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Sifo
| | Posted on Friday, June 08, 2012 - 11:39 am: | 
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No, we're past Duluth. We're stuck in da UP, eh. |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Friday, June 08, 2012 - 01:14 pm: |
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Ah, oh well. Hey, you get to test your new suits' waterproofness!! |
Sifo
| | Posted on Friday, June 08, 2012 - 01:25 pm: |
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I'm not even sure about that. It's clearing up nicely and tomorrow is supposed to be hot and sunny. I plan to have them check my running voltage before I just smoke another battery. I really hope the root cause isn't the regulator. |
Firemanjim
| | Posted on Friday, June 08, 2012 - 05:12 pm: |
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On my third set of pants, shrunk a bit so sold my too big ones and crash tested the second set. Sent them in for repairs but bought a set of leftovers while waiting. Don't care for the jackets as I like mine with more collar and liners. But the pants---love em!! |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Friday, June 08, 2012 - 05:47 pm: |
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Congratulations, Jim! Most of us have problems with our Aerostich suits shrinking. You got the ones that GREW! |
Sifo
| | Posted on Friday, June 08, 2012 - 06:53 pm: |
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Got the bike running and checked the voltage. 30 volts is not good. Wont see a voltage regulator until Tuesday at the earliest. At least I did get a good source on an upgraded regulator that fixes one of the weak points of the Sprint ST. Looks like we will be looking for things to do locally for a few days. |
Crusty
| | Posted on Friday, June 08, 2012 - 09:58 pm: |
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A Triumph with an electrical problem? That never happened in the '60s and '70s when I rode them. |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Friday, June 08, 2012 - 10:47 pm: |
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Luftkoph
| | Posted on Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 12:17 am: |
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were in the up are you,if you need any kind of assistance let me know |
Prior
| | Posted on Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 01:36 am: |
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I wore an Aerostich Roadcrafter 1 piece across the continent and loved it. It shrunk(cough), and a bought a few lesser quality pieces over the years and ended up going back to Aerostich.
My current riding gear is a Roadcrafter High Viz jacket and Vanson full perf leather jacket for the top, and Aero AD1 pants or Roadcrafter pants for the bottoms, and have pair of Aero Combat Touring Boots Tall and Short. Mix and match for what works best for the conditions and what I expect. Commuting- the Roadcrafter parts zipped together for quick in and out and all weather. Road trip? Roadcrafter jacket and AD1 pants. It's not great for everything, but great for what Mother Nature will throw at you. Andy Goldfine and the folks at Aerostich are fantastic people
You won't go wrong. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 07:46 am: |
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Luftkoph, thanks for the offer. We are in Ironwood way at the other end of the UP from you. The mechanic at the Polaris dealer has been great and offered any tools I may need. The bike is close enough to easily push there if needed. I think I have everything I need except for a soldering iron. Oh, and of course the damn part. You don't happen to have a voltage regulator for a '06 Triumph Sprint ST? If you do, that makes you a pretty rare person in the UP. |
Luftkoph
| | Posted on Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 08:55 am: |
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oh you are out on the west coast,and no I don't have any triumph regulators. It's to bad you did not make it further east,I would have gladly lent some dirt bikes and do some trail riding.
906 203 0521 cell don't be afraid to use it if you need anything or have problems still on your way east.
classic motorsports in traverse city is a better than average dealer if you are still having problems when you get that way. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 05:02 pm: |
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Pulled the offending part out early this morning just to make sure I had what I needed to get at everything. Looks like I'll be in good shape when the new regulator shows up.
Meanwhile we doubled up and did just a little bit of sightseeing and hiking. Pictures were requested, so...
The obligatory waterfall... Conglomerate Falls on the Black River
Just downstream from the falls
The Black River turns into a harbor that goes out to Lake Superior... Beautiful day up here
There's a suspension foot bridge over the river
Flowers near the break wall
It's a gorgeous beach up here
An old fishing boat, the Nancy Jean, built in 1913
I could be stranded in a worse place I suppose. We've been eating at great restaurants too. |
Luftkoph
| | Posted on Saturday, June 09, 2012 - 09:55 pm: |
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go jump in the lake,the waters probably a balmy 45 degrees by now. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2012 - 06:14 pm: |
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Jumping into Lake Superior isn't really my thing anymore. I don't think my heart would restart. It was incredibly hot the past two days. It hit 88 today and didn't even cool off at all at the lake with a stiff breeze from the south. We did take a lunch down to the river and soaked out feet for a while...
Took some more river pictures...
Did some more "artsy" stuff...
Shot some of the locals...
I might take a dip in the pool. I'll spare you all the pictures.  |
Sifo
| | Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2012 - 10:22 pm: |
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We did our good dead today. We met a lady at dinner who was on a bicycle trip from St Paul, MN to New York. She had flatted twice today and out of spare tubes. The local bike shop is closed on Monday, so she thought she was stuck. I got a patch on her tube in a few minutes, and we talked for a couple of hours. Very nice adventuresome lady. She can continue her trip in the morning now. She's keeping a blog of her adventures on FaceBook... http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Fools-Journey/3527 73708112711
Now if only I can get my part and get going again... |
Sifo
| | Posted on Monday, June 11, 2012 - 03:55 pm: |
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Did some more hiking this morning. Forgot the camera back at the hotel. 
Had a quick lunch and back to the hotel, and they had a package waiting for me at the front desk. Quick install, and it checks out at a nice steady 14.1 volts. Hotel is still paid for here for the night, so back on the road in the morning!  |
86129squids
| | Posted on Monday, June 11, 2012 - 04:05 pm: |
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Thanks for the update, Sifo!
I remember those views over the water on our way to HC'10... still wanna go back there and get a "pastie"!
We'd left the UP before I learned they had nothing to do with strip joints... |
Sifo
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - 10:48 pm: |
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Finished the trip without out any internet. Finally got home and resized some pics to post and try to make some of you just a little envious. 
Leaving Ironwood it was a very chilly morning at 47 degrees. The rain started just as we were rolling out of the parking lot. It never did warm up all day, but at least the rain stopped soon after lunch. At lunch a lady looked at me in my new Aerostich and asked if I was with "air/sea rescue". I just said "no, I'm the idiot on the motorcycle in this weather". Miserable day for sightseeing so we hammered all the way across the bridge into the lower peninsula. Very windy crossing the Mackinac bridge that day. We just got behind a truck doing about 20 mph and hung on.
We stopped for the night at Legs Inn. Neat place for a meal. Here's the back of the restaurant...
And some of the artwork inside...
A hot gulasch really hit the spot after that cold ride. At least the sun was out late in the day though.
We settled into one of their cabins behind the restaurant for the night...
Here's the view from the back of the cabin...
This was what it looked like as the sun set. We were both quite exhausted by this time...
The next day was sunny and a bit warmer, but still on the cool side. Easy ride to the family compound though. We had a great gathering of extended family down at our lake on the weekend. Yaeh, I said our lake. Pretty nice...
Plenty of room for setting up camping too...
Here's a sunfish that was pulled from the lake, then released. Weighed 1.2 pounds...
We got a zip line set up from inside the trees, right down into camp. Well the younguns enjoyed it anyway...
Here's the spread as the sun was going behind the hills...
And a nice big camp fire to finish off the evening...
Hope you all had a good weekend too.  |
Sifo
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - 10:51 pm: |
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Sorry, I forgot the picture of the guest of honor...
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Jaimec
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - 11:43 pm: |
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What? No photos of you in your new Aerostich suits? What's up with that?? |
Sifo
| | Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2012 - 10:05 am: |
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I know, between the time lost with breakdowns and the poor weather while traveling we didn't do much in the way of photo stops on the bikes. In fact the one ride we did get in was cut really short with a fouled plug in Mary's bike and I spent way too many hours getting new plugs and swapping them out with a lack of proper tools. |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2012 - 10:45 am: |
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So, how did the suits hold up in the foul weather? |
86129squids
| | Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2012 - 11:34 am: |
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Thanks for the photos, friend!
Boy do I remember the Mackinaw Island bridge, rolling with a Uly convoy to HC '10... what a sensation to roll that slow, and look down through the mesh "road" surface at all the air between us and the water...
That was a fun part of the trip fo sho! I was beat by the end of the day on the CityX, expansion joints just RELENTLESS, while the Uly folks just floated along, grrr...
Looks like a nice homestead- when ya planning a Bueller get-together up there?! |
Sifo
| | Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2012 - 12:16 pm: |
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Mostly pretty good. I got some water in the upper legs zippers though. I think paying more attention to the flap on the inside of the zipper when zipping it should pretty well solve that issue. My lower pant legs got wet too. Rolling them up a couple of inches would solve that, preventing it from wicking up the pant leg. Both of those issues appear to be addressable by care in use.
The neck does let in some water. It still appears to be a reasonable design that works well, and I think that good selection of what is worn near the neck will influence how this works. Still I've not seen anything that works better for the neck than my old touring jacket. At the top of the collar it has a small bungee cord that can be tightened to snug the collar right against the neck. That system work great, keeping out the cold and wet. You don't see it too often though. It's a shame. It works just like the bungee at the waist of many winter jackets if you don't get what I'm talking about.
It does appear to be a quality piece overall that I would certainly recommend. Lot's of good features and options. It certainly did a good job of keeping me warm when it was cold. I think it will do a better job with rain if I am more careful with it's use.
I did get the original weight, not the light version. They also confirmed that the light weight version was manufactured overseas. I'm glad to support a small business and their workers here locally.
The one thing that gets me every time though is taking it off. I always start zipping from the collar down and it has to zip the other way. It makes sense in how it's made, but I'm not sure I will ever totally get used to that simply because it's different from virtually every other jacket I've ever had. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2012 - 12:22 pm: |
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Looks like a nice homestead- when ya planning a Bueller get-together up there?!
It's pretty much 4x4 access. It would be dicey getting a street bike through the steep trails with roots and loose sandy soil. Entrance it through my brother's place or my mom's so you have to get in good with either of them. |
86129squids
| | Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2012 - 12:43 pm: |
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Hmmm... mebbe Mark and Vern, et al on the Jeep thread can check in! |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2012 - 12:55 pm: |
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Sifo, I always tuck my pant legs into my boots if I think it's going to rain. That works too. And you're right about checking that storm flap behind the zipper... make sure it is in place when you zip the suit up ESPECIALLY if it looks like it might rain.
The only thing I've found that works against getting rain down my neck, unfortunately, is a rain jacket with a hood. That doesn't help with the Roadcrafter suit, though. Other than wearing a quick-drying shirt, I haven't come up with a solution for that. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2012 - 12:57 pm: |
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Of course once I move up there myself it will be easier to do something like that. It has crossed my mind.
Funny thing, but last week I took some roads that I remember being gravel roads from years back. Now they are great paved twisties! |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2012 - 07:21 pm: |
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By the way, I checked on Facebook... despite the devastating floods reported in Duluth this week, the Aerostich Factory is high and dry. In their own words:
quote:With a building full of waterproof riding suits...flood waters couldn't touch us. Aerostich HQ is safe and dry. Thanks!
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