durk Posted August 2, 2015 Report Share Posted August 2, 2015 So after reading about all of your trips to the dragon I finally went for it. I left on Sunday around 1pm and headed for Charleston, WV. Nothing spectacular on my route there, just some routes I often hit when I head south (rt 170 S off of 154, WV rt 88 S, WV rt 250 S). On Monday I headed to Tazewell, VA to ride the Back of the Dragon into Marion, VA. From there I went Bristol, TN to ride the Snake into Mountain City, TN. Then I headed to my hotel in Johnson City, TN. Outside of the rain I ran into the roads were all awesome, including the roads I took to get to the back of the dragon. On Tuesday I headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Beautiful views, but different style of riding for me. It was relaxing. I did not find myself wanting to push it into the corners, just kind of took it easy with rpm always in the lower range. It was a good time and then some point after Ashville, NC the sky opened up. My intent was to ride the parkway longer and then head to the tail. So I just got off the parkway early and made my way to the tail. I made it to Robbinsville around 6 and grabbed dinner. I then ran 129 up and took some foots @deals gap & killboy. Nobody was around so it was easy to do as I please. Then I made my first trip through the dragon. It was awesome, I primarily had the road to myself. I then headed to my hotel in Knoxville,TN. On Wednesday I took the Cherohala Skyway/Tail of the Dragon loop and I included part of the moonshiner 28 route. Great times, but there was a huge downer as well. I discovered an oil leak as I was looking at the Fontana Dam. Continued on to the tail and it seemed to be getting worse. I went ahead & did lunch, grabbed souvenirs and went for it on the dragon. After my run I made the call not to ride it again as I was oiling my rear tire as I rode. Thursday was all about getting home. 550 miles of primarily highway. Ended up having to stop in Sunbury, OH because I discovered my oil leak was now severe. My filter seal was shot. Thankfully AutoZone carries a k & n that fits my rr. After 1.5 hours I had spun off the old filter and put on a new one. Made it home safe and sound. Can't wait to do it again next year. I have to give Danimal credit for this route. When I was originally gonna go with him he shared his route and it sounded awesome and it did not disappoint. If I can figure out how to post pics I will do so later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durk Posted August 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2015 I had a couple of guys that wanted to go, but they have this thing called work. My one nice perk being a teacher is my whole summer is mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helmutt Posted August 2, 2015 Report Share Posted August 2, 2015 Glad to hear you finally got the hit Deals Gap, and that you were accident free with your filter seal failure. To post pics just upload them to an image hosting site, I use imgur ( http://imgur.com/ ) and once you've uploaded all the pics you simply copy the url of each photo and post them here between the image brackets. Easiest way I learned was to quote someone else's picture post just to see how it was linked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durk Posted August 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Day 1 all ready to begin my trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durk Posted August 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 I have more pics but I suck at using this site so I guess that's all I may be able to post. Maybe I can figure it out later, but right now I am not able to get it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocket226 Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Man that's a hell of a trip on a super sport, especially by yourself.Props to ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durk Posted August 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 I think I may have this now.Just some water fall I spotted on WV route 16 as I made my way to the "Back of the Dragon"Of course I had to run it to some rain before I got to ride the Back of the Dragon. Would have been too easy to ride it when it was dry I'm sure. Not really I felt the"Back" and "Snake" were more challenging due to the elevation changes.View of Grandfather Mountain on Blue Ridge ParkwayI took this photo in front of the tree of shame before I ran the Dragon for my first time. Thankfully it did not become a jinx to meI got to Deals Gap/ Killboy late on my first run through, so I took advantage of some foto opportunities I figured I might not get the next day around noon.Me just before I made my second and final run through the Dragon due to my leaky filter.Killboy made me look pretty good I think. Obviously I'm no knee dragger.Notice the oil burning off my exhaustI was laying a nice smoke screen I guess as I ran through the dragon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTheAzn Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Yea how did you do that on an 03-06 600rr? I felt like poop after 350 miles on my old 600rr. Props to you sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durk Posted August 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 My big secret is I wear bicycle shorts. Originally my butt would be pretty sore after long rides, but the padded shorts really help out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTheAzn Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Now that I think about it, I didnt have near the gear I have now for all day riding. All of that stuff is probably the reason. Yea a 500 mile day in jeans is no bueno, those seams though! Currently, I wear compression shorts, powder my bits like a powdered doughnut with AntiMonkeyButt powder, and have my textile riding pants. Much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mello dude Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Sounds like a great ride....but dude- give it up on the k&n filter. Way too many leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durk Posted August 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 When I googled it I did find many reports where the filter failed outside of installation error. I have been using them for a good 3 years with no problems, so I figured i'll give them another shot before I scrap them. Who knows it could have been I did not spin it on tight enough and vibration allowed it to loosen. Do you personally know of or have experience with them leaking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaDoc Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 thx for sharing, props to you for making this trip solo. You must be one cool teacher at school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue-yamaR6s Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Congrats on the trip by yourself. Just how fatigued were you when you got home on a sport bike for that many miles? Do you have helibars on the bike or what's your setup like? Any mods to help out on the ergonomics? Never heard of a filter leaking before to be honest unless it was installed wrong. Don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durk Posted August 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 My neck was a bit sore, but that's about it. No ergo mods. Weird thing about filter is that it was fine for over 1000 miles or more before it started leaking. My diagnosis is either I did not put it on tight enough and it loosened from vibration, or it just failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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