The Dragon

FZER

FZER

Avid Rider
A couple of us are getting together to ride the Dragon/ext. on September 1st. The exact details are being worked out, e.i. time and meeting spot, but I wanted to put it out there for everyone. This will not be a ride that we'll be trying to race each other or do anything illegal, we'll maybe a little speeding. I don't think they'll pull you over for 9-10 over just yet. I'll be staying a few days in a small town in North GA, called Helen. It's a nice little place and it is surrounded by a slow running pretty shallow part of the Chattahoochee river which is pretty cold and great for relaxing after a long days ride. I'll be leaving from middle GA pretty early that Friday and if someone along the way wants to we could work out something like some carpooling, because I'll take my truck up as well. If someone is coming up from the south I will not be able to provide a place to stay at my house, because well, my wife would shoot me.
 
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DLSGAP

DLSGAP

New member
Brave to hit the gap on the weekends. I haven't been there on a weekend since my dad ran the place back in the 90's
 
MotoRick

MotoRick

Motorcycle Fanatic
FZER said:
A couple of us are getting together to ride the Dragon/ext. on September 1st. The exact details are being worked out, e.i. time and meeting spot, but I wanted to put it out there for everyone. This will not be a ride that we'll be trying to race each other or do anything illegal, we'll maybe a little speeding. I don't think they'll pull you over for 9-10 over just yet. I'll be staying a few days in a small town in North GA, called Helen. It's a nice little place and it is surrounded by a slow running pretty shallow part of the Chattahoochee river which is pretty cold and great for relaxing after a long days ride. I'll be leaving from middle GA pretty early that Friday and if someone along the way wants to we could work out something like some carpooling, because I'll take my truck up as well. If someone is coming up from the south I will not be able to provide a place to stay at my house, because well, my wife would shoot me.
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I'm not going to be able to make it. Overnighters are no doable for me any more. Hope you have a good time.
 
MotoRick

MotoRick

Motorcycle Fanatic
lyric911 said:
Anything over 39mph on the dragon is asking to be pulled over.
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I was there on a Saturday about a month ago and the traffic was so heavy there was no way to test that theory. Regardless, I'd much rather stafe the good roads in North Geogia for that very reason.
 
lyric911

lyric911

New member
Vapordan said:
39mph? So where exactly is the fun. Some people can jog faster than that.
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I highly doubt anyone on this forum, myself included, could average more than 39 mph for the 11 miles. Sure, I could blast well over in the small straights, but the curves are what that road is about.
 
lyric911

lyric911

New member
Vapordan said:
c'mon. This guy said he rode the dragon 20 times. 20 times and he is turtling. When I ride a twisty, the next time i go back, I'm trying to improve my times, my cornering, i'm stretching myself trying to improve my skill. That's how I get my fun. That there was just, ya it's sunday, better take my time and poke around the 6mph mark. hope i don't fall. oops missed a spill, better slow down to 5mph in the next corner
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Who said they rode it 20 times?

I'm not at all saying that I don't want to ride the curves faster/better/whatever. Most of these curves aren't 40 mph curves. None of us are Valentino Rossi.

Record Times

You will hear a lot about the fastest times on the Dragon. The original timing involved a run from the Overlook to the Crossroads of Time and then back, an 18.6-mile distance. The round trip time was then divided by two. The Deals Gap Riding Society record for an amateur rider was a 22 minute round trip run, which averaged out to 11 minutes (50.7 mph average). The overall record was 18 minutes, or 9 minutes one-way (62 mph average). In order to compete for a new record one had to make the run along with the current record holder.
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Note the bolded portion. Somebody doing the old 9.3 mile section and averaging that speed has ridden the road probably on the order of 1000 times and knows every turn forward and back.

All I'm saying is that to the best of my knowledge, none of us on here are professional riders. One of what is most of our skill level can ride the dragon, scrape hard parts, and have a great time (and do quite a bit of improving on subsequent runs) without using a lot of right wrist.
 
FZER

FZER

Avid Rider
Vapordan said:
a little difficulty recognizing humor?
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I completely understand you have kick asre roads all over the place that you can ride, but I've never riden "The Dragon" I want to have the experience not the wreck. Trust me if you are doing 39 around some of these corners you are a track day expert and possilby not on a FZ8.
 
V

Vapordan

Guest
Well, if everybody claims the dragon is da bomb, i guess it is. Trust me, Toronto has very few twisties and whatever I've found is heavily policed. The road network is setup as perfect squares, google it for yourself.
 
DLSGAP

DLSGAP

New member
My quickest time from the overlook to the store was 10:19 back before it was the madhouse it is now. And yes, I do know every corner like the back of my hand and used to ride it more often than I can even count. Nowadays anyone trying to set records up there is a fool.

I knew the previous record holders well and rode with them often
 
C

Camo

Guest
The only dragon I've ever chased had 18 little chinamen inside it... I was arrested for disturbing the peace and drug possession during a festival in china town, Sydney lol.

Who cares weather you average 20 or 30 miles an hour? Sounds like a good place to experience regardless. Surely you'll be able to get your lean on and power out of a few corners?!
Get amongst it!
 
MotoRick

MotoRick

Motorcycle Fanatic
I don't want to contradict, but being stuck behind slow riders on the Dragon does take away the fun of it for me.
 
FZER

FZER

Avid Rider
MotoRick said:
I don't want to contradict, but being stuck behind slow riders on the Dragon does take away the fun of it for me.
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You can always pull over on run offs and let them get way ahead of you. Photo ops, so Lyric and I can make everyone jealous.
 
MotoRick

MotoRick

Motorcycle Fanatic
FZER said:
You can always pull over on run offs and let them get way ahead of you. Photo ops, so Lyric and I can make everyone jealous.
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That's exactly what I ended up doing. Didn't help much. I still caught up to them before the end.
 
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