Dragon question....

[Nikon]

Moreso for the people that race here.

If you race at the track and do trackdays and such, why risk going to the dragon with the amount of insanity that goes on there? I've never been so I don't know too much about it other than what you guys have to say and, don't get me wrong, it sounds like a blast and I'd like to go but it seems like a high risk area.

I am not bashing people that go or saying you shouldn't so don't get me wrong here, just a question and here's why.

I watch videos of people down there and read on the site sometimes about accidents and such and it seems like there is a LOT of stupidity there. I know that there is stupidity all over and you can get hurt a mile from your house, blah blah blah but it seems like a congested area for things like tractor trailers and rvs were you come around a turn and there is a trailer in both lanes.

Is it the scenery, the amount of bikes in the area? I know the road is SICK from watching videos and if your not draggin knees it looks like a gorgeous area but if you drag knees on the track - is it worth seeing that tractor trailer in your lane to drag knee on that road?

I'd like to go down sometime in my life and it is definately a destination for motorcycles and when I get there I am sure that my riding there will be spirited but with SO many bikes and silly people, it seems like an elevated risk to go all the way down there especially when you can rip on the track (again, this is more for the racers than anyone else).

For the people that don't get on the track that often or very rarely I can see the appeal of tearing ass on those roads. I guess I can see the appeal for anyone to tear ass on those roads but draggin knee on such notorious road for tactor trailers and RVs ebeing in both lanes and inexperienced riders going too hard, I don't know, somethng I was thinking about watching some google videos about the dragon.

[can you tell I'm at work and bored?]

[Currently]

I went down to that area for the SVRally and really enjoyed myself.

There is not a bad road in the area ... motorcycle mecca as far as I am concerned.

Met a lot of people, had a great time, drove on roads I could only dream about. Overall, glad that I went because it opened up horizons that I never knew existed.

I have yet to go to a track, because I went to the Dragon, I found out that my left hand turns really suck and I have trouble picking out a left hand turn apex.

I found out my bike suspension really rocks and pushed it to its limits. (it isn't stock and I am glad I put my money there instead of bling!)

I now want to go to a track and learn how to fix the weaknesses I discovered in my riding ... it is not the bike, it is the rider.

I also went on a ride following a guy that rode with his wife on the back of his SV650 and it was everything I could do to keep up with him alone on my bike ... I now have a hell of a lot of respect to what that bike can do and it has a lot to teach me.

You don't have to do 70 mph on the Dragon to have fun there!

I want to go to a track day with good instructors willing to put up with me as a novice.

[mycirus]

For the amount of Bike traffic they get, accidents and deaths are really low in comparison. Its just nice there. If you ride your own ride, you can have a blast on roads like none in the Northeast. When there is a rig coming through, 90 percent of the time there is a bike escorting it through to warn people. I couldnt tell you about draging knees on street, I cant do it. Its just awesome, thats all. Speaking of Dragon, is there a Sept trip in the works?

Bruce

[RandyO]

there's a big difference between the dragon on a weekend in the summer, and a week day in the off season when I am down there

no cops, no traffic, no frost heaves


IMHO track riding is boring, I'd rather watch nascar, same 12 turns that are not even that difficult, over and over

the dragon, you can be scraping you pegs @ 30mph

[Currently]

I am going to need new feelers for my pegs pretty soon.

I agree with RandyO ... weekdays rock.
Small crowd, great atmosphere, just you and the bike dancing on the Dragon.

Ride your ride and don't worry about following or leading.

Respect the Dragon and it will teach you.

Disrespect it and it will bite you hard.

It is worth doing at least once in a life time.

Hey ... mycirus ... I am willing to go back down this fall.
Probably around Columbus Day weekend.

Cool weather and no crowds.

I got a Tundra with two BikePro motorcycle chocks in the back.
Offer is open ...

[01YZF6]

I was there last year and had never heard of it before that....

If you take the tightest corner of rt 17, multiply it by 318, you have the dragon.......

with two exceptions....

1. you dont have turn around every 1.6 miles to do it again.
2. there are at least 10 alternate roads that are just as tight and twisty within the immediate area.


I rode through there several times, rather aggressively too, not once even having a touch down.

avg speed was 20-45 mph.

I surfed asphalt there too, due to some road imperfections, and have it on video !

I was there for a regional meet, and would go back again and again. if for nothing else, just to HIT IT !

[benVFR]

You just gotta go Will.

It's like nothing else. I could ride a H-D down there all day long and it'd probably be more interesting to me then riding a sportbike here.

No matter how slow you're going in the general area you have a ton of fun. You get to the point where you forget what a straight road feels like.

You also have the whole motorcycle touring aspect thrown in if you're riding down. You see a lot. A lot more then when you just stay in your area all the time and sportride.

I need to go back badly, even if it's a bonzai run down just for one day in the area. A big part of riding for me is exploring new places and seeing new stuff. It's getting harder and harder to scratch that itch up here in New England and it's quite hard to ride >500 miles from home without using up lots of vacation.

[Nikon]

Originally posted by mycirus
When there is a rig coming through, 90 percent of the time there is a bike escorting it through to warn people.
Bruce

Well that's pretty cool - I wasn't aware of that. I was told that the roads in the surrounding area are awesome as well and I know that the scenery is gorgous. I do want to go down there at some point - looks like a blast.

[Nikon]

Originally posted by RandyO
there's a big difference between the dragon on a weekend in the summer, and a week day in the off season when I am down there

no cops, no traffic, no frost heaves


IMHO track riding is boring, I'd rather watch nascar, same 12 turns that are not even that difficult, over and over

the dragon, you can be scraping you pegs @ 30mph

Simple and informative. Thanks Randy.

[Nikon]

Originally posted by benVFR
You just gotta go Will.

It's like nothing else. I could ride a H-D down there all day long and it'd probably be more interesting to me then riding a sportbike here.

No matter how slow you're going in the general area you have a ton of fun. You get to the point where you forget what a straight road feels like.

You also have the whole motorcycle touring aspect thrown in if you're riding down. You see a lot. A lot more then when you just stay in your area all the time and sportride.

I need to go back badly, even if it's a bonzai run down just for one day in the area. A big part of riding for me is exploring new places and seeing new stuff. It's getting harder and harder to scratch that itch up here in New England and it's quite hard to ride >500 miles from home without using up lots of vacation.

I will. Just wont be for a LONG ASS time - kids youknwo

[KB]

Will my boy,

Don't knock it till you try it. It's like riding a little white china once you shoot your forst dose your hooked.

Come down with us you will not be dissapointed!

KB

[Nikon]

Originally posted by rmbbikes
Will my boy,

Don't knock it till you try it. It's like riding a little white china once you shoot your forst dose your hooked.

Come down with us you will not be dissapointed!

KB

That's just it. I am NOT knocking it. I want to go down. I jsut see a lot of videos of people being silly and wonder to my self if that's the place to do it?

I don't have the time or the money to go at this time. Wont for a few years.

[Awesome]

Watch some of the videos on bruces myspace. There really aren't that many people riding rediculous. We don't just run the draggon while we're down there either. We stay off of it on the days that it's getting a lot of traffic. The roads down there are a blast. It's not like racing becasue you're not pushing hard and it's not like trackdays because you're not going in circles. The riding isn't even pushing at trackday pace. Plus you can't beat the trip, a bunch of great people spending a week in a beautiful scenic area just hanging out and relaxing and having a good time. The scenery and views down there are just breathtaking. The long drive to get there does suck though.

[RandyO]

Originally posted by Nikon

I don't have the time or the money to go at this time. Wont for a few years.

Time I understand.... money is no excuse. I spend a total of about $300-$400 for the week, gas, food, lodging, and suvineers

the majority of that goes for the gas that it takes me to ride 4000 miles

in other words, cheapest vacation you can ever take

[s a x m a n]

Originally posted by RandyO

IMHO track riding is boring, I'd rather watch nascar, same 12 turns that are not even that difficult, over and over

i'm not sure if this was talking about Loudon, but uh, not difficult ... sure running a 2 minute laptime, that can be boring ... but I'm sure jeff wood doesn't find doing 1:12s to be that boring ... this doesn't even apply to just loudon


dragon is fun, but if I had the choice of the dragon or the track ... the track any day ... you just can't ride on the street like you can on the track

you will reach a point where you just can't go any faster on the street (mainly for safety reasons), but at the track you can continually try to ride faster and harder and the only thing that is stopping you from going faster is you

Originally posted by RandyO

the dragon, you can be scraping you pegs @ 30mph

yeah, thats how I crashed at the dragon (first year rider)...

[Nikon]

Originally posted by RandyO
Time I understand.... money is no excuse. I spend a total of about $300-$400 for the week, gas, food, lodging, and suvineers

the majority of that goes for the gas that it takes me to ride 4000 miles

in other words, cheapest vacation you can ever take

The only vacation I have taken over the past 3 years is to go to Jays for Bike Week. I run my bank account to near nothing right now and that's with just necessities and minor spending for a dinner out every couple of weeks and shooting about once a month. Money is an excuse when you have none.

[RandyO]

Originally posted by s a x m a n

you will reach a point where you just can't go any faster on the street (mainly for safety reasons), but at the track you can continually try to ride faster and harder and the only thing that is stopping you from going faster is you

You are making an assinine assumption the motorcycling is about going faster, maybe for squids

[OreoGaborio]

Originally posted by RandyO
You are making an assinine assumption the motorcycling is about going faster, maybe for squids

uhh... or RACERS????

Randy, it may not hold true for everyone, but speed (whether it be straight line or cornerspeed) is obviously a dominating part of the sport for a vast majority of riders. You can always go faster on a track than you can on the street and do so with much less risk.

[JeffL]

Originally posted by RandyO
You are making an assinine assumption the motorcycling is about going faster, maybe for squids

I wouldnt say that, but I might agree its somewhat about "desensitizing" yourself to faster speeds. If you can ride competently at 75mph through a set of corners marked 35mph, but you only take it at 60, you're going to have a much larger margin of error than someone who at 60mph is at 100%, and therefore has 0 margin of error. Just because you CAN ride fast doesnt mean you have to.

[RandyO]

Originally posted by OreoGaborio
uhh... or RACERS????

Randy, it may not hold true for everyone, but speed (whether it be straight line or cornerspeed) is obviously a dominating part of the sport for a vast majority of riders. You can always go faster on a track than you can on the street and do so with much less risk.

Pete READ THE FUCKING CONTEXT THE STATEMENT WAS MADE

Originally posted by s a x m a n

you will reach a point where you just can't go any faster on the street (mainly for safety reasons), but at the track you can continually try to ride faster and harder and the only thing that is stopping you from going faster is you

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


STREET RIDING


YOU make the assinine assumption that motorcycling is a sport for all riders

[OreoGaborio]

Randy, you were the one that changed the context from street riding to "motorcycling" in your last post and that's what I was responding to. There's no sense in getting angry at me because you don't know how to correctly specify what you're talkin about.

You are making an assinine assumption that motorcycling is about going faster, maybe for squids

And don't tell me what I assume & what I don't... You don't have a friggin clue. Get off your high horse & give people the credit they deserve.

One more thing... "CONTEXT" says that this thread is about riding the Dragon... since when is that not considered sport riding?

Happy 4th. Try going out & having a good time with some friends instead of sitting around picking fights about meaningless bullshit w/ people who are stuck at work.

[a13x]

Will,

From what I can gather about the Dragon. It's a destination, a mark, a notch in the gunbelt for a motorcycle rider (racer or no).

Seems to be the only reason to go ride "The Dragon" to me, considering there are better roads, with less cars, cops, trees, etc, all over the place according to Dragon locals.

Randy should get into Minimotard racing, I can scrape pegs at 5mph.

[OreoGaborio]

Originally posted by a13x
Randy should get into Minimotard racing, I can scrape pegs at 5mph.

and I can drag my knee doin circles like 5 feet in diameter

we should get a video camera next time i'm doin that

[RandyO]

Originally posted by OreoGaborio
Randy, you were the one that changed the context from street
One more thing... "CONTEXT" says that this thread is about riding the Dragon... since when is that not considered sport riding?

Are you aware that far more motorcylist ride cruisers than sportbikes, and that the dragon is a destination for cruiser riders too, althought they are usually not squidly enuf to hang out on the dragon all day

[JeffL]

Originally posted by RandyO
Are you aware that far more motorcylist ride cruisers than sportbikes, and that the dragon is a destination for cruiser riders too, althought they are usually not squidly enuf to hang out on the dragon all day

They probably dont intend to, but I bet it takes awhile to get through those 11 miles doing 10 under the limit.