Milwaukee to Vancouver

Making this trip in August. Need to be in Vancouver for business for a week, figured I'd make a trip out of it. Plan is Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, canukistan.

Pretty much got it mapped out all highway for the boring parts, but cutting through US12 in Idaho for some fun. Hitting Wyoming and South Dakota on the way home. I'm struggling to find cool detours and whatnot along the way.

Plan is to buy a FZ1 and convert it to sport tour for the trip, or maybe just buy a Concours14 or a FJR. Not taking my 15 year old HD on this one lol.

 

Hwy 20 over the North Cascades is fun and very scenic.

 

I have a friend who knows all of the great motorcycle roads in the PNW like the back of his hand. Post up when you get close and I'll get you in touch with him. We can also offer a place to crash in Seattle if you want.

 

Having run many of the roads on your route, I recommend

Beartooth Pass from Mt into NE Yellowstone

Hwy 14 from Sheridan, WY to Cody, WY

Hwy 12 in ID is good, don't forget to stop at the pass into ID and take a picture of the "winding road next 93 miles sign". It winds along the rivers and is more undulating than corners. When you get to Lewiston, divert SW to Enterprise, OR. Now, that's a road. Tight winding corners down to the river and up the canyonside aka the Rattlesnake Grade.
Loop around to Walla Walla, head NW and cross the Cascades on Hwy 20

You are talking about Vancouver, BC? Cause there's that other one in WA

 

Awesome, thanks man. I may take you up on that.

 

Here's the tentative route:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Ken...0a5298adbc0!2m2!1d-87.8255007!2d42.638141!3e0

 

Yes, Vancouver BC. Thanks for the tips, pouring over maps right now. Can't wait.

 

I was thinking. Most normal people going on a trip would just buy a plane ticket, not a motorcycle.

 

Lots of choice's and options.
Beartooth Pass (US 212) NE corner of Yellowstone and Going to the Sun Rd in Glacier NP Montana are bucket list roads imho.
Wife sure was glad I made us go the long way for both last summer.
If time and inclination permit add Chief Joseph Hiway on to Beartooth Pass WY 296 (Dead Indian Hill Rd.)
We were 2up on a BMW R1200RTW and had a great ride. Solo on a FZ1 will be much more better than good.

 

Yeah, uh... fuck that shit

 

Go up 195 to Spokane, then highway 2 to Wenatchee, then up north 97 to Okanogan to Highway 20, which then takes you to I-5. MUCH nicer than slabbing it on I-90 over the pass. Hwy 20 is pretty cool regardless of your vehicle, but on a bike it's pretty awesome. It might add a day to your trip, because you will want to stay over in Winthrop (retro western town, small and cozy).

 

Maybe think about going from Vancouver to Calgary, then down to the US. That is a great drive.

 

Casper, WY is the perfect place to watch the solar eclipse nest year (Aug 21)

https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2017Aug21Tgoogle.html

 

Are you talking about 129/3?

Thanks for the recommendation, I'm gonna do that. That town looks cool, and there's a little brew pub there that I'm sure I could give some of my monies to.

 

Take 87 north out of Billings. Run that through Roundup and Lewiston over to Great Falls (all 70mph limit). Take 15 up to Shelby and over to St Mary's through Glacier across Going to the Sun Road.

As someone already said take 212 across Beartooth Pass and I would then take Chief Joseph Hwy 296 to Cody. Run Hwy 14 from Cody to Sheridan Wy on your way back.

 

Cool I'll check those out. I'm trying not to take the same route back. Toying with the idea of dipping into California and Nevada on the way home, but it adds at least 2 days to the trip. It's corny, I know, but if I hit those two I will have ridden in every state in the lower 48 except for the southeast. That should be pretty easy to knock out though.

 

There's an easy route, which is a great run, from Grant's Pass in Oregon to Crescent City in Northern CA (Hwy 199). It wouldn't add too much time because you could head from Crescent City south on the 101 to Arcata, pop over to Redding, then drop into Reno to complete the lower 48. Great roads in that area as well.

 

Awesome, I actually plugged that city in this morning as a possible destination after Vancouver. There's not a real straight-ish route from there into Nevada tho. I guess that's not really the point tho

 

That's awesome!

 

Wave as you pass Arlington, on your way to the Great White North !!!