2,000 Miles in Under 36 Hours on a Victory Vision 8-Ball

Congratulations to Iron Butt Steve ‘Rollin’’ Rolland Covers 2,000 Miles in Under 36 Hours on His Victory Vision 8-Ball

Riding through stretches of heavy rain and unusually chilly summer temperatures, Victory Rider Steve “Rollin’” Rolland achieved a pair of Iron Butt rides over a recent two-day period.

Starting in southern Wisconsin on Saturday, June 18, he rode west on his Victory Vision 8-Ball and achieved an Iron Butt Assn. (IBA) Bun Burner 1500 Gold – covering at least 1,500 miles in under 24 hours. He then rode further to achieve a Saddle Sore 2000 Gold – 2,000 miles in under 36 hours.

He rode to southwestern Utah, then headed north and east into northwest Colorado, and he had witnesses sign his IBA paperwork signaling the end of the ride in Palisade, Colorado, on Sunday evening, June 19.

These were the sixth and seventh Iron Butt rides Steve has completed, and he has done all of them on Victorys.

“I rode through some torrential rain and some really cold temperatures, but made it,” Steve said in a call to the Victory Community page staff on Monday, June 20. “It was fun. The hard part was at some places, everybody wanted to talk to me about the bike. I tried to talk with people as much as I could, but I also had to keep moving.

“I was amazed. When I did the 48-state trip [a 2008 Iron Butt ride], I saw three Victories on the whole trip. On this trip, I lost count, I saw so many Victorys.”

The Victory Vision 8-Ball performed flawlessly, he reported.

“No problems with the bike at all,” he said. “I was impressed with the bike. I have the Blade windshield on it and that worked well. When it’s hot, I like to get some air, and when it was 86 degrees, it felt great.”

It was rarely that warm, though, despite his riding to the Southwest in summer. “There are some stretches on I-15 where the speed limit’s 80 mph, but it was raining so hard that at times I was going 55, and it was so cold. Cars were pulling over because it was raining so hard, but I was able to keep going.”

He said he achieved fuel economy of about 45 or 46 mpg at high speeds, “and I could have actually stretched my gas stops out, I was getting such good gas mileage.”

Here is data from his trip:

Total Miles Covered: 2,053 (2,045 of which will be submitted to the IBA for certification. Steve had to backtrack briefly to a gas station where his glasses had dropped off his bike, and he won’t count those back-tracking miles.)

Moving Time: 28 hours, 32 minutes

Average Moving Speed: 71.9 mph

Time to Cover 1,000 Miles: 15 hours, 5 minutes

Time to Cover 1,500 Miles: 23 hours, 47 minutes

Time to Cover 2,000 Miles: 33 hours

“I couldn’t believe how close I cut it reaching 1,500 miles,” he said. “I hit the 1,500-mile mark in 23:47, meaning I had only 13 minutes to spare. I was flying down I-15, passing gas stations because I didn’t have enough miles yet. And on I-15 in Utah, it’s not uncommon for a city not to have gas station.

“I saw a sign for an exit, but the sign didn’t indicate whether there was gas. But I saw a gas station sign, so I exited and roared in. I didn’t even top the tank off, just put some gas in, shut it off and got a receipt it with 13 minutes to spare. I brought a set of [IBA] witness forms and a customer and the station attendant signed the forms.

“That’s the closest I’ve ever cut a ride, but adjusting to the weather and putting rain gear on and off takes some time.”


An Experienced Iron Butt Rider
Steve is one of 74 riders to have completed an IBA 48/10 – 48 states in 10 days, which he did in 2008 on a Vegas. He is also one of 89 riders to have completed a 48 Plus! Iron Butt Ride, which requires a rider to visit the Lower 48 states and Alaska in 10 days. He completed the 48 Plus! in 2010 on a Kingpin.

Steve was also the first Victory Rider to ride a Victory in all 50 states. He rode the Vegas Jackpot of Victory Rider Dale Belvin in Hawaii in April 2010, prior to completing his 48 Plus! Iron Butt. Chris Calaprice is the only other Victory Rider known to have ridden a Victory in all 50 states. He, too, achieved the feat in 2010.

Before his 48- and 49-state rides, he rode three more Iron Butts, a Saddle Sore 1000 (1,000 miles in under 24 hours) in 2006, a Bun Burner 1500 Gold in 2007, and a ride around Lake Michigan.

He isn’t sure what his next Iron Butt ride will be. He said he likes to target those rides that haven’t yet been done by anyone on a Victory.

He said from Colorado he planned to take a leisurely ride home to Wisconsin over several days, and he was looking at weather radar so he could plot a route without rain.

http://www.polarisindustries.com/en-us/Victory-Motorcycles/Experience/Pages/0000Rollin2k.aspx