Speed on the Interstate

How fast do you ride on the interstates? If the stated limit is 65?, 70? The trucks are certainly going much faster. How fast do SW riders feel is
"safe" to ride? Do you pass the trucks or stay behind?

For me, with my speedo being off by 5 mph, if the speed limit is 65 I will be reading 70 mph. This way I'm at least doing the speed limit. I do at least try keeping up with the flow of traffic so that I'm not a traffic hazard. That is however, as long as traffic isn't doing 40 mph over the speed limit. If that's the case I'll try to find a two lane road that will take me to the same destination with probably a more scenic view.
As far as feeling safe goes, I feel safe on my SWing. I know my riding skills and don't push them. I also keep my two wheel vehicles in good mechanical condition. I've never been much on cosmetic appearances although I do give it a bath now and then.
I'd just as soon pass a truck or car pulling a trailer just to get out of the buffeting wind bouncing me around. However, if they just passed me then it's safe to assume they will keep going faster than I am and keep pulling away from me and the buffeting will soon go away.

Fast enough to check out the hot blonde in the Mercedes convertible who just blew past me

I too try to go with the flow, but now I tend to look for a slower flow.

Not an option on Benelux and German motorways, there might be a convoy of up to a couple of dozen trucks to overtake, then another, and another etc, until you can find a nice long clear stretch to relax in. On uphill sections you have to overtake lines of them in crawler lanes. One thing never changes especially in Germany, however fast you're going there'll inevitably be a fast car filling your mirrors flashing their headlamps urging you to get the hell out of their way.

I don't know about speed on the interstate, or anywhere else really. On Wednesdays i like to have a fifty mile run to the coast. Sometimes my son in law on his 1300cc bike asks to come with me. Last week, unknown to me, he invited three of his friends along. They were on BMW's and big machines. I told them I do not break speed limits, so if you do, don't come with us. They did not come with us. I stopped off for some fuel. About five miles from the coast we passed them stuck in traffic. They thought they knew the roads but ,not my routes, on country lanes. They wanted to come back with us but i said we would be too slow for super fast riders like them. My point is I ride at my pace and usually arrive safely. I also ride alone but, feel obligated to let my son in law tag along.

I tend to avoid expressways when ever possible. The condition of a lot of them has deteriorated over the years, they are littered with construction zones in the summer, and when somebody makes a mistake on one and there is a crash, the pileup is usually big. As speed limits have increased to 80 mph in some states, which means people are running 85-90 mph, the pileups are even bigger when there's a crash.

In all my years of motorcycling I have never seen yet where taking an alternative route did not yield better fuel mileage and a more enjoyable ride to your destination.

Old Limey wrote:

I do not break speed limits. My point is I ride at my pace and usually arrive safely. I also ride alone

+1 on all points, except that I've usually got the wife on pillion - don't do rideouts now.
I have found that;
If you ride at the speed limit, someone wants to pass you.
If you ride over the speed limit, someone wants to pass you.
So, like Old Limey, I ride at my own, steady pace, enjoy the ride, and let the rest of them get on with it. Usually catch up with them at the next traffic lights/roadworks anyway!

When I had mine I was doing 80 mph indicated which was 75 mph actual. The SWing is a nice comfortable interstate bike.

I ride as fast as the traffic or a bit more depending on the propensity of 'picture takers' on the road. All three of the maxi scooters I've owned, SW, B650, SW and BMW C650GT have no problem running in the 80-90mph range. Just as smooth and stable as my previous Goldwings. A hell of a lot better than my first bike, a '49 Triumph Thunderbird.

In my state anything 10 mph & over goes on your driving record & can cause your insurance to go up. I try to stay below 10.  harley

I ride anywhere from 60-90mph depending on traffic in US, always remembering I am on Scooter. I use speed to get out of hazard's way. Preferred speed about 60mph-----American drivers are so bad you need to watch them.....when they get on bikes, the same.....staying in passing lane!

Lived 20 years in Germany---my rule stay out of left lane as much as possible....unless you can accelerate from 120mph to 150 mph.....to get out of the next guy's way.

Scooter should be mellow ride...not sub for real motorcycle with power and handling.

I have tested the top speed in all the bikes I've ever owned. The last seven have been the most accurate since I now use a GPS to verify the actual speed. The SW, B650 and C650GT all turn in well over 100mph which ain't bad for a scooter. My GT tops out about 10mph more than my SWs did. That's not due to weakness in the engines but the rev limiter and gear ratios of the CVTs and final drives.

Here in Arizona the Interstate speed limit is 75 and I ride to keep up with traffic. I agree state hiways, speedlimit from 55 to 65, are more scenic and interesting but now and then you need to knock off 50 - 80 miles to get to the road to wonderville and the interstate allows for faster transit.

The cross traffic on Interstates here is controlled fairly well unlike smaller routes with cross hiways and ranch roads. Tucson is the 9th worse city in USA for running red lights and Phoenix is second! A mix up at an any intersection is fatal!

It's a fact that traveling on the freeway is safer than on other surface roads. It's not as pleasant especially on two wheels, but the lack of access other than at entrance/exits means no cross traffic. No one popping out of a driveway either. Just like Graysilver I prefer the freeway when I need to get someplace in a short time. My preference for riding for fun is of course the back roads. This area has some great side roads and byways that seem to have been built for motorcycles... and scooters too.

It is a well known "fact" the Silverwing's speedometer is 4 miles fast. If you want to run at a speed limit of 65 mph in the U.S. you have to be registering 69 on the speedometer. It's my understanding those with the "darkside' tires are pretty close to on what the speedometer registers. Is that correct?

Why don't you simply say car tyres instead of this meaningless 'darkside' nonsense. There's no companies manufacturing darkside tyres just car tyres.

"Darkside" sounds way more rebellious than "car tire".

That's what they call them.

DaveR wrote:

It is a well known "fact" the Silverwing's speedometer is 4 miles fast.  If you want to run at a speed limit of 65 mph in the U.S. you have to be registering 69 on the speedometer.  It's my understanding those with the "darkside' tires are pretty close to on what the speedometer registers.  Is that correct?

If you tend to push the speed limit it sure pays to clock your bike with a stopwatch between mile markers or verify the speedo with a GPS. Most police don't get excited by a vehicle exceeding the limit by 5mph on the freeway but a lot of them will tag for ten over. The old saying, "five is fine but at nine your mine" is true in many places. Know your speedometer.

Agree on calling car tires car tires. Bike and car rims are different----that should be enough to keep these tires off bikes/scooters. There is SAE paper on this.

Scooters handle badly enough without making them worse.

All one has to do on just about any motorcycle forum is to doubt the wisdom of running car tires on your bike and you'll be buried in posts from darkside true believers. They'll brag about how long their tires last, how they only 'take a bit of getting used to' in the curves, etc. etc. Those folks are amazingly defensive. I don't know exactly why but it could be that deep down they don't believe their own propaganda. I for one firmly believe there's a reason for the different engineering between CTs and MTs and not because motorcycle tire manufacturers (who also make car tires) are just selling shoddy tires to use so that we'll buy more often. But you'll never convince a darksider.

Knowing that having the right choice of tyre and compound can give racers an advantage over their rivals in many different events. You think by now we'd have heard about the guys that went Darkside and won the AMA National Number 1 Plate, Daytona 200, or the Isle of Man TT by levering on a couple of Sumitomo or whatever and smokin' the opposition.

We haven't of course, but hey these guys can race for 10 full seasons and ride to races all over the US, and Europe on the same set of tyres!

Yes indeed, they can ride on those tires until the rubber is cracked and hard from heat and age. It amazes me how someone can pay $30,000 for a tricked out Goldwing and then gripe about the cost of motorcycle tires. On a Goldwing forum they've had cutaway tire and rim segments to show how differently shaped the rims and tire beads are between car and bike tires. There's been photos of contact patches of car and bike tires compared in turns, etc. etc. But you'll still be attacked by the darksiders for even hinting that CT aren't superior in all ways. There must be some doubts in their minds or they wouldn't be so rabid defending their choice of tire.

in regards to tires my observation has been, that you can buy quality tires that will last for a long time; they generally have a tougher compound and less grooves, or you can buy a performance tire with a softer compound that will have more traction and a shorter life span. That is especially significant for motorbike / scooter riders, who need to lean into a corner. No tire has been made yet that has got it all.

In regards to "speed limits on the interstate", I can only say to you guys in Europe and USA: count your blessings. I am proud to be an Australian now; but I can't get over the idiotic speed limits on our freeways. We have sections of " Autobahn " between Brisbane and Gold Coast with 5 lanes each way. Speed limit = 100km/h. You have to see it to believe it. Not one driver adheres to the road rule,which in Oz is: keep left unless overtaking. Frustrated truck, car and motorbike drivers are zigzagging continuously to get past the guys who are happy to do 20 km/h less than anyone else. It truely is a mind numbing experience. Especially considering the automotive developments, where most vehicles have more power, better brakes,better tires, ABS, traction control and all sort of passive safety devices.
Anyone who has been to Germany can recall the great experience of fast and slow traffic being able to separate in their dedicated lanes on their highways. And the statistics show, that Autobahn traffic has the lowest rate of accidents per km travelled.
Myself, when I ride the SW, I chose the longer, slower and more scenic route. It is just so much more enjoyable. The old saying: better late than dead on time.

I go at a comfortable pace for me, taking into account the flow of traffic. If I can't find a speed at which I feel safe, I get off
mostly I'll bop along at 5 mph below the actual limit, and everyone can just pass me, as I stay in the slow lane
Sometimes I get to really cooking along, but usually I ease on down the road

I guess for me the ride is more important than the destination. I usually travel the B roads and stay off the interstate. If I'm in a big hurry and want to eat up the miles, I can drive the interstates in one of my 4 wheel vehicles. That said, I do the speed limit or maybe 5 mph over. The Swing will easily run 100 and still have some throttle, but the buffeting gets pretty severe at that speed. I suggest you plan your routes off the interstates as much as possible and just enjoy the ride!

I said my piece on interstate speed so I'll give my 1 1/2 cents on car tires.

I've never had a car tire on a motorcycle or scooter. That being said, if car tires actually give more mileage than a cycle tire the only way I'd put one on either of my two would be if I put on a trike kit. I wouldn't have to worry about leaning into a curve with the two extra wheels on the rear and I'd get better life from them

But then I don't know if there's a trike kit for a 1974 Honda CB750 and I'm not about to search for it. I know there's kits for the SWing but I'm not going to spend around $4,000-5000 to find out unless I hit the lottery and have lots and lots of money that I don't know what to do with. And, if I did have that much cash to blow I'd probably go for a brand new Goldwing trike. Just for the heck of it...

Sorry. Maybe that was about 1 3/4 cents worth. Sometimes I just don't know when to quit!

Art wrote:

I go at a comfortable pace for me, taking into account the flow of traffic. If I can't find a speed at which I feel safe, I get off
mostly I'll bop along at 5 mph below the actual limit, and everyone can just pass me, as I stay in the slow lane
Sometimes I get to really cooking along, but usually I ease on down the road

I agree with you here Art. Mostly I avoid Interstates if possible, but if not I just stay to the slow lane and go with the flow. Interstates are actually pretty safe and an excellent way to rack up miles. That said, going through a major city such as Phoenix or LA on a congested Interstate are a whole different picture and I try and avoid that situation!

Fast enough to get there slow enough so my guardian angel doesn't get blown off.

Once in a while I take I-10 going to and from Phoenix getting to Laughlin or Vegas since I don't know of any other roads with decent scenic views and not adding two or more hours to trip. My biggest fear on freeways is big rigs loosing tires and picking up other debris. I either let them pass or overtake quickly doing 65-70. I like to stay back at least six or seven rig lengths so time is on my side to react.

I also don't pass a multi-axle rig until it's clear enough to get past them quickly. Especially if I hear the 'thump-thump' of a recap coming loose.