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Triple Digits

2K views 60 replies 37 participants last post by  kangkong 
#1 ·
So, some of you may remember my first thread where I talked about getting the 02 F4i and how I am "different" and how I "would be responsible". Well, something about having a sportbike that brings out the best. After putting ~1,200+ miles on it without incident - my last day in Hawaii I was running late coming back from the North Shore. On the H2 doing about 70-75 (traffic flow is usually 60-65) - hit the H1 freeway and the car-pool lane and open her up to a bit over 110mph.

I gotta say, it felt great and scared the shit out of me at the same time. After about 2 minutes I actually had to tell myself "Slowdown, dumbass!". Back her down to 65mph and finished cruising home. Just goes to show ya, all you noobs who say you are different and you won't speed - bullshit. There WILL come a point where your bike whispers to you "Come on...let's go fast." :cheers
 
#3 ·
Agreed. I like the thrill of speed every once in a while. Then I remember the kids and wife at home and slow the hell down. Good thread!
 
#4 · (Edited)
Am I the only one that, at speeds over about 70mph, starts thinking about your chain; tires; etc. and what would happen if any one of them failed? It's odd, it seems about 65mph is my comfort threshold - any thing above that and my self-preservation module kicks in and I slow myself back down. I was actually kinda kicking myself for even opening it up as much as I did - in the middle of the day (a Saturday) with light traffic on the roads. Then again, I think to myself, it was the last time I will get to ride the bike for 40 days until it gets to Arizona - so I am kinda glad I finally opened her up and had a little fun...
 
#6 ·
Am I the only one that, at speeds over about 70mph, starts thinking about your chain; tires; etc. and what would happen if any one of them failed? It's odd, it seems about 65mph is my comfort threshold - any thing above that and my self-preservation module kicks in and I slow myself back down.
I sometimes think about those things but then I remember that my maintenance habits would prevent that. Good maintenance = less problems.
 
#7 ·
Just goes to show ya, all you noobs who say you are different and you won't speed - bullshit. There WILL come a point where your bike whispers to you "Come on...let's go fast." :cheers

hell yea!

i am pretty self disciplined, and on my 250 I hit about 105ish

I had my zx-6r for about 3 months before hitting triple digits..

man oh man, everything up until 120ish feels just fine, but after 130 you really fucking feel the difference LOL
 
#17 ·
Yeah, its not the bike. Before bikes I went into triple digits with my mustang, DSM, audi and even my freakin civic.

Its not age either. I'm almost 34 and opened my VFR up to hit 150+ indicated. You just get better at picking your spots and not getting tickets for it. :twofinger

Stay safe. Ish. As my wife says (usually to justify something bad) "You need something from life."
 
#11 ·
Some good points. I never understand people on here who get an ultra-fast sportbike then claim to ride slowly and responsibly 100% of the time. Opening it up every once in a while is OK, I think. You just have to wait until you have enough experience to handle it, pick the right moments, and know that you are always taking some risk.

If you ride like that all the time, statistics are gonna catch up with you.
 
#18 ·
Exactly. Like we all say - it all about how much risk you are willing to take on and how well you can manage that risk.

I can honestly say - after 1,200 miles I have the experience to handle 110mph in a straight line on a thruway with ideal conditions - however, add something like someone swerving into my lane; headshake; etc - I'm not sure I would have had enough experience to handle that correctly. Though, one doesn't really know until you are put into that situation...
 
#12 ·
I've been riding for two years and just opened her up a couple weeks ago. I95 3 or 4 am, hadn't seen a car for about 20 minutes and she was begging for it. I got up to 145 on the speedo, saw an red splotchy object inbetween the lanes that was a larger animal and that scared the piss out of me so I slowed down. I felt stupid the whole way home.
 
#24 ·
is this where we give you a trophy ? i don't get it. Gratz on being irresponsible ?
:lao You did read more than just my post, right? If not, go back and read the whole thread...I'll wait for you.

Done?

Right. Just being honest and sharing my experience - which it seems is pretty similar to what a lot of riders do/go-through. :eatpop

BTW - Do me a favor and go to Ted's and get a footlong then to Charlie the Butchers and have two beef on 'wecks. God I miss that food.
 
#23 ·
It really in no comparison in a cage - safety aside it is just so easy to speed to excess in a car/truck and not even get an adrenaline boost. I used to run my shitty little '87 Escort up to 80mph all the time. My Z28 over a 110mph all the time. Hell, I did a 600 mile trip in my '02 Xterra at about 90-95mph the whole time.

But, on a bike...well, if you don't get an adrenaline boost when you are climbing fast and break 85mph-90mph on up to mid triple digits - then you are either a shit-scary rider or have some serious balls of platinum.
 
#27 ·
When I had my old bike('01 Gixxer 750 before I wrecked it) I had a different attitude. I used to drag race my buddy on his R1 and beat him on public roads. I wanted to see how fast it would go(183 indicated). I was not scared because I was invincible. After the wreck and waiting 4 years to get another bike, my attitude is completely different. I am actually scared of the bike and have a great deal of respect for it. I just want to cruise now. I actually haven't even had it over 80 in a 70. For anyone who thinks it is acceptable to be doing 100+ on the streets, just think about how quick things happen at that speed. There are plenty of things that could happen that even the most experienced rider couldn't recover from. Good luck and stay safe out there. Just remember that just cause these bikes can do 150+, it doesn't mean that we have to.
 
#29 · (Edited)
I don't do 100mph+ very often. The highest I have had my 07 cbr 600rr was 130mph (indicated on speedo). Late night, hardly any traffic in sight. And that was fast enough for me. I usually keep it below 80mph. Last week I hit 170 km/h (around 105mph I think) on a 100 km/h highway, and saw a copper with his radar a little over 1 km away, needless to say I braked..... hard.

Looking at the horizon when riding fast helps :p
 
#30 ·
The biggest issue with myself is that speed doesn't scare me. Yeah, more times than not, I think about the what-if's, but it just doesn't bother me. And every vehicle I've had, I for some reason feel the need to "see how fast it goes", even if I know the supposed top speed. I've had a car up to 163, my bike up to 180 (all indicated, of course). 120+ has been seen so many times in the last 5 years that it's not even exciting anymore. 100 feels like it could be 65, and so on.

So many I've talked to/read from think that anything over 100 is just insane, and that may be true, but I'd be comfortable cruising at 130+ if I knew there were no LEO's to worry about. I'm not bragging about being a speed junky either, because I know that it's really not a good thing (on public roads). However, high speed is not something I do even 10% of the time I ride/drive, and I'd never do it around anyone to put them in danger.

I find it much more fun getting my kicks around curves (even though I'm still speeding around them, but nowhere near what can be done on straights, obviously), but I do find myself feeling the need to just GO sometimes when the conditions are in my favor. I guess I just try and convince myself that as long as it's just me that can get hurt(yeah yeah, I know about mentally hurting family, friends, etc), then there's nothing wrong with opening a vehicle up every once in a while.
 
#31 ·
Honestly I hit 140+ pretty much every weekend when we all go out and "play" in the wee hours of the morning. Its all about picking the right spots at the right time. You wont catch me breaking 90 in the day time and when there is traffic out but when its 3 am and there's no traffic, the turnpike is where we play at. Its a rush
 
#33 ·
Java ....I agree.

THIS SHOULD BE THE MAIN REASON NOVICE RIDERS SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM SUPERSPORTS...

It's not that you aren't responsible, it is that you are HUMAN. And by that fact you will ALWAYS do things at one point or another that are TOTALLY OUT OF CHARACTER. I have seen it happen first hand with myself, those that are close to me, and via plenty stories of the lucky ones that did not have any unfortunate accidents...

Thanks for sharing...
 
#34 ·
Fastest I've gone is 85 mph (indicated).

In all fairness, though, a 250 can't even hit 120. Plus, the only roads long enough for me to hit triple digits safely are superslabs. And I try to avoid using them due to the crosswinds that send me from one lane into the other.
 
#35 ·
>"Awesome. Posts like this really get me excited to start doing trackdays and track classes - I see it as a "grown up" MSF."<

If you're coming to the Phoenix area, and it sounds like you are, be advised that today it's ~115 deg. It's nice riding early in the AM, but it hits 100 early.

It doesn't cool off below 100 until 10-11 PM. Could stay this way thru Sept.
 
#36 ·
Yeah, been here in Lake Havasu for the past 4 days. It IS hot as hell...I think I am going to need to get a mesh jacket. The leather was OK in 85*-90* weather in Hawaii (which felt cooler because of the moisture) - but I think it would almost be dangerous to ride in the leather in 115* weather.
 
#37 ·
You think the moisture feels cooler?! You're loco, broski! HUMIDITY SUCKS!!!! I should know, I live on the East Coast, and when it's 90 degrees and 80% humidity it feels slow death. I'm sure 115 dry is ridiculous, but I wouldn't say 90 degrees with moisture would feel any cooler.
 
#52 ·
Living in Central FL, I assure you that heat without humidity is much worse. The air is stagnant here and seems to cover you with a blanket while it's 95. But when it's 95 with 0 humidity it sucks moisture from your body so fast it's tiring. It can be hard to walk a block.

I'd take humidity any day over zero humidity if it's 95 or over.
 
#38 ·
Speed...

I always hit triple digits when I go out but only for a couple of seconds or so before I go back to my cruising speed of about 75mph. I've seen 127 on my speedo only once. I could get used to that but not the fines and the insurance rates. Hey, when you have a liter, you will go fast.
 
#40 ·
A reason not to do it on the street...

I was back home this weekend for my 20 year HS reunion. My mom works at the police station and she told me about an accident last week. A guy went out and bought a bike two weeks earlier, he popped his girl on the back and decided it would be great fun to hit 100+mph on a street. He t-boned a car, killed the driver, himself and his girl. I feel sorry for the girl and the driver, but the asshat on the bike deserved it. If you ride in the tripples on the street then you threaten the lives of everyone around you. If the accident doesn't kill you, the general public should be allowed to beat your ass to death.
 
#43 · (Edited)
I consider myself a very level-headed rider, and ride my bike in much the same way I drive my car. I stay in my lane, go with the flow of traffic, obey the speed limits (for the most part haha), etc... But the GSXR 750 that I just got accelerates so effortlessly that is very tough NOT to hit triple digit speeds. If you're cruising on the freeway in sixth gear at say 75 - 80 (typical freeway traffic speed), all it takes is a short twist of the wrist and you're going 100mph. I can't imagine what a liter is like.

My YZF moves pretty well too, but you have to work at it more. You really have to make a concious decision "I'm going to crank it up to 100" to get there. Both bikes feel so planted and secure at high speeds. My first bike was an FZ6 and that thing was kinda scary at high speeds on the freeway.

So to make a long story short, I've done it too, though I try to reserve those shenanigans for the freeway at night (696 here locally is relatively blemish free and traffic is usually pretty light in the evening after say 11pm. It is also very well lit). I think the fastest I've ever gone was 110 mph. I'll do it for a second, then back off. That's enough for me.
 
#44 ·
Not gonna lie, I've hit triples on an empty backroad straight away and it does feel good but I'd never do it on the streets and especially with traffic. I think the main thing is to be concious of when and where you're doing it, know the road and all that. If you do it to show off or because someone else is doing it, that's when things can go tragically.
 
#45 ·
Grats on your first triple digits! Once you get used to it you could come ride with me and my friends.. we were running about 160 between cars the other day in a school zone, it was awesome til we passed a cop, he looked pretty pissed when we threw our beer cans at his car as we blew by him (we were pretty wasted). The fun always ends when we hear a loud crash behind us though and then we gotta split up and hide... Good times...
 
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