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Tail of the Dragon


z007

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I am trying to get a couple of fellow FZ07 riders to join me on the Tail of the Dragon. I would prefer not to attempt this alone and figure some people might be itching to give it a shot.

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That's a bit too far for me to do without a trunk, but I try to get there once or twice per year. From your wording, have you not been there before? 

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On 9/18/2017 at 2:09 PM, z007 said:

I am trying to get a couple of fellow FZ07 riders to join me on the Tail of the Dragon. I would prefer not to attempt this alone and figure some people might be itching to give it a shot.

It's our backyard, and we like showing opeople around the area.. let us know when you're coming and we'll try to break free to ride a little with you.

 

 We're happy to help with local info for people coming to ride the area.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

I visit there on average 3-5 trips out the a year. Second week of June, I’m always there for the smoky mountain crawl. Otherwise, I visit for Memorial Day Labor Day and random days in between.

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You can attempt it alone if you have to. It's nothing like this:

 

 

I'm just kidding of course but really, if you think about it Harley riders ride it every day on behemoths without any problem. Just don't go fast the first time around, you'll be fine.

Beemer

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On 2/8/2018 at 11:20 AM, Beemer said:

 

 

I'm just kidding of course but really, if you think about it Harley riders ride it every day on behemoths without any problem. Just don't go fast the first time around, you'll be fine.

Those are the same riders who nearly fall over they are going so slow and then brag about "Taming the dragon". If it wasn't for harleys and bike week cruisers, it would be perfect. Oh, and secretaries on trikes. They need the third wheel or else they'd surely fall over at the snail's pace they take the turns. 

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22 hours ago, cyow5 said:

Those are the same riders who nearly fall over they are going so slow and then brag about "Taming the dragon". If it wasn't for harleys and bike week cruisers, it would be perfect. Oh, and secretaries on trikes. They need the third wheel or else they'd surely fall over at the snail's pace they take the turns. 

If only there were a way to claim the road for ourselves and declare it off limits to slow riders.

Beemer

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5 minutes ago, Beemer said:

If only there were a way to claim the road for ourselves and declare it off limits to slow riders.

I just don’t get the draw to drive it slowly. There are so many more scenic roads out there that it is a waste of time to just lope through. 

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3 minutes ago, cyow5 said:

I just don’t get the draw to drive it slowly. There are so many more scenic roads out there that it is a waste of time to just lope through. 

You first have to understand Harley patriots/enthusiasts and their riding philosophy and going fast isn't part of it. Ever watch the old black & white movie, "The Wild One"? They are trying to shake that ruffian image by the way they ride (slow and respectful of others) and expect other bikers (you and I) to ride the same way because when we ride fast they think we make them look bad. What's funny to me is someone should tell them to stop dressing up in the black leather, the patches and all the tats and drop the tough guy attitudes if they REALLY don't want the ruffian image.

Beemer

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This is what I experienced in my neck of the woods back from my earliest days of motorcycling from 15 years old in the summer and fall of 1981:

 

Harley Davidson motorcycles had a bad reputation as being crude, heavy, and outdated oil leakers.

All of my teenage riding acquaintances would basically laugh at the thought of riding one, never mind riding one and enjoying it.

The riders that did ride and enjoy these bikes were the sons of the guys who fought in World War 2, and if you pulled up on your Yamaha AT-2 at the local swimming hole for a dip, they let you know it.

Nobody was killed, but the verbal harassment was there in spades.

I also noticed these guys rode their Harleys slowly because, really, they didn't ride very well and they seemed to have no desire to learn how to ride better, and just being out on their Harley Davidson was enough for them.

Me and my riding acquaintances thought they were riding a bunch of obsolete clunkers that looked boring to ride, so we were not surprised that they were content with going slow (except for a short burst of speed on a straight section of road they knew well).

When my sister's then-boyfriend insisted I take his 1974 (if I recall correctly) 1,000cc Sportster for a short spin up the road and back, he wanted to crap a brick when I handed the bike back to him and told him I'd get more riding enjoyment out of trail riding on my Yamaha AT-2.

My dream bike was a 1982 Yamaha IT175J or YZ125J, or a dual-purpose XT200J so I could trail ride and use it for street transportation, not a lead sled that felt like an old tractor on two wheels.

He just couldn't understand that I did not desire a bike like his and I simply didn't know my ass from my elbow.

 

Fast forward to 1984.

Harley Davidson debuts it's Evolution engine design (called the Evo for short) and the bikes start to get good reviews in motorcycle magazines (real paper magazines, as this was about 12 years before the Internet as we know it today came into our homes).

Dealers were actually bragging that they could display it on their carpeted showrooms without oil staining the carpet.

The bikes were still big, heavy, and crude compared to the Yamaha motorcycles I rode, but that year, something happened that I didn't see coming:

Several of my riding acquaintances (we were now out of high school and working for a living) said they planned on getting a Harley street bike.

This blew my mind because last I'd heard from them, they thought Harleys just plain sucked. 

 

Well, those that said they wanted to do so did buy their Harley Davidson within a year of stating this, and they, too, were riding their Harleys slowly.

I could tell why that would be the case from just looking at and studying their new bikes (big and heavy), but I asked them why they liked these bikes so much, anyway.

A loaded question, for sure, because by now it was obvious they'd become hypnotized. 

Their answer was along the lines of the Harley riders from the generation older that would harass you for riding a Honda or Yamaha.

Paraphrased, it boiled down to this:

 

Going fast is for kids (and I don't mean riding ridiculously fast and trying to be a dangerous idiot on two wheels, but simply riding at a pace and on roads and terrain that prevent you from falling asleep).

It's about getting out on the road and being seen riding by on or pulling up to someplace on your Harley Davidson.

Any desire to ride a lighter and more sporty motorcycle (be it a street bike or dirt bike) was replaced with owning a Harley, and they now made it sound as if owning one meant you had matured as a motorcyclist and had "arrived".

 

 

 

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I was there at the end of Oct and have to say for me it was worth the trip and will be heading back when I can. As for slow riders the only ones that did not move over was a couple of Harleys, but I'm sure some riders wanted me to move over and let them pass sooner. The Grom riders that were there when I was were insane, flat out insane.

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No, I understand the appeal of cruising, just what baffles me is why you'd want to be specifically on the TotD when there are for more enjoyable roads nearby in terms of scenery and lack of traffic. Especially since said HD cruisers surely hate everyone who gets mad at them, perpetuating the divide between the two types. 

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YZEtc

 

That about sums it up! You know, it's a good thing Harley didn't get into making engines for airplanes because our air-force would probably be rattling on about how great their bi-planes are compared to Russia's Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter. 😆

Beemer

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I ride at the pace I feel comfortable, It probably is not the posted speed limit either slightly over or if I feel like just cleansing me noodle I ride at the pace I feel comfortable in.  What does this mean R1?  Well I tell ya

It means

 

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” --Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria

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20 hours ago, r1limited said:

I ride at the pace I feel comfortable, It probably is not the posted speed limit either slightly over or if I feel like just cleansing me noodle I ride at the pace I feel comfortable in.  What does this mean R1?  Well I tell ya

It means

 

In my neighborhood I can't drive 25.

Beemer

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