Riding the Smoky Mountains

[SRTie4k]

Day 1:

Rode the BRP from Cherokee to just north of Asheville where, as stated, the section that goes through Pisgah was closed. Most of it was lightly traveled, only saw one cop, started getting a bit busy around Asheville. Ended up taking a sketchy mountain road (where i almost ate shit due to tons of rocks in the road) back down into Weaverville.

From there we made our way over to Hot Springs where we took 209 down through Bluff and Luck. Talk about some tight corners, but it was a blast. We had the entirety of 209 to ourselves.

Tomorrow is the Dragon and Cherahola.

[klp]

NC 80 runs across the Parkway right around Mt. Mitchell, it's called the Devils whip. Dunno if you can access it but I plan to ride it this summer when down there.

[SVRACER01]

You had good time but not recommend it?

There is a dirt road that comes off N. River Road right near NC state line (assume Sycamore trail) which ends where the rock slide closed it off something like 20 years ago, and from there it's a sharp left hairpin (assume Benton MacKaye Trail?) I rode that to the top of some hill and then went around the gate, amazing views from the summit, thought I was hot shit getting up that rocky road but on the way down passed 3 Sportsters...

well, ya...i dont recommend doing it at dusk...alone...when no one knows where you are...and you dont have gps or a map. there was a sign that said the road went to like uncle toms cabin or some shit. i never saw uncle tom or his cabin

[lrrs313]

well, ya...i dont recommend doing it at dusk...alone...when no one knows where you are...and you dont have gps or a map. there was a sign that said the road went to like uncle toms cabin or some shit. i never saw uncle tom or his cabin

Did you hear banjos?

[SRTie4k]

Day 2:

Did the Dragon and Cherahola today. Took 28 up to the Dragon, man I love that road. The Dragon went well, no drama except for my bike dying several times towards the end. Had to pull over at the power lines and spent 2 hours trying to repair a melted ignition relay connector. We finally got it running again and continued on to the Cherahola, which was nearly empty.

We then decided to head back up 129 to grab a drink and watch the shitshow, and almost wiped the fuck out on a tar snake just over the dam. Biggest pucker ever.

After that, just headed back to the cabin via 28 and 74. Found a puppy on the side of the road on 74 scared as shit, we're assuming either someone dumped him there or he wandered away, but he didn't have a collar. Some guy stopped and offered to take him, we didn't have much choice being on bikes. At least he wouldn't get hit by a car then.

[TheIglu]

Dogs aren't respected or cared for down there. That takes a while to get used to.

[SVRACER01]

they are royalty down there compared to being out on the reservation

[SRTie4k]

Day 3:

Rode for what felt like an eternity out to Devil's Triangle. Talk about a crazy road, we're assuming the road builders were all drunk when they built it. Very unpredictable, it was essentially like riding a rollercoaster. It was fun, but I wouldn't do it again given how long it took to get to.

Then did the Dragon again, this time in reverse.

Day 4:

Did what we called the Northern Georgia Loop. Cherahola, then down 60 into Georgia, then to Helen and Clayton, then up through Highlands back home. Awesome day, lots of faster sweepers and tight switchbacks.

And fwiw, drivers in Georgia don't pull over for bikes like Carolinans do.

Today is our last day. Possible rain today, so we're keeping it short and doing 276 and 281 past Toxaway.

[SRTie4k]

Day 5:

It turned out beautiful. Damp roads in the shade, otherwise dry and sunny. Rode down 276 through Pisgah which was awesome the first half and leisurely but beautiful the 2nd half. Then rode 281 around Toxaway which was a total blast. Great 5 hour ride to finish out our week and give us time to pack.

It was a good time to end it too, because my buddy's rear tire was the equivalent of a race slick on one side when we finished. He's certainly not timid on that SV650 of his.

Now it's Saturday and he just texted me that instead of changing his tire he just replaced the whole bike! He's now the proud owner of a 2016 Triumph Tiger XCA.

No crashes, no tickets and a new bike. A fitting end to our little trip!

[SVRACER01]

yeah, new bikes come with new tires

[Paul_E_D]

yeah, new bikes come with new tires

Saved himself 400 bucks!

[SRTie4k]

Some pictures from the trip.

Our chariot



Staging point



The humble abode, complete with hot tub



BRP



Devil's Triangle



Lake Toxaway



And of course, the Dragon

[nhbubba]

What's the bottle clamped to the frame under the tank?

[SRTie4k]

That's my BPA-free coolant overflow bottle, courtesy of smutty (or whoever owned it before him). We're approaching the millionth person mark in asking that question.

Someday I'll replace it with something less question worthy.

[tls25rs]

TLS is a fun bike to have down there. Torque lets you leave it in a gear and just tool along. Loved mine down there. Only time I had more fun was on my motard on the dragon itself, all the other roads we did the TLS was the better choice.

[SRTie4k]

Agreed, the TLS was awesome on the less tight twisty roads, like 28 or the BRP. I could leave it in 3rd or 4th the whole time and use sheer grunt to power out of corners. On the tight corners of the Dragon it was a bit more of a handful, but not unmanageable.

[Dmitry]

Had 3 of my bikes down there at different times, smaller bikes felt more comfortable on the Gap, but now that I think of it it was because I was afraid to crash the Tuono, lot's of pricey carbon bits to replace while Hawk and KTM tard are both crashed and rashed, so I cared a bit less... till I tossed away the Tuono. Frame sliders did the job, picked up and rode away before anyone saw me Thought I almost got away with it unnoticed till someone walked over and asked me where all that grass came from. Still much less ballbusting then I expected. After that I felt more at ease with the Ape.



TT sticker covering up previous owners mistake, which also happened at Deal's Gap

[nhbubba]

I had my V-Strom 650 down there for the week I was there. I also got a quick whirl on a nicely setup nekid SV650. The twins do well down there. But then I think they do well on lots of roads.

I'm less worried about boogering up a bike or being ridiculed with an off down there and more worried about fubaring myself. Not a lot of good runoff.



Found this scene when I was out exploring alone after dinner one night. Nobody around, just the bike and bits lying there. Rider went wide on a fairly benign sweeper on 129 well before the Cheoah dam. By my math all should have been fairly well. This is one of the few places where there is a comparatively shit-ton of runoff. Or so it looks. Right where the bike left the pavement was a large sink hole. Looks like the front end went into the hole and .. well, you do the mental math.

[SRTie4k]

My gut tells me that the SV650 is the perfect bike for that area. Plenty of grunt to fly out of corners without shifting too much, nimble enough for the really tight stuff, but still powerful and comfortable for the long sweepers of the BRP/Cherohola/28/129 before the Dragon.

That said, my next bike is gonna be more sport-touring oriented for sure. It's just so convenient having tons of storage and comfort, and just enough sportiness to have fun.

[nhbubba]

ADV toys do that and then add a smidge of off-pavement competence. Not unwelcomed down there.
The sport-tourers are a better choice if uninterested in any dirt at all. No worries about shitty pavement like here.

[TheIglu]

My gut tells me that the SV650 is the perfect bike for that area. Plenty of grunt to fly out of corners without shifting too much, nimble enough for the really tight stuff, but still powerful and comfortable for the long sweepers of the BRP/Cherohola/28/129 before the Dragon.

That said, my next bike is gonna be more sport-touring oriented for sure. It's just so convenient having tons of storage and comfort, and just enough sportiness to have fun.

Let me know when you want to give my Wee a try. I'm betting it'll check off all your wants. I'm in Keene all the time.

[Dmitry]

The day I dumped the Ape we went to dinner in Robbinsville with Killboy crew, Saturday tradition for the locals, on the way back to Maryville came across the NissanZ in the ditch, last tight corner on the Dragon before the lake, turned out it was one of the crew we were just eating with, went a touch wide, dropped one wheel on the shoulder and off he went, got high-centered, minimal damage. I didn't hear any ballbusting towards him either, guess going off in to the weeds is just one of those things they accept as normal.

When I went wide and did some grass-mowing on the KTM earlier that year I did catch a lot of friendly ribbing, probably because I just passed 1199 and SF1198 few corners before, still get some friendly reminders from them, felt good passing a pair of superbikes with more than 3X the power and pulling away from them

here's me shortly before I dusted them both fast riders, but not willing to pitch $15K in to the ditch.



here's another pic, this is from Rt 28, stretched Busa chasing 600RR... dude still didn't think it had anything to do with bike being stretched

[number9]

Serious question, how many cops did you see?

[SRTie4k]

On the Dragon we saw 2 TN cops, one coming up just as we got back on after fixing my bike at the power lines, the 2nd down by the lake shooting radar down the long straight. That was on Monday at noon. The 2nd time we came across the Dragon, on Tuesday around 4PM, we saw none.

Only other time we saw one was on the Blue Ridge just outside Asheville, but it was too busy to ride fast anyways.

[number9]

On the Dragon we saw 2 TN cops, one coming up just as we got back on after fixing my bike at the power lines, the 2nd down by the lake shooting radar down the long straight. That was on Monday at noon. The 2nd time we came across the Dragon, on Tuesday around 4PM, we saw none.

Only other time we saw one was on the Blue Ridge just outside Asheville, but it was too busy to ride fast anyways.

Cool, thanks for the reply! Also can I please take the Tuono for a spin?