SS1K- the cold one

[Nick_Ninja]

Dyscofool wrote:

I'll be wearing my bibs and polypro the whole way. Not worth stopping to change- better warm than cold. I guess Henry is out Jeff, are you still in?

I have just 1K left on the front tire --- less than that if precipitation is in the forecast. If there is any chance of wet surface I'll have to get a new front prior to take off.

I'll be wearing the Eclipse electric chaps and vest along with the poly-pro. I'll have the radar detector with x-tra batteries. I don't have any onboard communication device (except hand-signals and as far as 'on-board' --- well that's stretching it ).

As far as leaving ....... I'll have coffee with me in a thermos so wherever is fine. I'd like to leave at 6:00 or when ever we can thereafter -- like when we can safely drive with the sunglasses on and not have to stop until the first scheduled stop.

If we don't fart around I bet we can be back prior to the 2200 hours estimated.

[Nick_Ninja]

This is the official NOAA 5-day forcast map. It will get COLDER as we travel east especially down in river bottoms.

http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/medr/9lh.gif

(I removed the map cuz it was too much of a pain in the arse to scroll from side to side.......sort of like getting saddle sore prior to the actual endeavor!

[Anonymous]

I'm down for whatever... I will be in at least poly pants, my top half I can layer a lot better as I go. Definitely will want to leave with the shades on as we'll have the sunrise in our faces for a while. Hrm, I should rig the headphones back up too...

I also agree we can probably do better than the 2200 arrival, I'd like to cruise the first leg at our expected speed as I have not done that with the bike in it's current configuration, and I'd like to get a feel for a number of things. After that, I don't mind exploring some faster speeds in the open spots (i.e. no cops - w/o CB's unless nick is in front it'll be hard to know when his fuzz buster goes off) to make up time.

[Harry Biker]

I will meet you guys anywhere @ anytime!! Damn. I must say it's very tempting to roll w/ you 3!!!! Just give me detailed directions and some cell phone #'s just in case.

If I can help in anyother way let me know. Shoot, I'll probably roll with you guys for a spell.

Ending witness...should there be anyone besides the big guy??

One thought.......
It's Super Bowl Sunday. Mucho drunks on the roads, especially after Tampa wins the thing. Ideally you're all safe and back in your homes feeling super groovy for a kick arse ride before the game ends!

I sure hope you all have your throttle locks taken care of!!

[Nick_Ninja]

rforsythe wrote:

(i.e. no cops - w/o CB's unless nick is in front it'll be hard to know when his fuzz buster goes off)

I generally don't grab a fist full of binders when it does go off but I do feather the brake so the lights will flicker. Also the oom-pa-pa signal of the flat hand patting the top of the helmet -- seriously - I think that this attracts cops more than it warns the fellow biker brethren.

Sort of like those deer do-hickies that they sell to alert the deer from jumping in front of your vehicle -- I have read articles that they don't do sh*t to prevent collisions.

[Anonymous]

I sure hope you all have your throttle locks taken care of!!

Hrm, yeah... I should do that. Who sells 'em?

[Harry Biker]

See if you can get an O-ring to fit in between your bar end weight and the end of the grip. Try Catapillar or Pep boys.

If that doesn't work, Henry has a cruise control that's currently on my Yam he'd probably sell you for one of your stripper friends.

[Dysco]

About "exploring faster speeds"...

My top speed at sea level is 104. I can definately pull 90 for an extended period of time but not if it's windy. I'm pretty sure that I can make this in well under 16 hours, too, but if you guys want to go really fast we'll have to split up- I'll be jealous, but not upset.

[Nick_Ninja]

Dyscofool wrote:

About "exploring faster speeds"...

I cruise @ 80 - 90. And rarely do I throttle up to 100 for extended periods of time. And that all depends on what the 'sixth-sense' and the voices inside my head say to me

[Dysco]

Good to know... about the speed thing. The voices? Well, everybody hears voices, right?

I'm anxious to test out my new lights on a REAL dark road. I finally aimed them in the parking lot at work tonight and now they work much better. The road coming back into town should be brighter than when we left!

BTW- My odometer is broken after installing those lights and if I can't get it fixed before the ride or find an alternative, I'm not going to waste the trip. I'll keep you posted- the BMW shop will be checking it out this morning... only they don't know it yet.

[les the molester]

Good luck on your attempt. If you need a witness for the morning I can do so. I'm tied up that evening. My suggestion for a start point is that you start and end at the same gas station. That way you have verifying receipts. We did Denver to Manhattan, KS last August. Since I was with Shit Magnet on his HD, we had to stop for gas more often. Plenty of gas stops with good receipts.
Les

[Harry Biker]

Holy Smokes Fatman...yet another IBA member in the CSC!!!!!!!!!!!

We are not worthy-yet!

[towneh]

dysco mike,
use a bycycle computer. a cheap one w/o a cadence (ha, ha). the Sigma units are popular with their big displays. block and tie-wrap the pick-up and use some 'serious' adhesive for the magnet. performance bicycle -probably- has somthin' on sale! they've got better accuracy anyway. gotta measure your wheels to get the calibration right!
'bang-per-buck',
henry

[Dysco]

I'm running shy on cash- think the comp off my Bianchi will work? I'll measure... I also sent an email to see if I could use another rider's odometer if I still did gas reciepts, witnesses, and a mid point witness. My other option is to bring both keys and keep the headlight on the whole time. Then it would be a trip odometer.

[towneh]

mike,
your comp off the Bianc will work if you've got the table of calibration codes.... if it is a Cateye, i've got the cali codes. let me kno what you've got
onward...
henry

[Harry Biker]

I don't think you need a mid-point witness. Just get a gas receipt

[Harry Biker]

I started thinking about Henry's idea about using a human powered speedo/odo until you get the German unit fixed........
I doubt that'll fly with the IBA. Way too portable.

[Dysco]

From the IBA:
Hi, Mike!

Because we verify your mileage by means other than your odometer reading, it is
fine for you to ride without one. You can use a GPS or bicycle computer if you
wish.

Good luck and ride safely!

Ira Agins
Iron Butt Association

Harry- as far as midpoint witness goes, I was trying ta anticipate what they might say. You're right- we totally don't need one.

Henry- I used to have a cat eye but I remember it breaking... twice. The second time I sheared off the mounting point so the computer is is only useful as a watch. I have a Schwinn on my Bianchi (then only American made piece). I'll call my bicycle shop tomorrow to see what's up with buying a new programmable comp for cheap.

Ralph or Jeff- you guys don't have a GPS unit, do ya? That's the easiest way out of this. I stumped BMW this morning- they have no idea what's wrong.

[les the molester]

You don't need a mid point witness. We had one because the gas receipt was missing the station name.
If your speedo is broken, you might as well forget it. That's what is being witnessed and verified at the start/end. Just as you can't use a group receipt for a gas stop.

[Nick_Ninja]

dyscofool wrote:

Ralph or Jeff- you guys don't have a GPS unit, do ya? That's the easiest way out of this. I stumped BMW this morning- they have no idea what's wrong.

I do not own a GPS at this time. Did you take the bike up to Demarchi's place in Fort Collins. Their mechanics seem to be better than most other places. This comes from Dalton who has owned three Beemer's over the last 20 years and worked at Foothills as a sales person. I'd assume he would know.

[Anonymous]

Ok - I do have a GPS, but it sucks. Let me talk to my dad though, he has a real nice one in his plane and since they put panel-mount color moving map stuff in there recently, the handheld goes mostly unused. I'll get back to you on this...... It should have major highways and stuff in it as well.

dysco - So you have a digital odometer then or what? And it works only when your new lights are turned ON? Verify all of the little details for me here. If you feel like it, I'm fairly adept at the electrical stuff; I think I have something going on tomorrow night (or thurs night, not sure which yet) but I'd be happy to take a look for you with the meter and stuff, probably just a simple wiring mistake that's shorting something or completing a circuit in a bad way.

[Dysco]

Ralph- I just need something that's going to record miles traveled, nothing fancy- even though it would be cool to test something fancy out before I go out and buy myself a GPS when the money fairy visits me.

Odometer:
It's a digital thing. I'm assuming it has some kind of flash memory which stores miles traveled. When I turn the key to the off position, all data I have gets lost. When I turn it back on, it goes to 0. Basically what I have is a trip odometer that resets every time I turn the bike off.

It's probably a wiring thing since it occured after I installed my driving lights. It was NOT a power thing since the lights were fused properly from the get-go. They run from the battery to a fuse, then to the switches and lights. Worst case scenario is the memory is fried somehow and it needs to be replaced under warranty. What I really need to do is take it all apart again and check all the connections, but BMW can't even tell me where the stupid thing is.

If you want to find out what makes a Beemer eduro tick, you're welcome to take a look when I pull it apart to check the connections. For now, I'll probably just take apart the head and check the display area unless BMW can tell me where it is. The main thing is that I don't want to pay them a million dollars and have them still not know what the problem is.

[Anonymous]

Hmmmm... yeah you could have zapped the circuitry somehow I suppose. Try completely disconnecting the new lights (return the wiring to stock config as best you can) and see what happens then. The odo is probably part of the display, there's a circuit board behind the LCD screen.

If it's still messed up after you take the lights back out of the equation, that will sorta narrow it down. then you can shop for a new odo on ebay...

[Dysco]

Going back to stock wiring means removing 1 wire from the POS on the battery. That's all that really comes close to any onther electrical system and the charging/electric system is fine. If it's not a loose wire, it's from my friend disconnecting and reconnecting the battery (with lights off) a bunch of times, but I can't see how that would affect anything.