Fast riding

[Chris Canning]

Thanks for all your replies.
I live in rural area and very rarely go on freeway, so almost no experience with tiger on expressway.  Still dont like much.
Maybe I dont have a lot of experience.I bought tiger 10 years ago and only have about 9000 mile on it.

But it seems to me that riding motorcycle are pretty dangerous anyway,but I like it . So why not be safe.

I think I will ride as close to the speed limit as I can.

Safe and motorcyle in the same sentence,your in the wrong game.

[ackme]

Hey Seth, getting a proper sized helmet is critical, not only in case of impact, but for comfort as well.  That is great advice.

The other thing you might try, if you haven't already, is earplugs.  When I started riding (which is only three years ago) they made a tremendous difference in comfort for me at anything over 50 mph.

I also whole heartedly agree with everyone that has expressed in one way or another the mantra "ride your own ride".  

The thing that strikes me about your situation is the amount of time you seem to be riding per year.  In my limited experience, I notice a re-learning curve if I am off the bike for more than a couple of weeks.  Others may have more natural talent, but for me riding is a skill that I need to practice regularly to maintain my proficiency, comfort and safety.

I know for me, 900 miles per year would not be enough to maintain or improve my skills.  Luckily, I enjoy riding more than that and have a situation that allows for it.     :)

ack

[Bixxer Bob]

Just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting anyone should ever ride beyond their comfort zone, I thought that was a given.  To do so pretty much ensures you'll be a statisitic sooner or later.

The point I was trying to make (though not as obvious as I thought) was that if you stood on your front porch in a 60, 70, 80 mph wind you'd get buffeted about a fair bit.  Perhaps maybe your expectations are a little high?

[Chris Canning]

There must be War and Piece written about wind and buffeting on Tigers,I remember not so long back seeing a screen on the other board,I had to check that it wasn't april 1st it was that big :D

[chairhead]

Sounds like the wind buffeting is spoiling your ride Sethtiger,
the correct screen,good fitting helmet and ear plugs will do wonders for you,remember with the screen "size is everything" :D,i tried big screens,for me they dident work,now i have a sports screen,i can sit at 80mph all day long,in comfort,ride as fast as you want when you want,do it in comfort and it will make a big difference to your confidence.
ride safe :D

[brad1098]

Windscreen buffeting was only one of the BIG factors for me at freeway speeds.

The other was I felt like my bike was screaming and very buzzy at crazy high rpm's. A double gear change to 19/43 solved that problem.

[D-Fuzz]

With respect to helmets, I have found the type of helmet also affects how much wind buffetting I experience when I am riding.  I have a normal HJC helmet and an Arai XD3 with the visor and oddly, I experience less buffetting on my Tiger with the XD3 than the HJC.  On my DR650, it is the opposite.  The air seems to flow better over the XD3 on my Tiger, unless I turn my head and then the old neck muscles get a jolt.

Another thing I experienced with my DR650 was the positioning on my handguards in relation to horizontal.  I tend to ride standing up a bit more on that bike and had my brake levers and handguards pivoted down a bit.  The problem I experienced was the plastics on the handguards stated to create turbulence which made speeds over 50mph almost unrideable.  I put them back to horizontal and it went away.

I've never ridden a Girly (would like to though) but I could cruise all day long on my Steamer at 80mph with no issues.  I imagine it will be something minor that will make a huge difference.  Aerodynamics at those speeds can be pretty touchy.

[WVdyhrd]

Riding a bike should be pleasant, fun and safe. Ride the way YOU feel most comfortable and up to YOUR riding skills. If your sportbike buddy does not respect you for this, then he is not a real friend. Let the idiots go. Maybe you will be the one that arrives first..... :!:

Totally agree

But if the bike isn't performing at those speeds I'd be concerned. My 01 regularly blows past the op's complaint speed without a hiccup

[MtheTiger]

ArcticTiger wrote:
Riding a bike should be pleasant, fun and safe. Ride the way YOU feel most comfortable and up to YOUR riding skills. If your sportbike buddy does not respect you for this, then he is not a real friend. Let the idiots go. Maybe you will be the one that arrives first.....  


Totally agree

Amen.

I like to push on with my Tigger when I'm on the freeway (in the Netherlands 120 km/h = speedlimit but almost all drive 130-140 km/h).
Last May I was in the UK driving at the local limit of 110 km/h fully geared up when suddenly I got startled by a moron on a racebike slammin'on the brakes right behind me and popping his exhaust. And I mean right behind me...less than 50 cm! Then flying off with breakneck speed while passing me on the wrong side.....totally crazy f%$#cker!  I bet they will scrape whats left of him of the barriers soon.