2014 Butt Lite 7 Rally

​The experiences described in these posts were Steve’s at the time he took the ride. Each rider’s experience is unique. These posts do not describe what is usual or likely for the ride described.
 
2014 Butt Lite 7 Rally
 
The Ride
October 1, 2013 – Who just registered for Butt Lite 7 in July 2014? This crazy long distance motorcyclist!

 October 4, 2013 – The Butt Lite 7 motorcycle ‘scavenger hunt’ rally took only three days to sell out! There are 70 solo motorcyclists that will be riding this coming July for 6 days over thousands of miles across this great US.
 
July 1, 2014 – And, here’s how you change the Air Filter on a (gd) Gold Wing GL1800 2nd Gen. lol ~oy~ Hey! I’m halfway done! Did I mention the heat index is 100°? (getting bike prepped for Butt Lite)

July 2, 2014 – Anybody else stopping at Wing Ding in Madison, WI on the way to Butt Lite? I plan on hitting the vendor floor (why the hell I don’t know) Friday morning; then ride to Minnetonka (truck) in the afternoon.
 
July 3, 2014 – Going to a Wing Ding!, then riding Butt Lite. Be back in ~8,000 miles (eh. about 11 days 🙂

​July 4, 2014 – in Madison, Wisconsin – All gassed up. Now, none stop to Butt Lite Headquarters in Minnetonka!
 
July 4, 2014 – Made it to Minnetonka (it’s actually bigger than they make it out to sound). Checked-in; Registered; Tech Inspection done. Nothing to do now except wait for the Butt Lite 7 Rally Packet at 8:00 PM tomorrow night.
 
July 5, 2014 – Getting things setup in the hotel room for a night of Rally Routing at Butt Lite 7. Mayhem starts at 8PM. I could end up ~anywhere~ in this country this week. :))

​July 5, 2014 – Butt Lite 7 Time!
I’ve missed some rides this season. Some parties. Ran some test rallies. Taken the bike apart a few times this Spring. Added farkle-after-farkle (gadgets). Even added a Fuel Cell (aux gas tank) to the back of the bike (Thanks Frank & Angelo!). 4.2 gallons; in addition to the Wing’s stock 6.6G. For a total of 10.8G and 360-miles between gas stops. I’ve already put 12,000 miles on the new bike since March, and had to put a new set of tires on already. Why? all for this…
 
I’m in Minnetonka, MN with 62 other crazy Long Distance riders to take part in the biennial Butt Lite Rally. Starting tomorrow (Sunday) at 8AM CDT I’ll be riding the Wing 6,000 miles give-or-take in the next 6-days-straight. 144-hours of Riding, Eating, Resting and Bonus Hunting on the motorcycle ..as much as I can. Though, none of us will know to where until 8PM tonight when they hand out the rally packs. Then, it’s 12-hours of rally routine, sleeping, and all out mayhem! 🙂
 
Rally Rules prohibit us from any social networking during the rally; No Facebook (not such a bad thing!); No Delphi Forums; No nothing. Private messages, texts, and phone calls are all good. They’ve set up a couple links to follow along, if you’d like:
Butt Lite 7 – Blog: http://buttlite7.blogspot.com
Butt Lite 7 – Public Tracking Page: https://spotwalla.com/locationViewer.php?id=245
Butt Lite 7 – General Website: http://www.teamstrange.com/2014/butt_lite/
 
Number One Goal? Get home safe. Number Two Goal? Finish in the Top Ten. That’ll get me entry into the 11-Day Iron Butt Rally for next year. 😉
 
Cheers,
Steve2
 
July 12, 2014 – The Butt Lite Rally… Been there. Done that. 5,500+ miles in 6-days. GOODNIGHT!

 July 14, 2014 – Butt Lite 7 is over, I’m home, and in one piece – I achieved Goal #1. The bike is in one piece, too. Though, one big problem: I blew the rear tire. My four-month old bike is now on its third rear tire. lol
 
Welp, after sitting on the side of the New Mexico Interstate, in the dark, in the desert, for four-and-a-half-hours with a blown tire, I was finally rescued. Got the tire fixed in the morning, and lost 12-hours of rally time. But, I Finished! And, not too shabby.
 
Out of 60 bikes that started the rally, only 49 finished. I placed 17th. Very happy with that. I rode roughly 1,100 miles there, and then back. Rode 5,600 miles in the six-day rally; For a total of somewhere over 7,800 miles with my ass on that bike for 11-days. I have new aches & pains. New muscles. New calluses. New friends. New memories. And, a Big smile on my face. Hmmm…what next?

​Event Pics from Rick Corwine