Cruising Speed

[Spitfire]

Great site, though everyone seems to be in North America? Now I'm worried that I'm pushing my GS too hard. Not top speed or acceleration, but in cruising on the good old British motorways. What's the greatest speed you can keep the bike at for an hour? 80 mph seems to have it at about 7krpm, which feels like your pushing it if it's for over an hour or two, though I prefer to cruise at about 85-90. Can it take this for long periods?

[96gs]

80mph at 7k? thats odd. On my bike at 80mph im running 6k. But I have hit about 85-95mph for about an hour and had no troubles at all.

[Jake D]

Some sort of British Cannonball Run, no doubt.  If you see Burt Renolds, tell him "big ups" for me.  

Just remember to slow down before the channel, turn around, and run her back the other way.  

[starwalt]

You've a mate from the UK, Cal Price. He can provide more insight to your question.

[Roadstergal]

I've done 80 from Seattle to Portland and back on my GS, with some faster bits tossed in.  Perfectly happy, if a little fuel-inefficient.  75 down and back got me 70mpg.

[Kerry]

That'll teach me to write longish replies to posts in the Test Area.  

Here's a copy:

Great site, though everyone seems to be in North America?

True, although there are a few here from the UK like Cal Price (and others), several from Australia / Tasmania, and a couple from Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, etc  But if you're looking for a nice UK-based site, check out www.gs500e.co.uk.

Now I'm worried that I'm pushing my GS too hard. Not top speed or acceleration, but in cruising on the good old British motorways. What's the greatest speed you can keep the bike at for an hour? 80 mph seems to have it at about 7krpm, which feels like your pushing it if it's for over an hour or two, though I prefer to cruise at about 85-90. Can it take this for long periods?

You must be riding North/South if you're going 85+ mph for 2 hours.  The whole island wouldn't be wide enough to contain you if you went  East/West at that rate, would it?    (Just kidding ya.)

To answer your final question ... Yes.  If YOU can take "the buzz" for that long, the bike certainly can.  It wouldn't hurt to vary the RPMs once in a while, but the machine won't fall apart either way.  I have ridden my '99 that way many times, particularly when crossing flat areas like Oklahoma/Kansas/eastern Colorado, or some of the desert stretches here in Utah / Nevada.

Still, you've made me curious ... where ARE you able to ride like that in the UK?

[Jake D]

I've averaged that speed in the "Silver State Classic", going out anyway.  Too much wind to keep it there on the way back.

[Spitfire]

Well the speed limit here is 70, but on the motorway people tend to cruise around 85 and more at times, depending on the traffic. I tend to sit at 85 myself, but take it down to 70 every 20 mins or so as I worry about the bike. I'm doing a lot of long distance on it at the mo (in English terms of course!) and sometimes the rev dial starts to move around quite a lot when clearly the engine isn't changing revs (it seems to rock like a metranome!) until I stop for a bit then it's ok again. Though this only happens after an hour or so at 7/8 krpm plus.

[scratch]

Now that tells me that it's time to make sure the tach cable is screwed on all the way at both ends; the bottom of the tach and the tach driven gear housing on the engine.

[Kerry]

80mph at 7k? thats odd. On my bike at 80mph im running 6k.

The ratio of MPH to RPM depends on the diameters of the tires and the number of teeth on the sprockets.

When I went from a stock 130/70-17 rear tire to a (taller) Cheng Shin 130/90-17 my RPM dropped by about 1,000 at a given speed in a given gear.

If you want higher indicated RPMs at a given speed in a given gear, go to:

A

smaller rear tire (drops the distance traveled for each revolution of the wheel; need more revs to reach same MPH)
OR
a larger front tire (gives a lower MPH reading without changing RPMs -- increase RPMs to reach same MPH)
OR
a smaller front sprocket (need more engine revs for each revolution of rear wheel)
OR
a larger rear sprocket (need more engine revs for each revolution of rear wheel)[/list:u]
If you want lower RPMs, go to:

A

larger rear tire
OR
a smaller front tire
OR
a larger front sprocket
OR
a smaller rear sprocket[/list:u]

[ashman]

Coming down thru alabama one time I had the throttle wide open for a hour or so until I was pulled over. That had to be 105+ and no ill effects from it. Except when I flew past a state troopers car parked behind some trees while doing triple digits. He said since he didnt have to chase me I could go.

Thankfully I'd been riding all day w/o ear plugs so I kept having to ask him to repeat himself which got very old since 18 wheelers were passing every few seconds.  :lol:  But ingeneral I cruise around 80-85mph. I went on a 2500 mile trip doing from 80-95 or so and no problems w/ that either.

-ash

[Cal Price]

Oh! just caught up. 80mph at 7k seems about right for my experience. If you are keeping that constant for a couple of hours you will run out of road south of London that's for sure. I don't think the bike would suffer ill-effects but the vibes might get at you.

Maybe, just maybe, you have discovered a quiet time on the M25? London orbital, in theory you could cruise like that for the whole tank-range.
Welcome, there are several of us "regular" here, a couple from Liverpool/Manachester area and "Son!c" from Margate near me.