So, a post rally write up.
we hit the road at about 12:30 Friday afternoon for the ride from Minnetonka to Duluth. On the way up we took 169 out of town and then followed MN47 to MN23 and then up to spirit mountain. The weather was very nice, perhaps slightly warm. had to stop about 60 miles in to stretch and snap a picture as the bike turned over 1500 miles.
135 miles into the trip i stopped to get gas suspecting that I might get low before the next station due to the excessive load of two people a tent and luggage, but was astonished when the bike only took a bit over 1.7 gallons. Almost 80 MPG!
. I suspect there was bit of a tailwind.
upon arriving at the rally site we rode out to find a nice secluded campsite on the ski slopes. The bike and the shinko 705 dual sport tires handled admirably running around off road on the rally grounds. We decided for a room with a view.
The rally itself is basically a big relaxed get together in a beautiful location. There was plenty of entertainment available, such as a national observer trials competition on site, a number of interesting speakers, and some excellent music, but none of it was essential to experiencing the rally. As for the attendees, I was the only one there with a Royal Enfield, and the bike never failed to draw a crowd.
I would say BMW was the most popular bike there followed by a fairly large number of the usual suspects of the sport touring/adv rider crowd. Lots of KLRs, v-stroms, goldwings, and FJRs, along with just about every other bike out there. Even a couple of Vincent HRDs. everyone was calm and friendly, none of the rowdy obnoxious nonsense that seems to be common at some motorcycle events. Well, back to the pictures.
Saturday morning from the campsite
Sunday morning
On Sunday morning we broke camp and loaded everything back up on the bike
On the return trip we went down WI35 to WI70 and then back into Minnesota stopping at the Burnett dairy for cheese and ice cream along the way. From there we meandered down secondary roads back to MN47 and then home. On the return trip we were fighting a stiff headwind and for the first section I was pushing rather hard resulting in a worst ever 56 MPG. After that I eased up a bit and managed a more respectable 66 MPG at the final fill up. In all the trip was almost exactly 400 miles long with an average fuel consumption of 66.5 MPG. I found the bike very enjoyable to ride, though the wind off the screen was a bit loud around my helmet and there was a bit of a speed wobble upwards of 70MPH on the interstate. Not much of an issue as the vibrations are a bit much in the hands and feet up there anyway. The only thing that could be said to have gone wrong on the trip was a slight loosening of the nuts that hold the exhaust header in place, just enough to let it make a racket at high rpm's. All in all, it was a great trip, and I am looking forward to many more and longer rides on this bike.