Black Hills/Chief Joseph/Yellowstone/Beartooth

[D-Fuzz]

I just got home last evening from my first extended trip with my Steamer.  

I, along with a couple buddies from work, left Friday morning.  One friend (and his wife) were 2-up on a Harley, while my other friend was riding his Victory.  I guess I was the ugly duckling with my cruiser buddies.







We rode about 500 miles in sweltering heat across the plains of Saskatchewan, North Dakota and South Dakota before arriving in Deadwood, SD.  After grabbing a bite to eat, we pitched our tents at the KOA campground and got some rest.

The next morning, we were back on the rode by 8AM, and spent the day exploring with Black Hills.  We rode the Black Hills Highway 16A with the pigtail bridges and tunnels, as well as the Needles Highway through Custer State Park, stopping at Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments along the way.  It took us roughly 6 hours to cover a 90 mile span, but it was incredibly scenic riding with lots of stops for photos.





About mid-afternoon, we turned the bikes west and blasted off towards Wyoming.  More riding in the sweltering heat, across the plains.  As I rode, I kept thinking about the cowboys of years gone by riding across the same terrain, in the same heat.  We had planned to make Cody by the end of the day, but due to frequent water breaks, we came up a bit short and had to settle for Worland instead, about 90 miles short of Cody.  The ride between Buffalo and Worland, through the Bighorn Mountains, was beautiful, especially with the last day sun shining on the red rock of the mountains.  We arrived in Worland around 9PM and pitched our tents.  Worland was certainly a peculiar place.  As we rode into town, we saw a big fat guy on a Harley sitting in a gas station lot.  He started talking on his cell phone and within minutes, there were a half-dozen goombas on sportbikes zooming up and down the main street.  They'd ride up behind us, then pull into the beside us and give us "the look" before speeding off into the distance.  They'd race to the end of town, turn around, and do it all over again.  I guess they were staking their territory.  After we turned off the rode into the campground, they spent they next few minutes doing donuts in the street, before riding away.  The campground was also an interesting place.  The owner was super friendly, but suggested we use a flashlight to check out the grass before we pitched our tents as his horses had been grazing in the tent area and there may be some poop on the ground.

We were back on the rode by 8AM the next morning and were in Cody shortly after 9 o'clock.  After a short fuel stop, we rode the Chief Joseph Highway between Cody and Cooke City, Montana.  What a fantastic ride that was.  Mile after mile of switchbacks and incredible scenary.  During the decent, there was a sign advising 12 miles of slippery road conditions.  We thought it was a bit peculiar, considering it was warm, sunny, no rain in sight.  Well, the stretch of road was covered in "tar snakes" where they use tar to fill cracks in the road.  In the heat, they get soft and very slippery.  My friend with the Victory isn't a very experienced rider, so he had the full-body clench going on everytime we went around a hair-pin turn.  





At the end of the Chief Joseph, we stopped for a bite to eat in Cooke City before taking off into Yellowstone for the afternoon.  Yellowstone was certainly scenic and interesting, but it was so congested with traffic it was tough to get into a flow with the ride.  You'd think that if you'd seen one buffalo, you'd pretty much seen them all, but NO!  Oh well, it was only 100+ fahrenheit in the park, so sitting in traffic every few minutes was a good opportunity to sweat off a few pounds.  We made it back into Cooke City around 6 o'clock and after a fuel stop, we left to ride over the Beartooth Pass.  What an absolutely incredible ride!!  Switchback after switchback, incredible scenary for as far as the eye can see and snow, lots of snow still at the top.  I was glad we did the ride later in the day as the traffic was fairly light, so we basically had the highway to ourselves.  I rode the Atigun Pass in Alaska last summer and found the Beartooth Pass to be every bit as spectacular.









We finally arrived in Red Lodge, Montana around 9PM.  It had been about 20 years since I was last in Red Lodge and things have certainly changed a lot.  I guess tourism does that.  We devoured a pizza in town before riding to the KOA to pitch our tents.

 

By 8AM yesterday morning, we were back on our bikes and making the big push for home.  Another 500+ miles across the sweltering plains to get home by suppertime yesterday.



As far as my Tiger was concerned, it performed flawlessly.  It was loaded down with me, my camping gear, some tools & tubes, a few clothes and other essentials.  On the stretches of highway where we were riding 80mph+, I tended to use about a gallon more fuel than my big cruiser buddies, but in the fun stuff, my fuel mileage was a bit better than theirs.  I was a bit concerned how the bike would run at the top of the Beartooth where the elevation is just shy of 11,00 feet, but no problems.  My Tiger now needs a bit of maintenance and a good cleaning, but it would be ready for the next adventure after a few hours of TLC.

Once I get my photos sorted out, I will post some up.

[Mustang]

It is an awesome ride my little brother and me did that same trip two years ago except for the canada part  :D we went south to Speed Week at Bonneville Salt Flats



when we crested the summit at Beartooth there was black ice on the road in August


the jetting recipe I gave you works well at all elevations doesn't it ? :shock:

[D-Fuzz]

I editted the first post to add a few photos.  My friend's wife was the official on-bike photographer for the trip and got some great photos during the rides.  I am going to pick up a disc with their photos tonight, so I will add a few more then.

And, you are correct Mustang, the jetting recommendations you gave are stellar for all conditions.  the only thing I noticed was at the top of the Beartooth Pass, the bike didn't have much zip, but it still pulled me out of the hairpins with no problems.  On the interstates at 80mph+, I averaged around 35miles per US gallon.  During the rest of the rides, I was more like 45 mpg.  I had a set of 50/50 Mitas E-07 tires on too, so if I'd had some smoother tires, I'd have done a bit better.

I spent the afternoon today giving Tigger a bath, a wax, an oil/filter change and a good inspection.  No problems whatsoever.

[KuzzinKenny]

D-Fuzz Quote ( I literally have 6 feet of snow in my yard   ) so ya finnaly dug yerself out  :lol:  :D

looks like you had a blast !!

Grrrrreat pics  

KK

[D-Fuzz]

Yes, luckily those days are behind us.  Despite the heat on the trip, I can honestly say I never once longed for the return of winter.  It may have been hot but I was having a great time!

[Chris Canning]

500 miles on a cruiser thingy their better men then me thats for sure,great write up for us Europeans gives an insight on the otherside of the water,thought the Trading post photo with all the Harleys was interesting,but keep the photos coming.

[Tigertriple]

An outstanding ride report and great photo's. Looks like you all had a great time.  :D

[Big Mick]

[Putts255]

Thanks a bunch for the report!!

Excellent photos and yes keep them coming.  

I have still to post my pictures and report of Montana but life since returning to work has been a nightmare.  The last thing on my mind is going on the computer at home at night.  

Maybe this weekend!!

[D-Fuzz]

Here are some more photos from the trip.

Arriving in Deadwood, South Dakota at an 850km ride the first day.





Riding in the Blackhills









During the 4 days of riding, we saw a lot of these type of signs



Some from the Beartooth Pass.  We went from riding in the high 90's Fahrenheit through Yellowstone, to not much above freezing at the top of the pass.  We went over later in the day than we anticipated, so the shadows were getting pretty long at the time of day.