Riders: Deepak Dhar, Praveen Chand, Behram Jamaspi (Motorcyclist Map)
Bikes: 2021 Royal Enfield Himalayan, 2017 BMW 1200RT, 2022 Honda 150 ADV Scooter
Dates: Friday 9th September 2022-Friday 23rd September, 2022
Author: Deepak Dhar (Day 0 - Day 15 Writeup)
Ride Intro
Been all across North America on big touring bikes and loved every moment of the experience. See new places, experience nature and beauty, meet some of the nicest people and so on. Been planning to go to Montana since the past few weeks, however my most recent bike BMW GA recently got totaled due to a fish tailing incident. If I waited for my desired bike, I would have to skip Montana this year. Thought "why not try something different'
So here I am. Planning a trip to Sturgis, Going to The Sun, Beartooth, Lolo Pass, Chief Joseph and much more on a Honda ADV 150cc scooter. Planned about two weeks which includes shipping scooter back from somewhere in MT or UT.
Lets see if i make it and how it goes
Ride For a Cause
I want to thank Back The Blue NC for granting me the the honor of partnering with them and supporting their cause - this is something I hold close to my heart. Back The Blue NC is a Registered Non-profit 501c3 and an organization of proud residents from North Carolina who support our local, state, and federal Law Enforcement. They are a 100% nonprofit and volunteer driven organization and one of their several initiatives is to raise funds to support children and families of officers killed in the line of duty in North Carolina.
Please support my journey AND Back The Blue by pledging your donations, 100% proceeds of which will all go to Back The Blue NC.
Day 0 - Pre Planning & Preparation
Since this isnt a tourer, there a lot of things to take into consideration :
Overall Comfort - No windshield, cramped leg space, average seating etc. While the solution to all these is to get after market parts, my goal wasnt to turn this scooty into a tourer. I decided to not make any modifications to the bike and will ride it stock. If I wanted comfort, I would have gone with a tourer
Storage - Its evident that the scooter itself doesnt come with any storage however surprisingly it has a 25+L storage under its seat. That wont be enough for all the tools and other stuff I need to carry so will be adding a top case. Along with that will also carry a small tank bag (over the fuel tank, between my legs) and will then have another bad on rear seat. That is more than enough luxury luggage carrying :-)
Electronics - There is a 12v charging port in the left front side but its only supported by a 2A fuse. Which means i blew it day one when trying to test my tire inflator pump. Needless to say it wont support heated gear or anything that requires greater than 2A. Connecting to the bike battery is an option but its not very clear on the forums whether this battery is gonna support 13A for heated gear over and above its normal functioning. Also the lack of GPS unit and a music system (yes i am spoilt). Solution - Bought a portable charger from Amazon. It has a 12v DC and couple of AC and other connections. Tested heated gear, pump etc and everything seems to be working great. My buddy Deepak who traveled with me to Alaska thinks the battery should be able to support it. Gonna carry the heated gear battery cable just in case.
Max Speed Test With Luggage - Since I didnt want to carry luggage, I requested my wife to come for a ride with me and she obliged. With her on the bike, it barely crossed 65 and seem to be whining at 55-60. Though my luggage is not gonna the weight of my wife, I strongly believe that 55 should be my sweet spot throughout the ride with the occasional 60s.
Mileage Test - Gonna ride and empty the filled tank which will give an approx idea of mileage. The bike has a 2.1 gallon tank.
Author: Deepak Dhar
Day 0
Glacier National Park, The Road to the Sun, Beartooth Highway, Million Dollar Highway. These are some of the bucket list items to ride through that were seared in my mind for years. I had watched countless videos of motorcycle trips with riders grinning from ear to ear when witnessing the spectacular beauty of the areas of Montana, Wyoming where some of these highways snake through. And Behram announced that he would be going on a solo trip to Montana on his Scooter! I was envious of his bold plan. A scooter, really?
Since my last long distance trip made almost a year ago to Alaska, there were several other trips made by others. Behram, Praveen and Latesh had made a trip to Key West, Florida and made it to the southernmost tip of USA there. Soon after that, Praveen and Sanjay had made a trip to New England and they reached the easternmost point of USA. Aubhro had just completed his solo Coast to Coast trip and he was grinning ear to ear when he returned. And now Behram was planning to go to Montana on his scooter! That is the true essence of a rider, you ride the bike you have. I read through a few of his posts of how he was getting saddlebags and a topcase installed on his scooter; he was preparing himself for the journey.
Over the next few days I watched Behram get ready for the solo journey. He would post regular updates on his preparations on the Motorcyclist Map Facebook group. He had methodically thought of all items to pack, how to setup his heated gear to work with the scooter, what emergency kit to carry with him, the Garmin inReach device that would track his GPS location. Almost a week left before his trip begins.
And then the WhatsApp ride post that changed everything: Sat, Sept 3rd 2022, 5:48PM: Behram: Anyone wants to ride along a scooty tomorrow morning? It was a lazy weekend, a week before Behram began his trip, I thought it would be a great time to meet him and physically see his Scooter and hear about his preparation for the upcoming trip. So I said sure, I would be happy to ride along with him on my Royal Enfield Himalayan, which I have affectionately named Chandni. The bike is also not very fast and maxes out around 72mph and would be a good match to ride with his scooter on Sunday for a few hours.
Sunday morning, I met Behram at our usual rendezvous spot. Praveen also decided to come for the ride and brought along chai in his flask. We proceeded towards Greensboro and we chatted about his scooter and his upcoming road trip. And casually, Behram quips in through the Cardo headset, “Do you guys want to come along for the trip?”. What?
We stop by Red Cinemas in Greensboro where the building has amazing murals painted on it by local artists. Over Praveen’s hot tea, we pour over the logistics of joining Behram on the trip. I had to request days off from my employer, Praveen had a lot of things to take care of as well at home. We reach home with a million thoughts pondering in our minds and most importantly, we had to break the news to our families…
Over the next couple of days, I checked with my group at work and managed to squeeze in the time off for the trip. Praveen was still not convinced to go for the trip, he had pressing work at home working with his son to get his college applications complete. “Many more motorcycle trips would come in the future, but the college application process happens only once”, so he explained to us. Behram and I focused on getting our bikes ready for the trip. Only a few days away.
And so began our trip to Montana. Behram on his Honda scooter. I would be on my Royal Enfield Himalayan, and Praveen on his BMW RT. The adventure began….
Day 1 - Friday 9/9 - Apex, NC -> Middlesboro, KY (332 miles)
And then the day arrived! I had installed my recently purchased saddlebags and top case. Filled my trusty North Face duffel bag that doubles as a backrest as well. I met Behram at the 76 Gas Station on Jenks Rd and we had a few of our family and friends show up to see us off. All of them were surprised that Behram is not going alone but I am joining him as well. And surprise, surprise, Praveen shows up there as well. He is all ready with his bike, he said he just decided that morning that he would join us. Lindsay from Back the Blue also met us there. Behram was riding and raising money for the Back the Blue Foundation as well.
We left around 9:45am from the gas station, saying goodbye to our family and friends. One of our friends, Ashish, rode with us for a few miles before heading back home. We continued west on Rt 64 heading towards Asheboro, then Boone and further northwest. Sunny, warm, clear skies, empty roads for us today.
Had lunch at Zaxby’s in North Wilkesboro, NC.
Entered Virginia and then later into Tennessee.
Stopped by Shook Branch swimming area in Hampton, TN; beautiful lake where we got a chance to relax for a while and flew the drone.
Entered Kentucky and stopped by Natural Tunnel State Park, Duffield VA. Short hike down to the tunnel. Beautiful place where you can see a natural tunnel over 850 ft long and 100 ft high inside.
Reached Middlesboro, KY around 8:30pm where we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express for the evening. Dominoes pizza for the evening dinner.
Day 2 - Saturday 9/10 - Middlesboro, KY -> Jasper, IN (306 miles)
Left around 8:25am from the hotel. Briefly got on Interstate 75N and then took an exit for gas.
Behram realized that the Kentucky Rattlesnake Road was close by, so we detoured to ride that road
Stopped by the Rattlesnake souvenir shop where we had chai. Behram dropped the scooter in the parking lot and had to have the mirror tightened and he helped remove splinter from Deepak’s finger
Headed further into Kentucky on to distillery tours. Stopped by Lux, Four Roses, Jim Beam visitor centers; Stopped by Grant Forest entrance as well.
Then stopped in Louisville to see Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby takes place. Saw the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory
Stopped by Mareno Caves but they were closed for the day
Reached Holiday Inn Express in Jasper, IN by 8:10pm
Intermittent rain through the day
Day 3: Jasper, IN -> Burlington, IA (353 miles)
Left hotel around 9:00am
Rainy day, right from the start; stopped briefly to put on rain gear
Praveen rode by a carcass of a dead animal which was being feasted on by huge vultures and they flew away when Praveen’s bike came close by but the flew off with pieces of the carcass which they dropped and landed on Praveen’s front headlight area. Had a lot of nauseous smelling blood, etc on the bike. Stopped by a gas station to clean that off. That was an ordeal!
Original plan was to head towards Casey but we saw the radar map and a huge rainstorm was heading towards Casey, so we diverted and headed towards Springfield, IN
Stopped by Lincoln Home National Historic Site where we saw President Lincoln’s house. Also stopped by the famous Route 66
Proceeded onwards through a lot of cornfields. Saw an amazing sunset
Reached Burlington, Iowa around 7:30pm
Day 4: Burlington, IA -> Sioux City, IA (383 miles)
Behram left early at 7:30am; Deepak and Praveen left later at 8:30am
Deepak and Praveen stopped by Eldon, IA where the famous painting American Gothic was painted. Saw the American Gothic center but was closed for the day.
Behram proceeded to see several of the Freedom Rocks in Iowa. Total of 99 all over Iowa, done by the artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II
Deepak and Praveen caught up with Behram and then proceeded on to see another Freedom Rock.
Proceeded on further to meet with Dennis Powell and see the Iron Butt Sign. Dennis had completed several Iron Butt Rally: 11,000 miles in 11 days!
Stopped by Sioux Falls for the evening
Amazing sunset from hotel window
Had dinner in Crave restaurant there