I've noticed that on the highway with a 55mph speed limit, everyone passes me. Kids, grandma's, minivans, etc.
To stay up with the traffic flow I have to run around 62mph.
When I'm doing 55mph my tach is at 4500rpm.
At 62mph my tach is at 5000rpm
I'm running stock gears and tires. Does the mphXrpm sound compareable to anyone elses?
hnh
i'd say ur about right lol and yes ppl do'tn drive the speed limit on the highway in charleston, sc its not abnormal to see ppl flying 80 on the highways
i avoid them as much as possible
Speaking as an old guy that has been running at the speed limit for quite some time now, nobody else does. They all go 5-10 mph over - and if I'm out on the interstate most places I'll go 5-7 over just to keep up (so long as there are plenty of 10 mph over and up victims for any cop wanting to fill his quota). Just use the usual clues to look for the bear (brake lights up ahead, etc.)
On local roads I just stick to the limit and irritate (I let people pass, of course - but I won't speed up to suit them where they can't pass and ride my butt), because I've found over a long period of time that it's the best way to avoid a revenue enhancement ticket. It's not the price of the ticket that hurts, its the price of the hike in your insurance rates for several years. Not worth it. Net difference in travel time for short distances is diddly-squat. On a longer non-Interstate jaunt, the point is to enjoy the ride, not to get there faster. I've read enough research to think that the insurance hike for speeding (without any other "cause" such as DWI/OUI or "driving to endanger" is a load of crap, but it's a load of crap that no insurance-lobby fed politician is ever going to vote against, so it's essentially a permanent reality, even though it's wrong (that is, actual research shows that speeders who only speed don't have more accidents than the general population. Of course, the general population are all "speeders", which is what the revenue enhancement folks like.)
I do fondly remember when one stretch of interstate was newly up and running and apparently not on anybody's patrol list - you could run 85 mph from end to end on it without a peep, but not anymore. Anecdotally, no more accidents than any other stretch of Interstate.
Tach/speedo sounds just about spot on for stock gearing.
My speedometer reads about 10% higher than the actual speed, as measured by GPS. When my speedo reads 80, the actual speed is 72. At 62-63 indicated, the actual speed is 55. I suspect you're seeing about the same thing. If you know anyone with a handheld GPS, put it where you can read it on the bike (I used my tankbag window), and check your speedometer against it.
Quote from: highnoonhunter on July 11, 2008, 05:44:02 PM
I've noticed that on the highway with a 55mph speed limit, everyone passes me. Kids, grandma's, minivans, etc.
You must really have old grandmas around there, this greatgrandpa still runs 5-10 over most of the time. :laugh:
For a few hundred dollars less (than a GPS), put a watch with seconds where you can read it and use the milemarkers. They are fairly accurate on Interstates.
60 seconds per mile is 60 mph. Obviously the easy one.
65 seconds per mile is 55.3 mph. 66 seconds per mile is 54.5 mph
58 seconds per mile is 62 mph.
Quote from: DoD#i on July 11, 2008, 06:50:41 PM
For a few hundred dollars less (than a GPS), put a watch with seconds where you can read it and use the milemarkers. They are fairly accurate on Interstates.
60 seconds per mile is 60 mph. Obviously the easy one.
65 seconds per mile is 55.3 mph. 66 seconds per mile is 54.5 mph
58 seconds per mile is 62 mph.
Nice to see another slow-poke besides me!
Ain't no mile markers around here friend! LOL! But my dad does have a gps. I'll give that a try.
hnh
me and a buddy of mine went on a ride two weeks ago. me gs500 he has a suzuki c50
filled up and reset trips at the same time.
got to out destnation
he had 61 miles on is trip
I had 62
I think mine is off every time I pass one of those "your speed is" sighes it is alway off
Stock speedos and odometers are never accurate. Here in the UK the construction and use laws for road going vehicles state that they must not under-read but can over-read by up to 10% so I assume something similar applies in the USA. My own speedo when compared to my GPS overreads by about 8-9%.
The more accurate a speedo is, the more it costs so its a trade-off.
http://home.jtan.com/~joe/speedo.htm
here in my area they set up little radar trailers with a big sign that says speed limit XX then it has an LCD that says "YOUR SPEED"
my speedo tends to read about 5mph faster then actual (assuming the trailers are correct)
I don't have stock size tires, but at around 60 my speedo is about 5 off. At 90 it's off by about 10.
freeways at less than 60 your nuts on the freeway here in cali 80 is the norm im running at 85 90 most of the time and sometimes I still get a car of two flyin past me.
before I wrecked my old bike, I had a bicycle computer on there. it read much more accurately than my speedo and was only $30.
Is there a GS out there with an accurate speedo? My bike is out exactly 10% at all speeds (by GPS) which I find annoying, but if thats the only fault with the bike, I'm not complaining too much! Just changed to a 17 tooth front sprocket, which suits my riding (65 mile commute to work). Love the GS :)
I've noticed the same when I have my GPS hooked up. Never thought much of it before now, but its sure is interesting. I guess if there is leeway towards the speedo reading faster, you're less likely to get pegged speeding. Or just do some mental math and adjust accordingly. I'll have to pay more attention next time I'm out with GPS and see how it compares more closely. I have a fairly expensive one, so I'm hoping that the readings its giving me are fairly accurate. Its pretty on par when in the auto.