 I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 160
Adjunct
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OP
Adjunct
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 160 |
Hi all
Just home from a ride from Brisbane Australia to Penrith west of Sydney via the western towns of NSW. It was 1045 kms and it took me 15 hours. It was tough the last 200 kms due to kangaroos at dusk slowing me down. I had the low profile seat from NewSpeedmaster for the journey so my ****** is sore today. I left Sydney and took 2 days to get there stopping overnight but wanted to do the trip back in one hit. Would I do a trip like that again ? For sure as my Speedy never missed a beat through rain, wind, dry, straights and twisties. Love my Speedy.
Regards
Derek
May post a pic soon
2008 Black Speedmaster
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Re: I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,236 Likes: 63
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,236 Likes: 63 |
Cool, I rode 2014 miles from my place to Cody Wyoming straight through in 36 hrs on this.  If I figure it right you rode just under 650 miles. Still a long ride.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,362
Oil Expert
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Oil Expert
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,362 |
That's close enough for me. Considering the difference between the bumpy, narrows strips of suicide we call roads and the runway width, billiard table flat strips of blacktop in America, add in the lemming-like 'roos trying to kill you, and I reckon 1km here's worth at least 1 mile there.
Stewart (SRS) and I did a similar trip a couple of years ago but we weren't in any hurry... took us three days to get Brisbane - Sydney via every scenic highway we could find east of (and over) the Blue Mountains, then another three days to get back via every little country town west of the range as far out as Dubbo. There's some great countryside out there, and Putty Rd has to be about 150km of the best motorcycling road in the world.
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Re: I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,463
Loquacious
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Loquacious
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,463 |
Having done a similar journey too, it'll do for me too.  Like Matt and Stewart I was in no rush, took 2 1/2 days to get to Brisbane and just under 2 to get back to Sydney. Rides like that in the UK are nigh on impossible - it's not that big, you'd hit the sea... and decent weather helps... when it's anything less than warm and sunny, long distance riding can be hard work.
Gina
03 America - Pretty stock - except the TBS wheel... 
06 America - missing, presumed in bits. With it's TBS wheel... 
09 America - It's very blue....
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Re: I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 380
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 380 |
I have done 9.5 hours straight several times. The from southern Oregon to north of Seattle, Roads were flat enough to rattle the chrome bits of my stock pipes. No kidding! I'v rode thru Wyoming several times. The road goes up and down gradually,(rollers we call them). If you want to see road kill I highly recomend riding in Wyoming. The rollers hide Antalope by the hundreds. No kidding, one time on my way thru I stopped my road kill count in the 70s. I was useing my horn like a game system, trying to blaze thru the kill zone! Seriously! Everybody has thier critters, just becareful every one. Scottie 
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Re: I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,236 Likes: 63
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,236 Likes: 63 |
Quote:
That's close enough for me. Considering the difference between the bumpy, narrows strips of suicide we call roads and the runway width, billiard table flat strips of blacktop in America,
You have obviously never ridden on the roads over here. Very few are as you describe. Most are full of potholes even the big highways are rough in many cases. Then add in that I did it on a hardtail with a springer front end. I'm not taking away from his trip just sharing mine as well. Anything over 300 or so miles in a day is a pretty long ride on any road.When talking about road conditions try and speak to what you actually know.
Not to mention in Wyoming there are roads that only 1 vehicle can pass at a time, if you meet another one one of you has to back up, and on those roads there is a straight down drop of a couple thousand feet on one side and a couple thousand straight up on the other.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 531
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 531 |
Nice ride Willy. Did you do it by yourself.
pain is temporary, pride is forever.
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Re: I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 160
Adjunct
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 160 |
Thanks for the comments
Yes I did it by myself. Did not see many police which made it more enjoyable.
Sandman the Putty road you mention is a great ride for sure but I got to it just on dusk and there were kangaroos hoping all around so I had to go no more than 60km/hr for over 150kms. That was painful. I even had cars passing me but i just couldnt chance it with too much wildlife around.
Dog that 36hrs of yours is one helluva ride and cheers mate I couldnt do that long.
I had it in my mind when I started that I wanted to achieve the 1000kms in one day so I kept going. Glad its out of my system cause I think I enjoyed the trip up over 2 days taking more time.
I know we all have different roads but I will say that I encountered all types, from nice open roads to narrow 1 lanes roads with cattle on them. plenty of single lane bridges made of wood with bolts that pop up when you ride over them. And ruts in them big enough to grab a tyre.
All ride safe
Derek
2008 Black Speedmaster
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Re: I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,236 Likes: 63
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,236 Likes: 63 |
There is no doubt I would have enjoyed the trip much more if I had done it over 2 or 3 days. In that 36 hrs I even managed to stop and see Mt. Rushmore, I was very underwhelmed by it. I wanted to get to Yellowstone park and have as much time to look around as possible so I rode straight through. Straight through to Madi Gras too about 1270 miles and strait through to Sturgis 1650 miles as well as a few others. Not sure I could do those rides now though.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,362
Oil Expert
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Oil Expert
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,362 |
Quote:
You have obviously never ridden on the roads over here. Very few are as you describe. Most are full of potholes even the big highways are rough in many cases. Then add in that I did it on a hardtail with a springer front end. I'm not taking away from his trip just sharing mine as well. Anything over 300 or so miles in a day is a pretty long ride on any road.When talking about road conditions try and speak to what you actually know.
Not ridden per se, but I've driven all over san francisco, and all the way from st louis to new orleans and back and trust me, I saw nothing that compares to the tracks we laughingly call interstate highways here. The Putty Rd I was talking about is at best 1 lane each way, is narrow, rutted, mountainous and winding with no shoulders other than a 2' wide gravel strip. Rather than barriers on the sides of the road there's often nothing but bush (you'd call it forest) that runs hard up against it from which large, suicidal kangaroos appear in the blink of an eye. You of course also get the occasional wombat (imagine a 20 gallon drum with legs), echidnas (a bit like your spiny ant-eaters), venomous snakes, and all manner of weird and wonderful wildlife... plus the occasional SUV that thinks they own the entire road. Oh and on the whole 150km you only see one building - a gas station halfway along it. You gotta remember, our country is about the same size as the USA, but we only have 20 million people compared to your 250 million so we don't have towns every 15 minutes apart and gas stations everywhere... once you get out of civilisation here most roads become more "idea" than "reality". Oh, and can forget cell phone coverage unless you're on one of the major trunk roads. You pull into a town after 2 hours of not seeing a building or sign then check your phone to see if you missed anything.
I do have to express admiration for anyone who can do a ride like that on a hardtail & springer though... that's madness. 
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Re: I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,236 Likes: 63
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 23,236 Likes: 63 |
We have our share of critters too, rabbits, ground hogs, deer antilope and in some of the states I was in there are big critters like moose. Come over the crest of a hill and see a moose in your path! Grizzly bear too. The states you mention I have been in too except CA and you can't compare most of the roads to the ones I was on. That isn't to say some weren't long flat endless monotony because some were but others were kidney busters and cow paths.
I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
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Re: I believe I have achieved Aussie Iron Butt status
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 371 Likes: 2
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 371 Likes: 2 |
I did Wagga to Newcastle and back in one day. Around 1600 km I think. Wanted to see my girlfriend so there was a about an hour break in the middle. Well maybe 5 minutes. (I hadn't seen her in a while) hahahaha. Got back to the base I was at, stopped in front of the cinema, took a big breathe, felt very pleased with myself and promptly fell over. I forgot to put the sidestand down. Right in front of about 50 people I had to work with.  if I had an iron butt, it would be rusty by now. We have had 1100mm of rain this year!!!!!! Bloody wet season
A dog, a bike, a ute,
Now in the deep south.. Newcastle.
Cold winters, cold rain
Come on summer
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