My GS cronicles (Ride around Lake Michigan)

[Guest]

I have been planning a trip around one of the great lakes for months and have been working on my 1980 GS1000 all winter. It all started with a complete going through the bike and replacing or lubing almost all the wearable parts. When I got the bike it only had 3600 miles on it but had been sitting for 28 years. A few things that I did was go through the bike top to bottom and wound up replacing all the bearings, tires, brakes, new front brake master cylinder, complete carb rebuild, chain and 530 conversion, new paint, new pet cock, installed oil pressure gauge, etc but you get the idea. So in the last 3 weeks I have finally gotten the bike to where I am confident I will have a trouble free traveling experience. I did the 4000 mile check; valves, colortuned the carbs and synced them again, lubed the chain and fitted my saddle bags, checked the oil and tire pressure and replaced the foam grips with some nice rubber ones. So with the help of my girlfriend we have decided to ride around Lake Michigan. Since we live in WI we originally intended to ride down to the Milwaukee area, take in the Harley museum and then get on the ferry to Lower Michigan. Unfortunately the ferry to Michigan leaves at 12:15 in the afternoon and the museum opens at 10. So that was out and we have decided to go the other way around the lake. We are still planning on taking the ferry since it leaves Muskegon at 4:45 in the afternoon getting into Milwaukee at 6:15pm. Much better time to finish for the night and prepare for the next day. On this adventure are my girlfriend and my sister. My girlfriend (MaryLynn) will be riding her 1983 Yamaha Maxim 750 I rebuilt last summer and my sister (Carol) will be riding my fathers 1981 Yamaha Virago 920. As our adventure progresses I will be adding photos and more to the story of us and the places we will see. Here is my bike with the bags minus the backpack and ready for morning. Now it's off to bed, we leave early in the am.

[Buffalo Bill]

Nice Bike, and the Yamahas are too.

Nice short trip, enjoy.
The ride south from the bridge through Sleeping Bear is full of twisties and over looks.
Take the long way around Travers Bay, and hug the shoreline.

[7981GS]

Beautiful bike!
Looking forward to seeing the pic's and the story about the adventure.
It sounds like fun!

Eric

[bubby]

lake michigan

went for a short ride today stoped at the lake and took some pictures here is 1

[7981GS]

Bomber737, do you have TWO screen names?

Eric

[Flyboy]

Bomber, that is a really nice GS1000, looking forward to your updates, will be following with interest.

[bomber737]

Well day one is now over. We managed to ride a little over 300 miles on the back roads of WI. I will tell you I didn't realize there were sooooo many little towns on Hwy 8. My day started early and of course there was a few last minute details I had to take care of. I usually don't put air in my forks since I put heavier oil in there instead and make the hydraulics do the work. But I thought since I was going to be carrying a good load of stuff I might need the extra performance of the forks. Filled the first one with no problem. Took the cap off the second one and low and behold I found air nipple broken. Luckily I have a spare set of GS850 forks laying around and took a replacement off of those. Warmed the bike up and just as I shut it down my girlfriend showed up and off we went.

She decided to be camera shy. Prob because she rides a Yamaha and I told her about me writing this. Then it was up to my sisters house. She lives just south of Hwy 8 which was to be our road for the day.

And another Yamaha joins the ride
All was well until about 30 miles into the ride when my Gs lost power and started missing on one cylinder. Kinda felt like going down a wash board road. I pulled off at a gas station and found one of the rubber vacuum caps I put on the intakes was broken and it was sucking air and not fuel. I replaced the stock 5mm screws on the intakes for syncing the carbs with vacuum nipples from Z1 enterprises. I think its a great item but the caps they send with them are cheap so I put some thicker rubber ones. I was carrying a full set of them so on with a new one and off we went. I had no other problems with my GS after that. The ride along hwy 8 was beautiful and a very enjoyable way to get to the east side of WI. We finished the day in Escanaba MI. It took us 9 hours to get there as all the roads are 55mph and there are about 30 little towns you go through. Had a great laugh at the last fuel stop, I finally noticed my sisters new helmet. Can you tell me what's wrong with this picture.
The best part was she's been riding around for the last 3 weeks with it like that. Yep she's an observant one.

Here is the view we had out our hotel room.


Was a really nice hotel and it was right on the bay. Price was around $65 and the restaurant at the hotel was excellent but a little spendy.

No I don't have any other screen names.

[Buffalo Bill]

Nice riding partners…

I'd rather ride in your group, that with any of those crackers in Brown Co. this weekend.
You're gonna love riding around Travers Bay, it's amazing.
Bill

[tas850g]

Sounds like it is a fun ride. For the last 3 years my sister and I have been on an over night ride. I go to VT for a couple days and the next year she came down and we rode around my area for a couple.

Looks like you've got the trip well planned and ready for most anything.

I'd like to see pics of you GSXR 1100.

[bomber737]

That's a nice looking GS. On to day 2. We started the day heading north out of Escanaba on hwy2 along the north shore of Lake Michigan. What a beautiful place for a ride. As you head along Hwy 2 the town thin out quite a bit and you spend more and more time riding along the shore. What nice beaches they have up there. Not at all like the rocks on the north shore of Lake Superior. Unfortunately we did not get any pictures of the ride along there. I think we were all in the zone and taking in all in. There was a wind coming from the south off the lake and you might say it got brisk for those stretches right along the lake. If it had been warmer we would have stopped and had a picnic on the shore. I am sure glad I have nylon wind proof snow boarding pants. I know the other two got cold, but they are real troopers and didn't have one complaint. Really what is there to complain about anyway when your on the open road experiencing the country as you can only on a bike. Our morning destination was St. Ignace to catch a ferry to Mackinac Island. We arrived at the ferry at 12:30 to see our ride departing for the island, so we headed to the next ferry operator who had one leaving at 1. We initially chose Shepler's ferry because they have covered motorcycle parking and lockers for your gear but since we missed it we went to Star. Once we got there we got to park right next to the boat and the guys (who take care of loading the boat) told us they would watch out bikes and there is always someone standing there. They are a most gracious bunch of guys.


Before i knew it we were on board and on our way to Mackinac Island which is a short 20 minute ride away. As you approach the island you get a great view of the Grand Hotel perched on the top pf the bluffs. Looking down the shore you can see many Victorian houses that line the bluffs. And at the bottom of the bluffs you can see a bunch of people on bikes riding on the bike path that goes all the way around the island.



The Grand Hotels claim to fame besides its age is it has the worlds largest porch. you can go on it for free but if you want to walk through the front door and your not staying there they charge you $10 bucks. We elected to admire is from the porch and not go inside. We did peek in the windows though, yes we are window peekers. There are only 3 motorized vehicles on the island, from what a local police man said. They have 1 police car, 1 ambulance and 1 forester truck. If he told me wrong and someone can correct me please do. I am just repeating what I was told. They do get snowmobiles in the winter since the bay freezes and people ride over to the island in the winter. Otherwise you can rent a horse, bicycle or walk to get around the island.

Right as you get off the ferry there are a bunch of places to rent bicycles and they are quite cheap. I think it cost 5 bucks for 2 hours. We decided to walk around. We walked up to the fort which is quite a steep walk and you can't miss is as it's right at the end of the main street and up the hill. I like old forts so in my opinion is was worth the walk, the girlfriend was not as sure but she did it anyway because I wanted to. This island depends on tourists so the main street is very touristy with lots of souvenir shops and restaurants. And before I knew it it was time to get back on the ferry and go back to the main land. We had planned on heading to Travers City to spend the night. I used to overnight there a lot at my last job and I know the downtown area quite well. I was hoping the cherry festival would be going on but it's not until July.

So off we went to cross the 5 mile long bridge between Upper Michigan and Lower Michigan. This bridge is quite a piece of engineering as when it's windy it sways and there are 2 lanes. One lane is a grate and the other is paved. It is a toll bridge and costs $4 to cross. I started off on the grate lane but as I climbed I looked down and it appears you are just floating in space with nothing under you and that cold cold water is a goodly way below you. I had to move over to the paved lane as it had become windy and riding on the grates makes the bike wander in the lane and wind pushing me around made me feel a little uncomfortable. And just for good measure you throw in the bridge itself swaying and your in for uncle willys wild ride. We all made it across with no issues but the other 2 didn't even venture out on the grate lane. What a couple of wusses. Once we were across the bridge we joined Hwy 31 which took us to Travers City. Right across the bridge this road kinda goes inland for awhile before it turns toward the shore and the day warmed up considerably. After the chill of the morning ride it was a welcome change. We arrived in Travers City around dusk and I was ready for some dinner and some rest. We did wander around downtown some and had dinner at the U & I. I highly recommend the gyro plate, delicious.



There is a nice little park and great beach just on the lake side of downtown. There is also a nice little marina. I think that's enough for one day so off to bed to get ready for tomorrow and a short ride to Muskegon to take the high speed ferry to Milwaukee.

[Buffalo Bill]

It's really sad, you're gonna just blow down the freeway, and not take a scenic ride around Travers Bay and through Sleeping Bear.
By By

[7981GS]

Thanks for chronicling this journey. Keep those pic's coming.

Eric

[bomber737]

I was too tired last night to write so here is goes a day late. But first of all, Bill I meant no disrespect to you but we got going late in the day and daylight, fatigue and others involved in the routing decision making process precluded what sounds like an amazing route. My girlfriend and I are going to take your suggested route next year when we go the other direction on our ride around Lake Superior. If any of you have a friend who rides a Virago hopefully they will have the one with the 5 gallon tank because the one we were traveling with had the 3.8 gallon tank and we had to stop every 120 to 130 miles for gas. It really sucks when all the bikes in the party don't have the same range.

[bomber737]

So back to the story, day 3 started early with a great breakfast at a restaurant called the omelet store. It's right downtown and a quick walk from the hotel. We stayed at the park place hotel. At a former job I used to stay there and I really like the hotel. They have a bar at the top and you can see the whole bar from there. So off we went down hwy 31 towards Muskegon MI. It was another beautiful day and warmer. Of course I was the leader that morning and I missed where Hwy 31 turned west and all of a sudden we were on MI Hwy 37 heading south. So we decided we would turn west on MI Hwy 10 and of course I missed that one so down to M20 we went. This road takes you through the Manistee National Forest. Finally we arrived at Hwy 31 once again and south bound we were. This part of the Hwy is 4 lane road and we made good time getting to Muskegon. My girlfriend has a couple of High school friends who live in the area and once we found the ferry to WI we had a few hours to waste so we meet up with them. The ferry to WI is the largest jet ski I have ever seen.


The ferrry can hold up to 40 cars and I am not sure how many motorcycles. In May this year bikes can ride for free, otherwise they are $40 for passage. We decided to go premier class and it costs $96, the other cabin is $12 cheaper. In premier class the seats are bigger and there is a steward that comes around with a service. Beer, wine and food cost extra but soda is complimentary. On shore they have a really nice lounge area and seating outside while you wait for the ferry.


Just before the ferry arrives they line all the people taking cars and motorcycles so they can get loaded up and under way. It only takes about 15 minutes to have everyone on board and underway. The ferry is more like a catamaran in that it has deeper hulls on wither end and most of the boat is not in the water. It has 4 jet engines and works a lot like a jet ski.

It has an impeller in a tube and sucks water in on the side and pushes it out the back. It goes 35 knots when it under way and up to full speed. I ventured out on the sun deck and it was quite windy as we had a 20 knot headwind. The trip across the lake takes 2 and 1/2 hours and was very relaxing.

The port in Milwaukee is right near downtown and getting off the ferry happens quickly so be sure you have a plan when you get off. We didn't and we had to stop in a neighborhood a few blocks from the dock. We were heading for a hotel a little south of the airport and even though I have spent a lot of time in Milwaukee I had no idea where I was. Thank goodness for my girlfriends Ipad. 30 minutes later and a whole bunch of stoplights and traffic later we safely arrived at out hotel.
The plan for tomorrow is visit the Harley Davidson Museum and head for home or close as we feel like goin

[cowboyup3371]

Interesting story so far; can't wait to see more pictures. Were the roads at least decent for you (scenic, twisty, etc) after missing the turn you wanted?