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1360 mile July ride through the Michigan U.P.
Starting from the Baldwin area in the Lower Peninsula, we moved up through rainstorms until we got to the tunnel of trees. Nice trip through the tunnel which is usually slow going with traffic. All Lake Michigan shoreline with the pricey real estate.
Harbor Springs, had to stop under a church covered entrance to wait out the last of the rain. Shortly after, famous Legs Inn drew us inn for a superb Polish dinner. Very cool place with strange wall hangings. Even has a real Zoltar Machine near the lobby. (Remember the movie Big with Tom Hanks). Weather dried out and reached 92% by the time we made the Big Mac bridge to the U.P.. Five miles of bridge and we reach ST.Ignace in the Upper Peninsula. After Ice Cream there we rode to Strong's Crossing for the night. Ran into a BMW owner on his way back to New York from a BMW event in, if I remember, Wisconsin.
The Trip was planned a year ago by my Bud Mark who rides a 1200 Sportster Trike with his gal Cheryl My Bro Malcolm and gal pal Mary Jo on a 2013 Bonneville, and my wife Diane and I on my '80 xs1100 bagger.
Next day we made famous Whitefish Point near where the Edmund Fitzgerald went down with 27 souls. Onto Tequamenon Falls and finally Munising. Had my headlight go out during this piece due to blown fuse. Well, finally deployed the 37 year old spare fuse attached to fuse cove. The new headlight I installed before the trip was probably too much for the original fuse. No further issues with the light or anything else on the 1100.
Next piece was through Marquette and on to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula and the King Copper Motel for the night. Beautiful view of Lake Superior and the ferry that transports people to Isle Royal. Next day was a slow ride through Brockway Mountain Drive and then back down the peninsula stopping in Mass City to visit a friend and visit Tieg's Bar. Next morning we headed for the Porcupine Mountains and Lake of the Clouds. Then on to Presqiel Isle Falls and finally the Lakeshore Motel on Ice Lake for the night.
Next morning finds us riding south toward Iron Mountain and through to reach US Highway 2. Highway 2 travels across the southern part of the U.P. which includes the sandy beaches of the northern tip of Lake Michigan. We were 20 miles short of Epoufette and the Skyline Motel when Mark's throttle cable gave in. We pulled over in a shady spot along the highway to address the issue. I had a spare clutch and throttle cable for my XS but Mark managed to tie a knot in the cable and reconnect it in under a half hour. We never found out if the XS cable would have worked. His throttle cable runs down to a self engineered foot lever. Mark only has one arm and only asked that I put my finger on the cable to hold it in while securing it.
On to the Skyline Motel. Every room has a fantastic view of Lake Michigan. Nice restaurant with patio, even includes a sassy waitress who treated us very well. Last day we crossed to the Lower Peninsula and made the long journey back stopping Mackinaw and then Indian River to visit a friend.
The final trip from there was up and down rolling hills avoiding the one deer collision with semi truck that happened ahead of us on up the road.
The trip was long but great. Shoreline breezes were absolutely outstanding. We crossed paths with many bikers including one guy who jumped out of his truck at one of the one lane only roadwork stops to check out my XS. He said he owned an '81 XS1100 that was missing the license plate light and bracket ass'y. i told him to check this site for info.
We will be planning another trip for next year. I am confident my 37 year old Yamaha will be ready. I'll bring tools and cables just in case. What a ride!
Starting from the Baldwin area in the Lower Peninsula, we moved up through rainstorms until we got to the tunnel of trees. Nice trip through the tunnel which is usually slow going with traffic. All Lake Michigan shoreline with the pricey real estate.
Harbor Springs, had to stop under a church covered entrance to wait out the last of the rain. Shortly after, famous Legs Inn drew us inn for a superb Polish dinner. Very cool place with strange wall hangings. Even has a real Zoltar Machine near the lobby. (Remember the movie Big with Tom Hanks). Weather dried out and reached 92% by the time we made the Big Mac bridge to the U.P.. Five miles of bridge and we reach ST.Ignace in the Upper Peninsula. After Ice Cream there we rode to Strong's Crossing for the night. Ran into a BMW owner on his way back to New York from a BMW event in, if I remember, Wisconsin.
The Trip was planned a year ago by my Bud Mark who rides a 1200 Sportster Trike with his gal Cheryl My Bro Malcolm and gal pal Mary Jo on a 2013 Bonneville, and my wife Diane and I on my '80 xs1100 bagger.
Next day we made famous Whitefish Point near where the Edmund Fitzgerald went down with 27 souls. Onto Tequamenon Falls and finally Munising. Had my headlight go out during this piece due to blown fuse. Well, finally deployed the 37 year old spare fuse attached to fuse cove. The new headlight I installed before the trip was probably too much for the original fuse. No further issues with the light or anything else on the 1100.
Next piece was through Marquette and on to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula and the King Copper Motel for the night. Beautiful view of Lake Superior and the ferry that transports people to Isle Royal. Next day was a slow ride through Brockway Mountain Drive and then back down the peninsula stopping in Mass City to visit a friend and visit Tieg's Bar. Next morning we headed for the Porcupine Mountains and Lake of the Clouds. Then on to Presqiel Isle Falls and finally the Lakeshore Motel on Ice Lake for the night.
Next morning finds us riding south toward Iron Mountain and through to reach US Highway 2. Highway 2 travels across the southern part of the U.P. which includes the sandy beaches of the northern tip of Lake Michigan. We were 20 miles short of Epoufette and the Skyline Motel when Mark's throttle cable gave in. We pulled over in a shady spot along the highway to address the issue. I had a spare clutch and throttle cable for my XS but Mark managed to tie a knot in the cable and reconnect it in under a half hour. We never found out if the XS cable would have worked. His throttle cable runs down to a self engineered foot lever. Mark only has one arm and only asked that I put my finger on the cable to hold it in while securing it.
On to the Skyline Motel. Every room has a fantastic view of Lake Michigan. Nice restaurant with patio, even includes a sassy waitress who treated us very well. Last day we crossed to the Lower Peninsula and made the long journey back stopping Mackinaw and then Indian River to visit a friend.
The final trip from there was up and down rolling hills avoiding the one deer collision with semi truck that happened ahead of us on up the road.
The trip was long but great. Shoreline breezes were absolutely outstanding. We crossed paths with many bikers including one guy who jumped out of his truck at one of the one lane only roadwork stops to check out my XS. He said he owned an '81 XS1100 that was missing the license plate light and bracket ass'y. i told him to check this site for info.
We will be planning another trip for next year. I am confident my 37 year old Yamaha will be ready. I'll bring tools and cables just in case. What a ride!
stop for long either.
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