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By Michael Dapper
VRA Page Webmaster
Best way to spend 11 days: Andy Mills, a Polaris employee in Roseau, Minnesota, is currently competing in the 2007 Iron Butt Rally, in which riders cover 11,000 miles in 11 days. They not only need to rack up the required 1,000 miles each day, they need to decide which of the numerous bonus point stops to make during every day’s ride.
Andy is calling home whenever possible with reports that are being posted on his Iron Butt blog, which you can READ HERE.
You can also learn all the funky rules of the Iron Butt Rally and get daily reports (mostly of riders running into exceptionally hairy situations, which is fun to read since it’s not you in those jams) by visiting the Iron Butt website.
You’ll notice in the photo of the Victory Vision trunk. Andy and the Victory engineers have inserted an auxiliary fuel tank to keep him on the road longer between fuel stops. Atop the tank in that trunk photo is a Polaroid camera. To earn bonus points, riders commonly need to get photographic proof that they stopped at various sites, so Andy gets friendly strangers to snap shots of him with his rider number at the bonus stops.
CATCHING UP: AVR
It’s been a busy month-plus since we last blogged. Lots of travels, great riding, beautiful sights and fun people.
A tip of the helmet to the organizers of the American Victory Rally (AVR) held in late-July in Spirit Lake, Iowa, the birthplace of all Victory motorcycles. The factory tours were busy both Friday and Saturday and the Victory Demo Rides have never been busier at an AVR as folks took advantage of the opportunity to ride the new Victory Vision. Plus, everybody had a great time in the green space at Arnold’s Park.
I am on record against holding the AVR every year; I think it would be more of a special event if it were held every four or five years, but the 2007 edition was well-attended and a big success. And 2008 is a year when the rally absolutely should be held because next summer marks the 10th anniversary of the first Victory Motorcycle.
Exhibitors came from near and far, including Larry Sr., Junior and Nate of Victory Polishes, who traveled from Florida for the rally before heading to Sturgis. Lloyd & Co. of Lloydz Motor Workz (aka Hard on Horsepower) were on the scene with the mobile dyno, fine-tuning Victorys of all ages and mod levels.
The crew from Bak Victory in Sioux City, Iowa, was busy doing routine maintenance and selling apparel such as their cool dealership T-shirts, and the Legend Victory staff from the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, dealership, had a large display with all kinds of Victory apparel and accessories.
Scott Kietzmann of Conquest Customs also traveled all the way from Florida to show off his great-looking Victory customs and offer some new performance products. Riders also got to see new Victory products from Lehman Trikes, Dakota Digital, S&S Cycle and more.
STURGIS WAS A SMASH
After the AVR, some riders and vendors headed straight to the Black Hills for the Sturgis rally. We reloaded our packs and got to ride a trio of Victory Vision Streets from Minnesota to Sturgis. What a great experience.
En route to Sturgis, we rode through a torrential downpour at midday and endured the traditional prairie cross winds – yet we still enjoyed the entire experience. From St. Paul to Sturgis my bike covered 605.8 miles at an average speed of 53.8 mph and with average fuel mileage of 54.4 mpg.
We took a different route home and while maintaining, ahem, stout freeway speeds into a headwind, we covered 643.6 miles at an average of 65.7 mph and average fuel economy of 44.2 mpg. The riding time on the trip to Sturgis was 10 hours, 14 minutes, and it was 8 hours, 52 minutes coming home.
Sturgis was an outstanding rally for Victory and all Victory Riders. The downtown Sturgis store was constantly busy, as was the Victory Demo Ride site, where more than 1,000 demo rides were provided, many of them on Victory Visions.
The VRA Party at Sturgis was a lot of fun as riders from all across North America gathered at the Spearfish Canyon Lodge for an afternoon get-together. Arlen and Cory Ness rode up the canyon road on their wickedly cool Victory Vision customs, bikes they rode from California to Sturgis on the Hamster Ride. Look for plenty of photos from Sturgis (and the AVR) here on the website and in the fall issue of Victory Rider Magazine.
All of you Victory Riders who attended Sturgis and the VRA Party, let us hear from you what you liked, what you would like to see, etc. Drop a note to the Victory Team at Victory Mailbag.
WHO’S THE FAIREST?
Following Sturgis we spent a week on four wheels on a family vacation in Washington state. Wow, talk about gorgeous scenery. I cannot quantify how jealous I was of the motorcyclists on the incredible roads around Mount Rainier and through the Cascades.
Most scenic state? Sorry, Colorado, but on my ballot, you’re bumped to second place behind Washington, “The Evergreen State.”
What’s your pick, and why? Let us hear what you feel is the most scenic riding state (or province) at Victory Mailbag.
NEW ROAD FOR D. SCOTT
Here’s a word of thanks and a wish for all the best for Victory Marketing Manager Derek Scott, who is heading down a new career path. Enjoy the ride.
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