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Thanks! I try not to take it for granted. I remember riding around Cades Cove with my Grandparents when I was little, counting criters we spotted. Now, I can't stand to drive that loop with traffic. On Wednesdays, the loop is closed to bicycles and opens later on Saturday morning. Might be cool to ebike it with strong motor, lol. On this day, we could've did ourselves a favor and got there at the break of dawn and been first in line for them to open the cove to vehicles.

Thank you, sir! Some good paved roads up your way! I also ride an Indian Roadmaster and my Indian group loves to come up and ride the Snake and that area. Much better than the "Fail" (lol) in my opinion. As for off highway riding, it's in my roots, and like it just as much as riding my Indian on the pavement. This fall, I want to ride the northern leg of the Smokey Mountains 1000, which takes me up through your neck of the woods.

@@RoadRash1 That's awesome! I love the Indian motorcycles! There is an Indian dealer just up the road from me in Bristol, TN. I rode dirt bikes back in the 80s and 90s, but never after that. It was fun! This year, probably in the fall when it's cooler, my wife and I want to ride the entire Blue Ridge Parkway. You also mentioned The Snake. I've ridden that a number of times. It's also fun. Mind your manners on some of those turns. I watched two riders on crotch rockets go over the edge because they came around too quickly. They disappeared from my view as they launched over the edge. I suspect one or both of them were killed or severely injured. I was going in the opposite direction, so I wasn't able to stop because of the other congestion that was instantly building up in the oncoming lane. I have a list of over 100 rides in my area that I've compiled along with websites about them. If you're interested in seeing the list, drop me an email at soujrnr@pm.me. Ride safe, sir!

I would say it's loud enough...but not loud loud. I have a buffalo brand horn on my Indian Roadmaster. It's like a train horn, lol.

Thanks for the kind words. Heading to do BDR? I have a Butler map somewhere I used for the Mid Atlantic BDR. Did a few sections a few years ago. Would like to do the entire thing.

There are 2 dirt/gravel roads that leave Cades Cove. One is the one we did, Parson's Branch Road, and the other is Rich Mountain Road, which takes you back over to the other end of Townsend. It doesn't have any water crossings but it is also a one-way road at least until you reach the park boundary. It gets a little higher up I think than Parson's Branch, so has at least once scenic view looking back into Cades Cove. Like Parson's Branch, it feels like you are deep into the mountains with not a lot of traffic so feels very secluded. At least that's been true of the few times I've been on it. I've only ridden up it once, and that was on my Victory Vegas cruiser, lol.

Thanks, Allen. The KLR! It's a dual sport legend! Townsend has a done a great job keeping it subtle, a great contrast to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Ever since I got my Scrambler, I've wanted to run Parsons Branch. Knew it would be fun, and I was right. It was closed due to down trees and such for a few years, and just re-opened a couple of years ago. Planning to pick up a toy hauling camper next year and do some traveling and riding. Eager to do some desert riding out west!

Most of them. I think motorcycles should get an exception on double yellow passes. It's kind of like lane filtering/splitting.

Wish there was a way to get you to Parsons Branch without having to go through Cades Cove. Here is the route I built in Gaia. Takes you from our meetup in Townsend to the end of the first part of the "gravel-hala" and puts you on the Cherohala Skyway. You should be able to follow the link and then download a gpx file from there, but let me know if you have problems getting to it. www.gaiagps.com/map/?lat=38.3417&lon=-98.0859&zoom=4&loc=10.4/-83.7512/35.5035&pubLink=gYYGCHlYJo6u615g5cKgi41n&trackId=243c69ca-c7d3-46d3-900b-56f7cc14cad7

@@RoadRash1 thank you

You should checkout highway 32 out of Cosby. It's paved and curvy as hell until you hit the TN-NC line, then turns to gravel/dirt. We call it the redneck dragon. I did a video on it recently. Lots of great adventure riding in that area. Also a lot of great riding around Robbinsville and Tellico Plains.

Thanks! I finally watched a couple of TH-cam videos to help bypass Basecamp, using Explore. It's stilly quite clunky. My other bike is an Indian. Polaris/Indian has Ride Command, which is a very nice system for planning rides and getting those rides onto the bike's built in GPS. Why the market leader in stand-a-lone GPS systems doesn't have such and easy to use environment is a mystery to me. I suppose their mostly built to get from point A to point B. I've recently watched a couple of videos on the Carpuride device for Apple Carplay or Google Auto. If that thing will run Gaia, I want one! Gaia is much better than Garmin in my opinion....but they don't make hardware.

@@RoadRash1 honestly I've had no issues with the XT2 The garmin tread app works really well, my buddy even told me i was smart getting it lol I keep my phone put away I don't use my phone with my cardo, only bluetooth the tread app to the xt2 so i can get live weather and traffic updates

Great to ride with you again...rain or shine! Looking forward to your video!

It really was, totally worth dealing with the tourists and the rain.

Thank you, Allen. This area was built for the Scrambler 1200xe...super fun paved and unpaved roads everywhere! I am keen to take it out west for some new experiences and will keep Big Bend in mind. Working towards a toy hauling camper so I can bring the family along on some extended adventures. If you make it out this way on your Scrambler, look me up!

If I find the original, I'll reply again.

Thanks! I'll edit the text section of this video and throw the links in there. The list of items had hyperlinks on them, but I guess TH-cam doesn't see rich text in comments or I haven't figured that out yet. I should have that up this evening and will reply to you here.

I updated the video description with the hyperlinks. Testing them now to make sure they all work. Good luck with making the bike yours. Scramble on!

Totally agree. These are not necessary mods...but I would argue that for riding off the slab, the stock tires are not ideal.

Dude, that's awful. It happened on the 500 or on your way there? Either way...sucks. Glad you are going to heal up and try it again. I've done it twice now, once in both directions. Enjoyed it a bunch both times. I'm going to try to do the SM 1000 (or at least the northern leg of it) next year. Good luck!

thank you. It was the first day going from Suches ccw. Rounded the corner at Helton Creek and didn't know that was where the parking area was. Tourist standing in the middle of the road. Unfortunately I was riding the outer edge and on marble rocks. I grabbed too much rear brake and tried to compensate by grabbing front. Sad thing is that it was literally a slow motion drop. No damage to the bike, just to my knee. Ride safe!

That's an amazing accomplishment! Congrats! Good luck on the SM500. I'm going to carve out a weekend before the summer is over to either do the 500 again or the Georgia Traverse.

The bag came with an exhaust heat shield which I mounted on top of the top pipe where the bag crosses it. No burns at all. It does get warm. I don't put anything super flammable or explosive in that side of the bag just to be safe, lol. I intend to do a long-term review of that bag...one of these days.

Bad cameraman!

Thanks, Robinson! Until next we meet!

Thanks! That's the Giant Loop Great Basin (just a bit bigger than the Coyote). No luggage rack, but the bag does come with a heat shield that I ended up mounting on the top of the pipe where the right side of the bag crosses over the pipes. Has worked like a charm. I do not put anything in that side of the bag that might suffer from high heat. So far, I've carried that bag on 5 multi-day trips and no ill effect from the heat at all. Regarding the tank bag, for the price, it's very well designed. Soft underside and the straps have protection where they connect with the bag. No scratches really, but I do have problem with dust getting under the bag and the little motion it has has give me a couple of discolored spots where the combination acts like sand paper to affect the finish on the tank. I will likely repaint the tank at some point anyway. As much as I ride off road, it's difficult to keep in showroom condition :)

@@RoadRash1 Thank u for the info. Safe riding 🤙🏽

Straight bar?

I don't know for sure, but I think that they will, but I heard they connect a little differently than on the 2019

@@RoadRash1 thanks, bro

No doubt about it. A true dual sport or dirt bike could've handed that mess with ease. I think we would've had an easier time if it wasn't wet. I'm going back soon an doing this road in the other direction....if it's dry ;-)

Thank you, sir! That was a rough day. I'm going back to do that track again soon, but in the other direction. If it's dry, I'm sure it'll be much, much easier. I was running pretty good off-road tires that day, Michelin Anakee Wilds. I am a subscriber to your channel and have really enjoyed your riding and drone video....and the maintenance series is fantastic. So cool what you are doing with your shop!

Thanks! Animotica...cheap editor App from the Windows store. I used Microsoft PowerPoint for the map. I past a screen capture from the route. Draw over the route and then animate that using "swipe" from which ever direction we are traveling. Then just save the presentation as an MP4.

@@RoadRash1 A) never heard of the Animotica application, but it serves well. B) AWESOME!!! Well done!

Thanks, Mike. I think we ran into a sprinkle on Day 4 towards the end of the day (coming off Pikes Peak). Outside of that, we were dry all week.

Thanks, Gary! I love riding out west, but it does make me appreciate our riding here too!

You are weird, but that's what I like about you!

@@RoadRash1 😀

Thank you! We ignored every sign and kept going. The difference between courage and foolishness is very small, lol

Thanks! I'm looking forward to someday soon taking the Scrambler west!

Thanks! Most "rackless" bags come with an exhaust shield. On the Scrambler, it basically wraps around the top pipe with the shield sitting on top and the bag just lays across it. There is definitely warmth there, but no damage to the bag after several trips, a few multi-day. I've been meaning to do a review video on the Giant Loop Great Basin bag. I love it. Hopefully soon. Here's a link to the shield that comes with the bag but is also available separately. www.amazon.com/Giant-Loop-HSHS3-Springs-Shield/dp/B00FMPSJOM?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A26CUJBYZYL6IA

Hi, it's an annual event. Coordinated centrally at the following website. I was invited by my local Triumph dealer who backed the ride for the first time. I think the site will help you find the closest organized ride for you. www.gentlemansride.com/

More of a dual sport road for sure. Going back this weekend to try it in other direction...and dry!