Airhead Iron Butt: Joel Rappoport

"I love to ride. I hate to stop. My motorcycle is the most comfortable place I know."

This is the mantra and riding philosophy of Joel Rappoport, who will be competing in the 2009 Iron Butt Rally, this August. This will be Joel's SECOND attempt at the heroic task, and this time he's not even in the "Hopeless" class, but an invited returnee who so impressed the organizers with his seriousness and professionalism that they felt there was a good possibility for him to finish well this time. Mind you, Joel completed the event last time, just not high enough in the bonus points standings for a "recognized" placing. Whenever I've heard Joel say that he "didn't finish", I quickly correct him: you made every checkpoint, you rode across the finish line, and your bike was still running and with all the same parts with which it started. I'd call that a finish.

He'll be riding the same 1976 BMW R60/6 motorcycle that he bought brand new. It's only got some 450,000 or so miles on it, and has been completely rebuilt at least two or three times. The R60 is just about one of the most consistent, durable Airheads ever made, and this consistency has more than made up for any lack of high horsepower in all but a few extreme conditions.

I am happy to extend the full support of my company to help Joel improve his mount's ability to provide plenty of electrical power for the various demands of navigation, communication, superior lighting, and keeping the pilot warm. Joel bought his Omega 400 alternator, serial number 12, in February of 2002. He'd already accumulated some 112,000 trouble-free miles on the system before the shakedown program initiated before the 2007 event. When I heard about Joel's intention to do the Ironbutt on an Airhead, I offered to send Joel some major components as updated parts to refresh the system before departure to lessen any possibilities of problems during the run. He gratefully accepted the offer and the parts were installed in conjunction with the total overhaul the bike was receiving. After racking up 6000 test miles, he took the new parts off and re-installed the original Omega pieces, figuring that now ALL the pieces were known good and he'd have no further concerns - and that's exactly how it went. I don't know if I'll be able to convince him to retire System #12 for this run or not -

Joel has done some very well reasoned improvements on the old beast for this attempt, in an effort to gain some incremental increases in fuel economy and speed, combined with several existing modifications that he's been riding for the last couple of hundred thousand miles. He's inspired by what he learned the last time, and how to do things better this time. There's a very real possibility of a respectable finish.

One of the things he learned was a bit of a shocker, and that was the considerable expense of such an undertaking . Mind you, this is competing on a decidedly less than state-of-the-art machinery that has been paid for for a long, long time - not a new whiz-bang techno wonder with so much advanced navigation and communication gear that a co-pilot should be required.
When I heard of his intentions compete on an Airhead, I just thought it was terrific for someone to represent the thousands of us who know full well that the machines are capable of this kind of endurance at the drop of a hat. How many of us have pointed the front wheel toward the horizon, and never worried about making it back, on an air-cooled BMW Twin ?
I would like to encourage the Airhead community to get behind this effort, and show Joel just how neat we think it is that he's trying to do what MANY of us would like to do. If you can help with a cash donation, it can be sent directly to the PayPal account he has created for this purpose only ; r60rider@gmail.com. Joel has pledged that any leftover funds will be donated to charity. Even just a few bucks, whatever you could add, would be of great importance and benefit.

And, given these weird economic times, if monetary help is not an option, there are plenty of other ways we can help. There will be numerous checkpoints staged all across the USA during the event, and just showing up to greet Joel, show the Airheads flag and shout some encouragement as he rolls in would be absolutely priceless. A cool drink, a light snack, maybe a shaded canopy cover and a good chair won't be hard, and can truly make a difference. If there's a new tire to be installed, or an oil change needed, any number of folks can help with this, since it will be like working on your own bike. If y'all are as excited by this as I am, I know we can help in ways large and small.

So, to get your interest up, cruise these next pages to read Joel's accounts of the first attempt, see the photos of his favorite office, and catch up on the latest postings about the on-going training and preparations. New stuff will appear from time to time, so stay tuned and, like the billboards say, "Watch This Space ! "
Cheers and Best Wishes, Rick Jones