2021 North by Northwest Rally

keithu

Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
#1
I rode the 60 hour 2021 North by Northwest Rally based out of Bend, Oregon on September 10-12, 2021. I've ridden many 24-44 hour rallies going all the way back to 1995, but this was still a big learning experience for me. Most of my rallying experience dates from the Polaroids-and-paper-maps era. This was only my second LD rally using flags for bonus photos (the previous being the 2016 Cal 24 Rally), and this was my first time using a GPS for rally routing. Yes, really.

Rallymaster Gary Huff handed out the rally packs Thursday night during an excellent pre-rally banquet. The theme of NNW this year was "Ring of Fire," as most bonuses related to volcanic sites. Bonus locations were scattered throughout the Pacific Northwest, down into California, and as far away as New Mexico. I put together a route plan in Basecamp that looked like this:

route_plan.png

This route should have been very doable in the 60 hours allotted for the rally, and it gave me contingency options if something went wrong and I needed to take a more direct route back to Bend. We started at 5:30am Friday morning (Sep 10) amid a rare late summer downpour in the central Oregon high desert. My little FJ-09 looked out of place among the massive touring rigs favored by everyone else.

2021_0917_09550800.jpg
2021_0917_09550900.jpg
Rainy 5:30am start in Bend, Oregon

I started executing my plan, heading north to collect some volcano bonuses including Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood, then up into Washington for Mt. St. Helens and a few others. Most bonuses required a photo showing my rally flag (I was #29) and some other specific elements. As always, reading comprehension of the rally pack was key.

IMG_20210910_143931s.jpg
Warner Peak near Enumclaw, Washington

The rain stopped mid-morning, but I'd forgotten what a time suck western Washington could be. I was executing my plan flawlessly and on schedule, but didn't get out of the Sea-Tac metropolis until 4:00pm. I'd done 500 miles in 10.5 hours at this point. This was a good pace, but the congestion of NW Oregon and SW Washington made it feel like a slog. It felt good to finally stretch the FJ's legs on I-90 across Wasington and Idaho, despite the return of heavy rain. I collected a few more bonii on my way to Missoula, Montana, where I took a high value rest bonus.

IMG_20210910_205140s.jpg
Wallace, Idaho

I got a solid 7.5 hours of sleep in Missoula and awoke Saturday morning feeling great. Wind in Montana was strong (as usual) so I had to get creative when displaying my flag for some bonuses. In this photo I used a Roc Strap to secure the flag to my windshield. I need a better system for flag management.

IMG_20210911_101231s.jpg
Crown Butte, Montana

I continued south through Montana to West Yellowstone, then turned back west through Idaho.

IMG_20210911_130049s.jpg
Evel Knievel's gravesite in Butte, Montana

IMG_20210911_155952s.jpg
West Yellowstone, Montana

IMG_20210911_185331s.jpg
Near Craters of the Moon in Idaho

When I rolled into Vale, Oregon for a visit to the Bates Motel, I noticed some new clicking noise from my chain when off-throttle. I decided to skip a low value out-of-the-way bonus in Rome, and headed straight for Burns on US-20. Somewhere on this stretch I checked into the Iron Butt Motel (a rest stop picnic table) for about an hour.

IMG_20210911_233636s.jpg
Vale, Oregon

By the time I stopped for gas in Burns, the drive chain was getting louder, but it still hadn't registered in my brain that this might be a serious problem. I really should have stopped in Riley to inspect the chain carefully, but I was focused on my plan and turned south on US-395 towards Lakeview. Growing concern gnawed at me though, and when I got to the intersection of the Christmas Valley Road I decided to stop for a detailed inspection.

The intersection of US-395 and Christmas Valley Road is unimaginably dark and remote at 3:00am. When I removed my helmet and ear plugs I could hear a lot of movement out in the pitch black desert, mostly from a bunch of coyotes who yip-yip-yipped at me with what seemed a great vehemence. I shone my flashlight into the night, but swinging the beam back and forth revealed nothing but desert and darkness.

Reminding myself that coyotes hardly ever attack humans, I set to work inspecting the chain. I didn't see anything obviously wrong; all the o-rings and rollers looked okay, and the ScottOiler was keeping the chain well lubed. But there were now noticeable tight and loose spots in the chain.

As the coyotes persisted with their message of unwelcome, I decided the chain was safe enough to continue riding. But for how long? Continuing in a direction further away from home seemed unwise. So I made the difficult decision to skip the remaining bonuses in southern Oregon and head straight back to Bend. I wasn't exactly abandoning my plan though, since this change simply put me on one of the contingency routes I anticipated way back on Thursday night. I had even designed my route so that the later items - the ones I skipped - all had lower points values anyway.

Eastern Oregon has more wildlife than traffic late at night, so even with my massive PIAA LP550s blazing across the desert I set the cruise control to 54mph. I hit at least two kangaroo rats, and had to swerve around a couple of rabbits and coyotes. I didn't encounter any deer, thankfully. At this low speed it took me a while to get back to the barn, but I rolled into Bend without incident just after 6:00am.

I settled into a booth at the local Black Bear Diner, where I dove into some steak and eggs and my rally paperwork. Gary Huff saw my nearby Spot signal and came to check on me. I informed him of my chain worries, and he agreed that it was a good decision. After breakfast I checked into the hotel early for some rest and a shower. The next rally participant didn't roll into the parking lot until seven hours later, at which point I was already rested, showered, and sporting a classy aloha shirt.

During yet another scrumptious meal at the finishers banquet I learned that I'd placed 9th overall, which I'm pretty happy about considering all the time and points I left on the table. I rode 2210 miles in 48.5 hours, and executed a plan that worked exactly as I'd hoped. The rally itself was great fun and extremely well organized; kudos to Gary Huff for putting on a first class rally with delicious food, excellent swag, and fantastic route options. Gary said he wanted to make this rally a good learning experience for people who want to ride in the IBR and other big rallies, and I feel it was exactly that. Gary held us to a high standard while truly mentoring me and many other riders without IBR experience. The North By Northwest Rally will move to the Colorado Springs area next year, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

As for the bike... I still firmly believe the FJ-09/Tracer 900 is a viable LD platform for someone who wants a lighter, more manageable bike that can still be comfortable over long miles. But as for me personally, I'm kind of pissed that a DID X-ring chain failed on me despite good maintenance. The chain only had ~14k miles on it at the beginning of the rally and I run a ScottOiler, so really it should have been fine. I'm at the point in my life where I want to get more serious about LD riding, and I'm shopping for something with shaft drive.
 
Last edited:

keithu

Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
#5
In hindsight, I should have just installed a new chain before the rally, just as I always start a rally with new tires. The chain is a $150 consumable part, and it was dumb not to replace it before NNW. I actually installed this chain late last summer to ensure I'd have a new chain for Butt Lite X, which of course was cancelled.

The subject of chains vs. shaft has been beaten to death and I don't think it needs to be rehashed here. Suffice to say nobody is in the Hopeless Class simply because they have chain drive.

The more interesting discussion to me is the overall weight of the bike. I have long argued that lighter motorcycles can be good LD bikes. I've ridden rallies on a Triumph TT600 and a Yamaha FJ-09 and have consistently placed in the top 10 with both. I had planned to ride the FJ-09 in BLX, not because I felt that I needed to prove something about an unconventional bike, but because I knew it would work very well for me. The FJ has an upright riding position that's actually more roomy than a BMW RT. For comfort I added a bigger windshield and a custom seat. That's it. The rider triangle is perfect for me. I rode almost 1300 miles in the last 22 hours of NNW and felt great; I was ready for more if only the chain hadn't decided to take a shit.

I like lighter motorcycles because I find them less fatiguing overall. I think many riders fail to consider how much energy is expended managing a large motorcycle around in a parking lot or rough gravel drive while maneuvering for a bonus photo. To say nothing of muscling a behemoth down a twisty road. There is a perception that a lighter bike will beat you up on long freeway drones, but I don't think this has to be the case. I've taken the FJ on a long haul across the Great Plains and I felt fine.

Certainly a lighter bike presents some challenges. I have to be a little more creative about packing gear and installing aux fuel. I had to reinforce the front subframe because it wasn't designed to support a large windshield, aux lights, and other farkles. There's chain maintenance. And something like the FJ will never have the weather protection of many larger bikes.

With all that said, yes I am now shopping for something a bit larger and heavier than my FJ-09. But there are many good motorcycles out there in the <550lbs range that can be good touring bikes. If you find yourself grunting with effort as you heft your 750lbs tourer off the sidestand for the 12th time today, maybe a lighter bike is worth considering.
 

kerrizor

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#7
I just finished writing up my own report (in another thread here, if you're curious) I played around a bit with the routing and came up with more-or-less your plan as well, as an improvement on my own - I'm pretty sure it would be just about the maximum available points for the northern loop, and be a solid 4th place finish.. as it is, I think you and I ended up riding almost the exact same route - not sure where our point difference came from.
 

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#8
@keithu - Have you considered the KISS method of simply carrying an extra chain, at the correct length, with master links of both styles for rallies or long touring trips? It takes very little time to swap a chain if it hasn't broken. Even using a rivet tool it's a quick job if you've already done it before and know the routine. Cletha had a rather spectacular chain issue during her IBR in '11 and ever since that we carried an extra chain and the chain tool in the bottom of her saddlebag. Sprockets too on the AK trip.

In terms of shaft drive, you can pick up a low mile Honda Pacific Coast, (PC-800) for a song these days and have a second bike for rally use. LINK

It's no FJR, but then again, it's not a FJR.
 

keithu

Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
#9
I think you and I ended up riding almost the exact same route - not sure where our point difference came from.
I got the early bird bonus, but not Fort Rock. I rode right past Fort Rock but didn't bother with the bonus because I was so nervous about the chain. These two differences should account for the points delta.
 
Last edited:

keithu

Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
#10
@keithu - Have you considered the KISS method of simply carrying an extra chain, at the correct length, with master links of both styles for rallies or long touring trips?
Not a terrible idea. I've pretty much decided to move on however and have a new RT on order. If BMW can't deliver in a reasonable timeframe, plan B is a Multistrada V4S in which case the spare chain is a good idea.

In terms of shaft drive, you can pick up a low mile Honda Pacific Coast, (PC-800)
LOLOLOLOL :D:D:D:D:D no.
 

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#11
Not a terrible idea. I've pretty much decided to move on however and have a new RT on order. If BMW can't deliver in a reasonable timeframe, plan B is a Multistrada V4S in which case the spare chain is a good idea.
You have a very odd idea of light weight. o_O Didn't you learn anything from the Triumph? ;)
 

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#13
The RT is a very nice bike and quite comfortable for most people. BMW has just fallen into the same trap as other mfgs in continuing to make things bigger and bigger w/o doing the engineering first, imho.