Its another "how fast do you go thread." But, to the young bucks out there, take these words of wisdom to heart, "speed kills."

I think the fastest I've ever gone on any motorcycle I owned was on my CrossBones while traveling out west. It was a Colorado highway where the speed limit was 75 mph and most cars and trucks were doing 85 to 90 mph. I maintained that speed for some time, and it is amazing how fast road debris shredded tires, roadkill, etc, comes up on you. If you don't have your A-game going, it can be curtains.

From Newton's law of momentum: M = mass x velocity. We all know about momentum from basic intuition, we have kinetic energy when we're moving, and it increases with speed. The higher the speed the greater the forces are involved in an accident. And, with nothing between our skin, which is covered by the gear we wear, and which, may or may not have impact armor, and the road or some object, the faster we're going the greater chance of serious injury and death.

I believe the old adage "speed kills", originally said with regards to driving cars, is especially worth repeating with regards to bikes. Yeah, its stating the obvious. Sometimes hearing or reading the obvious is a good thing.

If you care to, share your experiences of speed, but not for bragging rights, rather share your experiences on control of your machine and any other thoughts including safety tips that I may have missed.

 

I once was called into work for an emergency on a Saturday. I just had to go in, take care of something quick and leave. I commute 60 miles one way. It was an unexpected call, and it was a nice day in July. I got on my Super Glide and basically was on a 4 lane highway the whole time. During the week in a car, the average speed is 70, there is always other people doing 90 and weaving in and out. Being that it was a Saturday, traffic wasn't as bad as the week, but I was doing between 75-100 that day, particularly because I wanted to make some time and to keep well ahead of cars in the left lane. They ride your *** in a car, but I wont tolerate it on a bike(tailgating). I was doing 90+ basically just to keep cars off my ***. I can say I was impressed with the performance of my 2005 TC 88 in stock form( no stage1 etc.) H-D big twin does perform well on the interstate. I will say that at that speed, I remember thinking that if for some reason I went down, it would basically be over LOL!!

 

Blitzing around on city streets or short sprints on highways I don't do much.

But, long interstate runs, I ride at 9 mph over the posted speed on the interstate. I do it for as long as I am on the highway.

My experience is that over the long run virtually all motorcycles (including sport bikes) go slower than that.

I base that on all the long runs and highway miles I put on and rarely will a bike overtake me and remain ahead of me.

I ran from Florida to Sturgis pretty much straight through and I eventually overtook and stayed ahead of every bike I saw. That is common in all my interstate runs.

Usually what happens is I pass someone, they speed up and run like hell for 20 minutes, then roll back to their original speed and I pass them again and never see them again.

I commented in a thread a year ago about that. I believe riders don't like getting passed or just want to prove they can ride faster too. As I said in that post, I ride at 9 mph over, I do it when I roll past you and I will be doing it hundreds of miles later whether you are behind or in front of me.

The secret to minimizing your risks:
Stay away from trucks
Keep 2 second gaps and double it with the first rain drop.

 

I once went 130 mph on a four lane road on a KZ1000 in shorts, tennis shoes and a t-shirt. Does that count?

 

 

On the bike, I like to relax as best I can. I'm out for the enjoyment more than for getting to a destination on a set time frame. I usually go the limit, but not much more. If someone wants to pass or is on my ***, I let 'em on by. I really haven't been much over 70, and really have no desire to. I've kissed asphalt at 40 and it wasn't pleasant, even wearing all the gear.

 

Harley's just don't handle well at speed, they are heavy and the suspension is pretty bad..... it's just the nature of a "cruiser". I consistently rode between 85-95 on the freeways on my Ducati and was totally fine... I had it up to 148 (gps not speedo) and although scary it handled fine....... my Harley, anything past 75 and it just doesn't feel right..... these bikes were not made for prolonged fast speeds....they are cruisers!! At least that's my opinion based on riding for 34 years...... be safe out there!!

 

Last summer My neighbor and myself were traveling US 15 north from Mansfield, Pa to Corning, NY. Being very familiar with this road, we were running fast on all that new concrete (new four lane recently built). We came up on a seasoned looking road warrior and his woman on their EG ( I think, no front lowers). We flew by him and gave a wave. I check my mirror and he decided to hang right with us. She was hanging out on the back like it was nothing, boots, jeans, spaghetti strap shirt, leaning back watching the sky. I was a little shocked and impressed. He was pulling a trailer, two up, had the trunk rack loaded up so I assume he was loaded completely. We ran right around triple digits and over for 20 miles and he was right there. Slowed up a little in NY and he went east when we went west. Always wondered what work that bike had done to keep up with that load on


.

 

Prior bike, Dyna, spent a lot of time between 95-100. Had her over 100 a couple of times...105 give or take a couple.

Current bike, older Shovel, generally not above 75...although can't tell for sure...speedo cable broke over a year ago.

 

I like the exhilaration of danger and near death experiences more than just all out speed. I find that boring. My game of choice is car surfing. I do it a lot and sometimes me and a group of old friends will do it together in a sea of automobiles. I had my Busa up to 189 several times on 95. It got boring after the 2nd time. Adrenaline junky forever.