Over the past few months we plotted and schemed about the agenda of the trip. We were going to drive as fast as we could to get out of Texas and over to Hot Springs, AR. Once there we were going to shoot up Hwy 7 through Branson then I-44 over to St. Louis then finally push on to Milwaukee. The trip up was planned for 3 days. Take a few days in Milwaukee see the museum, factory, and corp HQ of HD. Then from Milwaukee we would do the Lake Michigan tour from Wisconsin to Michigan and take the car ferry back to Wisconsin.
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Here is a quick Summery of the trip.
Total Mileage - 3368 honestly I thought it would be longer
Damage: one lost exhaust nut from my bike, one lost seat bolt from Sandy's bike, loose bolt on my saddle bag mount, lost rain cover that flew off somewhere in Illinois.
301 pictures taken
7 states
1 bald rear tire
and lots of great memories...
Pre-ride...
After trying to figure out the best way to pack all of our stuff on the bike and have the versatility and use of the trunk I decided to get the T-bag Dekker for the top of the tour pack. This is a bag that has stiff sides and straps to secure it to the trunk lid mounted on the side of the bag. We could essentially use this bag as the trunk while we stuffed the actual trunk full of everything that would fit in it.Pros: Lots of extra space and you can get in and out of it easily.
Cons: Puts more weight on the bike and going down the road it gets a little squirrelly.
Next time I do a long trip with the ol' lady I will have a trailer to take the load off the bike. We had so much stuff packed in and on the bike I believe that we were on the border of unsafe.
Two days before we left Sandy showed up at the house, turns out we had bike night that night up at our local HD shop. This bike night was not the normal boring night out at the bar, it was the big bike night that only happens when the ROT rally is happening. This year was the 15th annual ROT (Republic of Texas) Rally. It is one of the biggest rallies in the region however the promoters bill it as one of the larges in the country. Anyways when we went to BN we picked up some oil for Sandy's bike and then were informed there was a tornado north of us moving south. We promptly jumped on our bikes and drove as fast as we could back to our house to beat the rain and the storm. We made it just in time, when I pulled in the garage it had just started to sprinkle and the wind was blowing pretty hard.Next day I changed the oil and checked out Sandy's bike for the trip. We noticed that her rear tire was getting pretty bald, so we ran up to the dealer to have a new one put on, which turned out to be great! They were serving BBQ and beer (due to the ROT) and we hung out and visited with all the people coming in from out of town. Best time I've had at the dealer waiting on a bike :) The rest of the day was spent packing and repacking to get everything to fit.
Day 1:
We were up with the chickens and on the road around 6:00am destination was Hot Springs AR. The day was pretty uneventful for the most part, only stopping for gas until we got to Texarkana. We stopped there for some lunch and a break at the local dealer to get out of the heat for a while. After Texarkana it was more boring interstate riding till we hit hwy 7 in Arkansas which was the only interesting part of the ride. Interstates are good for trucks, cars, cause you can get to where your going fairly quickly, however for bikers that are out for a ride they are painful but a necessary evil sometimes.
Day 2:
We woke up to the sound of thunder and rain, sounds that are not inviting to bikers on the road. We reluctantly got up, loaded the bikes up and put on the rain gear. We stopped for some coffee and to let the rain pass a little. Today's route was gonna take us up hwy 7 then cut over to Clinton and pick up 65 from there. Fortunately we were heading north and the rain was heading west so we missed the majority of the rain. The roads on this particular stretch were nice and twisty and fairly dry for the most part.
tick tick tick tick... When we came into Hot springs the day before I had noticed a ticking noise coming from my engine, I originally thought it was just cause the engine was so hot that it was pinging. I figured once it cooled off it would be ok. Unfortunately it wasn't that simple, when we headed out in the morning I heard that same ticking noise, it was worse when I would accelerated and it was pretty loud. Once the bike warmed up the ticking started to quiet down. That is when I realized that I had an exhaust leak, and figured I cracked the exhaust gasket. When we were on our way to Clinton we got just south of Russellville and pulled over for a break at a rest area in the Ozarks.
That is when I discovered the source of my noise. I had lost an exhaust nut from my front header... AUUGGGHH!!! Next town we found I pulled into an auto parts store and found a nut that would fit and a lock washer. Good news is that I had the tools to fix it, better news is that it was on the front header where I could get to the nuts and tighten them down.Next stop was Clinton where we took a short break for some lunch and gas. From there we headed up 65 and the rain started again. We road in the rain for about 30 minutes or so. Once we got north of Harrison the sky's turned blue and we had made it passed the frontal system that was moving through the region.
We pushed on to Branson where we pulled off for a break and to check out the HD boutique on the river. This area in Branson was great! Lots of stuff to see and we were able to walk around for a while and stretch our legs. Next leg of the day was to St. Louis to see the arches and then spend the night. 
Unfortunately I didn't time this right and we got to St. Louis pretty late and didn't get to see the arches so we just snapped some pictures as we drove through.I am sure we'll make it up that way again. I was told by a local biker that they had some of the best riding around in the St. Louis area so maybe my next trip will be up to that area to check out the sites and do some riding.
Day 3 Destination Milwaukee:
OMG!!! Illinois is sooooooo boring, not sure what is worse, driving through Illinois or a sharp stick in my eye. But, to make the best of the situation I discovered that in Lincoln Illinois there was the worlds largest covered wagon with ol Abe Lincoln himself sitting on top of it.
For several month now I have been looking for a trailer to pull behind the bike and I finally found one that was big enough to fit all my stuff, only problem is that it takes two bikes to pull it. I guess I will still need to keep on looking. We filled up and continued north, the rest of the day was pretty boring till we hit Milwaukee and then there was 30 minutes of white knuckle riding through traffic and ended up in downtown lost without a clue. I quickly pulled out the ol' google maps from my phone and got directions over to the Museum so we could get recommendations for a hotel in the area.
Once again fortune had smiled on my lucky Irish ass and we got a room in a hotel one block from the museum! We stayed at the Iron Horse Inn. This is a great hotel, it had covered bike parking and a bike wash. After getting checked in and and unloaded the bikes I proceeded to wash the bike and visit with my buddy Jack the rest of the night. While Sandy and I were at the bar we met some guys who were on their "mancation" from Pennsylvania. The night was filled with road stories, tall tails, brats and Jack. It was a great first night in Milwaukee. Harley Davidson Museum and other local Harley land marks...
I woke to a pounding in my skull, at first I thought it was my ol' lady beating on me, but then I realized it was just Jack. After we got ourselves together we walked over to the HD museum. This place is incredible, even if your not a fan of Harley Davidson the museum is a very neat place to tour. We spent 4 hours (could have spent more) walking around and looking at engines, bikes, reading about the company, looking at pictures and watching short video's. They had rooms dedicated to the history of the HD engine, the company, the bikes, racing, and the culture of bikers.In the engine room they had every engine model that HD produced and you could select each one from a touch screen and hear what it sounded like, get the specifications and the years the engine was in service.
They had cut aways of the engines and working models of them and you could see how all the insides work together.The history of the Moco was great, it talked about how they started in a shed and then went public, then combined with AMF and finally the "Eagle Sores Alone" campaign they had in the early 80's. In the custom culture room they had a section dedicated to the Booze Fighters MC, the original Wild Ones. Rhine stone bike, the bikes from Easy Rider and they even had a 100th anniversary FLHTCUSE with a side car on display that had over 6500 employee signatures on it. It was bikes, bikes and more bikes. Then we went to the Archives, this is a whole building dedicated for storing HD memorabilia and every bike they have built since the beginning, a complete history of Harley Davidson. The museum is truly a historical archive of not only the bikes Harley Davidson made, but lives of the people who built and used them and how they influenced the culture of the time. From delivery trikes to the WWII messenger brigade. This was one of the neatest things I have seen.
Next on the Agenda was to run out to the factory there in Milwaukee and see how they build the engines for the Sportster's. It was quit interesting, one thing I didn't know is that Harley machines all their parts, every gear, shaft, rod are all machined right there in the plant which was a big surprise to me. I thought they ordered all that stuff and just put the engines together, but they build everything. They test 100% of the staters, and hot start every engine, run it through all gears in the transmission before loading it on a truck for Kansas City where the bikes get assembled.
After we finished our tour of the factory we ran over to Juneau Ave where the Harley Davidson HQ is. It was neat to be there knowing that back in 1903 there was just a tiny shack at that location where they built the first Harley Davidson motorcycle. Not much to see there but you can't be a Harley owner, go all the way to Milwaukee and not stop and pay homage to the HQ.Next on the agenda was to find a HD dealer to get a bolt for Sandy's seat. Somehow, somewhere along the way she lost the screw that holds her seat on.
After that we headed back to the hotel for dinner and rest...
Around Lake Michigan and back...
Rain rain go away, next morning we awoke to the pitter patter of the rain. Sandy and I grabbed the rain gear and started heading north around Lake Michigan, we rode for about 30 miles and then the rain quit. The plan was to run I-43 to Green Bay and then pick up 41 to 35 then take M2 across the top of Lake Michigan, then cross the Mackinaw bridge and follow 31 and 22 down the Michigan side. Let me say this is one beautiful drive! It is interesting how cool the lake keeps it up there, the road runs right along the cost and keeps it around 60 degree's. When we crossed the Mackinaw bridge the temp had to have dropped at least 20 degree's.
Before we left Wisconsin we stopped at a road side cheese stop and picked up some cheese for the road :). Along this route you are literally riding right on the coast of the lake and the scenery is great! The entire route was great lots to see, and plenty of places to stop for photo ops. The towns reminded me of that little town in Jaws, Amity. There were a bunch of summer beach towns with boat docks, coves and light houses. There was a quaint touristy feel to all the places along the way. Everyone we stopped to talk with was real friendly and most of them were up there visiting for the summer. Very few people we met were local.
When we got to the Mackinaw bridge we stopped for a photo op and then we proceeded to cross. Let me state for the record steel grated bridges suck on a bike, and the entire bridge was steel grated. I looked down through the grates once and all I saw was water. After we got across the bridge it was time for some din din. We finally found a small little diner in Alanson called Pauly's. This was some good grubbing! The food was cooked fresh and it was delicious. It was a typical small town diner and all the locals were interested in what we were doing there and where we were headed. One of the best things about going on these trips is to meet the local people and hear about them. It is a great side effect of touring on the bike. It was funny when they heard we rode all the way there from Texas, their jaws dropped to the ground.While we were eating I made a call to the SS Badger which is a car ferry that will take you across the lake. When I called I originally thought that the boat left at 8:00am and then again at 1:00pm, they told me it leaves the Wisconsin side at 1:00pm and only leaves the Michigan side at 8:00am and 8:00pm. We wanted to make it back the next day in time to go to bike night at the museum so we made the decision to drive all the way to Lundington so we could make the 8am ferry crossing. Only bad thing is that we had to cut some of the ride out to make it back in time.
SS Badger...
Next morning we got up and headed over to the dock to catch a ride on the SS Badger, which is a car ferry that runs from Ludington MI. to Manatowoc WI. The boat ride cost around $100 for you and your bike and takes 4 hours. It is way better than the alternative which is to continue around the lake and go through Chicago, no thanks.
The boat is like a mini cruise ship. They had food, movies, gift shop, games and various TV rooms to relax in. Before we set sail we stayed outside on the deck looking around and taking pics. Once we were on the lake we ate some breakfast and then explored the inside of the ship. After that we found a comfy chair and I proceeded to fall asleep for an hour or so. When we got to the other side of the lake we headed south to Milwaukee. When we got back Sandy went back over to the museum to look around some more and Nez and I went downtown to explore Milwaukee a bit.
We all met back at the hotel and Sandy and I went over to the museum for bike night. This was truly a neat experience. Bike night up here seemed very different than the bike nights down in Texas. Maybe it was cause it was at a different location or the people, but it seemed that bike night was about the bikes up here vs in Texas it's more of a social gathering. There were so many classic bikes 47 pan head, 66 bmw with side car, 30th anniversary Electric Glide etc... Guys up here are serious about their vintage bikes, and they are all in MINT condition. While we were there I had me a basket of fried cheese curd, and a brat grilled cheese sandwich, about as Wisconsin as it gets. It was fitting to end the trip with bike night there at the museum, since we started our vacation with bike night here in Austin.Next two days were long in the saddle getting back home, once we got to Texas we were welcomed with typical pounding Texas heat.
It was a great trip and I would recommend it for everyone. More pics of the trip are located here. Till next time keep the rubber side down.
