I did not ride my Silverwing, I chose instead to rent a GoldWing so I could road test it. What I got was a 2008 GoldWing 1800. It weighed in at just under 1000 pounds and had many toggles, bells and whistles to make a trip smooth and fun. The 1800 engine had power to spare during the entire trip. In addition, even though I did not take it all the way there, it boasted a top-end of 140 miles an hour. You would expect the bike that weighed that much and had that much power to be clumsy when it was sitting still. However, it wasn't. The weight was remarkably balanced and the bike handled at slow speeds just as well as it handled it fast. One additional "geezer guy” feature that the bike had was reverse gear which I found very handy when parked and having to back it out of his parking spot that was on incline. Overall, it was smooth, and quiet, and very easy to handle. Very enjoyable.
In addition, for the first time both my son and I would be wearing all of our riding gear. This means, that we were both wearing chaps and our leather vests in addition to our normal safety gear. Later in the trip, all of that leather clothing would come in handy not only to protect her skin but also to protect us from the unexpected cold.
Now on to the trip, once we got on the highway we headed…
We were briefly in the state of Indiana; by briefly I mean I think that we were only in the state for about 20 miles before we entered Illinois. Nevertheless, we do get to count it out on our states visited board.
North
We ordered dinner and somehow ended up in a conversation involving a pregnant woman and her family on the opposite corner of the bar (who was celebrating her birthday) and a couple that was sitting next to us. Because of the way we were dressed, conversation quickly turned to bikes and riding. With a couple next to assuring their recent adventures and a planned charity, ride the next weekend. Everyone that I have met while riding has been open, friendly, and very helpful. The lady that was sitting next to me had been at the bar for a while and had obviously had a few. It was a little embarrassing as she kept putting her arm around me and her face close to mine -- She didn't meant anything by it she was just being a little too friendly. By the way, this is where we spotted our one and only cowbell of the whole trip. Anyway, eventually our meal came and we chowed down, then went back out to the bikes and headed north again.
The hotel we stayed at was on the south side Milwaukee by the airport. The first day we had written a little over 350 miles and had encountered highways, interstates, Chicago would rush hour, road construction, and tollbooths. At least we were getting some variety.
We went down, ate our complimentary continental breakfast, and then asked the front desk for a couple of extra towels so that we could dry off the bikes. We went out to the parking lot and dried the bikes off. Neither bike seemed worse for the wear. After we went back, grabbed the last for stuff out of the room, and loaded it onto the bikes the rain started again. Therefore, we pulled up under the overhang in front of the hotel and went back to the Continental breakfast bar have an extra cup of coffee.
After about 15 min. the rain stopped, we mounted up, and went out to hit the highway to go north again. It seemed like the entire interstate in the Milwaukee area was under construction. As we were entering the interstate, my son hit a metal grate in the road, which caused his bike to slip. He and the bike were just fine, but it did cause a slight delay as he took some time to gather his composure before we continued. I remember trip so that we would avoid the interstate, and any more construction. As we were about to head out of town the routing did take us onto the interstate for one brief section. When we were on that section, we saw the sign for the Harley-Davidson Museum.
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