all day long and then, separated by no more than a comma, "its wrong to assume" I agree with you . . . my comments are 100% based on PURE ASSUMPTION. And . . so are every comment on this page. Equality in it's finest shining moment. | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
I think he was on the marijuana pill. You know how bikers like to do the drugs. | ||
| J2blue |
As a former "local" to the area in question, I found it fun to chase bikers down in a little 4 banger Fiesta, or such. I would push the little car until the front brakes started to fade then I would have to pull over to let them cool down. I was much younger then, and living up to my redneck ancestry. I watched 129 turn into a circus and feel empathy more for the locals than I do any bike rider. The guy who popularized it as "the dragon" must feel shame, or should feel shame. I have never traversed the fabled path on a bike, and likely never will because it is simply wrong to support the madness that happens there. I'm not saying anyone else shouldn't, but I can't do so in good conscience today. I don't know if it will ever be possible, but I would hope that something could be worked out to provide scheduled riding days and times that most locals could live with. I call to mind the famous bridges which have bungee jumping or base jumping days. People who don't want to follow a sanctioned schedule can always risk jail if they choose. ( or a date with a local[cue banjoes]) | ||
| Crackhead |
Simple fact is you can't slide your butt over the side of the seat to increase the lean angle when your feet are stretched out in front of the rider's center of gravity. With sport touring bikes, like the Uly the feet and legs are placed below the riders center of gravity and the rider has the and opportunity to increase the lean angle that you do not have on a cruiser touring bike. One of the fiends thought it was odd that I lifted my butt up on every turn even minor ones (excluding highways), but when shit happens I want to be in the best possible position for that situation. I have had to do avoidance maneuvering due to blind corners / driveways. Shit happens and will happen. | ||
| Sifo |
You can shift you weight just fine on a HD touring bike. Don't expect a 900 pound bike to react to it like a 400 pound bike though. I would even hang off my Wide Glide with my feet way out front (nothing like the bike in the photo). Bottom line is that you need to ride within your abilities and your bikes capabilities. Even then there are no guarantees. I say he was run off the road by the minivan that crossed the double yellow heading the opposite direction.  | ||
| Jaimec |
Actually, you slide your butt over to DECREASE your lean angle and INCREASE your ground clearance. Unless, of course, you're doing a REALLY SLOW, tight turn and you're counter-weighting, like in a parking lot U-Turn. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
The Dragon on a Dresser . . . . there's one born every minute. My comments weren't directed so much at the dresser mounted riders as they were the general mindset of folks who think roads like Highway 129 are a race track. OK, if you say so. The preponderance of sport bike parts is likely in proportion to the folks playing on the road. Perhaps. IMO, sportbike riders ride "over their heads" on the Dragon at a much higher percentage than folks on dressers. The sport bikes, it's a matter of simple physics, are designed to handle far better than any sort of touring bike. Agree 100%. Doesn't mean that riding the Dragon on a dresser, even at a reasonably good clip, warrants the blanket condemnation of "there's one born every minute." We even took a guys bike once at the Blue Groove Event (but . . that's another story and Britta thanked me for it) I almost ran right over the top of "that guy's" Ducati when Erik reached over, as we were all flying along in tight formation, and flipped that guy's kill switch. Maybe that's why you yanked the key's from Erik's S2T later in the ride and tossed them in the ditch?? Wasn't trying to piss you, or anyone else, off, by taking you to task on your original "dresser" comment, although I do particularly enjoy your wordsmithery when you've got your hackles up a bit. Best, FB | ||
| Reepicheep |
And lets keep the "stupid" comment in perspective. The two times I pulled a stunt like that picture above, it was because I was "stupid". The one time I should have pulled a stunt like that but skated away clean, it was because I was "stupid". I'm still stupid, but every time I rack up another 10,000 miles on a motorcycle, thinking the whole time about how to do it more safely, I get a little less stupid. +1 on the blind corner thing. I constantly adjust my sight lines so they stay longer than my emergency stopping distance (full stop) for the situation at hand (emergency stop distance leaned in a turn has to be a LOT more than straight line). I'll push it a *little* if I am riding with a good rider spaced in front of me... as they can see further through the corner than I can, if I can see them react and trust them to react right. That's why Deals Gap is a fun parade route to me. Lousy sight lines. The most fun I ever had on it was on a clapped out KLR-250, sticking like glue to the back of sportbike riders right at the speed limit, sitting straight up and down in my seat like a big dork, while they were doing their ricky racer impersonations. No end of fun, that. The Cherohola is the real ride out there, you can see perfectly through most turns, and it has tons of places to pull over and let people by. I tried that on the KLR-250, and (literally) burned up a motor in the process. Poor little guy.... And back to sterotyping... *Some* of the cruiser guys on the Cherohola really do get on my nerves. I don't expect you to pull over on a curve the instant I appear in your rear view mirror, but if I am right behind you for 5 miles while you pass 10 scenic turnouts and take every turn at 20mph below the speed limit, maybe it's time for you to stop for a smoke or something.  Not all cruiser types are the problem... and I've pulled over to let faster cruisers by, not just sportbikes. I will say though, perhaps I am biased, but the closer the rider seems to be to fulfilling the image that Harley seems to be marketing to these days (tough guy non conformist that dresses with genuine clothes and and rides genuine bikes just like all the other genuine tough guy non conformists), the less likely they seem to just let me get by them with a smile and a wave. With exceptions of course. It's when you see a guy on a white road king, but with a full face Shoei, that you may get suprised.  |
