Leaving tomorrow on a 1800 mile ride. Taking the Ambassador.

[T4halo]

5 of us, all vets, leave tomorrow morning for a great lakes tour. Two nights in cabins and a night on the ground. Two Guzzi’s two HD’s and a Goldwing. Should be a great time.

Soo Locks,  Tahquamenon Falls, Pictured Rocks and Silver Lake sand dunes are a few of the stops.

T4

[bobrebos]

From another Veteran.  Thanks for your service and enjoy the ride!   

[Vince in Milwaukee]

Another Vet checking in - thank you for your service.  I have family in the Soo.  Wish that I were joining you guys, but I have to go make the donuts every morning. 

[maquette]

From another SF guy, have fun Tony. Piece a cake.   

[DougG]

Jealous...l'm sooo jealous.  Please report.

Be well & ride safe.

DougG

[Tom H]

Sounds like fun! Enjoy!

Tom

[JJ]

Safe travels...be alert and careful out there...enjoy and take some photos for us!

[brider]

I, too, am so jealous I could just pee. But have a blast, and I hope you don't get rain! I keep threatening to take my kids to the Silver Lake dunes. Wow, what a blast! 

[s1120]

Sounds like a amazing ride!  Enjoy.

[drdwb]

One more Vet wishing you safe travels. Since your out and touring maybe you could think about extending your travels to include The Wisconsin rally it’s next weekend,and I hear a rumor they have liquid refreshments by the truck load.

[LowRyter]

Saugatuck would be a nice stop

[diablo45]

 Sounds like a great trip! The Ambo is a great touring bike. The wife and I did a lot of traveling on it. Have to get together soon. Have a great time :)

[T4halo]

Well, we made it home and had a blast. The first day we had a little rain but nothing to bad and all the bikes ran great. The guy with the Goldwing thought his sleeping bag would stay in place between the seats without tying it down and this caused a 30 minute delay just west of Frankenmuth.

The second day found us crossing the Mackinac bridge with the paved lane closed for maintenance forcing us to ride on the grated side. This makes for an unnerving experience but it all worked out. The Soo locks, Tahquamenon Falls and Pictured rocks were fantastic.

Third day was a little more difficult. I broke a clutch cable on the Ambo and we had to rig the front brake cable up to work. I’m used to the early Guzzi Loop frame anti-lock brakes but this cut the stopping power in half. I was feeling pretty bad about leaving my spare cables at home. Fortunately we had finished the tunnel of trees and most of M22 before the cable failure.

The fourth day we only traveled 250 miles back to the house. Traveling like the rest of the trip on back roads and keeping the speeds under 70. I started haveing starter trouble when we stopped for lunch but got her to fire up one last time. I didn’t shut the Ambassador down until I pulled her in the garage. She now sits in need of a starter rebuild.

One bad clutch cable and a bad starter but she got me home. Just under 1800 miles in 4 days. Averaged between 44-48 mpg and she held her own when we had to hit the interstate from time to time. 

Great trip and great friends.

Tony

[Texas Turnip]

Thanks from another vet. USN 62 to 66.
Yes, the grated section on the Mac bridge is scary. When I rode over it I was wishing I had on better clothing than denim.

The History Channel has featured the building of the bridge. Try and see the film as it is even more interesting after you have rode over it.

Tex

[Lannis]

The second day found us crossing the Mackinac bridge with the paved lane closed for maintenance forcing us to ride on the grated side. This makes for an unnerving experience but it all worked out.

As far as I can tell, the paved lane is ALWAYS closed for maintenance.   It was closed last September when we crossed it.   

"Unnerving but it all worked out" is what most people find.   You get through it, you don't go over the railing into the water, but you say "Whew!" when you're done .....

Lannis