2012 Las veags to Barstow Vetter Challenge, 11/18/2012

[low&slow]

This year's Las vegas to Barstow Vetter Challenge will start at the Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas at 8 AM on November 18, 2012. We will be riding a different route this year ( @ 215 miles) through the scenic desert backgrounds led by Paul Golde (a Kawasaki rep)on a new Ninja 300. As always we welcome more Vetter Challenge competitors as well as other motorcyclists interested in seeing how their rides stack up against the best motorcycle hypermilers on the road. This year's field includes Fred Hayes, Alan Smith, Craig Vetter, Ron Johnson, Treven Baker and yours truly( Vic Valdes). The event will be filmed for possible development into a documentary about our efforts. It will be a blast and we would love to have you join us and make history as Craig says. For more information about the event, route, Vetter Challenge rules, etc. please go to Craig's website at Craig Vetter, designer and inventor of the Windjammer fairing,Triumph Hurricane Motorcycle and fuel economy motorcycles

If you want to join in the fun please let me know on this forum or send me a PM. I'll be in Vegas by Friday afternoon.
Stay safe, Vic

[low&slow]

Here are the results for the 2012 Las Vegas to Bartow Vetter Challenge:


Fred Hayes 125.92 mpg Hayes Diesel streamliner
Treven Baker 104.01 Baker Diesel
Alan Smith 97.96 Ninja 250 streamliner
Joshua Chnen 89.09 Hayes Bio-diesel , winner Alternative fuel
Craig Vetter 80.50 Honda Helix streamliner
Ron Elder 78.37 Honda Insight car
Ron Johnston 72.90 Honda VT500 streamliner
Paul Golde 53.35 Kawasaki Ninja 300
Walt Fulton 48.56 BMW 1400cc
Nancy ? 47.35 Kawasaki ZX1000
Croft Long 43.47 Kawasaki KLR650

DNF: Vic Valdes 60.12 Ninja 250 streamliner

The weather was cool with some windy spots at the start and the finish. The final charge up I-40 was especially hard with a steep grade, high speeds and a headwind. This was the toughest conditions of the 3 Vetter Challenges this year.

As usual the Hayes diesels reigned supreme but many other competitors turned into some excellent results. Of special note were the performance of Treven Baker's homebuilt diesel and Ron Elder's Insight car.

My bike encountered a fuel starvation problem on the final charge up the I-40 grade about 2 miles from the finish. I switched to the reserve petcock position but the bike wouldn't accelerate above 45 mph max so I moved to the shoulder and took the first exit with a gas station. After refueling , the bike resumed normal running and I rode to the final meeting place. During the ride to Las Vegas my bike produced relatively poor fuel economy ( 55mpg, 60 mpg, 83 mpg). On the ride home I had a similar stalling episode but was able to resume normal acceleration without refueling. Very disappointing , I'll need to resolve this problem.

Despite my personal issues, this was another great event Kudos to Craig and Carol Vetter for their outstanding efforts in organizing this wonderful event. It was awesome and we had a lot of fun!
I hope you all enjoy a Happy Thanksgiving.