Test Roads

[xcessiv6]

This year RTHS 5 will be going to the Tail of the Dragon I was talked in to going there 4 years ago for my brother who has a 72 240Z Datsun with guys from the event words can not do this road justice, if you every get a chance, do it.

 

[DailyDrifter]

Looks like a nice road. My 240sx would love it. My t-type wouldnt mind it either. Do they ever shut the road down so people can race on it?

 

[xcessiv6]

Not that I know of

 

[scot w.]

RTTH5 Dragon Route

Good thread Eric!
Here is the route we will be taking for our cruise portion of "RTTH5" 3 day event.

The long trip is as follows.
441 South from Pigeon Forge, to Cherokee.
US 19 south to Hwy 28
Hwy 28 to Fontana and 129
129 (at this point) is the dragon
129 north to Alcoa (Keisler's shop)
Then back through the dragon and
to the Host Hotel ( Mainstay Suites ).

Dragon highlights and info here: killboy.com photos - The Original Photographer from US129 Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap

Pictures are taken by these guy's every single day of every car!

Here are more highlights:

 

[scot w.]

More of the cycle couple!

BE CAREFULL!!!

 

[scot w.]

Looks like a nice road. My 240sx would love it. My t-type wouldnt mind it either. Do they ever shut the road down so people can race on it?

NO! There is somebody killed there pretty much on a monthly basis the way it is. You not only have to be carefull your self and pay attention to what your doing and you also have to watch out for the ones who aren't!


We are all going here to have fun first and foremost. This is a motorcycle mecca and is rated one of the top 10 roads in the country by all motorcycle magazines. That being said, people come from all over to ride it and it will be covered in bikes.

There are 318 curves in 11 miles. some are decreasing radius, some are off camber, and many are blind curves. Some have a 6 inch dip right in the apex (a warning for those with low front spoilers). GREAT! For testing out suspensions and tires!!

THE NUMBER ONE RULE IS TO STAY IN YOUR LANE!!!!!! Many car and truck drivers feel it necessary to cross the double yellow and play road course racer. PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!!!! There are road courses for that type of driving.

Most of the sport bike riders run this road hard. They will be mid-curve, layed over at full tilt with the foot peg dragging. The last thing you want to see is a car IN YOUR LANE mid-curve. Your already flat out and there is nothing you can do.

I know you'll say that the biker should be behaving better than that also. But if he is in his lane and on the proper side of the line then no real fowl. If you are taking both lanes then you are DEAD WRONG whether you are meeting a bike or a car/truck. This is frowned upon heavily if you will check the killboy site or any of the other dragon sites. It causes many injuries each year, so much so that last year the Tenn. Governor set aside special funds to have a large group of both state patrol and local enforcement there around the clock on nearly every curve, every weekend. They even kept a paddy wagon up there most weekends.

Let's all have a great time running HWY. 129 but keep it safe, legal, and respect the others who are trying to do the same. It is a public road and not closed off just for our run through. So let's set a responsible example for musclerides, Bill, and Pro-Touring as a whole.

I've just been there a lot and seen the mayhem and stupidity in action and I know we have a much better and more responsible group than that.


SW.

 

[TurboDave]

NO! There is somebody killed there pretty much on a monthly basis the way it is. You not only have to be carefull your self and pay attention to what your doing and you also have to watch out for the ones who aren't!


.

For sure!!!!!!!!!!! The average motorcyclist death rate on that road is just over 2 per month, most months, more. Auto related deaths are far fewer, probably because they're far more common sense about their vehicles capabilities.

 

[DailyDrifter]

NO! There is somebody killed there pretty much on a monthly basis the way it is. You not only have to be carefull your self and pay attention to what your doing and you also have to watch out for the ones who aren't! .

Where is this place at? It would be nice to be able to use the whole road when driving. They should consider making it one-way for a day each month. But you are right, motorcylist would probably go even faster and end up dead. If I ever become a Billionaire that road will be mine!!

 

[Evans Ward]

I bike the Dragon and surrounding roads annually for a week with a group of vintage 2 stroke street bike guys. It's VERY technical and very demanding too. Much of this road does not have guard rails so if you overshoot and get too hot in a turn you could wind up dead with a long drop off. Much more bikes up there than cars. Remember too that this road can also be accessed by large trucks and they do take up the entire road on turning! They usually get LEO escorts though when they have to pass through it. As far as I'm concerned, the Dragon is highly overrated with MUCH better roads around it like Hwy 28 (Hellbender).

 

[charlief1]

Have you guys ever been up to Happy Valley? Yes it's really named that. About the same to get there but once you go over the mountain it's a nice big valley and has only 2 roads in it. Pretty area up there for sure.

 

[jdpolzin]

WOW!!!!!!!!!! Now that looks like fun! I bet a few people wreck on that course! So is the road completely shut down to public traffic while people are testing their cars?

 

[scot w.]

WOW!!!!!!!!!! Now that looks like fun! I bet a few people wreck on that course! So is the road completely shut down to public traffic while people are testing their cars?

No! the road is never shut down for anyone. It's a public road that people live off and commute to work. Testing the cars comes FREE just by driving it!

Driving this road at the normal speed will find any weak spots in your car that's for sure!! As a matter of fact it will also find weak spots in the driver and passenger too!!! :biggrin:

Bill Howell (Owner of Musclerides) stopped by today, This is going to be one killer event this year!!!

Anyone is welcome to come down and attend our RTTH (Run Through The Hills) event! This years event is held SEPTEMBER 17-19th here in Pigeon Forge, TN.

Sept 17th - The run through the hills / Backwoods boogie This year through the Tail of The Dragon.

Sept 18th - The RTTH Auto-X event held at the Smokey Stadium.

Sept 19th - The RTTH 1/8th mile Drag Race.

Sponsored by:
BFG tires
Pro-Touring.com
Musclerides.com

SW.

 

[Squid4life]

That would be sick! (but only in scot's car or xcessiv's)

Can I borrow one? :biggrin:

 

[xcessiv6]

2 years ago my brother and I drove down in his Caddy because a hurricane was coming thru and it was raining the whole weekend, so we took a trip to 129 ToftD and got to look over the edge of the road, which you don't have time to do when driving your car fast, lets say some of the drop off are 2-5 hundred feet down, so if you make a mistake your screwed. Then we went to Cherohala Highway, That road is just crazy with drop offs of thousand of feet with no cell phone service. There are alot of crazy roads in that area.

 

[scot w.]

That would be sick! (but only in scot's car or xcessiv's)

Can I borrow one? :biggrin:

LOL, NO!!! :biggrin:


SW.