PistonBlown
Active member
Some here will know that I’m an iron butt nut and of all the rides I do the definite highlight of my year is the annual TT2000. This year there was writeup in a local paper that will gives a good background of what is involved:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/30...nheim-for-tt2000-south-island-endurance-rally
Though the minimum is 2,000km in the 48 hours I ended up doing 2,824km in 45 hours during the event and 3,572km in total. US iron butt riders will be saying that’s not 1000 miles in 24 hours, that’s true and we do have events like that here, but the TT2000 takes place on twisting single lane roads, even gravel tracks, not multi-lane highways. Despite this I have previously done 3278km (2037 miles) in the 48 hours, so it is possible (just).
The checkpoints this year where all schools with under 100 pupils, this made sure they were in nice out of the way places, though does mean the photos are not the most exciting views of NZ. There were also five mystery checkpoints dotted around that you had to locate. This gives you a good excuse to go out for rides prior to the event to find them.
Previous years I’ve used my RS, but this time it a was a new to me 2017 F3-T. I’d gone for a conditioning ride after I go it and found there were a few things that needed fixing.
The bars were too close making it hard to steer around tight corners, sorted this with a set of drag bars instead which were perfect. The front had felt skittish in the corners and the backend didn’t handle the bumps well. Turned the front tires had been set at 28psi, putting them down to the correct pressure sorted the issue. The rear air bag empty, a rough guess of 35psi did the trick.
The biggest issue was fuel consumption. On the narrow, twisting roads with the need for constant speed changes I got, at most, 250km before the fuel light came on. I did have the aux tank from the RS but mounting it and plumbing it in was going to a bigger issue than on the F3. Fortunately, askitee happened to post about fuel bladders with a link to a site in Australia where they could be purchased. Got an 8-litre shipped over that fitted perfectly across the back seat and ended up using it twice during the ride.
The ride itself was fantastic, effectively doing a lap of the South Island with a bit of a loop in the middle. In a single weekend rainforest, beaches, mountains, rolling hills, plains, lakes, waterfalls, rivers in every possible combination. A zen like ride through an ever-changing landscape, light, weather, smells and experiences that is unmatched.
On the weather front on the Friday afternoon the temperature hit 30C (86F), while the morning of the Sunday it was 3C (37F). The Saturday I spent 16 hours of the ride in torrential rain that seemed to follow me around, occasionally I’d get ahead of it but then stop at a checkpoint and it would catch up again before I left. All my gear is gore-tex, but from that I can tell you that my Sidi boots and Klim gloves are completely waterproof, however my Klim jacket is only good for 12 hours and my Rev-it pants just three.
But despite the rain it was the best way to spend any weekend. The F3 performed impeccably the whole time, its certainly not as fast as the RS but its less strenuous to ride and certainly more comfortable. Though coming from a manual to my mind the semi-auto gear changes are around the wrong way, should be pull to change up and push to change down just like the foot gear change.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/30...nheim-for-tt2000-south-island-endurance-rally
Though the minimum is 2,000km in the 48 hours I ended up doing 2,824km in 45 hours during the event and 3,572km in total. US iron butt riders will be saying that’s not 1000 miles in 24 hours, that’s true and we do have events like that here, but the TT2000 takes place on twisting single lane roads, even gravel tracks, not multi-lane highways. Despite this I have previously done 3278km (2037 miles) in the 48 hours, so it is possible (just).
The checkpoints this year where all schools with under 100 pupils, this made sure they were in nice out of the way places, though does mean the photos are not the most exciting views of NZ. There were also five mystery checkpoints dotted around that you had to locate. This gives you a good excuse to go out for rides prior to the event to find them.
Previous years I’ve used my RS, but this time it a was a new to me 2017 F3-T. I’d gone for a conditioning ride after I go it and found there were a few things that needed fixing.
The bars were too close making it hard to steer around tight corners, sorted this with a set of drag bars instead which were perfect. The front had felt skittish in the corners and the backend didn’t handle the bumps well. Turned the front tires had been set at 28psi, putting them down to the correct pressure sorted the issue. The rear air bag empty, a rough guess of 35psi did the trick.
The biggest issue was fuel consumption. On the narrow, twisting roads with the need for constant speed changes I got, at most, 250km before the fuel light came on. I did have the aux tank from the RS but mounting it and plumbing it in was going to a bigger issue than on the F3. Fortunately, askitee happened to post about fuel bladders with a link to a site in Australia where they could be purchased. Got an 8-litre shipped over that fitted perfectly across the back seat and ended up using it twice during the ride.
The ride itself was fantastic, effectively doing a lap of the South Island with a bit of a loop in the middle. In a single weekend rainforest, beaches, mountains, rolling hills, plains, lakes, waterfalls, rivers in every possible combination. A zen like ride through an ever-changing landscape, light, weather, smells and experiences that is unmatched.
On the weather front on the Friday afternoon the temperature hit 30C (86F), while the morning of the Sunday it was 3C (37F). The Saturday I spent 16 hours of the ride in torrential rain that seemed to follow me around, occasionally I’d get ahead of it but then stop at a checkpoint and it would catch up again before I left. All my gear is gore-tex, but from that I can tell you that my Sidi boots and Klim gloves are completely waterproof, however my Klim jacket is only good for 12 hours and my Rev-it pants just three.
But despite the rain it was the best way to spend any weekend. The F3 performed impeccably the whole time, its certainly not as fast as the RS but its less strenuous to ride and certainly more comfortable. Though coming from a manual to my mind the semi-auto gear changes are around the wrong way, should be pull to change up and push to change down just like the foot gear change.
opcorn:
