2023 Iron Butt Rally

Al st1100 said:
from Chevy trucks to Honda motorcycles all the differentials use tappered boller bearings except BMW m/c
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Where are the roller bearings in ST's final drive? I took mine apart and saw nothing but ball bearings in there. Mine was a 2010 1300.
 
SMSW said:
Where are the roller bearings in ST's final drive? I took mine apart and saw nothing but ball bearings in there. Mine was a 2010 1300.
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I replaced final drive bearings on a 78 goldwing centuries ago and remembered somewhat that it had tappered bearing. I thought that honda had not changed their design. Looking at a parts list I see that I was wrong. I have rebuilt many car/truck differentials and don't understand why they don't use tappered bearing being that they handle thrust force better than ball bearings. I guess it's enough for a motorcycle but maybe not a GS. my bad
 
I'm betting it was a GREAT awards banquet . . . wish I had been there. 94 Finishers and 13 DNFs . . . awesome efforts all.

First, definitely congrats to Jim Owen, the first ever 2 time IBR winner and now, the first ever 3 time winner! He's an awesome planner, great rider and one of the friendliest and humble riders i've met.

Other riders that I've been following:

- Steve Gallant rode a great rally and placed 4th on his 2012 ST1300! Must be hard to breathe up there in the rarified air of the Top 10!

- Our own Jim Abbott, who hits a pothole (must have been really big and deep) that flattens one tire and bends the rims of both wheels . . . who waited hours for assistance from our own SupraSaber who traveled 400 miles, each way, to bring Jim what he needed to make roadside repairs and . . . Finish, #68! Great grit Jim and accolades to SupraSaber!

- How about the 2 riders who rode all the way up to Yellowknife? Ben Ernest, the first there finished 7th! Stever Eversfield, the second to make it there also finished, but 69th! Yellowknife along wasn't the 'make you a winner' bonus by itself.

- Remember Ted Kaplin who started with his 1990 BMW frame and a Smart Car engine . . . finished, even though the Smart Car engine did not. He swapped in another engine after the Smart Car engine 'blew up' and managed to finish 87th. I wish I was that mechanically gifted. Quite the accomplishment.

= Sjef Vanderaa’s 2014 R1200GSA BMW lost his final drive on Day 11! He wasn't able to finish, DNF. One thing is for sure, although the bikes are beautiful works of art and I admire the design of the BMW emblem, I won't own one.

It's late. I wish all the riders a good nights rest and safe travels back home.

Shuey
 
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Can't wait for John's Rally Wrap-Up!
So even with this crop of the latest finishers, there will still be a mere 700 or so individuals who have completed an Iron Butt Rally.
By my recollection, which may be suspect.
All FOUR ST1300s who started, are labeled as finishers... 100%.
World's Toughest Riders indeed!
Respect to all of 'em.
 
Major hat tip to all the ST1300 riders. They are basically riding a 22 year old design/tech.

Sadlsor said:
Can't wait for John's Rally Wrap-Up!
So even with this crop of the latest finishers, there will still be a mere 700 or so individuals who have completed an Iron Butt Rally.
By my recollection, which may be suspect.
All FOUR ST1300s who started, are labeled as finishers... 100%.
World's Toughest Riders indeed!
Respect to all of 'em.
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jabbott said:
I made
Thanks to SupraSabre's generous help, I was able to finish the Iron Butt Rally with an hour to spare, even got a 3 hr nap in Sidney NE on the way. More proper post coming soon.
Jim Abbott
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Very glad to see you were able to finish the ride, Jim! :thumb:
 
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Just dropping a note in to say thanks for the kind words, thoughts and support from afar during the rally. For those who asked, I'm running double dark with a GY TripleTred on the rear and BT46 rear tire on front. I finally flipped over 200K miles during leg 3 and will be posting the required ODO pic (taken in motion while riding through Montana) in the awards thread. ;)

Special thanks to SuperSabre for getting my good pal Jim up and running again to finish his IBR successfully. Awesome brotherhood!
 
Just walked in the door at home in NH, more rain on the way home from Pittsburgh than during the whole IBR. Happy to finish the rally even with my pothole misfortune. Jim Owen's 3rd victory gave me a real emotional moment at the awards banquet. He really is on another level. And to think Mike Heitkamp was only 693 points away from 1st place! Will settle up with SupraSabre when I can think straight tomorrow and hopefully get some more words posted here.

Jim A
#474
 
SMSW said:
Earlier in this thread it was mentioned that darkside is permissible. Do you (@Shuey, @LAron, @Sadlsor, @kendoo) know if any of the points leaders generally ride w/ CT's? Given the longevity of CT's, I would expect more contestants to have at least experimented with these. Were they to shred a car tire in the rally, they could always go back to a mc tire.
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Just reading thru this now. Out of the top 10, I believe only Gallant and Anderson were darksiders.
 
Shuey said:
I've never applied for one, but . . . I know of several riders that have a NEXUS card that allows travelers to cross the border using a special NEXUS designated lane which is usually much faster.

I have no idea which of any current riders in the IBR have one. kendoo or other more recent IBR riders may have a more current answer.

Shuey
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I never bothered with the nexus card. In 2017, I was in and out of Canada 3 times, In 2019 I was in and out 2 times. Never felt the Nexus would have saved me any time.
 
kendoo said:
Just reading thru this now. Out of the top 10, I believe only Gallant and Anderson were darksiders.
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Although, not in the top 10, before hitting the pothole (might have been if not for the pothole?), Jim Abbott was darkside! He finished with PR 4GTs. ;)
 
John OoSTerhuis said:
I thought there would be a wrap-up/summary post on the IBR Rally site…?
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I too have been hoping for some kind of epilogue or final report . . . we might just need to be satisfied with the Detailed Final Standings where we can see where the riders actually went to accumulate their points.

Shuey

PS: I expect, some time in the near future, reports by the riders will start appearing on their favored online sites. We'll see . . .
 
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