Category: 06 FJR 1300

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The Bun Burner 1500

This weekend I plan to ride my first Official Bun Burner.  I’ve already knocked down a few Saddle Sore’s (1000 miles in 24 hours), but have yet to complete an actual Bun Burner (1500 in 36, or BB Gold which is 1500 in 24).  That later is much less unlikely here in the east.   Not saying it can’t be done, just saying we don’t have highways with higher speed limits like out west.

Knowing that weather may be an issue, I have 4 possible routes to choose from.

The most likely is highlighted in Yellow…

May02BBRoutes

This will allow me to pre-scout the 4 mandatory bonus locations for the MD2020 rally on memorial day weekend.

However, right now as of this post the weather for the entire eastern united states looks pretty crappy this weekend.

My other options are a southern route, and a south eastern route.  Each have their own issues; namely, the Kentucky Derby, and Nascar in Charlotte this weekend.

The northern route is up across the upper peninsula of Michigan.  A much more boring out and back type of ride.

I’ll make the call later tonight which way to go, if I go at all.

I won’t be blogging on this ride, there won’t be time.   But I’ll post about it after the fact if it happens.

Links: 
IronButt Association
– The SS1000 and BB1500 Rules.
Mason-Dixon 2020 Rally.

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How far will you ride for a Moonburger?

So a couple years ago I was invited to a Moonshine lunch run for a Moonburger.  But as thing turned out I couldn’t make it.   This year I planned a head and made sure that date was available.

What the heck is a Moonburger?

A Moonburger is a delicious hamburger made at the Moonshine Inn, in Moonshine, IL (population of 2).   It’s open Monday through Saturday from 5:30am to 12:30pm.   At 12:30pm she (Helen) shuts off the grill.   If you haven’t gotten your burger by then you are as they say SOL.   You can still get a cold cut sandwich if you’d like.

What’s the Moonshine run?

This was the 5th annual Moonshine Lunch run, and my first.  It started 5 years ago and 30 people came.   Now it’s a big deal.  Well over 800 people were there this year.   All through word of mouth and the internet.

We rode to Moonshine, or actually into Casey, IL Friday morning.   There was a lunch ride on Friday but we didn’t get there early enough to participate.  We did however participate in the Friday night Dinner at Richards Farm Restaurant.  Which coincidentally was a bonus location for the Cape Fear Rally.

I highly recommend that you eat there if given the opportunity.

We stayed the night at some flea bag hotel (the Budget Host Inn) in Greenup to be exact.   Which as flea bags go was OK, and nobody was complaining at a $45/night rate. 

Our original plan was to stay Friday night, ride to get a MoonBurger, ride some more.   Stay for the Chili dinner on Saturday and leave on Sunday.   Bad, bad weather was predicted for Sunday so we bailed after the MoonBurger.

Still a great weekend ride.   Not far, not long, but a good ride.   Next year we’ll make it part of a 1000 mile loop so we can claim we rode a 1000 miles for a Moonburger.  🙂

It was plenty packed:

From Moonshine Run

If you’re gonna ride this far, you might as well get (2)  🙂

More photos at the link above.

Till Next Year.

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FJR Crash Bars a good investment.

So I’m just riding to work minding my own business. I’m about a mile away, three turns left to negotiate.

A left, a right, then a left into the parking lot. I go through this intersection every day and yes it always looks like hell.

But this time it has an extra special coating of something oil like which I don’t see until after I try to stand up and just about bust my a$$.

I was going maybe 15-20, the road leading to it is 45MPH and I didn’t have to wait for the light and there was no one in front of me.

I go to turn left and *bam*

Next thing I know I’m sliding across the pavement, uttering a few obscenities.

Luckily there was an ambulance sitting at the light. They guys jumped out helped me pick up the bike. They offered to call it in, but I declined. Nobody hurt but my FJR and my pride.

All I recall is hitting my head, it happened that fast. Helmet’s good, jacket is good, gloves (check). I was wearing jeans, and if I hadn’t had the benefit of what ever was lubricating the street, I’d be rashed a bit. There’s no real rash, it’s more like a rug burn.

The turn:

From FJR Crashbar Test

(notice the scrape marks from my bike)

From FJR Crashbar Test

Now for the Feej, Standard left side low-side damage:

From FJR Crashbar Test
From FJR Crashbar Test
From FJR Crashbar Test

I only had the fronts installed, the rears are too fugly for me, and the ones I have don’t have peg mounts for the passenger pegs.

Though my left side is starting to get a little sore.

 

The mirror took a hit but is still intact. I already have a replacement though 🙂 

I’ll just need a bag… and a new left side crashbar, some new gear and I’ll be ready to go.

Clearly the crashbar saved my stator cover (already dinged up from a parking lot drop) and my left side fairing. That more than covers the cost of the bars.

Higher res images are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mdisher/FJRCrashbarTest#

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2008 Trip recap and highlights

So it’s over, our summer 2008 motorcycle trip.  We traveled approximately 4600  miles in about 12 and a half days.  No, not much per IronButt standards but we actually stopped, and saw stuff.

2008_Trip_Route

We touched, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and of course Kansas.

Highlights:

  • The ride on Route 20 from Sioux City to O’Neill Nebraska We were in riding right between two fronts for a while, there was an awesome lighting show off to the left, with beautiful blue sky’s off to the right.
  • The Badlands, SD:  Wow, that place is simply amazing.

    From 2008 Trip
  • Custer SD, Mount Rushmore, and the Black Hills area. Simply spectacular views, and outstanding roads. Custer is a great little town to visit.

    From 2008 Trip
  • The Winchester restaurant in Buffalo, Wyoming.  Simply awesome steaks.
  • Bighorn National Forest, Beartooth Pass, and the Shoshone National Forest. Simply amazing views, great altitude, and great roads.

    From 2008 Trip
  • Cody, Wy.  Another cool town, and the Rodeo was fun
  • Yellowstone National Park, Absolutely beautiful.

    From 2008 Trip
  • Jackson Hole, Wy I could see why you’d want to live here, a tad too touristy though.  This is where the white water rafting on the snake river didn’t happen.
  • Mount Evans, Co.  A fabulous ride up to the top of the highest paved road in America.

    From 2008 Trip
  • Steamboat Springs, Co. Another very cool ski town and where we met Harley-Mike.  The Accommodations at the Bristol Inn downtown were fantastic, I’d highly recommend staying there.

    From 2008 Trip
  • Cripple Creek, Co.  A former mining town, now a Casino heaven.

    From 2008 Trip
  • Manitou Springs, Garden of the Gods, and Pikes Peak.  All well worth it.  We had an outstanding meal at the Stagecoach in Manitou Springs.

    From 2008 Trip
  • Golden, Co. Seeing a few fellow FJR Riders and their machines in Golden at NAFO, even though I didn’t stay…

    From 2008 Trip

Low Lights:

  • Sioux City, Iowa…  What was that smell…  Sewer City may be a better name.
  • Having the XM radio on the Zumo crap out two days into the trip, then having a button fall off the dang thing.   It quit completely after the mount sat out in the rain for a day but at least the GPS functions came back and I had the ability to play the 389 mp3’s I had loaded.  Without that I would have gone crazy.
  • The Golden Hotel in O’Neill Nebraska…  At least the room I stayed in, everyone else was happy with the accommodations.  I would stay there again, just not in that room.
  • The Chinese restaurant next door to the Golden Hotel…  Not good.
  • Kyle Sr’s Crash, but he’s fine and bikes can be replaced.

    From 2008 Trip
  • Mount Rushmore, Charging $10 per vehicle to simply park and to visit the ‘Visitor Center’ and I’m sure spend $4 on a drink.  No-Thanks.
  • BMW MOA Rally in Gillette, Wy.  I was personally disappointed with the vendor attendance.  I know it was out in the middle of nowhere and you can’t please everyone.  Since we only stayed one day it wasn’t that bad.  Had we been there for more than one day it would have been wasteful. 
  • Route 789 from Wyoming to Colorado…  A barren waste land and no fun at all in 95+ degree heat.

    From 2008 Trip
  • The Flat Tire I got on the way to Mount Evans. Though plugging it was easy enough with the right tools.
  • Kansas, All of it.  HOT, flat, boring as hell.

All in all this was a trip of a lifetime.  Getting to do it with my dad was special too.  We laughed a lot and learned a lot.  I wish we would have had more time.   The overall cost of the trip was well under budget.  I didn’t spend any real money at the rally because the vendors I wanted to see weren’t there.  We lucked out with hotel accommodations just about everywhere.  In most cases we were under $120 for a room with 3 beds.  Split 3 ways that’s less than $40 a night.  You can hardly camp for that and have a good place to sleep, and a warm shower.

We lucked out with the weather for the most part.  We didn’t ride more than 300 miles of the 4600 in the rain.   We got wet now and then but it was usually welcome from the heat.

This was the perfect time of year to visit all of these places (except the parts getting to and from the west.  They pretty much sucked).

I’d do this again in a heart beat if I could.