2013 trip

[Dragonrider]

All of the rooms are booked, and the bikes are being prepped - departing on the 8th. There will be two RTs, one Valk, and one Hardley on this trip - no co-riders, or trailers, and no camping (we're way past all of that). Riders are 58 to 74, and three of us have been touring together for over 30 years.

Two of us will carry an extra gallon of gas, and a AAA card for the Hardley (:roflblack:).. But the bikes are prepped and ready. This will be my first tour with the Seal Floorboards.

Day one will take two of us from Portland, OR to Salem on the SuperSlab, then off to Detroit Lake, Sisters, Prineville, John Day, and Nampa, ID via Hwy 22 and 26 - our preferred route on a bike, given decent weather. This is a terrific route, with mountains, forests, high desert, small towns, ranches, and open land - and very little traffic. It's not fast (avg 60 or so), but the scenery varies so fast, you never get bored. This will be our longest segment, at 464 miles, something we get to look forward to, on our way back home.

The last couple of times we traveled this route, there were several forest fires, hopefully, we won't see that this year, since we're a month earlier than our usual departure.

Anticipation builds - so I'll add to this, as the time draws near, and a trip report when done.

[SpyderAnn01]

Have fun but be careful about the Hardley cracks they could come back to bite your Spyder. I made a crack once about having packed the tools for my husband's Harley and my Spyder wound up on the back of a trailer.

[Dragonrider]

It's all in good fun - I've put 25,000 miles on my V-rod(s), with nary a false tic - for all around fun, ease of maintenance, and riding position, the V-rod still tops my 2 wheeler list. Other than the SMALL gas tank, and Spyder milage, I never had a lack of confidence in the V-rod or that it would fail on tour - not so with the Spyder...

[mindman]

Enjoy your trip! Looking forward to some nice progress reports!

[ARtraveler]

It sounds like you are all going to be in for a great time. Enjoy your trip to the fullest, and ride safe. Will be looking forward to seeing some trip pictures. :thumbup:

[Dragonrider]

Nine days & counting. Sorted all of the luggage, weather gear, tools, & emergency gas can. Both covers are clean & ready to go. Tomorrow will begin the cleaning, oil change, and other mech prep for the trip….

[Dragonrider]

4 days and counting… Got the bike clean, filled the spare gas can with a gallon of 103 octane non-ETOH gas, new can of flat fix, quart of oil, tools, (shop manual is on my iPad), all motels logged into my GPS, new batteries in the flashlight, tire pressure, oil topped off, coffee mug holder attached, rain gear (never used) packed, both covers packed…. got the frunk bag out and ready… every year, it's the same - anticipation builds until the trip is an anticlimax… :yes::yes:

[Dragonrider]

Packing continues - one side bag has the extra gallon of gas + bike cover, and the other side bag is reserved for coats, vests, etc, as we'll see temperatures from the upper 30's to triple digits. I have the frunk roller bag for my stuff, and the rear trunk holds the tools, oil, gloves, water, tripod seat, and other essentials. The dash bag holds camera, phone, shades, sun screen, asprin, and other loose bits.

Coffee mug holder is on, GPS has all the stops loaded in.. Top off the gas tomorrow, & ready to depart at 0600 Friday morning...

[spyderman051]

Have a safe trip we'll be lookin for Pics as we travel with you.. Keep the rubber down and the shiney side up:ohyea:;)



r side bag is reserved for coats, vests, etc, as we'll see temperatures from the upper 30's to triple digits. I have the frunk roller bag for my stuff, and the rear trunk holds the tools, oil, gloves, water, tripod seat, and other essentials. The dash bag holds camera, phone, shades, sun screen, asprin, and other loose bits.

Coffee mug holder is on, GPS has all the stops loaded in.. Top off the gas tomorrow, & ready to depart at 0600 Friday morning...[/QUOTE]

[Dragonrider]

We're home, so I can write the report, and add pics...

Day one took us from Portland, OR to Nampa, ID. via Fossil and John Day, OR. It was spitting rain from Salem to John Day, and the overcast kept the temperature in the 70's. We lost the cloud cover after John Day, and by Prairie City, we were at 111F to a high of 116 going into the Nampa, ID area. Needless to say the pool at the Shilo Inn was a welcome end of the day.

This section of the trip took us from 236 to just under 6,000 feet ASL (above sea level) - with every type of terrain you can think of. Traffic was light, but included motorhomes and farm trucks, heading out or home for the weekend. As many times as I travel to the Boise area, I will only use the freeway if winter weather demands it. Otherwise, the trip on 26 through John Day is the preferred route. It does add about two hours on to the trip, but it's well worth it - plus there are a host of side trips (fossil beds, painted hills, Sumpter, etc), for those who have the time, or who haven't been in the area before.

Since many of my pics are take while traveling, they are of the straighter sections, for obvious reasons!

Leaving Portland was my RTS SE5 and a friend's Valk. My RT averaged 31.7 mpg on this segment.

[Dragonrider]

Day two took us from Nampa, ID to Orofino, ID - basically straight up I95. We added a RT/AC SM4 and a Harley Road Glide to our mix, and headed north. This section of the ride was pretty, on a two lane highway, with little traffic, however, the last 16 miles were being "chip sealed". Both of the Spyder drivers can attest to the fact that Spyder Pops rock guard has NO EFFECT against the rock chips used in this process. Those chips sounded and felt like you blew the tranny every time one got kicked up - I got 20 or so, and the AC rider got a few more. Close inspection at the Orifino gas station showed no serious damage, after removing a rock from the rear drive of the AC - so we headed for the pool at the BW, and rested for Day 3. This was a fairly mild riding day, but temperatures again in the triple digits.

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More to come.

[Dragonrider]

The third day was Orofino, ID to Sandpoint, ID - with a side trip to Pierce, ID tossed in. This part of Idaho is filled with agriculture of all types, rolling horse ranches, winding roads, and very few people. It is rugged, green, with lots of lakes and rivers - many of which are top category rafting rivers.

We stayed off the main roads, taking the back roads and following the rivers. This was a peaceful, fun workout, that was fairly slow, due to all the twisties. As we got further north, there was a lot of construction - it's obvious that the communities of the NorthWest are looking to the Canadian oil boom to fuel domestic growth through tourism. There were lots of Alberta plates - even in the campgrounds.
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Taking 215 from Orofino to Kendrick is highly recommended.

Sandpoint is full of great eateries, and overpriced places to stay - but is also a place you don't want to leave.

[Dragonrider]

Our fourth day took us from Sandpoint, ID to Kalispell, MT - one of my favorite cities in the Northwest. Flathead lake is nothing short of spectacular - more on that tomorrow. Today took us up to Bonner's Ferry, ID, then down 2 to Kalispell. Highway 2 now ranks as one of my favorite roads. The scenery is beyond description, the road is terrific - by the Little Bitterroot Lake and Ashley lake. If you ever travel here, be sure your fishing gear is packed - it's a fly fisherman's paradise.
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[Dragonrider]

Our fifth day took us from Kalispell, MT to Salmon, ID. Looking at the map, it looks to be a slow but short ride, so we added to it a bit. We headed south along Flathead Lake, then grabbed 35 north, to ride completely around the lake. It's huge, and built up around the entire circumference. While there ARE state parks scattered around the lake, these are parking lots with boat ramps - designed for RVs, not tent or tent trailer camping. We made a specific side trip up Finley Point to the State Park (which looks large on the map), and was disappointed. At least the roads had little traffic….

We hit a bit more road work on this leg - let me tell you, when Montana does road work, you will kiss your Spyder's wheels when you pass it.

Our additions made the day a nice 260 mile trip, finally starting to leave the lush northern forests for dryer climes..

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[Dragonrider]

Thought I might share a couple of Montana roadwork photos:

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We got through minutes before they resumed blasting - which would have meant sitting for 2+ hours…..

[Dragonrider]

Salmon to Nampa, ID - this is a nice ride, full of twisties. The day started cool (40's), and finished in triple digits, for the last half of the ride, along with forrest fire smoke that was so bad, it looked like dense fog - not fun.

This route is a motorcycle legend in the west, and we added to the fun by visiting the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge.. Beware, the trip includes 5 miles of unpaved roads!! The campgrounds in Idaho are expansive, frequent, and clean. While Montana has "cell phone" pull off areas, Idaho (like most western states) has rest areas (with facilities) - even on the back roads!

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[Dragonrider]

Needed additions!

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[Dragonrider]

Sigh - every road trip must end (this was our 15th consecutive year). We decided to return to Portland the way we came - via US26. It's 470 miles, and, although I84 IS scenic, the constant speed, lack of challenging road, and heavy traffic make it too boring on a bike. Highway 26 is so varied, that it never gets old. So back to the wet lands we went. As we started, we got a bit wet, as we returned - via Mt. Hood - we got soaked, hailed on, lightning, and generally chastised for ending our trip.

Now it's been three days since we got home, and I finally cleaned the Spyder yesterday. Today, I'll check the oil, belt, and sprockets (see day 2). But, all-in-all, a great trip - no mechanical problems, no one ran out of gas, other than Portland, the weather gods smiled on us. Now, for next year….

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[Dragonrider]

I forgot to mention that I found the antilock brakes to work very well! I rounded a corner on a quiet stretch of highway, and lo - there was Bambi. standing in the middle of the road, looking at me! Fortunately, my reaction time was good, and the brakes worked as advertised. Damage to both the Spyder and Bambi was averted!!

[NancysToy]

Glad you had a dandy trip.....and that Bambi was spared. Thanks for sharing.