murda84
Junior Member
Readers digest version, I hit 100 for the first time on the fz6 and it was fun but also pretty crazy.
So background first...this is my second season owning the bike. I took the MSF class, bought my bike in April of 2012 and rode it until November. I took things easy, focused on the basics and tried to not get caught up in the "lets see how fast this thing can go" mentality even though at times it's pretty hard to fight off. I wouldn't say I lugged it around town, but I don't think I ever got past 8k rpm before shifting. Used my time to get a good feeling for how the bike turns, stops, and how people in cars don't see people on bikes. In my opinion I rode extremely gently.
So fast forward...the bike has been out of the basement since the beginning of March and it was the second really nice day of the year so I went out for a spin yesterday. Had no idea where I was going, just took off and looked for some nice backroads. Now that I've had a little experience on the bike, I'm finally getting around to playing with the throttle a bit more and letting the rpm's get above 10k. I'm finally seeing what everyone has talked about with the difference in performance from 6-8k and 10-12k. After riding some awesome roads and getting close to PA (I'm just outside of Baltimore) I found my way back to the highway. I'm cruising at 75 or so minding my business and this Hayabusa comes up behind me. This guy pulls up in the lane next to me, gives me a look, and then flies by. Traffic was very light so I rolled on the throttle and glanced down to see I was at 103 in 5th gear. I only stayed there for 5 or 10 seconds before backing down to 80 or so. I wasn't trying to keep up with him (obviously I couldn't) and he had already practically disappeared from sight, but I guess it just kind of pushed a button in me.
I admit, it was pretty fun and the bike felt so smooth. It was awesome to just tuck under the windscreen and hear the engine churning under me. I can see why people get addicted to speed!
However, I can't really stop thinking about how crazy it is to fly down the road at over 100mph. I'm in an Shoei rf1100 helmet, alpinestars textile jacket, leather gloves, jeans, and boots. Pretty decent gear, but if something crazy happened and I went down I would still be a mangled mess. Even if my helmet did a great job and the jacket and gloves did an ok job, my whole lower body would be f'd. Broken bones, or much worse. Then you, or your surviving next of kin, have to explain to everyone how you thought it was smart to be a human missile and you lost. Then there are the cops. I'm no legal expert, but I'm guessing the consequences for going 40+ over the speed limit are pretty rough. Lose the bike? Lose my license? Go broke paying tickets? **** I think they'd take you jail. How do I know that a cop wasn't heading the opposite way on the divided highway, saw me, pulled a u and is sitting back seeing how fast I'm gonna go. The mirrors are vibrating like crazy...I can't tell who is behind me.
I love riding, and I know it's dangerous, but I guess it's just so easy to forget what could potentially happen while you're having a great time. None of those bad things happened to me, but next time I might not be so lucky. I'm not trying to be a baby about it, and I'm sure I'll try it again, but I can't help but wonder what if...
So background first...this is my second season owning the bike. I took the MSF class, bought my bike in April of 2012 and rode it until November. I took things easy, focused on the basics and tried to not get caught up in the "lets see how fast this thing can go" mentality even though at times it's pretty hard to fight off. I wouldn't say I lugged it around town, but I don't think I ever got past 8k rpm before shifting. Used my time to get a good feeling for how the bike turns, stops, and how people in cars don't see people on bikes. In my opinion I rode extremely gently.
So fast forward...the bike has been out of the basement since the beginning of March and it was the second really nice day of the year so I went out for a spin yesterday. Had no idea where I was going, just took off and looked for some nice backroads. Now that I've had a little experience on the bike, I'm finally getting around to playing with the throttle a bit more and letting the rpm's get above 10k. I'm finally seeing what everyone has talked about with the difference in performance from 6-8k and 10-12k. After riding some awesome roads and getting close to PA (I'm just outside of Baltimore) I found my way back to the highway. I'm cruising at 75 or so minding my business and this Hayabusa comes up behind me. This guy pulls up in the lane next to me, gives me a look, and then flies by. Traffic was very light so I rolled on the throttle and glanced down to see I was at 103 in 5th gear. I only stayed there for 5 or 10 seconds before backing down to 80 or so. I wasn't trying to keep up with him (obviously I couldn't) and he had already practically disappeared from sight, but I guess it just kind of pushed a button in me.
I admit, it was pretty fun and the bike felt so smooth. It was awesome to just tuck under the windscreen and hear the engine churning under me. I can see why people get addicted to speed!
However, I can't really stop thinking about how crazy it is to fly down the road at over 100mph. I'm in an Shoei rf1100 helmet, alpinestars textile jacket, leather gloves, jeans, and boots. Pretty decent gear, but if something crazy happened and I went down I would still be a mangled mess. Even if my helmet did a great job and the jacket and gloves did an ok job, my whole lower body would be f'd. Broken bones, or much worse. Then you, or your surviving next of kin, have to explain to everyone how you thought it was smart to be a human missile and you lost. Then there are the cops. I'm no legal expert, but I'm guessing the consequences for going 40+ over the speed limit are pretty rough. Lose the bike? Lose my license? Go broke paying tickets? **** I think they'd take you jail. How do I know that a cop wasn't heading the opposite way on the divided highway, saw me, pulled a u and is sitting back seeing how fast I'm gonna go. The mirrors are vibrating like crazy...I can't tell who is behind me.
I love riding, and I know it's dangerous, but I guess it's just so easy to forget what could potentially happen while you're having a great time. None of those bad things happened to me, but next time I might not be so lucky. I'm not trying to be a baby about it, and I'm sure I'll try it again, but I can't help but wonder what if...