Last year my brother and I rode out to Milwaukee from Central Pennsylvannia. He rides an '04 Electra Glide Standard and I, an '04 FXST. We both have ridden 100K original miles on our steeds. Here is Day 1 reposted from my blog:
Old Iron Run: Day 1, Afternoon/Evening
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 NIV

Affliction due to a nasty sinus cold is akin to climbing out of a slick, muddy hole. Dealing with that sinus cold was no fun, however, when rain dumped on us, I really was having a crappy time, especially when my loud cough would rattle loudly between my visor and face. Wyatt and I slogged through the semi flooded streets of eastern Youngstown. My humor was intact and I continued to laugh like a lunatic as the steam from Ole Girl enveloped me every time we had to stop. Thankfully, the rain seemed to slow down as we navigated west through the gray rusted city. Our steeds made their way up and onto the concrete super-slab that was Interstate 80. Our 72 mph speed transported us further into the dry sunshine that became brighter and warmer!





Wyatt and I were making excellent time-just about tank-to-tank. ...and there was this free spirit...



...a true biker! Note medal! Wyatt suggested that we stop in Sturgis...



...Sturgis, Michigan! Wyatt earned additional points on his evaluation when he suggested that we stop at Maria's for dinner!
!Muy bien! Maria's would be the first of three excellent Mexican restaurants that I would enjoy on this run. Since we elected to visit Sturgis, we would stay off the super-slab and utilize US 12- an excellent choice! A pleasant stretch of Southern Michigan was absorbed by our senses! Our after dinner excitement consisted of a high-speed chase that passed us. The scene was very similar to the "Night Rider" scene in "Mad Max", however, the chasee was riding hell-bent-for-leather on a Harley and a Michigan Highway Patrol car took the place of the MFP unit. The rider had a crazy look but he gave us 'the wave' as he roared by...unfortunate that the batteries in my camera died...Here is a west bound shot of US 12...



Our KOA was located and the friendly owner got us situated in our cabin. Sleep arrived soon enough. I kept telling Wyatt that tomorrow we would Enter The Dragon on the road to Milwaukee...

 

Seems like a nice adventure....

 

They say that timing is everything, which I was reminded of that after recently reading a book about Stonewall Jackson, in our case, however, I grossly miscalculated Chicago morning work traffic; Wyatt and I would pay! Leaving Granger, Indiana was uneventful-we left after consuming a few packs of Quaker's finest. Besides the impending frivolity of morning traffic, I was carefully watching Ole Girl's odometer...






...very appropriate that this should take place in the midst of a road trip! The occasion was documented along Interstate 80. We tucked our chins in and roared into the mouth of the dragon. We were not disappointed with the stop and go traffic or with the kamikaze lane changes made in front of us by cage drivers! I was brave enough to chance taking a few pictures of the impressive skyline...




Our timetable quickly came to a screeching halt, literally and figuratively. Sitting in traffic was sucking up our planned arrival time at the Harley-Davidson Powertrain plant in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Eventually we succeeded in our 'war of attrition' and cleared Chicagoland and entered Wisconsin in a blurr on the bumpy and busted up 'slab that is Interstate 94. The construction was relentless as we powered on north bound; each passing mile was a hit against us time wise. Harley's website strongly encourages visitors to the plant to be there first thing! Wyatt and I skillfully navigated the obstacles surrounding Milwaukee whilst dodging technology consumed-read distracted-cage operators. The nagging question in my mind as we moved forward was this: would we make in time and if we did, would the tour be a dud or a gem?
Finding the Powertrain Plant was akin to trying to locate Elvis at Wal-Mart; you thought you saw him in automotive but then you swear he was over at the DVD's. Well, I had the directions so it was incumbent upon me to locate the plant, except there was a big glaring problem: The directions were not adding up. So, we were disorientated-not lost! My 'smart' phone was helpful and after a couple misguided turns we located the sign for the plant literally hidden by some small trees! The plant itself sat in a concave piece of land and thus we rode past it the first time due to these sneaky terrain features! By the time we located the plant it was going on lunch time! While we rode to the visitor's center I kept telling myself that it will be open for Wyatt and us, after all we both have over a 100,000 miles on our Harley freedom machines and Wyatt rode all-the-way from Maine! Sounds like I wasn't being realistic with myself! The visitor's entrance was just about concealed as the plant entrance. There was a special motorcycle parking area and a handful of riders milling around along with several parked bikes. Wyatt and I tied up our steeds and started to walk over to the steel and glass entrance door. About half-way to the door a patch-holder asks us if we were here for the tour: Me: "Yes."
Patch-holder: "They don't have anymore tickets for the tour."
Me: "Yes! Just the way I planned it!"
Patch-holder: Strange look on his face...
Wyatt recognized my sick, tired-hungry-maniacal laugh, because he was right along side of me through the insane Chicagoland traffic and post-war Wisconsin road construction, the maddeningly frustrating directions-a true brother for sure! My level of disappointment was pretty high but I reminded myself that the purpose of the trip was a half-hour south of us on Canal Street in Milwaukee! Wyatt learned that the plant had underwent some physical changes and that they did not include a dedicated visitor's center such as the excellent one at the York Plant. The most comical sight at the Powertrain Plant was the vending machine set-up next to the security desk that dispenses souvenir patches, pins and t-shirts; I wanted to take a picture but I was busy at a small pity-party! So, Wyatt and I went back out to our machines and continued to chuckle at our fortune. A motorcycle that appeared-to-be from Queensland, Australia was parked not to far from Ole Girl-very interesting!