[Auburn]

Let me preface this with this bike is used for Long distant rallying. Think Iron Butt style rallies. Think 1000-1300 mile days for 4-11 days in a row. Everything done serves a purpose to support keeping the bike moving and know exactly where you are and where you are going. It is the most comfortable place to be and anything that provides any type of annoyance has been addressed so it doesn't become a distraction during the rally. To make it more difficult, I ride these rallies 2 up. It makes the challenge of fitting everything and making it comfortable for her too especially difficult to figure out.

The bike is almost in final configuration. A couple of details to finish yet.

last fall I did a 6500 miles test ride in 6 days to shakedown the set up. Bike looked like this:

Was pretty good, but quickly identified the weak link was the stock support system under the plastic tail section. I rebuilt all those pieces in 1/4 plate steel. Now it is supported correctly fromteh frame all the way up.

Next, I refined the tank, and mounting above the plastic and changed the luggage mounting to suit our needs better.

Rear view with a quick mount system for the Pelican 1510 case. This is the fourth tank I have welded. My skills are getting much better. Pressure tested to 10 psi the first try! There will be a second pelican case on top of this one that also has a quick mounting system. To put this in perspective, our 06 wing with the factory top case, luggage rack and a Kuryakyn soft luggage piece on top was 24" tall above the passenger seat. The tank with 2 pelican cases will be 24" tall above the seat. the wife likes that height because she can lean her head back using the cases as a head rest and sleep. The 1/8" 60661 plate under the Pelican mounting system will have vertical piece welded on about 4" tall to mount supplemental brake and turn signals in.

side views. The extra flat part is for strapping on in dry bags to each side carrying our Helinox cots and REI down quilts which weigh almost nothing, and pack up really compact. We have had a couple times in the past on rallies, there were not hotel rooms to be found for at least 100 miles. Now we have stuff so we can stop whenever we want and get some rest. I also carry a 12x20 tarp to drape over the bike and cover the ground, so we have a dry place to sleep, and it traps the heat from the bike in to keep us warm too.

The bottom 1/4" plate will get slots and holes drippled near the edge for rok straps. ( A friend of mine invented those)

A view of the cockpit.

The mounting under it all

Relocated the License plate support and added aux tail/stop/turn signal mounting so it can be seen over the Rivco rack mounted cooler.

All the aux wiring has been waterproofed. went old school with a fuse block.

Radiator guards. I was amazed at how much junk got trapped in here in just 6500 miles last fall. I did have a bird strike on my 06 wing that hit one of the radiators. Didn't take the radiator because the fan shroud protected it. But these don't have that protection. Highly recommend these to protect your radiators. They are on ALI Express (about $75 IIRC). Fit very nicely.

Front end got a custom farkle bar that is mounted to the farm in three places on each side to support my aux lights (clearwater Sevinas 5" LED light 7500 lumens at 6 amps each - think daylight 1/2 mile down range at night), aux mirrors - for blind spots, and a Speed IR infrared camera to help see critters at night. This houses the AI module for the Speed IR, my MixIT2 for incorporating the sound from both GPS, Valentine 1, and audio from Speed IR module into the aux input for the bike to get the sound to me. It also provides a place for switches for the Speed IR, aux lights, deer whistle, and cockpit aux map light, and a voltage meter.

Front view with the Madstad 22" screen. I ride with it up about 2 inches and I look over the top of it. If it is raining hard, I will raise it up and look through it. It is treated with RainX for plastic. Doesn't have the film that the regular RainX does and really sheds the water.

Left and right mounts

all lit up - GPSs are Garmin RV890. The bikes mirrors are still the widest part of the bike. This configuration still lets me run ACP with apple maps, google maps and/or waze running on the bike's LCD screen. And get audio from them all.

EDIT: any plastic parts that have been modified, I bought original new ones to have on the shelf to replace once we are done with this bike.

 

[Auburn]

Your passion clearly shows through. Well done. It’s also clear that this comes from a lot of trials and tribulations. How many years have you been doing this?

Since 2013 doing certified rides and one rally. Since 2020 have done several rallies and got more serious about doing longer rallies. Mostly because we finally get enough vacation time to do them.

 

[Auburn]

Silly question........I see many Iron Butt riders have two GPSs, is it if one craps out? Just curious.
Thanks,
Dave

yep, primary and a back up. Also allows riders to play the what if game, based on your current pace can you add another bonus location and still make the checkin on time or what do I need to delete to make it in on time. Many use their phones as a third GPS too.

 

[Auburn]

Did you weld your tank using TIG or MIG? Good job either way. Getting no leaks would definitely be the hard part no matter which you use!! I am just a tad envious!!!

TIG welded. Thanks, with practice that is the 4th tank I have welded. First three were OK. This one, everything clicked and came together nicely. Not professional level, but respectable.

 

[Auburn]

Here are detailed photos of the support system that goes under the plastic and ties directly to the frame. These replace the OEM light gage sheet metal. They are a combination of 3/16" & 1/4" steel.

Had to do a little grinding to clear the underside of the plastic.

With the plastic installed again. You can see the female end of my Jiffy-tite quick disconnect. You can also see the hole drilled into the plastic for the line to run in. If I did't have a passenger, you can run it between the seat and the plastic where the OEM passenger back rest goes.

The top plate that everything above the plastic mounts to

Here is another one I built yesterday for a friend who in in this year's Iron Butt Rally (the big dance). He has a 2022 DCT bagger. My mount is the same except, that his will have the ability to move the tank forward or backward up to 3 inches.

There will be corresponding L brackets welded to the bottom of his tank with holes at 1" increments for adjusting the position forward or back. His tank will serve as the luggage rack with a removable 1/8" 6061 ALU plate that he can use to strap stuff to.

 

[Auburn]

I was asked on another forum about waterproofing the RV 890 GPS
I put small strips of gorilla tape over the USB port, SD Card slot, and the audio and video input/output ports on the cradle. I also added a stick-on lanyard to the back of the GPS unit since the cradle is a magnetic holder. Have not had any issues with it coming loose even with severe bumps in the road. or riding on dirt roads. Have been in many down pours and they have done very well. They don't freak out like the XT does when water hits the screen - which is the second reason I got rid of both of my XTs. First was I needed a video input to display the Infrared Camera (FLIR) image without having to add a stand alone screen.

The USB is uncovered right now so I can do updates and plug into basecamp to do routing.

 

[Auburn]

They are Suzuki V Strom hand guards Part #57300-27826-291

I had to modify the bar end weight, by cutting the snout off that goes into the bar end so I had a smooth mating surface to the black piece that comes with the kit for the hand guard to clip onto. I did make a piece that mimicked the part cut off the bar end weight to act as a spacer to get out past the grip end and give a stable surface for the assembly to attach to the stock mounts inside the handlebar.

Here is a close up of the throttle side where I had to trim the guard to fit around the brake reservoir. NOTE: I have Heli bars on my bike. But the trimming should be very similar with stock bars. I have no clearance issue lock to lock with these. I don't know if you will on the stock bars (I never checked before installing the Heli bars)

 

[Auburn]

Here is my friend's tank test fitted on my bike. This one is 4.6 gallons. He wanted it to be slightly smaller than mine. It is set in the farthest back position. Can move forward 7 inches. Would cover half the rear seat in the forward position.

He uses the same Pelican 1510 top case.

He is coming by later in the week to test fit on his bike to determine where he wants the shut off valve so I can weld the support bracket on the bottom of the tank.. Then it goes out to powder

 

[Auburn]

Just wondering, how much weight did all those changes add to the Wing? Did they change the handling of the Wing?

it adds about 150 lbs fully loaded out with everything. Bike does not even notice. The suspension has been upgraded to Traxxion Dynamics and is fully sprung properly to carry the additional weight.

 

[Auburn]

I’m curious about this too. I’d be numb for a week on the stock seat.

No, I have a Russell Day Long seat with backrest and heating option. The passenger has a RDL backrest that is mounted to the plate supporting the tank and water jugs.

 

[Auburn]

I know you've added more fuel storage, but does all that extra stuff take away from your fuel mileage? In other words, do you get less miles per gallon, as opposed to the stock bike? Not that I have any intentions of doing this to mine, I love long leisurely rides, with a nice pool at a hotel at the early end of a day.

No the mods don't really affect the mileage. I average 38-42 mpg on the interstates at typical out west highway speeds. Speed and headwinds do affect mileage. Which is a full 10 mpg higher than my 06 got.

We've done many leisurely trips too, towing a bushtec trailer visiting Alaska, the parks in Utah, Wyoming and Montana. Down the west coast. All over. Most of them are 10-15 days and cover about 7000 miles. We might do a 1000 mile day or two to get there and then flower sniffing on the way back home.

 

[Auburn]

between the main tank and fuel cell how much gas are you carrying

Under the Iron Butt Rules, you are allowed 11.5 gallons total. You cannot have gas cans. Any aux fuel cell must be plumbed to the main tank on the bike.

The 2021 Honda gold wing has a 5.5 gallon tank, the aux cell is 5.8 gallons, total 11.3 gallons on board not including the fuel line to the main tank (which is maybe 1/2 a cup). Most rallies follow the IBR technical rules for bike setup. For Iron Butt Certified rides, there is no limit on fuel, but you must get a proper dated/time/location receipt every 350 miles or less.

 

[Auburn]

How do you find a woman who will ride 1,200 miles a day with you ? ? ?

It started with our first date to the motorcycle show and then road races that I was a participant in. The rest is history. Motorcycles have been a significant part of our lives.