Highway and Interstate advice and tips sought for 65-75 mph

[zack]

I've been lurking a while, first post. I have an 82 cb750k, 82 cm450c, 2011 cbr250, and an 81 cb650c (not running yet). I want to ride on I-93, I-95, and the Mass Pike around Boston comfortably.

Do people have any general advice on gear for highway riding? I've got a small windshield (like the size of a pizza) on one of my bikes, and it seems to help with the wind some. What's your opinion on windshields and/ or fairings?

Does the wind, at its strongest, pose a significant safety concern? How do you deal with wind?

Does the size of bike matter? Will a bigger motorcycle feel or be more stable at 70 mph? If so, is it due to the weight of the bike, the engine power, both, or something else?

What do you do to get the most out of highway riding? (Not necessarily touring, as in vacation travels, but even just commuting, shopping, visiting here often requires an hour on a very crowded highway through a big tunnel under the city and over windy bridges.)

Also, I plan to move to LA within a year, where I assume freeway riding will be daily.

I welcome any and all discussion on life at 75 mph.

[Deer Slayer]

A heavier bike tends to be a bit more stable resisting push from the wind. Fairings are great at relieving fatigue if you spend a lot of time riding the interstates, I have an old vetter fairing that works just fine. If you get a fairing, just make sure it's one of the frame mounted type. The ones that mount to the forks tend to steer you if there are gusts from the side. More power is always better, but a properly designed fairing shouldn't add any extra drag.

[seestheday]

A lot of things will impact the stability of the bike.

More weight = more inertia.  More power (usually) = more weight, and it will also allow you to accelerate out of problems.

How big of a guy are you?  If you're a little guy then you might be able to get away with that Cbr250 on the highway.  I know I've seen them being ridden where I am by little dudes.  I wouldn't recommend it though.

Rake/length also plays a big part in highway stability.  A bike with a short wheelbase will turn and corner very easily but not feel as stable at high speeds.
Steering stabilizers can help with this.

A bike with a long wheelbase will feel very stable at speed, but will not be able to take sharp turns.

[dyelawn]

Freeway driving in LA, huh?

One thing to consider is that riding a motorcycle in California is different from almost everywhere else.  In California it is legal to "lane-split", which means you are able to share lanes with cars, drive in between lanes and between cars, weave in and around traffic while it is stopped/slow moving, etc.  What it actually boils down to is that you are able to pretty much drive your motorcycle wherever you want.  Most of California is primarily focused on keeping traffic moving, and to this end motorcycles are generally tolerated to do whatever they want as long as they aren't in anybody else's way.  In most cases, even if a cop didn't like what you were doing, the chances of him/her catching you while they are stuck in traffic and you are zooming down the spines of lanes is near impossible, and they usually don't even try.

This is very exciting to a lot of guys, but it obviously poses a serious risk.  Highway driving in California is "cut-throat" to say the very least, and you will often see both cars and motorcycles do very stupid things to get around each other.  When you move to LA take some time WITHOUT lane spitting to learn the general etiquette that others follow, and recognize your comfort level.  It's a whole 'nother ballgame out here.

I should say that this is at least how it works in Oakland/East Bay where I am.  I can't speak with too much experience for the rest of the state.  But I hear that maybe the only place with worse traffic than the Bay Area is LA, so I imagine the freeway zoo system there to be at least as insane as it is here.

If this is something you want to do, smaller bikes without fairings, without saddlebags/luggage, and with small mirrors is what is most valuable here.

[Truck]

I would recomend against the smaller bikes.  The thing you must remeber is that you don't want to have full throttle to keep up with traffic.  You want to have some safety throttle left to get youself out of trouble.  I would also reconmend getting some time in off highway at speed until you get comfortable with that bike before you get on the highway. As for fairings and windsheilds that is a personel preference. I used to commute on the highway twice a day on my Virgo without a windshield and had no problems. Again, that comes into getting on the bike and seeing how it feels to you. Hope this helps and good luck!

[zack]

Thanks all. These are some helpful insights.

I had absolutely not considered fork rake and wheelbase length. But it makes sense--it's the inverse of what people seem to be talking about when they talk about small, "flickable" bikes and riding on curvy roads. I will have to go to the garage and just look at the forks and wheelbases, and see if I can even see the difference among my bikes.

Re size, I am 6', 200 lbs. Interestingly, the cbr250 fits me better than my cm450. On the 450, I sit on line that separates the "front seat" from the "back seat", or my knees stick out sideways. But I can pick up on what you were describing. At 60 mph, the cb750 seems to still have the power to pull up to 85 mph at a moment's notice, whereas the cbr250 feels like it is maxing out.

Where does one shop for a frame-mounted fairing? The only web site I could find is "not taking orders." Where have people gotten them before?

Does anyone think that very high wind is a real safety concern? I guess I am curious about how instable the bike is. Has anyone ever heard of a bike being blown over, or out of its lane, in the wind?

Finally, despite a nation full of reasonable people who will disagree with me, one of the reasons I choose to live in Boston or LA is driving. Those are the two cities in which I have found that, overall, there seems to be a collective understanding of effective driving--just the right mix of laissez faire and an overall spirit of "keep it moving".