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So, my final 'conditioning' ride went well over memorial day weekend. I nabbed 32 Tour Of Honor sites, in 8 states, going about 3500 miles.
At this point, we're 2 weeks from the Iron Butt Rally check-in. I will give the bike a final wash and inspection this weekend, and address any final issues if found. I have an appointment near the Start hotel to get new tires and an oil change, so I'll be running on fresh rubber. I will spend the next week doing my final packing and organizing and wringing my hands to try to make sure I don't forget anything critical.
After that, it will be a matter of waiting to see the rally pack on Sunday night, and then waiting for the ceremonious wave of Warchild's hand to launch 11 days of insanity.
I spent last weekend much like Lew did, chasing down TOH sites in the west rather than the midwest. I visited 30-something sites and came home to find I had a nail in my rear tire. With my wife's birthday this weekend, and my Grandson's next weekend, my focus has shifted from being in riding shape to final prep on the bike. I put new tires -- double-darkside with a BT45R on the front and a Pirelli P1 RF on the rear -- that, barring any unexpected repairs or replacements, will run the entire rally. All three calipers got new factory pads after an experiment with EBC HH pads didn't leave me wanting to use them again. I've got to attach two toll transponders to the bike, replace the rear cylinder O2 sensor, and begin packing my tools, cold and wet weather gear, and change out the fluids. At that point I will ride to the rally start where wheel sensors and Spot tracker will get fresh batteries and replacements installed at either the first or second checkpoint.
I've used EBC HH on almost all of the bikes I've owned over the last ten years and liked them for the most part. However, they are noisy on application -- not with a vibration induced squeal, more of a "thrum" noise on application -- on all of the bikes I've run them on. I can live with that because I'm usually using some type of ear protection.
The last set I ran on my Road King wore very fast, though. The set I removed had about 10,000 miles on them and the fronts would have definitely gone metal to metal during the rally. In my experience the OE pads stop as well, are quieter, and last longer.
Last night, I packed my boxes to be mailed to the start/end hotel and checkpoint 2. Mostly, it's just rations and a few minor odds and ends. Other than that, I'm mostly ready. I have all my daily packs ready and the bike is just sitting there ready to be loaded. I'll load 90% on Saturday. The rest will go when I am ready to hit the road.
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Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
