I have been getting e-mails from J&P hyping their rally and have really wanted to check out the National Motorcycle Museum's new building so I decided I would make a run out there. The original plan was to head out as far as Poopie's in Savanna on Friday the 28th and have a few drinks and camp but when Friday came the weather was constant rain so I decided to wait it out. I was also hoping to get new tires installed as my rear was pretty
bald with over 5000 miles on it but the shop wasn't able to get me in
til the next week. Saturday morning was still a rainy mess and I almost called the trip off. But the rain started to clear by Saturday afternoon so I got my shit together and headed out to the moonlight fleamarket in Belvidere. Right as dusk was starting to fall I rolled into Marengo on Rt. 173 and took my foot off my highway pegs so I could reach the controls and I heard a loud ping noise and watched my left peg assembly bounce away.
Luckily it was bright enough I could go back and find it but the bracket that allows it to be indexed was a goner. The grade 8 bolt holding it to the motor mount snapped. Now running somewhat later I stopped in Marengo to grab cash and throw on my clear glasses.
Once I got to the fleamarket I plunked down my $4 only to find the midway pretty empty of sellers due to the earlier rain.
The neatest item i found was this 50's PBR delivery jacket. Unfortunately, it was a few sizes too big and the seller seemed to think it was worth $225 so I wasn't buying.
Pushing on I met up with my brother and he chauffeured me around to a few Rockford drinking establishments. They were pretty terrible with the highest low point being $5 rum buckets at kryptonite.
After a late night Steak and Shake run and a few hours of rest I was up and ready to hit the road to Anamosa by 6:30am. With one final check of the weather I gassed up and headed west on US 20. I had a quick gas and breakfast stop at McDonald's in Freeport and another quick gas/stretch stop in Stockton where I saw all kinds of signs for little Cubs field which I had already passed back in Freeport so I pushed on. I continued on 20 until I hit the scenic overlook at Elizabeth, IL. I had intended to stop and climb the tower if it was open but it has been ripped down so I just grabbed some pictures in the access road median.
This one is a giant auto panorama courtesy of Picasa's Auto-Awesome. At this point I was really wishing I had a functional set of highway pegs but I guess one can't have everything.
I made another quick picture stop at the flood gates in Galena.
After another hour or so I finally got to the rally and was greeted with awesome traffic control people and bikes everywhere. I walked around the show and snapped some pictures of the various demo bikes that looked cool.
The following bikes were part of the Bike Show.
This was the best worst demo bike on display. It literally had a TV mounted in the fairing. WTF?
This old AMF harley was waiting for an accessory install.
Here was my sorry looking free lunch.
The Burger was awful so I jammed a bunch of chips in for texture. It didn't help much.
On the way out I saw a few neat bikes in the parking lot.
Luckily I parked in an exit row.
Last shot before I left.
At this point it was around noon and I had been on the road for about 6 hours so I was thinking of skipping the motorcycle museum and just heading home. I took 151 south to 64 and pulled off to grab gas and realized that the museum had a new location and I was already there. I figured since it was new I'd check it out again. The fee was $8 but it was well worth it.
This awesome metric chopper was parked in front.
There were a slew of scooters and smaller bikes in the lobby.
In the museum I first walked into a Norton Racebike.
Next up was an Evel Knievel display with one of his sporsters and a commercial production bicycle.
There was a nice Von Dutch exhibit with some of his art and 2 bikes.
The VW powered Harley was a precursor to Goldwing style tourers and apparently was discovered on american pickers and had also been owned by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth.
Indian Larry bike
Early Yale V-Twin
Easy Rider Captain America Bike and Jacket, The easy rider bikes are purported to be the ones that were destroyed at the end of the movie and were completely restored.
Easy Rider Billy The Kid Bike and Costume
Arlen Ness designed Ness-Tique
This was a chopper that was owned and ridden by Steve McQueen. It was never in a movie and it looked like it was used hard. It was the bike he would hop on and take off to go riding on weekends.
Harley Springers
Harley Delivery Sidehack
70's AMF Harley Snowmobile and Trailer
Sportsters
60's Sportster Headlight Nacelle
Harley K Model
Harley XLCR Sportster Cafe Racer
1976 SuperGlide
The Gelbke Roadog Mostrosity
1960 ServCar
1949 Harley Rat Bike
1957 Rikuo RQ750
This was one of the neatest bikes on display, apparently Harley licensed a Japanese company to make clones of Harleys in the 30's and the company was sucessful for many years as evidenced by this 1957 model.
Awesome Sidecar with jet intake nosecone
Sportster with very 80's sidecar
A Corbin Sparrow electric car was in the hall of fame room for some reason.
1913 Cycle Car
Brough Superior
Indian?
1916 Thor
Pierce Arrow inline 4
Another Thor
Henderson inline 4
1909 Royal pioneer
1929 Morgan
Tribe of Indians
1936 Indian Trike
Boardtrack Racing display
1994 Indian Revival
Excelsior Super X 2000, something tells me they should have let Gomer Pyle keep this brand in his pocket.
Blitzkrieg of BMWs
Ariel
1930 Scott Flying Squirrel
1952 Triumph
Norton
1952 Vincent Rapide
A murder of Vincents
Row of Metrics
Kawaski Z1
1980 KZ1000 with 0 miles
Row of Ducatis
Laverda
Suzukis
Goldwing with Slipper streamlined trunk
CBX touring
1938 Vincent Comet
Harley Knucklehead I would personally ride the shit out of.
Various Makes of Military bikes
Indian, Triumph and BMW Military Bikes
More Vincents
1950 Harley FL Sidecar Race Hack "The Sand Flea"
Drag Bikes
Harley XR 750 Cutaway
Sportster Ironhead Dragbike
The Flying Hog I love the rearset pegs
Enduros
1958 BSA Goldstar
Minibikes
Bicycles room, This cool black bike was a Bowden
The Flying Merkel
Economic Motorized Bicycle
Indian Scout Dirtbikes
Harley Delivery Truck
BSA
Suzuki GT750 Water Cooled 2 Stroke Triple
Suzuki GT550 2 Stroke Triple
Suzuki RE5 Rotary Closeup
Back in the day you could apparently use Demons to sell batteries.
Bizzarely Colored, Bodied and Named 1957 Aermacchi Chimera
MV Agusta
Kawasaki H1 500 Racebike
Sportmax Faired NSU
Cadillac Icecream Scooter, I'm guessing it's a Cushman
And one last Triumph
After finishing up at the museum I hopped back on 64 and headed east. I wasn't quite sure how fast I could go but I kept getting passed by baggers blowing back to Chicago from the rally so I hopped behind a group and made pretty good time. I stopped a few time to strech and grab gas and then rolled through Sabula, Iowa which is an island city in the Mississippi that was created when locks were installed. Then I came to the actual river crossing and grabbed a few pics.
Next up I came to Savanna which was also neat but I wanted to keep making mile I didn't stop but I will return to check out Sabula and Savanna one day. Then, I took a half hour sidetrip to White Pines park so I could drive through the streams but the water was too high and the roads were all closed :-(
After White Pines I stopped in Oregon and grabbed a soda and gas and then I headed up IL 2 to Rockford. IL 2 is a really beautiful road that wanders along the banks of the Illinois river. Here is my bike across the Illinois river from the Blackhawk Statue
Here is a Giant panorama of the BlackHawk Statue and the Illinois River.
After IL 2 I shot back on 20
I mentioned needing new tires before I left but when I got back I really needed new tires.
Shortly after these pics were taken I got my new whitewalls installed.
Total the trip ran me somewhere around 370 miles and one footpeg.
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