dduelin
Site Supporter
This is the second Iron Butt Association sanctioned long distance ride I've done on my NC700X. A BB1500 is 1500 miles in 36 hours or less. I rode a little over 1,000 miles on Saturday 3/15/14 from 3:52 AM to 9:15 PM then came home to a late dinner with the wife. Hit the bed for 5 hours then got up early to ride 534 miles today from 5:13 AM to 2:20 PM. Total mileage is unofficially 1576 miles in 34 hours 28 minutes. Doing 1000+ in less than 24 hours qualified this as my second SaddleSore 1000 on the NC and first BB1500. I've done a couple 1000+ mile rides on my ST1300 but never a 1500. I mention this because the ST1300 does have a reputation as an excellent mount for laying down miles but the NC in good weather is actually more comfortable for me to ride all day (and night). The relationship of bars/pegs/seat are very comfortable and allow moving around a lot to change seating positions. I had great weather if a little cool yesterday morning and saw a 47 degree F temperature change yesterday from pre-dawn 30's in northern FL to an 86 F afternoon in Miami. I planned my routes to stay within the state of FL making it an all in-state ride as well. I did see a tiny amount of rain today but otherwise the weather window held up. For me the stock seat is fine but I did pack a sheep skin seat cover and used it after 850 miles - boy it felt good! I won't say it saved the ride but it helped me find my second wind the last leg of 150 miles. I didn't need it today for the last 500+ but I took it with me.
I was looking at the gas and meal receipts this evening as I prepared the documentation to submit the ride to the IBA and noted something I had already thought was true and discussed here in this forum. The NC700X mileage is sensitive to temperature and to headwinds. I averaged just under 61 US mpg running 70 to 80 mph over the entire ride but in the cold temps mileage dropped about 5 mpg into the 50's and when the temps warmed above the 60s my mileage rose into the low 60's. When headwinds are significant mileage dropped as well. I surmise the aerodynamic drag due to an increase in airspeed (actual speed over ground + headwind = airspeed) goes up enough to impact mileage. In calm air the bike turned 65 mpg and in headwinds of 10-12 knots mileage fell about 10 mpg running roughly the same speed over ground. Still, to get 60.6 mpg running highway speeds is great economy. I traveled with just the Givi top box and left the panniers at home.
I was looking at the gas and meal receipts this evening as I prepared the documentation to submit the ride to the IBA and noted something I had already thought was true and discussed here in this forum. The NC700X mileage is sensitive to temperature and to headwinds. I averaged just under 61 US mpg running 70 to 80 mph over the entire ride but in the cold temps mileage dropped about 5 mpg into the 50's and when the temps warmed above the 60s my mileage rose into the low 60's. When headwinds are significant mileage dropped as well. I surmise the aerodynamic drag due to an increase in airspeed (actual speed over ground + headwind = airspeed) goes up enough to impact mileage. In calm air the bike turned 65 mpg and in headwinds of 10-12 knots mileage fell about 10 mpg running roughly the same speed over ground. Still, to get 60.6 mpg running highway speeds is great economy. I traveled with just the Givi top box and left the panniers at home.
