@@SteveBrueck I've seen two assholes die in the last 10 years and twice as many crash. I'm sick of all the idiots, thugs and assholes ruining this sport.
@@crayzbiker In the United States A double yellow line is a no passing zone. And it really shouldn't be ignored because they don't just throw those down just because, Those 2 were going to wind up dead in a head on at some point if they kept doing what they were doing.
I had a friend who was a professional racer. He was riding up near Lake Berryessa, in Napa, CA.... He was in his lane taking a left hand corner, when his head was just over the center lane. His bike and body were in his lane, but his head encroached into the on coming lane. A car came around in her lane, but right on the double yellow line. She was still in her lane, but very close to the yellow line. Her left front bumper caught his helmet right in the forehead... Total speed was 80 mph (him 50, her 30 mph), He died immediately and she had a dented front fender... Think about it when you ride like those two riders did, they were terrible inexperienced riders. People say, "I have been riding for 30 years", well they have 1 year's experience 30 times over... Those two riders were the 1 year's experience only abilities. RIP RC.
Maybe all these ricky racer sport bike riders need to practice on road courses with on coming traffic just like tail of the dragon untill there are no more sport bike riders left alive to keep jacking up the cost of motorcycle insurance and wont have to avoid them when they lose control and come at you head on and side ways on two lane highways that when it comes to push or shove and a sport bike rider tries to cut me off way out in the wilderness like the tail of the dragon ...ill say will be like return to thunder dome , two go in one come out
And these kinds of riders probably only do a couple thousand miles a year and only when the weather is perfect… I’ll have my license for one year in a week and already did 20.000 miles in all kinds of weather. Technically I should have the riding experience of a 10 year rider…
Just goes to show then, that even professional riders can be idiots. Never encroach into the othersides lane. Doesn't matter jack shit if your bike and body is in "your" lane but your head is in the other lane, thats not your lane. Live by the sword ---- die by the sword. By the way i'm a biker and had my fair share of close calls.
I used to ride this road all the time back in the early to mid 70's. Started out with a '73 CB350, later rode the dragon on a CB450 and a BSA 650. I lived in Blount County, the Dragon was maybe a 1/2 hour away. Sometimes I'd cruise through Cades Cove in the Smokies and take the then open one way Parson's Branch Road over to the middle of the Dragon. I had the road mostly to myself. People hauling boats to go fishing on Fontana Lake used it, and I'd first become aware of the road while working for a lumber company back then that sometimes trucked lumber over to Robbinsville. The pavement on the Dragon was sometimes in poor shape, and if you were hauling something like roof trusses or 18 foot long lumber, you *had* to use part of the other lane just to make the turn at a few spots. And some of the curves were reverse banked! If you didn't anticipate those, you'd be scraping pipes and pegs on the pavement. I changed the exhaust system on my CB450 to get more Dragon clearance. The whole place was pretty much a quiet, primeval type wilderness. You had a real sense of awe and wonder at the very steep river gorge going down to Calderwood Lake. Spectacular scenery and peace and quiet. And just look at what it is now! When I was riding there, I had no cell phone and was usually going solo with a backpack and supplies strapped onto my sissy bar. If I ran off the mountain playing road racer I was on my own. They might have found my bones and my bike years later.
I rode bikes on it about the same time as you, it wasn't even called TOD back then. Much later, around 2011-2017, I had a fairly modified Miata and went up yearly for the Miata weekend, also went for ZDayz. Things had really changed by then, it had become a conga line of crazies. I never crossed the centerline, though, you'd see enough people who did and what happened to them as often as not. The one thing I'm happiest about is the truck ban that was finally imposed.
It’s 2022 and my current rides are a 72cb350 and 73cb350F and I would love to try the Tail of the Dragon on these and compare them while traveling back in time.
@@valeriegagnon1330 I'd love to have my old cb350 back. I was a poor boy in those days on a budget and wanted but couldn't afford the bigger and badder bikes. I did find that that first bike of mine to have been the perfect choice. It was very reliable and could be used for long distance touring. I had a backpack tied onto my sissy bar, and all my camping stuff was in it. No $$ for motels or restaurants. I used bulky and soft stuff like sleeping bags as a back rest when cruising. I'd lean back and put my legs on the highway bars up front , letting me stretch a bit and change riding positions. I could cruise at around 75 mph all day long on the bike. Because it was so light, I could also use it almost like a dirt bike and do stuff and go places the bigger bikes couldn't do.
Cherohala Skyway has a few reverse banked curves too. Those will sneak up on you if you arent' paying attention. I don't ride the Dragon anymore. Too crowded and too many squids.
@@skibumalldasy you might ne right but I always called "duck feet' people who don't properly place there feet on the pegs and have there toes sticking out.
@@skibumalldasy you drop your foot to stabilize the bike during breaking. They weren't going fast enough or breaking hard enough for that. I bet they have never done a track day, those are the guys thay come to the track and get wrecked.
i honestly love how youre keeping up with them and youre staying in your lane, then you pass them and blow them away haha i love it! these douches need to stay off the road..
Besides being dangerous, personally I think it's more fun if you stay in your lane and not try to straighten out the corner! Hopefully when these guys crash they don't take someone else with them!
There are more of these asshole riders out there than knowledgeable/safe riders by a long shot now. It sucks. The thugs and assholes have ruined the perception of motorcyclists for everyone now. I rarely mention I ride to dates bc of this perception.
It is truly impressive the lack of self preservation these two have. Self correcting problem I suppose. These are the guys who skew the statistics. Thanks for posting the video.
Absolutely atrocious riding, and one of the reason I tend to stay away from this area. You see it all the time. You can't tell idiot riders like this anything either.. They know everything, till they end up dead or seriously inquired.
Sarah Dell You are right. These "you have to have been there" roads are mostly a playground for posers. There are enough not so well known roads, with less traffic, which have also nice curves.
Yep - been there once... And, sure 'nuff, group up ahead waving down the bikes 'cause one of the TT-wanna-bes ended up in the weeds... A-holes on crotchies wanna race? Fine, find a track... FWIW..
I was going to ride the dragon this summer. Know what? So many people told me it's a crowded boiling hot frustrating ride full of knuckle heads like these. Or endless slow moving campers, trailers and such. Nah, I'm heading to the Pocono mountains instead. Ride safe y'all.
It does get a little crowded but it’s a blast, the better option is to come but ride moonshiner or cherohala. 50 miles of faster corners and no traffic.
Or go during a the work week during the day. I was there about the second week of September on a Wednesday (I think). Some other traffic, but not much.
I absolutely love to ride, but it's a shame how so many people just get bikes to look cool, and fail miserably. It's beyond obvious these dudes haven't been riding long.
Eurgh, by now I've read half a dozen comments saying exactly what I'm about to say, but I need to get it out of my system: These idiots will hurt someone with this cutting corner crap, AND, they're laughably slow. I don't mock slow riders, I think everyone should ride at whatever they feel like and/or are comfortable with. That being said, watching this motogp ballet crap cutting corners while going slow is infuriating. And also hilarious, considering how you were smoothly tagging along while keeping to your lane on your smaller (but torquier) engine. Eurgh.These guys.
Very good video...never ever use other line...it is the golden rule...if you cant keep yourself on your own line, it means you are not able to ride that fast...so slow down and learn how to do it ...
Having ridden the dragon and having been an expert WERA sprint and endurance class winner, I see no reason for seeing how fast one can go on a public road.
I didn't see any of this BS up there this past year but it's part of the reason I don't like riding the gap on weekends. So many other roads in the area that are just as much fun and don't have all the idiots so thirsty to finally get that knee down they are turning to sand. The challenge of DG is to use the limited space in your own lane to maintain a steady speed and not touch the brakes. If DG was in Mexico, that steady speed would be around 45mph. Also, as someone else has said, it's better to just back off from idiots like that and not ride their ass. If they had hit somebody there's a very high chance they would have taken you with them. Sure, it feels great to show them that the blazing pace they think they are setting is really a sleepy cruise through the woods, but it's not worth your life.
When I learned to ride, it was with a group of older riders. They introduced me to riding according to "the way", something that was published in sportbike magazine quite a long time ago now. They also had a jar in the garage of one of the guys, if you crossed the double yellow lines (even just your upper body while leaning) that was $5 in the jar towards BBQ and road trips, etc. It was a couple in that group that told me about deals gap, I used to take trips up there to ride it and the cherohala skyway and many other beautiful roads in the area. Haven't been back there in probably close to 15 years because of how busy it got.
Yeah, I grew up about 20 mins away from the Dragon. Neither I nor any of my hooligan friends in school ever rode the Dragon because it's constantly infested by these room temperature IQ squids that come from way too far away and think the Dragon is a free-entry road race. Driving through the pass in the summer, you see a squid or a poor Miata being peeled off a tree every week. You're totally right, practically every paved road within half an hour of the Dragon is just as much fun without the hassle.
Sports cars and Sports bikes have ruined "The Dragon" 11 mile stretch for locals, and the average bike rider. Accidents and death statistics on this stretch of road have dramatically increased in the last 5-10 years. Sports cars and Sports cars can buy time at local tracks, and race to their hearts content.
Robert Pratt: speed limit on that road is 35 IIRC, but some do it going 80. This twisty section I wouldn't recommend trying over 50 on a Vulcan 1500, and some of the corners you're going to need to slow under that.
Kaerius There is no general rule for that. As long as you feel comfortable with your speed it's ok. With cruisers the hard parts are scraping the road, long before the tires loose grip. Only in slow corners, where you ride in 2nd or first gear might be tricky, because your bike has a lot of torque allready in low rpm. This will mean, you can lose grip, by overdoing it with the throttle, specially on a dirty or wet spot. Anyway, and this counts for all bikers: you have to read the road. This means, you should allways be concious, on what quality of road you are driving. And don't forget, you have to be able to stop your vehicle, within the distance you can actually see. Some emergency brake training, will make you feel more save as well.
I live in Western NC and have used this road to get to TN all of my life. I've seen a few of these scraped off of the trees by the paramedics. Its atrocious that they dont revere anyone else's lives (women and children!) over their own thrills.
I ride the pacific NW with plenty of twisties and I might bleed the lines a little underestimating how steep the angle is here and there; but I feel shame when I screw up like that. That said, oi. Dude, bleeding a little is fine, but straight into the other lane with no hesitation despite traffic? Those guys are gonna end up needing to be pried out of some truck’s grill. X-/
asif naseri Portland as well. If you swing by Powell’s, in the transportation section they actually have a map of awesome rides in Oregon. That said, the backroads from near Vader, WA back down to Portland are awesome (time consuming, but awesome), the coast has a TON of cool runs. Honestly, a buddy and I did the McMenamin’s passport challenge over the summer and a bunch of those runs were awesome!
D. Hunter I’ll definitely check those out! So far my favorite roads have been going to and from Portland to McMinville, Deardorff, and a few roads in Mollala. You can top out your car or bike on some of the roads going to McMinville at night, tons of fun
asif naseri it always cracks me up. Like ten minutes from my apartment, there is OHSU and that whole area is pretty awesome to ride. Also, head over to Troutdale and take the back way into Multnomah Falls, another amazing run!
Riding like that, they will be dead soon or take someone innocent out. They barely missed that one car by a foot, not to mention the guy kept putting his foot down, WTF! Learn how to ride!! If they had an experienced riding coming the other way at high speeds, it would have definitely been head-on at some of those curves. Every example of WHAT NOT TO DO riding the dragon or any public curvy road.
Years ago my wife and I were riding in that area and she asked to go to Deal's Gap. She had heard me talk about thee Dragon Tail and she wanted to see it. When we got there, she asked if we were going to ride it and I said "No way". She then asked why and I pointed to all the crotchrockets parked there and told her they were the reason I would not ever chance riding it, especially with her on the back. I almost got killed a couple of times the last time I rode it. Once was when a crotchrocket rounded a curve and an excessive speed and I was only doing about 20 mph at the time. He barely missed me and I almost went into the side of the mt. The next time was when 3 crotchrockets rounded a curve and excessive speeds and were on my side of the road. Two of them ended up colliding and I ended up waiting on the side of the road with numerous other bikers until the ambulance showed up. Those crotchrocket riders are freakin nuts.
This is worse because they don't even care. At least people who play chicken are planning and have time to get out of the way. I had a kid play chicken with me when I was riding. Kid was an idiot and his brother was yelling at him to get out of the street.
I know this is an old video but it is awesome. Having visited it 8 times in the last 11 years i can tell you are cooking... cracked me up how they were squidding out and you maintained your lane discipline and not only kept up but smoked them.. great ride and great video.
They weren't trying to stay in the lane... they were trying to be wannabe racers by 'hitting the apex' of the corners, which means finding the fastest way through it and a certain hitting point which racers do. In this case they were wannabe racers and trying to show off that they know how to 'hit the apex'.
In Germany there's wellbachtal b48 johanniskreuz. I've seen amazingly and probably dangerously fast riders, beyond what I imagined possible... And there can be had a debate about speed but these really good riders did not cross the line. I kicked myself when I noticed myself crossing it even one hand long. Another rider doing the same got me sweating a bit every time. Front wheels colliding slightly across the line would still mean you both go down. These Dutch guys also waited for 20sec or so, until they could over take me safely with a big gap no oncoming traffic and proper distance to me. These clowns could not even start to get good, if they were halfway on the way to becoming fast theyd necessarily crash into oncoming traffic. There is no point in curves if you don't ride em.
Last year while riding with a group out of Akron, one of our Harley riders lost control in a left hander and ate grass and dirt. Later, while waiting for the ambulance, I asked the Sheriff if they had to come out for youths on sport bikes crashing into the woods of WV. The Sheriff said "No, we never see sport bike riders crash. It is always guys like this." He pointed at the older fat Harley rider moaning on the ground who put ape-hangers on his dyna. True Story.
I have a similar video on blood mountain of a dude & his girlfriend/wife riding two up on an ST1100 & coming inches away from hitting a truck head on around a blind corner from that type of nonsense. No excuse.
It's pretty obvious that you can't buy skill... This ain't a racetrack so skilled riders always stay in the lane. The camera guy with his Duke does it right and has no problems keeping up with those posers.
I used to live there. I've hot footed up/down 300+ times in all kinds of cars, trucks, and cycles. Rule #1 make an easy 1st pass to know for sure there is no debris or vehicles stuck (I've seen both... you've been warned) Rule #2 stay in your lane Rule #3 stay in your lane Rule #4 stay in your lane Rule #5 stay in your lane Rule #6 stay in your lane Rule #7 stay in your lane Rule #8 stay in your lane................................ Tips... increase seat time greatly by running from Tellico plains, over the Cherohala skyway, and down the ToD 😉
“I cut the corners and STILL couldn’t shake they guy behind me staying in his lane…???” Brings a bad name to those riding the Tail of the Dragon…these kinds of guys are why there are so many cops there now!
This is just before the Trooper caught them, no doubt. They are EVERYWHERE on this road and will hand you a nice, fat $140 ticket so fast your head will spin. The dragon is a cash cow in so many ways: the cops, the towing services, and the hospitals.
Well done showing them that you can enjoy a spirited ride while staying in your lane, keeping everyone safe. Sad that the video had to end with you stuck behind the slow car. I wonder what happened between you, the slow car, the 2 riders and that double yellow line when the recording stopped... lol
Sadly bikeless now. But I still remember the overheard conversations at Hartside Cafe (Cumbria, UK). "ooh my swing arm was flexing" or "Christ that was wild, we were flying" etc etc. Only you check their tyres and there's chicken strips a mile wide either side. Yeah, mate you were flying🤣🤣🤣
These jokers crossing the double yellow will cause a head-on collision. I say fine them heavily AND confiscate their bikes. Doing this would send a loud message to other racer wannabees. Save it for track day.
The good thing is that riders like that usually get taken out. Natural selection at it's finest. Funny how the cameraman can keep up with them and stay on the right side of the double yellow. Totally negating their "faster race line bro......"
MaxP I feel shitty hopping these would crash but then I thought they could just crash into each other or better yet police take the bikes away forever and they all get huge fines and never allowed to drive again in any statelol
crack breath Don't feel bad about that. Some people are just too stupid to live, and I would have no problem if they just got Darwined out. In the past, useless idiots like those wannabe sport-bikers would be killed off by their own stupidity. Now we protect idiots, so they actually outnumber intelligent people 100/1. I mean, Christ... There's compressed gas warnings on pop bottles and hot liquid warnings on coffee cups. I'd love to just take all that away and just watch the hilarious results lol. I've watched several videos of bikers running off cliffs or getting hit head on, and I have never felt bad for the biker in any of them. Literally every single one of them was caused by the biker, so far as I'm concerned, that's what you fucking get. I'm not about to feel sorry for anyone who causes their own death, and quite often, the deaths of others.
Why are people hating on th3 leg dangle. Its commonly used instead of a wave to communicate many different things when you dont want to take your arma off the bars. Doesnt automatically mean the guy thinks he is Rossi.
You can cut corners at a racetrack because they're made for it. But on public roads I think besides being reckless, it's a noob action. People think they're cool when doing it but it just looks plain dumb. I drive on the right lane and I would still beat someone that cuts corners and I would be faster than them still. Good drivers are quick and safe at the same time. Noobs always drive stupidly and therefore cut corners...lol.
I don't know why people cut corners on nice roads. The whole point of the tail of the dragon is that its a twisty road. Why cut the corners and make it a less fun/straighter road?
I read an article where a Sheriff was quoted as saying if you wreck bad enough to need medical attention, it will be over an hour in most cases before EMT's can get to you due to the location and road itself.
Last I heard is that they have a helicopter pad in the area for taking injured warriors to the hospital. Something to add even more to the general level of engine noise in the place.
So much respect for him staying in his lane. And not only creating a safety problem but still kept up with those stupid people thinking they have to jump lanes. They were crossing lines treating the road line a track. But if it was a track they would have still be made to look like stupid people. They were acting stupid start to finish and a smart experienced rider showed them up while still being safe. It’s really a handful of riders that make us all look stupid
Nothing wrong with that. I've done it a few times [flew over from the UK]. If there's no oncoming, taking the line isn't an issue....but tbh, that road is a lovely, picturesque stretch which shouldn't be rushed.... problem is the United States is devoid of twisty roads and all manner of road mutts descend on this place like it's the Holy Grail. It's a fun stop but the best roads around there are the Parkway & Cherohala Skyway..... these roads are truly gobsmacking incredible! Great place, great history... just don't treat it like a race track & you can return as long as the sky remains above our heads, as long as you're sensible.... remember you have nothing to prove, & going 'quickly, with haste' should be reserved & not squandered in places of natural beauty. Enjoy it. Enjoy being there.
Dude wearing the backpack made me laugh with his Joey Crotch Rocket knee down and failing to have proper upper body posture. Had he rode with correct posture he would not have needed two lanes
They do this shit on an open road. Ya, the guy with the camera on his bike does a great job staying in his lane, doesn't vary over the line and rockets past these guys who can barely keep it on the road. He'll be fine till he meets those idiot's counterparts coming the other way. If the road isn't closed to opposing traffic, ride very defensively and leave this knee dragging shit for the track.
I’ve ridden and driven the dragon many times over the last 20 years on: Fltr, KLR, Klx, drz, r1200gs, and a few non-performance cars. NEVER seen something so irresponsible, reckless and downright hazardous to the public and themselves . It’s squids like this that kill fun for responsible people.
Used to see this all the time when riding Mt. Palomar. A lot of folks could use with some coaching at a track day. A humbling experience for many road warriors who think they are king of the hill. With some encouragement from Dave Emde, I raced for a few seasons and won some California regional championships. After he died on Old Julian highway in what would have been a nothing burger crash on the track I dialed things back on the street quite a bit as I had young kids at home. But on two successive weekends I had guys like this blow the double yellow and come at me head on. If I didn't have the racing experience I probably wouldn't have been able to avoid them. Decided to switch to dirt bike riding - not risk free, but at least my kids grew up with a dad.
I love how he kept up while staying in his lane.
this
Exactly.
Too close = not good driving
@@villyelg9774 True story. No time to react if one of them goes down which is only a matter of time.
@@briarfox637 They're headed for the weeds if they go down.
The fact that the camera bike is being held up by the other bikes while riding safely says something about the skill levels here.
Note that the camera bike was an Enduro bike, not a sports bike - this highlights how truly lame the other riders were.
Riding safely? They were all speeding. The speed limit is only 30
Anyone can cut a lane. It takes more skill to keep it in the lane. Funny how you were right on them and they had to keep cutting... Rookies.
That's what I've always said. If you can't keep it in your lane, you're going to fast. It's a road not a track. Set a road limit and stick to it.
@@SteveBrueck I've seen two assholes die in the last 10 years and twice as many crash. I'm sick of all the idiots, thugs and assholes ruining this sport.
My thoughts exactly
Learn the skills before trying to add the speed
@@crayzbiker In the United States A double yellow line is a no passing zone. And it really shouldn't be ignored because they don't just throw those down just because, Those 2 were going to wind up dead in a head on at some point if they kept doing what they were doing.
I had a friend who was a professional racer. He was riding up near Lake Berryessa, in Napa, CA.... He was in his lane taking a left hand corner, when his head was just over the center lane. His bike and body were in his lane, but his head encroached into the on coming lane. A car came around in her lane, but right on the double yellow line. She was still in her lane, but very close to the yellow line. Her left front bumper caught his helmet right in the forehead... Total speed was 80 mph (him 50, her 30 mph), He died immediately and she had a dented front fender... Think about it when you ride like those two riders did, they were terrible inexperienced riders. People say, "I have been riding for 30 years", well they have 1 year's experience 30 times over... Those two riders were the 1 year's experience only abilities. RIP RC.
Maybe all these ricky racer sport bike riders need to practice on road courses with on coming traffic just like tail of the dragon untill there are no more sport bike riders left alive to keep jacking up the cost of motorcycle insurance and wont have to avoid them when they lose control and come at you head on and side ways on two lane highways that when it comes to push or shove and a sport bike rider tries to cut me off way out in the wilderness like the tail of the dragon ...ill say will be like return to thunder dome , two go in one come out
Highway 121. At least one motorcyclist a year dies on that highway. I live in it and have seen helicopters evacuate many riders
Well said. Everything that you said is correct.
And these kinds of riders probably only do a couple thousand miles a year and only when the weather is perfect…
I’ll have my license for one year in a week and already did 20.000 miles in all kinds of weather.
Technically I should have the riding experience of a 10 year rider…
Just goes to show then, that even professional riders can be idiots.
Never encroach into the othersides lane.
Doesn't matter jack shit if your bike and body is in "your" lane but your head is in the other lane, thats not your lane.
Live by the sword ---- die by the sword.
By the way i'm a biker and had my fair share of close calls.
I used to ride this road all the time back in the early to mid 70's. Started out with a '73 CB350, later rode the dragon on a CB450 and a BSA 650. I lived in Blount County, the Dragon was maybe a 1/2 hour away. Sometimes I'd cruise through Cades Cove in the Smokies and take the then open one way Parson's Branch Road over to the middle of the Dragon. I had the road mostly to myself. People hauling boats to go fishing on Fontana Lake used it, and I'd first become aware of the road while working for a lumber company back then that sometimes trucked lumber over to Robbinsville. The pavement on the Dragon was sometimes in poor shape, and if you were hauling something like roof trusses or 18 foot long lumber, you *had* to use part of the other lane just to make the turn at a few spots. And some of the curves were reverse banked! If you didn't anticipate those, you'd be scraping pipes and pegs on the pavement. I changed the exhaust system on my CB450 to get more Dragon clearance. The whole place was pretty much a quiet, primeval type wilderness. You had a real sense of awe and wonder at the very steep river gorge going down to Calderwood Lake. Spectacular scenery and peace and quiet. And just look at what it is now! When I was riding there, I had no cell phone and was usually going solo with a backpack and supplies strapped onto my sissy bar. If I ran off the mountain playing road racer I was on my own. They might have found my bones and my bike years later.
Wow this sounds incredible. What amazing times and memories :)
I rode bikes on it about the same time as you, it wasn't even called TOD back then. Much later, around 2011-2017, I had a fairly modified Miata and went up yearly for the Miata weekend, also went for ZDayz. Things had really changed by then, it had become a conga line of crazies. I never crossed the centerline, though, you'd see enough people who did and what happened to them as often as not. The one thing I'm happiest about is the truck ban that was finally imposed.
It’s 2022 and my current rides are a 72cb350 and 73cb350F and I would love to try the Tail of the Dragon on these and compare them while traveling back in time.
@@valeriegagnon1330 I'd love to have my old cb350 back. I was a poor boy in those days on a budget and wanted but couldn't afford the bigger and badder bikes. I did find that that first bike of mine to have been the perfect choice. It was very reliable and could be used for long distance touring. I had a backpack tied onto my sissy bar, and all my camping stuff was in it. No $$ for motels or restaurants. I used bulky and soft stuff like sleeping bags as a back rest when cruising. I'd lean back and put my legs on the highway bars up front , letting me stretch a bit and change riding positions. I could cruise at around 75 mph all day long on the bike. Because it was so light, I could also use it almost like a dirt bike and do stuff and go places the bigger bikes couldn't do.
Cherohala Skyway has a few reverse banked curves too. Those will sneak up on you if you arent' paying attention. I don't ride the Dragon anymore. Too crowded and too many squids.
How is that fun to ruin all the corners by basically going straight down the whole thing and Still being slower than the guy behind you?
Brian North 😂🤣😂🤣 I knoooooow lmaooo. These guys holding up traffic while trying to go fast SMDH LMAO
WHICH IS WHY I WILL _ NEVER _ GO THERE NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One guy in a motorcycle magazine described such behaviour as a metaphorical and literal crime. Great way to describe it.
Exactly! The fun and excitement is in the banking and twisting (specially for sports bikes)
Never go over the double yellow, never.
certainly not on a road like that. Begging for death.
Precisely.
not a good idea. those lines are slicker than the road. I've seen riders back tires slide out when that hit the lines leaning.
sal287 professor yammie noob can explain it better
On a road like that, that is good healthy advice.
Duck feet and bad body position first ten seconds of the video LOL
snowcat duck feet?
@@Jirainez
When u drop ur foot off the peg. Only in extreme cases does one ever drop their foot. Shows riders lack of skill as well as cutting lanes
@@skibumalldasy you might ne right but I always called "duck feet' people who don't properly place there feet on the pegs and have there toes sticking out.
@@skibumalldasy you drop your foot to stabilize the bike during breaking. They weren't going fast enough or breaking hard enough for that. I bet they have never done a track day, those are the guys thay come to the track and get wrecked.
Oh look, a pair of YammieNoobs
rear bike was clearly a suzuki...
Eli Reid Damn wjat did he do again ?
Xénos Polemistí̱s Lol
sheldon murphy the driver was no where near seriously injured
Jake Sisler yep it sure is ,what is it pick on Yamaha rider week.yes I ride a Yamaha r6 .but it's true they can't ride for shit
I like how they do the leg dangle at 35mph to slow down like they’re moto gp! 😂
Yeah, everybody thinks they're Rossi.......
46
i honestly love how youre keeping up with them and youre staying in your lane, then you pass them and blow them away haha i love it! these douches need to stay off the road..
Besides being dangerous, personally I think it's more fun if you stay in your lane and not try to straighten out the corner! Hopefully when these guys crash they don't take someone else with them!
Jeff Seifert Yep. You can have just as much fun practicing lane discipline.
People who leave their lanes are riding too fast for their ability and are losers.
Im not defending these morons but are you saying if they shut that road and let bike's go one way only, you would stay in your lane?
lol true. As they say, "it's not if, it's when (they crash)"
I LOVE that you held your lane and they couldn't pull away at all lmao
And you could tell by the sound it wasn’t a four cylinder. There’s a video called Versys vs everything else…. Two cylinders beat four.
These guys give sport bike riders a bad name.
There are more of these asshole riders out there than knowledgeable/safe riders by a long shot now. It sucks. The thugs and assholes have ruined the perception of motorcyclists for everyone now. I rarely mention I ride to dates bc of this perception.
Sport bike riders give sport bike riders a bad name
I’ve never seen anyone riding their plastic motorbike that wasn’t competing for World’s Most Dangerous Idiot.
@@chrisnlouiseshow lemme guess, harley rider?🤡
@@babya1069 Yep, sounds like the guy who thinks a 900 lb bike that makes 60 hp is superior
The bad part these two guys had two more buddies doing the same thing back behind them and they were even slower
Chris Evans ...those guys should try a 390 Duke.
Next time do em a favor and whip your shield at them.
It is truly impressive the lack of self preservation these two have. Self correcting problem I suppose. These are the guys who skew the statistics. Thanks for posting the video.
Ha ha
Wtf 😂
A pair of future Hood ornaments
Absolutely atrocious riding, and one of the reason I tend to stay away from this area. You see it all the time. You can't tell idiot riders like this anything either.. They know everything, till they end up dead or seriously inquired.
Sarah Dell, nobody expects the inquisition!!
I don’t give a rats ass about them, but they could take out someone else coming the other way. Jackasses!
Sarah Dell
You are right. These "you have to have been there" roads are mostly a playground for posers. There are enough not so well known roads, with less traffic, which have also nice curves.
with a hot, bright light in their faces?
Yep - been there once... And, sure 'nuff, group up ahead waving down the bikes 'cause one of the TT-wanna-bes ended up in the weeds... A-holes on crotchies wanna race? Fine, find a track... FWIW..
I was going to ride the dragon this summer. Know what? So many people told me it's a crowded boiling hot frustrating ride full of knuckle heads like these. Or endless slow moving campers, trailers and such. Nah, I'm heading to the Pocono mountains instead. Ride safe y'all.
Or come ride out in Utah. Plenty of curvy roads through the mountains and not much traffic.
I rode it last week (September 27th) and had the road almost to myself. No one passed me, and I didn't pass anyone else.
It does get a little crowded but it’s a blast, the better option is to come but ride moonshiner or cherohala. 50 miles of faster corners and no traffic.
Or go during a the work week during the day. I was there about the second week of September on a Wednesday (I think). Some other traffic, but not much.
Lots more roads there than just Deals Gap. And Tuesday and Wednesday AM is the time to run it,in any case...
I about lost it when dude stuck his leg out. Rossi wanna be
Rossi had a reason why did this guy do it 😂😂😂
He was measuring his lean angle...
Could be he’s pointing out road debris...
thesouth50 - he was signalling to the camerman to go around.
I was thinking road debris like previously stated, but obviously cutting lanes like that, why worry about a stick in the road..
Did I just see the Rossi leg dangle ? ....... on the road ? ........WTF!
Gixer750pilot I believe your eyes were not deceiving you, leg dangles and horrible body position paired with two idiots crossing double yellows.
watching wayyy too much tv.
I laughted my ass off when he did it 😂
🤦♂️
Dude that was epic I was like wtf leg dangle and he can’t even stay on his lane
If you cant maintain your lane im not impressed
I absolutely love to ride, but it's a shame how so many people just get bikes to look cool, and fail miserably. It's beyond obvious these dudes haven't been riding long.
Eurgh, by now I've read half a dozen comments saying exactly what I'm about to say, but I need to get it out of my system: These idiots will hurt someone with this cutting corner crap, AND, they're laughably slow. I don't mock slow riders, I think everyone should ride at whatever they feel like and/or are comfortable with. That being said, watching this motogp ballet crap cutting corners while going slow is infuriating. And also hilarious, considering how you were smoothly tagging along while keeping to your lane on your smaller (but torquier) engine. Eurgh.These guys.
True, I'm a slow rider myself, so I ride like a slow rider and stay in my limits and square my tyres :)
Very good video...never ever use other line...it is the golden rule...if you cant keep yourself on your own line, it means you are not able to ride that fast...so slow down and learn how to do it ...
Takes an idiot to cross the yellow line on the Dragon
Having ridden the dragon and having been an expert WERA sprint and endurance class winner, I see no reason for seeing how fast one can go on a public road.
There is a safe way to do it as well. Coming from an also expert endurance and "class winner" wera racer and wera National Champion
I didn't see any of this BS up there this past year but it's part of the reason I don't like riding the gap on weekends. So many other roads in the area that are just as much fun and don't have all the idiots so thirsty to finally get that knee down they are turning to sand. The challenge of DG is to use the limited space in your own lane to maintain a steady speed and not touch the brakes. If DG was in Mexico, that steady speed would be around 45mph.
Also, as someone else has said, it's better to just back off from idiots like that and not ride their ass. If they had hit somebody there's a very high chance they would have taken you with them. Sure, it feels great to show them that the blazing pace they think they are setting is really a sleepy cruise through the woods, but it's not worth your life.
True 👍
When I learned to ride, it was with a group of older riders. They introduced me to riding according to "the way", something that was published in sportbike magazine quite a long time ago now. They also had a jar in the garage of one of the guys, if you crossed the double yellow lines (even just your upper body while leaning) that was $5 in the jar towards BBQ and road trips, etc.
It was a couple in that group that told me about deals gap, I used to take trips up there to ride it and the cherohala skyway and many other beautiful roads in the area. Haven't been back there in probably close to 15 years because of how busy it got.
With thousands of miles of excellent mountain roads in America, I would never ride a road populated by hoards of inexperienced hot doggers.
Yeah, I grew up about 20 mins away from the Dragon. Neither I nor any of my hooligan friends in school ever rode the Dragon because it's constantly infested by these room temperature IQ squids that come from way too far away and think the Dragon is a free-entry road race. Driving through the pass in the summer, you see a squid or a poor Miata being peeled off a tree every week. You're totally right, practically every paved road within half an hour of the Dragon is just as much fun without the hassle.
Superbly handling machines like the GSXR being wasted by cutting the corners , why ?
Gixer750pilot rider error
because rider stupidity
Gixer750pilot uh duh, bad drivers. The dragon shows no mercy. Very good point.
They want to die?
It's an accident waiting to happen, i hope they don't crash in an oncomming motorcycle.
Sports cars and Sports bikes have ruined "The Dragon" 11 mile stretch for locals, and the average bike rider. Accidents and death statistics on this stretch of road have dramatically increased in the last 5-10 years. Sports cars and Sports cars can buy time at local tracks, and race to their hearts content.
Why ride that road & try to straighten up the corners??? Flicking it around like you did looks much more fun.
My thought exactly. Why bother riding curves if you can't stay out of the "kill zone" and stay between the colored lines. Fucktards!
Yup.
They try to straighten them out to go faster, but the funny thing is that they can't outrun the dude going within the lane
Robert Pratt: speed limit on that road is 35 IIRC, but some do it going 80. This twisty section I wouldn't recommend trying over 50 on a Vulcan 1500, and some of the corners you're going to need to slow under that.
Kaerius
There is no general rule for that. As long as you feel comfortable with your speed it's ok. With cruisers the hard parts are scraping the road, long before the tires loose grip. Only in slow corners, where you ride in 2nd or first gear might be tricky, because your bike has a lot of torque allready in low rpm. This will mean, you can lose grip, by overdoing it with the throttle, specially on a dirty or wet spot. Anyway, and this counts for all bikers: you have to read the road. This means, you should allways be concious, on what quality of road you are driving. And don't forget, you have to be able to stop your vehicle, within the distance you can actually see. Some emergency brake training, will make you feel more save as well.
When he did the Rossi dangle, I was done with these squids. 🤣
I live in Western NC and have used this road to get to TN all of my life. I've seen a few of these scraped off of the trees by the paramedics. Its atrocious that they dont revere anyone else's lives (women and children!) over their own thrills.
Women, children and other MEN too. Not always just about the women and children
That paint they use for the lines is slippery as hell sometimes. Not very smart.
Mornings and evenings that paint will be wet with dew. It’s stupid to ride it and expect traction
Rookies with sport bikes is usually the best natural selection you can get. Especially if they CANNOT ride!
Whoah! Look at how much faster they could go by using the whole road! Oh, wait...
I ride the pacific NW with plenty of twisties and I might bleed the lines a little underestimating how steep the angle is here and there; but I feel shame when I screw up like that.
That said, oi. Dude, bleeding a little is fine, but straight into the other lane with no hesitation despite traffic? Those guys are gonna end up needing to be pried out of some truck’s grill. X-/
D. Hunter Where in the PNW are you? Im in Portland. I’m not a rider but I am a car guy, are there any good twisties you’d recommend?
asif naseri Portland as well. If you swing by Powell’s, in the transportation section they actually have a map of awesome rides in Oregon.
That said, the backroads from near Vader, WA back down to Portland are awesome (time consuming, but awesome), the coast has a TON of cool runs. Honestly, a buddy and I did the McMenamin’s passport challenge over the summer and a bunch of those runs were awesome!
D. Hunter I’ll definitely check those out! So far my favorite roads have been going to and from Portland to McMinville, Deardorff, and a few roads in Mollala. You can top out your car or bike on some of the roads going to McMinville at night, tons of fun
asif naseri it always cracks me up. Like ten minutes from my apartment, there is OHSU and that whole area is pretty awesome to ride.
Also, head over to Troutdale and take the back way into Multnomah Falls, another amazing run!
I witnessed two deaths in similar circumstances in the last ten years. This sport is polluted with human garbage now.
I like how their cutting the corners and trying to hang his leg like rossie and dude its just casually right behind them
Their leans are sick, but going into the other lane for even a second is just crazy.
Riding like that, they will be dead soon or take someone innocent out. They barely missed that one car by a foot, not to mention the guy kept putting his foot down, WTF! Learn how to ride!! If they had an experienced riding coming the other way at high speeds, it would have definitely been head-on at some of those curves. Every example of WHAT NOT TO DO riding the dragon or any public curvy road.
Years ago my wife and I were riding in that area and she asked to go to Deal's Gap. She had heard me talk about thee Dragon Tail and she wanted to see it. When we got there, she asked if we were going to ride it and I said "No way". She then asked why and I pointed to all the crotchrockets parked there and told her they were the reason I would not ever chance riding it, especially with her on the back. I almost got killed a couple of times the last time I rode it. Once was when a crotchrocket rounded a curve and an excessive speed and I was only doing about 20 mph at the time. He barely missed me and I almost went into the side of the mt. The next time was when 3 crotchrockets rounded a curve and excessive speeds and were on my side of the road. Two of them ended up colliding and I ended up waiting on the side of the road with numerous other bikers until the ambulance showed up. Those crotchrocket riders are freakin nuts.
Say “crotchrocket” again. 😆
It's amazing how the camera rider was just as fast WITHOUT having to cut the corners short.
It’s already been said many times here, but I can’t resist: I love how you stay in your lane, yet they are still holding you up.
This is exactly one reason I will never go back to the dragon.....way to many people even cars crossing over the lines...
This is like those people that play chicken in traffic.
This is worse because they don't even care. At least people who play chicken are planning and have time to get out of the way. I had a kid play chicken with me when I was riding. Kid was an idiot and his brother was yelling at him to get out of the street.
ua-cam.com/video/M6HW42kBOy0/v-deo.html
I rode a KTM 390 for the first time today, and just by the sound I thought you were on a KTM. What a fun bike!
I know this is an old video but it is awesome. Having visited it 8 times in the last 11 years i can tell you are cooking... cracked me up how they were squidding out and you maintained your lane discipline and not only kept up but smoked them.. great ride and great video.
Pretty bad riders. If you can't stay in your lane, you are over your head.
They weren't trying to stay in the lane... they were trying to be wannabe racers by 'hitting the apex' of the corners, which means finding the fastest way through it and a certain hitting point which racers do. In this case they were wannabe racers and trying to show off that they know how to 'hit the apex'.
In Germany there's wellbachtal b48 johanniskreuz. I've seen amazingly and probably dangerously fast riders, beyond what I imagined possible... And there can be had a debate about speed but these really good riders did not cross the line. I kicked myself when I noticed myself crossing it even one hand long. Another rider doing the same got me sweating a bit every time. Front wheels colliding slightly across the line would still mean you both go down. These Dutch guys also waited for 20sec or so, until they could over take me safely with a big gap no oncoming traffic and proper distance to me. These clowns could not even start to get good, if they were halfway on the way to becoming fast theyd necessarily crash into oncoming traffic. There is no point in curves if you don't ride em.
Respect to the cammer stayed in your lane the whole time honked to get them to let you by then proceeded to show them how it's done.👏🏼
Last year while riding with a group out of Akron, one of our Harley riders lost control in a left hander and ate grass and dirt. Later, while waiting for the ambulance, I asked the Sheriff if they had to come out for youths on sport bikes crashing into the woods of WV. The Sheriff said "No, we never see sport bike riders crash. It is always guys like this." He pointed at the older fat Harley rider moaning on the ground who put ape-hangers on his dyna. True Story.
I agree! Thanks for staying in your lane.
I have a similar video on blood mountain of a dude & his girlfriend/wife riding two up on an ST1100 & coming inches away from hitting a truck head on around a blind corner from that type of nonsense. No excuse.
Well done fella. What a couple of prize plums!
It's pretty obvious that you can't buy skill...
This ain't a racetrack so skilled riders always stay in the lane. The camera guy with his Duke does it right and has no problems keeping up with those posers.
Go ahead...cross a double yellow line...
You'll be the next Yammie Noob!
I'm sure they thought they where the shit. ( Never mind the 690 comfortably puttering along without a problem :-) )
schnecks 21 sounds like the thumper could of blew buy these boys if he wanted to.
I used to live there. I've hot footed up/down 300+ times in all kinds of cars, trucks, and cycles.
Rule #1 make an easy 1st pass to know for sure there is no debris or vehicles stuck (I've seen both... you've been warned)
Rule #2 stay in your lane
Rule #3 stay in your lane
Rule #4 stay in your lane
Rule #5 stay in your lane
Rule #6 stay in your lane
Rule #7 stay in your lane
Rule #8 stay in your lane................................
Tips... increase seat time greatly by running from Tellico plains, over the Cherohala skyway, and down the ToD 😉
“I cut the corners and STILL couldn’t shake they guy behind me staying in his lane…???” Brings a bad name to those riding the Tail of the Dragon…these kinds of guys are why there are so many cops there now!
There's probably many old-timers on full dress tourers that would dust those noobs...
Without a doubt... search “yellow wolf tail of dragon” and be amazed
Holy shit all that and buddy keeps dropping a foot. You really found a pair there...
old saying : "stay in your lane, or lay in your stain"
This is just before the Trooper caught them, no doubt. They are EVERYWHERE on this road and will hand you a nice, fat $140 ticket so fast your head will spin. The dragon is a cash cow in so many ways: the cops, the towing services, and the hospitals.
Well done showing them that you can enjoy a spirited ride while staying in your lane, keeping everyone safe. Sad that the video had to end with you stuck behind the slow car. I wonder what happened between you, the slow car, the 2 riders and that double yellow line when the recording stopped... lol
This is a 30mph road and the non-paved shoulders drop off and can cause a flip, so cars have to wait and pick where to pull aside
Clowns like this is why I don't ride the dragon anymore.
Sadly bikeless now. But I still remember the overheard conversations at Hartside Cafe (Cumbria, UK). "ooh my swing arm was flexing" or "Christ that was wild, we were flying" etc etc. Only you check their tyres and there's chicken strips a mile wide either side. Yeah, mate you were flying🤣🤣🤣
These jokers crossing the double yellow will cause a head-on collision. I say fine them heavily AND confiscate their bikes. Doing this would send a loud message to other racer wannabees. Save it for track day.
I enjoy bikes and the people who ride,..being safe is cool,..those others,..well you got what you deserve
Great video of how not to ride. Slow and no idea of how to corner how to move dum and dangerous.
The good thing is that riders like that usually get taken out. Natural selection at it's finest. Funny how the cameraman can keep up with them and stay on the right side of the double yellow. Totally negating their "faster race line bro......"
That's what us older riders call, becoming a hood ornament.
I’m cringing just watching this.
BRON SOLO yep, I go through at night, in a semi truck, don't want to see these guys
It's all about that race line, nah mean?
Cuban Rider good one
LoL 😂🤣
I’m no biker but pretty handy on a mountain bike - middle rider sticking his foot out for balance screams he’s a novice
Funny part is the idiots could not keep up with the guy NOT wanting to die by driving in the other lane...
I love how you are totally keeping up with them while they cross the yellow line.... like they're not even really going fast just being dummm
Not safe, when a car appears -> nirvana
MaxP I feel shitty hopping these would crash but then I thought they could just crash into each other or better yet police take the bikes away forever and they all get huge fines and never allowed to drive again in any statelol
crack breath
Don't feel bad about that. Some people are just too stupid to live, and I would have no problem if they just got Darwined out. In the past, useless idiots like those wannabe sport-bikers would be killed off by their own stupidity. Now we protect idiots, so they actually outnumber intelligent people 100/1. I mean, Christ... There's compressed gas warnings on pop bottles and hot liquid warnings on coffee cups. I'd love to just take all that away and just watch the hilarious results lol.
I've watched several videos of bikers running off cliffs or getting hit head on, and I have never felt bad for the biker in any of them. Literally every single one of them was caused by the biker, so far as I'm concerned, that's what you fucking get. I'm not about to feel sorry for anyone who causes their own death, and quite often, the deaths of others.
Well done cameramen. Teach them rookies that if you don't respect that double line on the tail the dragon will bite you hard.
Why are people hating on th3 leg dangle. Its commonly used instead of a wave to communicate many different things when you dont want to take your arma off the bars. Doesnt automatically mean the guy thinks he is Rossi.
would my k1600 with paniers have any problems on the tail or should i remove them?
That is an asinine invitation to a head-on collision.
riding that close to them also puts you in danger as when one of them gets inevitably hit, he's coming straight at you....
I Don't care what kind of bike your ride. You have to have Respect for the bike, the road and other people on it. THESE GUYS ARE JUST FOOLS
You can cut corners at a racetrack because they're made for it. But on public roads I think besides being reckless, it's a noob action. People think they're cool when doing it but it just looks plain dumb. I drive on the right lane and I would still beat someone that cuts corners and I would be faster than them still. Good drivers are quick and safe at the same time. Noobs always drive stupidly and therefore cut corners...lol.
I don't know why people cut corners on nice roads. The whole point of the tail of the dragon is that its a twisty road. Why cut the corners and make it a less fun/straighter road?
The most "how not" to ride Deals gap videos rightfully belongs to the bagger segment of riders.
The phrase " a danger to themselves and others " comes to mind.
I read an article where a Sheriff was quoted as saying if you wreck bad enough to need medical attention, it will be over an hour in most cases before EMT's can get to you due to the location and road itself.
Last I heard is that they have a helicopter pad in the area for taking injured warriors to the hospital. Something to add even more to the general level of engine noise in the place.
So much respect for him staying in his lane. And not only creating a safety problem but still kept up with those stupid people thinking they have to jump lanes. They were crossing lines treating the road line a track. But if it was a track they would have still be made to look like stupid people. They were acting stupid start to finish and a smart experienced rider showed them up while still being safe. It’s really a handful of riders that make us all look stupid
I'll stay away from the dragon as I tend to stay away from douche bags.
Well I'm glad Rossi got out of the way so Chris could drive on away HAHAHHA
Nothing wrong with that. I've done it a few times [flew over from the UK]. If there's no oncoming, taking the line isn't an issue....but tbh, that road is a lovely, picturesque stretch which shouldn't be rushed.... problem is the United States is devoid of twisty roads and all manner of road mutts descend on this place like it's the Holy Grail. It's a fun stop but the best roads around there are the Parkway & Cherohala Skyway..... these roads are truly gobsmacking incredible!
Great place, great history... just don't treat it like a race track & you can return as long as the sky remains above our heads, as long as you're sensible.... remember you have nothing to prove, & going 'quickly, with haste' should be reserved & not squandered in places of natural beauty. Enjoy it. Enjoy being there.
Would like to see how they would handle the lost Swift driver coming around the blind corner in their lane...
You drive here for the turns and then cross the lines robbing yourself of the turns. Brilliant.
Dude wearing the backpack made me laugh with his Joey Crotch Rocket knee down and failing to have proper upper body posture. Had he rode with correct posture he would not have needed two lanes
They do this shit on an open road. Ya, the guy with the camera on his bike does a great job staying in his lane, doesn't vary over the line and rockets past these guys who can barely keep it on the road. He'll be fine till he meets those idiot's counterparts coming the other way. If the road isn't closed to opposing traffic, ride very defensively and leave this knee dragging shit for the track.
I’ve ridden and driven the dragon many times over the last 20 years on: Fltr, KLR, Klx, drz, r1200gs, and a few non-performance cars. NEVER seen something so irresponsible, reckless and downright hazardous to the public and themselves . It’s squids like this that kill fun for responsible people.
Used to see this all the time when riding Mt. Palomar. A lot of folks could use with some coaching at a track day. A humbling experience for many road warriors who think they are king of the hill.
With some encouragement from Dave Emde, I raced for a few seasons and won some California regional championships. After he died on Old Julian highway in what would have been a nothing burger crash on the track I dialed things back on the street quite a bit as I had young kids at home. But on two successive weekends I had guys like this blow the double yellow and come at me head on. If I didn't have the racing experience I probably wouldn't have been able to avoid them. Decided to switch to dirt bike riding - not risk free, but at least my kids grew up with a dad.
"This one for example... What a Mustang they've passed..."