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Tail of the Dragon Overrated?

IF you stop at the main Smokey Mountain HArley they will give you a map of several loops that you can make. FYI the dragon is a great 11 miles stretch of road as well as the foothills parkway
 
Didnt read all post pages. While in the area check out 276 from Waynesville to Brevard. rthen head south on 64 until you meet 215. 215 runs back to 276. A 85 mile ride with hardly any traffic. As curvy as the dragon most of the way. Also lots of great scenery as you cross the Blue Ridge Parkway twice on this ride
 
Rode the Dragon and the skyway a few months back.(1080 mile round trip).Really nice ride with some good friends.That was on my deuce,the next time will be on the new flhtk.To answer the original question, ( Tail of the Dragon Overrated? )Maybe, but any ride in that part of the world IS worth it in my opinion.:rider
 
Fourdogs said:
I rode the Dragon as a novice rider...was exciting enough...was told that its best to do during the week. Was told by a EMS guys who go up in the chopper. They say they have taken many a body off mainly on the weekend. If you never done it..Then I agree with others its a must. However the Million Dollar Highway from Durango to Ouray to me was 10 times scarier. If thats what your looking for. No guard rails no trees to break your fall...11,000 feet up..
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I rode the Dragon for the second time a couple 2 months ago. Lots of curves and pretty easy to get into a rhythm. There is a pretty good drop-off on one side but the trees give you a little comfort.The surrounding area is some of the best bike roads around so the Dragon is only part of the reason to ride there.

The Million Dollar highway, I rode it last June. Because we rode the Rockies west to the east we spent a lot of time with the drop-off on our right side. I was playing back some helmet cam video for some friends of the Million Dollar highway and the last 10 miles or so as we crested Independence Pass. They all asked why I kept hugging the center line it was making them nervous just watching the video. They were nervous, (EDIT) . As hard as I tried I could not force myself to rotate my head 90 degrees to the right to video the view.
You are right in your comparison of the two places. The Dragon has a pucker factor of about 3, tops.The Million Dollar highway traveling west to east...getting pretty close to an 8 in places. Beautiful it is, relaxing it is not. I'd love to do it again, it's that worthwhile!

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LARK said:
The Million Dollar highway, I rode it last June. Because we rode the Rockies west to the east we spent a lot of time with the drop-off on our right side. You are right in your comparison of the two places. The Dragon has a pucker factor of about 3, tops.The Million Dollar highway traveling west to east...getting pretty close to an 8 in places. Beautiful it is, relaxing it is not. I'd love to do it again, it's that worthwhile!
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I rode over Independence Pass in '08. Rode it from east to west. Yes, it is a great ride and does have a pretty good pucker factor. Between the two, I have to go for the Dragon as it is close enough that I can ride it a couple of times every year. Do not miss Hwy 28, it follows Fontana Lake from Hwy 74 and ends at Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort. It is a GREAT ride.
 
Have not done it yet, have done Spearfish Canyon in South Dakota several times worth the trip when doing Sturgis IMO:s
 
To me it is not overrated it was everything it was suppose to be and the reason why is......It's not just the Dragon it's the ride to it and the ride back home. They are all great roads in the area. They can't make em all famous.
 
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