Iron Butt Rally 2011 - whipping an RT (and me) into shape

[ricoefamoso]

Don't Over Process the Process

Sounds as though you are stressing and it is not necessary.

Overproscessing things makes one crazy !

Consider what you need for clothing ... supplies, hydration then think about your personal well being and condition ... most important ... the condition of your motorino. Also, your competency when riding with a multitude of individuals ... some are proficient others are A** H***ES.

If you have health issues ... forget about the ride/trip.

If you are healthy ... go with the flow.

Enjoy without stressing my friend !

Ricoefamoso

 

[D-Mac]

Sounds as though you are stressing and it is not necessary.

Overproscessing things makes one crazy !

Consider what you need for clothing ... supplies, hydration then think about your personal well being and condition ... most important ... the condition of your motorino. Also, your competency when riding with a multitude of individuals ... some are proficient others are A** H***ES.

If you have health issues ... forget about the ride/trip.

If you are healthy ... go with the flow.

Enjoy without stressing my friend !

Ricoefamoso

It's stressful, but it's all self-induced.

Not sure what you mean about riding with others though. The IBR is essentially a solo event in that riders are spread out over 2000+ miles at many times. Riders rarely ride together (and then only if declared as a team).

 

[rob nye]

Sounds as though you are stressing and it is not necessary.

Overproscessing things makes one crazy !

Consider what you need for clothing ... supplies, hydration then think about your personal well being and condition ... most important ... the condition of your motorino. Also, your competency when riding with a multitude of individuals ... some are proficient others are A** H***ES.

If you have health issues ... forget about the ride/trip.

If you are healthy ... go with the flow.

Enjoy without stressing my friend !

Ricoefamoso

Oh man that's funny.

First, the IBR is like no ride you've ever done or will likely ever do again. 11 days on the clock, hunting for bonus locations throughout the US and Canada all while riding as much as you can.

I've done three and while I'd be pretty relaxed preparing for a fourth I'd still be stressed, just a different kind of stress than a noob feels. For example while a rookie gets to stress about what he's going to carry and where he'll carry it, a vet might stress over the permutations of possible extreme locations, what leg they may appear on and other stuff like hitting a deer.

Second, the IBR is not a group ride. I've never ridden with more than one other person and those were temporary alliances of convenience. While it isn't a hard and fast rule chances are any fellow IBR rider you might encounter is as good if not a better rider than you are.

I've never encountered any A** H***ES (that were fellow riders) in the Iron Butt Rally.

 

[AndyM]

I'll be riding my 09 GSA in my 1st IBR come June . Started to stress about it but have come to the realization that I'm about as ready as I'm going to get. I'll work with my routing tools between now and then and maybe add a fuel cell but that's it. It is supposed to be fun. If I stress so much it's not fun I need to step back and reassess what I'm doing.
Looking forward to meeting you in June D-Mac

 

[skyking96w]

Expert Advice!

Rico e famoso...that means "rich and famous" in Espa??ol. That's nearly as important as where you stayed last night, LOL!

 

[RogerA]

Hey D-Mac

I look forward to meeting you on the Rally - my wife and I were also selected (each riding our own bike).

Roger

 

[D-Mac]

Hey D-Mac

I look forward to meeting you on the Rally - my wife and I were also selected (each riding our own bike).

Roger

Congrats! That's fantastic! What will you be riding? I assume you'll be riding as a team?

I suppose I should "reveal" my real name at some point.....It's Dean. My students decided a while ago that "D-Mac" would be an appropriate nickname for me.

 

[D-Mac]

While I'm getting ready (code for saving up) to order the next round of goodies, I think it's time to introduce my co-pilot for the rally.

Meet "Addy." I've had him (?) since 1979 when I won a math/geography competition in 2nd grade. We had to add/subtract and point out various states/provinces on a map (in a pair-wise competition). The class winner each week got to take Addy home. At the end of the year they had a big competition among all 2nd graders to keep the dog. I won. At the time it was a big deal (we all loved that dog - even the teachers had trouble letting him go). My friends from back in grade-school still ask me about him.

Anyway, I thought I'd lost Addy for good when my parents split up a couple of decades ago (last I'd heard he was either sold at a yard sale or was "lost" at a bonfire ). To my surprise he turned up in a box in Edmonton, Alberta a few months back, and he's made his way home. I figure that since his strength is geography (including getting lost for long periods of time), he'll be the perfect companion. He also doesn't complain about my riding, and he'll make a good pillow if needed. If he starts answering my questions, I'll know it's time to re-hydrate or quit the rally.

A quick bath, some new thread for his hat, and he's good to go. Now to figure out a way to fasten him to the bike.......I'm thinking a zip-tie "seat belt" and a bungee cord should do it.

SIDENOTE: As you can see from the photo, my attempts to give up caffeine have not yet been successful.

 

[AZ-J]

D-Mac,

Use a Rock-Strap instead of a bungee cord. It'll make sure Addy can stay with you!

 

[RogerA]

Congrats! That's fantastic! What will you be riding? I assume you'll be riding as a team?

I suppose I should "reveal" my real name at some point.....It's Dean. My students decided a while ago that "D-Mac" would be an appropriate nickname for me.

I will be on my R1200GSA and Kathy will be on her R1200GS, we will be riding as a team. We are looking forward to it.

I think Santa will be bringing me a Zumo 665 to go alongside the existing Zumo 550, can't wait to test it out and see the differences. - I've never had such a good reason for buying gadgets

 

[Voni]

I will be on my R1200GSA and Kathy will be on her R1200GS, we will be riding as a team. We are looking forward to it.

I think Santa will be bringing me a Zumo 665 to go alongside the existing Zumo 550, can't wait to test it out and see the differences. - I've never had such a good reason for buying gadgets

Paul and I have such great memories of "riding as a team" in 2003! What a grand experience to share!

Voni
sMiling

 

[D-Mac]

Time for an update.

I've been "caffeine free" since December 25th. Unfortunately, my exercise program isn't going so well. I'll have a lot more free time beginning next week though.

Now that my bike is back from storage (in between snow storms) I've had a chance to more-or-less finish the mods.

Here are a few of the latest pics.....Note that I've moved my SPOT2 to the top of the new topcase. I figured it would be out of the way and get a good signal from this location.

As planned, I've replaced the large BMW topcase with a slim Pelican case (actually a Seahorse, which is a Pelican clone). It actually looks a lot smaller than the pic would suggest.

To attach the "Pelican" I fabricated a small system of aluminum brackets that sit into the top of the top rack (they conform to the tapered shape of the top and cover the holes; I should have snapped some pics of them but didn't). I then bolted them on through some spacers and into a bottom pair of brackets running perpendicular. The case is also rubber mounted via a bunch of rubber gaskets/washers, so it does flex a little, but it's very, very well attached.

Here you can see one of the bottom brackets. They aren't visible unless you bend down and look under the topcase. You can also see part of the top brackets I made. Pretty simple, but effective.

Another look.

I also installed an electrical outlet (Powerlet) that runs into the new topcase.

Here's a pic of the topcase when open. Inside is a sweet new Toughbook-style laptop (made by Getac). Core i7 processor, waterproof, drop-reistant to 7', extra battery gives it 22h of battery life, extremely bright screen, back-lit keyboard, etc, etc. I will also bring along a small netbook in my sidecase. On the right there are various chargers so I can keep my cell phone charged and charge a bluetooth headset at the same time, while I wear a second one (they last about 10-12h, so I'll have to swap them once a day, although I also have a wired set-up ready to go). I plan to remove the foam from the top portion of the case and replace it with a large plastic envelope for holding bonus instructions, rally flag and various other things I might need to collect on the road. I will likely use my tankbag only for food/drink, and perhaps my wallet and receipt bag within the inner zippered compartment (so if I stop for fuel I will open only my tankbag, but if I stop for a Bonus I will generally open only the topcase).

I've also added a set of Wunderlich side case protection bars. These blend well with the Ztechnik engine guards I put on late last fall. Here's another look at the case guards.

I've also added some "finishing touches." One is an Ilium product that enlarges the sidestand "foot." Another is a set of CSS tank protectors from Wunderlich.

Here's a shot of the dueling GPSs. I still have to attach the satellite antenna to the dash (likely a little velcro might do for that).

I've also completed the electrical work. The only major things there was coming up with a permanent mounting system for my fuse box. I opted for a fabricated aluminum bracket that I bolted between the seats. I then bolted the fuse box to the bracket. Rock solid. No pics of that (I forgot, but if there's interest I'll snap a couple).

I have made a final decision about a fuel cell. I'm not installing one on the bike. We'll see how well that decision works out....

Edit: Almost forgot. I still need to install the Ilium extended brake lever I bought a while ago.

 

[flars]

FeButt

If those red things in the last picture are your aux lights, you may need to reaim them.

 

[Theo]

If those red things in the last picture are your aux lights, you may need to reaim them.

 

[SteveAikens]

If those red things in the last picture are your aux lights, you may need to reaim them.

Look fine to me. How else is he going to see how well they're working...

 

[D-Mac]

If those red things in the last picture are your aux lights, you may need to reaim them.

LOL! Also note the perfectly good fuel cell sitting on the self behind the lights. I suspect it probably needs to be moved as well!