Making Up For Lost Miles...1440 of them

Been longing for some miles on the LT this summer but things have kept me from taking any significant trips. Well over Labor Day weekend I put on 1440 miles with a trip around Lake Michigan. The goal was miles, camping and seeing my grandma in Blanchard, MI.

Day 1 – Left right as it was getting light, made it through Wisconsin during the morning. Fog was bad around the Mississippi river, but didn’t slow me down.

After deciding not to go through Chicago, I was headed S. on I-39, something seemed weird so I pulled off and realized I was losing air from my back tire, valve stem leak. Made a couple phone calls and then realized that the BMW of Chicago would be able to help. I ended up spending the next while making the 70miles to their place stopping ever 15-20miles to make sure I had enough air. Speed was kept slow so it took some time. Ever thing was fixed at 4:30PM. Now to leave Chicago during rush hour on a holiday weekend – yeah right!!! Made the decision to just follow US41 all the way to the S. side, it was slow but I kept moving. Had a quick bit to eat and ended up in MI for the night.

Day2 – Woke up; broke camp and headed for Grandma’s place. She didn’t know I was coming, I road into the driveway as she was getting her mail. We had a great lunch and visit and she wanted to take me for a ride all over town on her “new” four-wheeler! It was a blast. She told me about her and my grandpa as they had a final drive problem on their Moto Guzzi back in the day. I think she wanted to come along. There is a lot of history for her and my family in this small town, she has had a connection here for over a ½ decade. But I needed to get a few more miles in if I was going to complete this trip before having to start a “new job” on Tuesday morning so I headed for the UP of MI.

Day 3 – Was invited for a free breakfast of eggs, toast and bacon from a neighbor couple who were camping. What a great way to start the day. Riding through the UP was great. Had lunch over-looking Lake Superior's, south shore, in Munising then headed West into Wisconsin. I knew I didn’t want to ride into the Sun near sunset so finding a campground early was the plan. Relaxing at the camp was also great. Got a free site as I road in, the previous occupants left and the site had already been paid for, what a deal! I really like staying at National Forest campground, the price is usually a bit less rather then a State Park and things seem to be less commercialized. It isn’t for everyone, because they usually don’t have showers or flush toilets.

(Somewhere between Munising & Marquette)

Day 4 – Headed home on US63. It was great to be home and have a few days logged riding the LT – it really is a great long distance traveler.

(Chequamegon National Forest)

DQ Run

I got out this last Saturday (4/18) for a couple of hours. I headed to DQ in Lake City, MN. The Flood Run was in full swing and it was fun to see all the cycles out on the road. After a hotdog w/ the works I enjoyed the ride home. Yeah 87mile round trip for a DQ run is well worth it!

2009 is underway ... sorta

So the weather was nice, almost 50 and sunny. I got the LT ready and I couldn't get it started. The key would not turn in the ignition all the way to "ON" -- I did manage to get it to work with my other set of keys and took it for a short ride around town, got the tire pressure to where it should be and enjoyed what I had left of the afternoon. A short ride but it felt great. However, when I got home and tried to pull the LT back into the garage I couldn't turn the key again, the "other" key wouldn't work either... so i'm bummed. But I'll get it going soon!

Cool Fall Cycling - YEAH

I got the new (old) final drive installed w/ the new (old) driveshaft. These both came off an '86 K100. When I finished the project the clock read 49544. As shown in the pic I'm over 50K now and there has not been a problem. Being out in the fall on the LT is so much fun! How long will I ride into the late fall, i dunno, but today was great 10/14.

FD drive & drive shaft removed

Got almost everything apart. Still need to remove the disk from the "old" Final Drive. Hope to get this done over the weekend. Other parts were ordered and should have them by next week.

Taryn Trip

This is the trip that left me (us) on the side of the road. My daughter Taryn enters middle school this fall and I wanted to have a special time with her, an overnight camping trip. The trip started well and we took off in the late after noon for Lake Louise State Park. The night was great and the time with Taryn was fun talking by the fire. The next morning after breakfast we headed to Burr Oak, IA and the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum. This was also fun since Taryn has read all the books and some extras concerning Laura's life. After leaving the museum we were headed to Lanesboro, MN for some lunch. We never made it. From the map you can see where we broke down. I knew the splines on the drive shaft were a little worn, but not enough to quite working altogether. Taryn said it would be a trip that we would not forget. We made it home w/ a lift from a freind who went to my house and got my trailer. We did get lunch about 4:30 in the afternoon. Hope to get the LT running in the next couple of weeks so I can enjoy the Fall.

Parts Replaced...

After some replacing of some parts, air filter, fuel filter, and some other stuff had to remove the tank and replace it 3x. These two little yellow wires attach to the front brake lights and attach right under the tank. I trust the connection will hold together now -- used some duct tape! I also now have hand grips heated. The original switch was not working so had to add switch to get them working. I'm ready to ride this fall.