If you had to run 11,000 miles in 11 days..

[ld_rider]

Totally hypothetical question(s)....

What essential mods?

Expand fuel capacity
Heated gear
Cruise control
GPS
Ability to move feet from here to there

Anything else??

I'm thinking moving the feet and expanded fuel capacity...Any LD riders want to chime in??

 

[StratTuner]

Totally hypothetical question(s)....

What essential mods?

Expand fuel capacity
Heated gear
Cruise control
GPS
Ability to move feet from here to there

Anything else??

I'm thinking moving the feet and expanded fuel capacity...Any LD riders want to chime in??

Expanding the fuel capacity is NOT a good idea...not for a ride like that one.
If you're on Interstates, then there are plenty of gas stations.
You need to stop about every 180 miles or so to keep road fatigue away.

 

[silverhound]

A super comfy seat would be essential IMO. That's a pretty hardcore ride. I rode for 11 days straight once but only averaged about 450 miles per day. Can't imagine more than doubling that.

 

[ld_rider]

A super comfy seat would be essential IMO.

We are on the same page.....

I don't think those kind of miles can be accomplished unless you are comfortable......

 

[Old Can Ride]

Rox Riser “2”

J&M Drink Holder

Trackside Aluminum Hand Guard Kit with Shields

Mirror Extenders

Bike Master Power Outlet - One on handle bars, one in frunk

Kuryakyn Iphone Handlebar Mount

Universal Vista Cruise Control

Cramp Buster

Utopia Back Rest

AMS Comfort Max Sheepskin Gel Pad Large

Rivco 7/8” Highway Peg mounts for GL1800

Rivco Anti Vibration Pegs Black Powder Coat

Givi Engine Guards

Givi Trekker Fog Lights

Givi Trekker 33 liter Saddlebags

Givi Trekker 54 liter Trunk

Givi Trekker truck and saddlebag mount

2 Koplin 1 ½ gal Fuel Pack Jr with Mount

¾ Square tube Homemade Gas tank mounts

4 Tooltubes mounted Inside Givi Racks and on gas rack

Honda Center Stand

Hepco & Becker Skid Plate

First gear DC Coax Jack Panel Mount w/ 8in Coax Plug Cable

F-4 Interphone communications Head Set

Iphone

First Gear Laguna Mini Hard Tank Bag

Eddie Copeland Seat

National Cycle Vsteam Touring Tall Clear Windshield

Compass

Knight Design 25mm Drop Foot Pegs

Warm and Safe Electronic Rider Gear

Cycleport Riding Gear

Gaerne Touring Adventure Boots

Marmot Limelight 3P Tent

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm Sleeping pad

Sleeping pad pillow

Camping Chair

Givi 80 Liter Waterproof Roll Bag

Go Pro Hero Video Camera With many mounts

AFX F-140 Helmet with Maric Performance Invision Insert

Portable Computer

Anything else I would not take to keep weight down?

 

[670cc]

This may sound silly but it's extremely important: Proper underwear ranks right up there with having a good motorcycle seat.

Cruise control would be very low on my list but obviously you have sorted it out.

I would plan on using only the stock fuel tank capacity but have an extra gallon RotopaX for emergencies.

 

[DanH]

wow, 11K in 11 days. I think you'd be sleep deprived and half hallucinatory by the 5th day or so - At best those are 16-18 hour days every day with 90 minutes in start/stop so that is 5 to 6 hours of sleep max each day - which is doable if its good sleep. If your are camping or staying in cheap motels, you might not get good sleep. You're a better man than me for even seriously considering it.

 

[Fuzzy]

Sounds like an Iron Butt Rally. Great story about it in book titled "Hopeless Class"

 

[kpinvt]

Yes to all of them.

2015 is is an odd numbered year and the Iron Butt Rally is run in odd numbered years.


My one and only Saddle Sore 1000 I did on my 2003 Honda Silver Wing scooter in 2008. One of the best things about that bike as a long distance mount was the ability to move around and stretch while under way, so the ability to move your feet from several different points would be a great help. The seat would be the number one mod for me. I had the seat on the SWing done by Spencer at Great Day To Ride. At the end of the ride the only thing not aching was my butt. I think building a routine of moves while riding would be important, not to get locked into one riding position. Waterproof boots: I was very surprised when following an IBR that left the starting point in a downpour, with heavy rains for the first day or two, there was one poor fellow who was stopped for something and had taken his boots off and placed them over his twin exhaust pipes to dry them out.

 

[kpinvt]

wow, 11K in 11 days. I think you'd be sleep deprived and half hallucinatory by the 5th day or so - At best those are 16-18 hour days every day with 90 minutes in start/stop so that is 5 to 6 hours of sleep max each day - which is doable if its good sleep. If your are camping or staying in cheap motels, you might not get good sleep. You're a better man than me for even seriously considering it.

It takes practice, practice, practice.

Very good article on fatigue:
http://members.triton.net/vandenbe/Fatigue & MotorcycleTouring.pdf

Another one:
http://wwamo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MotorOfficersandRiderFatigue.pdf

 

[dduelin]

After doing a few less extreme LD rides my view is the NCX needs additional fuel capacity for extreme IBA events as it loses too much time to gas stops and better wind management to reduce physical stress on the rider and better cope with adverse weather.

 

[Jelly]

Fill the Frunk with red bull.

Put on helmet and gloves.

Go!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, 11k in 11 days?

You are either hardcore or just mental?

 

[Xamper]

beaded seat, comfy ear plugs, good tunes, camelbak, auto chain oiler & good rain gear

 

[Agent]

At this point, any advice from me would be coming from an armchair quarterback. Knowing my attention span and the fact that I get grumpy when I'm sleepy, I can say that ultra-long-distance riding is not for me. For me, 11,000 miles in 11 days would mean 9 days of work, one day of packing and a trip to the airport on day 11.

I wish you the best. Be safe and leave your pride behind.

 

[Harald]

Totally hypothetical question(s)....

What essential mods?

Expand fuel capacity
Heated gear
Cruise control
GPS
Ability to move feet from here to there

Anything else??

I'm thinking moving the feet and expanded fuel capacity...Any LD riders want to chime in??

Perhaps we'll see the first IBR entry on a NC700X? Did you get an entry? It wouldn't be my first choice for a bike to use, but there's riders in the "hopeless class" that enter much less capable bikes each time.

I would add better wind protection like the very nice Madstad shield, additional storage in the form of saddlebags and/or trunk and probably a better seat.

 

[dduelin]

After doing a few less extreme LD rides my view is the NCX needs additional fuel capacity for extreme IBA events as it loses too much time to gas stops and better wind management to reduce physical stress on the rider and better cope with adverse weather.

During the time I owned my NC700X I often rose to refute critics of its 3.7 US fuel capacity. In "normal" riding this gave adequate tank range of 190 to 230 miles because of the great fuel economy the NC engine returns and this range is as good as or often far better than that of other motorcycles. Sit down and shut up to those critics riding bikes that are just the same in range.

However, for long distance riding against a clock the bike has to be ridden at higher speeds and as we know as speeds climb into the interstate range mpg can easily drop into the 50s and a slight headwind can lower mpg even more. When I was in the planning mode for my 50 hour coast to coast ride last summer I knew I calculated I needed to add about 2 gallons additional capacity and make 4.7 gallons accessible without stopping. Just to pull over and fill the tank takes 10-12 minutes and since we are stopping the temptation is to go into the fuel station "for just a minute" which all to often ends up in a 20-25 minute stop. Long distance IBA rides require maintaining speed averages near 60 mph which sounds easy when the expected speed of travel is 75+ mph but do the math. If we stop for 20 minutes every 2 hours 20 minutes (64 mph average with the NCXs tank range with .5 gallon reserve) there is absolutely no room for longer rest stops, eating, or unexpected traffic or weather delays and still leave adequate sleep periods. We might could do this effort for a day or three, I did it for a Saddle Sore 1000 and Bun Burner 1500, but as others have pointed out riding eleven 16 to 20 hour riding days in a row will take its toll and make it difficult to maintain this pace for the 11 days of the IBA Rally. The answer to me is adding a fuel cell to extend tank range. I tried to do this for my 50CC attempt and had a workable plastic 2 gallon one but felt it might not hold up over the expected 5500 miles and so took another bike but I wanted to do it on the 700.

Iron Butt magazine showed an NCX with a very tidy aluminum one mounted in a top box so it can easily be done with a little aforethought.

 

[Tim Clynes]

I think allowing 20 to 25 mins for a fuel stop and leg stretch is a little fanciful.

I've run from North Manchester in England all over Europe, and though I may put in a first stint of a day of 180 miles after that I stop every hour to stretch and have a cigarette and coffee / food.

It isn't a race, and to cover 1000 miles in a day you need to average 50 miles per hour for 20 hours, that's very achievable on Motorways, but if you want to enjoy the ride, see some scenery, enjoy some side roads, it just isn't going to happen.

So for me long distance endurance riding of this nature, though I can see why some folk like it, is really best on larger capacity machines, designed for high cruising speed with full wind deflection. ST1300, RT1150, FJR1300 etc.

I did Manchester to Lyon(France) an 800 mile trip on a Pan European in torrential rain, 16 hours of misery.

The same trip spread over 3 days on a Transalp was a joy.

 

[gharshman]

If I had to run 11,000 miles in 11 days ...... I would slit my wrists.

I love riding, but after about 350 miles in one day, it becomes more of a chore than an enjoyment.

Below is what 11,000 miles looks like. What would be the purpose, if you cannot stop and see the sights?

 

[itlives]

Prayer would be my only chance. I've been told I had narcolepsy. But that was by an extremely boring friend.

Seriously though, I don't think I'd be a candidate for this ride. I will say though, my Suzuki Burgman scooter was a joy to ride on the interstates. The fairings make for a comfortable ride. I've never been on a bigger bike with better fairings so I can't speak to them.

 

[dduelin]

I have several friends that enjoy riding rallies which are events that combine endurance riding with the ability to calculate routes on the fly that garner the most bonus points in the shortest period of riding time or distance. You may have seen a bike set up for this - they may have two or even three GPS units mounted so that they can be working on several routes at a time solving Time/Distance problems and they almost all have auxiliary fuel tanks and lots of extra lighting for high speed riding in darkness. These guys are not crazy and actually get to see much of the country that most of us will never see. Very often the bonus points are well off the beaten path in small towns. The rally riders I know best are very detail oriented riders with demanding professional careers. They seem to enjoy the challenge of endurance riding combined with solving complicated routing opportunities.

It's not of interest to me but I can understand their love of riding rallies.