To Beartooth and back | GTAMotorcycle.com

To Beartooth and back

slowbird

slowbird

Well-known member
I finished my trip. Been back for a few days now.
I left Tuesday August 29th with the plan to be back in 14 days. The main goals were to hit up Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Independence Pass and the continental divide near Aspen, Beartooth Highway near Yellowstone Park, and Going to the Sun road near Glacier park.
However, wildfires closed most of GTTS road, so I changed the plans and hit up Black Hills in South Dakota before riding back home.

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So basically it was 11 days and just under 8,000kms.

I'll write a more thorough ride report with better pictures when I get the chance.
 
Next time someone posts one of those stupid "Is this 5 year old bike with 10,000 km worn out?" threads, link to this one where you took a 17 year old bike on a successful cross-country adventure. Thumbs up.
 
Looks like a cool trip - looking forward to some pics.
 
GreyGhost said:
Next time someone posts one of those stupid "Is this 5 year old bike with 10,000 km worn out?" threads, link to this one where you took a 17 year old bike on a successful cross-country adventure. Thumbs up.
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Ha! True.

I rolled over 60,000kms during the trip too. Granted it's a VFR though and they are known to be bulletproof. Only bike issue was the LH handgrip came slightly loose.


nearace said:
Looks like a sore butt ride.
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Lol. Butt was fine. Upper Traps were sore for the first couple days before they got used to it. After a few hours I'd get an odd pain in the left side of my back around my shoulderblades. Advil, tigerbalm and my throttle lock were my friends.
 
DAY 1: Toronto Ontario to Ottawa Illinois


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(1st day is the lower tracks)


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I left at 6am. Bike was packed and ready to go the night before. Luggage was Givi 46L top box and 2x 22L side hard-bags. I strapped a tank bag to the pillion seat with emerg tools, tire repair kit etc etc. Regular Tank bag infront of me.

Morning route was the 401 past London and the 402. Then westward where I took the Ferry from Walpole Island to Algonac Michigan.

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It was an odd little ferry but real quick and easy. Cost me $5. The deck was wet and I just sat on the bike and held the brake during the crossing.
On the American side there's a tiny little guard house for the US border. They asked a couple questions and I was on my way.

It was on and off rain showers until i got west of Ann Arbor, MI. The old PR3's did their job.

Then it was just freeways and snore fest till I reached the last stop for the day. An Airbnb in Ottawa, Il. GPS said 978kms for day 1.
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Sounds like a great trip, I was out in Utah and Colorado end of July. Great weather and spectacular riding once you got through the flat states between Ontario and Colorado. Thankfully only had one day of rain and that was when I was stuck on the 401 just passed London on my way home. Utah was the highlight, amazing landscapes and so much to see and do. Definitely want to go back to Moab and spend a week there just exploring the surrounding area.

Untitled by B P, on Flickr
 
Same bike here. About to turn 121000 kms.


slowbird said:
Ha! True.

I rolled over 60,000kms during the trip too. Granted it's a VFR though and they are known to be bulletproof. Only bike issue was the LH handgrip came slightly loose.




Lol. Butt was fine. Upper Traps were sore for the first couple days before they got used to it. After a few hours I'd get an odd pain in the left side of my back around my shoulderblades. Advil, tigerbalm and my throttle lock were my friends.
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i-WERKS said:
Nice bike!
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Thanks!

Emerald94 said:
Same bike here. About to turn 121000 kms.
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Awesome! How often and when did you check the Valve clearances? From what I hear they almost never need to be done.

wonderings said:
Sounds like a great trip, I was out in Utah and Colorado end of July. Great weather and spectacular riding once you got through the flat states between Ontario and Colorado. Thankfully only had one day of rain and that was when I was stuck on the 401 just passed London on my way home. Utah was the highlight, amazing landscapes and so much to see and do. Definitely want to go back to Moab and spend a week there just exploring the surrounding area.
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TBH, I'm glad I blew through Utah quickly. When I was there it was easily 100 degrees and I am not a fan of the heat. Though everyone I spoke to in the area said MOAB was a must.
 
slowbird said:
Thanks!



Awesome! How often and when did you check the Valve clearances? From what I hear they almost never need to be done.



TBH, I'm glad I blew through Utah quickly. When I was there it was easily 100 degrees and I am not a fan of the heat. Though everyone I spoke to in the area said MOAB was a must.
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Was very hot, I left early in the morning and would be done riding around 3 pm at latest. Always stayed in a place with a pool, though that is not always a good thing as I ended up with an ear infection and that does not make for a happy journey home when your ear hurts and you need to wear earplugs.

Moab is a great place, lots to see and do and I plan to go back and do some more.

Colorado was nice, obviously not as much heat especially when you went up in altitude. Pikes Peak was great, I again went first thing in the morning (7:30 am) and beat the crowds, so only a few other vehicles on the way up. When coming down I noticed a huge lineup at the front gate and again very happy I avoided that.
 
DAY 2: Ottawa, Illinois to Topeka, Kansas.
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Day 2 isn't all that exciting. Left the Airbnb at 8am. Cut through Starved Rock State Park just to have a couple twisty roads on the days route.
Stopped in Springfield, Illinois for a coffee cause I grew up loving the Simpsons.
Weather was great all day long.
Bike was running like a top and was easily getting over 350km to a tank.

It was near the end of the day I was beginning to notice my rear tire was considerably less round then when I left. (Air pressures were spot on)

Last stop of the day was an AirBnB in Topeka. Aprox 825kms for day 2.
 
DAY 3: Topeka, Kansas to Colorado Springs, CO.

Left again at 8am. Parking spot today was a grass "pad" at the rear of the house. Luckily I always carry my kick stand plates for times like these.




My airbnb hostess was excited as I was her first out of country traveler and her first biker. She snapped a shot of me before I left.



As expected, and as I was forewarned, the ride through West Kansas and East Colorado was quite awful. At first it was just meh. Long freeway stretches with speedlimits of 80mph. Rest stops were welcome, though I tried to make good time and push a little. (i.e. sign says next rest stop in 40 miles. I can wait 40 miles)



So right before I reached Colorado my new to me GPS was routing me off I-70 and on a more direct route. Google maps (which I originally used to plan my trip) wanted me to stay on I-70 for a bit longer. I didn't notice this until it was too late though and followed the GPS on a route that would lead me through a lot of nothing.


(BLUE line is the route I ended up taking. Greyed route on top was what I was expecting)
This lesson had me double checking the GPS routes often during the rest of my trip. Thankfully so, as I caught some odd routing "glitches"

So at first this new route wasn't too alarming. I was on US-40 west. It was alright. It appeared to be a road between really tiny towns which looked to have nothing in the way of Amenities. I didn't even see a sign telling me I was now in Colorado, just a change in the road material. :confused:

I managed to find a gas station that looked well used so I was comfortable enough to get gas from it....though I didn't really have a choice as I was down to my last few liters. I switched to a lighter mesh riding jacket as the temps were getting quite hot and after some water and a Cliff bar I continued on my way.

Some time later the GPS had me hang left and now I'm on CO-94 west, with a large sign saying "Colorado Springs 94 miles. No services for 70 miles" Now this road had me worried, but I thought...I have a full tank of gas, a couple bottles of water in my luggage and a bunch of Nutritional bars and snacks so lets do this.
So this road was 2 **** lanes (1 in either direction) through nothing. No trees. Didn't see any other cars. Just nothing. It was pretty abysmal.

After maybe an hour (felt like longer) I saw a tree near the road that was putting some shade down so I pulled off under it and took a break.






After my break I trudged on and eventually made it to Colorado Springs. While stuck in some traffic another biker came up beside me and told me he does business in Ontario and I'll love it here in Colorado Springs. That would be a theme for my short stay in ColSprngs.

I hit up a Walmart for supplies and couldn't believe the amount of uniformed Military personnel shopping around. Full camo uniforms pushing buggies through the isles. Not something you see in Canada often.

Last stop of the day was another Airbnb nestled in the shadow of Cheyenne Mountain. Quite a nice place too.

Aprox 820 kms for day 3.
 
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slowbird said:
lol. Thanks Ronnie
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I wanted to give you encouragement but there is no 'like' button. :)

I used to own a 2005 VFR and loved it for touring through the twisties, but always was on the lookout for LEOs. It was a hard life. :)
 
I love trip reports. Keep em coming. I live not too far from Watertown in the US and Fort Drum, a massive army base is nearby....Watertown is just military really. Uniforms everywhere. Also if you hit up a shopping mall in one of these towns you can sometimes get an amusing attempt at getting you to join the US military from the recruiters.
 
Valve check done around 35K. Nothing out of specs. Bike still doesn't gulp oil nor smoke.

slowbird said:
Thanks!



Awesome! How often and when did you check the Valve clearances? From what I hear they almost never need to be done.



TBH, I'm glad I blew through Utah quickly. When I was there it was easily 100 degrees and I am not a fan of the heat. Though everyone I spoke to in the area said MOAB was a must.
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