Congrats to rjmorel on the Ironbutt!

[2LZ]

Great job, Rob! Thanks for representing the RX3 and China Riders!

http://californiascooterco.com/blog/

[FastDoc]

Very impressive.

I've pulled 700 miles on a Gold Wing (Yellowstone to home) in one straight run and I'll tell you even on the most comfortable motorcycle made that's a haul. Your experience is a testimony to the RX3, and your arse ;-)

[detours]

Way to go, Rob! You probably didn't have time to take many pics, but please post them with your route and tell us more about your trip!

[BlackBike]

Yea,yea,yea, more,more,more !

[BlackBike]

Rj...That's high praise from the clan leader Joe!

[dave92029]

Welcome to the dark side.

I was surprised by your average mpg. I don't believe that I have ever averaged less than 55 mpg on any tank of gas, and my RX3 burns California 87 octane fuel.

IBA # 44

[3banger]

Well done indeed! Biggest day I've got in the RX3 saddle was my zig zagy 700 miles on my way to PHX. This was day one for me of the 2nd annual Baja ride. I found the little Zong to be all day comfortable with the tall saddle and sheep skin. I also get 45 to 50mpg flogging the little motor on the interstate, on the back roads at 60 to 65 mph it gets much closer to the 70mpg mark. Managed 4000 miles in 10 days on the Baja trip.

[Juanro]

Congratulations and very impressive.
I've done a maximum of 800km (about 500 mi) on my RX3, and it was a long day indeed (it was not non-stop, but more like taking the scenic route)
My absolute maximum was 1500km, still no thousand miles, on a Honda Pacific Coast, but I was a lot younger!

[rtking]

Well done, Rob! Wow... I don't think I could do 1,000 miles on anything and still be able to stand, let alone walk, after that ordeal!

And as Paul stated, congrats to Vic for 1000 mile accomplishment as well!

This is truly and test and testament to the fortitude and endurance of Rob and Vic, and their trusty steeds!

[Azhule]

I kind of want to try the 1,000 mile ride on both our little Bashan 200 and the Kawasaki 650... it should be doable, only have to maintain an avg. speed of 55 mph for 18 hours

[BlackBike]

Originally Posted by Azhule

I kind of want to try the 1,000 mile ride on both our little Bashan 200 and the Kawasaki 650... it should be doable, only have to maintain an avg. speed of 55 mph for 18 hours

200cc put a barb in the bottom of a 2.5 gal plastic tank on rear rack and run fuel line to a "T" in the fuel line to swap off to auxiliary tank when main is dry. No great ideas about fixing the arse issue.

Good luck keeping that 55mph average

I drove 16 hrs in a 1980 accord in my 20 somethings. Had so much coffee in me I couldn't sleep when I got to my destination. Remember, It felt like I was vibrating , was awful. Hard to imagine doing 20 hrs or so on mc.

[rjmorel]

You should come with us , they said, It will be fun, they said.....................

Thank you everyone for the arse condolences and the congrates on this little venture. And congratulations to DSchic for your accomplishing an IB. I do feel your pain. Does this make us fox hole buddies?
At 59 years old I think the warrantee has expired on this body of mine. The worse pain I have is in my neck and shoulder area. Felt like ice picks going into my neck and back from the degenerative disks I have. I took a couple of ibuprofen every couple of hours to keep the pain down. But like DSchic said it's not the ride that hurts so much as the next few days after your body tells you "What where you thinking"
I wanted to do this IB for 2 reasons 1) to see if the RX3 could do it and 2) to see if I could do it. I have a Honda NC700x that would of done it just fine. but where's the challenge in that?
We left Walla Walla, Wa at 4 AM in the dark with 6 other guys and 1 girl all riding Harley, Victories, Indian and I think a Yamaha. You can see a pic of us here
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rider...48653721944905

I told them I understood that I wouldn't be able to keep up with them once we got to Oregon and Idaho where the speeds were 75 and 80 on I84 and we all just needed to ride our own ride to survive this. We chose this weekend because it has the longest daylight of the summer and wanted to take advantage of that.
Within an hour we were headed up Cabbage Hill and low 30 deg temps. My fingers were so cold I couldn't operate the switches cause of numbness. I had the heated grips and jacket liner on for hours on end and I was so thankful CSC had given us 300 watt alternators which never failed to deliver enough juice. At first fuel stop I bought a pair of thinsulate gloves and they kept my hands warm but were thick and caused my hands to tire easily cause they just weren't ment for cycle riding. The heated grips kept the inside of my hands warm but the cold air going over the back of hands froze them.
We came down into La Grand were the temps were rising and the sun was coming up. Overall perfect weather for the ride other then the 30 deg temps early on.
From then on it was a game of cat and mouse riding where the group would disappear down the highway and pull over for gas break , then I would catch up with them , we would take off , they would disappear till next gas stop.
I'll post this now and keep writing short posts till we get back home to Walla Walla.

[rjmorel]

Our route took us through Baker City, Boise, to American Falls ,Pocatello with our turn around destination of Idaho Falls about 530 miles from Walla Walla. I lost track of the others and when I got to Idaho Falls to gas up for the return trip home. I figured they had been here already and were on their way back. Since time wise I was ahead of schedule I thought I'd take a little nap before starting the second half of journey home. I didn't take many pics. Joe has them on the CSC blog you can see them here
http://californiascooterco.com/blog/
While I was trying to get some shut eye ,I heard the familiar rumble of big bikes coming down the off ramp and I was surprised it was my group. They had stopped for 45min lunch break and I had passed them up with out knowing it. I jumped up and was waving and grinning at them very thankful to see them all together ,safe and sound. They had wondered if I had given up and turned back home hours ago. That was one highlight of the trip. Getting there first w/o knowing it. Not that this was a race, just surprised us all the slowest bike got to the half way point ahead of the others. They told me where they planned to stop for fuel on the way back so I made a mental note of it and off we went.
You know how they say a horse knows when it's time to go home you just let them go and they'll find their way? That's kinda like what the group did. The closer they got to home the less messing around and stopping they did. Or so I was told. I saw them at several gas stops and pretty much was by myself after the sun went down. They were beating it for home. That was the least fun part going alone in the dark at 65-70mph for 4-5 hours, keeping an eye out for deer, trying to stay awake.
I kept hearing Donkey on my front fender singing "I feel so all alone, There's no one here beside me............"

[BlackBike]

Yep, on the other hand, there was no way but home at the half way piont. You knew you had it at that point, (couldn't quit) all roads lead to home, just had to keep up the pace.

That was a real turtle and the hare story at the mid point.


That nite ride, oh my God I bet it was tempting to click that blinker and hit that exit and head for that nice Hampton inn.

[rjmorel]

So the return trip was uneventful and a lot warmer when coming over the Cabbage Hill area. Riding at night is a different world. I didn't seem to get tired and just focused on not hitting anything and staying on the highway. I can't tell you how much of a relief it was when coming down the last hill and seeing the lights of Walla Walla of in the distance some 19 hours after starting that morning. My thoughts were " you've made it this far , don't crash or hit a deer or get run over by a semi".
I had wondered if anyone would be at the last stop, our starting point where we fuel up for the last time to get the "official" end time printed receipt from the gas pump at around 12:30 am. I had visions of the whole town turning out ,throwing down flowers before me and waving flags as I made my way through town to the Cenex station we started from.
To my surprise the whole group was still there filling out their paper work , having witness sign their forms. They had arrived about 15 min head of me and gave a clapping ovation when I pulled in.
The rest of the town never showed. Vermin.