Bikes and speeding

[stinkwheel]

Now, maybe just me but every time I hear about a story on the news about how "X biker was caught doing y mph, isn't this terrible etc". I just think "You really have no idea do you?".

Now I know how I ride and frankly, I break the speed limit everywhere I go, sometimes by quite a lot.

For example, I do not consider a cruising speed of 80-90mph in a half decent 60 limit to be at all unreasonable. On dual roads or motorways I generally sit at a ton with the occasional forray up to "warp-speed" if it's clear and I'm getting bored.

I don't regard this as pushing my abilities and it certainly isn't pushing the bike. I'd go so far as to say I reckon anything under 80 on a motorway is 'dawdling'.

If the police/press took a datalog of my average ride to somewhere I'd have my licence taken off me and a huge fine. If I was going for a 'spirited ride' I'd probably land up in jail.

All this for what I personally feel to be a (except on odd occasions where I 'go off on one') pretty safe and staid style of riding, keeping well within the limits of what I and the bike can easily handle. I genuinely don't consider myself to be a fast rider.

No real point to this, just wondering if anyone else felt the same or had any other oppinions.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[pwntifex]

In my opinion, there is a very big difference between a car doing 90 on a NSL road and a bike doing the same.
____________________
the warped one: This is a follow up from the thread 'my willy hurts'

[CortezTheKill...]

Stinkwheel I feel exactly the same as you.

But Pwntifex, though I agree with you to about the difference between a car and a bike at 90, it'd be very hard to convince car drivers and policy makers of that.
____________________
SV650 - TRASHED
ZX636R C6F - SOLD
Current number of wheels: 0 (not including a bicycle).

[phk6]

in towns im usualy at leat 10mph over the speed limit even when i try to stick to it, i know where cameras are, and i know where they put the speed traps so i slow down for them.

on country roads which are out of built up areas ill go any where between 60-130 althought i spend most of my time at 70-90mph on these roads as i find that its a nice speed range so that oyur making progess and not going "to" fast

motorways bore the shit out of me so its as fast as i can get away with all the time

aslo on the matter of bikes and cars at 90mph i know on a good dry day i can get from 90 to 30 mph in the matter of 3-4 seconds with no problem, i dont think the average car could do that.
____________________
Current .. 2008 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure ..
Before .. 2003 Yamaha Fazer 1000 .. 2004 Kawazaki Z1000 .. 2003 Suzuki Sv1000s .. 1999 zx6r Track Bike .. 1999 CB 500 Cup ..
/Phil

[numpty]

I agree entirely with what you just said. Bikes are victimised a lot. The amount of times I've heard bikes screaming up the sliproad onto the motorway and someones said ''those bloody bikes speeding again.'' For all they know the chap could have simply left it in first gear just to hear the sound of the engine.

With regards to sitting at a ton on the motorways I can't see the problem people have with it. Most of the cars that overtake me on the motorway are doing at least 90. Aside from a track there is no safer place to do those sort of speeds than a nice, clear motorway.

Another thing that I think contributes to the ''all bikes speed'' impression is that bikes are a lot smaller than cars. A small object will appear to be going faster than a larger object travelling the same speed. A good example of this is trains. They buzz around at 100mph+ but they don't look like they are going that fast because of their sheer size.
____________________
Current bike: CBR600F-Y

[-Savage-]

On average, as far as i can tell, bikes are more capable, and so are the riders. Bikers are more aware of road conditions, other vehicles, weather, wind, lighting, road surface, etc as well as knowing how worn your tyres are, when you last changed brake pads, checked the chain etc.
this i feel means a biker is in far more control of the situation than a car driver, and thus is able to safely travel at higher speeds.

Pity this doesnt get into the people who matters heads.

perhaps there should be a second test, an advanced riding test, allowing bikes to travel at higher speeds once you have proven you are a capable rider.
____________________
My Bikes - - - Royal Enfield 500 with sidecar, VFR800, CBR600FX,
Peugeot Speedfight 100, Kymco Hipster 125, GSXR750K5, Jawa TS 350

[froggeh]

I agree. Speed limits for me are in my brain. ie what I feel safe with in the conditions I m faced with.
If I am on a country road with loads of visibility then 70/80/90+ can be safe. On an open empty motorway 130 is safe.
Whereas a housing estate with a 30 limit, 30 is too fast IMO

Although I do think on a twisty NSL a modern car is safer doing speed, as you can stand on the brakes at any time with 4-wheel ABS.

[pwntifex]

[numpty]

[wristjob]

[pwntifex]

[colin1]

the problem is that some people can ride at ban speeds on a regular basis and never have an accident, or even at go to jail speeds, however other people who try to do the same can kill themselves or other people

you dont ever know which of these sorts of person you are until you go your whole life without killing yourself or someone else

its a fine line between riding god, and dangerous twat, as ace bikers threads illustrate quite nicely

dangerous twats, generally think they are riding gods, but not all who think they are riding gods are dangerous twats

thats why speed limits have to be set at the level of the lowest ability in the wet
____________________
colin1 is officially faster than god

[CortezTheKill...]

Watch out people, there's a safety nazis vs speed demon fight coming along any time now...
____________________
SV650 - TRASHED
ZX636R C6F - SOLD
Current number of wheels: 0 (not including a bicycle).

[wilbur]

Errm well . What little I can add. I speed when I consider it to be reasonably safe.

Speed limits are nonsense anyway.

In Surrey you have to pootle around.

Go out into Hampshire and you can have great fun. If I think I'm about to lose it I back off.

Wilbur

[Paddy Blake]

On a 400cc 80 mph is fine,on a 600 100 is fine.But on the 1000 at
100 mph I feel I only just got into top gear and but better take it easy
because of the law.So only the odd time I give it a blast.

Paddy.

[Luke_Retrofly]

Hi
Its not uncommon for me to hit 140+ on the dule carridge way to and from work when the road is clear, I never see this as dangerous, only to myself, (there was one time the other day when i came off the power sharply and went over a bump and got a nasty wobble at 140mph which is a bit of a moment) and I've been pretty much speeding constantly for 5 years, yet I myself have never seen it as dangerous or excessive.

I ride defnesively so any moment when its possible i could get pwned by a motorcar I slow down (junctions roundabouts overtaking/undertaking/traffic lights etc) infact im normally reacting to hazards infront of me a damn sight sooner than the cars ahead of me who are closer to the hazard.

I think because im either riding fast or defensively my concentration is nearing 100%, yet if im crusing at 60 on the motorway I have had to grab the break not noticing slowing down cars, and imo this is the zone that most car drivers are in, I can tell by the fact that I must have had 100's of drivers pull out on me, not seen me in my years of ridings, yet i can think of less that a half a dozen times where i have done the same, we all know that speed dosnt mean you are an unsafe driver, unfortuantly its harder to police someone looking at their fingernails while at the wheel instead of watching the road. But thats life and theres nothing you can do about it.

Ive (touch wood) not crashed on the road yet and probably averted half a dozen claims on car drivers insurance due to their ineptitude. I would class myself as a good rider, in a sense that i ride defensively and know a time and a place to go faster. Though when the police finally do catch me going 100+ none of that will be taken into consideration of course because to them speeding is against the law and I'm breaking it, fair play and the law will never get changed so I'll just have to run the risk till they take my licence.

Though I'm more worried about the old biddy making 4 lane chnages round a roundabout then cutting across to lanes to reach her exit

Luke
____________________
Flounced - Long overdue
Fuck you bitch I'm in the top 10 list I can do the what the fuck I want!

[Ichy]

[Paddy Blake]

Ichy at 30 mph mine will stop nearly there and them.Well a few feet but
not many.

[Walloper]

Ahh... the penny drops...

Stinkwheel is the alter ego of acebiker.

OK just a bit posher.

I blast it every time I can.

Only caught once in a sucker trap.

I do not speed in town. Too many variables to factor. Easier to keep to the limit and not atract attention..
____________________
W-ireless A-rtificial L-ifeform L-imited to O-bservation P-eacekeeping and E-fficient R-epair

[D O G]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Can't say I take any great notice of the NSL. However same applies in a car (and suspect those who think otherwise haven't driven a decently powerful car).

How much over the limit? Who knows.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[_Will_]

Agree entirely.
Yes mr average is most likey just as useless in a car as on a bike, but i would think there are far less of these on bikes really as biking is something i've always seen as more of a choice rather than neccessity in modern life, so you don't get as many bikers riding 'because they have to'.

I personally feel much safer riding at 90+ on a NSL road than in a car, i feel far more in control on the bike, in fact keeping to the set limits is a rareity i find - but i don't push myself beyond what i consider safe for the environment.

Problem is unless someone decides for seperate limits for bikes(unlikely unless we get a biking enthusiastic government soon) the limits have to stay at what they are for as someone has said ' the lowest level of skill'.
____________________
Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[Johnny GSX-R]

30mph whats that all about

This thread is part of the reason i'm selling the Hayabusa.
I cannot go out on the damn thing without the coming out and putting thoughts into my head.

I have all the best intentions of having a steady bimble and then all hell breaks free.
There isn't one person on this forum who wouldn't get addicted to the torque of the Busa trying to yank you off the back from 20mph through to the ton. How the hell 'I' have kept my licence AND keep it clean is a complete mystery to me.
I drive a diesel Land Rover mostly and it keeps me calm, as soon as i prod the start button on the Busa I become another person.

At 90mph in the Landy i feel like 'Buzz Aldrin'......90 on the bike i feel like i'm gonna nod off.

[Matt06]

At least doing 50 - 60 in 30 zones makes you feel like a 'riding god'. If the limit in 30 zones was something more like 60 it wouldnt be so much fun .

I still never quite understand the 30mph speed limit though. When you actually keep to it it feels incredibly slow and im sure no one would ever get anywhere if they didnt break it.

However, like other people have said in the thread, there are different types of riders. Some are more capable of using their bike safely at a higher speed than others. And with low speed limits it doesnt force less capable riders/drivers to 'keep up'.
____________________
Current: MT-10, Bandit, Grom, GPZ500
Previous: YBR125, GSXR400, ZXR400, MT-03, NTV650, R6, z750, ZX6R, MT-09

[matthab]

although my bikes top speed is 65mph, I will always go with the flow fo traffic if its safe to do so and theres no cameras about.

So if its 30mph and theres a busy school nearby ill stick at 30mph. But if its 30mph 11pm at night and everyones doing 40mph+ ill cruise at that speed.
____________________
2005 - 2006:Peugeot jet force 50 TDSI (sold)
2006 - Present: Yamaha YBR125 06 (extras:pilot sporty tyres and screen)