Moto Trip (US): Deals Gap / Tail of the Dragon / Devil's Triangle

[GPJake]

I did a "Tail of the Dragon" / Deals Gap / "Devils Triangle" trip recently with 11 other guys (12 total).

This is an area attracting motorcycles & sports/super cars nationally (& world-wide). Because of this, there are multiple professional photography companies posted along certain routes that you can later buy photos from.

Total, I did 1400ish miles in 4 days. ~600 were very high intensity, high focus cornering miles on the popular routes. Very physically exhausting. It was the hardest I've pushed this bike since I've had it, by far. I put fresh Dunlop Q3+ on for the trip, and both the tires & bike handled it great.

All of those who went were experienced riders. We had 2 wreck on the Tail of the Dragon - no injuries. We saw 4 other moto wrecks in the 2 days we rode that area.
These roads give you everything you can handle and far more.

 

[GPJake]

The "main draw" is the route referred to as the "Tail of the Dragon". There are many incredible rides there, but this is the most recognized.
https://tailofthedragon.com

There are hundreds of bikes at any given time of all shapes & sizes.
Lamborghini's, Porche's, McLaren's, you name it.

The tagline is "318 curves in 11 miles". It's popularity is helped by the fact that there are no side streets, no turn-offs, no driveways, etc for the length of it. Only pull-offs for slower folks to accommodate faster folks (usually).

 

[GPJake]

Here are a couple shots I got of myself.
Amateur posture at best... What can I say?

Any other US folks been? Thoughts? Pics?

 

[baugustine]

@haqzore Just got back on Saturday! Total blast...too bad we did not know you were going to be there. We may have passed you

 

[GPJake]

Oh man, having the road in the background of your pic is super sweet. Great shot.

 

[miweber929]

Hah!!!! What @baugustine didn't say was he was there with me where we had a total of 6 guys and I rented a cabin in Sylva to play around there for a few days and invited him along for the shenanigans

 

[miweber929]

If you zoom in on the pic of my Duc you can see I was dragging the exhaust.

I've been going there since the late 90's, and have been there on all sorts of bikes. It's a great place to ride, and as much fun as the Gap is, there are MANY, much better roads around the area with much less traffic. There was a huge police presence on the Friday we were there and did the Gap/Cherohala Skyway loop.

 

[GPJake]

If you zoom in on the pic of my Duc you can see I was dragging the exhaust.

I've been going there since the late 90's, and have been there on all sorts of bikes. It's a great place to ride, and as much fun as the Gap is, there are MANY, much better roads around the area with much less traffic. There was a huge police presence on the Friday we were there and did the Gap/Cherohala Skyway loop.

Skyway loop was a freakin blast.

Definitely the "speed" highlight of our trip. We ripped through that thing.
The longer sweeping curves were a great contrast to the tight leans of the Dragon.

 

[miweber929]

Skyway loop was a freakin blast.

Definitely the "speed" highlight of our trip. We ripped through that thing.
The longer sweeping curves were a great contrast to the tight leans of the Dragon.

Look into The Rattler, Devils Triangle, Moonshiner 28 or now of the other "known" rides if you haven't been.

@baugustine rode the new section of the Foothills Parkway on his way back to Maryville from the house to drop off his bike and said it was amazing; we didn't have time and my wife would have smacked me if I had done it without her!!! I thought I probably dragged my pipe on the Skyway but pictures showed to must have been the day before or early on the Dragon day.

We did a bunch of various loops using maps I bought from here as a guide the rest of the time:

https://americaridesmaps.com

They must have released updated ones because they are more expensive than the ones I bought over the summer which were getting just a bit out of date but still very valid. If you go there a lot, buy the sets, absolutely worth the money, otherwise buy the $20 "100 Rides" and make your own loops.

Unbelievable riding in that area.

 

[GPJake]

I'm pretty sure we did all of those.
We rode non-stop for 2 days, riding there & back on separate days.

28 was one of the first roads we did. It was intense! Super enjoyable.

 

[Jerry]

STOP THIS INSTANT!

You people are making me jealous :'(

 

[GPJake]

STOP THIS INSTANT!

You people are making me jealous :'(

I mean... you should be. I'd even venture to say it's worth a trip here!
There are a couple motorcycle renting places in the area. Not cheap though.

@baugustine @miweber929 - did you guys go to the Wheels Through Time museum?
It was fantastic. And the "curator" guys they had talking about the bikes (and cars) were amazingly passionate and an absolute joy to just listen to.

For those unaware (like the Dragon info up top), they keep every completed vehicle in running order, with 10-15 ready to start up at any time, regardless of age. Such a great place.

 

[miweber929]

I mean... you should be. I'd even venture to say it's worth a trip here!
There are a couple motorcycle renting places in the area. Not cheap though.

That’s what @baugustine did, ask him about the first bike they gave him!!!!

Seriously, though, that’s a great option, lots of places rent and not just Harley’s. He rented a Daytona 675 that died on the Dragon and they gave him a Street Triple as a replacement.

@baugustine @miweber929 - did you guys go to the Wheels Through Time museum?
It was fantastic. And the "curator" guys they had talking about the bikes (and cars) were amazingly passionate and an absolute joy to just listen to.

For those unaware (like the Dragon info up top), they keep every completed vehicle in running order, with 10-15 ready to start up at any time, regardless of age. Such a great place.

We didn’t go, but I’ve been there like 3 or 4 times. Dale is a great guy, the staff is awesome, the place is great. My two favorite bikes there are the Troub and the Crockers. I’ve read his health is failing but I hope that’s wrong. It’s so cool to be walking through the place, see him walk by or a crowd will gather somewhere, then he starts it up for you.

Very unique place. well worth the trip. I think we’ll all go next year when I do the get together again.