Taming the Dragon with the 'Hawk

**bberretta** · 04-21-2010, 07:19 AM

Drove across the state this weekend to see an old friend of mine in concert in Knoxville- great show, by the way- and decided to take a run at the Dragon before I headed back to Memphis.

For those who are unaware- where have you been? The Dragon is an 11 mile stretch of road on Highway 129 just south east of Knoxville,TN. This 11 mile stretch has 318 curves and is a sport bike Mecca- use to ride it all the time on my motorcycle when I lived out there. This was the first time I've ever taken it in a car and let me say- it was a blast! Currently 129 is blocked off at the base of the Dragon on the TN side due to a rockslide, so you have to come at it from the NC side (head down 68 through Sweetwater, Madisonville and Tellico Plains, cross over the Skyway-another amazing road- and cut over from Robbinsville NC to the Dragon. Because of the rockslide, the road was relatively clear even for a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Here are a couple of my pics:

Did get stuck behind a slow local on the skyway... long enough to take a pic...

I have more but the best pics came from Killboy's site:

And one from us129photos site:

Ordered a bunch of High-res pics from them!

**justinmc978** · 04-21-2010, 09:53 AM

LUMPY!

lol when i first read the title i suspected that you ran the riced out dragon c6 corvette that has been circulating around here recently

**Knight** · 04-21-2010, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by justinmc978

LUMPY!

lol when i first read the title i suspected that you ran the riced out dragon c6 corvette that has been circulating around here recently

I did the same thing lol.

**bberretta** · 04-21-2010, 12:26 PM

Dude... that Vette is just wrong on so many levels. There was a few RX7's running on Sunday as well- made a couple of them pull over so I could show them how a real car takes the turns...

Did almost get taken out by 4 Santas (old men, white beards, riding Harley baggers who don't know how to stay in their lane.) I really need a new set of tires and an alignment before I head up there again!

**bberretta** · 04-21-2010, 12:26 PM

And... who you calling "Lumpy"? I'm just big-boned.

**justinmc978** · 04-21-2010, 12:32 PM

you don't know? your spoiler, its known as the rare 'Ol Lumpy spoiler.

**bberretta** · 04-21-2010, 12:43 PM

It's a pretty cool spoiler, they ought to also call it the rain bucket- you ought to see how much water can pool up on that thing! Don't think about opening the hatch in the rain!

**justinmc978** · 04-21-2010, 12:54 PM

well nice firehawks arent supposed to be in the rain!

i kid.

**bberretta** · 04-22-2010, 05:10 AM

Originally Posted by justinmc978

well nice firehawks arent supposed to be in the rain!

i kid.

I've never had a car that didn't get driven! Driven this bird in rain, sleet, snow, and a few nice days here and there. 137k miles and running strong...

**LSCyaL8R** · 04-22-2010, 06:16 AM

My hawk had to spend a few months outdoors when I got it until I could arrange an appropriate garage space. I KNOW what accumulates in that lumpy rain bucket. ESPECIALLY if the car is nose up on any kind of incline... I drive it on weekends so it would sit on the street M-F and would always have to push the gallon or more that fills up in there out of the spoiler. Which reminds me of how rainy last year was.....

52k on mine and let's keep it that way

j/k I LOVE driving it and was actually contemplating going to Watkins Glen on Saturday which is 300+ miles round trip followed by Montauk on Sunday... another 300+ miles lol

**SouthernBornThriller** · 04-22-2010, 05:08 PM

I took my bird to the Dragon a few month's back before I drove her from home in NC out here to Cali. Definitely an experience. Saw fucking state troopers like every 9 feet though..

**bberretta** · 04-22-2010, 05:51 PM

Depending on the weekend, LEOs can be bad. They've gotten worse in the past couple of years because of all the squids who get their shiney new Gixxer and head up there to show off and don't know how to stay in their own damn lane. All it takes is one idiot to ruin the fun for the rest of us. I got stuck behind these two weekend warriors on their chromed and tassled baggers who rode the yellow line the entire time- that's not the place to be learning how to ride!

**cammed goat** · 04-22-2010, 05:54 PM

Never seen a Firehawk with a CETA mod. Nice all around.

**Baluchitherium** · 04-24-2010, 12:08 AM

Hey hats off to you for actually DRIVING your Hawk!

I DD my Hawk also and love driving her every time I get a chance...

Sounds like you had a blast out there! If you find yourself out there again,try to film it! I would love to see that... I was up in colorado a few years back and drove on some awesome mountain roads.That was a real treat for me being from Texas where EVERYTHING is FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT... (welll execept for a few spots in the hill country) lol

Thanks for sharing!

**c5z28** · 04-24-2010, 01:21 AM

I love hawks next time post a vid so we can see how balzy you are

.

**Too Fast** · 04-24-2010, 02:26 AM

Originally Posted by bberretta

Drove across the state this weekend to see an old friend of mine in concert in Knoxville- great show, by the way- and decided to take a run at the Dragon before I headed back to Memphis.

For those who are unaware- where have you been? The Dragon is an 11 mile stretch of road on Highway 129 just south east of Knoxville,TN. This 11 mile stretch has 318 curves and is a sport bike Mecca- use to ride it all the time on my motorcycle when I lived out there. This was the first time I've ever taken it in a car and let me say- it was a blast! Currently 129 is blocked off at the base of the Dragon on the TN side due to a rockslide, so you have to come at it from the NC side (head down 68 through Sweetwater, Madisonville and Tellico Plains, cross over the Skyway-another amazing road- and cut over from Robbinsville NC to the Dragon. Because of the rockslide, the road was relatively clear even for a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Here are a couple of my pics:

Did get stuck behind a slow local on the skyway... long enough to take a pic...

I have more but the best pics came from Killboy's site:

And one from us129photos site:

Ordered a bunch of High-res pics from them!

Yeah, I love that place. We are going back soon, there is a Pontiac show in nearby Pigeon Forge the first weekend in June. Mainly going to the show to have an excuse to drive the Dragon again. I was just looking for a photo that I could easily upload from our drive on it 4 years ago, but I have nothing from Photobucket. I ordered 5 pix from Killboy, I made one into a large poster and have it framed on the wall. There were not too many LEOs there when we went. I hope the rock slide is better when we get there, I want to drive it on Friday June 4th.

**bberretta** · 04-25-2010, 09:22 PM

Wish I could make it up in June- my wife is having rotator cuff surgery at the end of May so I really can't get away for six weeks or so. Have fun and ride safe.

Next time I go I'll definately take a camera. I got as ballsy as my tires would let me. They are WAY too hard of a compound and the front started to wash out on some of the switchbacks so I had to lighten up. It's a little uncomfortable when you know there isn't even a guardrail to keep you from flying off the edge of a mountain!

As for driving my 'Hawk- I wouldn't have it any other way. I've always believed that cars were meant to be driven and when I was looking for mine I purposely looked for a higher mileage car that needed work. Got lucky and found one and have driven it almost every day- rain, sleet, snow, ice, and sun.