Chuck78

Brief recap highlights - on our way down from Ohio, we ran US23 most of the way to avoid the interstates. Camped just past Piketon KY in George Washington Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. Hit 23 again Sunday down to 619 (VA?) & were going to take that down to Little Switzerland to hit the Diamondback loop 226a & 226, then the Blue Ridge Parkway & Rt 80 Buck Creek Rd. 619 was AWESOME - narrow mountain road that looked more like it was exclusively just access to the High Knob lookout tower (awesome road - 10mph hairpins, dense forest, big climb to the top - great views at top lookout tower). Well just beyond the top and several gravel Forest service access roads to other Pisgah National Forest points of interest, 619 turned into a Forest Service gravel road of another name. Went down a bit until it got very steep and hit a 10mph gravel hairpin and the wife slid out & hurt her ego. Turned around and went back on 23 south. Very passable gravel if careful, JUST DONT FORGET OR PANIC AND HIT YOUR FRONT BRAKE!!!!!Continued South & got off 23 at (TN?) 352, nice road! Took it to (NC?)212 (same road different sate) which was awesome & fairly twisty, took a left on 208 (good&twisty) & then to Hot Springs, a very quaint little rustic town with people riding horseback through the streets like they were automobiles! City streets mo banners read "Hot Springs NC, An Appalachian Trail Community." Paid 60 cents per gallon more for gas there as its at the north end of 209 "The Rattler" with no other gas within 30-40 miles. 209 was AWESOME through Pisgah. Fresh pavement first 4 miles. Then patchwork after that where they take a section out half the lane width from the shoulder for 30-60 feet and repaved it. The first 5 miles here were like the Dragon but better, aside from loose asphalt cinders from patchwork in progress, & dodging gravel from trucks with trailers or busses wandering into the shoulder and kicking up gravel. Trucks with ANY trailers should not be allowed on this road at all... dragging gravel from the shoulder on the tight 15mph hairpins all over. This section was very tight and very awesome, mountain climbing a small mountain through a beautiful section of dense forest. Pisgah & Nantahala National Forests are awesome. 209 past that was a nice meandering winding valley road, then climbed over another foothill or smaller mountain which was good fun, but not as extreme as the other. This dumped us out near out destination of Maggie Valley NC's Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum where my wife was working the Wall of Death show this coming week/weekend. Camped with the crew, got to stay in the gatehouse cabin one night. Break in the rain, gotta pack up bike. To be continued.

Nope, never. Suzuki GS forum guys highly recommended Wayah. Wayah & the Hellbender section of 28 were the only roads I was going out of the Asgeville/Maggie Valley area southbound-ish to ride. Tim/etc, If you see 2 riders on old Suzuki GS's, here's mine, stop and say hi! That was Reddish Knob, US33 WV VA border, & Smoke Hole Canyon. My last real ride last October.

Lunchbreak notes added to the above post info: US441 to Little River Rd in the Smokies Hwy19 to BRP to: NC-215 & US-276. Visiting Skinny Dip Falls on BRP midway between 215&276 makes a nice triangle of roads NC-209 & NC-63 around Hot Springs/Junaluska area to: NC-212 (twisty/desolate paved Appalachian Trail access, turns to gravel at northeastern end) Buck Creek Rd to BRP NE to Little Switzerland, then: 226&226a loop around the Little Switzerland area looks on the Google terrain view to be exactly my kind if road... 143 through Roan Mtn State Park, & 197 through Pisgah National Forest? "Wayah Rd NC-1310 aka Thunder Rd, snaking it's way for 28 miles between Old Murphy Road near Franklin, NC and US19/74 at the Nantahala River Put-In, up & over the mountain...then head up the road to Franklin and pickup NC 28 north, in my opinion the best section of 28 is between Franklin and 74. The Hellbender." "WAYAH BALD: A side trip to Wayah Bald is well worth the effort. This vantage point is 5,342 feet in elevation. From Wayah Gap, journey 1.3 miles up gravel Forest Road 69 and see the Wilson Lick Ranger Station. Built about 1913, Wilson Lick was the first ranger station in the Nantahala National Forest. Continue another 3.2 miles up Forest Road 69 to Wayah Bald. Take the short paved trail to the historic Wayah Bald Fire Tower"

Here are some roads closer to the southern-most point I will be staying, any feedback on them? 276 was mentioned, & 209 etc: US441 to Little River Rd in the SmokY mountain National Park NC-209 & NC-63 around Hot Springs/Junaluska area NC-215 & US-276 (276 looks better on the map but reviews sound more favorable for 215 & surrounding backroads, what's your opinion?) NC-212 (apparently this super twisty desolate road is there just to give Appalachian Trail access?) 226&226a loop around the Little Switzerland area looks on the Google terrain view to be exactly my kind if road... Should I stick with those areas, or is it worth it to run 143 through Roan Mtn State Park, & 197 through Pisgah National Forest? 421 The Snake is north if there a ways but it looked great on a video I watched.

Tim, if you got that with you on your trip, you won't need a warm cabin with a warm bed and a warm hot tub! That'll be plenty to keep you warm in a sleeping bag, and make you forget how hard and rocky the ground is underneath you!

Yes. exactly what I'm trying to avoid. Really, anytime I go on vacation, I'm primarily trying to avoid most people in general & stick to the wilderness areas. With the exception of AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days weekend... then all the crazies come out, as well as all the Vintage Bike geeks, and a thousands of awesome bikes. Camping there is off the hook after the event is closed at 5pm Fri& Saturday

Nope. Re-read.

Ahhhhwwwww f%=!#&*! $#!+ dangit!!! Maybe we'll spend a bit more time in Red River Gorge with a group of fellow vintage bike geeks then, hang around Ashville a bit longer, and then make it to Maggie Valley Sunday when I hope most of the Harley owners trailer their trailer queens back and get back to their day jobs...assuming most of them are middle aged and not retired slo-pokers!!!! May 13-15th??? Dangit. Good info to know. Will stay away as best as we can.

Wow quite the all-knowing cafe racer there! I actually read that website after replying to posts on here... I suppose my commentary is more so directed at the terrible butchery that people call "building a cafe" as opposed to the mockery of hipsterdom trends in beverages, hairstyles, outward appearances, etc.... My bad. Passenger pegs are for the long highway stretches, not the twisty bits... don't need the clutch much either, except for stop signs and lights... heck, I don't even use it much in the truck with a synchro gearbox!

Karambonz??? 1st post! Tonik is the fine dining police for road trippers! Thanks for making sure I didn't miss out on some good eats after days of long rides!

Any backcountry camping suggestions and additional backroads adventures are all very welcome. Also, my kind of destinations such as waterfalls/cliffs/caves to hike to, etc... off the beaten path is no problem, in fact preferred!

He got it there, speedreader! Can't complain here, already gave me HEAPS of advice before mentioning your favorite Cafe to race to...

Awesome start, thanks a ton. I'm sure it's an area where you simply can't go wrong. Miles and miles of smiles! Now... any tips on incredible backcountry/national forest camp spots???!!! My wife scaled back to part time working for the bicycle shop and tours/works with our buds Charlie Ransom & crew now, they're performing the wall of death thrillshow at the museum Thurs-Sun following our vacation down there. She out-rode my iron butt status by doing 1300 miles Columbus to Louisville to Little Rock to set up for their show @ Austin TX handbuilt motorcycle show in 48 hours... left here 9pm after an unexpected extra garage day spent prepping her well broken in 1977 Suzuki GS550B for the haul...

Awesome! the more, the merrier. If you have time to put a few details about some of the roads, that would be an extra good bonus.

I know the dragon is near there, which I may crack and ride, but I'm really trying to find the "better" roads nearby and avoid it's congestion, commercialization, and low speed limit+LEO presence. Not sure how far away 421 "The Snake" is, but a vid I watched of 2 guys riding that made it seem to be quite the "must-ride."

Looks like we'll be heading down through Daniel Boone National Forest to camp 2 Thursdays from now after work, explore a bit Fri AM in the Red River Gorge area, then head toward Asheville NC and end up at Maggie Valley Sunday-ish (wife has to be there for work Tuesday). The area is chocked full of the kind of incredible scenery and twisty roads that I love, almost too many to choose! I was hoping some of you could help me narrow down the really critical ones that would be the most to my likings based on your experiencences. Incredible mountain/cliff/waterfall scenery is tops for me, as well as lots of tight curves with some excellent elevation changes thrown in there. Nicely banked curves and great pavement are a plus, but also the less engineered twisty backroads have a different but equal allure for me. A small amount of straight-ish sweeper roads or 35mph roads can be thrown in as well if they lead to incredible views or link to other amazing twisty bits (the BRP near Maggie is the best section according to the tourism vid) Fire away... Thanks everybody. Early 38th bday treat for me since the wife will be working at the Wheels Through Time Museum Tues-Mon the weekend of my bday following my visit. Decent commercialized tourist-drawing video:

Yes 668 from 40 south toward Somerset is GREAT, very big Rollercoaster hills, a hairpin at the bottom, and several good fun curves. Just so-so on curves nearing and south of Somerset. The dilemma for me always is... slab it on the interstate part of the way from Columbus, then hit 204 east after buckeye lake and dodge the slab??? OR, slab it all the way out to 668& i70 and get to ride the good bits of 668? 40 is slightly better than the slab but not much. If Hickman Rd NE weren't still very rough pavement, I'd take 161-16-79N to Hickman through the town and tunnel, hang a right and meet up at the Brownsville Rd crossing of 16, then take that to 40 @669... Or better, take 161 to 16 to 62 and make a creative way down 206 or 60 to 541 to 79 to Hickman! I'll still ride Hickman, but it's very cracked/bumpy and has a a few long stretches of patches on top of patches on top of potholes. East of Somerset/668 isn't too much of noteworthiness until you get close to the river at 555&669. 669 from 555 to the river is an awesome little stretch, then you can ride 60 to 78 there and head south on 260 or to Woodsfield for those great roads, or head back west on 78 past the muskie bucket miners memorial through the boring 7-ish miles around McConnelsville and then pick the fun factor immensely once you pass 555 and climb the ridge onto the best 11 or 13 miles of 78. Sorry, I'm daydream rambling... bike is in pieces still on the bench and house projects are taking my efforts away. Hope some of you are out enjoying our passions in this beautiful weather today!

How were the road/surface conditions on 715??? It's been a mixed bag the past several years. I need to make it up 206 and areas north of Warsaw that I have yet to visit. Work has me out that way a few times a month, so just about everything south of 36 all the way to Newcomerstown/I-77 I have been scoping out frequently in the work van for return visits on 2 wheels. 541 is pretty great on either side of coshocton, but west is definitely the best. Great twisties right out of town, then seemingly endless miles of straight plateau through the very eerily-peaceful stretch void of signs of civilization other than the road and occasional oil wells, this is the reclaimed land designated as the Woodbury Wildlife Area. Nearing the end of that, you bomb down a big curvey hill to the crossroads of 60, and 541 is really great and twisty from there to 79... 60 has a nice stretch just north of 16, but from Tunnel Hill @ 541 to Warsaw it's much better. I have yet to hit 83 north of Coshocton much. From 93 to coshocton it's decent, the neverending curving big hill climb after Wills Creek is a blast, but south of 93,or south of Stoney Point Rd (very gravelly unfortunately or would be a good link up road to/from 209), 83 is REALLY AWESOME down to 209. Then average below that. 83 and 93 make a nice X to connect the dots, and 541 can connect them at the top, Norfield Rd or Norfield to New Hope Rd to the south. 93 is better in that area for the longer duration (208@Adamsville or even more south, up to 541), but that section of 83 from Stoney Point Rd to 209 is just epic... There are some other nice county roads around there as well. There's a good 60 bypass at an intersection in (Copperdale?) @ the general store, that bypasses 60 and dumps you just a ways east of 60 on top of the 541 Woodbury plateau. Another few off 60, and "Spring Mtn Rd" as littlecarbsbigsmiles calls it - have to check out the north of Warsaw/36 routes still. My heart really lies in Hocking and deeper SE OH, West Virginia, etc... but the Coshocton/Zanesville etc area I'm becoming pretty fond of... no speed traps, very little traffic, no tourists, only an occasional state trooper seen driving on 83 or 93, nice hills, decent curves, peaceful. Around the OH-26 and OH-260 area is where I really strive to go but Coshocton/Zville is much closer!

Sorry for all the typos, I despise this site's lack of a preview function and 5 minute limit on edits, which didn't work so well with my new android's habit of autocorrect "un-fixing" many words and missing my other typos due to being on a smartphone outside with the sun glaring... Here's what I tried to post of my bike. Reddish Knob. WV/VA border. Awesome. Great ride to the top. 33 & 250 north and south of here are EPIC rides... Note: lack of fender/addition of bandana was out of necessity as the 110 front tire on a DID aftermarket rim was too wide to clear a fender! "Kinda looks like a cafe" is a comment I've gotten a few times... baaahhhh.... In my quest for all out performance combined for my love for classic styled standards / dislike for modern space age looking sport bikes, I went further than a braced GS frame could take me (best of the late 70's Japanese frames), and picked up a remnants of a firmer race bike Rickman brothers handbuilt Reynolds 531 tubing CR900 "Competition Replica" as stated in Rickman literature - not "Cafe Racer" as some say the CR stands for. This was my furthest reaching effort to get a classic twin shock bike to handle the as best as possible for the kind of riding terrain I am literally addicted to. Unfortunately for my dislike of the cafe racer trend and seat hump styling, the authentic Rickman bodywork in the rear looks fairly similar to the current cafe racer trends, but still not too far from a GS tail/trunk luckily... but I have grown to appreciate it as an original vintge race piece and disassociate it with the hacked up cosmetic cafe racer types of stylings. Unfortunately the Rickman full fairings look ugly to me, but the quarter fairings look acceptable, but may place it even further toward being misinterpreted as being just another "cafe" "build..." I like the lower speed technical stuff 15-55mph more anyhow over speeds far above the posted speed limits where a fairing is necessary. ESPECIALLY after whacking a deer at high speed 4 or so years ago. Here's two similar CR's that mine will end up looking like. If it looks too much a "cafe," well, some modern sport bike riders etc can't just watch my taillight as I pull away from them in the turns after a year or more of extreme scrutiny and custom machine work revising the geometry and suspension, addition of almost period correct looking RF900R (shorter/adjustable bandit forks) cartridge forks, vintage speed parts upgrades, good tire selection, and the only modern upgrade giveaway cues - Busa calipers and cbr900rr 310mm rotors.... I figure some may find humor/satisfaction in making generalizations/accusations of me / this if they didn't know any better... I do know better, so that's all that really matters... If you see my GS (or next season a Rickman CR) riding in Eastern or SE Ohio, don't be shy, coming along for the ride...

Likewise... although I do own several flannels and generally wear black jeans that aren't baggy and oversized... and people tell me my somewhat superbike themed 77 Suzuki GS750 "looks kinda like a cafe racer," I despise the greater lowest common denominator of the cafe racer tend of the past several years. http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd299/chuck_lambert78/8642ef23-7b27-479c-942b-06679365966f.jpg[/IMG] It truly is the death if a lot of great vintage bikes, as kids get a hold of them, instantly strip off excess and many useful things as well, don't focus on proper mechanicals & electricals (cosmetics instead), and then the even more serious death blow... buy a Harbor Freight "MIG" (wire feed flux core machine) and Sawzall off the rear of the frame to learn how to not weld a "hoop" on the rear section to fit their homemade fiberglass tail hump and hard as plywood 45 minute but sore "seat." To top that off, running mediocre quality machine work cheap Chinese shocks that are filled with mineral oil and not even assembled to bleed the air out of the oil cavity... Even worse, what REALLY kills me is the complete and ignorant disregard for rake and trail and proper handling. No one ever scrutinize the front tire radius of swapped front ends, triple clamp offset, changes to the rake of the head tube... what you end up with after most modern front end swaps is a bike that has very fancy fork damping vs original but not sprung/valve for this bike's weight/geometry, much larger/better brakes, but somehow mysteriously handles like complete crap (steers like a chopper/harley/dump truck) because the minimal offset triple is a severe mismatch for the bike and generates an extreme amount if trail, ruining the handling of the bike. Not to mention the super short forks and 17" wheel swaps onto bikes built around a 19" front wheel and tall forks. How can you race around the corners to the next ace cafe if your expensive exhaust slams into the pavement around turns, over bumps, and driveway approaches??? Now and again you will find awesome examples of cafe themed builds where the builder took into consideration tried offset and rake/trail, selected a rear shock length and spec that keeps the rear at a proper angle to get proper planned rake, etc... I am all for the initiative to preserve classic styled vintage standards and upgrade them to be less ill-handling, but the current "cafe" trend seems to me to be a whole lot of what I just reiterated, more so than the past. Cheap Chinese ebay crap, mismatched upgrades, vintage bikes hacked apart, some to an early unfinished grave. Still, we can make all the generalizations and stereotype accusations we want, there are always the minority of exceptions that prove us wrong

More details on that bike, please?! I like... YSS shocks? Looks like a Dunstall styled fairing. Hocking roads were a bit cinder covered yesterday, especially the county roads. I'm waiting for the April showers to wash them a bit cleaner.

Very good info, saving for next year, my 1st year where I have no major house rehab obligations after my day job, only restoring / modding vintage japanese racer bikes & my old trucks! Thanks for the tips

Once we got off our short jaunt on 33 and through Glouster, OH deep into SE OH north of Marietta, we hardly saw any other cars or bikes on the road, let alone cops, until we got up near Caldwell on the way home, and then there were a handful of Harley's, a few Victory's, and a small pack of guys on late model sport bikes turning onto Big Muskie Drive from 78... On Labor Day! Deep into Wayne National Forest in desolate SE Ohio was the place to be. everyone was out at cookouts getting wasted while we had the remote roads to ourselves! I did have to keep reminding myself of potential LEO on the way to meeting up with my buds on the slab and closer to Cbus, as the new vintage Mikuni Smoothbore VM29 racing carbs swapped on at midnight transformed my bike into a vintage machine that begs even more to go into triple digits...

did I pass a 7 or 9 Rider crew of you guys/gals on 78? I was the confused looking guy in all black leather with camelback & modded old 70's super bike themed Suzuki GS. I didn't plot out much for our return to Columbus, just the good stuff near Marietta, and was looking for a sign saying Big Muskie Drive, could not remember the state route # as I passed by 284 (?) slowly while waiting for my friends in tow behind me. It worked out better missing my turn, got to hit the very twisted contorted convoluted section of 669 through the dense forests just off the river on the west bank, then got to skip the slab to hit 204 home. How is 284? I've never hit it due to average writeups on it. I need to check out the revamped Mountain Bike trails at the Wilds soon, as I hear they are rad. I believe the Wilds are off 284, correct?

We hit 266 SW/NE/E off of 377. The section where you turn left to stay on 266 - take that forward instead off 266 onto 792(?) to 676 to 393 (?) instead (or the reverse if coming other way). The stretch that heads northeast toward the river/bridge had atrocious pavement where the outside lane on the downhill slope side had man areas that had badly sunk downhill and were patched pretty roughly. Very roughly, one fresh looking 30 whole lane patch violently bucked myself and bike left, up, right, down,etc about a dozen times in the 30'stretch. 676 all the way to Marietta and then 26 or north along the river or 77 would be better than the north bank of the river on 266 to 60 (fairly boring, 676 is only mildly boring for a 20+ minute stretch in the middle where the hills and trees subside, ends E&W are great, especially the West by 555.