An Airhead Saddlesore 1000

[Babbitt]

On Saturday I completed a Saddlesore 1,000 on a 1992 BMW R100 GS with a large parabellum windscreen and Jesse bags. The bike did great, no mechanical issues and it consumed no oil. With one exception it was a drama free and surprisingly easy day.

I learned a couple of things. Primarily that the old GS doesn’t mind going fast but that it gets very thirsty at speed. My usual 42 MPG on country roads dropped to 35 MPG at 70 MPH and 25 MPG! At 80 MPH. With no fuel gauge this means I have to switch over to reserve at 200, 175 and 125 miles respectively. The first time I had to switch to the reserve tank at 110 miles I was taken completely by surprise and almost did not make it to the next station. I was reduced to 40 MHP on the shoulder and occasionally sloshing gas over to the right side of the tank to try and get every last drop of gas possible. 80 on the old bike is loud and I get a bit of a wobble if I put my feet back on the passenger pegs to change my position a little. Even though the teenager still rattling around in the back of my head strenuously objected I kept it at ~70 for the rest of the trip and made it fine.

Other things worth noting.
• The high collar on my Aerostich jacket is much quieter that the low collar on my mesh jacket. When I switched to the mesh jack in the heat of the day I was amazed how much louder everything got.

• A camel back water system was great for staying hydrated and the extra weight on my back was hardly noticeable
.
• Being able to either, comfortably stand up, or take my feet of the pegs and let them hang without scraping the pavement is a wonderful way to stretch and fight fatigue.

• The Go Cruise Throttle Control works amazingly well and made a huge difference. Available through Aerostich.

• The stock headlight is not bright enough for country roads at night.

• My inexpensive battery powered Garmin GPS worked great and is amazingly water proof. Not having an external cable plugged in helps a lot with water resistance. I only had to change batteries once during the trip and would have been walking, without the ability to quickly find close gas in Brookings SD.