My Saddlesore 1k..Almost

[agrojubal]

My wife and I attempted an Iron Butt Saddlesore on our Vstrom 650 at the end of April 2006. The week we were leaving we had some problems with the clutch and got it repair for the second time on Thursday afternoon. We took a 4 hour nap and left the house to get our first witness. We went to the closes Fire Station and after some confused looks got our signature. We went to a BP gas station for our first receipt (12:40am). We rode for 3 hrs and stopped at Mount Airy, NC for gas, coffee and a Kashi bar for about 20 minutes (3:28am). It was cold but manageable. We rode for 2 ½ hrs and stopped at Beckley WV for a quick breakfast and gas (5:34am). We stayed until sunset and rode off. The mountains in West Virginia looked great, it was warming up and we were feeling confident we would finish the ride on time. After a toll both the clutch started slipping again. I took the first exit to Morton Travel Plaza. My cellphone did not have any signal so I asked around for the yellow pages. Nobody had one, not even the pay phones. I went to the gas station outside and they would not lend me the phone book. I jolted down a couple of car rental places and a Suzuki dealership. The car rentals would not delivered there. At 8:30 the state travel information store open and they help us make some phone calls. The taxi company that was nearest would not guarantee a pickup. I called a towing company to tow us to Charleston WV to the Suzuki dealership.
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After two hours we arrived there and the mechanic asked me what was wrong. He said that the clutch cables were to tight and he change some settings on them. They went ahead and oiled the chain. I left the key on when I put it on the tow truck so they recharged the battery too. Feeling like an idiot, we left at 12:30pm and decided to try to make it even if we did not get any certificate.
We stopped at:
Newcomerstown, Oh 2:07pm
Milan, Oh 4:45 pm
Sylvania, OH 7:36pm
Flint, MI 8:41pm
Detroit, MI 10:03 pm (not really necessary)
Canadian Border 12:25am
The ride from then on was very uncomfortable. It was dark, cold and full of trucks. The exits were far between and the smells were horrible. First it smelled like wet dog, then cow manure, horse manure, wet dog again and latrine. The smell and the cold kept us wide awake. When we stop at London, Canada 2:00am I shivered for close to 5 minutes. We arrived at the hotel in Niagara Falls, Canada at 3:30am.
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We stayed there until Monday. We saw the Falls from both sides. The Canadian side was our favorite. On Monday we rode to Hershey, Pennsylvania. We took mostly state roads. The mountains are beautiful and traffic was light. These were the roads we enjoyed the most. On Tuesday we went to Lancaster, PA to see the Amish Country. We had great roads on Lancaster too. On our way back to Raleigh, NC the bike broke down again with the clutch on Virginia. If I revved the bike to more that 5K it would slip. We kept going at 55 – 65 m/hr. We arrived home at 10pm on Tuesday.
Overall we enjoyed the ride. When the bike did not have the slipping clutch problem it was great. But next time we attempt a Saddlesore (or Bun Burner) ride it will be ride half the miles west on I-40 and the other half back.
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Stats on the ride
Miles: 1,930.4 miles Days: 5
Bike: Vstrom-650
Equipment:
Givi bags (E460, E21)
Dan Vesels highway pegs
Garmin Quest GPS and motorcycle charger
Autcomm system
Creative Nomad Zen
Sonic Earplugs
Joe Rocket's Ballistic Pants and Jacket
First Gear's Kenya Jacket
Tourmaster Cold Tex Gloves (they suck!)
Widder Heated Vests
Aerostich heated wraps
Disposable Heated pads

[sandiegoland]

A worthy adventure nonetheless!! Good write-up and observations of the trek... :)

[ArizonaDesertRider]

Great write up!

Pretty cool to make the attempt two up, I could not even come close to talking my wife into doing an IBA ride with me.

Remember one of the most important IBA tips is to know when to call it quits on & save yourself for another ride.

Did you find out what the clutch problem was? Sounds like just adjusting the cable was only a temp "band aid" type fix.

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[agrojubal]

The clutch problem has not been solved yet. It was the fourth time it happend. The dealer is waiting on Suzuki to make a decision about it.

[trooper101]

Engine oil can contribute to clutch slippage if it is the non wet clutch type used in automobiles. Do you know what oil you were using?

[agrojubal]

I don't know the dealer was the one that put in the oil. I'm trading in the bike soon. I'm getting a F650GS. I like the strom, when it's working is great, but I no longer trust it.