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Prudhoe to Key West Record Run
- Thread starter akbeemer
- Start date
O
OUTBACKUFO
Guest
Weather men are know to lie a lot ... in 03 when i was up there on the same week as right now i hit nothing but snow all the way up from Colorado to AK... only had one day of sun the whole day.. i had wet roads 15 out of 21 days of riding. I was at the Fingers rocks on the Dalton with 1 inch of ice coating everything...
B
BUBBAZANETTI
Guest
akbeemer
SURVIVOR
The bike is ready to go and John plans to head north today. If all goes well, then he should start the run on Thursday evening and be back in Fairbanks early Friday morning.
Yesterday John spent the day replacing his rear tire and having a bracket for his windshield fabricated at a local metal shop. Replacing the windshield bracket required removal of most of the fairing. After watching him replace the fiberglass on the FJR I can say that doing the same job on an RT is far easier.
We also assisted Dean and Lisa, IronButt friends of John's. Dean's bike was damaged Sunday 58 miles south of Deadhorse when his chain broke and damaged the transmission. Dean must ship the bike back to SoCal and Lisa will ride home alone.
Yesterday John spent the day replacing his rear tire and having a bracket for his windshield fabricated at a local metal shop. Replacing the windshield bracket required removal of most of the fairing. After watching him replace the fiberglass on the FJR I can say that doing the same job on an RT is far easier.
We also assisted Dean and Lisa, IronButt friends of John's. Dean's bike was damaged Sunday 58 miles south of Deadhorse when his chain broke and damaged the transmission. Dean must ship the bike back to SoCal and Lisa will ride home alone.
akbeemer
SURVIVOR
Wednesday evening, June 3rd.
John called from Deadhorse. A rock punched a hole in his oil pan 20 or so miles outside of Prudhoe. He is getting assistance from one of the shops and they can fix the hole, but he's concerned about having to remove the exhaust with all its corroded hardware. There are some very talented machinists up in Prudhoe with well equipped shops so I believe they will get it fixed. Earliest possible start for the ride is now Friday evening with an early Saturday morning ETA in Fairbanks.
John called from Deadhorse. A rock punched a hole in his oil pan 20 or so miles outside of Prudhoe. He is getting assistance from one of the shops and they can fix the hole, but he's concerned about having to remove the exhaust with all its corroded hardware. There are some very talented machinists up in Prudhoe with well equipped shops so I believe they will get it fixed. Earliest possible start for the ride is now Friday evening with an early Saturday morning ETA in Fairbanks.
H
higdon
Guest
This is really turning into the stuff of comic opera, isn't it? A cracked wheel, a leaky radiator, a suspect windshield bracket, a flat tire, a holed oil pan . . . and he hasn't even made the turn at Prudhoe Bay yet! Even Hercules in his endless labors didn't have to endure tiresome crap like this.
I first saw the Haul Road traveling with Mike Kneebone on the day before the first day of summer in 1994. We hadn't been on the dirt north of Fairbanks for more than three miles when we came upon a couple of Harleys, one with a snapped belt. They were carrying a spare but didn't have a tool necessary to effect the repair. I kept thinking to myself, "This can't be good." It wasn't. As far as I know, those poor guys are still there.
It's a difficult road in a difficult and unforgiving part of the world. And it breaks things --- first your bike, then your heart.
Bob Higdon
I first saw the Haul Road traveling with Mike Kneebone on the day before the first day of summer in 1994. We hadn't been on the dirt north of Fairbanks for more than three miles when we came upon a couple of Harleys, one with a snapped belt. They were carrying a spare but didn't have a tool necessary to effect the repair. I kept thinking to myself, "This can't be good." It wasn't. As far as I know, those poor guys are still there.
It's a difficult road in a difficult and unforgiving part of the world. And it breaks things --- first your bike, then your heart.
Bob Higdon
jcpuckett
New member
BMW stock is going up
Go John go ... ride like the wind ... may the weather gods smile on you and the haul road be tamed under your wheels!
testinglogin
Hogaan!
H
higdon
Guest
Gary Egan of Salt Lake City set the record in June 2004 on a Ducati Multistrada.
H
higdon
Guest
A good start
According to his Spot tracker, John left Prudhoe Bay at 0055 EDT Saturday. At 0555 EDT his location was 345 miles south of Prudhoe, giving him an average of 69 mph average over the most difficult part of the entire route. A subsequent track about 20 miles later confirms the average speed. It isn't possible to travel much faster than that over such terrain (100% dirt and gravel). He cannot help but be pleased by his start. I am frankly stunned by these numbers.
He will reach pavement within the next 90 miles, taking a lot of the strain off both the rider and the machine.
Bob Higdon
According to his Spot tracker, John left Prudhoe Bay at 0055 EDT Saturday. At 0555 EDT his location was 345 miles south of Prudhoe, giving him an average of 69 mph average over the most difficult part of the entire route. A subsequent track about 20 miles later confirms the average speed. It isn't possible to travel much faster than that over such terrain (100% dirt and gravel). He cannot help but be pleased by his start. I am frankly stunned by these numbers.
He will reach pavement within the next 90 miles, taking a lot of the strain off both the rider and the machine.
Bob Higdon
akbeemer
SURVIVOR
He left Deadhorse at 8:55 PM Alaska time, or at least that's his first tracking time. It is 0315 AM as I write and spot shows him south of the Yukon River, nearly off the Dalton. There is nearly 100 miles of paved road between Coldfoot and mile zero of the Dalton. Annie and I are on the way to meet him at the car wash across town.
akbeemer
SURVIVOR
He's On His Way!!!
John arrived in Fairbanks at 0435 hrs. He rode the haul road mostly in rain and his bike and riding suit looked it. Despite the conditions he made good time. His GPS may have paid the price, however, and appears to be fading away.
He refueled, but the pump would not print the receipt he needs to document the ride to Iron Butt standards, and the station was closed. Annie and I will go back later and get a copy of the receipt, but he used an ATM to get a receipt time stamped receipt just in case.
After refueling it was to the adjacent car wash to remove the worst of the mud from the radiator, wheels and brakes.
Mount the side cases.
And then he was on his way!
John arrived in Fairbanks at 0435 hrs. He rode the haul road mostly in rain and his bike and riding suit looked it. Despite the conditions he made good time. His GPS may have paid the price, however, and appears to be fading away.
He refueled, but the pump would not print the receipt he needs to document the ride to Iron Butt standards, and the station was closed. Annie and I will go back later and get a copy of the receipt, but he used an ATM to get a receipt time stamped receipt just in case.
After refueling it was to the adjacent car wash to remove the worst of the mud from the radiator, wheels and brakes.
Mount the side cases.
And then he was on his way!
