I Need to Slow Down

[200cs]

I haven't had a speeding ticket in 17 years, but I'm afraid that will change soon. My little KLX250 needed a nice tailwind to go 80 mph, but the FJR just wants to go fast... and who am I to say no?

I think it helps to keep the hard bags attached. Last week I took them off and got some special attention from the Texas highway patrol. I passed a cop giving a ticket to some poor bastard and he watched me ride by. A couple miles later I turned off on a farm to market road and noticed the cop had turned with me and was speeding up on my tail. He stayed back there for a few miles and then did a 180 and left me to the twisties. Not sure why the interest but with my full face helmet and naked FJR perhaps I looked like I was up to no good.

Get a radar detector, mine has saved me countless times. Most cops I see ride around with their radar on so you get an early warning..... Laser is a different story but if you watch traffic patterns and use your detector you should be ok. For what it is worth, I do my real speeding in the country and backroads and have yet to see a Laser out there - they are just too expensive for the smaller towns / counties. Its almost always K band and KA band and a good detector will pick them up long before they see you. I purchased a refurbished Escort 8500 for 150.00 on ebay. I did not want to drop 500.00 bucks for the latest and greatest considering its out in the open on me bike.....

 

[dannymax]

It was quickly evident that the FJR was a far different ride than my V Max, where every added mile per hour feels more like 5! So I got and installed a VC throttle lock figuring this would be the end of any 'over the limit' issues. On my test ride I ran it up to 65, locked down the VC and kicked back to enjoy the ride. A few miles down the road it felt like we were slowing slightly....that's ok, probably set the pinch clamp too loose....so I twisted it up just a tad. A few miles later, the same thing....slowing again, at least it felt like it, so another little twist....!!

I look at the speedo...Holy crapola!! 80 mph!!

I only hope I can afford the 'adjustment period', and resultant increase in insurance premiums!! :huh:

 

[networkguy]

I agree. I ride without hard bags 80% of the time, and it DOES look like a crotch rocket. 60% of my riding is commuting to work, and Ive learned to cruise on the freeway in 4th...puts me at about 4k RPM @70 and seems to help a bit keeping concious of speed. Put it in 5th though, and helllooooo 90!

 

[kolonial72]

I normally have little trouble maintaining a sensible speed on the highway and in neighborhoods. Back roads, however, can be a bit problematic for me. I like to lean, and I like to roll on out of a curve. If I'm already going 10 or 15 over into the turn, I often exit at about 20 or so over. What can I say, it's fun! It's not the bike's fault, it's the fault of law makers placing such ridiculously low limits in my path. The bastards!

 

[Crash Cash]

I still have to be extra careful about on-ramps. If I honk on the throttle like I have to do with every other bike, it's "why are people going so slow? OH, I'm doing 95! NEVER MIND!"

Back in college, my roommates (riding things like a GSXR-750LE and an RC-30) used to make a game out of "spot the cop" - the first one to say something like "incoming cop passing the wendy's" got dinner from the other 3. So to this day, I can apparently spot a cop long, long before anyone else's brake lights come on. And people SLAM on their brakes the moment they see a cop around here. :angry:

 

[wheatonFJR]

I agree. I ride without hard bags 80% of the time, and it DOES look like a crotch rocket. 60% of my riding is commuting to work, and Ive learned to cruise on the freeway in 4th...puts me at about 4k RPM @70 and seems to help a bit keeping concious of speed. Put it in 5th though, and helllooooo 90!

Yep, I drop it down a gear as well to assist when in town.

I go THE SPEED LIMIT when I am in town...and adjust upwards when away from population centers.

 

[Crash Cash]

I go THE SPEED LIMIT when I am in town...and adjust upwards when away from population centers.

Seriously? I don't think I'm ever below 10+. Or is it just that Florida has crap limits and Illinois doesn't? Or am I missing an implied smiley?

 

[wheatonFJR]

Crap limits or not...you WILL get busted in the little towns where I'm at and make your day an expensive one if you're not careful. Especially in the residential streets where the kiddies can get hurt.

If it's only myself that can get hurt, I have been known to wick it up. Believe it or not! :dribble:

 

[dj bill]

80,we will be drunk by the time you get to the bar where the 3 amigos stop.

 

[Crash Cash]

Crap limits or not...you WILL get busted in the little towns where I'm at

Ah! Speed-trap towns! The light dawns... Yes, I slow down for those too.

 

[FJRFlier]

I just returned from a nice run up to Wyoming and back, albiet slab the whole way up and back. I was routinely cruising at 90 (indicated) and the bike just wanted to go faster. Hooray for 75mph speed limits. Definitely have to keep an eye on it though.

 

[bikerkash]

An investment in an Escort detector is what you need to do. It is hard to keep these bikes under 80. Watch where you go fast. If your anywhere near a town big or small slow it down that is where they usually are, that's where their revenue is at.

 

[Slowshifter]

Hey fellow FJR owners in the good ole' USA.....I am living in Germany with the US Forces. I very rarely post but read the forum almost everyday. I have the fastest FJR - 2007 Dark Cherry - ever made and after reading the this thread of speed and legal limits, I just had to put in my two cents. The FJR as both the sport and tourer it is lets me easily run upwards of 120mph before I realize it. The problem is that you feel very comfortable at these speeds for miles on end or even hours on end. This is of course when the traffic flow allows (which is often) but when you do have to slow down to 80 or 90 miles per hour, it seems as if you're actually doing 40-50...kind of scary because the bike does the speeds effortlessly, no vibration and wobbling as on some bikes. I ride two up on long tours with my daughter and again the normal authobahn speed is 100mph with full luggage. Yeah I know, not supposed to go that fast with luggage but the doggone bike just pulls you along. And for what it's worth, not too bad of gas mileage either. Okay, guys keep it safely between the white lines, hit the speed when you can but of course do it safely and smart! Greetings from Germany!! Later, Slowshifter

 

[wheatonFJR]

Hey fellow FJR owners in the good ole' USA.....I am living in Germany with the US Forces. I very rarely post but read the forum almost everyday. I have the fastest FJR - 2007 Dark Cherry - ever made and after reading the this thread of speed and legal limits, I just had to put in my two cents. The FJR as both the sport and tourer it is lets me easily run upwards of 120mph before I realize it. The problem is that you feel very comfortable at these speeds for miles on end or even hours on end. This is of course when the traffic flow allows (which is often) but when you do have to slow down to 80 or 90 miles per hour, it seems as if you're actually doing 40-50...kind of scary because the bike does the speeds effortlessly, no vibration and wobbling as on some bikes. I ride two up on long tours with my daughter and again the normal authobahn speed is 100mph with full luggage. Yeah I know, not supposed to go that fast with luggage but the doggone bike just pulls you along. And for what it's worth, not too bad of gas mileage either. Okay, guys keep it safely between the white lines, hit the speed when you can but of course do it safely and smart! Greetings from Germany!! Later, Slowshifter

Great post...I love it! :yahoo: 100mph is right in the FJR's wheelhouse. :clapping:

Thanks for your service...and if yer ever in the Chicago area, send me a PM...beer's on me!

 

[Harald]

Hey fellow FJR owners in the good ole' USA.....I am living in Germany with the US Forces. I very rarely post but read the forum almost everyday. I have the fastest FJR - 2007 Dark Cherry - ever made and after reading the this thread of speed and legal limits, I just had to put in my two cents. The FJR as both the sport and tourer it is lets me easily run upwards of 120mph before I realize it. The problem is that you feel very comfortable at these speeds for miles on end or even hours on end. This is of course when the traffic flow allows (which is often) but when you do have to slow down to 80 or 90 miles per hour, it seems as if you're actually doing 40-50...kind of scary because the bike does the speeds effortlessly, no vibration and wobbling as on some bikes. I ride two up on long tours with my daughter and again the normal authobahn speed is 100mph with full luggage. Yeah I know, not supposed to go that fast with luggage but the doggone bike just pulls you along. And for what it's worth, not too bad of gas mileage either. Okay, guys keep it safely between the white lines, hit the speed when you can but of course do it safely and smart! Greetings from Germany!! Later, Slowshifter

You're making all of us jealous! I finally made it back to Germany a couple years ago and was driving my rented Renault on the autobahn at it's max speed of 125mph (downhill with a tail wind) while being passed by BMW's like I was standing still. I was wishing I had my FJR over there to legally cruise at those kind of speeds.

 

[VanHarlan]

Got my 3rd ride of the year in today . . . caught myself doing 95-100 mph while passing a few cagers . . . it's and odd combination of feeling in awe of the FJR's ability to build up a full head of steam and launch forward from 60 to 90-100 while passing a cage . . . a the same time it's a bit unnerving to realize how fast she gets up to speed and just how smooth she runs . . . she likes to run fast

 

[AVGeek]

Over on another forum, I was writing up a review of the my demo ride on the new Tenere, and the phrase I came up with for the FJR is "effortlessly fast".

 

[Spook]

I've heard from *friends* that a good traffic attorney is just the ticket (pun intended)!

Oh, and stay out of Oregon...

--G

Kind of hard for them to pull your license if you don't live there unless you are triple digits.

 

[Spook]

Hey fellow FJR owners in the good ole' USA.....I am living in Germany with the US Forces. I very rarely post but read the forum almost everyday. I have the fastest FJR - 2007 Dark Cherry - ever made and after reading the this thread of speed and legal limits, I just had to put in my two cents. The FJR as both the sport and tourer it is lets me easily run upwards of 120mph before I realize it. The problem is that you feel very comfortable at these speeds for miles on end or even hours on end. This is of course when the traffic flow allows (which is often) but when you do have to slow down to 80 or 90 miles per hour, it seems as if you're actually doing 40-50...kind of scary because the bike does the speeds effortlessly, no vibration and wobbling as on some bikes. I ride two up on long tours with my daughter and again the normal authobahn speed is 100mph with full luggage. Yeah I know, not supposed to go that fast with luggage but the doggone bike just pulls you along. And for what it's worth, not too bad of gas mileage either. Okay, guys keep it safely between the white lines, hit the speed when you can but of course do it safely and smart! Greetings from Germany!! Later, Slowshifter

I had a FJ-1200 when I was working in Deutchland and the speeds you can run are addictive.

 

[tag2501]

The cycle loves to run the sweepers at 70+ or so. The straights with good visibility can be addicting at an easy 100+. Some really nice open back roads here that are good for over 125 when curiosity calls. The FJR loves it all. Haven't seen the top end yet. Seriously addicting stuff.

Just have to watch the road surfaces. A gas line depression in a back road can be 1-2 inches. feels like 3-6 at 100mph.