Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84A L A B A M A A R I Z O N A A R K A N S A S C A L I F O R N I A C O L O R A D O I L L I N O I S I N D I A N I O W A K A N S A S K E N T L O U I S I A N A M I S S I S S I P P I M I S S O U R I N E B R A S K A N E W M E X I C O O K L A H O M A T E N N E S S E E T E X A S NOGALES TIJUANA ABILENE BILOXI R RAPIDS CLOVIS DOTHAN DYERSBURG EL DORADO FARMINGTON FORT WAYN GADSDEN GREAT BEND Y HOLBROOK KAYENTA KINGMAN LAWTON LUBBOCK NORTH PLATTE PANAMA CITY ROLLA RUSSELL SAN ANGELO STILLWATER YUMA ALBUQUERQUE AMARILLO BAKERSFIELD BIG SPRING BISBEE BOWLING GREEN CARLSBAD COLORADO SPRINGS CORPUS CHRISTI DURANGO EL PASO FAYETTEVILLE FLAGSTAFF GALVESTON GREENVILLE HUNTSVILLE LAS VEGAS MOBILE NATCHEZ NEEDLES PALM SPRINGS PINE BLUFF ROSWELL SAN BERNARDINO SHREVEPORT ST. JOSEPH TUSCALOOSA WABASH WACO WICHITA CEDAR CITY CHATTANOOGA DEL RIO DODGE CITY ND JUNCTION GUYMON LAS CRUCES LOS ALAMOS MONTICELLO ODESSA OWENSBORO POPLAR BLUFF PUEBLO A MARIA TEMPLE TEXARKANA TUCSON WICHITA FALLS WINFIELD ANN BIRMINGHAM DER CHICAGO HOUSTON LOS ANGELES LOUISVILLE MEMPHIS SAN ANTONIO SAN DIEGO ST. LOUIS DALLAS KANSAS CITY NEW ORLEANS OMAHA CHIHUAHUA CULIACAN HERMOSILLO LA PAZ MEXICALI MONTERREY AUSTIN DENVER DES MOINES INDIANAPOLIS JACKSON LINCOLN LITTLE ROCK OKLAHOMA CITY PHOENIX SANTA FE SPRINGFIELD SALTILLO BATON ROUGE TOPEKA JEFFERSON CITY 90˚W 100˚W 110˚W A R I Z O N A C A L I F O R N I A C A L I F O R N I A C O L O R A D O C O L O R A D O I L L I N O I S I L L I N O I S I N D I A N I O W A K A N S A S K E N T M I S S O U R I N E B R A S K A N E W M E X I C O N E W M E X I C O O K L A H O M A O K L A H O M A O K L A H O M A TIJUANA R RAPIDS FARMINGTON FORT WAYN GREAT BEND Y HOLBROOK KAYENTA KINGMAN KINGMAN NORTH NORTH PLATTE ROLLA RUSSELL STILLWATER STILLWATER ALBUQUERQUE ALBUQUERQUE ALBUQUERQUE AMARILLO AMARILLO BAKERSFIELD BOWLING GREEN COLORADO SPRINGS DURANGO FAYETTEVILLE FLAGSTAFF LAS VEGAS LAS VEGAS LAS VEGAS LAS VEGAS LAS VEGAS NEEDLES NEEDLES SAN BERNARDINO SAN BERNARDINO ST. JOSEPH ST. JOSEPH WABASH WICHITA CEDAR CITY CEDAR CITY DODGE CITY ND JUNCTION ND JUNCTION ND JUNCTION ND JUNCTION GUYMON LOS ALAMOS MONTICELLO MONTICELLO OWENSBORO POPLAR BLUFF PUEBLO PUEBLO A MARIA A MARIA WINFIELD ANN ANN ANN DER CHICAGO CHICAGO CHICAGO CHICAGO CHICAGO CHICAGO LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES LOUISVILLE LOUISVILLE SAN DIEGO ST. LOUIS ST. LOUIS ST. LOUIS ST. LOUIS KANSAS CITY KANSAS CITY OMAHA OMAHA OMAHA MEXICALI DENVER DENVER DES MOINES INDIANAPOLIS INDIANAPOLIS INDIANAPOLIS LINCOLN PHOENIX SANTA FE SANTA FE SPRINGFIELD SPRINGFIELD SPRINGFIELD SPRINGFIELD SPRINGFIELD TOPEKA JEFFERSON JEFFERSON CITY Winter 2014 | IRON BUTT MAGAZINE  MileMarker SAN BERNARDINO A R I Z O N A A R I Z O N A TIJUANA YUMA PALM PALM SPRINGS SPRINGS SAN BERNARDINO SAN DIEGO MEXICALI MEXICALI MEXICALI MEXICALI PHOENIX By Michael Kneebone AS WE CELEBRATE our thirtieth year, it is good to take a step back and review some milestones in the evolution and develop- ment of the Iron Butt Association. The story really begins way back in  with the introduction of the $, four-cylinder Honda CB. That bike, equipped with electric start and a very reliable and smooth running engine, suddenly made long-dis- tance riding affordable for the masses. But the CB was essentially a sport bike and its smooth engine was not enough. Riders needed something to block the wind — the modern fairing perfected by Craig Vetter was the solution. By , the Vetter Windjammer fairing for the Honda CB outpaced all other Vetter sales —  total units. By , Vetter sales of the modern Windjammer climbed to , units and by , , Windjammer s were on the road. But  was a landmark year for another reason — the introduction of the Honda Gold Wing. These two super- reliable Hondas convinced a lot of riders to get out on the highway, pile on big miles and see North America. As hard as it is to believe, celebrated Iron Butt rider Dave McQueeney purchased one of the first GLs, which he rode long before moving on to BMW and racking up over ,, BMW miles. I grew up in the middle of this fantastic technology explosion and watched as more and more motorcycles hit the Interstates,or what was to become the Interstate system as much of it was still not completed. In  to meet another biker that had done a ,-mile day was rare. And when you did meet one, the level of boasting about it left a lot of doubt on the table that the ride had been done on the road and not in someone’s mind. With only monthly motorcycle maga- zines as the main source of information, meeting up with other long-distance riders was difficult.The monthly rags were dealing with rapid technology changes more than with interesting places to ride. If you were lucky, you might find a tiny two-line ad about a LD event in the classified section. We knew there were other long-distance riders racking up big-miles, but meeting them more was mostly a matter of luck. Spurred by the availability of big modern motorcycles that would not leave you stranded, long-distance riding exploded in the s and by , the Iron Butt Rally was created. Conceived as a sales promo- tion by Michael Rose, the IBR would showcase just how reliable motorcycles had gotten.Of course a super ride requires some super-humans so Mike offered $, in prize money to ensure the top riders in the sport would be on the start line. Suddenly the underground world of long-distance riders had an event to celebrate and a place to meet. It was in this fertile environment that the Iron Butt Association was created. While the IBR was a commercial endeavor, the IBA was designed so that the special few people with the long-distance gene could stay in touch with each other. In late , the very first one-page newsletter was published. While the IBA was slowly picking up members — and just like today, each and every member had to earn their way in — the IBR was not as healthy. In four short years the format that was so exciting had gotten stale. By the fourth year of the IBR, the bikes proved they could take it, the riders proved they could do it, but there was no exciting new challenge.The touring market was returning to its BMW, Harley- Davidson and Honda Gold Wing roots. Bob Jones, owner of Montgomery Cycle Center, had quietly supported the rally, pumping in thousands of dollars to keep it running. But for the rally to survive, it needed a larger base of riders and a full time staff. Nothing but mega-bucks could save the IBR. In , in a sign of what was to come in a shrinking touring market, Suzuki announced it was killing off its luxury touring motorcycle, the Cavalcade. The Iron Butt Rally was cancelled shortly after that. However, the death of the IBR was not bad news for the IBA. A member- based club doesn’t necessarily need finan- cial backing as it has something far more valuable: almost unlimited brain power and passionate volunteers providing labor resources.We then worked with and helped to organize clubs that hosted long-distance events in order to spread the word about LD riding.What is easy today was a monu- mental undertaking back in the s. That hard work by countless members paid off and by , invitations were sent out for a totally revamped IBR. The next turning point for the IBA took place in . With the retirement of Les Martin, the creator of the SaddleSore and Bun Burner series of rides,the IBA stepped in to fill the void. Information about LD rides and rallies was now passed along in Internet bulletin boards, which were king. Now if you heard about some Looney doing a ,-mile day, you could find us on the Internet — five years before Google fired up their mass search engine. Today, there are innumerable forums and Internet sites that promote long- distance riding including, of course, this magazine. But even with advances in tech- nology, some things remain the same: in order to receive an IBA number, you have to prove you rode those pesky miles. Our early years laid important groundwork for where we are today. Motorcycles improved, the fairing was perfected, and the creation of the IBR got the early pioneers together in one place and prompted that all-important first newslet- ter.The temporary death of the IBR taught us that to keep long-distance riding healthy we must foster a breeding ground for the long-distance gene to take hold in new riders, and we must constantly create new challenges to keep riding fun for all of us. As we look to the future, the past is something we should never forget. Tick Tock