The Big Trip part 3: Pre-Ride to the Porkies

I had to test out my machine, and make sure everything was in order. I rode south to Ontonagon and farther south to the Porcupine Mountains State Park. The Park is absolutely beautiful, and the weather was perfect. To top it off the bike performed well and should be just about ready for next week!

The Big Trip part 2: Preparation

Today was the big day for building the bike up. Over 5 1/2 hours of work and I still didn't get all I wanted done. I did however get the big stuff out of the way. The chain and front sprocket are on, as well as my new tire (finally). And after 3 weeks or so of riding with out a cooling fan my bike now has a shiny new al-u-minium fan blade. There's still much to be done, including a much needed cleaning of the bike, but things are starting to come together.














The goods;
Dunlop 607 130/80-17
DID 520V O-ring chain
JT 14T sproket
Dual Star aluminum cooling fan
Parts Unlimited brake pads
new brake lever
new engine cover gasket
new spark plug
new oil

Before













During













During....













And After
mmm... new tire











Done;
New Tire
New Chain/Sproket
New Engine Cover Gasket
New Brake Lever/Brake Pads
New Cooling fan (Old Motor)
New Spark Plug
New Oil

Not Done
Clean Air Filter
Lube Cables
Clean Bike

The Big Trip part 1: The Route

This is it. After months of daydreaming during snowy winter days about adventures through the heart of the county, it's going to happen. Things got serious a couple weeks ago when I picked out a specific destination and a specific week. And in these past couple weeks my mind has had a hard time thinking of anything but the trip, and I've been slowly planning and preparing for it.

Originally my big trip was going to be early in the summer, and I wanted to make it to the Atlantic Ocean. My girlfriend and I went to Niagara Falls in the spring, so going east seemed less new and adventurous. I've been west many times, and I didn't think the KLR would like the wide open spaces as much as some other bikes. So I set my sights on the South. Recently I made the "Tail of the Dragon" (US129) my goal. Later I added the Barber Motorsports Museum, but that doesn't seem likely to happen.

The plan thus far is to make it to the Lansing area and stay at my girlfriend's parents place. From there I'd head to Ohio and stop at the AMA headquarters. From Ohio I'd ride through West Virginia and Virginia. At some point I would try to intersect the Blue Ridge Parkway, and move on the Smokey Mountains and Deals Gap. Depending on how I feel I would continue south to Barber of head west. Either way I would ride north along the Mississppi to my parents place in Minnesota. For there the UP would be one more days ride.

Ultimately I plan on covering a lot of states I've never been to. And it looks like there's a mess of twisty roads in the mountains down there. Sounds like an adventure to me.

Hunting for Ghost Towns

I decided today would be a good day to find some of the copper mining ghost towns up north. I saddled up and headed towards Eagle Harbor. From there I cruised the back road in between US41 and M26. I made my way to Delaware Mine, I didn't find much for town remains, but I did find a nice logging trail. It wasn't too rough, or too soft, and it dipped and twisted. The trail didn't seem to be taking me anywhere so I returned to the mission. I went to Central and found what I was looking for.