Tips and tricks for Iron Butt Riding...

[Nazzdak]

Hello Everyone-

Just got back from Sturgis SD.

Made there and back over two days.

Heading to Sturgis- 18 hours/1157 miles/64.3 mph average
Coming Home- 17 hours/1163 miles/68.4 mph average

Here is what I have learned, and what you can expect to happen during the course of an iron butt type of ride.

1. Prepare the bike for the trip the day BEFORE you leave. It should be clean, packed, completely fueled, and in good running condition. Make sure things like tire pressure and oil levels are good. A trip odometer is important, but not a must. If you have one, set it at ZERO. If possible, ALWAYS park the bike in such a way that it is positioned to be started and ridden FORWARD.

2. Prepare your BODY and MIND for the trip a day in advance. That means no alcohol or drug consumption whatsoever 24 hours prior to the trip. Go to bed EARLY. Even if you cannot sleep, your body is still resting, which is very important. In addition, you should be physically prepared for ANYTHING. Heat, cold, rain, wind, etc..etc..Temps will likely wary from as low as 45 to as high as 90 over the course of the ride.

3. LEAVE EARLY!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. Got well in front of things like rush hour traffic. If you haven't traveled at least 210 miles in the first three hours, then you are in for a very, long, day.

4. At 85mph, you are consuming approximately 3.5 gallons of gasoline over a two hour period. This represents more than 2/3's of a tank on a modern day Harley Davidson motorcycle. However, your fuel gauge will say you still have a half tank. Ignore it. Instead, especially in the beginning of the trip, focus on riding like you stole it, and getting gas every two hours. If you focus on running the tank out, then filling it back up, eventually, you will find yourself in a position where you need to conserve gas. This will in effect bring your mph average DOWN, and prolong your trip. This is one of the reasons why I cut more than an hour off of my trip coming home. Put simply, running a fuel tank from full to empty at the beginning of an iron butt run, is NOT the most efficient way to travel.

Instead, fill up, run hard for two hours, fill up, run hard for another two hours. Don't bother to pee, don't bother to get something to drink, just gas up and GO. You want to get as many miles under your belt before rush hour as you can. At the four hour mark, you should have traveled AT LEAST 280 miles, find yourself ON the road, AND traveling at 75+mph with a FULL tank of gas. If you're not in this position after four hours, something is very wrong with your strategy. Put simply, you want to get ahead, and STAY AHEAD of the game.

5. Know what mph average you will need to maintain, so that you will get where you want to go, WHEN you want to get there. For me, I set a goal of 70mph coming home. By the 12th hour, I was at exactly 910 miles, too. If things had gone absolutely perfectly, I would have gotten home in 16.61 hours. Instead, I was off by about 30 minutes. Sometimes late in a run, you just get caught up in construction traffic for 20 minutes and it'll pull your mph average down. There's nothing you can do.

6. Designate ONE stop for lunch, and make it quick. 20 minutes max. By mid trip, when you do need to stop for fuel, make it a two for one. Buy enough gatorade and power bars for TWO stops. So that by the time you stop again, all you're doing while you're fueling is eating left overs. Above all, don't dick around at fuel stops! GAS AND GO!

7. The last 100 miles of an iron butt ride are gut freaking wrenching. Everything HURTS. Everything is SORE. Its dark, it's cold, AND you're exhausted. You just want it to be over. Thus, you really need to turn up your concentration level a notch, so that you finish STRONG in the last 90 minutes. If you're still not passing people, something is wrong. If someone so much as cruises side by side with me when they were passing me when I am in the right lane, then I will downshift and blow past them so fast and for so long, that I never see them again.

Remember- FINISH STRONG!

8. Don't communicate by phone! Use text messaging or if possible, avoid calling or texting altogether.

9. The first time you nod off, please realize that you're just been asleep for 3-5 seconds. The textbook term is called a "micro nap." Pull over asap , have three cups of coffee, and regroup. I am not kidding.

10. Don't try to go from riding 3-500 miles, to riding 1200. It's not even in the same zip code. Instead, work your way up slowly. A 500 mile ride, should be followed up by a 700 mile ride. Then 850..THEN you're ready for an iron butt.

good luck!
David

[ironheadbuck]

your crazy-lol

[strokerjlk]

A LOT OF GOOD POINTS!
Some I agree with a some I dont, but everybody has there methods.
I will just say that fuel conservation can play out. stopping ever two hrs. if you dont need fuel will waste time.
Always run tank to tank whatever that may be for you.
I have my stops down to 5-6 mins, ( fuel ,log mileage ,check receipt for errors)
but it still takes time to get on and off the road.
There is a fine line there between wasting fuel vs making time. the more you have your butt in the saddle the more miles you will eat up. Fuel and time management will play out for you if you decide to go on and do some of the more extreme IBA rides.
most either get addicted or say never again sounds like you may be addicted!
Congrats
did you log it to turn in to the IBA?

[berserker]

Going west is easier, you can a hour of daylight, as the world turns. You lose it coming back though.

I find forcing myself to change postions helps. Feet on boards, feet on pegs. Left hand on bar, then right.

I haven't done Iron butt, but my first year at Sturgis was straight there and straight back. 944 miles. Many 600 miles days in a row too.

Take some motrin before sore.

Agree about starting early, but differant reasons. Earlier you start more breaks you can take. I would rather start in dark, when I m fresh, then finish in the dark, when I am tired.



If all you want is say you done it. Go east to west out west. High speed limits, and extra hour of light. Some people disagree, but I still like to drive as fast as I can, regardless of mileage.

[strokerjlk]

Originally Posted by berserker

Going west is easier, you can a hour of daylight, as the world turns. You lose it coming back though.

I find forcing myself to change postions helps. Feet on boards, feet on pegs. Left hand on bar, then right.

I haven't done Iron butt, but my first year at Sturgis was straight there and straight back. 944 miles. Many 600 miles days in a row too.

Take some motrin before sore.

Agree about starting early, but differant reasons. Earlier you start more breaks you can take. I would rather start in dark, when I m fresh, then finish in the dark, when I am tired.



If all you want is say you done it. Go east to west out west. High speed limits, and extra hour of light. Some people disagree, but I still like to drive as fast as I can, regardless of mileage.

many go out west for the extreme rides no speed limit no cops.
when you have a aux fuel cell just go hard.
The guy that holds the record for most consecutive BBG'S (1500 less than 24 hrs) did 7 in a row 10,000 miles in 7 days he burnt up three rear tires on a Honda blackbird.

[berserker]

Stopping for gas isn't the worst. You run in pee, grab cup of coffee or water. 10 minutes. Stretch yourself out a little.

[Milehog]

I like to stay hydrated & take a whiz at least three out of four stops. Where I ride there some looong stretches without fuel so's flexability with the fueling schedule is necessary,
No lunch stop, just grab some juice or a healthy snack each fuel stop.
Keep moving, waste no time, relax, have fun.

[Nazzdak]

Thanks everyone for commenting.

If you've ever heard the song "Red Skies At Night" by the Fixx, then that's what it looks like when you're traveling west during an iron butt run. Absolutely Breath Taking. I don't think the sun went down in SD until 10:30pm Indy time, and I left at 6am. Thus, traveling west is more exciting then traveling east, but I would not say that it's any "easier."

The physical pain at the end of the run is still the same regardless of which direction you're traveling. More than anything, it's the last 100 miles that make the iron butt a "if it doesn't kill you, it'll make you stronger" kind of an experience.

I personally saw far fewer law enforcement traveling east, then I did traveling west. This was in spite of the fact that the speed limit signs in South Dakota were 75, vs, say, 65 in Illinois. I would adjust by limiting my maximum speed to no more than 75 in a 65, and staying in the right lane as much as possible. The only time I found myself running under 75mph was during construction or outright congestion.

I would agree that fuel conservation works really well at the end of the run. If you have maintained a good pace for the first 12-15 hours, then the last 2-4 hours should be a breeze, in terms of how often you will need to stop.

Personally, I had a very hard time making the tank to tank strategy work for me. For I literally found myself in a position where I was running out of gas, not once, but twice. Thus, know well in advance that just because you WANT to stop, does not mean that you will be able to stop. This also happen to me 3/4's of the way to Sturgis. On I-90, the gas stations in mid South Dakota were few and far between. Thus, twice on my way to Sturgis, once in Indiana, and once in South Dakota, my low fuel light came on, forcing me to conserve fuel. From that point on, I vowed to never put myself in that position again.

With regards to physically shifting your body around, I would also agree, to a point. I cannot imagine trying to run 1000+ miles without cruise control, or highway pegs. Yet, I would physically FORCE my highway pegs to the upright position anytime I could hammer at 85+mph for a long stretch of time. Not only did I want to be fully alert, but I wanted maximum flexibility when I needed to pass.

If was coming into a 55mph construction zone, ( which happens often) I would always take full advantage by putting my feet on the highway pegs, using my left arm to steer, and doing some toe curls to keep my legs as stimulated as much as possible. This would help, but nothing is as good as walking.

David

[dougbeth]

No drinks, no restroom stops, ride hard as you can for two hour at a time. To each his own, sounds like torture to me.

[Nazzdak]

Originally Posted by dougbeth

No drinks, no restroom stops, ride hard as you can for two hour at a time. To each his own, sounds like torture to me.

I agree. The last 100 miles is pure torture, but it's a good kind of Torture, ( if there is such a thing) , in that you are making the most efficient use of your time over a given period. All you need is a 15 minute hot shower and a warm bed to be fully refreshed 8 hours after an iron butt run. By 7:30am Sturgis time, Monday morning, I was washing my bike. By 9am, we were off to Mount Rushmore. By 9am Friday morning, Indy time, I was having breakfast in bed with my 2 year old son and Wife. Mind you, I could never see myself doing this at 53 ( I'm currently 43), but as old saying goes, never say never.

David

[strokerjlk]

I agree. The last 100 miles is pure torture,

Did you ever find youself ducking your head when ya went under a overpass? LOL

[HDWRENCH]

I did the sturgis thing a few years back on my softail. HE he nothing soft about a slammed into the weeds softail on a long haul. NON stop run and I did not bother to figure out how long it took, there was construction and the normal BS with traffic. But I recall many a time high end runs for 30-50 minutes at a time. in the start the group was a mix of bikes. built bikes like my old 124 several import touring style bikes, several gold wings. Once we got started the thing turned in a free for all really. It was very obvious who wanted to get there and who wanted to take it easy and view the land scape.

I had a small pack on the front of the bike and another strapped to the rear. With a 2 liter bottle of gas. I ran out once on the way out there. Pushing way too hard and came up short on the next fuel stop, the 2 liter coke bottle saved my butt, as I was solo at that point. The guys on the baggers have it much easier , I was hurting for days after that trip. At my age now and with all of the other mishaps that I have been blessed with plates, rods and screws I do not think I could pull it off again. At least not on a bar hopper style bike.


Reading through your post makes me think about how I had not planned out much for that trip.

[Nazzdak]

Wrench-

Here is a true story that'll make ya chuckle. Four years ago, in the spring of 2005, My buddy and I decided to ride down to Orlando Fl, for bike week. At that time, I had a 2004 Police Glide, and a 98 customized Fatboy. I still own my old Evo. I traded the Glide for my Road King 3 years ago.

I started off on the Police Glide, my buddy started off on my old Evo. We decided to switch bikes in Louisville KY. Immediately, I knew it was going to be a LONG day. As you so correctly stated, there is NOTHING soft about a slammed into the weeds Harley Davidson softail motorcycle. We made it as far as Nashville TN, and called in a day. The next day my Evo broke down in Chattanooga, so we ended up partying there, that night. Come Wednesday morning, the Evo was fixed, and we were hell bent on getting to Orlando.

Well, we never made it. We got as far south as Ocala Florida before calling it a day. We were only 45 minutes from our hotel, yet, by the time we hit Ocala, we were so worn out, that we couldn't ride around the freaking block. Looking back, I don't know how the hell I rode from Chattanooga TN to Ocala FL without cruise control, a windshield, or rear shocks. Do 98's even have a 5 gallon tank? I'm not sure, but I would guess, NO. All I remember was that the last 50 miles were God awful painful. My right wrist was throbbing like hell. If someone would have offered me a 1,000 dollars on the spot to ride straight through to Orlando, I would have told them "no thanks" and went to bed. I was in that much pain...lol!



David

[ponderopa]

Sounds like fun...If I was under 40!!or even 50 LOL

[berserker]

I90 to Srugis has lots of stops, but I still wouldn't push it tank to tank. When going through MT and ND, I start looking for a place at 100 miles, sometimes even less. Many of the exit are marked no service, or the town may be quite a ways from the interstate.

When I did my 900 miles days, I did push it further. So I can't sure for sure this will work on Iron Butt. But if you jump off bike every 100 miles, gas, and jump back on your not losing much time, and may even make it easier on yourself later, with that quick stretch.

I still say going west is easier, more daylight. I prefer that. Granted it doesn't help your butt.

Going west 944 miles I felt great when I got off. Going east I was just cold and sore. Granted it was probably colder back east. Plus I was excited to get Sturgis my 1st year and just pumped.