yoo guy's ,,if your on the east coast do a search on deals gap,or the dragons tale in tennessee..me and afew bud's just got back from there..318 turns in 11 miles...a great place to ride sport bikes,,check it out sometime..plenty of vids on u tube too....

 

I have heard of this. It is supposedly a "street bike paradise". Not a straight road. A friend and I plan on going there, if not this year, soon!

 

ill be going for first time this spring. im about a 3 hour drive away from nashville, tn to deals gap. prob make a weekend of it in gatlinburg at a cheap motel with a friend

 

Deal's Gap is in North Carolina actually lol. But yea great place to ride, but its not for n00bs by no means

 

guys its really worth going there to ride ,the dragon's tail not the only nice ride there...there's alot of even better roads ,,,fontana parkways really nice,,,not to mention the state park area's...beautiful country.....i live in wv,where's more turn's than straight roads,but the thing about deals gap,they keep theyre roads clean,,no gravels and pot holes in the turns...
me and buds had a blast and im sure u will too...just dont become part of the tree of shame,lol

http://www.dealsgap.com/tree.htm

 

My favorite place I ride my 919 there from here 800 miles each way. Some 1st timer advice.

1. If possible do it during the week to avoid the weekend crowds and police.

2. When / if you see an 18-wheeler be very very careful, think of how much room they need to negotiate corners in your home town, many roads there are switchbacks and they WILL use the whole road to get around.

3. Expect tourists to stop in the middle of a corner on the road and take picture's. Expect other sportbikes to pass on your right if you are cruising, stay in your rear view mirrors and pay attention. Many think they are on a racetrack there.

4. Check this site before you leave and while you are there for the latest warnings, conditions and news. http://www.tailofthedragon.com/index.html

Study google maps ahead of time for other roads they are all good in that area for weekend rides when the Gap is too busy, for example 28 right next to the Gap gas station all the way to Franklin will knock your sox off, take 64 back to 129 in Murphy for a good loop. All the roads are good, many are better than the Dragon. Print google maps to take with you.

 

My opinion, there are other great roads to ride in the Deal's Gap area, Cherohala Skyway, Rt 360, Foothills Parkway, Rt 28, etc, but on a sportbike, none of them top the Dragon. A group of us have taken a yearly trip there for the last 3 years and it's awesome. We go on one of the first weekends in October, because the grant money for the extra cops runs out at the end of September. There will be the occasional Blount County Sheriff, but if you stay in your lane and don't get just plain reckless and stupid, they don't bother you. First part of October it's virtually cop free and the temperatures are in the high 60's to mid 70's, which is very comfy when riding hard in full leathers.

If you go, please be careful. Not trying to preach about safety, but the Dragon is on a mountain road with lots of guardrail, drop offs, cliffs, trees, etc. People get severely injured and even die there by riding above their limits. Luckily there were no mishaps on the weekend we were there. The road is clean and for the most part, smooth, but if you blow a turn, there's nowhere to go except somewhere that's going to hurt. Stay in your lane and ride your own ride is the Tail of the Dragon motto. Watch out for the occasional wild turkey or even a bear. There will be a lot of locals who ride there all the time who can ride better than you think you can. They will pass you in your own lane, but they are courteous about it. Most locals in cages are also courteous and will pull off the side of the road and wave you by. Slower bikers will also wave you around and allow you room to pass in their lane. Be sure to extend the same courtesies to others. There are professional photographers that take pictures from the side of the road. You can go online when you get home and buy the pics.

Our trip there last year was the best one yet. We stayed in Sevierville, TN, which is 5 miles north of Pigeon Forge. The first night we unloaded the bikes and hit the Golden Corral in Pigeon Forge for some serious eating, then we cruised around the Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Gatlinburg area, and hit the Go Kart tracks and stuff for a few hours. After a good night's sleep, we loaded the bikes up and took Rt 321 out of Pigeon Forge to the Foothills Parkway, which dropped us on US129 a couple miles from the Dragon. We unloaded the bikes at one of the many gravel parking lots near the lake, then spent almost 6 hours lapping the Dragon, making occasional stops for gas, souvenirs, and food. It was a blast and the tires were blistered from edge to edge when we packed it in.

It's also a cheap trip if you can get a trucks and trailers for towing. A crew cab pickup and a trailer can haul 4 bikes and seat 4 people comfortably. Add a room at the Econo Lodge with 2 double beds, then split the tow gas and motel bill. Around $80 each, plus whatever you spend on bike gas, souvenirs, food, entertainment, etc. We left on Saturday morning, drove 6 hours, had our fun, rode the Dragon most of the day Sunday, then made the 6 hour trip back home on Sunday evening.

We're talking about doing 2 trips this year. One in April or May before the cops come out and another in October.

 

me and a few buds are ridin our cruzers to the keys ,2nd week of april..then probably take the cbr to deals gap again in july...well worth going back..good thing is im only about 3 hrs away from the gap..
the people i see being the most stupid on theyre bikes is the sport bikes with the saddle bags,,everywhere i go,,98% of them is flyin.dont know whats up with them people,......alot of people that go to the tail,think its a race track..never seen as many idiots at one place at once before.
take your time and enjoy the ride,and your trip there will be alot better..:icon_bik e:

 

deals gap is a blast every sportbike rider should atleast go there once in there life.

I recommend babying through the dragon the first time then speed up if you want. Um from ohio were the roads are pretty much straight and flat so this was nite and day corners for me and i loved it! Just be safe

 

I went to Deals gap last month to find the road was closed due to a rock slide.. they opened it up the day after we left.. I live in wisconsin so we couldn't stay that monday when it opened.. rode about a mile of the dragon.. cherohula skyline was great.. also not sure what the road was called but it was in North Carolina called hot springs.. I believe it was highway 209.. That was a cool rode.. lots of turns. you are constantly turning in the mountains... some turns had no guardrails so you have to know what your doing.... fun trip.. its definitly something to do after you ride the dragon in the area.. its about 2 hours east of the dragon near ashville