997 mile Maggie Valley/Smokies Trip

[skuuter]

My Wife and I headed out last Friday for the Smokies Area...we stayed in Townsend, Tn at Docks Motel and Cabins.....







On Saturday Morning we rolled the Forzas out for Breakfast at the Riverstone Restaurant, then headed through the Smokies Park heading for Maggie Valley, NC. First stop was at the New Park Visitor Center outside Cherokee, NC for some "Freebie Music" and a Bathroom Break.....







Next it was up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.....







Next stop was the WHEELS THROUGH TIME MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM where as luck would have it, my Buddy Dale, the Owner and Star of the TV Show, WHAT'S IN THE BARN happened to be there...Always Great to spend any time talking to Dale...quite possibly the Top Guru of Classic Motorcycle Knowledge.....Me on the Left, Dale on the Right.....



My Wife, Mitzie with Our Rides in the Museum Parking Lot.....



Some Museum Pics.....





After leaving the Museum, we toured the Area including some more Blue Ridge Parkway, Hwys 19, 74, 129, Wayah Road, 441, 411, 72, 360, Cherohala Skyway, Foothills Parkway, and several out of the way virtually un-named/unknown twisty roads, and the Towns of Robbinsville, Bryson City, Franklin, Highlands, Tellico Plains, and Cashiers....finally it was a backroads twisty ride over to Sevierville, Tn to JOE'S CRAB SHACK for Seafood.....







After eating, we stopped at the Mountain Valley Winery in Pigeon Forge, Tn for some Wine to carry back to the Cabin.....



Reaching the Cabin, we noted that we had put in a 535 mile day of mostly twisties...add the 214 mile ride to the Smokies, and Sunday's 248 mile ride Home, we had a GREAT 997 mile Forza Weekend...can't get much better than that.....

[willajabir]

Nice trip Skuuter. Looks like ya'll had some real down home fun.
I love riding those same areas. I just haven't gotten my new Forza there (YET!).
As long as the crotch rockets leave you alone, it is great. Glad you had a good trip and thanks for sharing the pics.

[JoshM]

1000 miles in a weekend

Extremely jealous! Great views and pics!

[6ftMach1Girl]

Thank you for sharing - makes me wish I was there!!!

[kramnala58]

Thanks for the post. I enjoyed the pics.

Just curious, what is the studded looking trim or whatever it is around the gas filler on the one bike, or am I just seeing things?

[wei2go]

Doesn't the forza get 60-70mpg? So if you and your wifey took a car, gas used would be the same, you would have been safer, have more luggage space, been able to chat, etc etc.... just saying :p

[willajabir]

Would have had 1/2 the fun, missed the open air and smells, would have missed posting here and sharing the experience, would packed stuff didn't need, talked way to much, and being in the car they would probably not went to the motorcycle museum, would have been even more safe if they had stayed home, etc......but, doing it on a Froza, priceless!!!!

[Alibally]

Yes. Exactly.

[skuuter]

Doesn't the forza get 60-70mpg? So if you and your wifey took a car, gas used would be the same, you would have been safer, have more luggage space, been able to chat, etc etc.... just saying :p

Any idea "WHY" You became a Member here...???...You might possibly be better served by a "Sedan Forum".....

[you you]

Looks bloody great

[kramnala58]

Doesn't the forza get 60-70mpg? So if you and your wifey took a car, gas used would be the same, you would have been safer, have more luggage space, been able to chat, etc etc.... just saying :p

Any idea "WHY" You became a Member here...???...You might possibly be better served by a "Sedan Forum".....

I was wondering the same thing, and then I thought that maybe he was saying it jest, tongue-in-cheek. Maybe we will hear back from him ... but maybe maybe we won't.

[you you]

Doesn't the forza get 60-70mpg? So if you and your wifey took a car, gas used would be the same, you would have been safer, have more luggage space, been able to chat, etc etc.... just saying :p

Any idea "WHY" You became a Member here...???...You might possibly be better served by a "Sedan Forum".....

I was wondering the same thing, and then I thought that maybe he was saying it jest, tongue-in-cheek. Maybe we will hear back from him ... but maybe maybe we won't.

It has crossed my mind. If I'm out with with the wife on our motorbikes the combined mpg is about 25mpg.

[willajabir]

Another thing to consider is the posters location. Some people live where this is their main transportation, while for the majority of western culture it is a sport.
For me it is a combination estimating about 10% utility and 90% fun/sport activity. The cost was further down the list of considerations as this is my 3rd bike in just the past year.
My biggest expense is reading of mods on this board and wanting them!!!!!
Edit: My mods have already cost me 1/3 the price of the bike

[wei2go]

I was wondering the same thing, and then I thought that maybe he was saying it jest, tongue-in-cheek. Maybe we will hear back from him ... but maybe maybe we won't.

I used a :p 'smilie' which is suppose to be tongue in check. I bought my first cheap Chinese scoot purely for time saving commuting. I started out with some rules for myself to increase my chances for survival, such as, no riding in the dark or rain and take the car for longer distances, especially if highways are involved.

After a while I found it harder and harder to stick to those rules, especially after getting a pcx150.

[wei2go]

My girlfriend wanted to do a scenic, double up, coastal ride on the scoot once that was about 50km. I told her I would prefer driving due to the long distance. She then pointed out that I frequently do 100-200km rides on my road bicycle. That's when I realised I needed to rethink my 'rules'.

Ps awesome pics skuuter, makes me want to get a bigger bike to do longer highway rides.

[wei2go]

Another thing to consider is the posters location. Some people live where this is their main transportation, while for the majority of western culture it is a sport.
For me it is a combination estimating about 10% utility and 90% fun/sport activity. The cost was further down the list of considerations as this is my 3rd bike in just the past year.
My biggest expense is reading of mods on this board and wanting them!!!!!
Edit: My mods have already cost me 1/3 the price of the bike

Between me and my partner, we have 2 cars, 2 scooters and 6 bicycles in the garage. For me the car is 100% utility as I hate driving, and would usually get the girlfriend to drive, especially on long road trips. Scooters are 90% utility and maybe 10% fun, as despite my paranoia, I do prefer open to cage. The mountain, road and single speed bicycles are 100% fun/sport.