Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126986
l-i V .0 o ... u ' o Iron Butt survivors at the halfway point in Santa Ana. California. A mandatory seven-hour layover gave the competitors a brief rest. 19881r08 Butt Rally NorlDan logs 1Z,773 lDiles in 11 days! By Michael Schuster Photos by Lori Vickery MONTGOMERYVILLE, PA, SEPT. 1-12 The 4th' Annual Iron Butt Rally, known as "The World's Toughest Motorcycle Competition," took off from Montgomeryville Cycle Center in north suburban Philadelphia on September l. In . past years, a winning rider had to average 1000 miles a day for ., II days. ThIs year s rally ~oost- 22 . ed that average to an unbelievable 1150 miles per day! Serious competiLOrs had to ride 40 hours a stretch wout eating or sl~ailtg, One participant summed it up this way, "If you're not riding, you're either getting gas or sleeping; there simply isn't time for anything else!" ',. George Egloff, two-time Iron Butt winner, laid out this. year's course on a 1987 Electra GlIde donated by Harley-Davidson. George also promoted this year's rally charity, the Retinitis Pi!Ptlentosa Foundation, an organizanon devoted to leading the way in search of a cure for RP and other inherited retinal degenerative diseases, Returning from the '86 Iron Butt LO brave this year's competition were Ross Copas ('86 winner) from Onta- rio, Barry Norman (second) from Ohio, Fran Crane (third) from California, Michael Kneebone (fourth) from IlLinois, Paul Persinger (fifth) from Washington, Gregg Smith (lOth) from Rhode Island and Dave McQueeney (11th) from California. Al Greenwood from New Hampshire was the only '85 veteran to return. Rookie challengers included Harold Brooks from Virginia, Richard Frost from New Jersey, Robert Gerberich from Ohio, Frank Kujawa from Ontario, Paul Persinger J r. from Seattle and Bill Pharness from Idaho, Rally Master George Egloff smirked as riders lined up for the start. George's last minute advice: "Just remember, make four left turns and return here in II days!" Contestants left Montgomeryville Cycle Center at 10 a.m. in one minute intervals destined for checkpoint number I - Reynolds Sport Center in Gorham, Maine. As each rider pulled out they wer~ handed a sealed envelope containing a list of honus destinations and points. To win, a rider would have to collect as many bonus items as possible while still clocking in ontime at the next checkpoint. Traveling 580 miles in nine hours, most riders successfully made the first leg's bonuses:' The Pennsylvania Turnpike - 50 points, the HollandTunnel between New Jersey and New York - 5l points, the Tappan lee Bridge in New Vork - 50 points, Spectro Oil in Brookefield, Connecticut - 51 points, and tbe Tobin Bridge in downtown Boston - 101 points. Iron Butt reality set in as rookie Harold Brooks was overheard saying, '''I didn't even get a mile down the road when I realized that this was an all-out race to Maine." . Spectro Oil had lunch ready and waiting, but no one'had time LO enjoy a relaxing meal. Some of the newer Spectro employees must have been 'overwhelmed seeing riders fly into the check, throw a sandwich together and ride off baloney, mustard and bread hanging from their mouths. Forewarned of the event, Connecticut State Police also planned a warm welcome for competitors and were anxiously waiting to greet ~nsuspecting Iron Butters. While attempting his second win, Ross Copas, riding a BMW KlOO, was'the , first LO arrive at the parry. As traffic zoomed by at 75 mph, Ross was cited for running a mmd boggling 64 in a 55 mph zone. A smaIl fish compared to Crane and Kneebone who were also snagged in the trap of the unrelenting Connecticut troopers. Determined to catch as many competitors as possible, Crane and Kneebone were awarded $400 in tickets and detained for what seemed like hours. Parting with a smirk, the ,officer said, "I hope you both enjoy the rest of your stay here in Connecticut." Kneebone said, "It seemed kind of ironic, before we got stopped, we were just cruising along with traHic. Thanks to the Connecticut trooper we had to go into overdrive and fly like the wind.." Long distance isn't the only challenge in this competition. As Crane , and Kneebone discovered the frustration of being trapped in Boston's rush-hour traffic, valuable minutes were quickly eaten away. Pondering their 7 p.m. deadline in Maine, Crane said in dismay, "I can't. believe that after a year of preparation and anticipation I'm going to be disqualified only nine hours into a rally that's supposed to last days!" Fortunately, Crane was able to make up for lost time, pulling into the Maine checkpoint with a few minutes to spare.• If traffic or over-zealous polioe don't slow you down, mechanical problems will. Soon after the start, last year's second place finisher, Barry Norman, encountered clutch problems on his' Yamaha Venture which resulted in a 17 point penalty at the M~ine checkpoint. Barry said, "I was really pretty depressed, I thought that I could still wind up in fifth or sixth place, so r decided to try and find a way to keep my Venture going." A call to Rally Master Egloff found him a replacement clutch in Illinois. Bad luck also caught up with Al Greenwood. Electrical p£oblems on his Honda Gold Wing knocked him out of,the race near his home in New Hampshire. During a two-houl layover at Reynold's Sport Center in Gorham" Maine, competitors prepared themselves for a H-hour nonstop ride to Road, Track and Trail in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Leaving Reynold's, competitors had' to ride 2000 miles, zig· zagging north and south to get bonuses at the New Port bridge in Rhode Island, Spirit HarleyDa\"idson near Pittsburgh, the Rainbow bridge in Niagara Falls, New York, and Motorcycle Touring Accessories in Aurora, Illinois. Rhode Island resident Gregg Smith, in a tie..for first place, lives 10 miles from the hard to find New Port bridge. Disregarding his- distinct competitive advantage, he led a group of Iron Butters through the winding Rhode Island backroads towards their bonus destination. Gregg's expert leadership was proven over and over as rally competitors Copas, Kujawa and Norman came £lying by the group several times. Finally, rookie Bill Pharness got on the C.B. and radioed to Ross, "Why don't you guys give up and follow us!" Crane said, "Those of us lucky enough to team up with Gregg made an easy 10\ points." As tbe competition moved westward, Crane and Kneebone got it again from the Indiana State Patrol. According to FIaIl, "We really must have confuseq the cop. Here he was writing us speeding tickets while Mike and I were laughing hysterically. After all, in less than 35 hours, we managed J._penq over $200 on gas and tolls, ~ot absolutely no sleep, and were receiving our second set of speeding tickets. Things were looking pretty dismal at the time. Then .,.