Chris' 2005 Iron Butt Rally

Chapter 2 

Preparations 

            I needed to make some rather elementary decisions by the end of 2004.  The number one question was which bike to ride.  As had been the case, when I had ridden from Key West, Florida to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in 2003, I made the decision very early on that money was not going to be a consideration in my preparation and riding in the rally.  Though I am certainly not wealthy by any measure, I am fortunate enough to have the resources to make the financial expenditures that I thought I would need to make to be competitive during the Rally. 

            I looked at new and used bikes.  I also looked at bikes that had done well in past Iron Butt Rallies.  Not only the manufacturer of the bikes that had done well, but what type of bike.  I gave very serious consideration to the new Yamaha FJR1300.  Nancy rides one and that gave me ample opportunity to ride the bike and try it out.  The bike just never fit me very well.  Short rides were a struggle.  Eleven days on this bike was just not going to happen for me. 

            In the end, it was a very easy decision.  I decided to stay with my BMW 1150GS Adventure.  I knew the bike well.  It was also very well equipped and would only need some “minor” additions to make it ready to ride in the rally.  I was very comfortable on the bike.  I could stretch out in almost every position imaginable while riding down the road.  The bike was also sturdy enough to handle some of the most horrendous roads in North America that would surely be a part of the Rally.   Unfortunately, I would severely test the durability (crashworthiness) of the GS during the 2004 Mason Dixon 20-20 Rally a few weeks later. 

            One of the advantages of being in the motorcycle “product” business is that in selling your product, you go to a lot of rallies.  Over the last few years, Nancy and I have been to more motorcycle rallies and shows than we would ever care to mention.  You see a lot of products at rallies, and when you are bored, you buy a lot of products at rallies.  Not everything works as advertised and I have a garage full of products to attest to this.  I mention this in way of an endorsement for the many products that are on my bike and do work.  If they didn’t, they would be in the garage with all the other misfits. 

            I had already fitted the GS with the following accessories when my entry into the Iron Butt was accepted.  Every one of the products worked as advertised with only a few exceptions.  Though no one is paying me to endorse these products, I don’t think any rider can go wrong with any of them. 

            *Aeroflow windshield and half-fairing

            *Jesse Oddyssey Side Bags

            *Motolights, Caliper Mount 50w Lamps

            *PIAA 910 Driving Lights

            *Hyper Lights

            *Run-N-Lights

            *HID High Beam Conversion by Schoolhouse Accessories

            *Valentine One Radar Detector

            *Autocom Pro M1 Intercom system

            *Bob’s Wrist Rest Friction Lock

            *Throttle Rocker (One on each grip)

            *Garmin Streepilot III GPS with 256 MB Memory Card

            *HID High Beam Conversion by Schoolhouse Accessories

            *BeadRider Seat (Of course!)

Over the next year and half, I added the following additional accessories: 

            *Tourtech Luggage Rack (Fuel Cell Platform)

            *Custom Fuel Cell from Sampson Sport Touring

            *Foot Rain Flaps from Wudo America

            *GPS Tracking Device (7100) from Land/Air/Sea Communications

            *BMW Multivario Tank Bag

            *Custom Cover for the Fuel Cell by Linda Tanner

            *Datel Voltmeter

            *Smart Tire Monitor System

            *XM Satellite Radio

            *HID Low Beam Conversion by Schoolhouse Accessories

I also used the following items during the rally: 

            *BMW Rally 2 Riding Suit

            *Schuberth S1 Helmet

            *Custom Ear Monitors by EAR Inc.

            *Gerbing Heated Jacket and Pants

            *Oxtar Matrix Boots 

            With the exception of the Motolights on the bike, I purchased every one of the above products.  The other thing they all have in common is that they work.  I knew that many of the other riders would have many more accessories or “farkles” on their bikes, but for me, these are the ones I wanted for me to be as competitive as I thought I could be.  And as I said, if these accessories did not work, they would not be on my bike and I would not have used them in the rally. 

            I do want to mention Motolight and the owners, Rob and Tina Hollaender.  Rob and Tina are two of the best people you will ever meet.  They are both very dear friends and have supported me through the years in my assorted long distance endeavors.  Their lights would be on my bike, whether they sponsored me or not.  There simply is not a better light out there that does what their light does.  Additionally they have strongly supported the long distance community for many years.  In the 2005 rally, Motolight sponsored several riders including John Ryan, Coni Fitch, Vickie Johnston, Bill Shaw and myself.  They also sponsored the 2003 winner, Paul Taylor.  Every year they donate a sizable check to the Mason Dixon 20-20 rally in Jim Young’s memory to help fund that rally.  Like I said, they are good people. 

            My first rally after getting accepted for the 2005 IBR, was the 2004 Mason Dixon Rally.  I love the rally.  Rick Miller and company always put on a first class rally.  Unfortunately after several good showings, this rally would be my first DNF (Did Not Finish).  Shortly after midnight during the rally, the GS and I decided to part company.  Unfortunately for me, this occurred at about 60 mph on a Pennsylvania Interstate.  After I finished sliding and the bike finished tumbling, I was able to get the bike upright and re-attach some of the parts that had gone flying during the mishap. 

            Remarkably, the bike was still ride able.  I continued on to the next bonus location until the pain in my foot forced me to reconsider.  I decided to withdraw and rode home.  Damage to the bike had been relatively minor.  Scrape on the top case and on one of the Jesses.  I replaced the crash bars and some other minor parts.  The worst damage was taken by my then new BMW Savannah 2

Suit.  The Suit had done its job, but it was trash.  The BMW boots were also a total loss.  I replaced the Savannah 2 with the BMW Rally 2 suit and bought a pair of Oxtar Matrix boots.  A month or so later, the bike and I were as good as new, ready to ride once again. 

            Terry Smith from Sampson Sport Touring designed a custom fuel cell for the GS that brought fuel capacity up to just under the maximum 11.5 gallons.  The gravity fed cell worked flawlessly.  Mark Huffman from Schoolhouse Accessories finished the HID conversion on the bike for both the low beam and the high beam.   

            I installed a GPS Tracker from Land/Air/Sea Communications that would allow friends and family to track me on the Internet.  It would also allow me to be located in the event of an emergency.  Having a tracker on the bike had been a non-negotiable requirement from Nancy for me to compete in the Rally.  I had spoke with the people from Star-Traxx early on, but decided against their system for two reasons.  I did not care for the monthly fee that would continue every month, even if I was not currently using the Tracker.  I was also not interested in allowing Star-Traxx to track me (and make that information public on their website) during the rally.  Many riders did this and I am sure it worked fine for them.  I had my own reasons for not doing this, but more on that later. 

            As 2005 rolled around, it was also becoming clear that my bike was in need of some serious electrical “cleaning”.  I had wires running everywhere, so much so that I could not keep straight what accessory was connected where.  I spoke with Paul Taylor about this and he recommended Roger Sinclair as the solution.  Roger had done the wiring on Paul’s bike.  Roger had also done Paul’s old bike which Paul had ridden to victory during the 2003 Iron Butt Rally.  Sean Gallagher had bought Paul’s old bike and was planning on riding it in the 2005 Rally.   

I had met Roger at the 2005 BMW Georgia Mountain Rally and had taken an instant liking to the displaced Irishman.  Being an electrical engineer by trade, Roger knows more about electrical connections than I would ever care to know.  He is also a pretty good mechanic.  He re-wired most of the accessories and installed a Centech fuse box on the GS.  Though I know the bike pretty well, we went over dozens of problems that I could encounter during the Rally.  We also established a list of spare parts to carry.  If you are prepping a bike for a rally, Roger’s your man.   

            I had set the 2005 Mason Dixon Rally as the official trial run for the bike and to see if it was “rally ready” after all the changes and additions.  By the time the Rally rolled around on Memorial Day weekend, I thought the bike was ready.  I arrived at rally central on a sunny Friday afternoon and went inside to register.  When I came out, the bike was dead.  No power at all.  I spent a frantic evening trying to diagnose the problem and find a new battery.  Nothing worked.  Once again, the Mason Dixon was a bust for the second year in a row.  The bike had failed rather spectacularly on its trial run. 

I had replaced the battery a month prior to the Mason Dixon as part of routine preventive maintenance on the bike.  The new battery had been bad.  The next day I exchanged the battery for another new one.  That seemed to fix the problem, though my confidence in the bike was badly shaken by the experience.  I gave serious consideration to buying a new bike, but in the end, stayed with the GS. 

I became proficient at changing tires with a set of tire irons.  I felt that if I had to, I would be able to not only patch a tire on the side of the road, but that I would be able to change tire as well. 

I created a packing list and stuck to it religiously.  As I packed the bike, the item was crossed off the bike.  No matter what the object was, if it was not physically on the bike, I did not cross it off the list.  Being a notorious haphazard packer, this system worked for me.  Of the 200 plus items on my list, I left none of them at home.  I also felt confident that I knew where every item was on the bike and that I could find it while stopped on the side of the road in the dark, in the rain.  I know from personal experience that there is nothing worse than knowing something you need is on the bike, but you don’t know where to find it. 

I spent the next couple of months riding when I could, especially if the weather was bad.  If it rained, I rode.  If it was hot, I rode.  The worse the weather, the more I tried to get out and ride.  The distances were never great, but by riding a couple hundred miles in “rally mode” in bad weather, I thought I was preparing myself as well as I could.  With the end of summer quickly approaching, I felt as ready as possible.  I would soon see if that was enough.

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