Auburn
Well-known member
How so? Ben Ernst finished 7th and claimed Yellowknife.
FJRForum Official 2023 Iron Butt Rally Tracking/Analysis Thread
- Thread starter Ignacio
- Start date
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DavidEBSmith
Member
Haters gonna hate . . .
???
What does that mean?
What does that mean?
It's not just me then. I thought knowing Eddie personally and liking him was an automatic proposition.
You know where else they excel every couple years, they usually put 5 or more in the top ten consistently
thomasgif
Active member
Steve Giffin here. I crashed on I-20 on day 10 outside Augusta, GA; riding a route very similar to the Mr. Owen & Mr. Best.
100% my fault. Not the best way to end an IBR. Thankfully no major injuries. Still waiting to hear the fate of my Super Tenere from the insurance adjustor (sorry Darren! @Zacnzoe)
I seem to remember being told early on that it's the rider and not the bike.
I know I always enjoyed listening to him weave a story at places like the Crawfish Boil in LA. He was an excellent rider, a wickedly cleaver RM, and a great representative for the sport. His "pulling a Cosby" was something he didn't need to do to finish well, and, as with BC, was a tarnishing of that ideal.
Niehart
Pie Smuggler
Thanks for the update, Steve. And you had such a good run going. Sorry to hear the rally ended that way.
Thanks for the update. Glad to hear no major injuries.
Curious to hear your thoughts on positives/negatives of the Super Tenere vs FJR or any other bikes you’ve ridden on long distance rallies.
thomasgif
Active member
@MCGMB - regarding the bikes. All rallies and LD riding prior to 2023 was on my '05 FJR, including the '21 IBR - about 120k miles. The S10 was outfitted for the '23 IBR, but I also did a SS and BBG on it driving it home from Cali where I bought it - only about 20k miles for me on the S10.
In general terms, both are very capable LD mounts. The FJR is slightly better on the highway for wind protection & fuel economy, but the S10 was great to have on rough roads (and rough highways). The S10 soaks up the bumps a lot better. I like to say you sit "in" the FJR, and "on" the S10. I'm 6'-4", ~215lbs, so the higher seat on the S10 gave my legs a more neutral position, but I was never uncomfortable on the FJR. The lower seat on the FJR is definitely nicer / easier to climb onto on day 9-10-11 of the IBR than the high leg-lift needed for the S10, but I didn't have any problems with the S10. The S10 engine isn't lacking power, but it definetly doesn't have the punch the FJR does for highway speed passing efforts. No problems, just took a bit to get used to. I rode double-dark-side on my FJR and was very nervous about tire life on the S10, but the Trail Max Missions I was running were going to make it for the full IBR, but not a ton futher. And, that's still only half the life of a dark-side. I'm frugal (cheap), so I wasn't looking forward to buying moto-tires again. No good options to dark side a S10. The tire size is more specialized and I couldn't find anything available for dark siding. The S10 was slighlty superior on the one gravel road I got on in Washington, but that's mostly due to suspension compliance. Only negative for the S10 is that it recommends premium fuel, and did seem to run better / get better mileage on it so that's what I ran. The FJR got regular gas it's whole life and never complained.
Long story short - I'm fully sold on any Yamaha. Both the FJR and S10 work very well for LD riding and rallies. I'd say the FJR wins for the purpose, but the S10 wins if there is a guarantee of dirt / rough roads. The S10 also wins in the damage-resitance column. Even with crashbars a FJR has more plastic to get beat up. The S10 may get scuffed, but less likely to destroy fairing stays, painted pannier lids, etc.
In general terms, both are very capable LD mounts. The FJR is slightly better on the highway for wind protection & fuel economy, but the S10 was great to have on rough roads (and rough highways). The S10 soaks up the bumps a lot better. I like to say you sit "in" the FJR, and "on" the S10. I'm 6'-4", ~215lbs, so the higher seat on the S10 gave my legs a more neutral position, but I was never uncomfortable on the FJR. The lower seat on the FJR is definitely nicer / easier to climb onto on day 9-10-11 of the IBR than the high leg-lift needed for the S10, but I didn't have any problems with the S10. The S10 engine isn't lacking power, but it definetly doesn't have the punch the FJR does for highway speed passing efforts. No problems, just took a bit to get used to. I rode double-dark-side on my FJR and was very nervous about tire life on the S10, but the Trail Max Missions I was running were going to make it for the full IBR, but not a ton futher. And, that's still only half the life of a dark-side. I'm frugal (cheap), so I wasn't looking forward to buying moto-tires again. No good options to dark side a S10. The tire size is more specialized and I couldn't find anything available for dark siding. The S10 was slighlty superior on the one gravel road I got on in Washington, but that's mostly due to suspension compliance. Only negative for the S10 is that it recommends premium fuel, and did seem to run better / get better mileage on it so that's what I ran. The FJR got regular gas it's whole life and never complained.
Long story short - I'm fully sold on any Yamaha. Both the FJR and S10 work very well for LD riding and rallies. I'd say the FJR wins for the purpose, but the S10 wins if there is a guarantee of dirt / rough roads. The S10 also wins in the damage-resitance column. Even with crashbars a FJR has more plastic to get beat up. The S10 may get scuffed, but less likely to destroy fairing stays, painted pannier lids, etc.
@thomasgif Thanks for the thorough and interesting comparison. All useful info.
You're the 2nd S10 owner I know of that did the IBR on Missions. Incredible mileage for pure moto tires. I had no idea. May have to look at those next time I need tires even though I'm not an IBRer.
Good luck on your next IBR or other rally, whatever bike you're on.
You're the 2nd S10 owner I know of that did the IBR on Missions. Incredible mileage for pure moto tires. I had no idea. May have to look at those next time I need tires even though I'm not an IBRer.
Good luck on your next IBR or other rally, whatever bike you're on.
Sorry, @thomasgif. 
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