The bike
The Iron Butt Rally can be very hard on a bike. From taking Sport Tourers down goat paths to running an over-loaded dual sport on western interstate the rally offers plenty of opportunities to make a new motorcycle old in only a little over a week.
Fortunately I had no significant mechanical issues during the rally. I used an acceptable amount of motor oil and the only challenge was a weep from a fitting on my auxiliary fuel tank. I addressed this on the ship using some 5-minute epoxy I begged from one of the crew. Sailors care for their own and they were happy to help. My biggest frustration was the fresh chip seal I enjoyed for 20 or so miles in Montana. It got everywhere and made a bike that started the rally with around seven thousand miles look like an old wreck.
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| Eww. This was the last night. I didn’t look much better. |
The bike is a 2012 BMW R1200 GS Adventure. The Adventure model comes with a little taller suspension, crash bars, aluminum panniers, fog lights, upgraded wind protection and best of all a large (8.9) gallon fuel tank.
This is the bike I love to ride.
That’s important because to enjoy the Iron Butt Rally you have to love your bike. I’ve heard it said that the best rally bike is one you love enough to ride for 11 days but not so much you’re unwilling to take a drill to the fairing. Fortunately I found a way to ride a bike I love too much to butcher *and* the bike is a perfect platform for the rally with very few modifications.
My goals for the bike were reasonably simple and in no particular order.
Comfort
Performance
Range
Post rally daily rider
For the issues above I addressed comfort with a custom seat from Rocky Mayer. This is actually a seat he made for a previous GS which I would not sell with the bike. It won’t go with this one either. I also added a removable Touratech locking windscreen spoiler. I chose this one because it is removable.
Between the seat I already had and the spoiler I made the bike almost LT like for interstate work *and* I didn’t have to spend a ton of cake!
Auxiliary lights were ordered from Future Vision, FV90’s to be precise.
Everything else was simple and bolted on or plugged into existing mounts. The fuel tank required the removal of the adventure rack (a rather heavy item) with the tank using the same mounts for a very clean installation. The storm case is mounted to the top of the tank. The tablet is on a custom mount that clamps around the handlebars.
As an aside some might say extra fuel on a bike that already holds almost 9 gallons is silly, however I was usually getting fuel with between .2 and .5 gallons remaining so the extra capacity directly translated in to stopping less.
Electrically the only additions were the connection for the HID lights for which BMW provides taps and the installation of a Curt Gran FUZEBLOCK under the seat. There are a few sources on the GS for switched power, one was tapped for the FUZEBLOCK. One switched 30amp circuit off the FUZEBLOCK fed the equipment in the storm case. This included the power supply for the tablet, six USB sockets (not all used) phone and camera battery chargers. There were two wires into the case. The GPS units were wired to a factory connection and were switched. One benefit of this design is there were only two additional rings on the positive terminal of the battery and four connections to BMW plugs. There are no splices or cuts to the wiring harness anywhere on the bike.
I had mentioned that the bike I rode in the rally would be returned to stock trim as a “woods weapon” and that’s I’d be in the woods with it the weekend after the rally.
It took a few days and I’m still not done but on Thursday I posted a the photo below.
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| The rear wheel has been cleaned of the chip seal, front has not. I think you can see the difference. |
True to form I did get into the woods over the weekend however it wasn’t on this bike. For reasons not completely known, I spent Friday riding a new water boxer, rode K16GT home friday night, only to return with the GT Saturday morning to grab my GS Adventure Hack (sidecar) and take *that* for a few hundred miles including a jaunt down a class IV road in the woods of New Hampshire, but as they say that’s a story for a different campfire.
The dealer behind the bike
It’s not possible, nor would it be polite for me to talk about the bike without mentioning the dealer who makes it all possible; after all I’m still buying new BMW’s even after 2007 and it isn’t because a member of the Quandt family sent me a Christmas card.
Ergo my dealer must be pretty good.
I met Max Stratton of MAX BMW MOTORCYCLES on day 7 of my first Iron Butt Rally. I had crashed outside of Moab, Utah and done quite a bit of damage to my bike. Because of the crash I made it to the checkpoint with less miles than I expected and decided not to get tires. At the time there was a guy known as the Tire Nazi doing mobile tire service. We had a deal, him and me that I could call him from the rally and he’d meet me “anywhere.”
I called him on my way north and he told me “anywhere” had to be off I-95 south of DC as he was heading to Florida for a girl. As an aside I’m not sure if we ever saw him in New England since, he was a true flash in the pan.
Now my tire plan is blown. Thanks to being an early adopter to the cell phone in the helmet I made a bunch of calls and had a buddy meet the Tire Nazi for a rear off his truck, go to my house for a front and meet me. The question was where? I was too close and would be too late if I used my regular dealer in Rhode Island and I wanted to avoid Boston if possible.
Max had been open just under a year in North Hampton, NH as the area’s first exclusive modern BMW corporate endorsed store. I called and heard the party line from a service manager that didn’t want to get involved in doing something “today” with tires he didn’t sell, spewing bullshit about insurance and crap. I played every card in the deck and told him that I’m quite confident that after I speak with this Max fellow we’ll be good to go.
Upon arrival my buddy took over, separating myself from the hysterical service dude who was pissed that his boss had never actually heard of me, yet told him to help. He was pissed at me for getting pissed at him as after his initial rant I said, screw it we’ll to go Gorham, to which he replied “you can’t leave.” I doubt to this day the service writer has any idea how close to death by mugabmo he was. Peter guided me to a patch of grass, pointed and said sleep. Every time the mechanic wanted to wake me up to tell me yet another reason why my bike should be put in the dumpster out back he guided him back to his lift. This was a great example of having the right friend at the right time, the ‘Shagger was able to convince all parties of what needed to happen now, even if they didn’t necessarily agree.
Max arrives and inquires about the dead guy on the lawn. I wake up, we’re introduced and I tell Max all about the Iron Butt Rally. His reply was to ask me if I’d like a shower. Short of a steak and some showgirls at that moment in time there was nothing that could possibly top a shower. Turns out Max races almost anything with wheels and a motor so he took to the idea of riding bikes for 11 days immediately. He’s also smart enough to consider the benefits of multiple customers riding their bikes 11k in 11 days although for this he’d need a bigger lawn.
I arrived to the Maine checkpoint on a motorcycle that shouldn’t be there, looking like I had not a care in the world. IBR scribe Bob Higdon’s first question to me was “What are you doing here?”
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| From 2003. Big antennas and mustache. |
Since meeting Max I’ve had even more fun on two wheels. From building LD Rally bikes, racing HP2’s, vintage in the woods, Rally Moto and simply having a great time with my wife and friends on motorcycles MAX BMW MOTORCYCLES has been am amazing shop to work with.
Since their start over a decade ago MAX BMW MOTORCYCLES has grown to be the premier BMW dealer in the Northeast. With locations in New Hampshire, New York and Connecticut and a fleet of Sprinter van MAX BMW is the place to go for all things BMW Motorcycle.
But wait, there’s more! If you’re a fan of LD Riding in New England, Max is for you. He sponsors the Minuteman 1000, a really neat 24hr rally, a new 10hr ride and a bunch more.
Visit Max’s website or sign up for his E-Rider on his events page.
Thanks Max!