Electric motorcyclists from across the country will be gathering at the Tail of the Dragon in Deals Gap, NC for a week of enjoying breathtaking roads, adventure, fellowship and fun April 20-27, 2024.
Electrics at the Dragon is held each spring as EV motorcyclists make their way up the twisties to the Deals Gap/Robbinsville, North Carolina area, which is nestled deep in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Electrics at the Dragon 2024 event page
This year’s event is scheduled to run a full week, beginning at noon on Saturday, April 20 and concluding the following Saturday.
It officially started back in 2020 when 13 riders on 10 electric motorcycles made their way to Deals Gap after a 2019 informal gathering proved there was interest.
Electrics at the Dragon has grown to the point that it helped create a seasonal business. Organizer Austin Ammarell and his partner launched eMoto Powersports in 2023. They saw so much interest from electric motorcyclists in riding the Dragon that they decided the time was right to invest in renting EVs. Their shop currently has 4 EVs for rent; a Zero SR/F, DSR/X, SR/S and an Energica Eva Ribelle.
That means this year you don’t even need to own an electric motorcycle to attend. If you’ve got a gas bike you can still come and then rent an EV to see what it’s all about.
For those of you that will be riding in for the first time, you might be pleasantly surprised to find out that the area’s charging infrastructure is probably a bit better than you might have guessed.
Some of the riders will be staying on a property with three houses with enough power outlets to keep the EVs charged each night.
The historic Tapoco Lodge has 3 Tesla destination chargers and a j-1772 plug for EV motorcycling guests to use. All modern EV motorcycles can use Tesla destination chargers with an adapter (see 2nd half of this story/video for details).
At the heart of the Dragon there are three Level 2 chargers: a j-1772 plug, a NEMA 14-50 outlet and a Tesla destination charger.
eMoto Powersports also welcomes riders to use its onsite NEMA 14-50 i and j-1772 plug. The j-plug is 48 amps so Zero Motorcycles riders with Rapid Chargers will be filling up fast.outlet.
Some area AirBnBs also have outlets that are fine for recharging EV motorcycles overnight.
As you tour the area, you’ll find a solar-powered Level 2 charger at Fontana Dam and of course there are chargers over in Knoxville.
Another good riding destination is Franklin, which has a variety of Level 2 and Level 3 chargers.
You might also be pleasantly surprised to learn just how much range you’ll get on an EV motorcycle in the mountains.
Thanks to the generally slower speeds on curvy roads and regenerated energy EV Riders get, you’ll probably see a good 20% or more range than you’re used to seeing back home on when blasting around the interstates.
EV Rider is planning to be at this year’s Electrics at the Dragon. I hope you’ll join us for the fun and if you’ve enjoyed the video at the top of this post please give it a like and subscribe to the EV Rider YouTube channel.