Author Topic: An engineer's perspective on the Dragon (Read 4778 times)

solman · « **on:** September 14, 2006, 10:19:51 PM »

This is kind of interesting to see it broken down.

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/dragon_engineer.html

Asphalt · « **Reply #1 on:** September 23, 2006, 10:30:37 PM »

I can't wait to get out there and run this thing...

solman · « **Reply #2 on:** September 24, 2006, 12:50:21 AM »

You live in in the same state and haven't ridden it yet?

JayRo · « **Reply #3 on:** September 24, 2006, 01:51:22 AM »

I live only about a 2 hours ride from the dragon and I haven't ridden it either. I stick to the north georgia mountains, which I think are just as sweet having spoken to numerous people who have ridden both.

KX5000 · « **Reply #4 on:** September 24, 2006, 10:51:41 AM »

Leave it to an engineer to make something as awesome as the dragon sound boring! LOL

Have Blue · « **Reply #5 on:** September 24, 2006, 11:13:11 PM »

The first time through, I found it really interesting. The second time, it was still ok. By the fourth pass, it was merely tedious. There are much better roads in the area.

Quote from: Asphalt

I can't wait to get out there and run this thing...

Landry · « **Reply #6 on:** September 25, 2006, 01:54:48 PM »

I live in the western part of the state (Memphis), and I've thought about making the 5-6 hour trip to see what all the hubbub is about, but it seems to me that any place that is as "well known" as the Dragon's Tail just *has* to be crawling with cops and bikers. Not to mention the fact that I'd flat-spot the rear tire on the way by taking I-40.

As it is, I ride some nice, curvy roads near my home that aren't very busy with traffic. Someday, I might venture out there and check it out, but I'm in no hurry.

solman · « **Reply #7 on:** September 25, 2006, 06:30:51 PM »

I rode 1000 miles to get there, road 800 miles in the local are and then 1000 miles home without getting a flat spot on the rear. BTW, I road I-40 there and back as well.

I think that it is safe to say that you don't have much to worry about. As far as cops go, it depends on whether they have been having problems or a lot of traffic. In the Fall, it tends to have less traffic. Go to www.tailofthedragon.com and there are hints for when it is best to go. My last time there, I ended up hitting just right. I was leaving just as the cops were moving in and this was during the Honda Hoot in June.

Landry · « **Reply #8 on:** September 26, 2006, 11:51:41 AM »

Quote from: solman

I rode 1000 miles to get there, road 800 miles in the local are and then 1000 miles home without getting a flat spot on the rear. BTW, I road I-40 there and back as well.

I get about 3K miles out of a rear tire, and you're telling me you rode 2800 miles without flatspotting it? Was it so windy you had to hold a lean the entire time?

solman · « **Reply #9 on:** September 26, 2006, 12:18:05 PM »

Quote function seems be having problems, oh well. Anyways, if you are only getting 3000 on a rear, then you must be running a soft tire. Either that, or you are really good at tearing tires up. I used a brand new Pilot Road for that trip. I am sure that I had at least a small flat spot in the middle, but it wasn't anything noticable after the trip. I just changed it out recently and it wasn't because it was worn out. I changed it because this is the second nail that I caught in the rear and I had a new Metzler sitting off to the side. So I figured that I would change it out and keep the Pilot as a "just in case" spare.

Landry · « **Reply #10 on:** September 26, 2006, 02:36:45 PM »

I run M1 Sportecs. I suppose that qualifies as soft.

solman · « **Reply #11 on:** September 26, 2006, 11:00:32 PM »

Yep, that is soft. I had a friend running those and got about 2800 to 3000 miles on his rear.

Jason F. · « **Reply #12 on:** September 27, 2006, 11:48:55 PM »

Quote from: Landry

I live in the western part of the state (Memphis), and I've thought about making the 5-6 hour trip to see what all the hubbub is about, but it seems to me that any place that is as "well known" as the Dragon's Tail just *has* to be crawling with cops and bikers. Not to mention the fact that I'd flat-spot the rear tire on the way by taking I-40.

As it is, I ride some nice, curvy roads near my home that aren't very busy with traffic. Someday, I might venture out there and check it out, but I'm in no hurry.

Make a trip out of it. Hwy 70 will get you a good part of the way and keep you off the slab. There are some really nice sections of that road through out the state.

I have been to the Tail of the Dragon about 10 times over the last 5 or 6 years and have had a blast everytime. I have always gone in a sports car and have not taken the bike there yet. I plan on doing that in the next year or so. I do not make more than a few passes on 129 (The Dragon) because there are many other wonderful roads in the area.

You can spend days just making 300 and 400 mile loops out of great roads all along the TN, GA, and NC border. The whole area contains - in my opinion - some of the best if not the best riding/driving roads in this country (probably many other countries as well).

theroamr · « **Reply #13 on:** September 28, 2006, 12:01:43 AM »

I'd personally like to buy the man a beer who designed the lay-out of the dragon

solman · « **Reply #14 on:** September 28, 2006, 01:46:18 AM »

Quote

I'd personally like to buy the man a beer who designed the lay-out of the dragon

I am sure that the man upstairs would appreciate the thought, but probably not the beer. As far as engineers go, they just followed the contour of the mountain.