High speed questions.

[seestheday]

Police helicopters are really only for major crimes and demonstration of force.  LA has tons of them, and they routinely fly up and down the beaches (at least they did the 2 times I was there).  I think that it's more to demonstrate that they're there and watching than anything else.

They are used to catch people who are excessively speeding, but that isn't their primary purpose.  If they weren't there, then there would be people who would rob banks and then just hop on a fast bike to get away.  Getting away from a heli with infrared/night vision is damn near impossible, so it acts as a deterrent for major crimes.

[Piute]

  My ole Shovel head would wobbled at 95-100 then at 110-120 the front tire would float I could literally turn my bars and still go straight,Bike was not designed to be ridden that way at all ,made lots of changes and all worked for the better but got a shake type wobble at 120+ took it to my mechanic ,Right then he drained the front tubes into mesuring tubes,2oz difference in each other.

[shinyribs]

Okay.Updates and corrections...

First things first-my bike will NOT do 120 in 2nd. My bad,my apologies.Sorry.No excuses,I was just plain wrong.

I got the Trapster to download-which is awesome!!!-and taped it to my tach to check my speedo's accuracy.I checked it at 10mph increments.Heres what i got:

10-50 mph= 2mph fast     i.e.-if my speedo reads 50 im only doing 48

60-120 mph=3 mph fast   i.e.-if my speedo reads 120 im only doing 117

I could not test above 120 mph cuz my book bag started doing funky things on my back and felt like it wanted to pull me off the bike to my left.*pucker*

I lingered at each speed for several seconds.Not sure the exact amount of time,but enough to let the Trapster get settled in.

After checking my speedo I removed my phone from the tach and tested each gear for rpms on my way back home. I took the book bag off and left it by a road sign during this part of the test. This is what each gear is worth at 9500rpm which is where the redline is on my tach.

1st gear-55mph

2nd gear-95mph

3rd gear-125mph

4th gear-just wont go past 138 or so.

The first pass in fourth gear it seemed to top out at about 128-132.Not sure,I got a little wobble and aborted. I was in normal riding position.

The second pass in fourth I got low as I could.Knees,elbows and toes tucked in tight.Elbows pulled in tight to my sides and chin right on the gas tank.My chin buckled scratched my freshly painted tank a little but hey,it was in the name of science. I also tucked my jeans down in my socks cuz they were flapping around real bad on the previous pass.

With everything all tucked in tight the bike topped out right at 138,give or take 1mph or so.Given my speedo is a tad off I guess you could call it 135 +/- 1mph. Maybe not. We'll try again with a camera recording the data while I concentrate on driving.

That being said my sprockets are slightly deeper than stock. Stock calls for 18/45  mine are 18/48.Very slight difference in final drive ratio. But a stock bike SHOULD be able to have a higher mph per gear/rpm than me. According to the math at least.

18/45= a 2.5 final drive

18/48= a 2.666 final drive.

That 0.166 difference is probably only worth a few hundred rpms at best.Dont hold me to that,I havent done the math on that yet.

Sorry for the confusion earlier guys.Again,my bad

[Thorby]

The amount of detail from your experiment well makes up for the 2nd gear typo.

When I ride at 70 mph, sitting straight with my back perpendicular to the ground, winds calm, I don't see what the big deal is with the sport bikes that get your back parallel to the ground since I didn't notice that big a push on my chest from the wind. But then I was forgetting sports bikes can go way faster than 70 mph.

What difference in handling and comfort did you feel at top speed when sitting perpendicular vs horizontal?

[shinyribs]

About 3 mph.Thats about it. I actually felt like I had less control with my arms tucked in tight.Mainly because it had my wrists at a funky angle. I wish I could tweak the end of my bars in about 1" per side,but my steering is already reduced to half to keep them from hitting the tank as is.But with my clubmans I already sit leaned forward to begin with. It was not a huge change in posture for me.Not as much as it would be with a stock seat and bars. This pic is not with clubmans,but upside down stock bars.The clubmans are about 2" higher,but since I am sitting on the frame in this pic the angle equals out with clubmans and my seat.When I rode tucked low tonight my chest and chin were dead on the tank.I won't do it again.It really did not feel good. Plus the vibrations from the tank thru the helmet made my eye glasses vibrate a little which is why I am not 100% positive about the top speed around the 135 mph mark. I know it was close,but I couldnt be positive which side of the tick mark the needle was on. But is sho' was fun!!!  Oh,and Thorby...you got a CB750..you ARE on a sport bike brother!

[cdaiscool]

Awesome write-up! Your mistake is officially forgiven.

[Re-run]

Yeah I 'spose we could let him off the hook this time. it might help us forget if we saw another pic of his women... Wow the creeper is strong with me today!  Ok OK I am just kidding! I just got to work a bit ago and we were talking about being trainers to women wrestlers!

Nice little experiment though!

[TOOLS1]

"I just got to work a bit ago and we were talking about being trainers to women wrestlers!"
That's funny. I have been trying to get my sisters, and nieces to start a Roller Derby team.
TOOLS

[shinyribs]

Well its good to know I have been forgiven!

Another pic of my women?!?!How many do you think I have?! Ones enough...actually too much at times,to be honest.

The Creeper Syndrome happens to the best of us.At least we hope,but female wrestlers are just not something that gets me revved up...of course Mickie James was a lil hottie. See now you got my creeper enflamed!And roller derby...man...that just stirs up some...particular thoughts.I'll not go there

Does anyone know of a bolt steering dampner,or should I just shoot for universal and save coin?

[Piute]

                                             BAd baD BAD ,Go to the
                                              Way to much fun

                                         Just A Lil Boy with his new Toy ,

                                                      BE SAFE BUD


                          remember my 1st ride on my 1st NEW bike ( 03/15/05)
                     Think I gave A  ?  it was low 30s and had no motocyle class lic. at the time

[shinyribs]

LOL  New toy is right. Im done with the high speed stuff for now. I just wanted numbers. Blame it on the drag racer gene I suppose. With the Trapster I'm pretty confident of what the bike will do.No more need for testing. Toolbabe's accident scared me last night! If she got hurt that bad at whatever speed she was going,imagine it at 130+....I gotta remember,this ride ain't gotta a roll cage like my other ones have.

[TOOLS1]

Toolbabe was only going 5 MPH, or, so. She had just pulled away from a stop sign, and turning left. Hit the curb, and high-sided. Last year my son-in-law laid his Buell down at 120+ MPH. Scuffed up his jacket a little on one sleeve, but he never got a scratch. You just never know.
TOOLS

[shinyribs]

Wow! Lucky guy! It is amazing to watch the pro riders when they go down,slide foreeever and then jump right back on the bike. Amazing

[Thorby]

Shinyribs I think its all in the gear.  I dont plan to fall but I try my best to dress for safety.  If cancer didnt kill me why would I let a silly bike do that?

[shinyribs]

Good point! Well,I'm glad to hear you beat cancer.Very few do. We have some cancer survivors in my family. Yeah,good gear is the way to go.I am concerned about my legs If I go down ,but cant bring myself to wear chaps.LOL. I guess I'll just stick with my armored jacket and gloves and full face helmet for now. Have fun on your road trip!

[Thorby]

Lol! I was actually considering, wondering how I'd ever wear chaps after reading that post on how leather best resists the sandpapery road. But for our benefit: Professional racers dont wear chaps. Maybe we can find those race pants on sale...

[Piute]

   Hey Rib's .
  Have that beutiful Lady of yours sew leather patches on a good pair of jeans ,double layer in a fewplaces ,
 I once had a pair that I just kept adding patches to ,different colors leather and shapes few stupid patches too Got lots of comments , Gave to Lil cuzz when didn't fit .
 I have afew leather shirts I lov e to wear ,silk lined with tank "T" underneath real cool compared to heavy jaket.
                                                             deer skin

[shinyribs]

I'm perusing Cyclegear now LOL

[shinyribs]

Not a bad idea Piute

[shinyribs]

Is this a good kind of steering damper? Made in Thailand. Shipping seems kinda rough to me,but when you look at dampers from online cycle stores (various ones)dampers run from $250-400 for the shock tube type. I think that price is just ridiculous. I had no idea some guys were dumping that kind of coin on this stuff!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/270mm-Universal-Motorcycle-Steering-Damper-7way-Adjust-BLACK-Kawasaki-Suzuki-/220964839432?hash=item337287e008&item=220964839432&pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr