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Iron Butt 2018

7K views 33 replies 9 participants last post by  sendler 
#1 ·
Team, I am getting ready to do an Iron Butt on May 19th on my R3, and wanted to see if there is any advice from veteran riders that have done it on a R3?
 
#3 ·
My advice is simply to be prepared, and make sure you've got several long rides in, gradually increasing your distance. Try to build up your physical and cardiovascular fitness too, that definitely helps a lot. Also, avoid caffeine for a month or so before the event.

For what it's worth, I've done a lot of distance riding. But, I've found it very hard work on the R3. The problem that I had was that the seat just didn't offer enough range of movement (I couldn't scoot back or forward much), so after 6-8 hours my knees were in absolute agony. If your seriously looking at using the R3, you might want to consider lowering the pegs a bit, raising the bars, or both. But if you prepare adequately, and get a few long rides in, you'll know whether you need to do this or not.

Finally, in events like this, remember that you're only really competing against yourself. You'll know/learn your own personal limits of endurance, so make sure not to exceed them. Have fun, but stay safe out there. If you're at your absolute limit of safe riding, remember that a DNF is better than a DOA. You can always improve your performance next year.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
 
#4 ·
I would suggest getting a Saddlemen's GP-V1 gel seat for your R3. I have started to equip y R3 for long distance touring, and this seat was the 2nd item I ordered (right after the mini saddlebags). It is MUCH better constructed than the OEM seat. It uses a fiberglass versus plastic base, rivets versus staples to hold the cover on, progressive density foam, gel inserts, and spreads the sitting load better. It retains approximately the same seat height. It also looks WAY better than the OEM seat.

Its sole disadvantage appears to be that it weighs much more than the OEM seat (a reflection of its quality). I have seen conflicting published weights for it, but whereas the OEM seat weighs 1.9 lb, the GP-V1 weighs either 4 lb or 5.5 lb, depending on which ad you believe.

The GP-V1 costs only about $200 in The U.S., and I realize your trip is coming up fast, but you should be able to get it in shipped to you in time, as MANY online places have it in stock, including Revzilla and Star Cycle.

I have an aggressive weight reduction program going on my R3, so I will be using both the GP-V1 seat and the 5.3 lb when empty saddlebags only when I need them, for multi-day trips, or also maybe for really long day trips.

Another thing I would point out relative to the R3 is that strong winds are going to be an issue on an Iron Butt run. Th elight weight of the R3 is no match for really strong winds, especially side winds, and the worst ones will be gusty winds. This is a big deal on Iron Butt runs, since your reflexes may slow down when you are tired, and reaction to wind gusts has to be rapid to prevent running off the road or a collision with another vehicle. pay close attention to the weather forecasts.

Chain lubrication will be another issue. While the OEM o-ring chain seems to go long distance without adjustment due to the R3's low power level, it should be kept well lubricated, especially if you encounter rain. otherwise, you will find yourself needing to do a roadside chain adjustment, using only the less than great tools you can carry when touring on an R3!

Another obvious thing is to keep your high beam headlight on fulltime during the day, as we all know that as motorcyclists we need cagers to SEE us. This is doubly important when you are exhausted and so slower to react.

Wish I could offer more, but i have never personally done an iron Butt run - at least yet.

Jim G
 
#5 ·
JimGnitecki thanks for the feedback on this! The longest ride I've taken on my R3 was maybe 160 miles and my knees and rear were really sore from this. On my daily commuting rides I am very comfortable but it becomes definitely uncomfortable after an hour or more, I'm going to get the Saddleman seat next payday. As far as the foot pegs, can you make a suggestion to make these more comfortable for long rides? the knees will thank you.

My wife and I will be doing some cross country rides eventually, she will be using the R3 at least at first so any advice on how to make this more comfortable is really appreciated!
OMNISLUUUUUG!
 
#6 ·
The key to making the footpegs more comfortable for long rides is to get them lower.

This is the opposite of what the racers want, but their concern is ground clearance when leaned over at high speed, not comfort.

To get them lower, without a costly CUSTOM solution, you pretty much have to invest in rearsets. But you have to pick wisely. Most of the good rearset brands will enable you to move the pegs upward and rearward, again because this is what the racers want, and racers are the ones who usually buy rearsets.

But some brands of rearsets will enable downard relocation too. For example, the Attack Performance rearsets for the R3 have a "grid" of mounting holes that enable moving the footpegs foward, downward, upward, and rearward.

You will also need to lengthen by replacement the 2 rear brake lines (line from master cylinder to brake caliper, AND line from the fluid reservoir to the master cylinder), plus you will need a hydraulic brake light switch to replace the mechanical switch, which is incompatible with the Attack Performance rearsets (and almost all other rearsets too). This work is likely beyond the average non-techi rider, so no shame in having a local shop make these mods. While changing that MC to brake caliper brake line, it makes sense to spend the extra money for a stainless steel brake line.

The reason that you need to replace both lines is that neither OEM one is long enough to allow you to move the brake pedal / footpeg assembly low enough to do what you are trying to achieve.

Once those 2 lines are lengthened, and the rearsets are in place, you will be able to try many different footpeg positions and find the most comfortable one.

Keep in mind though that the R3 is a sporty bike and also a reasonable commuter. It is NOT designed as a touring bike (although you will see via some of my postings that I am equipping mine for serious touring as well), so it will never be as comfortable as a touring bike, for even as comfortable as a typical cruiser bike.

Jim G
 
#7 ·
Likely a dead end with op only making one post.....but did you ever finish this ride?

I just checked and there are still only 2 certified rides in the IBA database on r3s. Myself and 1 rider from India who did a bun burner 1500 in 2016. Nobody completed one on an r3 in 2017(officially at least). 2018 is only updated to march 1, so no record on this is available yet.

I'll be gunning for a second saddlesore or my first bun burner this summer if the weather cooperates during my trip. Going to a bit more interesting since I have racing ergos now....glad I'm still young and have a high tolerance for discomfort ;)
 
#15 ·
Yeah, my sole concern with the R3 would simply be the high rpm it has to maintain at highway speeds: its more than 1000 rpm per 10 mph of speed! That HAS to accelerate the wear of valve heads, valve guides, valve seals, piston rings, and even pistons and cylinder bores.

Yamaha builds very reliable and durable engines, but how long can an engine running this fast, consistently day in and day out, last, even with good preventative maintenance?

Of course the counter to that concern is simply "Hey, the entire bike costs only $4500 to $6000 depending on country of purchase and local pricing and taxes", so even if you consider the engine a "consumable", that you would simply replace rather than rebuild, it's a very attractive proposition as a touring bike. Heck, a conventional touring bike depreciates more in its first year than the R3 costs outright.

Jim G
 
#16 ·
cxa0897: If you factor out the 116 minutes consumed in gas stops, the actual average speed on the highway calculates out as 73 mph. So, you averaged 57 MPG at an actual average highway speed of 73 MPH. Impressive.

Can you imagine the MPG that a Gold Wing, Harley dresser, or even a BMW tourer get at 73 MPH? NOWHERE close to 57 MPG.

Jim G
 
#18 ·
That would be miraculous! Just how exactly are you measuring that? Hopefully not by "best day withe a tailwind", by instrument panel claim alone, or by just one versus a continuous string of sequential fillups.

Owners can get really deceptive readings via any of the above methods versus a proper extended test.

Jim G
 
#19 ·
Seems reasonable with long gearing and a gentle throttle hand.

That being said, fuelly shows an average of 45mpg average, which is something I'd say is much more aligned with expectations. I'd also go so far as to assume most people aren't hooning around on a r1200rt, so probably safe to consider that cruising/touring mileage. The r3 is getting 56mpg average on fuelly, which seems pretty dead on to me for street use.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Jim,

I'm talking US gallons here, never mentioned Imperial gallons...
I calculate 1 US gallon => 3.7854 liters and 1 mile => 1,609.344 meters.

Maybe my Excel formula is wrong and I translated my German standards wrongly. So if you want to calculate yourself, the German metrics would be 4.2 liters per 100 km at 120 kilometers per hour.
 
#25 ·
4.2 L/100k m is indeed 56 miles per U.S. gallon, so like I said, hold onto that particular bike.

Jim G

That's what I intend to do even though the R3 is much more fun to ride and even more economical.
Believe it or not but my best mileage with the R1200RT between two fuel stops was 63,98 mpg and I rode 617,8 km (383,88 miles) from gas station to gas station without a reserve canister onboard. :nerd::D
That was during a nice relaxed cruise thru the Czech Republic on a warm summer day with almost no wind and the speed limit on public roads in the Czech Republic is only 90 km/h (56 mph) and you better respect it!
 
#26 · (Edited)
I did my 1,026 miles in 23 hours on my CBR250R From Syracuse, NY to Birmingham, AL. Five 200 mile legs. The first leg was very foggy in the early morning and I got hung up at the third fuel stop to wait for a viscious string of thunder storms to blow over. I didn't quite break 100 mpgUS even though I averaged over 115 for the rest of the summer commuting and came in at 99.
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My biggest tip for long distance riding comfort is a bit "different" so most people will never even try it but I recommend riding (when cruising on easy roads) with your elbows resting on your knees and setting up a tank bag stuffed full of gear to lean your chest down on. This takes much of the weight off of your butt and all the weight from your wrists. And it make you more aero and anchors your body to the bike so you do not get blown over by side winds. You and the bike become a dart through the wind and the trail in the front end geometry automatically leans into sidewinds.
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I use the Cortech Super 2.0 18 liter tank bag on the R3. The Slope might also be worth a try.
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I also choose all super-slab when traveling out of town since it is much safer and prefer to follow something big at 3 seconds. Anything bad that could happen, will happen to them. I get over 80 mpg on my R3 when riding like this but I also use PulseNGlide for max fuel efficiency.
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The R3 definitely needs a taller windscreen and I would go up 1 front, down 2 rear as I did on my CBR to get the highway rpm's a little lower. 6,000 at 70 mph would be much better on gas. The ideal windscreen will come up to just below your line of vision and 6 inches in front of your visor when crouching on the tank bag. You will then find the magic blow dryer effect where rain and fog blow straight down and off of your visor so you retain pefect vision in pouring rain. A good helmet with a pin lock inner visor to prevent all fogging is also a must for out of town travel. A heated jacket liner and glove liners are also essential for riding in the North East USA where 55F and rain can happen in July and will put you in the rest stop to warm up without heat
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I also use a plank style luggage system bolted on the rear seat to avoid saddle bags which rob aero.
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As far as "wearing out" the engine from highway miles I would never worry about that at all. My CBR has 52,000 miles, doesn't burn a drop of oil, the valves haven't budged in the last 20,000 miles, the oil comes out golden clean every 5,000 miles, I get 15,000 miles on a rear tire, 30k on the front. 15k on the stock chain and 22k and still going strong on a DID gold chain.
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300 class bike can be set up to do 1,000 mile days and carry all your camping gear
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#27 · (Edited)
That's quite a setup you have built for the CBR250! It has the same "look" as a Bonneville record run vehicle! And I see how your position setup puts your helmet visor right where you want it relative to the top of the windscreen.

I am impressed that the big red box does not create stability problems in a bad crosswind.

We should probably caution viewers that you do NOT normally dress that way when riding, but any staged photo these days has to "show some skin" (preferably female though) . . . :)

When riding cross country at relatively steady speeds, do you find that it is even necessary at all to adjust the chain during a 1000 mile x2 = 2000 mile return trip? Or is keeping it lubricated, especially in rain, all you find you need? I'm asking because my R3 chain has so far gone over 4500 km = 2800 miles without any adjustment being needed, but I lubricate it every 300 to 500 miles.

Jim G
 
#28 ·
I wear full gear when riding. The bike still has the self correcting lean into side winds. The tail didn't add any tendancy to go off line but the added mass did damp the responsiveness of the little corrections. The windscreen actually had more of a slight negative effect in cross winds than the tail. The thing to remember is that it is only a side wind when you are parked. When you are moving forward at 60 mph, a 20 mph sidewind combines to appear as a vector of a slightly higher wind just off of the nose.
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The big trick to getting the most out of a 300 class bike is to get your chest down against a big tank bag, out of the wind.
 
#31 ·
Never touched the DID Gold chain adjustment for the 20,000 miles that the rear Michelin Street was on there. Lubed every 500 miles or so with Motul. I'm not fussy about chain tension specs and run it on the loose side. I cleaned and checked it well when I did the tire 2,000 miles ago and there are no signs of any tight links yet. The custom hard alloy rear sprocket that I had PMP Sprockets make for me is a real hero. 47,000 miles and two and a half different chains.
 
#30 · (Edited)
@sendler :
Your mileage is impressive indeed! I also owned and rode a CBR250R for some years and over 43.000km (27.000 mls). Possibly because I treat my secondary (small) bikes as fun bikes and love to attack the big boys with small arms my average was more like 77 mpg and that was already quite remarkable in the European motorbike landscape. Actually some guys accused me of pushing my motorbike instead of riding it...
I also second your bike position. I used it extensively when I rode my CBR250R on 15 hours long one day trips...
A question though on tyres... - would be interested to learn what tyres you are using on your CBR, I didn't get more than 18.0000km out of my Bridgestone BT45 and that was already quite good. The BT45 don't do the same good job on my R3 and I need to replace them soon - hence my questions in regards of long distance touring tyres...
 
#32 ·
would be interested to learn what tyres you are using on your CBR, I didn't get more than 18.0000km out of my Bridgestone BT45 and that was already quite good. The BT45 don't do the same good job on my R3 and I need to replace them soon - hence my questions in regards of long distance touring tyres...
The CBR came with the IRC Roadwinners which went 15,000 miles rear and 30,000 front. The front still had some tread and could have went a couple thousand more but was getting choppy and I wanted to try the Michelin Streets I took off my R3 to see if they would give even better fuel efficiency. Which they did. Maybe 6-8%. the rear was on for 20,000 miles but I should have changed it sooner because I didn't see that one spot was showing cords until aftdr I got it off. The Mich front is still on and doing fine with 22,000. Anyone looking ofr ultimate tire mileage should go with the Michelin Street that came on the R3. Nearly new take offs are $100 per set or less. I ride the CBR 17,000 miles/ year so I enjoy a long wearing tire. The IRC had slightly better wet braking but either one is actually pretty good in the rain. Which is often where I live.
 
#33 ·
Hi Sendler,

My CBR250R also came with the IRC Roadwinners but mine didn't last that long, even though I am not an aggressive rider.The rear lasted only 8,750 miles, the front a good 15,000 miles. I replaced them with the Bridgestone BT45 which I liked a lot on the CBR and they wore off more symetrically. The rear tyre lasted more than 11,000 miles, the front about 13,000 miles.

The stock Michelins on my R3 didn't last anywhere as long as yours, the rear tyre was close to its end of life when I hit a nail on the road and decided to change both tyres at 10,200 miles for the BT-45, the front would have lasted another 5,000 miles probably. Unfortunately the BT-45 doesn't like the Yamaha in terms of wear as much as the CBR but the handling and grip are much better, especially in the rear, but now my rear tyre is at its limit and front is showing some strange wear marks, so both tyres will be replaced end of this week after just 8,600 miles. Apart from the wear the front tyre would probably last another 3,000 miles but not more. Don't know if the new BT-45 lost quality or if the R3 is too powerful for this tyre.
For the new tyres I will go back to the Michelin Pilot Street as front tyre but this time I will try the Michelin Pilot Power 2CT 150/60 in the rear.
 
#34 ·
Mich Pilot Road 3 or 4 are the go to long wearing wet weather touring tire but are not made in our size. I put Bridgestone S20 evo's on the R3 for track days but they are wearing really fast so I don't even want to commute on the R3 anymore. The larger sizes of S20's are dual compound but the 110/ 140 is a single soft compound. Dunlop has two models that fit including the new dual compound Q3+ but I doubt the will match the Mich Street for wear mileage.
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https://www.dunlopmotorcycletires.com/tire-line/sportmax-q3-plus/
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