A GS in Sturgis 2015

[bomber737]

The last thread was getting long so here are a few more pictures of the side car GS


After the pig roast Jerry and I said our goodbyes and headed south through Rapid City and points east. When we were at the roast we watched some big big thunderstorms develop and move east. We heard on the radio that Sturgis had been hammered by some huge storms with 70 mph straight line winds, I was glad we had left when we did. As I rode east I watched the storm that went through Rapid City and got as far as Wall SD when I decided I had had enough. It was getting cold and the road was wet and I didn't think I was going to make it another 60 miles with out running into weather so I stopped and got a hotel. I slept like a rock I can tell you. The next day was going to just be a short 400 mile ride to Luverne MN to see some friends.

[bomber737]

I woke the next morning to cloudy skys and slightly cooler morning temps. I was glad my jacket had a water proof liner so I was warm. I loaded up my bike and I was ready to leave by 8am.

It did really heat up later in the day. I really liked riding through South Dakota, going the speed limit of 80 you can cover some miles quickly. The bike's mileage didn't like it though. Between me and the bags on the back acting like a big sail my mileage dropped to around 38mpg. I made it about 170 miles and I stoped for some bfast and gas up. Seems everywhere I went I was approached by guys who used to own a GS and regret selling. I had at least 4 people come up to me at the bike wash. That never hapened to me when I was riding my 81 Honda CB750F Supersport and that was a nice bike as well.
Here is the CB right after I got it back on the road. I do sometimes miss that bike. I put a lot of trouble free miles on it and took it on a few 1000 mile trips.

Back to the story, I left and headed for Luverne MN at great speed and wouldn't ya know it. The wind must have come up and I was so having a zen moment I didn't notice and as I passed Mitchel SD I decided to press on since I had only gone 155 miles. I got about 5 miles past Mitchel and the bike started dying so to reserve I went. I have to admit, I have never had to switch it to reserve and I really did not know how much fuel I had left. My bike has a Pingle pet cock and I can usually make it 200 miles before I need to start looing for a gas station. Not that day, so I slowed down to 60 and hoped I had enough gas to get to a turn around and get back to Mitchel. As luck would have it 15 miles down the raod I found my first opportunity to turn around and there like an oasis in the desert was a gas station. As I pulled in I breathed a sigh of relief and shut her down. I was surprised to find I still had .8 of a gallon left. I put in 4.2 gallons so i could have gone another 20 or so miles, now I know. AS I sat there had a red bull and relaxed before my last push to get to my friends house I finally got ahold of them and made arrangements to meet up. I rolled into Leuverne around 2pm and met up wit my friends.

It was nice to se a few familiar faces and get off the road once again. My friends are riders as well, Nancy owns a 07 Yamaha 650 and Marvin owns a 76 Goldwing, 87 Goldwing and a 02 Yamaha Royal Star. Marv took me over to the garage he rents and I put my bike to bed for the night and unloaded what I needed for the night. I have never ridden any of Marv's bikes so I got a chance to ride Nancys 650 first then I took out the 87 Goldwing and finally the Royal Star Venture. I really lked the first 2 but the Royal Star was quite a pig. Very heavy steering and I am just not tall enough to ride it comfortably but it was fun to give it a try. I bet it would be a great touring bike for someone taller than I and having a radio would be nice. My helmet has bluetooth installed in it and I think I listened to every song on my phone a few times over. The nice thing was no matter how long a day I had, my helmet never ran out of juice to run the bluetooth so I was never musicless and I have a USB charger on my bike so my phone is always fully charged.

Marvin took out my GS for a spin later that afternoon. He is still a Goldwing guy, why I can't understand but to each his own. Right after I got back from my last ride on the Royal Star the storms moved in and man did it rain. Those cells were topping out at 55000ft. There was hard hard rain, lightning and thunder. I was glad I was under cover and didn't have to ride through it. Once the rain quit we went to dinner at a really nice local place and finished out the night visiting the guy who I needed to pay for one of my next projects. I made a deal for the new bike a few years ago and never had a chance to go get it so this was a prefect opportunity to get him paid.

What is the next project you might ask, its a 1978 GS1000C skunk. The bike is complete but it has a stuck engine. A year ago I picked up a 79 GS1000 with no title and that bike is complete as well. So I have some decisions to make in the near future. Spoke wheels or mags, unstick the stuck engine with only 9500 miles on it or use the running one I have with 45000 miles on it. Yes I have many decisions to make. Once that was done back to the house we went and I made it about 30 more minutes and I was out. I think Nancy was still talking to be but I cant be sure.

[bomber737]

The last day of my trip had arrived. I needed to get home as It was my day to have my daughters so I started early. I had the last 256 miles to cover and be home by 3pm. I loaded up my bike and was rolling by 8:15. I had time for 1 last picture with Marv as I got going.

The weather gods had truly blessed me on this trip and this day was no exception. Blue skys and warm temps. i headed east to Worthington MN then headed north toward Mankato. I got to Mankato around 1015am and stopped for gas. Since I was going to get home early I decided to call my mom and dad and have lunch with them. If you are even in the St. Paul area there is a little town called Lake Elmo. In Lake Elmo there is a bar called the twin points tavern and in my opinion they have the best burger in the twin cities. I arrived at the twin points at noon and my journey had come to an end as home was only 14 miles away. In all my trip took me 1789 miles and 6 days of pure enjoyment. If you can ever make it out to Sturgis I can't say I recommed the Bufalo Chip but its a place to lay your head, accomidations are not really that hard to come by and if you ask me your better off staying in one of the little towns surrounding Sturgis. Thanks for reading and Ill see you on the road.

[steve murdoch]

Nice travelogue, bomber.
The big smile on your mug in the last pic also tells the tale.
I vote for a Skunk with wire wheels for the next project.

[bomber737]

Thanks. It was a great trip and I was hoping to see some other vintage Suzis out there but I didn't. I'm not sure if I'm smiling because I was going home to see my kids or if I was slappy from being on the road for 5 days. I got home and I fell asleep.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I'm glad I logged in today and saw your thread. Thanks for sharing your adventure. It sounds like a blast. I'm glad everything went so well.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff