[yoursailor05]

Saturdays ride was awesome!! i couldn't have asked for any better weather. I was up at 4:30 and got a quick shower and breakfast in. I rounded up all of my gear and i was out the door by 5:15. it was a little brisk so i wore some all weather gear. Pants & tops. I filled up and filled out my first log starting at 4031 miles at 5:16 for a start time. I was down in Portland, OR 2:50 later. When i filled out that log entry my right hand was shaking just to where i can still write. i don't know if it was the cold, the road vibration, or just me being excited It just happened down there in OR so i don't think it was anything but just me being excited. I converted Anchorman & Old School to MP3 so i could listen to them on my shuffle. I also recorded my online classic rock station and had it on there as well. I was lovin it!! On the whole ride I only had one problem. My GPS. The power supply bracket is a little loose and it doesn't fully make connections. I'm a electronic tech on my ship so i've been soldering it about every other week trying to fix it enough to where it's just working. "Fix it till it's broke"... right?... <- Navy's Maintenance motto. The battery on the gps is only good for 8 hours so on the big.... "turn in 257 miles" i turned it off. So then it didn't snow my moving & stooped time. I didn't ditty dattle at the gas station i filled up, ate some food and took a leak if i needed it. My lips got pretty dry... i might brink some chap stick next time. I had some Skullcandy head phones that worked bad ass. They're the ink'D ones. They fit right in my ear cannal and didn't move at all when i put my helmet on or while i was riding. They also work a little like ear plugs. They kept out most of the road noise. Everyone has an iPod or something like that so for $20 you can now listen to it while you ride.

Start at 4031 @ 5:16
@ 22:10 i was done with 5055 miles

Stats
1024 Miles
56 MPG over all
18.73 gallons of fuel
16 hours 54 mins
60 mph moving & stooped avg
66 mph moving avg

If you're thinkin about riding one check out the Iron Butt Riders website. http://www.ironbutt.com/about/default.cfm

Here are my pictures. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028323&id=1175310042&l=2fab02a75c

 

[Crispy]

i probably couldn't do that. Love the pictures, but who took the pictures of you and the bike? just a nearby person? That had to be one hell of a ride, too fun for me, lol.

 

[yoursailor05]

Yeah thanks it's a rare breed that like to do things like this. I'm thinking about another bigger one. I wonder if there is some boarder to boarder & return ride. That way i can start up by canada and run down Tijuana and back. I'm wondering how i can make BIG satle bags for the ninja so i can bring a tent along & food.

My rump didn't hurt that bad over the whole ride. I think the discomfort was the same from 300 miles to 900 miles. After i crossed the columbia river i was hit with some fierce winds and i had to climb a good 20% grade. That bike was all over the place. Investment in a Corbin seat would be well worth it at this point. I'm also thinking about come electric cold gear & putting my airbox back on incase i get into a hard rain in the middle of nowhere.

I had a nice ol lady take my picture while i was at the pump. Those we're in Moses Lake, WA at the chevron with 210 more to go. After that i crossed the columbia river & i was hit with a real bad head wind & a 20% grade for about 15 miles. And my gas milage only went down to 54 mpg and i was at 80% throttle at most of the points. I'm impressed about the milage in a bad head wind. But man that wind blew.

 

[Blue Ghost]

Good job!! BTW Lycra and bike shorts work wonders with friction points on the seat.

 

[Felix]

Nice work!

I'm very interested in this, since I'll be doing so many miles when I come over for my trip. I think there is going to be a few people joining me for certain legs of the trip and your more than welcome to come along to. I'll be spending a bit of time in WA, but in total i'll be doing upwards of 8000km in 8 weeks.

Felix

 

[hi-tech]

hey sailor did u get like a cruise control for your ninja for this trips?? figure for as long as u have travel this would come in mind

 

[spooph]

Sailor, you inspire me, your my hero, and I want to bestow all kinds of blessing on you, if you're willing to accept them. Mad respect!

If you haven't found these yet, maybe they'll help, eh?

Just take the rear cowling off, and strap on some aluminium: http://www.sjaaklucassen.nl/eng.html

Electric clothes: http://www.gerbing.com/

Quite simply the best outer layers any rider can ask for: http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/index.html

At least, that's the consensus at www.advrider.comhttp://, and these guys know about bad weather, lots of miles, and all kinds of adventures. The "original adventure riders", climbed Mt. Evans (12,000 feet), on Harley 74's, back in the 50's, where there was no roads. Think about it, manual spark advance, foot clutch, jockey shift, little suspension, and an 800lb motorcycle riding a mountain with no trail.... Keep it up, the IBA rocks! One day I hope to walking in your shoes....

Would you be up for a month trip down the Baja of Mexico? Ninja 250's and hard beach sand?

Felix, by the way, the Eliminator is done, which means it'll prolly be broken again by the time you get here . So hurry up 2010, and get here! I'll try and post a vid of it, and pics of the Loser by the end of the week...

 

[yoursailor05]

It's not a cruise but it's the Crampbuster. I used it on my 1690 mile round trip to Lake Tahoe, CA. It's weird at first. I didn't like it when i was riding around town with it but once i got out on the interstate i was able to put less of my palm on the bars and i was able to sit in a more upright position. I just talked to my mechanic back home in iowa. He's amazed how far i've gone so far. I'm writing up a "Ninja 250 Story: Iron Butt Ride" to give to Struthers Brothers. They are my hometown dealer. We also talked about an extra fuel tank. In the iron butt ride rules you have to stop ever 350 miles. Right now i'm filling up about every 200-220 miles. But i don't think that's going to happen till late 2011 when i get out of the Navy. That's when the real fun begins!!!

Spooph ~ Man those are good as gold. The adventure rider group looks like my kind of people. I was talking to my "Bike Guy" back home today about Ammo Can saddle bags and an option about an extra fuel tank but that wont happen for a while. I'll stick to keeping an extra Gal of fuel on me. But it does look like a good idea to just take the rear cowling off and add storage boxes. My father is an old sheet metal worker so I'm sure we can figure something out. B/c if i left the rear cowling on i would have to worry about something scratching the bodywork and it would limit space for emergency gear. Might have to pack spare tires or something crazy like that. If it gets that serious i'd probably just pay someone to do it along the way.

I don't think i'll have to worry about cold weather gear b/c I'm moving down to San Diego, CA this October. I'm kinda spoiled right now b/c i'm on sea duty on a ship that never goes out so it gives me tons of time to ride. But my next ship does go out quite a bit more so it might cut down on my rides. A trip through Mexico would be a blast. Right now i'm looking for a white textile jacket to keep cool.

What are you suppose to do after you do a trip around the world on a motorcycle?

 

[yoursailor05]

I wonder what South America is like. I've always wanted to ride down there. It seams a million miles away. I wonder what you need... I'm sure you need something more than a passport. I'll have to plan a whole summer. No way i could do this in a one shot. If i was going to do something like this i wonder if i could get a sponsor from my local dealer, news station, or whatever to help with the trip. I should send Garmin an email. Maybe they would send me one of there bad ass GPS units. I'd have to get a satellite phone. Spooph what have you done? You've gotten me all excited!!!

Can it be done on a Ninja 250? Maybe an EX650? I might do as much as i can on my 250 and then if i want to do a world tour i'd upgrade to a 650 so i can load that thing down with items i'd need for a demanding tour.

I need to confess something. I sat on a ex 650 today and i liked it. Me and my brother were sporting the 1982 kz440 LTD & 1982 kz750 LTD.

 

[zartan]

Yea but if you do all these miles on a 650 we would say HO hum!! now you do it on a 250 and we say WOW... I sent you a pm about some seats. fyi..

 

[yoursailor05]

So i was up to 2:30 last night looking at these people that basically live on there motorcycle traveling the WORLD. I would be worried about security while in a third world country. I'd have to carry a weapon to feel safe.

Thanks for the link to the seats. I'm sure it's worth it but at a quick glance it looked kinda expensive. Military doesn't pay that well. http://www.richscustomseats.com/about.asp But if i do, do crazy rides it would be worth it.

 

[Blue Ghost]

Whatever you do....just don't ride alone and don't dress like a tourist. 250 Ninjas draw a lot of attention. Most 3rd world countries do not have bikes that nice. Of course being in the military you know a few things about world travel.

 

[hi-tech]

u use this huh.. if u look at the video this guy place it on the end to have it stay there.. i think i will get myself one because it does help

Crampbuster - Use and Abuse

 

[yoursailor05]

Here's the story. I put a few pictures inside the text and i'm going to take it to Struthers later today.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2028323&id=1175310042&l=2fab02a75c

You're right riding solo would be a bad idea. I asked my brother if he would want to go. At first he said he wanted to take a CBR 600 but quickly changed his mind when i told him that we'd be riding full days for a month in a row at least. Or my father could go.

On adventure rider this guy was doing a trip from seattle to argentena and he swerved to miss a donkey in mexico and the donkey moved right in front of him. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136505

 

[hi-tech]

hey its a donkey.. they dont know better.

 

[spooph]

Wow Sailor, all kinds of questions....

So first off, you've beat my record of IBA. Personally, I've only 750 miles in a day, and it was just a day ride....

A trip around the world is like a "sample platter", it gives you the knowledge you need to plan much longer and more enjoyable trips to the cool places you really wanna go.

And Z is correct, I'd do it on a 250, just to do it... You can do just about any ride, on just about any bike, if you're willing to compensate where it needs to be compensated... I COULD jump my ninja 10 feet in the air off a dirt jump... If I was good enough, I would land on the downslope without injuring anything... scraping the bottom fairing, or bottoming out the shocks.... It's ALL about rider's skill... Sjaac Lucassen mudded his R1, and at one point in his video, you can see about 2 gallons of water being pumped out of his engine, and put another 20K miles on it after that.... So anything is possible, and I think since the 250 is so small, it would be the ONLY thing for me to do it on..

Concerning packing and space, and upgrading to a bigger bike for baggage capacity - I prefer the 250 for long rides to my bigger bikes, because it's SO light! I don't have to think about it, AT ALL. So why upgrade? Why not just pack lighter? Bivy sack, sleeping bag, MAYBE 1 change of clothes, a set of full leathers... Yea, check out Sjaac's setup. Keep in mind, he was gone for 3 years, around the world, and covered 34,000 miles on a brand new R1... So you could get a setup on your 250 that you could easily to coast-to-coast, or even Canada to Argentina in a month for the 250....

 

[yoursailor05]

Yeah he hit that donkey and broke his back. Paralized from his niples down. Locals found him and took him to the hospital. They didn't have internet only a phone and they would not let him use it till he payed for it. Its a real sad story.

 

[spooph]

OH! How can I forget Lois! She's also one of my hero's! Her site is down now, but keep trying, she's one hell of a lady!

http://www.loisontheloose.com/

 

[UTIED]

wow...I just read Claytons story and what an emotional ride...brave sob though..but take it from his words...ride smart and take your time...dont be foolish and in a rush...

 

[Felix]

All this is really interesting to me, as I think its all applicable to my trip around the west coast of USA. One of my concerns is security of my bike and gear when I'm in the shops, doing a bushwalk or just having it parked outside a motel or campsite.

Felix