Going fast / the human element

LC4CARL

LC4CARL

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A while back I rode to Nevada and found high speed nirvana. The bike was capable, the road and weather perfect. But I was in new territory as the speedo climbed.

Taking the bike out of the equation, what are the skill sets and practical considerations of the road to consider when going fast? Like anything new, there is a learning curve. Any "do" or "do not's" from the experienced riders here?


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Relax, never panic, and know that squids do it daily, in traffic, and with no gear, lol.
But, if you're really cautious(sensable) and find yourself out in the middle of nowhere like that, it's probably a good idea to ride a couple of miles and check the road for rocks or debris, anything that could upset the bike at high speeds.
If all is clear, and there are no roadside armidillos waiting to play chicken...let er rip...
 
If you are asking about a top speed only run.....as said, body position is important....get your butt high on the rear hump, tuck in your feet, keep your elbows down and get as close to the tank as possible......

Don't put a death grip on the bars either...

Tuck in your mirrors and make sure if your riding gear isn't leather that you aren't wearing something that flaps.....

Like @sixpack577 said, do a slow pass to check the road for any potholes, obstacles or anything first....
 
Relax, never panic, and know that squids do it daily, in traffic, and with no gear, lol.
But, if you're really cautious(sensable) and find yourself out in the middle of nowhere like that, it's probably a good idea to ride a couple of miles and check the road for rocks or debris, anything that could upset the bike at high speeds.
If all is clear, and there are no roadside armidillos waiting to play chicken...let er rip...
Dnyce said:
DO NOT UNTUCK AT SPEED! being tucked distorts the windspeed (feels slower than it is) and if u come out of a tuck at high speed it can blow u off, blow a hand off, anything stupid can happen.
Click to expand...

I've taken my left hand off at around 180, relaxed it, and my arm instantly blew behind me like a rope, lmao, but it was easy to grab the bar again.
I've topped out my B-king(derestricted), and 180's is alot of wind, the 1000's don't feel nearly as stable as the Busa at top speed either.
I've sat up in the 180's several times to let the wind slow me down too, it's a big blast, lol
 
sixpack577 said:
Relax, never panic, and know that squids do it daily, in traffic, and with no gear, lol.
But, if you're really cautious(sensable) and find yourself out in the middle of nowhere like that, it's probably a good idea to ride a couple of miles and check the road for rocks or debris, anything that could upset the bike at high speeds.
If all is clear, and there are no roadside armidillos waiting to play chicken...let er rip...

I've taken my left hand off at around 180, relaxed it, and my arm instantly blew behind me like a rope, lmao, but it was easy to grab the bar again.
I've topped out my B-king(derestricted), and 180's is alot of wind, the 1000's don't feel nearly as stable as the Busa at top speed either.
I've sat up in the 180's several times to let the wind slow me down too, it's a big blast, lol
Click to expand...

I don't know why it quoted my other post.
Alot of strange glitches lately.
 
Got in a few hours today. At one point I had the road to myself. 120 or so. Balls of me feet on the pegs, loose grip, chest down / seat to the rear, knees against the tank.

But, boy howdie, 120 is idling on these bad boys. It takes nerve to really see the potential of one of these. After three years, I'm more comfortable with the acceleration and speed, but a true "high speed" run occurs rarely for me. As you guys illustrate, I think one should focus on the basics: Pre-ride the road if possible, look ahead / where you want to go, if it feels uncomfortable / slow down, and try not to think about how that two-lane black top keeps getting narrower and narrower.

When I was riding dirt bikes, there where times that I wanted to allow the motorcycle to move around beneath me. To have the bike's mass and my mass seperate. Ish. I think there is an element of that in riding a street bike fast. If the bike hits a bump at speed and you are fully seated, I could see it bucking the rider to some extent. But if the bike is allowed to move around somewhat, while the rider floats above it (sorta), the mass of the rider stays more or less consistent while the machine moves around. Within limits.
 
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Heavily forested areas are risky because you can’t see what might be behind the trees. I had a lil drama one day south of Hollister on hiway 25 making a speed run when a tumbleweed blew into my forks around 175. It disintegrated like it was in a wood chipper. When I stopped to assess things I found a needle from the tumbleweed had lodged itself under the left fork seal wiper. Had to get new seals as the left started to leak. Side winds have moved me over several feet a couple times at speed. (That) was upsetting. Upsetting is a nice way to say it skeered the shiiiite outta me. Regardless, I feel compelled to seek out a top speed on all my bikes. :) Traffic was so sparse I coulda had a picnic in the middle of the road in CA, NV and OR.
 
LC4CARL said:
Got in a few hours today. At one point I had the road to myself. 120 or so. Balls of me feet on the pegs, loose grip, chest down / seat to the rear, knees against the tank.

But, boy howdie, 120 is idling on these bad boys. It takes nerve to really see the potential of one of these. After three years, I'm more comfortable with the acceleration and speed, but a true "high speed" run occurs rarely for me. As you guys illustrate, I think one should focus on the basics: Pre-ride the road if possible, look ahead / where you want to go, if it feels uncomfortable / slow down, and try not to think about how that two-lane black top keeps getting narrower and narrower.

When I was riding dirt bikes, there where times that I wanted to allow the motorcycle to move around beneath me. To have the bike's mass and my mass seperate. Ish. I think there is an element of that in riding a street bike fast. If the bike hits a bump at speed and you are fully seated, I could see it bucking the rider to some extent. But if the bike is allowed to move around somewhat, while the rider floats above it (sorta), the mass of the rider stays more or less consistent while the machine moves around. Within limits.
Click to expand...
I honestly don't know fast I've gone on my Bumblebee although one time I was on a long road, tucked with an unrestricted bike and a 190/55 tire..

When I let off the throttle, the needle on the speedo took a while to go to 300kms/hr so I was probably around 190mph or so...

I really thought it would be more dramatic......
 
WuzzaCBXRider said:
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Heavily forested areas are risky because you can’t see what might be behind the trees. I had a lil drama one day south of Hollister on hiway 25 making a speed run when a tumbleweed blew into my forks around 175. It disintegrated like it was in a wood chipper. When I stopped to assess things I found a needle from the tumbleweed had lodged itself under the left fork seal wiper. Had to get new seals as the left started to leak. Side winds have moved me over several feet a couple times at speed. (That) was upsetting. Upsetting is a nice way to say it skeered the shiiiite outta me. Regardless, I feel compelled to seek out a top speed on all my bikes. :) Traffic was so sparse I coulda had a picnic in the middle of the road in CA, NV and OR.
Click to expand...

Side winds are scary for sure. No bueno.
 
LC4CARL said:
Side winds are scary for sure. No bueno.
Click to expand...
I've had them catch me in the middle of a corner and they suck especially if they are funneled through a break in the trees and I couldn't see leaves moving to prepare......

When I was racing a huge side gust hit us on the end of the straight as we were all setting up for the first chicane.....it almost blew us into each other and off the track...
 
LOVE sitting around 70 on a SoCal freeway, waiting for a break in traffic and a roll-on to 140 indicated (GPS of 130) just to get around someone.
Did that today! A lot. Also lane splitting for 20+ mi on that same run cuz, you know, SoCal + holidays
Open road flat out? Meh ... I like moving objects spread across lanes
With sustained speeds over 130-ish I get concerned about component failure (wheel bearings, e.g.) at that speed.
Cuz I'm old - really old - and maint lazy
 
LC4CARL said:
I had my front tire rebalanced. Feels better. But the machine starts to feel cruder / angrier as I twist the grip from the far side. Like I have unleashed the beast. It's disconcerting. More investigation required...
Click to expand...

One thing to remember is that the Hayabusa was conceived and designed for high speed, that's what it was meant to do.

People on this forum regularly run their Hayabusas to the max.....

You'll be fine....
 
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