American & German bikes sweep IB Rally for 2007

[county]

Yes, you had to look all the way down to 6th place to find a Japanese bike in this year's IB rally.

Places 1 thru 5 were taken by BMW and Harley Davidson.

[FJRmgm]

how many FJR's in the Top 10???

[mike goodwin]

Four FJR's were in the top ten.

[RBEmerson]

In all seriousness, HD's???  What models?  What mods?  Beemers I can understand, but HD's???  

[county]

how many FJR's in the Top 10???

  If they hand not been in the top 10 would you have asked about the top 20?

Fact is they didn't make the top 5.  Or 6.

[mike goodwin]

I hate to rumour monger but i did read that the high placed HD was not exactly like your regular over the counter HD.
However let it be known that the first Iron Butt Rally that was held in 1984 had one of the new Evo motored HD's entered in ridden by a Cycle Guide magazine rider that placed and was not in last place.
Last place went to a true wild man riding another bored and stroked HD.

[mike goodwin]

  If they hand not been in the top 10 would you have asked about the top 20?

Fact is they didn't make the top 5.  Or 6.

Dont blame the bike.
Hey man that's a tuff ass eleven day event.

[Brad1445]

Nice post Country.  I like when reality meets STN.  

[atwowheelguy]

Yes, you had to look all the way down to 6th place to find a Japanese bike in this year's IB rally.

Places 1 thru 5 were taken by BMW and Harley Davidson.

This is from the IBA web site: http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/2007.cfm?DocID=45

"The Tarnished Blue and White Roundel

A disproportionate number of the DNFs fall on the shoulders of BMW. BMW failed several riders, demonstrating that they are no longer capable of building motorcycles that can run 11,000 miles in 11 days without a significant fraction experiencing a catastrophic drivetrain failure of some sort. BMW of North America has requested contact information for the riders who experienced failures. The riders BMW should be more concerned about are the thousands of unsuspecting souls who will breakdown in the future because the company has lost its previous ability to either design durable drivetrain components or (more likely) adequately monitor production and assembly quality. It's way, way past time for BMW to fix its drivetrain reliability problems. A good start might be to acknowledge that there is a problem. "

The writer says he has been a BMW owner for 32 years.

From the daily reports available on the IBA website, there were at least 4 BMWs that had final drive failures during the rally.

I cannot comprehend what it takes to do well in this event, but I think it is just like the enduro racing I did for 15 years: 98% rider, 2% motorcycle.

[county]

A disproportionate number of the DNFs fall on the shoulders of BMW.
From the daily reports available on the IBA website, there were at least 4 BMWs that had final drive failures during the rally.

I don't think this is something new for the IB rally.  I think the reason BMW fares so well in the rally is the disproportionate number of BMW's entered.   This opinion is not based on any research, just an impression.

[DavidLSI]

As noted in the region four board, one of our St.n riders finished in 38th place

Congrats to Boxergrrlie !  


http://www.ironbuttrally.com/ibr/2007/html/65-1.html

I read the list of entries and was impressed someone attempted this on a Ninja 250.

And the top Harley finisher was on a Sportster.

[mike goodwin]

As noted in the region four board, one of our St.n riders finished in 38th place

Congrats to Boxergrrlie !  


http://www.ironbuttrally.com/ibr/2007/html/65-1.html

I read the list of entries and was impressed someone finished on a SV650 and someone attempted this on a Ninja 250.

And the top Harley finisher was on a Sportster.

SV 650???
Are you sure you dont mean one of the DL650's ??

[DavidLSI]

Hear is the list.

You are correct I mis-read it and just double checked.....

Go V-Stroms

from http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/2007.cfm?DocID=45
1 Martin Leir, BMW R1200GSA, 12,460, 344,122
2 Jim Owen, BMW R1200RT, 11,137, 333,471
3 Brett Donahue, H-D XLH1200R, 11,283, 316,707
4 Jeff Earls, BMW K1200GT, 11,059, 309,681
5 Eric Jewell, BMW R1150RT, 10,873, 304,597
6 Tom Melchild, Yamaha FJR1300, 10,025, 299,729
7 Greg Marbach, Yamaha FJR1300, 10,323, 298,492
8 Michael Evans, Yamaha FJR1300, 10,921, 298,077
9 Alan Barbic, Yamaha FJR1300, 9,832, 294,561
10 Peter Leap, Honda ST1300, 10,910, 292,596
11 Jim Frens, Honda GL1800, 12,658, 288,910
12 John Tomasovitch, BMW K1200RS, 10,874, 285,875
13 Curt Gran, Honda ST1300, 11,090, 285,512
14 Vicki Johnston, BMW F650GS, 9,868, 284,724
15 Andrew Mills, Victory Vision, 10,552, 283,621
16 John Langan, Honda GL1800, 10,096, 279,770
17 Matt Watkins, Yamaha FJR1300, 9,857, 272,054
18 Paul Peloquin, Yamaha FJR1300, 10,001, 270,097
19 Gregg Burger, BMW R1150GSA, 10,626, 261,475
20 Brian Roberts, Suzuki DL1000, 9,758, 253,273
21 Dick Peek, Yamaha FJR1300, 10,531, 251,924
22 Michael Boge, BMW R1200RT, 8,924, 250,985
23 Reiner & Lisa Kappenberger, Honda GL1800, 9,849, 250,236
24 Carl Stark, Honda GL1800, 8,644, 246,335
25 Art Garvin, Honda GL1800, 8,826, 245,768
26 Mike Langford, BMW K1200LT, 9,349, 242,524
27 Rick Miller, Honda GL1800 9,026, 242,060
28 Vance Keeney, BMW K1200GT, 9,392, 239,863
29 Terry & Lynda Lahman, Honda GL1800, 9,397, 235,736
30 Jack B. Shoalmire, BMW R1200RT, 9,306, 235,156
31 Jim and Donna Phillips, Honda GL1800, 10,022, 233,202
32 Richard Buber, BMW R1150RT, 10,180, 228,077
33 Kendall J. Anderson, Suzuki DL1000, 9,522, 227,164
34 Tom Skemp, Honda GL1500, 8,669, 225,515
35 Kevin J. Healey, Triumph Trophy 1200, 9,407, 225,439
36 Jim Bain, BMW K1200LT, 8,899, 223,659
37 Steve Branner, BMW R1200RT, 9,723, 223,595
38 Rebecca Vaughn, BMW R1100RS, 9,998, 222,607
39 Jim Winterer, Suzuki DL650, 10,209, 219,488
40 Mike Senty, BMW R1150RT, 10,121, 218,975
41 Bill Watt, Honda GL1800, 10,603, 217,078
42 Doug Bailey, BMW R1150GS, 10,353, 215,467
43 Paul Allison, Honda GL1800, 10,207, 214,733
44 Dennis Powell, Honda GL1800, 8,624, 213,250
45 Ken Morton, Honda GL1800, 10,271, 213,101
46 Tony DeLorenzo, BMW R1200GS-ADV, 8,521 208,659
47 Tom and Rosie Sperry, BMW K1200LT, 9,603 206,879
48 Charles "Tobie" Stevens, Yamaha FJR1300, 8,711 206,332
49 Lisa Stevens, Yamaha FJR1300, 8,719, 206,332
50 Don Catterton, BMW K1200GT, 10,218, 205,393
51 Bill Thweatt, Honda ST1300, 9,999, 205,319
52 Stephan Bolduc, Yamaha FJR1300, 9,897, 203,572
53 Chris Cimino, Kawasaki Concours 14, 7,915, 203,427
54 Karol Patzer, BMW K75C, 8,386, 201,741,
55 Rick Neeley, BMW R1200GSA, 9,354, 200,120
56 Peter Murray, BMW K1200LT, 10,255, 199,693
57 Bob Mueller, Suzuki DL1000, 10,272, 199,263
58 Richard Keegan, Honda GL1800, 8,906, 194,071
59 Fred Droegemueller, Honda GL1800, 10,124, 193,096
60 Dick Fish, Buell Ulysses, 9,900, 191,546
61 Joe DeRyke, Suzuki DL650, 10,095, 191,346
62 Rick Martin, Yamaha FJR1300, 9,595, 191,040
63 Robert & Sylvie Torter, BMW K1200GT, 9,318, 190,964
64 Alexander Schmitt, Honda ST1100, 10,584, 148,232
DNF David Bourdeaux, Honda GL1800, 8,570, 187,222
DNF Jim Simonet, BMW K1200LT, 10,987, 187,035
DNF Chris McGaffin, Kawasaki Concours, 8,690, 176,784
DNF Joel Rappoport, BMW R60/6, 8,885, 175,945
DNF Glenn K. Pancoast, BMW R1200GSA, 8,981 173,779
DNF Bob Collin, BMW R1200RT, 9,050, 157,920
DNF Jim Mulcahy, BMW K1200RS, 8,833, 150,023
DNF Mark W. Collins, H-D Electra Glide, 7,869, 147,905
DNF Maura Gatensby, Honda ST1300, 9,117, 147,868
DNF David Derrick, BMW R1100RT, 5,399, 112,249
DNF Chris Sakala, BMW R1150GS-ADV, 4,874, 108,861
DNF Mike Hutsal, BMW K1200GT, 4,501, 100,160
DNF Rob Nye, BMW R1200RTP, 4,492, 100,100
DNF Homer L. Krout, BMW R1200GS, 4,278, 83,758
DNF George Barnes, BMW K1200LT, 5,198, 79,131
DNF Gerhard Memmen-Krueger, BMW R1200GSA, 3,995, 77,872
DNF Doug Chapman, Yamaha FJR1300, 4,007, 76,026
DNF Norm Grills, BMW K1100LT, 3,852, 75,998
DNF Donald A. Jones, Honda GL1000, 3,475, 75,782
DNF Robert Joers, Honda GL1800, 3,758, 63,261
DNF Mike Getzendanner, Honda GL1500, 3,884, 60,489
DNF Steve Broadhead, Honda ST1300, 3,337, 60,123
DNF Alan Bennett, Kawasaki Ninja 250, 2,919, 53,225
DNF Arlen Brunsvold, Jr., H-D Road Glide, 4,202, 52,669
DNF Arlen Brunsvold, Sr., BMW R1200RT, 3,849, 51,155
DNF Don Kulwicki, Honda GL1800, 3,462, 50,691
DNF David Hinks, Yamaha FJR1300, 3,594, 45,903
DNF Hans Karlsson, Honda GL1800, 0, 0
DNF Don Wescott, BMW K1200GT, 0, 0
DNF Robert St.George, Yamaha FJR1300, 0, 0
DNF Charles "Chip" Hyde, Honda GL1800, 0, 0
DNF Bill Wade, BMW R1200RT, 0, 0
DNF Tom Loftus, Honda ST1300, 0, 0

[UFO]

I doubt very little of it has to do with the bike.  As long as the bike doesn't fail and the rider has balls and ass of steel...he's (or she's, theoretically) going to win.

Hell, even a supah scooter with an aux fuel tank can maintain a 70 mph moving average.

[mike goodwin]

What i would truely like to know is how many mechanical issues there were and on what bikes.
You know stuff that is repairable like loose fasteners,clutch/throttle cables,leaking oil,bulbs,radiator hoses,etc.
Now i certainly know that a truely knowledgeable LD rider would have had fresh components(at least i would) on his/her bike but hammering along day and night for 800-1100 miles a day for eleven straight days can really show up with some problems.
I especially would really like to know about any issues that arose with those two DL650's as well as the new Concours 1400.

[county]

The mileage from that one rally is more than the mileage from a significant percentage of used bikes on the market.

[DavidLSI]

Reading one other post I see that two ST.N riders are deserving of a big pat on the back.  

I wonder how many others there are as well?  

[birdrunner]

Speaking of the 6th place FJR,   Congrats to Tom,  also a member of this board  (Cal24  ??)

 


My understanding is for the top finishes, it's often a matter of who had a flat tire and who didn't that makes the difference.

[RBEmerson]

Reading the cited link is very instructional, regarding bike reliability (BMW does not fare well here), overall organizational issues (e.g., "friend with a computer and a phone" comments), and bikes used (personally, I was somewhat surprised by the near absence of the Concours - the lone C10 DNF'ed and the lone C14's performance was "only" enough to make the "finished" cut).  In general, the event strikes me as a massive demonstration of OCD.  Pass.  

[mike goodwin]

Reading the cited link is very instructional, regarding bike reliability (BMW does not fare well here), overall organizational issues (e.g., "friend with a computer and a phone" comments), and bikes used (personally, I was somewhat surprised by the near absence of the Concours - the lone C10 DNF'ed and the lone C14's performance was "only" enough to make the "finished" cut).  In general, the event strikes me as a massive demonstration of OCD.  Pass.  

You will have to excuse me but i dont totally know all of todays internet jargon so if you would tell me just what is OCD??
Lastly a bike that finishes low in the rankings can at times be attributed to reliabilty issues but more times than not it's rider performance.

[FJRSTAR]

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric anxiety disorder most commonly characterized by a subject's obsessive, distressing, intrusive thoughts and related compulsions (tasks or "rituals") which attempt to neutralize the obsessions. It is listed by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 most disabling illnesses in terms diminished quality of life.

The typical OCD sufferer performs tasks (or compulsions) to seek relief from obsession-related anxiety. To others, these tasks may appear odd and unnecessary. But for the sufferer, such tasks can feel critically important, and must be performed in particular ways to ward off dire consequences and to stop the stress from building up. Examples of these tasks: repeatedly checking that one's parked car has been locked before leaving it; turning lights on and off a set number of times before exiting a room; repeatedly washing hands at regular intervals throughout the day.

[Yankee Dog]

Actually the raw numbers dont look that bad for BMW.  Of course the devils is in the details.  The IBA usually publishes more details on the DNFs.  I look forward to seeing them.  

   total   DNF   % finish
BMW   41   16   60.98%
Buell   1   0   100.00%
HD   3   2   33.33%
honda     29   10   65.52%
Kaw   3   2   33.33%
Suzuki   5   0   100.00%
Triumph   1   0   100.00%
victory   1   0   100.00%
yamaha   14   3   78.57%

Yankee Dog

[mike goodwin]

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric anxiety disorder most commonly characterized by a subject's obsessive, distressing, intrusive thoughts and related compulsions (tasks or "rituals") which attempt to neutralize the obsessions. It is listed by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 most disabling illnesses in terms diminished quality of life.

The typical OCD sufferer performs tasks (or compulsions) to seek relief from obsession-related anxiety. To others, these tasks may appear odd and unnecessary. But for the sufferer, such tasks can feel critically important, and must be performed in particular ways to ward off dire consequences and to stop the stress from building up. Examples of these tasks: repeatedly checking that one's parked car has been locked before leaving it; turning lights on and off a set number of times before exiting a room; repeatedly washing hands at regular intervals throughout the day.

Thanks for the explanation.

But i dont think Emerson is right in his assessement of those LD riders.

[Tar Snake]

It's nice to see a brand new design, the Victory Vision finish Sure the sample size was 1 , but still that looks good for Victory.

[RBEmerson]

Thanks for the explanation.

But i dont think Emerson is right in his assesement of those LD riders.

To me, feeling the need to accumulate many points for riding 11K in 11 days sure has some of the feel of OCD about it.  Obviously, with an IBA number, you see it somewhat differently.  Ah, well, as they say in Ancient Middle Eastern Studies: one man's Mede is another man's Persian.    

[CLAY]

Actually the raw numbers dont look that bad for BMW.  Of course the devils is in the details.  The IBA usually publishes more details on the DNFs.  I look forward to seeing them.  

   total   DNF   % finish
BMW   41   16   60.98%
Buell   1   0   100.00%
HD   3   2   33.33%
honda     29   10   65.52%
Kaw   3   2   33.33%
Suzuki   5   0   100.00%
Triumph   1   0   100.00%
victory   1   0   100.00%
yamaha   14   3   78.57%

Yankee Dog

  LOL- the title of this thread kills me.  "American and German bikes sweep it IB rally for 2007".  Never mind that of the *3* HD's entered, *2* DNF.  LOL.  American bikes.

  BTW-I agree- it's the rider, not the bike.  But the bike helps...

[Nodaclu]

In fairness, one of the DNF Harley's *did* finish the event. He came to the line with 147,000 points, not enough to officially qualify as a finisher, but he completed the event.

His reason for being short on points was a simple one - he hit a huge pothole and broke the rear rim - that can happen to any bike. This cost him over 24 hours of time, and he simply couldn't recover enough points to meet the 190,000 minimum.

The reason it took over 24 hours to get a new rim on the bike?

It was a 1972 Electra Glide with 199,000 miles on the clock at the beginning of the event. A rear wheel for that bike isn't exactly a dealer stocked item these days.

Hard to fault a 35 year old rim for giving in to a big missing chunk of pavement.  

Several people on other boards have noted the irony of a bike that old (along with the BMW R60/6 with 435,000 miles that also finished but was short on points) having no major mechanical failures, while FD failures on the newer Beemers (some of them brand new) seemed to be the focal point of this years event.

Granted it was only 4 out of 42 bikes, but I think it was the fact that the BMW's all had the same identical problem, that had everyone up in arms. Four completely different failures on each bike would have barely been noticed. And then more attention would have been paid to the alternator issues on the FJR.

Finally, the third H-D rider quit - no mechanical problems.

The Buell was expected to be a Top 10 finisher, and his bike was flawless, but the rider got some really bad routing advice somewhere along the way, which cost him a ton of points.

Between the H-D's, the Buell, and the Victory Vision, it really was a pretty good showing for the American bikes.

[RBEmerson]

There's a comment about someone changing bikes 145 miles from the finish.  WTF is that about?  "Oh!  You mean I have to do it all on the same bike???"  

[mike goodwin]

There's a comment about someone changing bikes 145 miles from the finish.  WTF is that about?  "Oh!  You mean I have to do it all on the same bike???"  

No..But if you do change bikes it will cost you some massive points.
Now if you really want to read a funny account of this go over to the IBA website and click on the Iron Butt Rally and read the 1997 account of Manny Samerio's ride when he wrecked his whale of a bike(Suzuki Cavalcade) and bought at a sports shop a little Honda VT 500 to complete the rally.
Great reading from a guy truely wanting to push on.
Had the pleasure of meeting him in 2003 in Mississippi.

[Bob Hughes]

There are a lot of reasons why a rider might not finish the rally. Some are mechanical, some are mishaps on the road and some are the rider. I admire all of them no matter what they ride but as an FJR owner I was pleased to see that out of 14 FJRs entered 4 finished in the top 10. BMW entered 42 bikes and and also had 4 in the top 10.

I think that route planning had a lot to do with this years rally and if you made a bad decision on your choice of route your goose might have gotten cooked in the final standings, plus BMW might have done better without the final drive problems, are BMW riders smarter?

[RBEmerson]

   And you wondered why I mentioned OCD.  

[mike goodwin]

   And you wondered why I mentioned OCD.  

Another thing to remember is that these people who are riding in this event have been preparing their bikes and selves for around a year and a half to get ready for this ride and proably have shelled out close to $10,000 bucks from start to finish to do this event.
So they are determined folks.

[Lawn Dart]

You know, we should all be grateful that a V-4 didn't win the Rally!  

[discochris]

There's a comment about someone changing bikes 145 miles from the finish.  WTF is that about?  "Oh!  You mean I have to do it all on the same bike???"  

Alex Schmitt (who gained entry by winning the 7 day Butt Lite last year) had tire trouble 145 miles from the end and had to switch bikes to finish. How it works is:

You take a massive point hit for switching bikes, which moves you down in the standings. However, your finisher and medal status are determined by what you would have received, had you not switched.  In 2005, Brett Donahue (who finished 3rd this year on the Sportster) switched bikes. He ended up near the bottom of the final points standings, but his status as a finisher and his medal were awarded on his pre-penalty points.

[RBEmerson]

Mkay, were I ever to do this stuff, in addition to the usual gear, tools, aux tank, nav gear, comm gear, and paint-blistering lighting, I'd be sure to pack a lawyer, too.    Complexity is not always a sign of advancement...  whether in machinery or rules.  Whatever happened to "dollar to a donut you can't cover 1500 miles in 24 hours while keeping to legal speeds"?  

[USA MEDIC]

What about our boy who finished in 6th!!!!

As noted in the region four board, one of our St.n riders finished in 38th place

Congrats to Boxergrrlie !  


http://www.ironbuttrally.com/ibr/2007/html/65-1.html

I read the list of entries and was impressed someone attempted this on a Ninja 250.

And the top Harley finisher was on a Sportster.

[photomd]

   And you wondered why I mentioned OCD.  

Having the ability to concentrate while sleep deprived to achieve a goal is not OCD. Many health professionals, and military personel (and others I can't remember right now ) are trained this way. Congrats to those that finished, especially the members here that competed.

Is Boxergrrlie still running the same oilhead with 300,000+ miles? If so.... Wow!

[UFO]

Competing in the IBR is no more OCD than posting thousands of messages on intarweb forums in an attempt to constantly one up each other.

People do some weird shit in the name of self challenge...the IBR is no different.

[UFO]

Another thing to remember is that these people who are riding in this event have been preparing their bikes and selves for around a year and a half to get ready for this ride and proably have shelled out close to $10,000 bucks from start to finish to do this event.
So they are determined folks.

From some of the reading I've done it sounds like some riders had dealers working on the bike and installnig upgrades prior to the rally.  I wouldn't let a dealer within 10 feet of my bike in the year leading up to the IBR.  Seriously.  That is NOT a good idea.

[BobW]

Nodaclu, great post with some objective info.

Mr. Monk isn't listed as a rider so that is proof that OCD is not involved

How anyone who has competed in off road, track or on public ways (like IB) endurance runs and says "2% prep or it's all rider not bike" is full of it. That's Kool Aid talk or you've never been a serious competitor. I don't go for a ride down the street without inspecting/maintaining my bike (OCD,OCD lol), let alone go away for a couple day trip or something as demanding as this competition. I also competed in Enduro's and Moto X for many years (also crew for road race friend) and DNF doesn't change from the I B causes listed, mechanical failure or a crash that caused damage/injury/too much lost time. Just look in the pits at any race and see if rider or machine are not kept A+ as humanly possible. No assumption on readiness for either.

BMW has the "most" to loose as most people look at the reputation of being the around the world bike (just my $.02). They are fantastic, but are having some problems if confirmed they had just shy of 10% FD failure.

Cheers to all these people, it will be exciting to read their stories and learn what happened to them and their machines.

Cheers
Bob

[motomodo]

I think that when you continue to call something ocd wnen it is not ocd a sign of being ocd.
On another tangent, are any other shafty bikes having final drive failures? The v-max was a shaft drive and I'm sure that they took plenty of abuse. I never heard of one breaking. You gotta think that with cadcam and computer simulations that BMW could design one that is over engineered and bullet proof. Did the K1200 bikes have this problem? I don't remember hearing about it if they did.  How about the new BMW superbikes? Just curious.
I think that  I wold be plenty ticked if I spent that kind of money for a bike and it let me down. Just a random thought.

[Ignacio]

Reading one other post I see that two ST.N riders are deserving of a big pat on the back.  

I wonder how many others there are as well?  

Not a regular contributor here...but pop in occasional, but I'm there at #17!

FJRs as a model did much better this time around than in '05 as it gains in popularlity and years under it's belt.  But, I think it's a case of being 90% the rider and 10% a decently maintained bike.  For example, Owen on a BMW, FJR, or a Vespa is going to do well...because he just plain rocks in the 4 important traits of a successful IBR rider:

1) Good rider.  Check.  Jim can throw his BMW down the smooth highway or efficiently ascend to 11,300 feet of washboard to Bristlecone.
2) Can route.  Owen teaches a seminar with Streets and Trip I affectionally have adopted and call "The Owen Method" and helped me for a #14 on Leg 2.  The guy is a bonus hunting machine.
3) Knows the points on the rally.  Check again...the dude probably knows the highway numbers and exit numbers around my home town better than I do!
4) Can manage fatigue.  Those folks that can ride, route, and plan after Day 10 on 2 hours sleep a night are a special breed.

Look at the Top 10 and you'll see folks that are good or great in all four of those areas.

It is interesting to note that the only model represented by Yamaha was the FJR.  One actual FJR failure and that was due to an aftermarket stator installed incorrectly.  No failures of FJRs I remember in '05.

That said, it was exceptionally hard on the BMW folks...and the writer, Tom Austin, was astute that BMW has some issues they really should sort out for their brand.  One can be a great rider, but if you're unlucky enough to have one of those 1 in 10 final drives grenade....it's either a case of rethinking the brand or to drink more kool-aid.

Finally, Brett Donahue on a Harley Sporster.....that dude can ride!  I rode in and out of Mono Hot Springs with him and he passed me going in.  Maybe I suck, but on Day 9....honor goes out the window for self-preservation of not phucking up the 11 day ride.  Probably the only reason he didn't pass me coming out is that it was dark and I had a wall of HID light up to help us both out.  It was a well prepped bike and his story of going to Bristlecone (which I did) and then back down crossing streams through Silver Springs (which I didn't because the sign said 4x4 only) was priceless.

The '07 IBR was a hard rally even by veterans' observations.  Where a 20% to 25% attrition rate is usual....a full 1/3 or 34% of the field DNF'ed this year.  It truly is the World's Toughest Motorcycle Rally.

[BobW]

Ignaciob

Thanks for the post and Congratulations!

Bob

[ibppjr]

Good job Ignaciob!

This year marked the 20th anniversary of the year I rode the IBR.  There's nothing like the challenge of spontaneous course planning for 11 days in a row.  Even with GPS and computer mapping, somebody still has to sit in the seat and twist the throttle for insane amounts of time.