The short mileage gang

[QUOTE=SteveAikens;769709]Uh, Mike??? No one said anything about riding a full day in [i]school zones[/i].

I don't know where YOU ride, but even riding here in town in Clovis, NM our speed limits are as high as 45 and 55 mph - in town.

Here in the southwest and western states - we don't ride 35 mph anywhere outside of city limits. I ride a lot in the mountains in NM, AZ, CO and WY - and I can assure you your "good estimate" is flat ridiculous.[/QUOTE]

O.K. you show me how you average more than 35mph on non-Interstate roads over an 8 hour riding day. That will have to include breaks an gas stops. I was in New Mexico on vacation with a bike in 2001 and 2003. Travelled from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, Albuquerque to Roswell to Ruidoso to Las Cruzes, Ruidoso to Fort Sumner and back. All what I consider non-Interstate. No way I averaged more than 350 miles on any day with 10 hours riding.

Come to Clovis. I'll be happy to ride away from you. It's not that averaging higher speeds isn't possible.

It's that apparently YOU can't average higher speeds.

If you ran the route you say you did, and on the roads you mention, weren't able to average higher speeds, where the speed limit is 65 or 70 for 75 mile or more stretches, you aren't someone that can stay on a bike.

Lastly, you also need to understand that most of us the enjoy long rides, do so for a lot more than 8 hours a day. 8 hours a day is working hours, not riding hours....:doh

Here's my 'average'..120 miles per tank, at 50 mph average. I ride at 55 to 60 mph on the open road but take into account for towns and slow pokes ahead of me. Then its a 15 - 20 minute fuel stop. So, thats 2.7 hours to go 120 miles, =45mph average. I realize fuel could be done quicker and some tanks are bigger than mine, so this number could change if I was in a hurry and pushed the reserve to its limits. But, over a long distance, there will also be a meal break in there of at least 30 minutes to bring the average speed even lower.

Even at an honest 55 mph and then a 15 minute fuel stop, it would still be 2.45 hours to go 120 miles = 49mph average. So 7 hours to go 350 miles with no meal break; only gas stops. I could do it but my pillion would be screaming bloody murder!:eat:eat:eat:fight:fight:fight

This is just me, not saying it could be done faster.

11.1 gallons. 400 plus miles to fuel. Fuel in an average of 5 minutes. I eat on the bike.

[IMG]http://www.nmpcs.com/RT-Cell/IMG_0199.JPG[/IMG]

[QUOTE=SteveAikens;769957]11.1 gallons. 400 plus miles to fuel. Fuel in an average of 5 minutes. I eat on the bike.

[IMG]http://www.nmpcs.com/RT-Cell/IMG_0199.JPG[/IMG][/QUOTE]

I think my girlfriend would be mad if I made her hold a 5 gallon gas can on her lap and make us ham sandwhiches as we motored down the road!:laugh

That is an impressive set up for sure though!

I enjoy the stops though. I'm generally in no hurry when I take a ride on the bike. And my girlfriend likes to talk to people, so our gas stops can be as long as 30 minutes!

[QUOTE=oldnslow;769960]I think my girlfriend would be mad if I made her hold a 5 gallon gas can on her lap and make us ham sandwiches as we motored down the road!:laugh

I enjoy the stops though. I'm generally in no hurry when I take a ride on the bike. ![/QUOTE]
That's funny. Let me tell you something else your girlfriend would have a hard time doing from back there - on the wrong bike. My ex-wife and I took a ride in the mid-70's, on my R90/6 [windjammer], from Colorado Springs to Salt Lake. Before we left, she made us ham sandwiches and packed them in a backpack that she wore. Outside Moab, she decided it was time to eat. She somehow managed to get the backpack off and around between us. She taps me on the shoulder to hand me one half, leaned a little too far to get it to me and the wind caught her arm, whipped the sandwich out of her hand and her to the left and back just enough that the backpack took off like a rocket. How we stayed upright is beyond me. If I didn't have a backrest on that bike - she probably would have been a large Bots dot in the highway....

Generally, I'm not in a hurry on the bike either. However, I am not a fan of stopping until I get where I want to visit. I'm good for a courteous Hi and Bye at stops, nothing more. I have a destination I want to reach.

And just so we're all on the same page, everyone has different riding styles - none is better or worse than another. However, I take some offense to posts like Mike Simon's, which I take as one step from saying Paul and Voni aren't being honest in what/how they ride. The fact that Mr. Simon is unable to ride at the same level isn't relevant to the fact that others can and do daily.

I don't want to hijack the thread from the original intent (too late), but for those of you who do not participate in the MOA mileage contest (Steve), who are MOA members and Beemer riders, I have to ask why not?

In recent years my local "club" has one rider who participates (me). I turn in the forms even when my performance is pathetic (last year). For me it's not for bragging rights, it's about participating in something my national club is putting on. It is part of being an "active" member, in my humble opinion.

I was told once that unless you are posting 20,000 miles a year, there's no need to turn in mileage. As much as I respect the person who told me that, I think that attitude is bullcrap.

If you don't want to participate, that's okay. But I wonder why not?

I think Paul did a fine job of standing up for himself, and explaining why he and Voni ride.

A side motive: In the big scheme of things, the 100k mile benchmarks, those signed contest slips along with IBA witness forms are the only things I have "officially" documenting bike mileage (my bikes never go to the dealerships).

Anyway........back to the original concept...
Had the bike out today, got like 11 more miles. Kinda amazing how dusty it can become just sitting....blew it off with some shop air, quick wipe-down with some Pledge, good to go.
Thinking about some maintenance.......maybe a little something for the final drive, Chain Wax otta' do.
Might be time to think about scheduling that oil change for September.......
Clutch lever seems different, do they stretch from non use?
Did I mention that I received both the April issue of the BMWON [I]and[/I] the 2012 Anonymous book.......only the cover of the Anonymous book was torn up.......I wonder if there is anyone in the Anonymous book I know?....have to take a peek tomorrow.....

I used to regularly hit between 15k and 25k, back when the contest winners were over 100K - (my butt and wallet hurt thinking of that). Had a daily 50 mile one way commute and had weekends and vacations to ride with my wife. Now, we own the Inn ( love it but it is 24-7) plus I still work full time for the State. Seems like my ONLY riding these days is my weekly commute to HQ in Sacramento, between April and November, if I don't have to do the Costco run for laundry and paper products for the Inn. Fortunately for me, it is 150 miles of some of the best twisty roads between here and there. 3-4 hrs in the morning, then again in the evening, with an average of ~52mph no matter what I do to change it. Gas at each end, and average 43 mpg. That generally gets me maybe 7k a year, oh and throw in a ride to Sears Pt for AMA races, and if I am lucky, a day or two riding at the track. But no matter what mileage I get, I always enter (not sure what happened to my entry last year, oh well) just to sort of keep tabs on things, keep them in perspective. I thought the lower mileage would me less spent in tires and gas, but gas is up and the tires I use now are more expensive, oh well. I just LOVE to ride and miss it when I don't get to.

[QUOTE=TheRoss;769976]I don't want to hijack the thread from the original intent (too late), but for those of you who do not participate in the MOA mileage contest (Steve), who are MOA members and Beemer riders, I have to ask why not?
[/QUOTE]
Sure. Just not my bag.

I think it's a great "tool" for BMW to add just one more motivation that may help folks enjoy their scooters a little more, get more bikes out of garages and on the streets and generally offer something everyone - regardless of mileage [there's a lowest mileage recognition as well as high] - can enjoy without going too far out of theri comfort zones.

It also inspires friendly contests between individuals and clubs. It's win-win, regardless of what someone's mileage is.

I've seen some friends rack up some awesome feats and hope to share some more of their successes with them in the future.

Nothing wrong with it, but just not my bag.

Steve, who makes auxiliary fuel tanks for R1200s?

I will ride every where, my wife always says she doesn't have time to ride. I always say just ride with me or lets just go. There is always an excuse from her, it's to cold, ho, windy, might rain, etc. My standing statement to here and every one else I get this from is "In Indiana, if you are only going to ride when weather is perfect, you might get two weeks of riding in. Total"
On my commute to and from work (about 20 miles Ea.) I have heard, "aren't you cold, Your gonna get wet, don't you get hot in all that, Etc." You have to have the gear and and the want to just enjoy the ride weather it is twisties or slab or commute.
I am not a high miles guy and it bugs me to think of putting a tire on every other oil change, but I really enjoy it so the miles add up because I just want to ride every chance I get. I may only have about 35 to 40 more years of riding, I waisted the first 40 by not riding enough.

[QUOTE=AKBeemer;770113]Steve, who makes auxiliary fuel tanks for R1200s?[/QUOTE]
As a rule, fuel cells are generic. You order the size tank you want and adapt a mount to hang it onto the bike. There are several manufacturers.

There are a couple of guys that do manufacture custom tanks though. Jack Shoalmire's son in law Barry is the first that comes to mind. He built an un-real custom tank for Jacks RT.

[URL="http://www.ldriders.com/for-sale.html"]Check it out here.[/URL]

Stuff like this ain't cheap.

Here's a link to [URL="http://www.ldriders.com/fuel-cells.html"]the LDRider Fuel Cell Page.[/URL]

Speakin'a mileage average...I noticed that if I use an interstate and maintain 70 mph [wheels rolling]...that at the end of the day, with stops & all factored in...I averaged right at 50mph +/- for the day total..point "A" To point "B".

But if I'm on US/State roads and average 45-55 mph [wheels rolling]...that at the end of those days I'm averaging about 35-40 total for the day point "A" To point "B"

At the end of the day (pick your day), as far as I am concerned all that matters is enjoying the ride. 'Nuff said.