Scootin Through Deals Gap - 318 Curves and 11 Horsepower

Great ride report. See any LEOs at the Gap? I have stayed away from Deal's Gap since 2008 as it became way too much of a slow speed parade and spectacle on the weekends, then the LEOs started writing tickets like there was no tomorrow. My last time on the Dragon was my fastest time ever - took my race-prepped Miata up there the first Friday of March, 2008 - it was very cold, no bikes or LEOs on the Dragon that day - had the place to myself and it sure is nice being able to see thru the trees when they are bare.

Your report reminds me that is much more fun to ride a light and slow bike fast than it is to ride a heavy and fast bike slow!

Thanks for the write up and great pictures, I wanna be there right now..! I can imagine how much fun it can be on a light weight scooter... its just so much nimble and light.. are there enough gas stations there in the area?

I rode motorcycles for over 30 years before getting this scooter a few months ago. I don't plan on giving up motorcycles but I'm really glad I got the scooter. I bought it mainly to use around town, ride to work, go shopping, explore the city, etc. I have found it to be way more fun around town than any motorcycle I have ridden. It is also much more practical and convenient. Getting around 80 MPG isn't bad either.

There are some limitations to my scooter. Top speed, on the speedometer is just over 60 MPH, but these speedos are known to read about 10% high so actual top speed is around 55. It will cruise comfortably all day at an indicated 50 MPH and even running at top speed it doesn't feel too strained. With 11 HP out of a 150cc engine, it is not exactly highly tuned. I won't be taking it on the highway and I try to avoid roads with speed limits higher than 50. A larger scooter will alleviate the top speed issues but will be heavier and more expensive. I got my Super 8 for $2200 OTD. It was new and comes with a 2 year warrantee. If you are looking for a scooter I highly recommend looking at the Kymcos. Kymco is the 5th largest scooter manufacturer in the world and has a good reputation.

I'm happy with the scooter I got but at some point in the future I will probably get something a little larger, a 200 or maybe 250. I would not consider getting a 50cc scooter, too slow to be comfortable or safe on anything but residential streets or streets with low speed limits.

I have done another ride report on my scooter. The link is here:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=647784

BTW, after riding a scooter for a while, you may not be willing to pass it along to your son

Like you, I have also been avoiding the Deals Gap for the same reasons you mentioned. The reason I went now is because it was still before the tourist season.

Up to this point in my report I seen a park ranger in GSMNP, another on the Foothills Parkway, but no LEOs on or around Deals Gap. That would soon change.......stay tuned.

I agree completely about it being more fun to ride a slow bike fast. First of all, although I was going much slower than I would have on one of my dual sports, and much slower than the truly fast sport bike riders, I was still going faster than most of the traffic. more importantly, I was probably pushing my scooter as close to it's limits as the sport bike guys were doing on their bikes, and I was probably having as much if not more, fun. Also, if there had been a speed trap, I would have been much less likely to get a ticket. The LEO would probably be embarrassed to be seen pulling over a tiny scooter

You should bring your scooter up to Deals Gap before tourist season arrives. I think you'll have a blast

At some point I plan on riding the scooter up around Suches. I'll let you know before I do. It would be fun to get a few small scooters or other wee beasties together for a ride

There are gas stations in the area but if you have a tiny tank like my Kymco, you may want to carry a fuel bottle. Many of the gas stations close early. There is gas at Deals Gap but the store closed at 6:00 PM Saturday and Sunday, earlier on weekdays. I think they stay open later during the tourist season. Many of the other gas stations in the area also close early. I had a 1 liter fuel bottle but never used it. I also planned ahead and often filled up even though I only needed half a gallon or so.

In.

Shortly after I started riding, a rider coming the other way tapped the top of his helmet indicating a LEO ahead. Sure enough I passed a Sherrif's deputy coming the other way. He must have come from North Carolina since I didn't see him on my run down to the overlook and I didn't see him pass by while I was there. I continued to Deals gap and decided to chill out and give the LEO some time to move on.

The crowd was about the same size as before. There were about as many bikes behind me as you can see in this pic.



It is not unusuel for people to bring little "pit" bikes up here even though they can only be ridden in the parking lot. I have no idea what kind of bike this was and even the owner didn't know.:huh



it didn't take long for the itch to ride came back so I headed back for another pass through the gap.

It was another fun ride through with no sign of LEOs.............until a couple of miles before the overlook. With no leaves on the trees I was able to spot the THP car well in advance..............not that I was speeding or anything like that

Shortly after that I came up behind slow moving traffic so I pulled over rather than follow along behind at a snails pace. It turns out I picked a nice scenic spot.



Another view you won't see with leaves on the trees.

After a break at the overlook, I headed back for another pass. I knew approximately where the LEO but slowed down some in case he had moved. Well he had moved, no sign of him. So I took it easy and took advantage of the reduced pace to take some pics.

One of the many photograpghers. This was 129 slayer.



A closer view.



More great scenery



My high performance superbike



More scenery.



I'm sure that most non riders would question my choice of scenery pics, but those who love to ride will understand.

KYMCO is the only scooter i'd buy new. the others just aren't worth the money. the Chinese stuff is cheap but still iffy and the even the Japanese stuff is overpriced.
how does it pull hills? i'm on the, ahemm, heavier side of the scale. i have one grade to and from work that's a good 2-3 miles long and pretty steep. my 5.0 Mustang doesn't like it in fifth gear. the speed limit is only 45 but we all like to drive it @ 60+.

That all looks like fun.except for the cops and excess of people. I'll have to check it out some time.
Im lucky enough to live in nor cal,there are so many tight curvy roads between here and the coast and mountains its hard to choose.
Best thing is that theres hardly any traffic or none if I go at the right time of day,endless tight stuff or perfect sweepers depending on the mood.
Some of these roads are like paved trails with spots to catch air,off cambers,gravel sections to keep you honest. Usually theres some little store/burger joint out in the middle of no where to grab lunch.

I forget how lucky I am to live out here sometimes.

Damn, all this talk about tourist season traffic at Deal's Gap and the BRP sort of has me bummed... I'm going that way the first week of June. Gonna have to try to plan to at least NOT arrive on a weekend!

My ride is taking me southeast from Denver to Birmingham (hitting the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum), then to DG and the BRP before heading straight up the Appalachians into Pennsylvania and on into New England.

After messing around up into Maine, Canada, and the UP, we'll be heading back to Denver for a rest before heading BACK out... to Central/Northern California. Hoping to experience those wide-open roads and little mom & pop joints for lunch and lodging!

My 150 barely notices slight hills, but I'm only 175. Steeper hills do slow it down. I would consider the Yager 200i. I think it has about 10 MPH on my 150. Or maybe a people 250S. I think they discontinued the Grand Vista 250 but there are some still available.

Some other choices I would consider. The Sym HD200 is a great scooter but Sym has issues with it's distributer in the US. Also the Genuine Blur 220i looks interesting.

You ARE lucky to live in Norcal.

We do have roads like you described. Many riders only ride the main roads like Deals Gap, The Cherohala, the BRP, and a few others. I have done week long rides in the area in October, which is peak tourist season, and seen virtually no other motorcycles, no LEOs and very little traffic while I was off the beaten path. Of course I usuelly ride a dual sport and many of my favorite roads turn to gravel or have less than perfect pavement. Many also have far tighter and more challenging curves than Deals Gap.

Still, Deals Gap is a blast to ride.....when it's not crowded. I certainly enjoyed myself this time.

There are other roads in the area - see my last post. Go to Deals Gap to get the T shirt and meet other interesting riders. Then hit some of the other roads for a fun ride.

Will do, thanks for the tip!

I'll have my Zumo and laptop and will also plug in some other roads/routes ahead of time.

Good read! I'm looking forward to making the pilgrimage to see that road sometime in the future. Btw, You made Killboy's front page

I do want to come out that way and check it out,Ive picked up a 99 Triumph Trophy to do a cross country jaunt on some time soon,I know its pretty country out that way.

More photographers.



I eventually went by the THP car. He had moved up a few miles from the state line but due to the lack of leaves on the trees, I saw him well in advance.

This was just before the resort.



Probably 5 times my horsepower and half my speed.

Another stop at Deals Gap. This old Honda 400 automatic must be over 30 years old.



There was still plenty of daylight left but I really didn't want to ride back through the Gap with the THP hanging out. I decided to ride to the top of the Cherohala Skyway. This would be a good chance to see how my scooter performed going uphill at a relatively high altitude. I topped off my tank and figured I could make it to the top of the Skyway and back to my truck with the fuel I had. The store and gas pumps here at Deals Gap would be closed by the time I returned and I wasn't sure about finding gas along the way.

129 from Deals gap towards Robbinsville is a pleasant, scenic drive. There are plenty of curves but you need to go pretty fast to really get the bike leaned over.



The Cheoah River is still flowing plenty of water.

That's a 1978 Honda Hawk 400, I had one just like that but with a 5 speed manual. Nice bike.

Congrats on making Killboy's front page.

Instead of following 129 all the way to 143, I took the shortcut through the Joyce Kilmer Forest to the beginning of the Skyway. This road has a fairly rough surface but is nearly as twisty as Deal Gap. With lots of curves and absolutely NO traffic, it was a fun ride

The start of the Skyway.



Riding up the Skyway I soon hit some hills that slowed me down to around 40 MPH. This didn't look good since I would be going up in elevation. It had also clouded up and looked like it might rain. On top of that it was getting cold. I pulled over and added a layer under my jacket and put on my winter gloves.

After the first couple of hills my Super 8 seemed to catch it's breath and I had no problem running 45 or more the rest of the way. I stopped at what looked like the top of the Skyway. It's hard to tell since there are several high points. There was a signpost here but the sign was missing so I couldn't document where I was. I think I was about 5 miles from the NC/TN border.

This was the view.



I headed back and stopped here to document my location and elevation.



A couple more shots on the way down.



.



Running back through the Joyce kilmer Forest I noticed this Dam. Normally you can't see it through the trees. I believe it's the Santleetah Dam.




Some one had asked about gas stations in the area. There are many small "Mom & Pop" stores with gas pumps in the area but you can't depend on them being open.



Just what I need for a little extra speed

As I rode down 129 towards Deals Gap the sun came back out.



.



The sunlight made for a much better shot of the Fugitive Dam than the one I took the day before.

By the time I got back to Deals Gap the store was closed......and my butt was sore. The seat on my Super 8 is fine for around town but will never be the first choice for any iron butt riders. Despite everything being closed, there were still quite a few people here. So I hung out for a while, checked out the toys and talked to some people.

I much prefer 2 wheels to 4, but if I had to drive some of the local roads I suppose I could tolerate this



Or maybe one of these



The Tree of Shame with the motel in the background. I have never stayed here. I'm sure you need to book the rooms way in advance for weekends in April - Oct.



I talked for a while with a guy named Jeff who was up here on an FZ6. He really wasn';t into riding curves that much. He liked it here because it was a great place to meet and talk to interesting people. I have found this to be true at all of the motorcyle hangouts around the country. The first motorcycle hangout I ever went to was Mother's Kitchen on top of Palomar Mountain. I thought it was impressive because there were sometimes 20-30 bike there. Then there was Newcombs Ranch. I think it normally had around 100 bike on a weekend. My favorite by far was Two Wheels Only. I met people from all over the world at TWO. It was so sad to see it close

During the busy season, it is not uncommon to see well over 100 bikes here at Deals Gap at one time. I wouldn't be surprised to see 2 or 300. Although it is hardly worth riding the road when it's that crowded, it's still an interesting place to hang out.

Jeff, If you happen to find this forum, it was nice talking to you.

Next, I talked to another local guy up here on his FZ1. I never did get his name but I did mention ADV to him and he is now registered as Broken Record.