My buddy at work just bought a Road King and we've been talking about doing an Iron Butt ride, in particular the Lower Great Lakes 1000. It's a trip around Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in 24 hrs or less. I've mapped it out, it's about 1,060 total miles, starting and ending right off I90 in Avon, OH. Now, I've done some pretty long riding on my DL1000 that I sold, but I have yet to try anything major on the Dyna. I find the Dyna to be very comfortable, but again, I haven't sat on it for 18 hrs at a time yet

So, has anyone done one on a Dyna? Any thoughts, tips, advice? I've got a pretty solid route planned out with checkpoints at roughly every 100 miles. The way I figure it, if we plan to make 100 miles every two hours (or less), we'll be done in 20 hrs. Figure, leave at 4am, be in Erie by 6am, Buffalo by 8, Syracuse by 10, etc etc. I've got a Windvest, a Sundowner seat with Alaskan sheepskin buttpad, and heated grips so I think I'm good to go. I plan to take nothing more than a map, MP3 player, phone, credit card and a change of clothes. My riding gear is all waterproof.

I'm about 90% sure I can do it That is, barring any unexpected mechanical issues but my bike seems to be tip-top, with fresh fluids and tires.

Here's my route if anyone wants to see it:

http://*******.com/lowergreatlakes1000

Advice is appreciated.

 

I got no answers for ya. But I will hijack this thread with impunity. Anyone in N. Cal. want to plan a similar iron butt ride?

 

Reminds me of that part in Wild Hogs where they throw the cell phones away.

NO RULES! JUST RIDE!!!!

If you're going to be getting off the bike every 100 miles, for say, 10-15 minutes, you should be fine. I rode 200 miles non-stop one time on my Low Rider without any issues at all. Of course, I was 22 at the time.

 

Hehe, no worries. Man, I can think of all sorts of nice places to do one out West. I'd love to do one with ya, but the couple thousand miles it would take me to get to the starting point would be kind of a hassle.

That's the thing though, I think it'd be much tougher solo. I always feel like the miles roll away faster when you're riding with another bike.

 

Most I have done in a day so far was around 400 and that was on a Lepera Barebones. We did about 300 miles the 2nd day. Would of been much better with my new seat. Plan on some longer trips this year.

Buddy of mine has done some long trips on his Duece. A group of them did over 900 miles in one day from Florida (one guy in the group did ride a WG). They also wnet to Sturgis last year 1300 miles split in less than 2 days.

 

The Sheepskin over the Sundowner will make the difference for the Saddlesore.
Plan to milk as many miles as you can per tank of fuel, and only stop long enough to gas. No lollygaging, or you wont make it.
Plan your fuel stops at 150 miles, even though the RK is going to shoot for 200
Trash the change of clothes, you wont need them.
The windvest is going to help a lot, but you're still going to feel a lot of wind pressure, and thats going to wear you out faster than a sore butt will. If you can, practice getting into a comfortable position and tuck in behind the windvest (Laying on the tank like a rocketeer).
Put a cupholder on the bars and keep a bottle of water in it, and a cigarette lighter if you smoke.
You can take my suggestions with a grain of salt, but keep them in mind when you feel yourself getting hammered.
Your idea of starting at 4AM is perfect. You'll rack up the most miles early, so start early. If youre around 500+ by noon, you're right on track.

 

Haven't done one on a Dyna yet but I am scheduled to on May 16th up in Chantilly Virginia. It's supposed to be for 2 world's records.

I did do one in 06 however on a 883C Sportster hopped up to a 1250. We went from Portsmouth Virginia to Savannah Georgia and back. Took about 18 hours and we even had a 2 hour lunch. We stopped about every 175 miles for gas. Had a blast and my butt didn't get sore since I had a Mustang seat on the Sporty.
The thing I remember was the morning we left at 6am from Portsmouth some guy on a Goldwing was talking to his buddies saying how bad and long this ride was gonna be since his cd player and gps weren't working right. hahahaha

Should be quite a bit more comfortable on the Dyna I am imagining. Just get a good seat you can do some serious miles on and get a windshield. Like kk6pg said try to minimize your stops for gas and at least try to go 150 miles inbetween stops. You can do it!

 

did 1600 in day and 3/4... shield, stock seat, 1 saddle bag... loved it... was an awesome ride, went to southern missouri had a drink with a buddy, rode home... took rt 66 from marshall Mo all the way home... loved it... i stop every 100... shield is a must man... for real, i also move my bars back about 2 in, just so i am a bit more relaxed

 

Did two back-to-back 400+ days right out'a the gate on our Sept. roadtrip. I have the Touring Seat on my '06 Wide. If I could offer a few suggestion, I'd say use a couple of spider-bungees to lash a few rolled sleeping bags to the front of your sissybar (if you have one). I had my bag, a sleeping pad, and a tent stacked behind me, and it made for an awesome backrest that will extend your riding comfort immensely; likewise a QD 'shield. Mine allowed me to prop a water bottle/big-gulp (caffeine fix?) in the space behind the 'shield. Most gas stations are mini-marts you can refill with ice/Coke for cheap.
Let us know how it goes.

 

Sounds like you are going to have a great ride, go for it!