Do you like fast motorcycles?

[RWD]

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/yrtwn/swest/185swyt1.htm

[Doug]

Hi Bob,

I heard that he took the S-curve on Lake Shore Drive with the bike almost parallel to the ground. I guess the bike is one of those nose down racing bikes from what I was told.

I also heard that he said the bike does 173 mph and not 165.

Doug

[Ophidia]

Nuts. Absolutely nuts. The man must have amazing reflexes to have survived that. The road gets verrrrrrrrrrrrrry narrow at 160, and on a motorcycle to boot...

[jimhobbs]

Was he in complete control of his machine?
Well', he survived didn't he?:D

If he were capable of handling that machine at that speed, then why bother him?;)Leave him alone and go bust a crack dealer!:D

Have fun guys!

[Doug]

Hi Jim,

I think they were afraid that he would kill someone other than himself. I would think if he would have run into a car at that speed he would have cut it in half.

I must admit that he must really know how to handle a bike.

BTW, the night after that three others were racing their bikes in Chicago and cracked up. I think they were only doing 120 but I do not think they will be around to brag about it.

Doug

[jimhobbs]

Originally published in linked article:
Rogan, who was wearing a helmet, was stopped in a crackdown on motorcycle speeders that began about two weeks ago, Dougherty said.

"They don't realize the peril they're in when they're traveling at that speed," Dougherty said.


Sounds like their trying to protect us from ourselves!:eek1:
;)

[PerryinCA]

I ride a '00 YZF R6 (fastest production 600 of the year) and I'd say I hit 160 1 or 2 times a week for kicks. Highest my speedo has read was 179, but after speedo correction, it was probably in the mid sixties. The F4 is indeed a sport-bike. I gotta say its a great rush to really lay a bike over and hit the turns. The way I take to work is somwhat of a backroad, with long sweeping turns. ITs a blast. Going fast on a bike like that is like doing 75mph in a camaro. Its built for it. I've never felt like I was "on the edge". BTW, I have no tickets, and have raced at sears point and laguna seca, so I am generally in good control. Generally... :)

-Perry

[Kahuna Tuna]

Going that fast on a bike in the city is just plain nuts. Most of the riders I know who have had bad wrecks did so when a motorist either did not see them or was unable to gauge just how fast they were being overtaken. As somebody who has spent a fair amount of time both behind the wheel and on a bike I can relate to both. You are very vulnerable on a bike, much more so that a car, and if you do wreck at high speed they is a good chance you are not going to walk away.

[DD]

Ok for Starters i road race motorcycles so I think my opinion is fairly accurate; i could be wrong though!. The Honda F-4i might hit 165 with a tail wind. But it is not the kind of bike that would stick to the track in a turn at top speed in stock form. Let alone a city sreet! They are good bikes with the right mods but stock they lack the edge needed to compete.Second the stock tires are not going to hold up to those G-forces, they are street tires not race tires! I have taken some turns at well over 135mph at Road America last year; with Dunlop 207gp DOT race tires and even these broke loose a little! And these are made for racing and the speed was way less than 160.I have also crashed at over 100 so i have all the bases covered! There is only one turn in America that i can think of that guys take that fast that is turn 1 at Brainerd International Raceway, and a lot of racers cant take it that fast! If some of the nations best racers have a hard time with it some street squid with a stock f-4i does'nt stand a chance! In my opinion divide the stated speed in half and thats probably more accurate!Here is a picture of me lasrt year before road america with my zx-7r http://www.mototuneusa.com/darin.htm i piled the next round at blackhawk farms wide open in fourth gear in a fast left hander!Oh yeah the R6 was the fastest last year the new GSXR 600 is the king this year, but only by a tiny margin! These bikes are also rock solid going straight but things get different in turns especially with a bump here and there, and it is possible to go low enoughto drag your elbow

[Icarus]

Did anyone see Cops a few weeks ago? They caught a guy for stealing a Suzuki (GSXR I think). The cop chasing the bike was doing 120 and the bike was pulling away. He had to be doing 150+. Of course, thiefs being the Mensa members they are - he ran out of gas and couldn't find the reserve tank (do bikes still use reserve tanks?). Hilarious.

The scary thing is he was doing it in traffic. I have no problem with bikes going fast - but do us (and you) a favor and go somewhere with little or no traffic. I've been on bikes before and seen the high side of 120-130 and dragged a few footpegs on the pavement, so I do have a little experience in this arena. Minivan Moms, SUVs and Grandma/Grandpa Cataracts are out there and like somebody said above - Its almost ALWAYS the other driver not paying attention that causes wrecks. And the bike will always lose that contest. Go to a bike junkyard and see how many bikes you see with collapsed forks and imagine what happened to the rider when that happened.

That said. Bikes kick *ss. There is nothing (ok almost nothing) better than spring and owning a motorcycle. Or a night ride in the summer. Or your girlfriend on the back holding on tight. :)