When I logged into my account, I was stunned: to this point, the blog has 239 hits today! And the day is not over yet! This topped the record back in 2011 when I reported during the Africa trip. Thanks for your interest!
I received a lot of good wishes from many friends, but also from people I don’t know…be it via the blog, in the bike parking from the many spectator, from other riders, from rally staff, or from people on the street who wave at me to stop!
I went to the Walmart today and bought some food and water. I couldn’t get a pre-paid phone card there, this was already tricky in Canada. So I will reply that the data roaming will work. I had planned so many things around my electronic farkles, but as often, I might not really use them, including the radar detector. I’ll just stick to the speed limits and that’s it.
I also bought me a E-Z Pass, a transponder for the tollways system in the Eastern States and activated it. I filled up the tanks and everything should be prepared now. I followed the advice of Jeff Earls during the rookie meeting yesterday and I will leave half of the luggage back here. The stuff is already in the panniers, and the bag including the spare tyre that I will leave here are also prepared. Maps are unfolded on the bed and the electronic devices are prepared for the routing this evening/night. At 4 p.m., there will be the rider meeting with the banquet. The riders will be presented one by one and the layout of the rally will be explained. Then the rallybooks will be handed out and the riders disappear in their rooms to do the planning of their routes for the next 4 days (leg 1). Tomorrow morning we have to be in the park at 8 a.m. and will start at 10 a.m. Leg 1 ends on Thursday, July 4th on 8 p.m., right here in Pittsburgh. There will be a bank holiday in Canada (1st) and in the USA (4th), heavy traffic is expected and the weather forecast for the Northwest predicts rain, rain, rain. I plan to take it easy and to ride some 3000 mls, the top riders will surely do some 5000 mls.
I took some pictures in the car park this afternoon:
Little XBR playing with the big boys :-)The bike of Ken Meese, one of the top riders and a candidate for top 3
This morning, I had a light breakfast and started my day of registration. I got me my registration papers that should lead me throughout the day. My first stop was a video recording of my statement that I understood all the risks of the rally and was aware of all the liability issues. Second stop was at technical inspection of the bike. Apart from some comments about loose cables (that have no function) my bike was approved, also my insurance and bike documentation. Good! I am getting a lot of positive reactions about the selection of my bike, the Americans can hardly imagine you can do long distance riding with a bike with less than 1000cc. My next stop was at the camera station, my memory cards and the settings of the camera were checked. Next was the odometer check. We had to ride a 50 km route on the highway to calculate a calibration factor. During the ride, the bike went perfect. I had received a lot of friendly offers for help with the carburetor, but at the moment, there is no problem anymore. One reason more to be relaxed. I removed the fuel tube and cleaned it, just in case. Finally it was time for the compulsory rookies meeting. We made aware what is ahead of us. This will be nothing we have ever experienced before. It is challenge to ride 1 to 2-day rallies, but no comparison to 11 continuous days of about 18-20 hours riding per day. This really serious. We were presented the statistics of rookies in the last years: DNFs (did not finish), accident, hospital stays….to remind us this is no piece of cake and that the most important task is to return safely to the finish here in Pittsburgh. Anything else is less important.
In the end I had to pass the final station with some of the most important guys. My emergency information sheet was not there and also my notarised liability waver. I sent it by e-mail, but apparently they had waited for the originals. Finally, this was accepted. I sorted the issue about my Spotwalla track with Mike Kneebone, the IBA president and thanked him for his invitation in person. I had to answer final questions by Ira Agins and after asking, he told me that I was granted the status of being in the “hopeless class”. Yes! My first achievement! I will start the rally on Monday morning!
I didn’t have time to get to the Walmart again, so tomorrow it has to be. I attended a reception for all riders plus the subsequent dinner. I was with the other riders of “Team Europe” and had many chat. Tomorrow is supposed to be a relaxing day, however, I’ll be busy with the visit to Walmart, preparing my gear, my luggage that I will take with me, the luggage I will leave here…and at 4 p.m. there’s already the rider’s meeting!
It is a very warm welcome here, people are impressed that riders from other continents show up here, despite all hurdles. And a 500cc thumper get’s some extra attention, of course :-D .
Before the storm……the luggage also still needs to be prepared…Many people think that the poster shows the (still unknown) motto of the rally: planes, trains and cars.
Well, was could possibly go wrong? Usually the things one does not expect…
In the morning, I left somewhat later than planned as the cup of tea I took in the room was so strong I felt like a hit in the stomach. Woah. I left the hotel, turned onto the Rainbow Bridge over the Niagara Falls and I was already at the border. I was sent into the big building. I carried my document box and I was asked several times what was in there. I showed it finally to an officer…look, only papers, papers, papers, and…oooops, a copy of a swiss army knife…and a letterman. The officer took the two items from me and then I was admitted to the upper floor. I was interrogated about many things, whereabouts, when, where, why, who. I had expected this, after all I carry some picturesque visas in my passport, such as. syrian, libanese, iranian, egyptian, moroccan and many more.
“So, what did you do in Syria?” “The same as here – tourism”. “But why Syria? Couldn’t you just go to…France?” “Well, I do go there..a lot”.. Again, the officer was interested how many leave days I had. Do I sense same envy there? I was finally interrogated by a second officer, had to leave my fingerprints and finally received my visa. After one hour, I was already on the road again. I didn’t put on my rainsuit and I regreted it half an hour later. There are little possibilities to stop and put on your rain gear. Finally I stopped at a service area and dressed properly before I got even more wet. But what was much more annoying…was the carburator problem. Well, that’s my guess.I had problems to go 65 mls, sometimes only 60 mls uphill. Over time, it got so bad, that I couldn’t do more than 5000 revs/min. A nightmare! And this time, it was independent from the front or rear tank. 2000 kms without problems and now it’s that bad? I was deeply frustrated and tried to think of a plan B. Could I get another bike for rent for the rally? I wouldn’t be able to do the rally like this? Suddenly, sunshine was back and I stopped for a drink. The bike behaved really bad. OK, let’s at least get to Pittsburgh. At 25 mls left to Pittsburgh, the bike suddenly made WROOM and accelerated like normal…more than 80 mls! This stayed until I arrived at the Marriott Hotel near Pittsburgh. This leaves me really clueless…I tried to fumble around at the bike, but I was interrupted by a heavy thunder storm. I finally said hello to Phil, Gerhard, Michiel, Kevin and Lyn from Europe. All arrived well, despite smaller incidents (lost sat navs, stolen tankbags). I also didn’t visit the Walmart due to bad weather. Tomorrow then.
So, what to do? I have cleaned the fuel filter (plastic chunks) and will investigate more tomorrow. I have recalibrated my objectives: arrive well after the first leg back here in Pittsburgh on next Friday. From there on, let’s see. At least I want to start the rally. What comes then…let’s hope for the best. You can also finish with this handicap, but I would require lot’s of luck and a massive amount of patience.
That is as long as the USA customs people allow a German, who lives at an address in Belgium, who is riding a Japanese motorcycle that is registered in Germany but shipped out from France, to cross their border overland from Canada ….
This morning, I drove to the bike and fixed all the luggage. I returned the rental car in the airport and I had to take leave of MJ who returned today. I returned to the bike by shuttled, put some petrol – and I was on the road. It was a very short stint today, I had booked a hotel in Niagara Falls on the Canadian side of the Falls. The riding didn’t take very long, however, I experienced similar problems as during the Brit Butt Rally – limited top speed at 70 mph (116 km/h) and this time I have no clue what is the reason, seems to be independent from the tank. However, it also stopped again and everything was back to normal. I’ll check the tubing in Pittsburgh again. But in the very worst case – I’d have to take it more easy. John Young has demonstrated that you can finish an IBR with a 60 mph cruising speed…right, John? I had very often small problems during my long travels, but in the end I always ended up where I wanted. So, no worries, all will be fine.
I was starting to get nervous today: now I’m on my own and every minute I’m closer to the start, THE question is more and more evident: What on earth have I gotten myself into? It’s not the sheer distance, it’s not the little time, it’s not the conditions that await me, it’s not the fact that I have almost no tolerance for problems…..it’s the combination of it all!
During the last 10 minutes, the rain still caught me, but I noticed that my cleaned gear was very well treated with a water repellent. I checked in the hotel and made a quick to the Niagara Falls just around the corner. A lot of water, but a lot less spectacular than the Victoria Falls I had visited in Africa two years ago. But worth a (quick) visit.
Niagara FallsAs Johannes always complains that there are too few pictures with the XBR on them: XBR in front of Niagara Falls!
My first task tomorrow morning will be to cross the US border right here in town, then head for Pittsburgh!
Some important information: The official IBA bulletins will be available from Friday/Saturday on under
The official public SPOT site with the locations of all riders will also be linked there.
My personal SPOT track is protected with a password. If you want to follow my track in real-time, please send me an e-mail on time (e.g. before Sunday noon) to hutzlmandl(at)t-online.de and I will send you the password. Sorry, but the IBR rules are like that!
Let’s see if I can get some decent food in this town….
Last week passed quite quick and after a couple of relaxing days in Canada, we are back in Toronto and our common holidays come to an end. We had rented a huge Chrysler (I like to call him ‘Big Daddy’) for a comfy ride, but the main reason was that it has a large trunk: all the luggage plus the complete luggage for the IBR plus my complete motorcycle gear had to go in there. So we have visited Montréal, Québec and Toronto, with Québec probably being our favorite. Where Montréal seems to be an American city with a European touch, Québec is like a European city with an American touch. At least the Old Town. It was probably the highlight of this short trip. I can’t resist to share this anecdote: when standing on the historic citadel of Québec ( the only one in Northern America), looking down to the St. Lawrence stream that converts into a fjord, a US tourist asked the guide: “Is this the US, on the other side of the river?”. The tour guide stayed calm and replied with a very subtle amusement in his voice:” No Ma’am, the border would be some 2 hours driving from here”. The historic part of the city is very beautiful, even for European standards. The French spoken in the province of Québec gave me a hard time, the accent is quite different from the French spoken in France, sometimes I had to ask a lot to repeat the last sentence….
Ville Basse, QuébecChateau Frontenac (actually it’s a hotel)
It was quite hot and humid these days, with heavy thunderstorms in the evenings. But today, we got a nice, sunny day in Toronto, going up the huge CN tower, visiting the Steam Whistle micro brewery and the St Lawrence market.
Let’s hope the breakfast was not too heavy this morning…
This is a real big Willie! CN Tower, Toronto, 557 m. We were in the upper ring (447 m)!
Toronto downtownI admit, I didn’t expect this…(St. Lawrence Market)
I have now prepared all my luggage for tomorrow, the first real (short) riding day on American soil.
Having just read the introduction that Robert has given me, I’m not that sure whether I’ll be able to live up to the billing he’s given me. However, I really do consider it an honour that he’s asked me to do this for him. Perhaps we are entering a new age of Anglo-German relationships ? Anyway, here goes …….
So, the Iron Butt Rally what’s it all about ?
Well, for now, all I’ll say is that here’s a statistic to “chew on” – more people have been to space than have completed the Iron Butt Rally.
Lot’s of people attempt this rally (which is run every two years) and lots of people fail. Many of those DNF’s (did not finish) are riding “bang up to date” modern machines, generally 1000cc plus, equiped with ABS, Cruise Control, variable suspension, etc etc etc
Robert is riding a 27 year old Honda 500cc single …….
Well, does this man need to be introduced? Probably not to the LD community, but maybe to many readers of this blog. John will give me honour to be my guest author during the Iron Butt Rally. I had thought to use a lot of technology to be able to do some regular posts, but in the end I decided against it. Firstly, I will be too busy to publish anything useful during the rally. Blogging needs a lot of time and that’s something I won’t have. And secondly, IBA strongly advices against it and you don’t want to piss off the rally people…
John will be able to explain a lot better than me what is going on during the rally. He is not only a native speaker, but he has also the insight what it means to ride approx. 11000 miles in 11 days, in any kind of adverse weather and crossing the whole continent more than once. And above all, he’s a funny bloke :-D
Soooo, I had no time to write during the last days…or I was just too lazy :-). I’m in Montreal, Canada now and things are on track. But what happened during the last days?
As the requirements for the transport of the bike say that the bike has to be clean for the shipment and I know that Canadian customs authorities are very picky when it comes to bugs or dirt on the bike, I decided not to ride myself to Paris, but to rent a truck and to deliver the bike with it. So I did. I borrow some wooden planks from a friend and manage to push the bike myself in the enormous Mercedes Sprinter. I went to a village north of the Paris airport where I had booked a little room. The area was gastronomic wasteland and so I had to deal with an ‘Italian’ restaurant that set new limits….on the lower end. The next morning, I went to the cargo area of CDG and I presented myself at the shipper office. To my surprise, everything was finished after 30 min, they even went to customs for me. I only had to drive to the warehouse and to drop off the bike. This could have been also very quick, but the inspector had some problem with the weight that the company had put on the dangerous goods form and the paper had to be printed again in the office which took some time. but in the end the whole process was very quick and professional. I could start my return trip, putting the pedal to the metal. Quite a good truck, this Sprinter. When I had left the day before, Heinz had called and had asked me one question:”very nice, the cut fairing. But where are the vertical forced now going to?” And suddenly I realised that by cutting the fairing, I lost also the lower holders that gave a lot of support to the whole construction. And this was gone now. This meant that most of the weight is carried by the small bars in the cockpit – bound to break. I passed by Heinz and I returned with some iron bars that I planned to put between the fairing and the older lower holders – something to be done in Canada. Another last-minute task. At home, I had to start to pack my things – very late! But in the end, everything was ready: divided into the luggage for the rally and for the vacation. MJ and I will pass a couple of days in Canada, touring around with a rental car.
Finally, the big day was there and we took the plane from Düsseldorf to Toronto. apart from a very windy landing (woooops!), a regular flight. Surprising how the manufacturers of the stewardess puppets manage to give them this human touch. At the border control, the welcome was not particularly very warm and, treating me like suspect and not like a guest. Dropping the luggage at the hotel and taking a taxi to the cargo airport. I hoped that this would be as quick as in Paris but I soon learned that this was asking too much. I got my papers from the warehouse, but I had to pass customs. How to get there? Oh, it’s at the other end of the airport, you need a taxi. 33$ later, I arrived there and told the cab driver to wait because I didn’t to call and wait for another taxi. The customs official also had an interrogative style in the beginning. The best moment was:
“why are you staying such a short period?” ” Because I do not have more holidays” “But you guys do have three months of vacation, don’t you?” “Three months??? I wish I’d had…”
I was explained that the inspector had to go to the warehouse and to check the bike first. After an hour, the official explained the paper documents and told me that he had helped me because he had convinced his boss to give me the paper already now and not in one or two days (!!!). Incredible. 50$ customs fees and I finally could leave after more than one hour. The meter in the taxi seemed to be glowing due to overheating ;-) I had to pass by the hotel and grab a tool I had forgotten and finally I was back at the warehouse. The taxi fee was astronomic. Some paperwork later and 80 $ later, they delivered the bike at the gate and I helped to untie it in the crate.
Pick up in the warehouse
OK, just connect the battery and let’s get back to the hotel. The starter turned, but the motor wouldn’t start! I tried for a couple of minutes, but no success. I felt some panic coming around the corner. What now?? Let’s try a jump start. I pushed the bike up the ramp….and realised that the kill switch was pushed a little bit. Argh! The bike started immediately. How embarrassing!
Back in the hotel I made an arrangement that I could leave the bike for the next week in the parking.
The next morning, I fixed the two prepared bars to the fairing, drilling holes in the fairing…manually!
Manual drilling takes somewhat longer…
Heinz had also prepared me for that, making a hand drill.
…but the result counts. Not made to win a design prize, but form follows function.
After less than one hour, the work was finished and I feel relieved now, the fairing should be stable again now.
I picked up the rental car and we Toronto eastwards, heading for Montreal. Straight highways with 100 km/h speed limit…my daily business during the next weeks. We made a quick stop in Kingston, the former capital of Canada with some historical buildings.
Kingston, Lake OntarioNow I might not be very familiar with Canadian engineering, but I would have thought that this artefact is from a past century…
In the evening we arrived at our hotel near Montreal and talking to the concierge at the reception I realised that Québecois is different from the French spoken in France. A totally different accent. At the dinner, I was so jet-lagged that I hardly could keep my eyes open. At first sight, this looks very much European than in the Ontario province. Next task: visit Montreal.
The Brit Butt Rally was over, but some preparations still had to be done. Firstly, what had happened during the rally? It was not a bent tubing, but another obstruction in the fuel flow….
I had a presentiment during the Saddle Sore 3000…when I had lost the original fuel tap of the auxiliary tank, I bought a temporary fuel tap made of plastic. Every time I removed the tap, small chunks of plastic were cut off from the fins of the tap and fell into the tank. When I saw this, I thought that this would give me problems later….As a precaution, I had installed a fuel filter that should prevent that these chips would reach the carburator. So far so good.
Some of the plastic chips that obstructed the flow in the fuel filter during the Brit Butt Rally.
When I opened the filter, the problem was obvious…the filter worked perfectly and collected all the chunks….and reduced the fuel flow just little bit, but sufficiently to give me problems. It was also logical that the problem was more pronounced when the fuel level in the tank was lower as the hydrostatic pressure was lower compared to a a full tank. And this was the reason I missed my chance to win the rally…Ironic, isn’t it?
During another trip to my home town, I visited Mart!n who exchanged the clutch of the XBR despite the bunch of work he had because he tried to save a couple of motorbikes that had been drowned during the floodings in Bavaria. I had never before seen collector’s bikes that after opening the drain screw first spit out litres of water before any oil. Or those cylinders were completely filled with water. Thanks, Mart!n! No more slipping clutch below 60°C oil temperature.
I had noticed before, that the XBR showed some strage behaviour when rolling slowly. I checked the steering head bearing – and was scared stiff! The bearing showed clearly a notch in the middle position. And yet another moment when disaster strikes…A nightmare! 10 days to go and I have to change the bearing! But it’s not as simple as that…it was a Emil Schwarz bearing that Mr Schwarz had installed two years ago. The particularity is that the bearing is not driven, but glued into the steering head. This is the best you can get for your bike in terms of bearings, but an exchange is not a piece of cake….I had an idea…I called Mr Schwarz the next day and explained the problem. His garage was on the way back home…I must have had some convincing arguments…and in the end he proposed to change the bearing the next day, on a Sunday morning! This was fantastic news! The next moning, after an early departure, I stood in front of his garage and he took immediately care of the XBR. During the next four hours, I had to cope with his bad temper as he hadn’t expected the fairing. It was difficult to work and after ruining a puller, he was pretty angry. I decided to shut up and in the end, Schwarz’ mood had improved and he listened to my plans, grinning and waging his head. Finally the bearing was changed and I could happlily continue my journey back home.
The new bearing seat. Glued, not hammered.
At home, some tasks were still on the list. New tyres, new breaking pads, new air filter. All changed.
Apart from technical issues, more paperwork. An excerpt from a forum post of mine:
Well, the insurance matter is slowly turning into a nightmare….
I had bought an insurance from my shipper who ships the bike from Europe to Canada. I thought I had fulfilled the requirement of the “500 CSL” policy as it was the highest policy I could get from that company and it said 250000/500000/100000. When Kevin raised this point again, I was confused and thanks to Ed Otto I learned that this policy is not according to the IBR rules that ask for a 500000/500000/100000 coverage. The problem is that all the temporary insurances offer a maximum of 250/500/100 and it’s only a company like Progressive that provides a real 500 CSL coverage. So far, so good. When I filled in the online order form of Progressive, I got stuck when I had to fill in the VIN. My old Honda has a 11 digit VIN that is not recognised by the system that expects a modern 17 digit number. Another problem: you need to provide an US address. How can I provide an address if I’m not a resident?? Well, I managed to use one of a friend who will have to forward me the papers to sign. At first, the agent wanted to cancel the talk immediately when I mentioned that would be less than 30 days in the US. I had to persuade him that in this case I would stay at least 31 days…. He gave me a price of 290USD, seemed reasonable….but this VIN is not recognised by the system, so it’s a 640 USD !!! That was not the end….when he realised that I have a foreign driving licence, the price went up to $1012!!! Under different conditions, I would have told him to , but I had no choice but to accept.
Today was the day of last preparations. I had taken a difficult decision: The lower part of the fairing had to be cut off. A very, very painful decision, but I saw no other choice but to do this. My legs would be burnt and the motor would collapse in the heat. When I rode at 25°C a week ago, my legs were getting very hot. So I took the electrical saw and…..
Before….…and after……the amputation!
When I discussed the subject with Mart!n, I argued that it would be a pity to cut the fairing as it is so rare…and his pointed remark was: “there’s a reason why”…hmpf. John commented my action as “I’m glad you’ve done this as I was seriously concerned that your bike would have seized crossing the desert”. Well, I save 2 kg on the front, the XBR should be easier to drive now. Finally I had access to the motor and I could change the spark plug and adjust the valves. And as a last preparation, the bike was cleaned so everything should be prepared for the drop-off.
![20130609_114427[1]](https://hutzlmandl.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130609_1144271.jpg)
!!! 
, but I had no choice but to accept. 
Hutzlmandl On Tour 