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Longest Continuous Motorcycle Ride

dukekaboom

One Man Wolfpack
Can someone tell me what the world record is for the longest continuous or single leg ride? I'm not talking about an "around the world" excursion that includes sleeping overnight. I'm referring to a single ride that includes only snacking, nature breaks and fuel stops (so not much more than 15 minute stops). Is this something tracked by Guinness? Thanks.

Kent
 
I remember several years ago reading on the Iron Butt Association website about a rider (can't recall his name) who went more than 1100 miles on his Goldwing without stopping for food, fuel (he had aux. fuel cell) or bio-break (he had a stadium pal or something). If not THE record it would be close.

From Rider Magazine "John Ryan recently rode a Yamaha FJR1300 outfitted with Metzeler Z6 Interact sport-touring tires from Prudhoe Bay on the north shore of Alaska to Key West, Florida, in 86 hours, 31 minutes, says Metzeler, besting the previous time achieved by Gary Eagan by 9 hours, 30 minutes. While covering the 5,645 miles, Ryan was held up at the Canadian border for about 90 minutes, and made a wrong turn in Tennessee that added about 120 miles to his trip. Ryan said, “I could have done better and figure I gave up about three hours. The bike and tires were more than great. Not only did they go the distance, but with my enlarged fuel tank and extra gear everything is really stressed to the limit. I had over 140,000 miles on my FJR1300 when I started, and it’s still under warranty. Over 100 people helped me on this trip, and I’m indebted to them all and Metzeler and Yamaha.”
 
I remembered the coast to coast ride. Here is the article

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) June 26, 2008

San Diego BMW Motorcycles in San Diego, CA, is excited to share the recent news of one determined man's journey, successfully accomplished.

His name is Gary Orr, and he is the co-owner of San Diego BMW Motorcycles. For the last few months, Gary had been carefully orchestrating a trip from California to Florida, which began June 11, 2008, and concluded June 12, 2008. He rode a BMW K 1200 LT motorcycle equipped with SPOT GPS and XM Satellite Radio. He towed a trailer which carried 75 gallons of gas; this amount of gasoline provided him with enough fuel for the entire cross-country trip. Gary's incentive behind the project was to be the first human in history to travel from California to Florida, without stopping- for anything. This meant no interruptions of travel for food, sleep, restroom, traffic lights, traffic, road construction, border patrol, police, weather or any other variable of fate.

The one man show began in a public parking lot in Ocean Beach (San Diego) CA, and ended 35 hours later in Madison, Florida. He wore a BMW Rally 2 Jacket that was generously packed with snacks to get him through the trip. In order to stay hydrated, he ran a hose from his water tank that was mounted on the trailer, to his mouth. Gary constructed a unique gas pumping system which used a momentary action switch that transferred the gasoline from the tank on the trailer to the motorcycle gas tank.

According to Gary and his SPOT GPS personal tracking device, he did not stop for 2,232 miles. The interstate 10 was used almost exclusively. At the few stop lights and signs that were encountered, Gary carefully implemented a 'slow and roll' technique, which, at absolutely no point in time, required him to completely stop his motorcycle; he simply just reduced his speed until the light turned green and it was safe to pass through.

While extensive planning was conducted, the voyage made here required, without a doubt, a substantial deal of luck. Gary Orr states that if it weren't for the unfailing XM Satellite Radio that offered him such a large variety of clear non-interrupted stations, and his cell phone that kept him in contact with some friendly supporters of his endeavor, his trip might not have been as victorious.

San Diego BMW Motorcycles is the premier dealer in all of San Diego, providing Sales and Service on all models of New and Pre-Owned BMW Motorcycles, the Parts and Accessories to go with the rides, and the Apparel to go with the rider.

For more information about San Diego BMW Motorcycles, and Gary Orr's achievement, contact 760 Media at (888) 760-4332 (IDEA).

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Contact

Jeff Donnelley
760 Media
(760) 603-8133
Email

Gary Orr
San Diego BMW Motorcycles
(619) 286-1971
Email
 
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I remembered the coast to coast ride. Here is the article

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) June 26, 2008

San Diego BMW Motorcycles in San Diego, CA, is excited to share the recent news of one determined man's journey, successfully accomplished.

His name is Gary Orr, and he is the co-owner of San Diego BMW Motorcycles.

<snip>
Notice they didn't mention anything about any "personal" functions. I think I recall reading that this guy wore a diaper so he wouldn't have to take any bathroom breaks.

That's dedication...I guess.

I remember Gary Eagan's ride as well. The fact that a guy beat Gary's time by 9 1/2 hours is amazing. Eagan did it on a Multistrada.
 
Longest Continuous Ride

Fran Crane, 48 States in 6 days **hours. If I remember rightly.

Do I understand correctly that this individual rode for six days and X hours straight without a wink of sleep? I've pulled some painful all-nighters before and had a 38 hour stint eclipsed by a guy who worked for me who remained awake for 72 hours but we were both delirious after about 30 hours and I can't imagine riding like that. Therefore I have a harder time believing that anyone could ride for six days straight without sleep. Am I missing something or was my question misunderstood?

Kent
 
BBG Hell Week

"Warchild" did a documented 7 straight Bun Burner Golds (1500 miles in less than 24 hours) to set a major endurance record on his CBR XX.
From the CBRXX.com forum: (Posted 7/23/2007)

"BBG Hell Week - Mission Complete!
I just returned late last night.... back safe and sound. Have just a few unbelievable stories to tell about this one, trust me.....

Here are the preliminary stats that are part of the package that will go off to the IBA for certification (so nothing is "official" until that happens):

July 14 - 1,519 miles
July 15 - 1,510 miles
July 16 - 1,521 miles
July 17 - 1,515 miles
July 18 - 1,526 miles
July 19 - 1,518 miles
July 20 - 1,527 miles

States covered: California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah

TOTAL MILEAGE: 10,636 miles
TOTAL TIME: 6 days, 23 hours, 28 minutes

We have all the fuel logs, odometer readings, witness forms and Star-Traxx details that should substantiate all 7 days with no problems.

And after a nice hot shower.... I am worse off than before! I went to bed and slept for 10 hours straight after this photo was taken: "

He did the 1500+ miles each day and returned to the same place each night where his buddy serviced the bike as needed while Warchild took a sleep break between BBGs. An awesome ride!
 
Iron Man Fred Ham

How about this guy? (Pre Interstate system and an era of many unpaved roads)

From AMA Hall of Fame website:

"Fred "Iron Man" Ham was an early off-road racer, but became best known as a record-breaking long-distance rider of the 1930s. In 1936, Ham briefly revived interest in the almost-forgotten Three-Flag Record by riding from Canada to Mexico in just over 28 hours. A year later, Ham’s 24-hour solo record of 1,825 miles set on the Muroc Dry Lake (now part of Edwards Air Force Base) in 1937 spurred sales of Harley-Davidson’s newly designed EL-model, better known as the Knucklehead, and helped the company break out of the Depression sales slump.

Ham loved riding his motorcycles. He was seemingly in perpetual motion. Many people belived he became a motorcycle police officer so he could ride more. He once put his wife on a train to Chicago to visit relatives. When she stepped off the train in Chicago, Ham was there to greet her, having ridden from Los Angeles to Chicago just for the fun of it. He also was active in his local club and even served as commissioner of AMA district 37.

In April of 1937, Ham and a team of friends took a Harley to Muroc Dry Lake to attempt to break the 24-hour mileage record. In the months before the record attempt, Ham swam every night at a local YMCA and dropped from 210 to 180 pounds. He was also coached by former board track racing great Fred Ludlow on how to ride in the most aerodynamic position. Ludlow also taught him to relax his hands and arms while riding, something that would be very important over 24 hours of riding.

A giant, five-mile oval was laid out and Ham made several 100-mile trial runs. Bill Graves would then completely tear down the engine to check for any weak points. The airbox intake was re-routed higher to keep from taking in the dry lake dust, but other than that change and polishing of every engine part, the machine was stock.

Temperatures on the dry lake would vary from 30 degrees at night to the 90s during the day. Pot flares were ignited at night to mark the course. A full crew was assembled and an AMA referee was on hand to officiate the run. Ham began the record attempt at 2:20 in the afternoon. He had already been up for 24 hours by this time and Roy Artley and Fred Ludlow stood ready as relief riders should Ham need assistance.

Ham was to ride between 90 and 100 mph average. Signal boards were made to let him know if he needed to speed up, slow down or maintain his average. The crew later complained that it was almost always the slow down sign that was displayed.

The record run almost ended early in disaster. At the first pit stop, Ham overran the pit crew and hit a camera stand. Fortunately no damage was done and Ham re-entered the course. Throughout the 24 hours, the crew battled to overcome several mechanical problems. At one point, the primary chain stretched, overheated and had to be replaced. Because of the load created by the frozen primary chain the engine overheated and sparkplugs had to be replaced. In addition, several members of the crew fought to shovel loose sand off the vast course in places were the big Harley had broken through the hard crust of the lakebed. Despite these problems, Ham established a new 24-hour mileage record of 1,825 miles along with 44 other speed and distance records.
 
Gary Eagan SF to NY Ducati ST$ - 37 hrs!

From Ducati:

Cupertino, CA - Ducati North America announces the official donation to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum of the “Iron Butt” ST4, ridden by Gary Eagan from 2000-2002 to several endurance records.

The ST4 was originally delivered to Gary Eagan by Ducati North America in 2000 as a brand new motorcycle with zero miles. It was viewed as an ideal platform for Gary to use for his record setting long distance endurance rides.

The most prestigious record Gary set on this motorcycle was a ride from San Francisco to New York City, which he did in an astonishing 36 hours and 57 minutes. After accomplishing that monumental task, Gary used the ST4 to compete in approximately 10 endurance competitions of 24 hours or longer, winning nine of them.

When asked about the durability of his Ducati, Gary stated, “The bike had one mechanical problem, a broken engine bolt when 92,000 miles rolled around. It was ridden hard and performed far better than one might imagine, considering the abuse I gave it. I also rode the bike throughout Alaska, parts of the Haul Road and Top of the World Highway (all dirt), down through Chicken and on to Tok. That is the machine that really popped my eyeballs out of my skull when it came to enjoying long distance riding.”

Ducati chose the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum as an ideal home for this motorcycle due to its prestigious collection and appreciation of the Ducati brand.
 
Best I ever did was in 1981; Marathon in the Florida Keys to Charleston, SC non-stop, spent a day with a girl I was dating and then turned around the next day and went back.

I was in love.


By the way, still have the bike I rode there on (1981 CB750F) and the girl!
 
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Longest Continuous Ride

Thank you to all that answered... I learned something new with each response. Funny how "love" can make you do crazy things (not that riding a motorcycle for extended periods of time should be considered crazy). Also interesting are the number of characters that motorcycling attracts... people with some very colorful lives. You gotta love that!

Kent

P.S. The number that stuck in my head from discussions I'd had in the past was that it was something like >1,500. The fact that some poor sick bastard did a week's worth of these is absolutely amazing. Sounds like I have a lot of conditioning work to do.
 
Originally Posted by martinPH
Fran Crane, 48 States in 6 days **hours. If I remember rightly.


Do I understand correctly that this individual rode for six days and X hours straight without a wink of sleep? I've pulled some painful all-nighters before and had a 38 hour stint eclipsed by a guy who worked for me who remained awake for 72 hours but we were both delirious after about 30 hours and I can't imagine riding like that. Therefore I have a harder time believing that anyone could ride for six days straight without sleep. Am I missing something or was my question misunderstood?

Kent

Kent,
Actually Fran Crane & Mike Kneebone held the record for visiting all 48 states, in 1988.
Ron Ayres broke their record in 1998 by accomplishing the task in 6 days, 31 minutes-beating the previous record by more than 12 hours.
He began his ride in Maine, and ended it in Washington St. Then left for Hyder Alaska, and made the ride a 49/7 by arriving in Hyder in 7 days, 20 minutes. (8798 mi.) There were 90 fuel stops, and he averaged 52.4 mph for the entire week. There was a little over 18 hours of sleep during his ride, and 14 hours of sleep included in 4 motel stops.

A great read is "Against the Clock" by Ron Ayres which details the story of his epic ride. The number of people nationwide which Ron was able to involve in his attempt is an equal story to his amazing ride!

And regarding Guiness, not any longer. According to Rons book, the would not certify his ride feeling that it was unsafe and not something they wanted to promote any longer. They did however list the ride of F.Crane & Mr. Kneebone.

Ken F
 
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