Kawasaki Ninja 250R Christmas Break SaddleSore 1000
Kawasaki Ninja 250R Christmas Break SaddleSore 1000
Introduction
The Iron Butt Association (IBA) is dedicated to safe, long-distance motorcycle riding. Rallies and individual rides are structured in such a way that the endurance of both the rider and the machine are tested. The most basic of the IBA rides is the SaddleSore 1000 which require riding at least 1000 miles in 24 hours or less.
Route
A fair amount of research went into both the route and the timing of this venture. I wanted a course that would not place me on familiar territory any more than necessary (as it is always fun to explore), I wanted a loop so I would not be on the same road twice during the trip, and I wanted to have plenty of fuel stops along the way. The nature of the ride dictated a rural Interstate route so maximum miles could be covered without the traffic congestion and speed limits imposed by urban or secondary road travel.
Weather was a factor as I was attempting this ride during December. I determined that a general east to west route would tend to minimize temperature differences along the route. I wanted to dress for a certain temperature range and not have to take the time or make available the on-bike storage needed to change layers of clothing in route.
The final route enabled me to ride northeast as the sun warmed the morning and by nightfall be south so the air temperature should tend to stay warm after sunset. The timing of fronts was also considered as it was determined that travel just before the passage of a cold front would have allowed the maximum amount of warm Gulf air to blanket the region.
I selected a route that began in Commerce and went to Memphis via Little Rock, turned South to Jacksonville and then returned to Commerce via Mesquite. The overall timing and route choice turned out to be impeccable as the ambient temperature remained in the 50s and low 60s through out the trip with the exception of the Texarkana to Little Rock leg. The side effects of strong southerly winds and humid conditions in route offered some surprises as the log will attest. The aforementioned route was amended to return to Commerce via Canton due to conditions and situations encountered during the ride.
Map Courtesy of MapsOnUs.com
Log
|
Location of Stop |
Date |
Central Time Zone |
Odometer Reading |
Notes on this leg of the trip. |
|
Brookshire's 1603 Culver Street Commerce, Texas 75428 |
12/23/2005 |
6:00 AM |
4739.8 |
Got up at 4:45 AM after a rather sleepless night due to seasonal sinus congestion. Headed to the Commerce Police station for a "Start of Ride" sign-off. Fueled up at the local Brookshire's supermarket and then hit the road. Got started an hour later than I intended. |
|
Petro Truck Stop I-40, Exit 16 13205 Valentine Road North Little Rock, AR 72117 |
12/23/2005 |
10:50 AM |
5021.7 |
Contrary to the weather forecast the trip started out both cold and a bit humid, even foggy. Additionally, strong cross winds combined with the aforementioned weather conditions to make this stretch slower than anticipated. If the low temperature and high humidity persist I am going to be underdressed for this ride. Made a fuel stop in Prescott, Arkansas but the fuel pump errored and shut off before the tank was full. The clouds broke and the sun shown brightly. Any ground fog burned off and the temperature rose as I made my way to Little Rock. Temperatures continued to be quite comfortable for the remainder of the trip. Met Ninja 250.com member Mike Kemp for breakfast at the Petro Truck Stop in North Little Rock. Mike is a fine brother in Christ and I enjoyed our visit. Noted a significant amount of oil dripping from the drive chain indicating that the chain would indeed need to be lubed. I had lubed the chain before I left and in the past that was quite adequate for the long (500 mile or more) rides I had done. However, as I don't normally travel on Interstates I did not anticipate that a long and fast ride would heat the chain as much as it did. I called the home support crew (my wife) so she could locate a Kawasaki dealer on the way where I could purchase a small can of lube. Fueled up. Restroom break. |
|
Mapco Express #3005 1521 North Missouri Street West Memphis, Arkansas 72301 |
12/23/2005 |
2:50 PM |
5144.5 |
Battled heavy cross winds from Little Rock to West Memphis. Fueled up. Restroom break. Arkansas (it figures) has an extremely stupid stipulation that semi trucks travel at 5 MPH less than the rest of the traffic. This created dangerous situations, for example, being trapped behind a string of cars trying to get around a semi, being buffeted by the wind blast generated, and having a 1 ton with a fully loaded gooseneck coming up fast. I noted, thankfully, most truckers traveled with the traffic flow. I spent far more time than I wanted to on the phone with a Riders of Kawasaki club representative. It seems they thought I needed road side assistance. I was able to get it straightened out and was directed to Bellevue Suzuki Kawasaki in Memphis. |
|
Bellevue Suzuki Kawasaki 2319 Elvis Presley Blvd Memphis, Tennessee 38106 |
12/23/2005 |
3:45 PM |
5160.1 |
An unexpected visual treat was that many of the trees still had their fall colors which made the ride more scenic than it would have typically been this time of year. I crossed the Interstate 40 suspension bridge over the Mississippi River, it is quite the impressive structure. Bellevue Suzuki Kawasaki was the most positive service experience I have had at a motorcycle dealer, a great group of Christian folks. I recommend that anyone with in 100 miles of Memphis consider purchasing from this dealer. Purchased a small can of Suzuki chain lube and lubed the drive chain. |
|
Mac's Gas 165 Broadway Street Clinton, Mississippi 39056 |
12/23/2005 |
7:05 PM |
5378.7 |
After punching holes in very heavy head winds from Memphis to Jacksonville the time was getting late and I did not relish hitting the Eastern reaches of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex just after the bars and clubs closed at 2:00 AM. Asked the home support crew to look for alternate routes to trim the 1100+ mile trip through Mesquite, Texas closer to 1000 total miles in order to avoid the DFW Metroplex. Fueled up. Restroom break. Took time to eat a couple of Atkins breakfast bars and drink a small bottle of orange juice. |
|
Pilot Travel Center #428 300 Well Road West Monroe, Louisiana 71292 |
12/23/2005 |
8:30 PM |
5497.4 |
I enjoyed crossing the Mississippi River again at Vicksburg and saw several barges lit up and traversing the river. Fueled up. Purchased a small bottle of orange juice. Phoned home from Louisiana and decided the final portion of trip could be rerouted through Canton, Texas. Next fuel up will be Shreveport, LA or Longview, TX. Lubed drive chain. |
|
Flying J Travel Plaza 9510 Greenwood Road Greenwood, Louisiana 71033 |
12/23/2005 |
10:45 PM |
5613.7 |
The Christmas lights were a lot of fun to see on this ride. Fueled up. Restroom break. Purchased a small bottle of orange juice. |
|
Phillips 66 2256 North Trades Day Street Canton, Texas 75103 |
12/24/2005 |
1:15 AM |
5731.5 |
Encountered rain near Longview as a little surprise. I thought that was not a factor until Saturday, but I was running a good three hours later than I had planned. The temperature continued to be very comfortable even for this late hour. The traffic has cleared to the point where traffic flow had slowed to a more reasonable 65 to 70 MPH so cruising was rather relaxed compared to earlier on the trip. Fueled up. Restroom break. Most of my support team has gone to bed at this point. Only the wife stuck with me this far. |
|
Brookshire's 1603 Culver Street Commerce, Texas 75428 |
12/24/2005 |
2:30 AM |
5785.6 |
Fueled up. Went by the Commerce Police station for an "End of Ride" sign-off and then headed to the house to garage the Ninjette and get some sleep. |
Statistics
|
Actual Mileage as per MapsOnUs.com |
Mileage Indicated |
Gallons of Fuel |
MPG |
Fuel Grade |
Speed Actual |
Speed Indicated |
Riding Conditions |
Location of Stop |
|
Start |
0 |
0 |
NA |
Premium |
NA |
NA |
Small Texas town |
Brookshire's 1603 Culver Street Commerce, Texas 75428 |
|
277.7 |
281.9 |
4.468 |
63.09 |
Premium |
70 to 80 |
75 to 85 |
Rural Interstate, flat to slight rolling terrain, strong South cross wind with slight tail component. |
Petro Truck Stop I-40, Exit 161 3205 Valentine Road North Little Rock, Arkansas 72117 |
|
122.4 |
122.8 |
2.069 |
59.35 |
Premium |
70 to 80 |
75 to 85 |
Rural Interstate, flat terrain, strong South side wind. |
Mapco Express #3005 1521 North Missouri Street West Memphis, Arkansas 72301 |
|
15 |
NA |
No fill-up |
NA |
Included in next line, |
NA |
NA |
Urban |
Bellevue Suzuki Kawasaki 2319 Elvis Presley Blvd Memphis, Tennessee 38106 |
|
210.7 |
234.2 |
4.2 |
55.76 |
Regular |
70 to 80 |
75 to 85 |
Rural Interstate, flat terrain, strong South headwind. |
Mac's Gas 165 Broadway Street Clinton, Mississippi 39056 |
|
114.1 |
118.7 |
2.029 |
58.50 |
Regular |
70 to 80 |
75 to 85 |
Rural Interstate, flat terrain, strong South cross wind. |
Pilot Travel Center #428 300 Well Road West Monroe, Louisiana 71292 |
|
113.7 |
116.3 |
1.881 |
61.83 |
Regular |
70 to 80 |
75 to 85 |
Rural Interstate, flat terrain, strong South cross wind. |
Flying J Travel Plaza 9510 Greenwood Road Greenwood, Louisiana 71033 |
|
123.8 |
117.8 |
1.867 |
63.10 |
Regular |
65 to 75 |
70 to 80 |
Rural Interstate, flat to rolling terrain, strong South cross wind. |
Phillips 66 2256 North Trades Day Street Canton, Texas 75103 |
|
57.5 |
54.1 |
0.836 |
64.71 |
Regular |
55 to 65 |
60 to 70 |
Rural secondary roads, largely flat terrain with a few hills, South tail wind. |
Brookshire's 1603 Culver Street Commerce, Texas 75428 |
|
Totals |
||||||||
|
1034.9 |
1045.8 |
17.35 |
60.28 |
Comments
I took up this challenge for a variety of reasons. The primary of which was to see if I and the Ninjette could do 1000 miles in a day. It also provided a good environment to test the effects of some of the modifications I had made to the Ninjette in conditions that I normally do not run into in the quiet day to day commute to Trenton, Texas. When pushed hard I found the motorcycle a very capable mount. It provides enough power to do 6th gear roll-ons enabling it move past slow moving semis or get out of the way of fast moving semis. It was comfortable and provided decent fuel mileage for the speed and traffic conditions imposed by Interstate travel. The bike was quite game and unflappingly did anything I asked it to do. I would have no qualms about setting off on a cross country tour on a lightly loaded Ninja 250R.
I am not accustomed at all to traveling as fast as I did during this ride. However, the defensive motorcyclist knows that going with the traffic flow is key to a safe ride (reference several articles from Sport Rider, Motorcyclist, etc. and my Advanced Motorcycle Safety Course instructor) and traveling the speed limit is dangerous if that speed limit is significantly slower than the flow of traffic. Even at 75 to 80 miles per hour (roughly 75 to 85 indicated) I was among the slowest and passed very few automobiles. I spent most of my time in the right lane as those in the left lane continued to pass.
Fuel mileage was less than the norm, but was not disappointing considering the wind, terrain, and traffic flow. I purposed before beginning the ride to do half the route using premium unleaded and the remainder using regular unleaded so I would have relatively consistent test conditions. I noted no significant performance or fuel mileage differences between the two fuel grades.
The odometer and speedometer do not appear to be as far off as I had been led to believe. Odometer error appears to be only about 1% to 3% while the speedometer seem to be off closer to 5% rather than the 10% typically reported. Additionally, it seems Internet mapping services are sometimes wrong.
Would I do another IBA ride in the future? Perhaps I will as some of the scavenger hunt style IBA sanctioned rallies sound like a great deal of fun. The SS1000 is not the type of motorcycling I prefer. Blasting along the Interstate is not as enjoyable or relaxing as tooling down 55 MPH farm to market roads and taking in the local color. I proved I and a lightly modified Kawasaki Ninja 250 were more than up to the task, further, I discovered some things about the Ninjette I would not have been able to with any other venue. Most of my riding, however, will continue to be far more laid back.
Photos
Posing with my (left) and Mike's (right) motorcycles after breakfast at the Petro Truck Stop, North Little Rock, Arkansas.
(photo by Mike Kemp)
Certification
The Iron Butt Association SaddleSore 1000 Certificate sent as recognition for the trip.
Riding Gear, Luggage, and Equipment
Gear and Equipment Sources
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The Yeager's 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250
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