High perfromance bikes

[Rough Edge racing]

 I know a lot you you here have powerful sport bikes capable of brutal acceleration and  top speeds. Most don't confine this to the race track only......So many of you are hooligans like me and admit to using the power on public roads?

  Disclaimer, do one condones breaking the law so let's just say it's all theoretical....

[Chuck in Indiana]

The first time I rode with the SoCal hooligans, I wondered what would happen to my insurance if I got busted for 60 over..


So I didn't do that.




Ever.

[lucydad]

Edge one,

In moderation with the STRX, and I have not explored the terror zone above 9000 rpm very much.  But man do I love the sharp handling and acceleration and responsive engine and brakes.  Corners like a cat. 

Given that I saw a young sport bike rider flipping in and out of lanes on a packed road last week.  Idiot. 

[radguzzi]

I travelled back to Maine from San Diego just recently and seldom went over 75 MPH the entire ride, there were the odd times to get by a truck that I would do more and then settle back down to the more sedate pace.

Now, every once in a bit I will take the Stelvio up to triple digits just because there is a place to do that on my commute, did it today in fact.   

This particular stretch of a divided four lane road I can see for about two miles after a gentle left hand sweeper and there are no cars within that foreseeable run I just roll it up from the 65 MPH that I am doing anyway and drift it off as I approach and hit 100...  I love it.  Always have and probably always will.   It is better than coffee for me.

Best,
Rob


P.S. How did you do at Loring...?

[Triple Jim]

My first motorcycle was the '72 H2 that I still ride.  Then I got a Mille GT, and then a Yamaha DT100 that I set up as a little road racer.  Last week I bought an '05 Kawasaki Ninja 250 for my newly licensed daughter to have something she could ride.  The H2 and Mille are physically too big for her, and the 100 is too small for long weekend rides.  There's a lot of truth in the statement "It's more fun to ride a slow bike fast, than a fast bike slow."  After my first longish ride on the 250, I had so much fun that I've been saying that if it were the only motorcycle I could ever own from now on, I'd still be happy riding.

So the answer is that lately I've been enjoying motorcycles that don't tempt me to unleash ungodly power at every possible opportunity, and it's more of a relief than a disadvantage.

[sib]

Some folks who are overly focused on performance bikes may be subconsciously compensating for performance problems in other categories.  Just sayin'.

[oldbike54]

 Oh hell , yeah my hooligan streak resurfaces every now and then , can't get on a fast bike W/O using it . Good reason to not own one .

  Dusty

[Lannis]

This particular stretch of a divided four lane road I can see for about two miles after a gentle left hand sweeper and there are no cars within that foreseeable run I just roll it up from the 65 MPH that I am doing anyway and drift it off as I approach and hit 100...  I love it.  Always have and probably always will.   It is better than coffee for me.

Best,
Rob

The Stelvio sounds good at 100, but in Virginia if "the bronze" catch you doing it, you'll be having your coffee in an orange jumpsuit the next morning ... Have to want that thrill pretty bad to do it on the street!

Lannis

[tiger_one]

The 1190, can pick em up and lay em down, but I hate tickets, so stay around 10 over most of the time.  I run pretty good in the mountains, but always slow down for small towns and traffic.  Open road, I will leave your group of traffic at proper times, and you will never see me again most likely.

When traveling cross country (several states) I stick to back roads and twisties if I can find them.  The 6 gallon tank will get me about 230 miles or more running 80ish.  Over all I don't run high speed except to leave a traffic group for clearer roads.

The big power is very nice when it is needed.  Gonna be really hard to sell this bike, best handling bike I have ever owned!

[LowRyter]

before the speed traps became prevalent I used to hit my Bandit pretty hard, like an indicated 135 on the way to work or 145 going with sport riders.  Now I am not claiming that I was going that fast, probably 120-130 tops.  The difference was huge, at 145 it was a little bit scary but 135 felt stable enough to ride it all the way to California.

I've also touched 105 on the EV with the wife dozing on the back seat.  The Sport gets a little twitchy at speed.  But anymore I am less into speed and more into cornering and technical aspects of riding rather than just pinning the throttle.  The Sport is great for that.  And I don't want anymore tickets.

[Dilliw]

After garaging my brother in law's GSX-R 1000 for a few years and taking a few trips just to keep it in shape, I checked out a speed in gear chart to know how fast I was going.  During acceleration the digital speedo was useless so I wanted to at least guess at how fast you had to go to get to the 8.5k rpm where the bike started pulling (13k redline).  That's 60mph in first gear!  If you get to the power band in 2nd you're breaking the law, get to in third it's reckless driving, and get to it in 4th you are either dead or going to jail.  Shift out 2nd and you are in triple digits.

Ok so I did it a couple of time I admit, but those hyper bikes are mostly driven well below their intended rpm range.  At those rpms they are making about the same power and torque as a Griso in its intended power band.  Much more fun to be on the gun with a bike made for the street then to have the occasional visit to warp speed.  At least that's what I came away with.


http://www.gearingcommander.com/

[radguzzi]

... Have to want that thrill pretty bad to do it on the street!

Lannis

Yeah, I get that.  I do not do it often, only when the conditions are juuuust right.  No place for a LEO to hide in that one stretch and it takes literally a second to run it up there.  I just enjoy it however, if there is one car up ahead, I stay put.

[Rough Edge racing]

 To some who claim not to.... So you're on a deserted road and never give it full throttle and near redline in the first few gears  up to maybe 80 MPH?   So why buy a performance bike that isn't just for track time, is it just for image? 
 I'll admit to using all the acceleration performance of my 97 Buell in a straight line and more or less in curves. Not all the time of course. It's not about showing off because no one is around... but the thrill of acceleration is still a rush to me...And the meditation factor...Problems just disappear as you concentrate on the task at hand.

[zedXmick]

yeah I have a hard time not breaking 90 over the limit...fortunately I live in a very rural area of WI. I did manage on the last group outing (961 miles in three days) to only take it to 130 once for a couple of minutes. The big VFR just cruises at 145 like nothing.

Last month I took a 60 mile test ride on a Kawasaki ZX14R... That bike just cruises at 160 like nothing...It is just astonishing how good today's motorcycles are. After the test ride on the ZX14R the salesman asked me if I wanted to take the bike home with me... (this was on a Wendsday) I answered "I would love to,but if I did I would LOSE my license by Saturday."   A least I had the sense to keep my VFR that day...

I had been riding dirt bikes for year's until I got my license at 16,and my first road bike was a 1976 RD350, and it is astonishing how far motorcycles have come since then. 

[charlie b]

My poor little bike gets wrung out fairly often when I know there are no LEO's around.  There are a few roads around here that I can get to well over 100 "safely".  The problem at the higher speeds is I start thinking about stuff like, is there going to be a pothole in the road or other debris that will end the ride abruptly?  So, then I slow down a little, 80 or so  :)

I have ridden much faster bikes and I KNOW I would get into trouble with them, so I keep my lowly T5.

[Doppelgaenger]

I bought the Breva 1100 because of it's raw power over the 750s. There is no logical reason, I just wanted the extra power. Call me immature. Now... for me the 90 hp and huge torque is all I need. Torque rules my world.

I used to have an SV650, and eventually got to ride a cbr600 F3. I disliked all parts of riding the sport bike around town because you couldn't have any fun with it, the only time it made me grin was getting on the freeway, but when I looked down I was doing 85 on the onramp. It's not worth it to me to have a bike whose only purpose is to break the law and be utterly uncomfortable at all times.

If I had the money, I would buy this for track use though... Now there is some TORQUE 

[kirkemon]

Well, I think I've out grown that and lived to tell about it. Yea, I had an H1 but my fastest bike was a Ducati. Probably my most fun was on the track when I campaigned a GPZ 550 around 1980. I rode my RD400F Daytona like gang busters in the Malibu canyons and never went down but did get written up by the man more than once. I loved riding that on Latigo - a lot of 2nd gear action.

[segesta]

I recently bought a BMW K1300GT, pretty much the opposite of a Guzzi--the BMW has seemingly no flywheel, all horsepower, no 'character', motionless at idle, but is obscenely fast. And therein lies its fun. I cruised at 100 mph early last Sunday morning on the empty, rural interstate to visit my mother. She's doing fine, and the bike was a champ. 
Otherwise I keep the risky riding to a minimum, even with the K's capabilities.

[nick949]

I ride my Moto Guzzi with the throttle to the stop almost all the time - often for hours on end.








But.........its a NF with a top speed not much north of 60!

Nick

[Gliderjohn]

Okay I am quite guilty but living in rural Kansas it is so easy to do with all the straight roads, little traffic and you can see far ahead. I have had the T-3 up to 115 mph indicated with the wife on board and she was laughing her ass off in in her helmet. Keep in mind that kind of speed was for maybe a half a mile then back to reality.
Yesterday we were in the car on highway 160 which is the main east west highway through deep southern Kansas. After getting about 20 miles west of Medicine lodge we drove for at least 40 miles without seeing another car from either direction.
GliderJohn

[Lannis]

Okay I am quite guilty but living in rural Kansas it is so easy to do with all the straight roads, little traffic and you can see far ahead. I have had the T-3 up to 115 mph indicated with the wife on board and she was laughing her ass off in in her helmet. Keep in mind that kind of speed was for maybe a half a mile then back to reality.
Yesterday we were in the car on highway 160 which is the main east west highway through deep southern Kansas. After getting about 20 miles west of Medicine lodge we drove for at least 40 miles without seeing another car from either direction.
GliderJohn

A lot of times it's not the other traffic we need to worry about!   

You blow a tire on a T3 two-up at 115 MPH, and you'll be hurtin' for certain - smiles will come hard, I know that.   Or the tranny locks up under the strain, or whatever .....

BUT everyone has to decide the risk/benefit for themselves.

Lannis

[drums4money]

Guilty- there's a few favorite spots where you can stretch the legs a little.  But it's usually a limited twist up to 100-105 then back down to a more sensible clip. 

I'm with Lucydad on knowing it's there:  "In moderation with the STRX, and I have not explored the terror zone above 9000 rpm very much.  But man do I love the sharp handling and acceleration and responsive engine and brakes.  Corners like a cat. "

*On the 1200S it's a nice long pull and the rare occasion to actually get into 6th.
*On the Duc it's a chance to hear & feel the bike as you row it from 4th through 5th and into 6th.
*On the MV it's the simultaneous pulling of your shoulder sockets while your eyeballs get squished in 4th and 5th.  Roads aren't long enough for 6th.  Terror zone is quite an accurate description.

A KTM390 could be a fun all around for back roads in this part of PA.  Nimble, power enough to get your heart racing, but you'd still have to work for it.  Plenty of truth that it's "more fun to ride a slow bike fast."

[Murray]

This thread has a point? A lot of people get into bikes because they can't afford a properly fast car, living in a large state with a concentrated population means law enforcement is stretched pretty thin in a lot of places and we really only have one relatively small club race track draw your own conclusions.

[Scorpione]

So many of you are hooligans like me and admit to using the power on public roads?

Every time a scooter goes past me.
Red rag to a bull, that is. 

[Gliderjohn]

Quote from Lannis:

A lot of times it's not the other traffic we need to worry about!   

You blow a tire on a T3 two-up at 115 MPH, and you'll be hurtin' for certain - smiles will come hard, I know that.   Or the tranny locks up under the strain, or whatever .....

BUT everyone has to decide the risk/benefit for themselves.

Possibly, but doing something like that for a half mile or less under a very carefully chosen piece of road IMHO carries less risk then your average drive through any given city. If we had a tire (Using near new H rated tires) let go at that speed we would not be "hurtin for certain", we would most likely be killed instantly. Yes, we all make our own choices.
GliderJohn

[lucky phil]

I bought the Breva 1100 because of it's raw power over the 750s. There is no logical reason, I just wanted the extra power. Call me immature. Now... for me the 90 hp and huge torque is all I need. Torque rules my world.

I used to have an SV650, and eventually got to ride a cbr600 F3. I disliked all parts of riding the sport bike around town because you couldn't have any fun with it, the only time it made me grin was getting on the freeway, but when I looked down I was doing 85 on the onramp. It's not worth it to me to have a bike whose only purpose is to break the law and be utterly uncomfortable at all times.

If I had the money, I would buy this for track use though... Now there is some TORQUE 

Notice they dont mention the weight
Ciao

[Kentktk]

I admit to it, hit 138mph Saturday on the `14 MV Agusta F4. It had plenty more left and do not doubt it would come close to it`s 180.9 advertised top speed. It`s was only about a 20 second run from a rolling 20mph start and shifts were 2000 under redline, it was leisurely and no real strain. The Quickshifter and  Auto-blipper are nice items also.

[Rough Edge racing]

A lot of times it's not the other traffic we need to worry about!   

You blow a tire on a T3 two-up at 115 MPH, and you'll be hurtin' for certain - smiles will come hard, I know that.   Or the tranny locks up under the strain, or whatever .....

BUT everyone has to decide the risk/benefit for themselves.

Lannis

 And you can crushed by a F350 while driving your tiny car...

 

[jas67]

Guilty- there's a few favorite spots where you can stretch the legs a little.  But it's usually a limited twist up to 100-105 then back down to a more sensible clip. 

I'm with Lucydad on knowing it's there:  "In moderation with the STRX, and I have not explored the terror zone above 9000 rpm very much.  But man do I love the sharp handling and acceleration and responsive engine and brakes.  Corners like a cat. "

*On the 1200S it's a nice long pull and the rare occasion to actually get into 6th.
*On the Duc it's a chance to hear & feel the bike as you row it from 4th through 5th and into 6th.
*On the MV it's the simultaneous pulling of your shoulder sockets while your eyeballs get squished in 4th and 5th.  Roads aren't long enough for 6th.  Terror zone is quite an accurate description.

A KTM390 could be a fun all around for back roads in this part of PA.  Nimble, power enough to get your heart racing, but you'd still have to work for it.  Plenty of truth that it's "more fun to ride a slow bike fast."

My experience is similar, minus the MV.    My B11, being similar to the 1200S gives the same experience.     My Monster 796 quite similar to the S2R, same deal, it's a chance to go from 4th to 5th to 6th at full song, enjoying the wonderful air-cooled Desmo music.   Same deal with the couple of VFR's that I've owned.  The V4's definitely play a wonderful tune of their own.

These three digit excursions are always on remote, straight sections of road with no traffic or places for LEO's to hide.      PA125, one of my favorite roads near me has a few straight steep uphill sections that are great for enjoying the full music of the motor w/o needing to go as fast, as you can twist the throttle to the stop to the top of 2nd and 3rd gears to hear that wonderful music and still keep it under three digits.

[jas67]

Notice they dont mention the weight
Ciao

They do, somewhere on that site it is listed, just under 500# IIRC.    That's actually pretty light compared to a 560# Hyabusa.