Iron Butt Association™ Artwork

The Iron Butt Association™ has some pretty cool artwork they use on the Iron Butt Rally™. I regret that I haven't paid closer attention to it.

I recently borrowed a motorcycle from a friend to do some engineering work. He had it up in LA having a custom windshield made. He brought it down and later I returned it to LA. I really hadn't paid much attention to the windshield aspect until I pulled up the shop, met Paige Ortiz for the first time, and discovered I was at Aeroflow!

My son and I got a tour of their facility, learned how they design, form, and test windscreens, and best of all learned about Paige's background and skill sets.

Turns out he is quite an accomplished artist and has been producing the art for the Iron Butt Rallies for some time. I should have been paying more attention to this art over the years. He does these great line drawings and manages to "personalize" each one. The elements of his identity extend far beyond his signature.

Consider this image from the '07 IBR.

The theme that year was National Monuments and as you can see that reflected in the art with things like the Golden Arch, Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, and so on. So where is Paige's imprint? First off is the motorcycle, that's his bike and him riding it. Next is Mount Rushmore, we have George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Teddy Roosevelt or do we? Look closely at Teddy and you'll see that it's a self portrait of Paige. I've been looking at this for years and never noticed.

There are lots more examples of this in past and present IBR art. Regretfully, I didn't take pictures at his shop where he has the originals. I'm going to have to make another trip before long and make up for that.

Thanks Paige for your support of the IronButt Association ™  and the long distance riding community.

Triumph Trophy Handlebar Risers

I was searching for something and ran across an ad for some handlebar risers for the Trophy. Since I had done this job I was curious about the product and read the ad.

First off the $139.95 (plus $5.95 shipping) seemed to be really pricey. Considering that I had raised mine by merely sticking a 1" spacer under each bolt and using longer bolts. I happened to have the spacers and bolts on hand but even if you didn't the cost at a local hardware store would be $20 or so.

The reason I haven't posted about doing my risers was because the wiring harnesses are pretty short. I raised my bars 1" and the wiring harness on the left side was stretched really tight. Enough so that turning to the full right position was initially impossible. With a little tugging and stretching I finally decided it would work okay.

So I was curious about these risers. I thought perhaps they were shorter and wouldn't pull the cables. Not so, they are 1" and the ad says; "does not require cable or wire extensions".

Nice looking risers but since you can't see the spacers I used, this looks like overkill to me.

IBPete's 2015 Iron Butt Rally

I wrapped up the IBR and got home safely Sunday 7/12. I didn't have a great finish but I finished and that was my major goal. I was hoping for a good enough finish for a Medal but managed to make a few mistakes that cost me a Bronze status. Following is a short recap of my adventures.

Prelude

Everybody seemed concerned that I might be a DNS (did not start) but I got in late Saturday (amidst typical New Mexico storms). Check on Sunday went without a hitch. At some point during the day I noticed that somebody had placed an envelop in my top case. I opened it to find a letter and a business sized "Smurf Card". This had come from Troy Martin. It seems that Dancin' Dave has some Karma that is passed around from the original Smurf via these cards. I'm not at all superstitious so I smiled nicely, and thanked Troy for his consideration. I tucked the Smurf card into my papers and didn't give it much more thought. As Dancin' Dave's website says; "It Can't Hoyt!!!".

I broke a long standing rule about LD riding. I made a change before the rally with no time to test it. I'd had my seat adjusted by Russell at the end of the Cal24 rally on 6/15 thinking I'd have at least a week after the service on the bike was completed to fine tune things. The tech at Russell moved me forward a bit in the saddle and suggested that I move my backrest up to compensate. I moved my auxiliary tank forward an inch. I hadn't gotten to Albuquerque before my back was hurting. The backrest that had done so well for 10,000 miles was now in the wrong position. Sigh.

I planned to get lots of rest on the rally. During the Buttlite last year (2014) I was whooped about the time I had a short ride on a ferry with John Frick who is a few years older than me, I asked him how it did it. He said, "I make it a point to be off the bike at least 6 hours a day. Sleeping or planning I'm off the bike and in a motel."  John is a strong rider and fierce competitor so I took his advice and made my plans accordingly.

The theme this year was National Parks. We had to visit at least 50 sites in at least 25 states to qualify as a finisher. Each site had a point value. The total points acquired would be used to rank the finishers.

Visiting National Parks is always a pleasant experience. While the parks are nice, getting there wasn't always so pleasant.

Leg1

A pretty good pic of me leaving the starting line. Dale (Warchild) Wilson made sure I left last with a fond farewell. (my apologies for not being able to attribute this photo beyond Iron Butt Magazine)

I had planned 10 states and 20 or so sites for leg one. I briefly scanned the point values but didn't focus on them since my goal was to finish. For me, the points were serendipity. I should have paid more attention.

On my way to Boulder Dam, I endured 113+ degree temperatures from Kingman, AZ, through Las Vegas, NV to St. George, UT. (several hours). After the heat in the Las Vegas area, I opted to skip Death Valley, CA. I just didn't see that I could get in and out without having some major heat issues which were a factor in my '09 DNF. That left me with 9 states in the plan which I was okay with.

At some point, my route sheet (a 3x5 card I hand write my planned list of stops on) blew out of my map case. Just a PITA to stop at some point and recreate it. However, in the process of recreating this list at a motel stop, I managed to omit the two bonus's I had planned for Montana. By the time I caught this mistake I was at the point of no return. It was frustrating that I was now down to 8 states for the leg.

At the checkpoint I was relating this story to Eric Lipps and he said, "You missed Little Big Horn, that was 3300 points!". My heart sank, I scored 12000 or so points for the leg and the two MT parks I missed would have been almost 4000 points. This is precisely why I don't bust my chops to be a "big dog" finisher. I've learned that I do stupid crap like this.

I fought the position of the backrest for the whole leg and, FINALLY, found the sweet spot 100 miles from the checkpoint. Shortly thereafter I ran into one of those big New Mexico storms with tremendous crosswinds. I leaned forward to lower my profile and when the storm passed and I leaned back the backrest was gone. Sigh.

I met my goal of getting good rest. I claimed the full 8 hour rest bonus plus stopped 2 other times at a motel.

Leg2

Okay this is a short leg in time so I'm going to pick up states. Points are secondary, although I did scan to make sure there weren't any high value targets in my path.

I wanted to get an early start since all of the bonus locations were daylight or less. I only planned the first day. Once I reached Fort Smith, AR. I had no idea where my next stop would be other than south and/or east. I had been thinking all day about what to do for a backrest. It was looking like rain (again) and I had this great idea to get some hot water pipe foam tube to use as a backrest. I found a Home Depot, got the foam, rigged the backrest (which didn't work) and then sat under their overhang and planned the remainder of my leg.

By the time I got away it was getting dark and I headed south. My route took me across the Ozark mountains, It would have been a fun road, in the daylight, without fog, and without rain. With those factors it was slow going and, at times, downright scary.

I had run through some minor storms but never really got wet. The Trophy is very calm in the cockpit and as long as you can maintain some decent speed rain goes right over you. That all ended on my way to the group photo bonus at Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville, Tennessee. (from the IBR Day8 Report)

I had to traverse the Appalachian mountains over more than one pass. The winding, twisty roads, with torrential downpours was almost as bad as the Ozarks. At least it was daylight and not cold. You can probably tell my jacket is pretty wet by the time I arrived.

I managed to finish this leg with none of my stupid mistakes. Lots of time for rest. I even had a great sit down meal at an Outback Steakhouse outside of Atlanta.

My back was killing me. It had actually improved by sitting upright with no backrest but I was still having spasms. I finally figured out that my nylon bike cover, stuffed into it's bag, and strapped on my luggage deck was perfect. By the time I got home my back was feeling much better.

Leg3

I was well rested coming into the checkpoint and got a good rest during the layover. My plan was to grab as many points as I could while finishing up the states and parks I needed to be a finisher. I was headed to Washington DC and then up towards Philadelphia, PA.

As I headed east the temperature wasn't bad but the humidity was horrible. The jacket got stowed and I rode with just my LD Comfort shirt.

My performance in DC was horrible. I wasn't efficient locating the bonus locations. We had been warned that reading comprehension was really important in DC. Half the locations were 10 points and I caught that before heading out. There were 3 locations that could be taken "anywhere within the limits of DC". I got to LBJ's Memorial Grove and sure enough you could see the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial right from this island. I snapped my bonus photos of all three. Then I looked at the map and saw a border on the other side of the river. Shucks, I'm not in DC! So I proceeded to spend the next 90 minutes or so fighting the DC traffic to get these photos. What a putz! I should have called Lisa, or Googled, or something. Here's what the daily report said; "From this sliver of land within the District of Columbia, but on the Virginia side of the Potomac, an observant rider could see the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, the Washington Monument and the LBJ Memorial." Sigh.

After fighting the rough roads, the rough traffic, and the rough humidity I was just too tired and worn out to attempt Philadelphia. I decided to get off the east coast as fast as I could. I stopped at Hancock, MD for the night. If you're ever in the area I highly recommend the Americas Best Value Inn. It's dated but the owner is a sweetheart and for the $55 it was my best budget hotel of the trip.

A bonus that I shot at and missed was Abraham Lincoln Birthplace in KY (some 900 odd points).  I arrived 15 minutes after the gates were closed. Blame it on rush hour traffic, blame it on weather, blame it on road construction, blame it on staying too long at the nice motel in Hancock. Fact is, I screwed up and drove a long way for naught.

The Lost Flag

The Harry Truman site in Independence was a good bonus for me. That's about 15 miles from my Mom's house in Mission, KS and I'd be able to get my rest bonus and a good meal at her house. I managed to make it through the horrible St Louis storm cells (I was now well dressed for rain with my pant liners in place, and the Frogg Togg overcoat protecting my jacket) and headed west to KCMO. I hit the HST site and snapped the photo and headed west. I was tired and had get-home-i-tus.

The next AM I'm packing up and saying goodbye to my Mom and I don't see my flag. Yep, in my haste the previous night I'd drove off with my flag draped over my top case. Sigh my ass! I was downright SICK! I headed back to Independence in the hopes that my flag could be found. I'm about 1 mile from the site when I realize it could be anywhere along a 15 mile stretch of streets, roads, and freeways, My sickness deepens because, up to this point, I hadn't been watching the road. About that time, a 1/4 mile or so from the bonus site I spy my flag lying on the center line of the 4 lane Truman Road! It was worse for the wear but intact! Smurf? I'm still a skeptic but not so much as before. 

The Finish

This was the best finish I'd ever had at a rally. Not based on score, but because it was the first time my lifelong love was there to greet me.

Summary

This was the most rest I'd ever had on a multi-day rally. The shortest motel stop I had was 4 hours and it turns out it could have been longer.

I finished! That was what I wanted. My standing was: 53rd with 57,414 points, a mere 1000 points from a Bronze medal. If you've been adding things up, my dumb errors cost me about 5,000 points which would have moved me up 8 slots or so. Sigh.

My ride home, like most of the trip, was uneventful. I snapped this photo on I-8 somewhere east of El Centro, CA. I thought it was a fitting picture for the end of an era.

IBR T-2

It came together. I'm off to ABQ.

2015 IBR Rally Prep

Friday 6/23/15 0830.

I've worked for months to get the ergonomics of my bike fine tuned and get in lots of saddle time. Now, with slightly more than 72 hours to the start of the 2015 Iron Butt Rally, my planning has gone amok. Here is the current status of my bike.

Yes, those are parts lying all over the garage floor and no bike in the picture! I took it in last week for a major tune up so it would be ready. They found a bad switch which caused the starter motor to engage intermittently. Not starting when you want is pretty bad.

This is what I hate about Triumph, parts ALWAYS have to come from the UK. Parts are supposed to come in this AM and (supposedly) I'll have my bike back this afternoon. It will take me several hours to get it back together. Then I have a 12 hour trip to Albuquerque, NM. I'm okay as long as I get there in time to finish check in on Sunday.

Nothing like being well rested and unstressed for the start of the rally.

Triumph Trophy SE Fuel Economy

When I first got the TTSE in June of '13 I was extremely happy to find that it was quite miserly with gasoline. Even on Nevada two lane highways (read as high speed) it stayed at 40+ MPG.

That all seemed to go amok about a year ago. I have experienced wild fluctuations in fuel economy. From as high as 50MPG at leisurely paces to as low as 30MPG for no apparent reason. I have tried to analyze all possible causes of these anomalies.

Bad gas, ethanol, gas brand, headwinds, temperatures, speed, you name it I've considered it. All of these factors can and do impact fuel economy but I couldn't seem to isolate any one factor as the major contributor. If anything, it appeared to be temperature related where lower temperatures yielded worse MPG.

I finally found out why there was a change in MPG, about a year ago I got a new custom seat made! Now this may sound ridiculous but bear with me. I had them raise the seat so my knees would have less bend. A recent discussion on Facebook got me to to considering windshield height. The TTSE has an electrically adjustable windshield and I normally keep it just below my line of sight.

On a recent trip I discovered that the TTSE is EXTREMELY sensitive to windshield height (obviously if Triumph did any wind tunnel testing they either didn't test with varying windshield heights or they didn't optimize for that). With the windshield fully down I was able to average 46MPG over a 700 mile trip with a moving average of 70MPH.  By watching the instantaneous fuel consumption readout from the ECU, I was able to determine that raising the windshield by as little as 1" would drop 4 o 5MPG off of my reading!

Therein, was the root of my problem. I raised my seat about a year ago and the windshield height accordingly. That also explains why the cold weather was a high candidate for the problem. When it's cold I raise the windshield to stay warmer.

If you have an adjustable windshield take this into consideration if you are trying to maximize your range.

The Missing Gallon (Triumph Trophy SE)

Ever wonder how big the gas tank really is on a Triumph Trophy SE? I know I have. The manufacturer lists the Fuel capacity at 25 L (6.6 US gal). I've never come close to putting that much gas in the tank.

Since I do a lot of long distance riding fuel management is very important. I have an auxiliary fuel tank to extend my range and only buy gas when I need to. My theoretical capacity is just under the
Iron Butt Rally™ maximum of 11.5 gallons. My aux tank is 4.8 gallons so coupled with the stock tank I should have 11.4 gallons. I've never managed to put more than 10.5 gallons in it and I was worried about running out of fuel at those times.

Here is some background discussion about the Trophy's instrumentation. The on board computer shows some interesting information. You can display lots of information but the ones I want to focus on are distance to empty (DTE) and gallons consumed (GC). I've been displaying GC for the last 40,000 miles and have found it very useful and accurate enough that I trust it. Rarely has the displayed GC varied by more that 10% of what the fuel pump said I had put in. This error could possibly be explained by temperature variations in the fuel.

The low fuel light comes on at 1/4 tank at which time the DTE moves to the forefront of the display. The low fuel light and the DTE have no correlation. Depending on what kind of gas mileage you are getting the DTE can be anywhere from 40 to 80 miles when the low fuel light comes on. The DTE will count down and reaches zero (0) exactly as the last fuel indicator bar goes dark. 

After 60,000 miles I decided to conduct an experiment. I have developed enough confidence in the GC display to trust that it was accurate enough to test my tank capacity. I was returning from a 7000 mile journey and was trying to stretch my range so I could get home without a final fuel stop.

My low fuel light came on and the GC reported that 4.4 gallons were consumed. I watched the DTE count down to zero and logged the odometer and the GC. GC now reported that 5.4 gallons had been burnt. I motored on and ran out of gas 40 miles later! GC now said I had burnt 6.2 gallons. I had FINALLY found that missing gallon.

 

Well, it's nice to know there is a reserve but I can only see using it in an extreme situation. When your gas gauge says empty, the DTE says ZERO, and the low fuel light is screaming at you it's difficult to have faith and believe that there is more gas in the tank. [There's a song about have faith and believe "Desert Pete"]

It's a shame that Triumph couldn't have been more accurate with their instrumentation. I'd sure like to see it like my BMW K1200LT. The low fuel light came on when the DTE was at 40 miles based on current fuel economy. It was NOT tied to the fuel gauge. Once it went below 10 miles it turned to dashes. Not ideal but better than the Trophy. I have to stare at a bright yellow low fuel light for up to 100 miles which can translate to 1 1/2 to 3 hours.