Iron Butt and Ft. Leavenworth

06/02/2002

After several years of saying that I was going to join the Iron Butt Association, I've finally completed the run (Saddle Sore 1000) and submitted the paperwork.  I completed the run on May 27, 2002 at approximately 0135 hours.  Now for the story...

On May 26, I had a chat with my son who was leaving Ft. Benning, GA for Ft. Leavenworth, KS for four weeks of training.  I told him of my planned run (total mileage >1100 miles).  Jimmy was approximately >1100 miles away.  As I took off, Jimmy awoke on the 26th and decided to race across country in an attempt to beat me back to the house; Jimmy was riding on a Yamaha FJR 1300 sport bike.  My trip was nothing unusual - I rode up to Montana and back hitting very high head winds most of the way up.  Consequently, in order to conserve fuel, I pretty much kept at 70 MPH.  Jimmy, on the other hand, hit considerably higher speeds and beat me by 40 minutes.  What a surprise!

On May 28, Lisa suggested that I accompany Jimmy to Ft. Leavenworth - our first ride together.  After my boss approved the time off, we headed out along I-70.  With the exception of some headwinds, road repairs (is it my imagination or is I-70 always under repair?) and rising heat, the trip was uneventful.  At least on the way up.

Once Jimmy was linked up with his friend I decided it was time for me to head back.  The first day was uneventful but fun as I got off the freeway and headed down to state highway 4 which basically parallels I-70 but is much more scenic.

The second day, however, was much different.  Again, I headed down to highway 4 (I had to go up to I-70 to find a motel) from Junction City, I first lost my American flag from the back of the bike and then had to fill up at a gas station with "gas."  Yes, no octane, no different ratings, just "gas."  Fortunately he also had octane booster. 

As I approached Oakley, Kansas on highway 83, I encountered a long line of traffic that was poking along at around 55.  The speed limit was 65.  I started passing the traffic in spurts and, finally, found myself in the clear and racing down the road free as a bird.  But not for long...

I was only free for a few minutes before the bike started slowing down significantly as it we up rather mild hills.  I first had to downshift one gear and then two gears to maintain speed.  At this point I thought I was hitting massive headwinds as this was not an uncommon symptom.  I was wrong.

Around five miles out from Oakley, the bike started giving up the ghost.  The engine sounds changed and while smoke came billowing out from the exhaust pipes.  I had to close my helmet visor because of the exhaust that was coming up front as well.  I knew that I couldn't just stop the bike out in nowhere (I wasn't sure how far away from a town I was) so I continued until I reached the town.

When I got off the bike I immediately saw that the pressure in the oil tank had increased sufficiently to blow the dip-stick out of the oil filler.  Without a means of checking the oil, I went to a NAPA and bought an expanding rubber plug to fill the hole as well as 4Qts. of oil; the bike only needed 2 1/2 Qts.

I then started the bike back up and headed home.  There was no Harley dealer in the town and I didn't want to get stuck in Oakley.  I knew that I had sustained damage and expected that it was severe since I was basically running on one cylinder.  At least if I made it home I could get it to Harley the next day and relax at home.  Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha....

As I was slowly moving down I-70 (50-60MPH in 4th gear), Bob and Linda Henshaw from Loveland, CO passed me in their new Ford F-250 (they'd also just bought a new 2002 Road King).  They offered to put my bike in their truck and haul it and me to my house in Elbert.  We did manage to get it into the truck and strapped down (I bought four tie-downs).  We made it to my place and they helped me get the bike down from the truck and into the garage.  Bob, Linda, thanks for your help, you both are super people!

Harley picked up the bike on Friday and on Saturday the discussions began about what could be the problem.  So, that's my story ... :-)

Live to Ride,
Ride to Live