Kawasaki Concours Forum
Riding => Rides and Stories => Topic started by: Dan on June 08, 2011, 07:08:04 PM
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Se made it guys, took time not too tough, imagine the trip back will be different..... But I outlined what we did so far in a mini at the end of this post, hope I am not posting too much. ltr guys and thanks for advice.. Dan
Well Pa to Milwakee, Wisconsin, to boulder, to yellowstone, to somewhere then over the Rockies to the west coast and down route one... down to friends in san diego where we are gonna party....... planning about 15 days for that, and then a few weeks in sd, and then back home for me...
My friend just bought a tripped out v strom, and we will be leaving in 3 weeks, and we are out, got snarfs h way pegs coming, have the rest of these, rear tip o bars, a shad rack, meshanck and abendigo trunk, a clearview smoked screen, with a vent, need a throttle locker, oh yeah and the creme de la creme, a russel seat.... :) ;) :D ;D 8) :-*
Any advice, first x country tour... packing light and ready to go., gonna let the fz 1 sit in the garage cause I will be on the Connie... Dan in Lancaster PA...
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Pack, un-pack, pack, un-pack and do it a few times, streem lining down to your minimal load. With a trip like this, lighter is better. If you have stops pre-determined, get the address of post offices, libraries and laundramats.
Buy what you want to as momentos, and ship them home from those USPS at your stops.
And what ever you do, don't take your itinerary to seriously. Change is good, and can actually be the highlite of your trip.
And above all, have more fun then you can stand, get good nights rests and hydrate, hydrate and hydrate some more. And don't forget Tums or Pepto, diff. meals in diff places can play havoc with your digestive system.I am sure you will get list that can give you a great headache, look them over, try them and then go.
And don't forget to keep us posted.
Ride safe all.
Greg
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thanks, keep it coming guys..
:) ;) ;D
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For me, more than 250 miles per day stops being fun and starts to become work.
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really, even on a connie???
hmmm
with a russellllllll...
and a lil radio...
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Dont forget the Aleve!!!!!!!!! I would also recomend at least one pair of extra gloves and a pair of light weight foot wear for the evenings, your puppies will love you. As stated, hydrate, if you dont have an urge to drain every time you fill you need more. Stay away from caffinated and sugar filled drinks. And seemless britches, your rear will thank you as much as your feet. Dont forget basic tools and a way to patch and refill a tire. Laugh if you will, but take along a small roll of duct tape, you just never know when it will come in handy.
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roger that, duck is good... sandals yes... not sure on best britches though..
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Me and a buddy just finished a 3,500 mile trip on our two Connies that took us from Seattle WA, down thru Idaho and Utah to Denver and then back up thru Wyoming, Yellowstone Park and then thru Idaho and back thru WA and home. We super slabbed it down to Denver on the freeways and then did the 2 lane highway back home. Much preferred the two lane stuff. Yellowstone was fantastic. We lucked out on the weather and had complete sunshine. June is a very rainy month in Yellowstone. On the way down we crossed the Rockies via Steamboat Springs and on into Denver. To me the Rockies are not that big a deal. Just big high mountains. I much preferred the mountain ranges we went thru on the way home thru Wyoming, and Idaho. They were stunning with absolute killer roads. The Grand Tetons, the Sawtooth range....etc. And the wide open valleys and open ranges!! Right now everything is very green and lush and the rivers are running very high all over. If you are going north out of Colorado, take highway 287 out of Rawlins off of I-80 in Wyoming. This will take you all the way to Yellowstone and you will go thru the town of Lander where the oldest Kawasaki dealership in the USA (no joke) resides. Out of Yelllowstone just stay on highway 287 to Twin Bridges, then 41 to Dillon, then about 2 miles on I-15 to #278 to town of Wisdom MT, then #43 over the Bitterroot range to grab #93 to Challis, then #75 to Stanley ID, then #21 to Lowman. Then it's up to you how you want to proceed. We went over to #55 via # 24 from Lowman. #55 was absolutely fantastic up to McCall, ID. If you take this route, you will not be disappointed. What I just described was the highlight of the entire trip. We had relatively good weather so that of course played a part. Yellowstone can still get nasty in June.
My wish list on the trip? Highway pegs and a Russell seat. They will be on my bike on the next one. Make sure you also have a good tank bag. Not only good for stuff like camera's etc. But I found that my favorite riding position when on not so twisty roads was having my throttle lock on and slouching forward over my right forearm that was planted across the tank bag, or a variation of that. Be very careful on the weight you pile on the already top heavy Concours. It can become very dicey moving that thing around in campsites our tight parking situations. I found that out the hard way the very morning I was leaving the house. We pushed it a little hard putting in some very long days. Take a lot of water breaks along the way to stretch your legs etc.
The guy that runs the Kawasaki shop in "Lander" was a great guy. When I was in Denver I needed a replacement Speedo cable. I called all around, none could be found except to order it. Guess who had one? Yep, the guy in the one stop light town of Lander. I almost didn't stop to ask.
Have fun, and be ready for anything. It will be and adventure, whether you want it to be or not. :o
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Thanks for the pointers... I agree, we will not rush, I have 10 weeks, he has no job rt now and a fist few of dollars, so we will be going, thru Yellowstone in the 1st week of July.... I am excited, aprehensive, and totally salavating...
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But just a bit nervous, we got the v strom all tuned up, new plugs and minerals in her, connie is next then off we goooooo.....
ltr guys//.. Ps how was the trip thru yellowstone, and any pointers on where to stop and sleepp>>??
Thanks
Dan
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Give me a ring when you get to S.D. and I'll show you Palomar mtn. and the telescope. Makes for a nice one day ride.
If the conditions are right I might consent to let you have a spin on the turbo if you would like.
bconstable(at)sbcglobal.net, also in the phonebook in Vista area under Bruce Constable.
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But just a bit nervous, we got the v strom all tuned up, new plugs and minerals in her, connie is next then off we goooooo.....
ltr guys//.. Ps how was the trip thru yellowstone, and any pointers on where to stop and sleepp>>??
Thanks
Dan
You will most likely be entering Yellowstone from a completely different route than we did. It's a very big park and any of it will be great. Make sure you check on the weather before you commit. The park is quite high in elevation and can get pretty nasty this time of year still. June is actually the rainiest month. We had very good weather, but be sure to check. We just cruised through the park and were on our way, so I can't help you on where to sleep. You can camp of course but I don't know about hotels. Your best bet would be to continue down into town of "West Yellowstone" which is just over the border in Idaho on the west side of the park if you need a hotel. I just posted a complete trip report of our trip on this web site.
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Thanks guys....
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Be a shame to go to Yellowstone and not ride the Beartooth Pass, if you can manage it.
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When you get to Boulder, drop me a line. three03 seven four seven twenty forty two.
I'm midway between Boulder and Estes Park, on a curve (or three...)
Rick
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Sounds great Rick, we have a friend there, so planning on resting then riding, heard it is beautiful....
Dan
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Have to check out this bear tooth pass.... I am getting more and more excited...
Bodo, an original cogger is coming over Saturday, final prep, check valves, and get her road worthey leaving the following week... New tires are being shipped in as well....
Ok,
ltr guys...
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Did any of you old coggers, opps experienced coggers no a guy named Bodo??
I know Murph knows him, just seeing if anybody else does,
As he is guiding me through my 1st valve check today.
Dan
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Bodo, was an excellent teacher, got her back together.....
And she runs....
Need to put snarfs bars in....
And get her back together, has a fresh oil change, 2 new tires comin this weekend and a fender extender, and we are leaving next week....
We are stayin in ohio, then milwaukee early next week..
Ok. ltr guys.
Dan
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Did any of you old coggers, opps experienced coggers no a guy named Bodo??
Bodo Wolters. Tell him I said hey :)
Rick
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Will do Rick, we may synch the carbs on her, might be the last project, Bodo said he has the mercury sticks..????
Ok
Have a great one.
Dan
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If he doesn't (doubtful), I do. As well as other spiffy tools.
Safe trip, I look forward to your arrival in CO ;D
Rick
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Tank bag with the hydration system is GREAT, I just bought the Rekon 19 and it seems to be just what I was looking for! Aleve, Gorilla Tape, extra gloves, Aerostich suit...awwww now I'm just rambling.
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Nice...
:)
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Well all we made it,
Bike did well, needs an oil change.. and a speedo cable, all else is good....
All was good, a lil rough around chicago, 3 pm sky way jacked up terrible traffic, and some heat, 12 hr day till we made it to Wisconsin, beaver dam......
Rested at my cousins.... She was great, got to meet her family, wonderful,
Then off to 94 t 90?
And we were off, to Sioux falls, crazy town, Quads cruisin down the streets, cars racing,,,, crazy...
Then mt rushmore.. Awesome, almost met a very nice large Mule deer acrually was runin at me, hit the horn, the deer entered the road and turned, very scary.... Off to the bad lands, and yes we stopped ar wall drug, worth the 5 cent coffee, then headed for sturgis.... have to recheck the notes and map if I am confused, but sturgis was fun, and we rode a canyon down there.... Same one my parents went thru in a big black 65 chrysler Ny convertible when he came back from vietnam.... Ok off to Yellowstone, way to late and too far, got in a hurry and rold ro slow down... By the Wy boss man, here is a learned lesson, 1 he pulled over my friend, I pulled over a few 100 yards away, he waved me in, I should have kept going, he wrote me up. He is the boss..... 110 bucks. what u gonna do... Oh well, So we made it to Cody Wyoming for July 4th, safe and sound and that was fine.... Next entered yellowstone, simply awesome... Saw a grizz, were in the park when the attack occurred... Spent 2 days, near the old faithful inn... Saw too many buffalo, and some big elk, and a guy on a light blue c 10, not sure? around july 6th... Loked at the map, and went thru the tetons, down to salt lake, from there to vegas, 2 days, then hit the desert at 6 am, nice ride, were in n sd by 10pm, and the coast was great....... When I arrived in sd we headed out to yuma AZ, in a truck with some jet boats and jet skis my friends own here, we had some fun on the colorado river and jumpin some cliffs, water skiing and wake boardin, that beat me up more than the mc ride, wow... Now in sd for 3 weeks, my riding partner is headed home, on a jet plane.... Leavin his bike w his brther,,, I am planning to ride up the coast thru portland, then over and back to yellowstone, c some new friends and new sites as we did not get to c enough, ride the bear tooth, and then thought about ridin back on 94, eventually meeting a cousin again in Wisconsin, maybe 2 days from home, and then hmmm back to work.... Have a great day all. Hope my story did not bore you, And there is more to add... :) ;) :D