My first BBG - Quick write-up and some pictures

Elchiaroscuro

Premier Member
#1
Hello,

I had started a thread on the questions section but I think this is the place to post an actual summary of rides. First and foremost I would like to thank the help on this forum for answering questions that I had in regards to different aspects of this ride. Your help and insight is greatly appreciated!

The route I did was pretty much what I had initially planned. I ended up breaking my Google maps route into two because at the time I was not aware I could build a route with more than 10 stops (I was reading a recent report of a Saddlesore in CA and someone posted a "how to" link of getting more than 10 stops - I will certainly use that now:

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Start and end receipt/odometer pictures:

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I set the on board clock on the bike to Wisconsin time, since I would be crossing into MST and AZ time. The difference on the end receipt is that I had to go inside the store to get the receipt printed by the clerk (took about 5 minutes since they were busy).

The ride itself was pretty uneventful. I got no precipitation at all, and have went by the major urban areas without any traffic problems. It was a bit dense going through Des Moines but nothing that would get me stuck in traffic. My wife gave my the idea of getting a K-Tag for the Kansas Turnpike, which I did ( I put the sticker on top of my helmet). It worked out great going through the toll booths without stopping! Added bonus was that I got to use it on the Killpatrick turnpike in Oklahoma City as well!

The focus of this BBG was doing it on my Voyager 1700 without the need for any extra fuel modifications. It is no mystery to LD riders that the Voyager 1700 has a limited fuel range due to the 5.3 gallon tank. While I would be intrigued in the future to perhaps doing something to add more fuel capacity to the bike, I also wanted to be able to complete a BBG with the bike in its stock form. Essentially this ride was an exercise in "fuel stop discipline" - I had to be very methodical and waste no time whenever I pulled over for gas.

I was averaging about 6 minute stops for the first 5 or 6 fuel ups. It certainly paid dividents when I saw that my projections would put me with an hour to spare, so once I got into West Texas and New Mexico, I could actually enjoy a few more minutes off the bike to stretch.

The only "hiccup" I had in regards to the ride was when one of the receipt/odometer photos I had neglected to change my trip meter back to ODO mode, so the photo shows "Trip A" (which was zeroed from the beginning of the BBG). I don't think (at least I hope!) that would be a huge deal since the previous and following receipts do show ODO mileage and it was well under the 350 mile limit per stop as required by IBA rules. Other than that, the bike performed beautifully, and regardless of the shorter fuel range, it is a comfortable bike. Arriving just past the AZ border to my final destination (Speedy's Truck stop in Lupton, AZ), I got hit with an amazing rush of adrenaline that I have finished, and a beautiful AZ sunrise to boot!

After the actual BBG was done, I had some breakfast (amazing breakfast burritos at Speedy's btw!), and wrode another 316 miles to Goodyear, AZ where my mother and my youngest brother reside. I will be here for a few days before returning home to WI. I have already submitted the ride application electronically (I also posted a question about payment for it since I've never submitted it electronically before).

Regardless, I know I did everything in my power to complete this BBG as safely and efficiently as possible. I know the bike could do it stock, and it feels good to know that it can. The limitation is the rider, not the machine. I'll post a couple of more pictures on a second post. Now I wait patiently to hopefully get my certification and the cool extra swag.

Hope you enjoyed this write up! Thanks!

Kris H
IBA #70795
 

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#2
Well done Kris and nice write up too. :) On the one receipt pic with the trip odo, for future reference, a good back up habit is to write the odo for that stop on the receipt before taking the picture. I also like to number my receipts sequentially during the ride too, (#1, #2, #3, etc in one of the upper corners). This helps me remember to set the odo before I take the pic, and also helps later in quickly putting my receipts in sequence. An old habit from the old school days of paper submissions and photo copies. It's also nice for the verification team when looking at your photos, as it's a quick and easy way to make sure your pictures are being viewed in the correct sequence if your odo view is out of focus or hard to read.

BTW, your Voyager has about the best looking and most viewable dash I've ever seen.
 

Elchiaroscuro

Premier Member
#4
Well done Kris and nice write up too. :) On the one receipt pic with the trip odo, for future reference, a good back up habit is to write the odo for that stop on the receipt before taking the picture. I also like to number my receipts sequentially during the ride too, (#1, #2, #3, etc in one of the upper corners). This helps me remember to set the odo before I take the pic, and also helps later in quickly putting my receipts in sequence. An old habit from the old school days of paper submissions and photo copies. It's also nice for the verification team when looking at your photos, as it's a quick and easy way to make sure your pictures are being viewed in the correct sequence if your odo view is out of focus or hard to read.

BTW, your Voyager has about the best looking and most viewable dash I've ever seen.
Thanks Eric, I love this bike, it does what I need to do and it does it well! In regards to the receipts, I thought about doing something like that, but I wanted to minimize as many steps and distractions as I could mostly because I had limited time to burn at the pumps. Regardless, those are great tips. At least the pic with the trip A/receipt wasn't a corner point, and it certainly wasn't my start and end receipts :).

This trip was such a rush and such a great feeling at the end, that feeling of super-feel-good-I-did-it that just overwhelms you. :cool:
 

EricV

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#5
I kept a pen either clipped to my tank bag or velcro'd to a bar bag, depending on the bike. Don't have to dig for it, it's always right there.

Trust me, I get the minimizing time stopped concept. Ingrained process from my rally days. It always avoids a bad receipt if you use a small notebook for a fuel log and take the info off the receipt. For me, BBG stopped time is important, but more in terms of not dicking around taking things off and not spending extra time stopped and not at the pumps. I don't take anything off for a fuel stop, not even a glove. CC in an outside pocket, not the wallet, accessible with gloves on.

You did very well for running the stock tank w/o aux fuel. Kudos!
 

Dave28117

Premier Member
#6
what was your total time and how many miles did you get between fuel stops? I just completed mine over the weekend. 23 hours and got about 200 miles to a tank of gas.
 
#7
what was your total time and how many miles did you get between fuel stops? I just completed mine over the weekend. 23 hours and got about 200 miles to a tank of gas.
Total time was 23h16m. I was getting about 150 miles before the fuel light would come on. I purposely planned all my fuel stops within 150 miles (+/- a few miles) of each other so I wouldn't have to be too worried about running out of gas.