Planning BBG

Doug Horner

Premier Member
#1
My longest ride so far was 1100 miles. I have done an SS1000 and TOH extreme(just a modified ss 1000). After both rides I was still feeling good. I'm itching to try a BBG. So, my question is: How much harder is the xtra 500 miles on the BBG? Is it reasonable to have a go at the BBG with a Goldwing that has stock fuel capacity? What sort of moving average will i have to maintain to stop every 180-200 Miles?
Any info from those with experience would be helpful.
Thanks
 

BigLew55

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#2
The first question related to a BBG is are you comfortable staying in the saddle for nearly 24 hours? It's a long time, and IMO the hard part of doing this ride.

As for fuel range, I have done 2 BBGs on a Harley with stock fuel capacity, keeping the range slightly lower than you calculated for your wing. That shouldn't be an issue. The key is to keep your stops clean. Every minute you stand at a gas pump or in a line at the cashier is one minute longer before you get to put your head on a pillow.

Good luck. It's a challenging ride, but if it was easy, anyone could do it.
 

Doug Horner

Premier Member
#3
The first question related to a BBG is are you comfortable staying in the saddle for nearly 24 hours? It's a long time, and IMO the hard part of doing this ride.

As for fuel range, I have done 2 BBGs on a Harley with stock fuel capacity, keeping the range slightly lower than you calculated for your wing. That shouldn't be an issue. The key is to keep your stops clean. Every minute you stand at a gas pump or in a line at the cashier is one minute longer before you get to put your head on a pillow.

Good luck. It's a challenging ride, but if it was easy, anyone could do it.
I’m pretty confident I can sit there for 24hrs, but of course who knows for sure till you try. The occasional Excedrin helps a lot. I think I will plan my gas stops more carefully so I can get in and out fast. If it’s close to the road I can usually get back to cruising speed in 10 minutes.
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#4
So, my question is: How much harder is the xtra 500 miles on the BBG? Is it reasonable to have a go at the BBG with a Goldwing that has stock fuel capacity? What sort of moving average will i have to maintain to stop every 180-200 Miles?
Any info from those with experience would be helpful.
I've done 2x BBG's on a GL1800 with stock fuel capacity. Both were done in slightly over 22 hours...figure 22.2 to be more precise. You can do the math on the overall speed; the distances were 1517 & 1525 miles. One was done along I-10, as part of a 50CC ride, the other was a rally in the wilderness of Nevada. Nine intermediate stops on my first one; average stop time nine minutes. Eight intermediate stops on the Nevada BBG; average stop time eight minutes.

As those with experience preach around these parts, every minute you're not moving, you could be a mile further down the road. Fuel stops need to be planned well and executed efficiently...that's really all there is to it.

I was a little uncomfortable at the 800 mile mark...and again at the 1200 mile mark. Of course, if I weighed 40 lbs less, I probably wouldn't have those types of issues. The mental fatigue is what'll get ya.
 
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Doug Horner

Premier Member
#5
Thanks for the advice. I’m going to plan my route as closely as I can including my exact fuels stops. I live in SW MO so I’ll probably go out and back on 44/40 to north to Nebraska then west and back home. Once I get settled I’m usually fairly comfortable on the goldwing despite being 6’6” tall. Takes a few miles to get my rear broken into the bike.
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#6
That works (planning well...) until it doesn't.

My first BBG - I really needed to work a stop in that wasn't planned, and it was early in the ride. I'd studied enough to know that opportunities to get fuel were relatively plentiful. So, now I worked on getting back onto my scheduled stops, while still riding 150+ miles at a time.

Long, boring ride report here:

https://kwthom.blogspot.com/2016/10/bunburner-gold-and-50cc-part-1-of-2.html

(darn...looks like some of the links to some of the photos in my ride report are foo-bar...I'll work on repairs)
 
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WY88

Premier Member
#7
My BBG was "easy" on me, THAT DAY. I have done SS1Ks that really kicked me and SS1Ks that had almost no effect on me. All depends of THAT day. Plan it out, hydrate but not to the point bio stops overtake your ride. Not much daylight this time of year. As always, be safe.
 

Greg Rice

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#8
I have done a few BBG’s and found over the years that good planning, proper gear, knowing your route and getting good rest before the ride will give you the best chance of successfully completing your ride.

For your first BBG stay on interstates if you can. Don’t ride into all day rain, it is a real downer.

Have the proper gear for the weather you may encounter.

If you are not familiar or know your route spend some time reviewing it. It relives some stress knowing what is ahead.

Have fun and enjoy the view.
 

Georgemowry

Happy Motorcyclist
Premier Member
IBA Member
#9
Preparation for long distance includes how to be comfortable on your bike. Can you move around, stretch, change positions? Learn to monitor your progress. If you are losing time, cannot ride seamlessly in traffic if you are unable to ride smoothly analyze what is wrong. Is it the road? Is it the weather? Is it the motorcycle? Is it you? If it is you: Are you hungry, cold, dehydrated in pain? Are you too tired to focus? Correct the problem, then and there. There comes a time that every motorcyclist has to stop and get off the motorcycle. Failure to do so risks everything. By the way, you will still meet your ride parameters because you will ride better when the problem has been addressed. I have stopped if it became impossible. I try to follow this on every ride. Best of everything for you ride. I am looking forward to your ride report . Georgemowry
Ps: the elephant in the room is fatigue-sleep deprivation. These are 24 hour rides. G.
 
#10
Mine was tough. Till it got tougher. The first 900 miles was a snap, then the weather turned nasty (torrential rain, 50F temperature, dark, malfunctioning heated jacket, gloves that didn't want to go on or come off, destroyed cellphone). It was a teeth gritting night, but no sleepiness. Luckily, I had managed to pit quite a bit of time in the bank before the cellphone incident put a 45 minute gash in my effort. I finished with 40 minutes to spare.

I have an Ardox saddle on order, but it's more of a luxury than anything else. The physical was good for another thousand miles, the mental wasn't...
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#11
So, at least three of us have independently mentioned mental fatigue as a predominate concern that needs to be considered.

Most of this decade's motorcycles are perfectly fine in doing miles like these. In decades past, I'd make an assumption that many times, riders concerns were with 'is this bike going to make this distance?'. Those sorts of nagging thoughts are just some of the fuel to the fire of mental fatigue.

As a motorcyclist that has done 1000+ miles, there's that old saying "mind over matter". So, for 16, 18, 20 hours - however long it takes YOU to do a 1000 mile ride, it's reasonably easy to 'keep your head in the game' for those that have accomplished it.

The math is fairly simple - 63.3 MPH is the absolute minimum for an overall average speed for 1500.1 miles in 1440 minutes! :cool: Okay, let's make it a bit realistic -- 1525 miles (padded...) in 23.5 hours (safety time) is 64.89 MPH. The rest of the algebra is left as an exercise to the reader to determine what your personal pace needs to be in order to maintain a nearly 65MPH average speed.

For many, having a GPS, an app or some other system to monitor your pace becomes a tool that helps monitor those values as the ride progresses. It's not really needed for a Saddlesore, but a tool like this can be invaluable for a ride like the BBG.
 

Mike721

Premier Member
#12
I just did my first BBG on a Victory Vision with stock fuel capacity, I can go about 240 miles on a tank, the longest leg I did was the first at 225, the rest were all 200 or so. I think your Goldwing is comparable so that shouldn't be an issue. Do it all on the interstate obviously, and avoid tie ups, and if you can pick 70mph or better roads that's great, at least around here that will get you a cruising speed of about 80 mph. Make your stops short and efficient and with luck on your side you'll get it done. I ended up with 1535 miles in 23 hours, at the end I felt great, no fatigue at all, I was contemplating keeping going and seeing how far I could get in the full 24 but I was right at my house and decided to call it a day at my planned stop while I was ahead. Don't eat anything major on the ride, carry snacks and water, nibble as you fill up, and keep moving. Good Luck!

EDIT I just posted a write up I did about my ride, it may help you get a taste of what I felt riding the BBG.
https://forum.ironbutt.org/index.php?threads/bbg-1500-success.3475/
 
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#13
My first BBG was the 2018 Fools Gold; I rode just over 1600 miles with just minutes to spare to be under 24 hours. This was my 3rd IBA ride.
The next stand-alone BBG was 2019's Fools Gold; this time I was just short of 1,700 miles but did it in 23:15. I followed this up with another 1,620 mile-ride, but because of intense traffic from Tampa all the way through west of Knoxville, I finished close to the 24-hour limit.

These rides were done on a '16 RT with NO auxiliary tank and stops around every 200-220 miles. I set my cruise to 85 MPH as indicated by my Nav VI GPS. I planned for 20-minute stops at each refueling stop and brought my own food and drink.

The keys are to plan your route well- stay on the interstates and avoid construction zones, pre-plan your fuel stops, and keep the cruise set. When making a stop, take your time and freshen up and redo your gear. If you find yourself stuck in a 20-mile backup on the interstate, be prepared to use the shoulders to get around.

Just my $0.02...
 

Gerry Arel

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#14
I have only 2 BBGs ... but my 2nd was by far easier. The reason, I left at 9am and the next day the rising sun mentally picked me up for those last 3 hours. I needed that. No matter how tired I am, a sunrise always perks me up and its just the 'joy' I need to keep going with a smile on my face.

No aux.
 

Jim Craig

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#15
I've done two BBGs. The first I finished with only a few minutes to spare as a result of major fatigue setting in between 2AM and 4AM in the morning (I started at 6AM). On the second attempt, I started at 8PM and I hit 1500 miles before 6PM the next day. I'm not sure if it's better to leave at night, 4AM in the morning is still really difficult, but finishing during the day is better than finishing in the wee hours of the morning. I was hoping to get some sleep before leaving at 10PM but couldn't sleep and left at 8PM instead. Next time I may try leaving at midnight.

The second time, I planned my route to avoid traffic, construction, driving into the sun, and non-interstate roads. I set a 10 minute timer on my watch each time I stopped and was on the road again before it expired on most stops. I didn't take my helmet off at stops. Stops were for gas, recording my receipts, and bathroom breaks only. I still made mistakes. I planned my gas stops and then decided on the ride to try to stretch as far as I could on each tank, resulting in a detour in Oklahoma to find a gas station. I snacked (nuts and dried fruit) from supplies in my tank bag while riding and drank from a hydration bladder also in the tank bag. I used InRoute app on my iphone to plan my route and loaded a GPX file of my route into my nav system as a backup. I used the SWConnect app to map my progress and upload pictures of my receipts to the cloud and also took a picture of every receipt on my phone. I listen to Audible books while riding, but switched to rock and roll for a few hours at 3AM to help with fatigue. Here is the Spotwalla trace of my trip. I started in St. Louis. https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1fd175d5ef8833eaa4
 

cacomly

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#16
I've done one official BBG and several unofficial sort of BBGs. I'd say those extra 500 miles make a huge difference if not used to doing them.

My first BBG I think my longest leg was 250 miles. I had to stop sooner for the rest because of the need to mark corners of my route. My bike without Aux fuel has a range of 150 or so miles. If you can hit 180-200 between stops that would be reasonable. Another suggestion is plan for a fuel stop that is at say 1510 miles and ONLY use it if you are really down to the wire. Otherwise plan on your ending stop around 1550 miles to have that cushion in case they calculate a different distance than you do

What works best for me is to stay close to my normal sleep patterns. So if normally get up around 5am then the earliest I would leave is 4am. But each person is different
 
R

Roy Kjendal

#17
I think I have around 8 BBgs and to me they are all some of the toughst rides I have ever done. I have tried all sort of different start times but think that getting the night riding over with early is best for me. YMMV
 

Doug Horner

Premier Member
#19
I've done two BBGs. The first I finished with only a few minutes to spare as a result of major fatigue setting in between 2AM and 4AM in the morning (I started at 6AM). On the second attempt, I started at 8PM and I hit 1500 miles before 6PM the next day. I'm not sure if it's better to leave at night, 4AM in the morning is still really difficult, but finishing during the day is better than finishing in the wee hours of the morning. I was hoping to get some sleep before leaving at 10PM but couldn't sleep and left at 8PM instead. Next time I may try leaving at midnight.

The second time, I planned my route to avoid traffic, construction, driving into the sun, and non-interstate roads. I set a 10 minute timer on my watch each time I stopped and was on the road again before it expired on most stops. I didn't take my helmet off at stops. Stops were for gas, recording my receipts, and bathroom breaks only. I still made mistakes. I planned my gas stops and then decided on the ride to try to stretch as far as I could on each tank, resulting in a detour in Oklahoma to find a gas station. I snacked (nuts and dried fruit) from supplies in my tank bag while riding and drank from a hydration bladder also in the tank bag. I used InRoute app on my iphone to plan my route and loaded a GPX file of my route into my nav system as a backup. I used the SWConnect app to map my progress and upload pictures of my receipts to the cloud and also took a picture of every receipt on my phone. I listen to Audible books while riding, but switched to rock and roll for a few hours at 3AM to help with fatigue. Here is the Spotwalla trace of my trip. I started in St. Louis. https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1fd175d5ef8833eaa4
I like that route. Especially since I live 25 miles north of Springfield. I may try it. I was thinking of heading to Omaha then west and do an out and back ride.
 

Jim Craig

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#20
I like that route. Especially since I live 25 miles north of Springfield. I may try it. I was thinking of heading to Omaha then west and do an out and back ride.
You might try a run up to Fargo and back, that's a bit over 750 miles each way. The North and South Dakota interstate speed limits are conducive to a fairly quick BBG.