Thursday, October 7, 2010

Iron Butt Rally Prep

The tag line for the Iron Butt Rally is 11 Days 11,000 Miles. That is true, but I have heard it as 11 Days 11,000 Dollars. I am in the process of modifying my bike for the Rally and it is quite the ordeal. I have a checklist of items and a schedule to get things done well in advance of the Rally in June. I want the bike to be totally tricked-out by February. I want to break everything in and get used to the bike and the modifications. It is going to be a completely different ride when I am done with it. Some of the farkles and mods include: Ohlins suspension upgrade, digital HID headlight replacement kit, 4.5 gallon aux fuel cell, custom fuel cell cover, cb, satellite radio, communications system, and a bunch of other stuff. I don't think it will amount to $11,000, but it is still a lot of stuff to buy. I have been chatting back and forth this week with the guy who is building my fuel cell. He is in Washington state. The base for the cell is the passenger seat on the bike so I had to scour the internet to find a used seat to send to him. I did not want to ruin the one I have because I am thinking I won't have the cell on the bike all the time and want to be able to swap it out with my seat. I found one on a BMW forum board and it is being sent to my guy in Washington now. Once the cell is done in a couple weeks, I will have it sent to the woman who is going to make a custom cover for it in Florida. A lot of moving pieces to coordinate all of this, but I love doing that stuff. So far, the plan is working and things are moving along. The good thing about this fuel cell is that it is basically plug and play. He is building the cell, mounting it on the seat base, and will be providing all the necessary plumbing to connect it to the tank. I've heard good things about his tanks so I am looking forward to that modification. With the addition of the fuel cell, I will have a range of almost 400 miles without having to stop for gas. For everything else, the plan right now is to get everything ordered and then have my mechanic install everything that I can't do myself which is most of it. Their labor rates are significantly discounted during the winter months so I will have them do it in December.

2 comments:

KTsRidin said...

Curious, are you having your tank and "plumbing" done by Bill @ BLM Accessories?

Wallace said...

Yes, Bill is building my cell.