What's your pick for "Story of the 2007 IBR"?

[FJR-Richie]

The 2007 IBR is hours from finishing. For me the story (other than actaul rider stories) has got to be the reliability problems of the new Beemers and their final drives. Not to slam BMW - actually, they deserve to be slammed for building such a shit final drive on the new bikes - unbelievable.

 

[Groo]

I imagine there's a few loyal oilheads who are second guessing their choice of motorcycle vendor at this point... Seems like other than some electronic glitches, the FJRs have held up remarkably well....

 

[Bounce]

The 2007 IBR is hours from finishing. For me the story (other than actaul rider stories) has got to be the reliability problems of the new Beemers and their final drives. Not to slam BMW - actually, they deserve to be slammed for building such a shit final drive on the new bikes - unbelievable.

I would have said the same thing except that's nothing new from reports of the past 3 or 4 IBRs. After a while you lay that issue aside and take it as a given; picking something like the NV Trooper as a favorite instead.

 

[jwhite518]

The 2007 IBR is hours from finishing. For me the story (other than actaul rider stories) has got to be the reliability problems of the new Beemers and their final drives. Not to slam BMW - actually, they deserve to be slammed for building such a shit final drive on the new bikes - unbelievable.

Great thread idea. As of now I'd say mechanical failures, period. Not only have many BMWs failed spectacularly, I just read that probable leader Jim Frens is being delayed by nothing more than a leaky valve stem on his Goldwing. Now if only Jim Owen can drive that Beemer over the finish line we might have a BMW winner after all.

Of course, the "story of the IBR" can't be chosen until they are all told. Final checkpoint opens in less than four hours!

 

[burnergold2B]

My interest is in a little bit more depth, but still holding the BMW angle, and that is how %100 of the H-D based machines finished and about %50 of the beemers are DNFs. All too many of the beemer guys I know despise the H-D logo in any way/form/fashion. Is this why? Is it an IBA trend of late?

 

[nubfjr]

well, it wasn't like 2003, when every other final drive was failing....so we had 3 (2 1200's and 1 1150 fail as far as I know) out of what...42 bmw's in the rally? Some of them are still in it despite this...so for one thing, dealers are getting better at their responsiveness to fixing this problem (which is the angle bmw will take) instead of addressing the real issue.

 

[tel]

I have a 1200GS and an FJR. I bought the GS because I wanted a better bike for the dirt sections of rally's. After 3,000 miles on the GS, the final drive had turned yellow. The dealer said it probably overheated, but it was ok. It was replaced last week at 12,000 miles. I think I made a big mistake buying the GS.

It will be interesting to see if the % of BMW's falls in the next rally.

tel

 

[Randy]

Tossup between the state trooper, Joel Rappaport, and Jim Frens.

The state trooper story was hillarious and well-told.

Joel Rappaport crossing the finish line with over 400K on his mid-70s vintage BMW r60/6 with over 400,000 miles on compared to the mechanical DNFs of new bikes (all brands).

Jim Frens, if he makes it back on time, could end up with a hell of a ride doing close to 13000 miles in 11 days.

 

[squeezer]

The Beemer failures have been the buzz on every forum I visit, and I imagine that will continue to be the most talked about story.

I'm with Bounce that the NV state trooper is the most fun story until we start hearing more ride reports.

I'm going to go out on a limb, though, and predict that the big story a few hours from now will be Jim Owens' routing skills.

 

[Warchild]

Jim Frens made it back in time.

Alan Barbic was the last FJR1300 to come in.... he was 12 minutes into the Penalty Clock, costing him 1200 points.

All FJR riders are in and/or accounted for.

Mike Evans is probably our top FJR rider, won't know for sure until tonight.

My guess is that Tom Melchild, Iggy and SkooterG will fight it out for 2nd Highest FJR rider.

More later....

 

[Randy]

All FJR riders are in and/or accounted for.

Hoping that's also the case for all riders, but, a big :thumbsupsmileyanim: for our FJR brethren. We're proud of all of you regardless of the standings.

 

[airboss]

All FJR riders are in and/or accounted for.

Hoping that's also the case for all riders, but, a big :thumbsupsmileyanim: for our FJR brethren. We're proud of all of you regardless of the standings.

10-4, on that Randy, anyone that finishes a IBR is a winner.

 

[Bounce]

Another report from another list. Well worth sharing. Since it's not an official daily report, I'm sticking it here.

Yes, the flock have turned and is migrating East toward the ever elusiveIron Butt Rally finish in Chesterfield, Missouri. This has once again been

a bad year for BMW final drives and transmissions. Apparently all the arm

chair engineering which has take place over at BMWMOA since 2005 hasn't

helped as the total number of failures is up to 3 or 4 which IIRC is about

the same as in 2005. Jim Owens is within sight of the prize and I'm sure

hearing gremlin noises from his R1200 with every turn of the wheel. By now

the ghosts of Rallys past are probably invading every psyche. We haven't

heard much from the FJR camp since the failed stator on leg one. Forest

Rats have attempted to derail no telling how many riders so far and the

futures market for motorcycle cowcatchers has risen steeply in recent days.

While David Derrick recuperates from his encounter with a slow moving

vehicle in Wyoming rumors that it was Donald Jones GL 1000 were discounted

as Donald was in California at the time of the incident. Jim Frens has

been burning up the miles since he left Chesterfield last Saturday morning

and was wishing he had a new front tire at last report. Thirteen hundred

miles from the finish his valve stem was leaking and he was looking for

assistance to make it back in time for the finish. Good luck Jim. I

believe Edmonton is the nearest big city and Rob Nye probably can help you

out with some phone numbers in Edmonton to get you back in the hunt.

Whether it will be timely enough to allow Jim to make it back to the finish

in time is yet to be seen.

Meanwhile over in the Kawasaki camp the EX250 has retired from the race.

The Concours 10 ridden by Chris McGaffin from Ireland was running well last

time I heard from the bike's owner Bryan Main although Chris has

continually complained about the heat issue. Maybe if he hadn't chosen

routes with triple digit temperatures he wouldn't be complaining. ; )

Chris Cimino was looking for something to make him laugh last time he

called in on the C14. I believe the bike is running fine, but Chris's

engine is running down quickly. "Day 9, I laugh at Day 9" was on the

Triumph, but I sincerely doubt any of the riders are laughing as they try

to make it back to Chesterfield to beat the incessantly ticking clock which

signals the end of the Rally. Harley riders were still loping down the road

at last report and where they'll end up in the standings is anyone's guess

but we know they have given their all in the pursuit.

One look at the Star-Traxx page shows a gaggle of riders headed back to

Chesterfield and it's anybody's guess who will end up on top of the heap at

the scoring table when the window opens in a little over 2 hours. One has

to wonder if Jim Owens found any Polaroid 600 film in Yosimete National

Park after he had burned through twelve packs. If he has a valid bonus for

every one of those 120 pictures he surely is still in the hunt. A quick

look reveals he probably used between twenty and thirty on the first leg so

Jim has been real busy since he last left Chesterfield.

Tick...tock...tick...tock....the seconds count down and every one is a

determining factor in who will take home bragging rights in this year's

"Worlds Toughest Motorcycle Rally". Scorers are probably fueling up on

coffee and doughnuts at the Doubletree and I'm sure staff are all glad it's

coming to an end once again and will breathe a big sigh of relief when all

of Lisa's kids are safely accounted for. A big tip of the hat to all who

have made this as exciting as it gets and thanks to one and all who have

kept those of us in the cheap seats up to date on progress of the riders.

I think I'll pop a bag of popcorn and get another cup of coffee and sit

back and enjoy the show.

TCARS

Jack Ferguson

 

[GunMD]

I love it. The written accounts of this thing are simply captivating. I must check Matt's site and the '07 IBR page every hour hoping for updates. I'm hooked on these reports. Strange really, that any other event that I was only able to read about (rather than watching or listening to) would be of no interest to me at all. But this? I just can't get enough.

Now for the next round of armchair observation; Photos. I can't wait.

 

[vectervp1]

Jim Frens made it back in time.

Holy hell! That's great! I'm anxious to see where that puts him in the standings. That's one hell of a ride to Alaska and back!! :clapping:

 

[squeezer]

Jim Frens made it back in time.

Holy hell! That's great! I'm anxious to see where that puts him in the standings. That's one hell of a ride to Alaska and back!! :clapping:

No kidding. My new prediction: The winner's name will be Jim.

 

[vectervp1]

No kidding. My new prediction: The winner's name will be Jim.

I'm thinking thats a pretty safe bet to make.

Not to self.... If I get in the 2009 or 2011 IBR consider name change to "Jim"

 

[GunMD]

Not to self.... If I get in the 2009 or 2011 IBR consider name change to "Jim"

From a song by Nickelback, called 'Rockstar':

...I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fameI'd even cut my hair and change my name

[Chorus:]

'Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars...

Since vecter is considering a name change for '09 and Iggy CLEARLY got a haircut before '07, this somehow seems appropriate.

 

[jwhite518]

No kidding. My new prediction: The winner's name will be Jim.

I'm thinking thats a pretty safe bet to make.

Not to self.... If I get in the 2009 or 2011 IBR consider name change to "Jim"

Same for me, plus I'll have to ditch the beemer and get an FJR.