American Iron Butt: Conquering A SaddleSore 1000

[@slumgullianpass]

I rode from Denver to Scottsdale in a blinding snow blizzard, raton pass At midnight in 10 inches of flake and no one around for miles. Rode into Santa Fe at 6 in the morning after crossing desert all night. No heated gear. 76 years old with a pacemaker and new aortic valve keeping me upright. God bless BMW. (R1100 RT)

[@-dirk-65]

Raw deal. I watched that whole ride. Went through it to hear the spoken reason you took the trip; thoughts about batwing vs framed fering. Wind was what we needed for a good comparison & neither of you even mentioned it. I did like the 'day maker' comparison though, so I subscribed. I ride a Road King-obviously no fering. I've never owned one. Thought I was going to learn something.

[@KetanNikharge]

Ride on Guys! Great Ride! I have done similar rides here in India. Back in 2010, I did the SaddleSore 1600 (1600 Kms in less than 24 hours) on my 150cc Yamaha YZF R15. I rode 1700 kms in 22 hours 55 minutes and got the ride certified. A year later also completed the Bun Burner 2500 (2500 kms in less than 36 hours) on the same trusty 150cc Yamaha YZF R15. The Bunburner 2500 ride was also appreciated by IBA with an article in IBA's magazine! Was a fantastic experience! Congrats once again to you guys! Was fun watching the video!

[@mikep.541]

Ketan Nikharge My hat is off to you. 1000 miles on a 150!!! Wow. You do have an iron butt. 😂😂😂

[@aplysianlabs3324]

holy shit dude, that should be a premium one, given how terribly shit it is to ride on such a position for so long

[@opichocal]

I just did 1156 miles (20hrs) Saturday on my 2008 goldwing. Rode 2 up with my wife and 3 friends. We had a blast and are planning a 1500 in 24 hrs. After that we want to do 2000 in 48hrs. My wife said good luck with that ...I’m staying home with the dogs

[@The_Official_TEFLON]

It helps when the route is planned through open country to where traffic is not a major factor. We took the challenge last year while in route to Sturgis from Pennsylvania. We chose the 2nd day of the ride which was from Indianapolis Indiana to Sturgis SD as our Iron Butt portion. We left 0500 am and arrived at 2130 local time. The advantages were crossing 2 time zones allowed us tho travel with only about 2 hours of the ride being in the dark and also minimal traffic on the route. It was an awesome experience and great to accomplish with my Brothers. Down side is I cant tell you much about the scenery on the way out. lol Enjoy, Ride safe and God Bless!

[@allanbieger7523]

I did mine May of 2017. I was 67 years old. 1070 miles in 17.5 hours. Debary, Florida to Columbus Texas. 2017 Road Glide Ultra.

[@LiveByItHD]

Good job guys. Wish I had a video and comms back in 1973 when I did my first one. Rochester MN to Sturgis on a 1973 Honda CB350. My friend Bruce and I both rode Honda 350's so we were matched. No fairing, no heated grips and no touring seats. Back then it was just the Iron Butt Award. Since then I have done over a hundred saddle sores and my longest is 1674 miles in 24 hours, never again. But 1000 is easy, I always leave early so I am back by that 5:00 AM crash happens. I enjoyed the video, good job.

[@carlospsdz155]

I did 723 miles in 13 hrs a few years ago on my 2001 Suzuki Bandit 1200S. Hit the Road @ 2 am didn't have any problems. Love long distance touring! Riding a 2016 Kawasaki C14 Now. Planing a trip out west!!

[@MRMRS2wheeler]

Great video, thanks for posting. we have attempted the saddlesore 1000 twice. It is not easy. 1st attempt was on a cbr600 (wrong bike for that) and we had to abort when the Mrs. started falling asleep on the back at the 650 mile mark. Then again on my St1300 (right bike for that) but we hit unexpected temperatures around 2am that dipped into the 20's and some very dense fog with around 20 feet visibility, so we had to abort again just past our turnaround point at around 550 miles. We might give it another go this weekend. Wish us luck.

[@sportsterrider37]

MR & MRS 2wheeler did it on a 2010 cbr1000rr. 1150 in under 24 hours. While not the best bike style to choose it is possible.

[@MRMRS2wheeler]

That is impressive. I guess if the will is there, it's possible on any bike really. We didn't get around to attempting it yet, as the weather has been stormy here in South Florida, but we will and i will Vlog the entire ride.

[@tennwingman3350]

After watching your SS1000 and those young fellows over at Cycle World and all their complaining, I am glad to see you "older gentlemen" rising to the top. My group and I have done two SS1000's and the trick is to leave about 4am and ride the entire distance just stopping for gas and food and arriving back at home around 930pm. That way does not mess with the sleep. Of course like you we had the right bikes for the job, Goldwings. Comfort is King on the older bones for sure. Keep up the good work and keep setting the example for those young wimps at Cycle World, LOL!

[@azianbaharuddin1973]

Thanks for the amazing video. I am glad that I did my saddlesore 1000, or we called it Iron Butt Challenge 1,600km under 24hrs here in Malaysia couple of weeks ago with my moped, a 150cc Honda RSX.

[@Mephistocephalic]

Looks pretty comfy. I did 1,000 miles in about 16 hrs. on a Triumph Bonneville. That was not comfy.

[@randythomas3927]

Right on guys! Been thinking of giving it a shot on my VFR this summer. Cagers just don't realise what a task this is. Congrats to you both.

[@ontwowheels9457]

these guys keep proving that they are worthy of evaluating motorcycles. Amazing video. thank you guys

[@BBD40]

Congrats. Mine is unofficial but I rode from Lackland AFB to Effingham Illinois in 17 hours, 1060 miles. Nice job, nice motorcycles.

[@allanbieger7523]

The best Iron Butt video I've seen. I'm riding out to California in May to visit my Sister in Sacramento. I will be riding my 2017 Road Glide Ultra. Good job guys!

[@mrtequilashooter]

My saddle sore attempt is July riding a2016 electra glide ultra. Music wise I have over 425 songs on the mp3. I think that should work. Great job to the both of you.

[@churchofmarcus]

I did this in 2015 on a cbr250r. I recommend that to nobody.

[@aluisious]

Back of the napkin calculation, your engine probably did 7-8 million revolutions doing that. Crazy!

[@jeffolvesen3780]

I just did one yesterday on a CBR300R. About half the ride was done in sub-freezing temperatures, too. My poor bike...

[@Zee2Sea]

Tom looked like a zombie in the diner. Hats off to the both of you that distance is no joke. Must have taken a few days to recover.

[@SineOccasu]

You know, I rather enjoyed this vid. I gotta say I would enjoy more of these type of videos. Perhaps do a cross country tour, or an off road adventure.

[@johnc8910]

" . . . or an off road adventure." On a Harley?

[@jeffpalmer5502]

great video guys ,last year I went from Sturgis, North to Newell and then across to Hardin and ended up in Superior Montana in 13 and a half hours 856 miles later. I had no intention on reading that far that day but it was a cool day and I'd stop periodically and then roll on crews set near 90, except an hour either side of Harden where I encountered some cloudbursts ,that was on a stock Victory seat with my Cross Country tour. had I known I was going to ride that far that fast I would have definitely registered for Iron Butt. The seats on the new Harleys are really nice, but the cross-country has eight more inches of legroom. great video .ride on!

[@fighting17chicago]

My best day ever for milage was running from Moab, UT to San Luis Obispo, CA via US 58 (not I-15 from Vegas). We started from Moab, UT about 9:30 am and arrived in San Luis Obispo at about 2:00 am. Makes me wish I had tried for a full 1,000 miles.

[@mlrj12]

Kudos to both for completing the ss 1000. I rode 740 miles in about 16 hours a few years ago and the last 200 or so sucked on that long day in July heat.

[@sportglidejim9001]

That rain reminds me of 84, leaving L.A. in monsoons at 64° on my Kz 650 w/ a windjammer rain all the to El Paso! Arriving in Dallas 31° and snow flurries, man that was good times!...... Ride hard or stay home😎

[@lornegillis6921]

did my 1st Saddle Sore a few weeks ago..at the age of 69 did a total of 1095 miles in 20 hrs on my 1983 R100RS....Bum Burner is next ....

[@tomdickharryjane]

Did this on my Bandit1200 in 2011. I did not know it existed until a day later I told a guy at work I rode from Philadelphia to Mobile, AL in one shot. Got my documentation and it was accepted by the IBA. I thought what an amazing accomplishment. Then I tried to find my name on the IBA web site. it was there. Along with 50,000 others. DOH!

[@roadrash76]

I did a 1,000 ride in 18 hours last summer. Rode from Phoenix Arizona to Telluride Colorado and back in August. I did it on my Harley Ultra Limited and two of my friends on their bikes.

[@ofopos82]

I did this in 2003 on a 1982 FLT, had a great time! The last hundred miles were a killer, neck and shoulders were aching! LOL! 1040 miles, 18.25 hours.

[@playful1510]

My god, for once I didn't hate the mic quality from these two! Good job! But seriously, that's really impressive.

[@kenjohnson8752]

I just bought the 2018 Road Glide Ultra and absolutely love the bike. I’ve had an Ultra Classic (2010) and also love it. I’ve also had a 2015 Ultra Limited, which I traded for the Road Glide and also loved it. My preference, even though at this writing I only have 700 miles on it is the Road Glide. Like the shark nose faring, cuts down on buffering and was smooth on a very windy ride today, not to forget the Milwaukee 8 and it’s power. My Ultra Limited, which I put 30,000+ miles on was great, no complaints. My Ultra Classic was my baby, a true beauty with 50,000+ miles and still miss that bike. If your not sure, test ride both...

[@chanakpugkaing]

Wow guys! I really enjoyed this film.

[@illustr8rjoe]

That first truck was probably someone that goes out to the off-road areas near there, the lighting works as safety-flags

[@Onewithsausage]

It's the last 2 or 3 hours that are the toughest. Congrats!

[@edwardkeeter762]

My strategy for an Iron Butt would be to start the ride at midnight, so all of the night riding happens during the first 7-8 hours when I'm physically and mentally fresh. Also, light traffic overnight seems like a good time to really pound out miles with minimal disruptions.

[@billspompano]

road, traffic condition's, speed limit's are BIG factors. 2 yrs ago I rode from billings Montana to mesquite Nevada, super slap, the whole time, cruise control set (approx. 80-85 mph) took 2 asprin's 1 at the start 5:00 in the morning, another around salt lake, pulled into the casino/hotel around 8 that nite, around 900 miles, and I was toast, spent 2 days there to recoup, Interstate 15 above vegas, through, Utah, Idaho, Montana, 1k in far less than 24 hrs is a breeze, and I'm in my 60's. but good ride guy's

[@donmichigan8201]

My wife complains I don't stop enough when on a trip. I stop for gas. Unless we planned a scenic stop. But when heading to a destination,I'm balls out getting there, she puts up with it thankfully. I've had Electra Glides since 1978. Currently have the '17 Ultra Classic. Blue,just like in the video.

[@MontysMotos]

So now I'm really considering this. From here in Phoenix I could take I-10 to Las Cruces, I-25 to Albuquerque, I-40 to Flagstaff and I-17 back to Phoenix. Just over 1k miles mostly with light traffic on 4 lane 75mph freeways... almost too easy.

[@desertninja2775]

Psh, I did south of Phoenix az to Kansas city Missouri stopping for for fuel only several times on a Kawasaki zx6r one of the times the sky opened up and poured the whole way from liberal Kansas the rest of the way to east Kansas city, no rain gear. It was cold and miserable. But I couldn't get a room in liberal so the next place to even consider was Wichita. But that's too close to quit when you're already wet. I think that same trip the rain got me on the way back too just before I got into Albuquerque. It didn't last as long as the way up but still sucked... man those were awesome times.

[@TheRider_1229]

Well done fellows 👍🏼 It is not easy thing to do. I enjoyed watch video .

[@Frostytravels]

Great video man. Gave you a sub. Excellent content. I am planning a saddle sore 1000 myself. This helped me prep.

[@oldschool7761]

Agree..it's a lot of miles in a day but not that hard. I have done 3. All of them right around 17 hrs. Also done 1500 miles in less than 24hrs. Nice video. To do an Iron Butt just get on your bike and ride.

[@1700tony]

Thank you for great video 👍🏼

[@CyberNancy]

Thank you, I'm looking forward to doing a ride like this one day.

[@curtiszwilling1844]

couldnt believe the daymaker headlight differance.wow!

[@proditoresmoriendum86]

I have a goal to do the iron butt on a suicide shift kick start bobber man and machine the way it used to be done

[@ze4joafin664]

Good job Guys....thought you might have had a smoke and gone to sleep after the "Ranch" activity

[@evil_musclemuscled3814]

Now that's some hardcore riding ,no fashion parade riding

[@wolfemanbog4176]

Best time to start is 2 am that why you finish in day light and not run so much all nite long

[@Land-Shark]

Nice ride! I prefer the Electra Glide, but both are nice. (and I like my Neotec, too, Evans. Makes for easy snacking.)

[@FS-yn9fy]

Makin a quick stop at the Bunny Ranch for a break 😂😂. Nobody else caught that one heh?

[@googleuser2082]

Good work. Lovely bikes to do it on.

[@mx5701]

Oh for fuck's sake, I recently rode 890km in 2 days and my knees and back were killing me. And I'm probably HALF THE AGE of these gentlemen!

[@tgmotoman1]

Good video guys, ride looked fantastic. Read the article about the ride. Waiting on your impressions of the differences.

[@TheFireman1028]

Great ride guys. I am doing a Bun Burner Gold (1500 miles in 24hrs) tomorrow morning 3/11/17.

[@deepsquat600]

Did you make it

[@SmokinZen]

Way to go guys pretty impressive

[@jaymartinson3236]

I'm planning on doing this with a mostly stock Yamaha Stryker this year... I have a feeling i wont be quite as comfortable as these guys lol.

[@TheUrbanEpicure]

I'm from Germany. This should be fairly easy here - blast up and down the same stretch of unrestricted Autobahn at 100mph and you're done in half a day!

[@johnc8910]

Uh, no, IBA also monitors speed for safety. They would declare that kind of speed to be unsafe.

[@X85283]

@@johnc8910 It isn't unsafe on the Autobahn. Also I'm not sure that blasting back and forth at 100mph on the Autobahn for 10 hours (plus stops) would be "easy." Considering the amount of traffic and the difference in speed I think its much easier on relatively empty US Interstates cruising at 80mph. That's only an extra 2.5 hours of riding and it would be much less stressful that what this guy is suggesting. There aren't any unrestricted sections of Autobahn longer than like 150mi. And yeah, again, even on the Autobahn - driving/riding at ~100mph is a lot more stressful than driving/riding at 75-85mph.

[@johnc8910]

@@X85283 : No argument. German autobahns are safer than US interstates for several reasons: 1. They are well maintained. 2. German vehicles go through a periodic, very rigorous safety inspection. 3. German licensing and training are much more rigorous. And yes, traveling at 100 mph is MUCH more stressful than 75 - 80 mph.

[@LinwoodGallop]

absolutely impressive! Respect.

[@mjordan812]

Good ride! I'm an early morning person, so I'm usually on the road by 04:30 or so and usually home by midnight. Don't think that I could do an overnight ride. Or wouldn't want to, at any rate.

[@fedswithful]

haha, got love the first thing u see is that gut hanging out, matches the motorcycles perfectly.

[@Zionsol777]

I just finished 850 mile ride in 12 hours on my 03 Honda VTX1800 R. I'll tell you what.....a windshield and a faring would have been REAL nice.... I'm beat.....

[@roadglide]

Great job guys!

[@jimweagant8920]

Awesome video

[@mr.silverback8358]

road warriors. great video

[@bigdoglee5]

Good ride guys!

[@clutchfloyd1716]

How was the Bunny Ranch?

[@walkeralvisi6508]

1000 miles 24 hours 2 brand new Harley 2 riders on the soil Ig USA..sadle sore iron butt.. Impresive...that is my dream.

[@jimwortham8634]

Thanks for video would love to know about gas mileage

[@TheBigfella6349]

I did it on my Can Am Spyder it was great..

[@Dave-sw2dm]

If you wanted to be on the same bikes except for the fairing, you should have been on an Ultra Limited with the twin cooled engine.

[@dcampas4631]

We did 1050 miles in 21.5 hours for Shriners some years ago.

[@bubblehead7680]

I think the biggest problem for you was to leave so late in the day. Better to leave around 0400-0500. Then you limit your night time riding. That's what I did.

[@Diesel6Power]

Looks like UC beats RG in lightning dept. with it's daymaker setup...

[@thebigboygun]

great video y'all are amazing

[@Motorcyclecom]

Thanks, Jake.

[@stellarpod]

So, where are the bike comparisons? Am I missing something? I watched the entire video and then went to Motorcycle.com and read your article, but I saw scant info regarding the bikes. Perhaps I just missed it. I'd like a verdict re: the Electra Glide vs. the Road Glide. Steve

[@EvansBrasfieldMotojournalist]

That comparison test will come. There will also be an accompanying video posted here. This is a busy time of year, and more time-sensitive articles keep floating to the top.

[@I_am_archie]

The only reason I watched was for the comparison. Thanks for the bait and switch. 😒👎

[@EvansBrasfieldMotojournalist]

Here you go. I hope you feel better. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e8/Boudreauxs_Butt_Paste.jpg

[@michaelschmitzerle2587]

They're both the same. Just different stuff attached to them...

[@wackedoutdude]

The choice is easy. Buy a bmw r1200rt or a bmw r1200gs.

[@morteparla6926]

Try tiding a Bobber with stiff lowered suspension, ape hangers and a solo seat which consists of a steel seat pan wrapped in leather, for 3 hours straight. Then you'll know what an iron butt is.

[@umaxen0048]

Have never done this before, but will use my CBR500R which has a 4.4 gallon fuel tank and full sport fairing. I think this is the most reasonable bike since it gets nearly 70 mpg with cruiser gearing of +2, -2 sprockets. I am going to try Fort Pierce to Crestview, Florida and back. This is 510 miles each way and is as flat as it gets. It's also just one road. (Turnpike, I-75 and 10 which is continuous) Have no idea how I will do since I'll be riding alone. The longest trip for me so far has been only 500 miles??

[@slsl-ud2me]

would like to see Harley vs indian on the long haul

[@JohnnyRebKy]

I've been riding for almost 20 years now and still haven't been more than 350 miles from home ( and only 1 time). It's pitiful. I gotta try this when I actually have a bike I can do it on. Doing it on a Harley Dyna just wasn't gonna happen.

[@UncleBogator]

Did mine yesterday all within the state of Florida. Fun day. I hit my brick wall around the same time. 800 miles. Did 1039 miles in 20 hours 41 minutes.I went from 42 degrees to 30 to mid 70s back to mid 40s. I did not dress for 30. Was fine 40s and up.

[@ojaichuck]

Cool. The most ive done is 700 miles in 16 hrs on a sportster

[@marcwhitfield9271]

Did you do this in February to avoid the higher desert temps in May? I was a 48-State trucker, and I tried to avoid crossing central Nevada into California around February if possible.

[@newt0n_]

I don't get it, they rode for over 22 hours straight? How slow were they going? I get being cautious at night, in the rain, in the cold but the average speed was 45? That seems crazy? I know they had to stop a few times for food and such but I still don't see how they didn't have some spare time to sleep for a few hours

[@erikwhitley413]

Must've enjoyed those breaks! :D

[@ThomasNessman]

I have to ask if the 2017 Ultra Classic doesn't have satellite radio built in, or available? Might have given you something more of an entertainment selection. So when is your next ride, and to where?

[@brandonstone6962]

The main thing I am curious about is how often you guys stopped for food and rest breaks in that 1080 mile ride

[@EvansBrasfieldMotojournalist]

Roughly every 180 miles, give or take a few. We tried to use most of the tanks to minimize the stops, but sometimes the spacing of the towns didn't work.

[@brandonstone6962]

I have always been curious about that, after talking to different riders over the passed year or so they all came up with a different answer.. And now I know it is possible to do a 1300 mile trip in one shot if one has enough will power.. Thank you for the reply :)

[@Freddels1]

Did the Road Glide have the DayMaker headlights too?

[@nokoolaid]

I would have thought a 6 gallon tank would have better range. I've gotten over 300 miles from my RT's 7.1 gallon tank...

[@aluisious]

I can get 220 miles out of a Multistrada 5 gallon tank that reads 0 miles range after 4 gallons. The last half gallon is exciting stuff.

[@artmchugh5644]

Wow !!! 1000 miles on a living room sofa !! The last day of a 4 corners ride , I rode my 83 Suzuki gs750 from Ft Lauderdale to Allentown Pa 1217 miles in 20 1/2 hours . stock seat , no cruise , no fairing . 10. 200 miles in 3 weeks , 3 days off.

[@dalecarpenter8359]

I rode from mcarthur to paso robles in like 13 hr down 395 then over Yosemite over to salinas and down 101 . Kawasaki vn900 classic lt .many upgrades to make it a cruiser ! Its not a cruiser off the lot .its a bobber ! Mines is more than 10% over stock final drive ratio .when the speedo say 55 your going 65 ! The cruise rpms are much lower !

[@masterspin7796]

Im thinking about doing the 1500 on my dragster rr..

[@lqqkout4thedude]

Which tank bag did you use on that Electra Glide? How did that work out? I've only seen a few people use a tank bag on these bikes.

[@jonfindlay7838]

So, the intro, and basically every other video this channel has produced, led me to believe there would be some comparison between the bikes during and after the trip but aside from the headlights this didn't seem to happen. On the website, Evans says "Patience. All will be revealed.." sooo this means another video or article on the website? Couldn't this have been mentioned somewhere?

[@EvansBrasfieldMotojournalist]

When we recorded this video, the plan was to have both articles up in a week. However, other more time-sensitive stories came up and took us away from this task. Also, our video guy is swamped, and we've got to let him eat and sleep on occasion.

[@threethrushes]

Doing this kind of challenge is much like doing an eating challenge; motorcycling is a means - not an end. Anyhow, 'well done!'

[@0Sirk0]

so which fairing is best fairing?

[@MrHPT3]

A Saddle Sore takes 18-20 hours typically. I would start about 3 am.

[@joeh773]

where is the comparison between the fairings?

[@sydneybaker9303]

Bun Burner Gold, 1500 miles in 24 hrs, the hardest part of the challenge is staying awake.

[@DerbyMods]

Thoughts on me doing 1100 on a CB500X? Wanting to do the west coast this summer.

[@jamescook4u]

Nice video, But where is the comparison promised at the beginning of the video, shark nose to batwing fairing? I guess after 1,000 miles you just forgot to do that. Then I went to motorcycle.com. So where is this review? How about a direct link next time from the video?

[@fubyoyo7763]

I don't understand the desire for this. 4-500 miles in a day is ALOT. After 6-7 hours of riding you're fatigued especially mostly freeway/highway riding. Which is boring AF ,btw. Me and the wife, 2up towing a trailer just did an 11 day 5k trip over 12 states and still enjoyed it cause we rested every night. Camped a few nights even. Imo this is dangerous and irresponsible, but glad y'all didn't die!