Great Lakes Tour: Ride Report

Nine days and nearly 4,000 miles, touching upon all five Great Lakes. You'll find the ride report on my website.

Cheers.

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James Pratt asked (in comments below) for a direct link to the report. I hate giving direct links to individual pages on my website, because by accessing the site that way you lose the frame which allows for navigation around the rest of the site. Here's the direct link, though: http://www.dm.net/~bahwolf/gl2008/gl2008-1.htm. Getting to it via the front door is relatively easy: just ding http://bahwolf.com, then click "Photos and Essays," then "Motorcycle Adventures" (where all my reports are listed by the motorcycle involved), and "Great Lakes Tour" is listed under my 2004 Triumph Tiger.

Great Lakes Tour: Locked and Loaded!

As predicted, the Tiger won the decision and gets to accompany me to points north. Pierre and I are packed. All I have to do is climb in the saddle and go. (Of course, Pierre is already zip-tied in place.) Kai wants to go with us, too. He even felt the need to show me how easily he fits into the Tiger's topcase.



Sorry, buddy. You've gotta stay home and help Lucky with home security.

Incidentally, if you don't know about the dog tag (see top photo) which Pierre is watching over so that I don't forget to slip it around my neck as I'm leaving, check out RoadID. I think wearing one of these when traveling on a motorcycle is a smart idea. On the side you can't see in the photo is all the information a stranger needs should they find my carcass in a ditch somewhere far, far from home. They're reasonably priced. They make bracelets if you prefer not to have something dangling around your neck. And they're a great gift idea for your motorcycling friends.

Watch for the ride report when I get back...

Indianapolis MotoGP: Glad I wasn't there...

Okay, so I'm glad I wasn't at Indy to be pummeled by the wind and the rain in the grandstands -- even if it did mean selling our tickets for half price, thus losing about $100. Just think how much more money we'd have been out, though, if we'd actually gone: gas, hotel, food, etc.

But could someone please tell me why, when every other NBC affiliate in the country carried the race live, our local station chose to show Babar the fucking Elephant instead?

Great Lakes Tour: Prep Work

My next moto adventure is a tour of the Great Lakes -- hope to dip a toe in all five of them! I'll be hitting the road next week. With the research and planning accomplished, this weekend has been all about prepping the bike(s) for the 3,800 mile loop between there and OKC. With Hurricane Ike unloading a steady drizzle on Oklahoma Saturday and me hanging near the TV to watch the MotoGP race from Indy on Sunday (I actually had tickets to attend, but that's another story), there hasn't been much else to do besides wrestle with tire changes.

I'm not 100% certain which bike I'm taking on this trip, so being the glutton for punishment that I am, I prepped two. The ZZR would be mighty nice for blasting up there and back, since my sightseeing plans are focused on my birth town of Altoona, Pennsylvania and the Great Lakes region. Everything between OKC and points north will just be a blur as I cover maximum ground in a minimal amount of time. On the other hand, when it comes to sitting up and enjoying the scenery, as well as pulling off pavement pretty much anywhere I choose, you can't beat the Tiger. I'm pretty sure the Tiger's gonna win the argument, but to leave all my options open until I actually climb in the saddle and ride out of the driveway, I prepped both bikes.

The ZZR didn't need much -- just a new rear tire and a couple quick shots of grease to the swing arm (it's so nice to have grease fittings back there and not have to remove the whole swingarm to get at the bearings!). The new lift sure made things easier on my old achy back. I mounted my favorite sport-touring tire on the Kawasaki, an Avon Storm.



The Tiger also needed a new rear tire, plus an oil change. Tire of choice: Metzler Tourance. Even though the front tire on the Tiger was fairly new, it had been displaying a wobble at around 90 mph, especially when caught in the tail wash of a big truck. The wobble had lessoned as the tire scrubbed in, but was still there. Hoping it's a balance issue, I pulled the tire and rotated it 180 degrees on the wheel. We'll see if that eliminates the wobble.





As always, there's just something drop-dead-sexy about brand new rubber.



I had help on my tire changing: my daughter's new Morky pup, Kai. Lacking in thumbs, he couldn't offer much more than encouragement, but he did keep me company all day long.



Only thing to do now is pack...

bahWIFE Finally Joins in on the Fun!

Never thought it would happen. After years of pestering her, the missus finally joined in on a weekend ride. Danny, Kim, Betty (the aforementioned bahwife), and I left early this past Friday morning for one of our favorite spots: Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Roughly 300 miles each way from OKC, it's a decent distance for a passenger's first real foray into moto touring. Previously, Betty had only ridden around town with me. A trip out to Eischen's for chicken was her longest ride.

The night before we left, I ran her around to several motorcycle shops until I found a helmet that fit correctly. She'd previously been wearing a KBC that was too big and it would flop around on her head -- most annoying! I knew it would never do for a 300-mile day, and if there's one thing sure to spoil a trip, it's an ill-fitting helmet. We found a nice HJC CL-15 model that she liked: $129.99 at Oklahoma Honda. It was that or a $600 Shoei! LOL. We took the Triumph Tiger, as it's the most comfortable bike I own for a passenger.

The wife did good on the way out. No real complaints. We stopped often, so she could stretch her legs. I slowed down a bit through the twisty bits, so as not to scare her too bad (though I did manage to drag the centerstand on the Tiger for the very first time, which totally startled the crap outta me, not to mention terrified the wife!). Stayed two nights at the Matterhorn Towers, which was nice. Saturday, we took Betty shopping in downtown Eureka Springs (See how accomodating I was?) and then rode the twisties for a bit. Sunday, we headed home via the infamous Pig Trail, where I think Betty was actually starting to relax and enjoy the curves a bit.

Thanks to Danny for talking her into it, Danny and Kim for being such great traveling companions as always (love you guys!), and Betty, of course, for joining in on the fun. Next thing ya know, she'll be wanting her own bike!

My gang (Kim, Danny, and Betty) during a gas stop somewhere on the long lonesome highway.

Danny and I found some rad sunglasses in a downtown shop.

Betty and I about to leave out from Danny's house Friday morning (8/29/08).

Betty and I with the faithful Tiger, downtown Eureka Springs.