I went for a ride last sunday. I was riding with a guy who had a sportbike.
We were on the freeway for maybe 25 min. This guy wanted to ride from 75 to 80 mph. I really had a hard time keeping up. Dont get me wrong, I like to roll the tiger up to fast speeds sometimes but not for more than a few seconds. The wind was quite uncomfortable, and frankly a little scary with large trucks and traffic.
I am most comfortable at speeds from 50 to 60mph on rural roads.
What do you guys think? Can anyone relate to what I am saying?
I think you are experiencing some bad wind buffeting off of the screen. The bike should be rock solid for cruising at those speeds.
I think any fucking idiot can go fast in a straight line. Find some twisty roads.
I can go real fast on my Blackbird (up to really stupid speeds) - it has a double bubble screen which creates a still pocket of air behind it at any speed. It's a really comfortable place to be.
I can go real fast on my Tiger (easily the speeds you are talking about) - it has a Skidmarx high screen which really only keeps the bugs off. The buffeting is something I've not ever really paid any attention to as I started off on naked, screenless bikes. Keeping up with sports bikes in those days developed the neck msucles really quickly. The gusting from side winds and trucks is something you just get used to the more miles you do. You learn to anticipate the gusts coming, especially the invisible bow-wave from a big truck going the opposite direction, or riding through the bow-wave of a truck you're overtaking. Thinking about it, I spend a fair amount of time in boats and it's the same principle - the waves, be they air or water, occur in the same places. Perhaps I was taking that knowledge for granted.
Only time I've ever been really bothered by wind was on a friend's Triumph Legend which had a LAPD-style screen mounted on the handlebars. At anything above 50mph it acted like a sail and tried to steer the bike for me.
I can go real fast in a straight line and fall off in the corners. :lol:
Seriously i am surprised you struggle at 80mph. Maybe a new screen or just some more miles are needed?
Not knowing your history i dont want to make any judgements but i do remember some years back on my bike test when they took me on a major dual carriageway I thought "Jesus, I don't like this much" but now I do around 500 - 1000 miles in 24 hours on the euro highways at speeds averaging that with no probs.
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..... :!:
Quote from: "ArcticTiger"Riding a bike should be pleasant, fun and safe. Ride the way YOU feel most comfortable and up to YOUR riding skills.
:iagree
Quote from: "ArcticTiger"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..... :!:
I couldnt agree more. If that is how you feel then more riding on your own might be in order.
For what it's worth, i think motorbikes are about doing what you want, when you want. Speed, or not included.
its not how fast you ride to get there its how you get there.
A couple of months ago I went for a ride out with 20 other machines, some of the guys were fast riders some were slow riders.
The Fasties were setting the route, but when they got too far ahead they would wait for the rest to catch up and point then in direction of the intended route. then they would over take and wait again.
It worked fairly well. We lost 2 or 3 machines as someone changed the route at the last minute. but they eventually found us. it was a good days riding around south / mid Wales, think I covered about 150 miles that day.
Others I have been out with were the Triumph guys, we all rode at the same speed and stuck together, this was another great days riding.
agree with all the above ref doing your own thing, however cruising 75-80 should be comfortable on a Tiger (well on my Steamer anyway), so wonder if there is something that can be sorted to make it so for the original poster, if indeed he wants to... ?
Put me in the BB camp,I've never had the slightest problem with buffeting,all our Tiger gets used for is long distance,if it ain't going 500 miles down the road we use something else,but god knows how many 500/700 mile days we've done and one 1000 miler,normally cruise between 90/110 and thats two up.
Going off at a tangent,ride in group??,i'd rather have my toe nails pulled out with a pair of pliers,occasionally we'll travel with friends abroad,normally there'll be a couple of miles between us(aleast) they don't like it either,we can talk about the ride in the hotel at night.
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.
Another thing to consider is helmet sizing. Is your helmet too big? That can cause you a whole FWIW, my Steamer feels really good at about 85mph up to about 120 when the front wheel starts doing scary stuff. 8)
Hey Jetdocx, You might be on to something.
I measure 56 and I am wearing a medium. A medium is 57 to 58.
I will look into that.
Quote from: "SethTiger"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.
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
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? :wink:
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
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
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.
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.
Quote from: "ArcticTiger"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
QuoteArcticTiger 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.