The Dragon Dangerous Today

[TennBusa]

A friend and I went up today to run the Dragon on our new bikes. Mine of course, is the Busa and he has a new R1 LE. There was some snowfall inthe mountains on Saturday so we were pretty careful. Tenn salted the roads from the lake to Deal's Gap. There was salt in most every curve with most of it on the preferred lines. There were quite a few curves where the entire roadway was very wet as well. We still had a great ride, but we tiptoed in several places. I led the way on the way up the first trip through. Alan said that his R1 felt loose in several turns but he watched the Busa and it was solid as a rock. The only wiggles were where I would cut the corners and cross the white line. If I was leaned over good it would wiggle just a little. I am more impressed with this bike every time I ride it. I most definitely made a good purchase.

Looking forward to the Bash.

 

[frisbee]

Watch that salt !

 

[Creekboy]

Are you INSANE bro.....riding the Dragon when we got weather like this....bro I love to ride and I live here, but even with how many times Ive ran thru the Dragon I know when is good and not....man just be careful, and give me a shout the next time your up my way..thanks Mick

 

[hooken203]

Hope you washed your bike really well when you got home. That salt does ugly stuff to aluminum. Sure would be great to run the Dragon. Cant wait to get there.

 

[TennBusa]

Yes sir, she got a good bath. Creek, it got to 54 in Knoxville, of course it didn't quite get that far at the Dragon. New bike, wanting some easy passes on 129 before getting there with a crowd and pressure. We rode on into Robbinsville to talk about the ride and warm up over a cup of coffee. Made an easy pass on the way back too. We must be crazy, we never saw another motorcycle the whole day. Oh well, I've never been accused of great intelligence.

 

[grabntwist]

Salt on new bikes

especially the R1 LE

 

[GSXcite]

Yes sir, she got a good bath.  Creek, it got to 54 in Knoxville, of course it didn't quite get that far at the Dragon.  New bike, wanting some easy passes on 129 before getting there with a crowd and pressure.  We rode on into Robbinsville to talk about the ride and warm up over a cup of coffee.  Made an easy pass on the way back too.  We must be crazy, we never saw another motorcycle the whole day.  Oh well, I've never been accused of great intelligence.  

TennBusa, I hope to meet you at busa bash. You said something that has been on my mind regarding crowds and peer pressure. I for one can hardly wait for the bash. I think it will be an event to remember for many years. The one thing that would ruin it for me however, is if someone had a bad spill and was injured or killed. I hope you and all the other riders will ride well within your skill level, and not feel the pressure to do things on your bike that you would not normally do to impress others. Please understand this is not a jab at you, but your post prompted me to share my feelings on the matter. For what it's worth, you could do nothing at the bash that would impress me more than taking on the dragon in the middle of Jan. You da man!

 

[TennBusa]

GSXcite, I agree with you on making it safe. The temps here today were in the 50's in Knoxville. My friend and I both wanted to take an easy pass to see just how well the bikes felt since neither of us had taken these bikes up there yet. Weekends get too crazy to go the first time. I've been riding Hwy 129 since the early 80's before all the motorcycle magazines started writing about it and making it crowded. I learned my limits a long time ago. The salt and wet roads made us take it a lot easier than we normally do, but it was still a good ride.

I've always ridden in jeans and Tshirts. Since I bought the Busa though, I wear my leather jacket to ride and I bought a pair of Tourmaster Cortech HRX pants. I like them. I wear my boots now instead of sneakers. I can see more opportunity to get hurt. I would definitely like to be around to meet and greet everybody in April. Later guys.

 

[PJFZ1]

I've been looking for a warm day to head to the gap, but salt I can do without... But glad to hear you got a good ride in!

 

[lot boy]

Are you INSANE bro.....riding the Dragon when we got weather like this....bro I love to ride and I live here, but even with how many times Ive ran thru the Dragon I know when is good and not....man just be careful, and give me a shout the next time your up my way..thanks Mick

+1 .....cazy thought ,right about now i bet very few, if any tourrist are ridding the gap right now--may be the safest time of the year to ride

 

[GSXcite]

GSXcite, I agree with you on making it safe.  The temps here today were in the 50's in Knoxville. My friend and I both wanted to take an easy pass to see just how well the bikes felt since neither of us had taken these bikes up there yet.  Weekends get too crazy to go the first time.  I've been riding Hwy 129 since the early 80's before all the motorcycle magazines started writing about it and making it crowded.  I learned my limits a long time ago.  The salt and wet roads made us take it a lot easier than we normally do, but it was still a good ride.

I've always ridden in jeans and Tshirts.  Since I bought the Busa though, I wear my leather jacket to ride and I bought a pair of Tourmaster Cortech HRX pants.  I like them.  I wear my boots now instead of sneakers.  I can see more opportunity to get hurt.  I would definitely like to be around to meet and greet everybody in April.  Later guys.

Glad you are wearing good gear. I finally got some nice leather pants for Christmas, now I only ride with leather pants and jacket with armor, good quality full face helmet, riding boots, and gloves. I find it makes my rides more enjoyable since I know I have taken all the precautions possiable. Can't wait untill the bash so I can meet all of the org. folks!



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