My FZ6 in a rally - follow the prep here

[D-Mac]

As some of you know, I've been into the long-distance riding thing since I bought my FZ6. I've ridden my '07 on a couple of Iron Butt rides (both ride reports are on here somewhere) and I'm the only person to have done two different IBA rides on our bike (which only makes me stupid ). I love those 500-1000 mile days!

My latest endeavor? I've entered a rally! Specifically, the 2010 'Not Superman Rally' to be run next June. It's a 36-hour rally where you collect points by visiting various Bonus locations (photographing the whole thing). This rally will be using SPOT satellite trackers and the public will be able to follow it in 'real time' once it starts.

http://www.notsupermanrally.com/registered_riders.php

Registration opened today. I'm rider #3. You'll note that an FZ6 is much smaller than the 'average' bike used to ride these things.

In addition to the mods I've already done, I will be adding a 4-gallon fuel cell this winter and I'm getting my stock seat re-done by Russell Day Long Saddles (they're ugly, but it's what most of the long-distance guys use and they get rave reviews for 1000+ miles days in the saddle). I figure I've earned a new seat at this point!

I'll post pics of the prep work on here. Stay tuned and please jump in with comments or suggestions!

 

[psnbye]

Holy cow man! I think you deserve some medal for self abuse! :justkidding: You definately have more resolve and determination than the average rider. I have been on a few rides that were long for me; the longest being about 800 miles but I'm not sure I have the patience or endurance in the lower region for truly long rides. How do you stay on the bike that long? I know the seat will help, but thats a long time to be in a fairly stable position. I have a few tricks like standing breifly on the pegs to stretch my legs and get some air flow to my, um... lower half, and streching my feet forward but theres only so much you can really do. I've tried the touring windshield but did not like it. Well, good luck in your rally and be safe! I'll try to keep up on the whole thing on the internet. Take some pictures!

 

[D-Mac]

Holy cow man! I think you deserve some medal for self abuse! :justkidding: You definately have more resolve and determination than the average rider. I have been on a few rides that were long for me; the longest being about 800 miles but I'm not sure I have the patience or endurance in the lower region for truly long rides. How do you stay on the bike that long? I know the seat will help, but thats a long time to be in a fairly stable position. I have a few tricks like standing breifly on the pegs to stretch my legs and get some air flow to my, um... lower half, and streching my feet forward but theres only so much you can really do. I've tried the touring windshield but did not like it. Well, good luck in your rally and be safe! I'll try to keep up on the whole thing on the internet. Take some pictures!

Thanks for the support! We'll see how it goes. I'll be posting up with lots of questions as I contemplate various suspension and lighting mods.

The key to high mileage days is staying in saddle. Stops eat up tons of time. You don't have to speed to make great time if you keep moving. I typically stop every 140-180 miles and with the stock seat that's about my physical limit without taking a short break. With a better seat and a fuel cell I'm hoping to push it to 350 or 400 miles between stops. If I can do that, plan a good route, and get lucky, I could be pretty competitive in a rally. I actually entered the 2010 IBR5000 (a 5000-mile 5-day rally run by the Iron Butt Association) but my name wasn't drawn.

I'm also hoping to do another Iron Butt ride next summer. I'm thinking of the Lower Lakes 1000 (around Lakes Erie and Ontario in under 24h) or a Bun Burner Gold (1500 miles in under 24h - this is considered one of the hardest rides because you really can't do anything other than ride/gas/ride).

One of the best mods I've done is crashbars with footpegs. It's great to be able to shift positions every 40-50 miles and standing up just doesn't seem to work as well. On my first Iron Butt (before I did any major mods), my feet/legs fell asleep several times.

I have a tall shield, but I do get some buffeting on my head. I find that as I get tired, I actually slouch down so that I can tuck in behind the windshield a bit more, and the buffeting is less. I'm hoping that my new seat won't put me too much more above the windshield.

 

[Chillin]

You weren't kidding about those saddles being ugly Did you see the pics of the FZ1 saddle they made...on the other hand they look super comfortable!

Good Luck

 

[krid80]

Hey! The Not Superman rally is in my area! Start and finish is at Grassroots BMW if I recall, and they are about 75 miles from me. I know of a few locals who did the rally last year, kinda cool to see it getting bigger.

Once we get closer to d-day maybe we can work out meeting up or something.

 

[mxgolf]

That's fantastic. You have a real liking for the long, long rides. I plan on going farther and farther on my FZ this summer. I got the Top Saddlery seat and love it. Good luck, enjoy and be safe. :rockon::rockon:

 

[D-Mac]

Hey! The Not Superman rally is in my area! Start and finish is at Grassroots BMW if I recall, and they are about 75 miles from me. I know of a few locals who did the rally last year, kinda cool to see it getting bigger.

Once we get closer to d-day maybe we can work out meeting up or something.

I'm hoping to arrive a couple of days early, so I might be able to meet up. The start point (Cape Girardeau) is about 550 miles from my home.

 

[D-Mac]

That's fantastic. You have a real liking for the long, long rides. I plan on going farther and farther on my FZ this summer. I got the Top Saddlery seat and love it. Good luck, enjoy and be safe. :rockon::rockon:

I love the looks of the Top Saddlery seat and I'm sure they're much more comfortable than the stocker. In my case, I'm going for uber-comfortable (something wider than a tractor seat that I can sit on for 20+ hours per day), but I'll certainly be sacrificing looks to get it. I suppose you don't see the seat when you're on the bike, plus the moment I bolted on a large windshield, luggage rack, and crash bars/footpegs I threw attractiveness out the window. When you all add that to the hi-viz riding jacket I just ordered, it screams geek.... just wait till I get that fuel cell on there!

I'd love to have another FZ6. I'd throw a belly pan on it and be done. I do have another bike that I'm planning to turn into a Cafe racer. :rockon:

 

[alkinoos]

Very nice!!! I admire your courage!

 

[Wavex]

I never understood why one would want to find the straightest most boring roads in the country to try and log 1000+ boring miles in a day and break your ass in the process, but this Rally thing sounds fun... more like a treasure hunt...

Good luck and post all the pics when you`re done!

 

[Hellgate]

That does sound like fun. Best of luck and post up photos as you prepare. I've done half day car rallys and they are alot of fun.

 

[D-Mac]

Time for a few updates....

(1) After waiting for two months, my custom FZ6 seat from Russell Day-Long saddles is ready! It should be here in a few days. With shipping and a rain cover, the total came to close to $500.00.

I'll post pics when it arrives. It's certainly not the prettiest saddle out there, but I'm going for 100% functionality here.

(2) I'm ready to start modifying the bike for an auxiliary fuel cell. I've pulled the tank and fuel pump and will be welding a new bung onto the bottom (for the fuel line from the cell). Welding should be done next week (I just need to start buying parts). I'm planning to mount a 4-gallon fuel cell from Tour Tank, For those who refuse to let gas stations dictate their destination. to the rear luggage rack and run a line under the seat and into the main tank. That way I can avoid having to add a second fuel pump to the bike (gravity should carry the gas from the cell into the main tank). My original plan was to mount the cell to the rear seat, but I want to keep easy access to the underside of the seat. On rallies and long rides I have side-cases, so I'll just run with a fuel cell and no top-case. For regular touring, I'll rig up a quick-disconnect to the main tank and ditch the fuel cell.

I'll take pics of the progress.

Next week I'm also giving a lecture on long-distance riding (part of a series we have at work for unusual stuff people do for fun). Info is currently linked at http://campus.albion.edu/library/ That should be fun.

 

[Dino]

I'm also hoping to do another Iron Butt ride next summer. I'm thinking of the Lower Lakes 1000 (around Lakes Erie and Ontario in under 24h) or a Bun Burner Gold (1500 miles in under 24h - this is considered one of the hardest rides because you really can't do anything other than ride/gas/ride).

I've done a SaddleSore 1000 on my FZ 6 (last Sept). It was my second (1st was on my Majesty scooter). I'll be doing the Great Lakes Challenge this summer. That's around all the Great Lakes in 100 hours. There's a certification for doing it in 50, but I wanted to spend a little time off the bike too.

 

[tuningfork]

Time for a few updates....

(1) After waiting for two months, my custom FZ6 seat from Russell Day-Long saddles is ready! It should be here in a few days. With shipping and a rain cover, the total came to close to $500.00.

I'll post pics when it arrives. It's certainly not the prettiest saddle out there, but I'm going for 100% functionality here.

(2) I'm ready to start modifying the bike for an auxiliary fuel cell. I've pulled the tank and fuel pump and will be welding a new bung onto the bottom (for the fuel line from the cell). Welding should be done next week (I just need to start buying parts). I'm planning to mount a 4-gallon fuel cell from Tour Tank, For those who refuse to let gas stations dictate their destination. to the rear luggage rack and run a line under the seat and into the main tank. That way I can avoid having to add a second fuel pump to the bike (gravity should carry the gas from the cell into the main tank). My original plan was to mount the cell to the rear seat, but I want to keep easy access to the underside of the seat. On rallies and long rides I have side-cases, so I'll just run with a fuel cell and no top-case. For regular touring, I'll rig up a quick-disconnect to the main tank and ditch the fuel cell.

I'll take pics of the progress.

Next week I'm also giving a lecture on long-distance riding (part of a series we have at work for unusual stuff people do for fun). Info is currently linked at http://campus.albion.edu/library/ That should be fun.

How will you get the lines into the main tank? How will you keep from over-filling the main tank? I'm thinking you might need some sort of electric cut-off valve so you can control the fill into the main tank...

 

[Norbert]

What do you do about boredom on the long roads?

I was thinking that it would be good to listen to music and get some of those noise canceling earbuds.


I'm asking this because I plan on doing some touring during the summer, and may have to deal with long stretches of road (i.e, the Plains States.)

 

[krid80]

What do you do about boredom on the long roads?

I was thinking that it would be good to listen to music and get some of those noise canceling earbuds.


I'm asking this because I plan on doing some touring during the summer, and may have to deal with long stretches of road (i.e, the Plains States.)

I use these Sennheiser ear buds and an iPod or my HTC Touch Pro 2 cell phone for music or whatever while touring. Works very well. I also have a set of Sony earbuds that noise cancel fairly well.

Other than that, just hammer down through the Plains States. :thumbup:

 

[Live4Snow]

That sounds fun....did you happen to see number 34 on the list?
2003 Aprilia/Colin Edwards-Mille R

I would love to hear that bad boy.

Wiki photo...

 

[D-Mac]

I've done a SaddleSore 1000 on my FZ 6 (last Sept). It was my second (1st was on my Majesty scooter). I'll be doing the Great Lakes Challenge this summer. That's around all the Great Lakes in 100 hours. There's a certification for doing it in 50, but I wanted to spend a little time off the bike too.

Congrats on the SS1000! I've thought about the Great Lakes Challenge or the Gold version since I live pretty much on the optimal route for one. The Gold version would be quite a feat. I'm hoping to try for a BBG (1500 miles in 24h) sometime this summer.

 

[D-Mac]

What do you do about boredom on the long roads?

I was thinking that it would be good to listen to music and get some of those noise canceling earbuds.


I'm asking this because I plan on doing some touring during the summer, and may have to deal with long stretches of road (i.e, the Plains States.)

I use earbuds/earphones. I like the skull candy ones from Best Buy ($20). They stay in pretty well and block nearly all of the road noise. I usually listen to mp3s on my Garmin Zumo (I have the 450, so it doesn't have XM). Podcasts are pretty good to mix in with the music. It kills the time quickly.

I also fill my tankbag with banana chips and trail mix. It makes a hell of a mess, but snacking cuts down on the need to make long stops and keeps my energy level up. I'm still sorting out the best way to get water without stopping (I've tried a platypus, but it leaked).

 

[krid80]

I use earbuds/earphones. I like the skull candy ones from Best Buy ($20). They stay in pretty well and block nearly all of the road noise. I usually listen to mp3s on my Garmin Zumo (I have the 450, so it doesn't have XM). Podcasts are pretty good to mix in with the music. It kills the time quickly.

I also fill my tankbag with banana chips and trail mix. It makes a hell of a mess, but snacking cuts down on the need to make long stops and keeps my energy level up. I'm still sorting out the best way to get water without stopping (I've tried a platypus, but it leaked).

My brother-in-law used a OGIO brand hydration pack on our big ride last year. Our pal Buddy used a Camelbak brand hydration pack.

They both liked them.

edit:

I used a simple camping bottle filled with water or fruit punch and ice. Every fuel stop, I would drink some and it worked ok for me.