OGRE
Well-known member
I'm writing you from the lovely country of Afghanistan. I've been in transit for over a week but, I finally have time to post a report about my adventures on the Blue ridge Parkway and Dragon.
I woke up on the 28th of August and checked the weather... even with a 60% chance of rain and very overcast skys, I was determined to get one last ride in before I had to leave. I had changed the oil, filter, and spark plugs the night before and I was ready to ride. So, I put on my wet weather gear and headed out from my home in Pickens SC. I took HWY 178 from Pickens( an incredible road in and of itself) and connected wiith 276 through Brevard NC. I followed 276 all the way to the Parkway and turned back West Towards Cherokee. I stopped at the highest point on the parkway for a photo op.
While there I met a couple on a BMW dual sport who had riddn the whole length of the parkway, and the dragon... SO... I decided that it would only add a couple hours to the loop I had planned so after finishing the Parkway section I headed for Deals Gap. The rain stopped almost as soon as I got off the parkway and by the time I arrived at the Deals Gap motorcycle resort,at the beginning of the dragon,the roads were mostly dry.
This was my first visit to the fabled dragon. I had built it up in my mind to legendary status... but, I found it to be no better that any number of roads in the area. Adding in the heavy traffic, on a rainy thursday afternoon, I would rather ride elsewhere. However, I did stop and get a sticker from the shack across from the resort.
After a run up and back down and a stop to top off my gas tank I started home...This is where the journey took a turn for the worse. I had driven 25 miles or so towards Franklin NC on HWY 28( which has some incredible curves). I came up to some slow traffic about five miles outside of town. Just as I came out of a sharp Left hand turn... I felt and heard a "POP!" and the back end of the bike stepped sideways a few inches. Assuming I had a flat, I let off the gas and looked for a place to pull off. I had to fight for balance every inch of the way. I finally found a pull off in front of a church about 300 yards from the "POP". when I looked over my left shoulder to see the tire I noticed oil POURING out from under the bike.
If you'll look back you'll see I mentioned changing my own oil the day before....... The "pop" was my back tire running over the oil drain plug which I failed to tighten, 320 miles ago. Due to the location of the oil plug the back Tire was SOAKED with oil, causing the squirrelyness in the rear end.
A really nice guy stopped and drove me back to where I lost the plug and helped me look for it. After searching for about 30 minutes or so with no luck he told me that he had a friend who owned a motorcycle shop. He called the friend on his cell phone( it was after 5pm) and he said he thought he had a plug to fit and would bring it and some oil out to me. After he arived we found that the plug was the wrong size. He and I loaded the bike in his little pickup and drove it to the shop. If you're ever in Franklin NC and need emergency repairs I can definatly recomend TEEM MOTORSPORTS! (yes thats how they spell teem)
By fate he had an FJR in the shop for long term repairs. He called the owner and asked if he could sell me his plug and order a new one. The FJR's owner agreed. I hope he is a member here so I can thank him properly. After replacing the plug and filling her up with fresh oil, we hosed the oil off the rear tire.
The picture is prior to the attempt, but, after several washings with degreaser it was still(as we say in SC) slick as owl shit. I babied it for the next 25-30 miles gently increasing my lean angle until all the remaining oil was scrubbed off, and continued home.
I hope someone out there will read this and remember to tighten their oil plug. THE END
I woke up on the 28th of August and checked the weather... even with a 60% chance of rain and very overcast skys, I was determined to get one last ride in before I had to leave. I had changed the oil, filter, and spark plugs the night before and I was ready to ride. So, I put on my wet weather gear and headed out from my home in Pickens SC. I took HWY 178 from Pickens( an incredible road in and of itself) and connected wiith 276 through Brevard NC. I followed 276 all the way to the Parkway and turned back West Towards Cherokee. I stopped at the highest point on the parkway for a photo op.
While there I met a couple on a BMW dual sport who had riddn the whole length of the parkway, and the dragon... SO... I decided that it would only add a couple hours to the loop I had planned so after finishing the Parkway section I headed for Deals Gap. The rain stopped almost as soon as I got off the parkway and by the time I arrived at the Deals Gap motorcycle resort,at the beginning of the dragon,the roads were mostly dry.
This was my first visit to the fabled dragon. I had built it up in my mind to legendary status... but, I found it to be no better that any number of roads in the area. Adding in the heavy traffic, on a rainy thursday afternoon, I would rather ride elsewhere. However, I did stop and get a sticker from the shack across from the resort.
After a run up and back down and a stop to top off my gas tank I started home...This is where the journey took a turn for the worse. I had driven 25 miles or so towards Franklin NC on HWY 28( which has some incredible curves). I came up to some slow traffic about five miles outside of town. Just as I came out of a sharp Left hand turn... I felt and heard a "POP!" and the back end of the bike stepped sideways a few inches. Assuming I had a flat, I let off the gas and looked for a place to pull off. I had to fight for balance every inch of the way. I finally found a pull off in front of a church about 300 yards from the "POP". when I looked over my left shoulder to see the tire I noticed oil POURING out from under the bike.
If you'll look back you'll see I mentioned changing my own oil the day before....... The "pop" was my back tire running over the oil drain plug which I failed to tighten, 320 miles ago. Due to the location of the oil plug the back Tire was SOAKED with oil, causing the squirrelyness in the rear end.
A really nice guy stopped and drove me back to where I lost the plug and helped me look for it. After searching for about 30 minutes or so with no luck he told me that he had a friend who owned a motorcycle shop. He called the friend on his cell phone( it was after 5pm) and he said he thought he had a plug to fit and would bring it and some oil out to me. After he arived we found that the plug was the wrong size. He and I loaded the bike in his little pickup and drove it to the shop. If you're ever in Franklin NC and need emergency repairs I can definatly recomend TEEM MOTORSPORTS! (yes thats how they spell teem)
By fate he had an FJR in the shop for long term repairs. He called the owner and asked if he could sell me his plug and order a new one. The FJR's owner agreed. I hope he is a member here so I can thank him properly. After replacing the plug and filling her up with fresh oil, we hosed the oil off the rear tire.
The picture is prior to the attempt, but, after several washings with degreaser it was still(as we say in SC) slick as owl shit. I babied it for the next 25-30 miles gently increasing my lean angle until all the remaining oil was scrubbed off, and continued home.
I hope someone out there will read this and remember to tighten their oil plug. THE END
