how long did it take you to learn to exceed the speed limit by 30-40-50 mph in the twisties?

Do that here once. More than once you have no lic and no insurance. Insurance is not real forgiving these days. I hear you will for ever be high risk if you get busted DUI. I don't know about wreckless driving.

The twisties that we play in around here there is no where for the leo's to hide. They only get you if they see you tearing it up in the tight stuff. I actually slow down for the straights that are long enough for them to pull off and wait. If they see you tearing it up then that means that they are heading the other direction and by time they get turned around you are MILES away. In the last three years of riding this certain road, I have only heard of 1 person getting pulled over let alone a ticket. And his mistake was to go blasting down the few straights, which is where he was busted.

* Last updated by: Jeff01ss on 12/31/2011 @ 10:46 PM *

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But, at the same time I have pulled 3-4 bikes a year out of the ditch personally and know of many more! To ride with me and my buddies you MUST wear full gear! For that reason we have yet to have to call an ambulance or get into any trouble from the law for the wrecks. Although we have had to take 2 to the hospital. It is bound to happen though.

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Riding way to fast in the corners... if you need to be pulled out of ditches from time to time.

Sounds like you might be good on a racetrack !

I was out riding in the twisties on my Fireblade yesterday. In North Texas twisties means Farm to Market roads with a posted speed limit of 55 mph in most cases with 65 mph stretches in others. The most fun stretches have turns with a 25 to 35 mph suggested speed. We take these at about 65 to 70 mph then slow back down on the straight sections where LEOs tend to park. They ticket you if you are over the 55 mph limit by about 10 mph so you're looking at maybe 10 to 15 over if you're completely asleep at the switch. The key is to hit your corner and then slow back down on the straights, you're only over for a few seconds minimizing exposure. Any idiot on a sportbike can run down these straight sections of road at 100 mph + but it is stupid and what is the point?

The local community tolerates sportbikes around here as long as things don't get out of hand. Afterall, it is very good business for the local economy as hundreds of bikes come through on the weekends and spend cash on food and gas. This helps pay the LEOs paycheck, it's a symbiotic relationship and everybody wins.

We road two hundred miles yesterday and saw not a single LEO. If they were ever to start heavily patrolling these roads and setting speed traps, the bikers would all go away and local economy loses.

Now I know there's some that only do straight-line high speed on their bikes. This is what gets the roads shutdown for everyone when yahoos are doing 140 to 160 on these straight sections. How would you like it if 700 lbs of ZX14 came through the side of your Ford Explorer while on your way to church on Sunday morning with the wife and kids?

Also, please do not compare a 150 mph get off on a sanctioned racetrack to crashing on a backroads at the same speed. Immovable objects are not there on the racetrack, you're sliding not hitting a stone fence. I've seen plenty of pictures of highspeed getoffs on sportbikes at 150 mph plus on public roads, it is gruesome.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 1/1/2012 @ 8:25 AM *

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Im just saying if some of your buds are ending up in ditches, some of those guys are riding way over there heads.... but what do i know.

Anything over 80 mph i make sure i am on a one direction highway, where i can see there is no trees and stuff.... and i can see 1/4 mile to 1/3 mile on my right and left with no interference.

When i ride with guys out in the country.... i never was so sure of being on roads where maybe a farmer on a tractor would be crossing the road or other interference.

Most guy in m area run loudon... that want to let all hang out that.... never did have to pull anybody out of a ditch before.

Im just saying the roads are really not a race track... take
it for what's it's worth... like i said what do i know.

They way you set up those bikes.... there are really race track bikes not worth much else... so you and buds look for corners to race around and see who is faster and some of them end up in ditches... doesn.t sound to bright if you ask me.

Most guys who buy the zx14 i would think.... will perform the correct mods and take to the drag strip....or the ones like me who use for sport touring will only go over 100 mph maybe 10 to 15 %....i would assume you guys looks for corners and ditches 90 % of the time.

But what do i know ! lol

It all comes down to your skill level and what your comfortable doing. those guys looking for ditches may be safer than you. stock or modded we are riding speeding bullets . My rearsets are raised because I like to lean a little it' s not the other way around. People have their idea of how they wanna ride regardless of the bike. just like some guys riding harleys cut their pegs.

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It all comes down to 'breaking concentration.' Drag is right. You may have street skill speeds, but there is your problem. You don't know closed course race speeds. Once you witness your skills need to be raised, go ask newly seasoned track riders explain the difference of the same road now, dragging them from under a corner barrier. WOT were you thinking; that was fast?

Try trackday a few times. It shows you how slow you were taking that road.

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no dragking.... they will never be safer then me.... they race on the street i know better.

I did some off road racing out of 190 riders in 125cc mx race i placed 2nd.... i know there kind they won't learn until too late.... have close to 14 trophies never did place 1st just bunch of 2nd and 3rds.

Have many freinds that raced around corners and on freeway ramps AND STUFF... some are walking around with one arm but many have passed away.

* Last updated by: mark43 on 1/1/2012 @ 12:01 PM *

Hey Kruz,

Those "Farm to Market" roads sound like the alphabet roads in the sweet countryside of WI! Any chance of a wondering cow or steer or two out there?

Your methodology sounds like "riding the pace" and a safe approach to some good times within your limits with an eye, I would guess, to expanding those limits incrementally on roads you know.

That's what I enjoy; but for me, at least, it's not hardly a mc ride if I don't get "ton up" tween those curves now and again on every ride. Even commuting around here, there are a few straights where I can safely and at least momentarily exceed the hundred mark if no traffic or LEO around.

Got a limit of 110 to 120 on some 50 and 55 posted s-curves on one route that is not patrolled or much travelled at the wee hours before or after the workday.

Got nothin against the very high rates Green can travel on the sweepers out in (?) Montana (?) but don't have that opportunity in these parts. I agree with Mark that judgement calls for restraint in populated areas with buildings close to the road or through the outskirts of small towns; but that is just seconding what Kruz said about not T-boning a Ford Explorer!

If a rider makes a habit out of pulling his buddies mangled and losing body fluids from ditches, ravines and roadside cliffs; then, yeah, you need to (re) think about your modus operandi!!

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Ride smart and ride safe !

* Last updated by: mark43 on 1/1/2012 @ 12:59 PM *

Funny but when i did get beat it was always buy a guy that owned a bike shop or his father did....but i did work for honda and yamaha when i was a little younger.

who the fuck said anything about racing on the street? We do track days regularly, that being said the closest is 3.5 hrs away. We don't ride on the street like we do on the track. Shit happens and people make mistakes. saying a 14 is only good for drag racing(yuk) or sport touring is narrow minded at best(besides, I ride my 600 in the twisties). You just sound like a few others that like to preach to others without obviously understanding what they are talking about. Saying that because someone needs to be pulled out of the ditch is just because they are "racing each other to see who is faster" is crap. People wreck on straights and are hit in traffic doesn't mean that they were racing. NOBODY that I ride with races on the street, we do however push a fast pace, while our egos are in check.

To each their own.....I couldn't care less what someone on the net thinks about how me and my friends ride.

* Last updated by: Jeff01ss on 1/1/2012 @ 3:20 PM *

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I agree, JeffO1. A sane sporty pace. Not fast, nor putting around. Not putting others out of their realm (ego's checked). If you feel like taking off, go right ahead. Your choice to be pulled from under the carnage.

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Like i said.... what do i know !

Ride stupid and unsafe !

The twisties that we play in around here there is no where for the leo's to hide.

If it is perfectly flat where you ride and no trees or buildings or overpasses it might seem like there is no place for a cop to hide.

Truth is, lazer would be a great weapon on that terrain and it would hit yu from so far away you would never know it was there. Fess up time. I got busted for 36+ over last Fall. $500 ticket, $700 lawyer fee, several bloody weeks of anxiety and in the end it was all for naught. NOTHING reduced. Full penalty 6 pointer. The judge just just raised his eyebrows and made a face like he thought I was an idiot when he read the officers report. I was shot with lazer from over half a mile away form an overpass and it was NOT while moving directly at the cop, I was taking a huge sweeper.

don't ever think they can't get you because you can't see them. If they are there, they will see you and if they are in a good position to pursue--you know the rest.

The most fun stretches have turns with a 25 to 35 mph suggested speed. We take these at about 65 to 70 mph then slow back down on the straight sections where LEOs tend to park. They ticket you if you are over the 55 mph limit by about 10 mph so you're looking at maybe 10 to 15 over if you're completely asleep at the switch.

See, we could not do that around here. We cannot get a string of small violations either. TX has this nice system of letting you erase you tickets and get all the points back. IDK how many other states offer this wonderful program but here, you can get something like a max of 2 points back for taking a community college drivers' class and yu can only do that 1x/3 years. Not much help if you like your speed.

Now I know there's some that only do straight-line high speed on their bikes. This is what gets the roads shutdown for everyone when yahoos are doing 140 to 160 on these straight sections. How would you like it if 700 lbs of ZX14 came through the side of your Ford Explorer while on your way to church on Sunday morning with the wife and kids?

Kruz, you're my buddy, right?

don't try to set up an argument that doing 70 mph around a 25 mph curve is safe for other traffic a/o pedestrians compared to doing 170 in straight line. Sorry, had to call that one, pal.

Im just saying if some of your buds are ending up in ditches, some of those guys are riding way over there heads.

Yes but riding to your limit or very close to it is what serious sport riders consider good sport riding.

Im just saying the roads are really not a race track.

Agreed. On a race track you can go fast the whole time. You never have to worry about going into the ditch, just going off track which in most cases is harmless if you keep your head. At least the track I rode had lots of flat grassy terrain off of the hardest corners.

NOBODY that I ride with races on the street, we do however push a fast pace, while our egos are in check.

+1 You don't race on the street. You chase, maybe but you don't really race. If you really race???? sh!t these things get going so fast in such a short space, you would have to be out of your mind to try try and pass a bike that was putting up a serious battle.

now cars, well, that's a little different.

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Ride stupid and unsafe !

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If it is perfectly flat where you ride and no trees or buildings or overpasses it might seem like there is no place for a cop to hide.

Truth is, lazer would be a great weapon on that terrain and it would hit yu from so far away you would never know it was there. Fess up time. I got busted for 36+ over last Fall. $500 ticket, $700 lawyer fee, several bloody weeks of anxiety and in the end it was all for naught. NOTHING reduced. Full penalty 6 pointer. The judge just just raised his eyebrows and made a face like he thought I was an idiot when he read the officers report. I was shot with lazer from over half a mile away form an overpass and it was NOT while moving directly at the cop, I was taking a huge sweeper.

don't ever think they can't get you because you can't see them. If they are there, they will see you and if they are in a good position to pursue--you know the rest.

Actually it's not flat. It's in the middle of a national forrest, there are a FEW places they can sit and those are on a couple of the straights... that's why I've got over 15,000 miles logged on this road and haven't been even pulled over.

* Last updated by: Jeff01ss on 1/1/2012 @ 4:27 PM *

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Like i said.... what do i know !

not much...you sound just like another member on here that knows all and can't possibly just be a judgmental ass

* Last updated by: Jeff01ss on 1/1/2012 @ 4:24 PM *

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Actually it's not flat. It's in the middle of a national forrest, there are a FEW places they can sit and those are on a couple of the straights...

I can picture it. Like The Dragon's Tail? Tall trees, not much of a shoulder? Not really possible for a car to park without being half on the road? I have some roads like that too but I see cops out there driving in oncomming lane mostly. I don't want to screw with that anymore.

was having fun with a silver vette couple summers ago. the vette was behind me. I was flat on the tank. We both were running along a cement wall about 4 feet high. shifting up and I'm doing about 130 the wall changes to 3 feet high and now I can see over to the other side where oncoming lanes are. There's a cop. lights roll and he pulls ahead as if he';s gonna come out on the road, hesitates and stops. SH!T! Well no way to get over that wall and we are going to fast too get any lic plates#. We kept going. How the hell do we know if he was after us if he doesn't come after us? right(?)
fun memory but my nerves don't need that crap with all the adult problems in life. I';m nopt a crazy kid. Wisj I was crazier when I was a kid. Can't screw with that now. So that's why we like the track. Exciting but "exciting GOOD" not exciting live in terror. Who needs that?.

* Last updated by: Rook on 1/1/2012 @ 6:29 PM *

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I can picture it. Like The Dragon's Tail? Tall trees, not much of a shoulder? Not really possible for a car to park without being half on the road? I have some roads like that too but I see cops out there driving in oncomming lane mostly.

yep, yet very rarely patrolled. it is a good way from any town that has a leo at all

* Last updated by: Jeff01ss on 1/1/2012 @ 6:49 PM *

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don't try to set up an argument that doing 70 mph around a 25 mph curve is safe for other traffic a/o pedestrians compared to doing 170 in straight line. Sorry, had to call that one, pal.

Yea, you're right, much better to be nailed by a 500 lb object traveling at 170 mph than at 70......LMAO!

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Did some thinking over the past few days, what is the mission of my 14 anymore and do I even really need it? It's comfy for sure but so is a Goldwing and I certainly don't want one of those just yet. It's fast but so are a lot of other bikes that also handle much better so only fast in a straight-line. Put it in the twisties and a decent rider on a 600 will have it for lunch.

OK, so what is the mission? Dragracer? Yes, I'll buy that but I doubt even a small number get sold for that.

So mostly, bikes like the 14 are big, soft, comfortable but very powerful bikes. Reason I bring this up, I took the 14 to meet a friend this morning for breakfast. I was cruising effortlessly in sixth at 90 mph, throttle almost at idle. Do I really need this kind of power on the street? If you have it, eventually you will use it and use it enough, you end up like Rook fighting to hold on to your drivers license.

Just thinking out loud here folks.

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i'd say either was somewhere near the top of the scale for serious accident. A lot of factors can come into play but I don't believe either is any safer than the other.

I was playing devils advocate. (in this case the non-sportbike riding public, call 'em NSBRP). They don't see a guy leaned over in a 35 mph curve doing 70-80mph in all that more positive light than a guy tucked down doing 160. I don't think being all geared up makes them any more accepting either. Just looks like we plan to go fast.

This doing the PACE-- i think it's a rationalization. Maybe even somewhat of a delusion. The whole concept is to not look like you're going fast but you really are. I never rode with you but I somehow can't imagine you politely sitting up straight and riding into a corner at 4000 rpm not hanging off or dropping knee ever. That would be almost as boring as just doing the speed limit>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>and after all is aid and done, you become a master PACE rider and your still breaking the law just as bad as the next guy.

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