Thanks for the great feedback guys !!!!

Will certainly take the collective advice to change the route to pick up Zion NP, Bryce Canyon etc and dump Needles as a waypoint and pick up Laughlin.Also need to review the Michigan potion of the ride (thanks for that heads up glideridemike)

The more we can stay off super-slabs and stay on 2 lane roads the better which is often hard to pick off the map. The challenge for us is to work out what's super-slab and what's not.

Unfortunately we are locked in to picking up the bikes at Newark eaglerider so the start point can't be changed at this point in time.

We are locked in to our dates and have a total of 29 days in the US so certainly want to make every day count ! Current plan is to do this same trip in reverse in 2011 and slip the dates to ensure we pick up Sturgis.

 

After you go across the bridge at Mackinaw City, Michigan I think you should continue up to Saulte Saint Marie and view that area around the Soo locks. I think you could pick up the time lost by extending your day 4 ride and staying closer to Mackinaw City on your 5th night. The ride across the top of Lake Michigan is nice and there are several nice towns along the way.
If you like American Football, when you go through Green Bay, WI you can stop and see Lambeau Field and visit the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers and their hall of fame. From Green Bay south to Milwaukee you are on a four lane all the way down.

Also the distance between your stop at Minneapolis and Sioux Falls, SD is not that far and there's not much to see in there so I would suggest pressing farther west to get closer to the Badlands.

When you are coming south from Yellowstone NP on 191, instead of taking I-80 east to I-25 I would suggest considering following 191 south past the Flaming Gorge to Vernal and taking 40 across the north of Colorado through Craig, Steamboat Springs and down to I-70 and down to Denver. The ride down along the front Range of the Rockies on I-25 is rather blah and I-80 across Wyoming from 191 is not much either as I recall.

Once you get into Utah I agree with riding through Bryce Canyon.

I am envious of your trip plan and hope you have a great trip.

 

+1 on that my wife and did that ride last summer that HWY 12 south from Torrey,Utah and through Bryce Cayon and Zion NP and on to Las Vegas is one my most favorite rides I have ever been on.It is full of natural wonder and beauty.

 

Thru Yellowstone National Park there is always construction.....when we rode out of Cody we headed west and rode out the south entrance and went thru the Grand Tetons. There are quite a few areas of Yellowstone that are burnt out.....check out there site first and here is a link for construction closures....

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm

 

Check out Route 6 across the top of Pennsylvania.

 

From where you pick up the bikes head north to Milford, PA where you pick up Route 6.
Ride Route 6 across PA to I-79.
Take I-79 south to I-80 west.
Take I-80 west to 11 south.
Take 11 south to US Route 30 east.
Run Route 30 west across Ohio and Indiana.
Just after crossing into Illinois take 394 north to I-94 west. This will take you to Milwaukee. You'll going through the center of Chicago, but that's ok if you can hit it around noon.

From Milwaukee get on Route 18 and head west.

 

Beartooth Pass is an ABSOLUTE MUST!!! Took a trip out to Montana last year and did Beartooth/Chief Joseph Highway, Yellowstone and rode up to Glacier Natl Park(beautiful park by the way), but the hightlight of the trip was easily the ride up and over Beartooth! I get chills just thinking about it...I've heard of people saying that views of certain places are breathtaking and I never believed it till I was at the top of Beartooth looking out and seeing nothing but mountains in the distance, it was amazing, just amazing!!!

 

Just stay off the Interstate Highways if you want to see the real 'America'.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions guys/gals .... all taken into account for route version 3,499 lol

Certainly trying to stay off the interstates as much as possible ... no point riding a super slab all day hey !! Adds to the planning exercise but I think it will be well worth it to get off the concrete where possible.

Cheers

 

I would echo a lot of the suggestions already made.

Utah - Do the Escalante, Bryce, Zion route - If you want a little side trip, go up to Moab and check out Canyonlands and Arches.

Colorado - Avoid Denver. Just another city with busy roads. There is some fantastic riding through Colorado. Post #7 nailed a great route

Wyoming - Bear Tooth and Chief Joseph are great roads. Another poster suggested spending a couple of nights in Cody and doing these roads as a day trip - makes sense. Cody has a great western museum.

South Dakota - Come up to Mt Rushmore via Hwy 16A - if you still want to go through Custer, come down Hwy 87. Specatular roads.

The East - I would also try to start my trip more south of New York if you can. Check with Eaglerider and see if you can rent your bikes from one of their other outlets. Unless you really like City traffic . . . As my own preference (I prefer avoiding big, congested roads), I would start a little to the south, and come across through Kentucky and Missouri - really nice riding there and some fantastic people.

With 29 days and 5000 miles, you will have a fairly short average day. Don't hesitate to put some big mileage on in some of the areas and to plan some side trips.

Avoid any road whose number starts with an I. Like I-90, I-40, etc. Look for both US and State "Scenic Byways" - these will provide you with an immense amount of entertainment and scenery.