Wendy Crockett wins Iron Butt on a FJR

[Darren Williams]

So..........you think she has some life left in her Darren? You might want to get a rebuild before the mile 

Sure she's got some life left, Just now getting broken in.  A change of oil and a new set of tires and good to go.

My friend Denise has over 250,000 on her FZ1 and the motors never been opened except for valve adjustments.

[kingoffleece]

You're telling me.  I help sponsor an IBA competitor. He's won the Butt lite and finished 11th last time-not so high this last event.  It's incredible what they do.  Just to FINISH is beyond words.

[Tony F]

Hi

A while ago now I came across this book on the whole ironbutt subculture.





I was only vaguely aware of the IBA before reading the book so it was a fascinating intro.

Tony

(500-600km/per day is about right thanks!)

[tazio]

Hi

A while ago now I came across this book on the whole ironbutt subculture.





I was only vaguely aware of the IBA before reading the book so it was a fascinating intro.

Tony

(500-600km/per day is about right thanks!)

Mellisa Holbrook Pierson is quite the Guzzi enthusiast.
Her and I, plus a few others, worked our way down several miles of gravel road to get to a cool watering hole during the Guzzi Nationals one HOT year.
She was on a small block Guzzi and made short work of the road conditions.
Nice Lady 

[wirespokes]

twa - LOL - that's pretty funny. Maybe I should have compared a horse to a Zebra. Or maybe a Giraffe? Something totally different. The point is that it's not apples to apples. I'm sure you can see that. 

Men and women are different by quite a lot in many different ways, that's my point. If that's not obvious then I don't know how to go from here. It's true it doesn't take a whole lot of muscle to control a bike and a woman can do it, however it does say something that all of the IB winners since 1984 have been men. Women haven't been excluded from the race, and I doubt foul play has been a factor, so evidently it's noteworthy that a woman won it. For whatever reason she is the first. It's not sexist - more like a "WOW look at that!!! Isn't that cool!"

It's kind of funny watching the pendulum swing - when will it stop in the center? When my mom got married, women couldn't open bank accounts and were pretty much considered a man's property. Men controlled them. Now it's come down to women claiming they've been harassed (when they haven't) and on that accusation alone, police throw the man in jail. How crazy is that?

There was a discussion, and it's come up before, on our neighborhood web site about suspicious characters and possible thieves. When someone said there was a suspicious black man sitting in a car down the block, someone took offense that it was even mentioned he was black. Come on now - how can that NOT be part of the description? How can race, gender, size, age, etc not be part of the description or be taken into account? And as has already been mentioned, none of us are equal and probably never will be!

[Huzo]

Is this a nuclear bomb I see before me..?

[kingoffleece]

Good lord.  Please kill this thread.

[oldbike54]

 Cleaned up a bit , stop it fellas , seriously .

 Dusty

[Daleroso]

Sir, yes sir.

[Huzo]

Well he has asked quite a few times..

[Guzzistajohn]

Nuke the whole F@#$%m' thing Dusty, I won't cry to Luap, I promise! These guys can't handle it. I'll stop posting unless I find something to be negative about.

[ChuckH]

Actually what I find interesting is the fact this was done on a danged old yammer-hammer. 

I think the FJR is a very good bike for the Iron Butt type of competitions -- basically bullet-proof, plenty of power, comfortable, lots of electrical output, etc.  The only shortcoming would be tire life but with an extra set of wheels, tires, etc, a quick change could be made to put the bike back on the road.  Or, go to a car tire on the rear and run the whole Iron Butt on the same set. 

Her bike was one of the original years of the FJR and had the reputation on being pretty hot to ride.  Maybe, as a mechanic, she has figured out how to deflect the heat someplace else.  Also, the later models have electronic cruise which would be nice for the longer distances but there are aftermarket solutions to that problem.

Regardless, good for her!  She won, fair and square.  That's what counts.

[oldbike54]

 Race Bacon , it is a good thread , I hesitate to nuke it for that reason . Everyone just remain calm , we don't do well here when we start passing judgement , do we understand ?

 Dusty

[Rick in WNY]

Congratulations are in order for the lady. Doing 1,000 miles in 24 hours is an accomplishment. She did 12,000 in 11 days. I have serious respect for anyone who can do something like that. For her to win it... awesome barely begins to describe it.

Makes my planned trip next summer look easy. We're planning 10,000 miles in a month. She did that amount in 9-ish days. 

[kirb]

I think the FJR is a very good bike for the Iron Butt type of competitions -- basically bullet-proof, plenty of power, comfortable, lots of electrical output, etc.  The only shortcoming would be tire life but with an extra set of wheels, tires, etc, a quick change could be made to put the bike back on the road.  Or, go to a car tire on the rear and run the whole Iron Butt on the same set. 

Her bike was one of the original years of the FJR and had the reputation on being pretty hot to ride.  Maybe, as a mechanic, she has figured out how to deflect the heat someplace else.  Also, the later models have electronic cruise which would be nice for the longer distances but there are aftermarket solutions to that problem.

Regardless, good for her!  She won, fair and square.  That's what counts.

The FJR is an excellent long distance mount, but I'm not sure many run car tires. I had an '05 FJR...they do get hot. Not a big problem on the distances they cover as long as you are moving.

I did 1000 miles in 18 hours undocumented on an ST1100. I cannot imagine doing that for 10 days in a row. The training you go through is crazy. Ditching all stimulants, adjusting eating and sleeping habits, and working endlessly on doing 20 minute naps and extended awake times. The book above does go through all the crazy things these guys do.

[Daleroso]

1K a day for 11 days day won't win it. Need bonus points for instance San Diego to Seattle-bonus points in Salt Lake City.
Seattle to Chicago- bonus points in Des Moines etc.
A woman motorcyclist did it 👏👏👏

[Guzzistajohn]

I think the FJR is a very good bike for the Iron Butt type of competitions -- basically bullet-proof, plenty of power, comfortable, lots of electrical output, etc.  The only shortcoming would be tire life but with an extra set of wheels, tires, etc, a quick change could be made to put the bike back on the road.  Or, go to a car tire on the rear and run the whole Iron Butt on the same set. 

Her bike was one of the original years of the FJR and had the reputation on being pretty hot to ride.  Maybe, as a mechanic, she has figured out how to deflect the heat someplace else.  Also, the later models have electronic cruise which would be nice for the longer distances but there are aftermarket solutions to that problem.

Regardless, good for her!  She won, fair and square.  That's what counts.

Obviously a good tool for the job at hand, I was just poking at my buddy Darren

[Darren Williams]

The FJR is an excellent long distance mount, but I'm not sure many run car tires.

At the multiple day rallies I have witnessed, the majority of serious competitors bikes are set up for long distance with added fuel tanks, multiple navigation items (including large tablets mounted on the tank or handlebars), custom made seats, large drink containers, serious auxiliary lights and yes, over half had car tires on the rear.

[ChuckH]

I think they can run up to a maximum of 11 gallons of fuel, so an auxillary tank, normally custom design/size, is a necessity.  Paul Glaves had the lower half of the custom, aluminum rear top case on his Beemer built to serve as his aux tank. 

I haven't looked to see the bikes that were in the field this year but the Beemer 1200RT and 1600, the Honda ST1300 and Gold Wings and the FJR's have generally been the popular choices.  All of these bikes are tough on tires, 6 to 8000 maximum on the rears, maybe a bit more on the fronts, depending on the road surfaces, temperatures and how hard they're ridden.  Any serious competitor would have a complete set of wheels/tires at every check point for a quick change out, if necessary.  Or -- since much of the expected riding is basically vertical (not much hard cornering), the car tire on the rear is a very viable option. 

Ride safe out there.

[kingoffleece]

The best way to know what any serious competitor would do is to ask them.
I will do just that next time I see Wolfe.

[Sheepdog]

Well done, Ms. Crockett. I admire folks that are not afraid to find the edges of their envelope...

[Ncdan]

I know a guy who does this IB thing and when he is on a competitive ride he uses a  catheter running down his leg to a holding bag strapped to his calve and ankle. He uses a camels back water system and keeps all types of food sources in the tank bag. Talking about serious!

[Ronkom]

Back to Steve Atwood. He showed up at a Maryland Guzzi rally I attended a couple days after the race. The rumor flew around the campground that an Iron Butt competitor on a Guzzi had just ridden in....(some in the group asked "What's the Iron Butt?"). THEN we heard the fact that he'd WON...we all trooped up to the pavilion to meet him and see the bike. Turned out he was on his way to Charleston SC (?) Not sure about that, but it was a coastal city where the bike was to be loaded on a ship for the trip back to England.  He stopped at the rally in hopes of getting a little help w/some bike issues. If memory serves, the bike was lifted up onto a table & swarmed over by eager Guzzisti. Steve was exhausted, but still talked a little about riding the event. I remember he said he had a front wheel bearing start going bad in Maine, & couldn't stop to replace it until somewhere in Fla. My memory is that he said he lost a coil at the final stop before the last leg to the finish. He knew he had a lead on the next rider, so he just took out the plug from the dead cylinder & chugged on to the finish on one cylinder. I don't remember how many miles that was, but my thought at the time was "MYGOD!" chuffing along for hours, blowing gas fumes out one side of the bike, watching to see if the second place rider would catch up. Wouldn't THAT rack your nerves? I remember him as a very quiet,soft spoken guy. The whole episode is  favorite memory.
ronkom

[Lannis]

I know a guy who does this IB thing and when he is on a competitive ride he uses a  catheter running down his leg to a holding bag strapped to his calve and ankle. He uses a camels back water system and keeps all types of food sources in the tank bag. Talking about serious!

Any sporting event that requires the participants to wear a catheter for maximum performance ..... 

... I'm not sure I can finish that sentence.

Lannis

[Guzzistajohn]

I read once they use what what's called a Texas Cath. It's like a condom with a hose. Still, that's taking it a little serious.

[jdgretz]

Just some data points up through the 2017 IBR:

There have been 62 women who have finished the IRB.

Wendy finished her first IBR in 2009

In 2007, FJRs broke into the top ten in a big way taking places 6-9

In 2011 there were 7 FJRs in the top 20, 2 in the top 10 including the Rally winner

In 2013, 5 of the top 10 were FJRs, including Wendy at 3rd

In 2015 and 2017, there were 3 in the top 10.

FJRs have a reputation for being one of the better rides for the IBR.

Guzzi content:

1993 was won by Steve Attwood on a 1983 LeMans MK III

Guzzis didn't do so well in 95, 97 or '09 with a total of 4 DNFs

In 2013, Kendall Anderson redeemed the brand riding an '07 Norge to finisher status.

jdg

[groundhog105]

I had the chance of meeting Wendy when she had the shop in Kernville California.  Myself and a couple other guys were completing a 5 day trip thru the Sierra mountains and returning down the Kern river highway when one of the guys had cord showing on his rear tire.  Wendy took the bike in and had a new tire on it in no time. This is a lady who is fully capable as any man I ever met to ride and win the ironbutt rally and knows her way around motorcycles. I am not surprised to see her win this event.