We just returned from a tour on our Burgmans, from Calgary through Yellowstone to the Black Hills and back. The Burgies were rock solid, just a great bike to tour with. I'll post some photos when I get them sorted. Regards Scott Fraser Calgary
Yes! The 650 is in its element on the road. I did a tour from central Wisconsin to the Four Corners region of Colorado and back a year ago...fatigue was minimal; mechanical issues, none. Delightful trip - it just eats up the miles. Be going out the door in a day or so for a business-and-pleasure trip to North Dakota. The Burgman is to be my magic carpet; and I expect it will make the business slog...a pleasure.
I was in the black hills just last week for the Black Hills 100. My wife went running the race on Saturday and I went and rented a harley sportster and rode through the black hills. I was really dreaming about having either my XT-225 or my Burgy 400 out there. Such awesome roads and such friendly people. The Harley did the job and was nice.
Once we got there, I was disappointed that we didn't have more time. Had I known, we wouldn't have dawdled so much in Yellowstone. We stayed in Belle Fourche and then Hill City, left our baggage in the motel and toured over some awesome roads. We never got to the Badlands, so we'll have to go back. Very briefly, we went south from Calgary through Great Falls, then through the Little Belt Mountains and Bridger Range to Bozeman, via West Yellowstone to Cooke City, Red Lodge, Jackson and Cody. We saw all the sights and road all the roads. There were too many tourists in Yellowstone. They pose a menace, double-parked in the middle of the highway taking pictures of whatever it is up the hill. Anyway, then east through Lovell and over the Bighorns to Sheridan, then next day up along the Little Bighorn to where Custer met his fate before we headed down US 212 to Belle Fourche. Then we saw Devil's Tower and went down to Newcastle before coming back via Spearfish Canyon and the next day we moved to Hill City, dumped our stuff in a motel and did the obligatory stop at Mt.Rushmore before heading down to Custer on the Sylvan Lake Road and coming up via Crazy Horse. Second day we rode the Iron Mountain Road, Wildlife Loop and Needles Highway, all in the same day. Wow. Next day we rode around the loop again before heading east and homeward. We went west through Greybull, where it was 95° by noon, then across the flattop to Gilette and then up to Sheridan along US 14. It was very hot across Wyoming. Next day we froze on top of Beartooth Pass going back to Red Lodge, maybe 1000 ft above the cloud ceiling riding through a big black thunderstorm. Thay was July 4. Red Lodge was swamped, with water coming over the sidewalks, roads washed out and at least one motel flooded. Fireworks were postponed to the next day. By then we were in Helena, after getting wet again coming through the Big Belt Mountains from White Sulphur Springs. Saturday we went along MT 279 to MT 200 to US 287 and 89 to Valier and then Shelby, rode some excellent roads. Sunday we crossed into Albert and came home to Calgary. Seventeen days, 5760 km. Over the course of the journey, my Burgman averaged 23.5 km per liter, or 56 miles per US gallon. It was carrying me and at least 100 lbs of camping stuff and other baggage. I'm glad the Burgman is a "step-through" because I could never get my leg over that pile of stuff. The Burgmans were awesome. We like to motor along at an easy pace, 50 or 60 mph, but there were a couple of times when we had to go with traffic, which in Montana whistles down the Interstate at 80 mph. This was an awesome ride... Regards Scott Fraser Calgary
We lived in the Black Hills for almost 30 years. It has some GREAT motorcycle roads! Seems that many people only experience that area on two wheels during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally... and it's bumper to bumper type traffic on all the best roads. September is my favorite time in the Black Hills... the tourons are mostly gone, the weather is still great, and you have all those twisty roads pretty much to yourself. Jim
Traffic jam on the wildlife loop in Custer State park. There was about 300 of them in all. Rangers said this was one of the larger herds that roam around the area. image by jasonspangler, on Flickr
We had lots of fun there. We went from Sheridan up the Little Bighorn River to the battlefield and then came across to Belle Fourche along US212. We stayed there for a couple of days, then stayed in Hill City for three more days, not enough time... Still, we saw Devil's Tower and rode Spearfish Canyon, the Needles Highway and the Iron Mountain Road, as well as a few more. This is an impressive thing, Devil's Tower. It's as big as it is weird. Spearfish Canyon was lots of fun, coming back to Belle Fourche from Devil's Tower. Custer State Park Wildlife Loop. We saw more tourists than wildlife, but it was a very nice drive. This was so cool. I have to salute Norbeck, who was instrumental in making the Black Hills a destination, and who laid the highway deliberately so this tunnel would frame the carvings on Mt.Rushmore. We never made it to the Badlands, so we'll have to go back. Ride Safe Scott Fraser
We saw very few buffalo in the park. I'm sure they're around, but they weren't around us. I was just as happy. Last fall we went to Montana and stopped at the National Bison Range, south of Polson. They have a nice road you can drive around the hills and see the bison, except that they won't let you in on a motorcycle. I remember what the lady said when I asked why. "They are stupid, ornery and short-tempered. They are also very big and very fast and if one took a mind to charge you, you would have no chance to get away. You would get hurt." It registered. While we were in Yellowstone, we were (I was) annoyed by idiot tourists who were stopped in the middle of the road taking photographs. Gimme a break! A couple of times it was to let bison pass, singly or as a group. At one point, we came around a sharp corner and there was a herd of these idiots parked across the road, taking pictures of a solitary bull wandering down the centerline of the road, between them and us. The buffalo continued slowly down the road, maybe ten feet away. I was more nervous than him, I'm sure, and acutely conscious of how puny I was compared to him. Large animals and motorcycles are never a good combination. Ride Safe Scott Fraser Calgary
Just got back; I didn't quite top the miles - came in at 2500. But no, repeat NO trouble on the road. There's issues; they pertain to some questionable mechanical work done by the shop before leaving. But Da Burg didn't leave me stuck...anywhere. Had the time, along with my duties, to tour Theodore Roosevelt National Park...north and south sections. Starkly beautiful...plenty of buffalo about; and Scott's comments about large animals, angrily eyeing motorcyclists stopped in tourist-gawker traffic...rings true. Nearly turned around to bolt on the shoulder, but I didn't. Broke the camera, too, so there'll be no posted pics. Sorry...
Prairie State Park in southwest MO has a heard of free ranging bison. I once sat in a pick up as the herd passed front and back. Some of them are VERY big. I was glad I wasn't on my bike :eek1
I rode many of those same roads last year when I rode from Breckenridge, CO to Lake Geneva, WI for Amerivespa on the BV 500. Once I got past the fires in Colorado and the nasty wind in Wyoming it was a very enjoyable ride. My route was Rocky Mountain National Forest then a relatively short hop on I-80 over to I-25 for a hundred miles or so with really nasty cross winds and gusts before hopping off to go east to Crazy Horse. Mt. Rushmore, up to Sturgis (had to pick up a t-shirt to wear when I'm out with my Harley riding friends). Through the Badlands which were more interesting than I had expected. Spent the night in Walls, SD. Very bike friendly town, at the hotel I came out to find a plank and micro fiber cleaning cloth next to the BV with a note saying where the cleaning station with bug cleaner, polish, etc. was located and that the morning sun hit where I was parked which softened the asphalt quickly - the reason for the plank. Minnesota had lovely rolling hills and good small town Scandinavian cafes. After Amerivespa I had to make a business trip down to Oklahoma so left the scoot at Chicago Midway airport for a couple days. Picked it back up and went up the east side of Lake Michigan, took the Lake Express Ferry back across. Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota was a pleasant discovery and broke up the expanse of North Dakota quite nicely. Cody, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons through Steamboat Springs back to Break completed the ride. Except for the plains area in the Dakotas it was excellent riding. The Black Hills were much more fun than I had expected. Go if you get the chance.
