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Before moderators step in to edit my thread title, the TWAT I'm referring to is the Trans-Wisconsin Adventure Trail. It's actually more of a route than a trail, in that the guy who planned it out used existing gravel roads, fire roads, 4 wheeler trails, and as many off pavement options as possible to traverse the state of Wisconsin. It starts at the IL border and goes to furthest northern tip of the state on Lake Superior.
I learned about it earlier this summer from a friend who had done it, and seemed to think my Scrambler would be up to the task. After reaching out to another friend who has an F800 GS Adventure, he (Chad) was on board and a date was picked, and I (Dan) managed to convince my brother (Casey) to come, who also has a new Scrambler. So the question was, can the Scrambler scramble the TWAT? The answer is HELL YES!
I'll be sharing the whole story with pictures below, so I hope you enjoy.
Over my 5 day adventure, I covered over 1100 miles. I have never left my house and ridden a motorcycle longer than 250 miles before landing back at my house, and I've never carried more on a bike than a backpack to work, so this was quite a new thing for me. However, I am in to backpacking and canoe trekking, so the idea of carrying everything with me is nothing new. I've just never combined the two.
Here is the approximate mileage breakdown (with some omitted extra runs in-between):
Day 1 — 250 miles — from home to Galena, IL (the start of the trail)
Day 2 — 250 miles — from Galena, IL to a campground in Black River Falls State Forest
Day 3 — 200 miles — from Black River Falls State Forest to the Chequamegon National Forest
Day 4 — 150 miles — from the Chequamegon to the end of the TWAT (Lake Superior), then to our family cabin for the last night.
Day 5 — 175 miles — from the cabin to back home
Omitting day 1 and 5, which were just getting to and from the route, I'd say we spent about 50% of our time on pavement, and about 50% of our time off pavement.
PREP
Bike prep was pretty simple. I had a fresh new rear tire, and I wanted to know how the MT60's would really do off pavement, so I didn't do squat with my tires. I figured a $100 Evotech engine guard was cheap insurance, so I picked one up. I added a Hepco and Becker tail rack, because it's actually the only one made for the Scrambler right now that I figured could handle the abuse (rough terrain and a lot of gear). Other than that, I made no other bike modifications specific to the trip. Other mods/options I had already were a Dart flyscreen, OEM heated grips, Termi exhaust, disabled SAI, and I removed charcoal filter. That's it (and some cosmetic stuff).
I did need luggage. I picked up a 40L Wolfman Expedition Dry Duffel off ebay for about half price. I also got a Wolfman Blackhawk Tankbag. I already own several waterproof bags, of which I used two 8L bags that I strapped to the Expedition bag. This gave me a total of 64L of capacity, which I thought would be enough. In reality, it was a little tight, but I could have left a few things behind too.
Camping prep was also easy, I'm into ultralight backpacking, and have all sorts of other camping gear as well. I didn't have to acquire anything at all.
As for riding gear, I was fine with what I had, except for the pants. Luckily my friend Chad, who was coming, had a spare pair of Aerostitch Darian pants that fit me. Those things are fantastic! I will need to get a pair for the next time I do something like this.
Below is a pick of everything I brought and wore, including the bags themselves. Total gear weight with bags was 55 pounds (not including what I was wearing). The tools I brought added a lot of weight. If you want to see a hi-res version of the image below, click here. This is WAY more than I'd ever bring backpacking.
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DAY 1
The first day was not the TWAT, but rather getting there. It was a beautiful ride down the Mississippi River Valley in the driftless area of SE MN and SW WI. The glaciers missed this area, and it's stunning with huge bluffs, valleys, and cliffs. It's some of the best motorcycle riding in the midwest. We motored 250 miles to Galena, IL to a little campground and set up camp. There wasn't much more to it, even though it was a fantastic ride.
Here is my Scrambler next to my tent:
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And a picture of our whole camp. My brother Casey has the red scrambler and my friend Chad has the orange F800 GS.
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DAY 2
Apparently because of dairy production in the driftless area, there aren't actually a lot of gravel roads. Much of the first day is absolutely pounding corner after corner after corner as you carve up and down the hills. As I said above, it's some of the best riding in the midwest. Early on in the ride, there is a little gravel spur that runs out on a peninsula into the Mississippi River. It's fun because it has all sorts of dips and bumps and a got to jump the Scrambler a few times! It handled it great! Here are a few pictures from the end of the peninsula (mine is the yellow one):
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From time to time on day one we'd get to tear off down a trail like the one below (which had lots of water crossings). I have to say, the Scrambler did great handling everything the day threw at it. As the day continued on, I got more and more comfortable pushing the limits on the dirt surfaces, and the bike continued to reward me with huge smiles!
![]()
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As the gravel roads and trail wound through the forest, there are all sorts of cool things to see, like this overhang that sticks out over almost half the road:
![]()
We cooked our breakfasts, but for lunches we had fun dropping into small town establishments off the beaten path. I always wonder how these places stay in business. My brother is in black on the right, and my friend Chad is in the yellow Aerostitch jacket on the left.
![]()
This is my brother and I enjoying lunch.
![]()
We got into camp late and tired after 250 miles, and I didn't have time to take any camp photos.
Continued in next post...
I learned about it earlier this summer from a friend who had done it, and seemed to think my Scrambler would be up to the task. After reaching out to another friend who has an F800 GS Adventure, he (Chad) was on board and a date was picked, and I (Dan) managed to convince my brother (Casey) to come, who also has a new Scrambler. So the question was, can the Scrambler scramble the TWAT? The answer is HELL YES!
I'll be sharing the whole story with pictures below, so I hope you enjoy.
Over my 5 day adventure, I covered over 1100 miles. I have never left my house and ridden a motorcycle longer than 250 miles before landing back at my house, and I've never carried more on a bike than a backpack to work, so this was quite a new thing for me. However, I am in to backpacking and canoe trekking, so the idea of carrying everything with me is nothing new. I've just never combined the two.
Here is the approximate mileage breakdown (with some omitted extra runs in-between):
Day 1 — 250 miles — from home to Galena, IL (the start of the trail)
Day 2 — 250 miles — from Galena, IL to a campground in Black River Falls State Forest
Day 3 — 200 miles — from Black River Falls State Forest to the Chequamegon National Forest
Day 4 — 150 miles — from the Chequamegon to the end of the TWAT (Lake Superior), then to our family cabin for the last night.
Day 5 — 175 miles — from the cabin to back home
Omitting day 1 and 5, which were just getting to and from the route, I'd say we spent about 50% of our time on pavement, and about 50% of our time off pavement.
PREP
Bike prep was pretty simple. I had a fresh new rear tire, and I wanted to know how the MT60's would really do off pavement, so I didn't do squat with my tires. I figured a $100 Evotech engine guard was cheap insurance, so I picked one up. I added a Hepco and Becker tail rack, because it's actually the only one made for the Scrambler right now that I figured could handle the abuse (rough terrain and a lot of gear). Other than that, I made no other bike modifications specific to the trip. Other mods/options I had already were a Dart flyscreen, OEM heated grips, Termi exhaust, disabled SAI, and I removed charcoal filter. That's it (and some cosmetic stuff).
I did need luggage. I picked up a 40L Wolfman Expedition Dry Duffel off ebay for about half price. I also got a Wolfman Blackhawk Tankbag. I already own several waterproof bags, of which I used two 8L bags that I strapped to the Expedition bag. This gave me a total of 64L of capacity, which I thought would be enough. In reality, it was a little tight, but I could have left a few things behind too.
Camping prep was also easy, I'm into ultralight backpacking, and have all sorts of other camping gear as well. I didn't have to acquire anything at all.
As for riding gear, I was fine with what I had, except for the pants. Luckily my friend Chad, who was coming, had a spare pair of Aerostitch Darian pants that fit me. Those things are fantastic! I will need to get a pair for the next time I do something like this.
Below is a pick of everything I brought and wore, including the bags themselves. Total gear weight with bags was 55 pounds (not including what I was wearing). The tools I brought added a lot of weight. If you want to see a hi-res version of the image below, click here. This is WAY more than I'd ever bring backpacking.
DAY 1
The first day was not the TWAT, but rather getting there. It was a beautiful ride down the Mississippi River Valley in the driftless area of SE MN and SW WI. The glaciers missed this area, and it's stunning with huge bluffs, valleys, and cliffs. It's some of the best motorcycle riding in the midwest. We motored 250 miles to Galena, IL to a little campground and set up camp. There wasn't much more to it, even though it was a fantastic ride.
Here is my Scrambler next to my tent:
And a picture of our whole camp. My brother Casey has the red scrambler and my friend Chad has the orange F800 GS.
DAY 2
Apparently because of dairy production in the driftless area, there aren't actually a lot of gravel roads. Much of the first day is absolutely pounding corner after corner after corner as you carve up and down the hills. As I said above, it's some of the best riding in the midwest. Early on in the ride, there is a little gravel spur that runs out on a peninsula into the Mississippi River. It's fun because it has all sorts of dips and bumps and a got to jump the Scrambler a few times! It handled it great! Here are a few pictures from the end of the peninsula (mine is the yellow one):
From time to time on day one we'd get to tear off down a trail like the one below (which had lots of water crossings). I have to say, the Scrambler did great handling everything the day threw at it. As the day continued on, I got more and more comfortable pushing the limits on the dirt surfaces, and the bike continued to reward me with huge smiles!
As the gravel roads and trail wound through the forest, there are all sorts of cool things to see, like this overhang that sticks out over almost half the road:
We cooked our breakfasts, but for lunches we had fun dropping into small town establishments off the beaten path. I always wonder how these places stay in business. My brother is in black on the right, and my friend Chad is in the yellow Aerostitch jacket on the left.
This is my brother and I enjoying lunch.
We got into camp late and tired after 250 miles, and I didn't have time to take any camp photos.
Continued in next post...
