How fast have you had your ST?

been 180 mph on my two blackbirds many times,been way over 135 on my st many times,will get a fork brace before I go any faster

Been 327kph (+-203MPH) on my mate's Busa...AND been very much faster...in an airoplane. Not that the busa didn't feel like a plane...:D:D. it was just very, very, very fast and traffic going the same way was actually coming for me, if you get my drift. Won't ever do it again if I can help it....Been there, done that ,dont want the pictures...:D
 
Been 327kph (+-203MPH) on my mate's Busa...AND been very much faster...in an airoplane. Not that the busa didn't feel like a plane...:D:D. it was just very, very, very fast and traffic going the same way was actually coming for me, if you get my drift. Won't ever do it again if I can help it....Been there, done that ,dont want the pictures...:D


Actually as I think about it, it's not how fast you've been, or how far....it's the fact that you are riding your bike that matters...:cool:
 
145 on speedo real speed proble 135 or so the other day, ran out of road will do it again some day, my max 185 on a tl1000 by gps fast as hell
 
If the SO sees this, I'm dead, but here goes............

When I first took a used '05 ST for a test ride from the dealership, I was going slightly faster than the surrounding traffic, and after getting a clearing on the highway, opened it up slightly just to increase the distance between me and the rest of the traffic. Looked down and the speedo said 105! I couldn't believe how stable and safe it felt at that speed, or how fast I was actually going, especially since at the time my everyday ride was a VTX!!

Fast forward 1 year, and now I'm riding my '07 ST. On an open, straight, empty stretch of highway in central Ohio, I saw an indicated 135. Rock solid, stable, and smooth!! Backed down to an indicated 80, and a mile later I passed an OHP running radar. I got 2 gifts that day;

1. He didn't see me doing an indicated 135!
2. He didn't light me up for an indicated 80!

Did it once. Don't need to do it again. 90 or so on a clear, open road is tops now. That's fast enough.
 
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:eek: :yikes: :bigeyes: :holy crap: :yowza: :eek:4:

[Serious Rant] In engineering terms, loads on key parts of the bike go up as the square of the speed. By 'loads', I mean drag, hoop stress in the tires & rims, stress on engine & drivetrain parts, ... etc. The following table shows such loads as a function of speed, relative to 60 mph.

Speed, Loads
60, 100%
70, 136%
80, 178%
90, 225%
100, 278%
110, 336%
120, 400%
130, 469%
140, 544%
150, 625%

Just a quick burst up to 90 that we each seem to find on our speedo at times more than doubles the load on key parts. From 90 to 130, it more than doubles again. Scary stuff.

It only takes a slight imperfection in a tire and you are done with life at such high speeds. If a piece of fairing rips off and the bike no longer has symmetric loading...done. A rim cracks...done. A bearing siezes...done. One of many engine parts gives out...done. A tooth on the driveline failes...done. You hit something on the road...done. The road is damaged...done. Someone misjudges your speed and pulls in front of you...done.

I implore you to slow down. [/Serious Rant]

Thanks MOM LOL :cool:



Some of us have gone a tad past the legal limit once or twice it looks like .
Glad we all did it on a track .
140 and I felt very mortal for a moment.
 
80-85 is as fast as I feel comfortable now, but I have just gotten my ST broken in, just turned over my first 1,000 miles and had her serviced. Also the speed limit is 65 on our State 4 lane hiways. I figure there is a reason for that.

She felt solid at those speeds on the 4 lane hiway, but I don't trust the environment, buzzards taking off from the shoulder in the high grass you can't see, which I've hit with my car before, and the roads around here are unpredictable with irregularities. I didn't experience any wobble or pull.

:07biker:
 
Thanks MOM LOL :cool:

Some of us have gone a tad past the legal limit once or twice it looks like .
Glad we all did it on a track .
140 and I felt very mortal for a moment.

Yeah, my post sounds like 'Mom', I admit... :crackup. But the engineering principles are true (for the record, my day job includes maximizing the physics of high speed manufacturing machinery while also keeping the equipment safe to operate). And if my post did bring some pause to anyone's thoughts of trying 'fast', then it was worth it to me.

The post earned me some 'friendly' return pokes, and that's fine. :D For those that likened me to Grandma driving a Volvo... fun analogy, but not accurate.

Years ago on a moment's impulse, I twisted the right wrist and had mine well north of six score on a straigh back road, no topbox, windshield down. Once. It was stable, but stuff was moving by way too fast. I have good skills (I think), and work to keep them honed. But I know I am not a 'gifted' or well trained racer...very few of us are, and too often there's little that the rider can do to avoid incidents even at much lower speeds. So I should stop riding? Of course not, risk is everywhere, but the risk of 'fast' is way higher than I can accept. And each of us chooses our level of risk.

In hindsight, I should not have tested 'fast'...I view it as irresponsible to me, my family, or anyone that could have entered the scene at the time. Yet I recollect the moment vividly--and maybe that memory is part of the enjoyment for some?

No offense to anyone, just stating my mindset.

-John
 
Sounds to me like you might as well save a bit of money and ride a 125cc bike. Why would anyone with your "mind set" own as much bike as the ST is? How fast do you consider safe or within your risk parameters? Personally I couldn't own an ST without winding it up every once in a while. I don't think a day goes by that I don't at least bump 100mph (GPS) and would ride the old beemer if I wanted to stay under 80. Are you any different with cars, or do you own a BMW 540I and keep it under 65MPH? ;)
 
I have only owned an ST1300 since the beginning of the year- a new 2008 one - and contrary to certain reports, my bike was rock solid at 200 kmh much to my relief. The bike was quite happy to stig it to 230? ... but, I was not!

I must say, that over the months, I get more and more impressed at the bikes handling ability, and am pleased that I traded my Honda Varadero in on her (Katryn).

Derek, Cape Town
 
Have seen 145 indicated many a time on the ST. Never pushed it to rev limiter because unlike other bikes that only stumble at the limit, the ST seems to nearly kill the engine when you bounce of the limiter (which would be a bit dangerous at a buck and a half).

My ST has a consistent weave at high speeds, but it never feels like it is building and never worries me. A buddy rode it and after a high speed run told me he was terrified by the weave. He was like "that bike has something seriously wrong with it". He was used to a CBR1000RR.

I also have a CBR1000RR which has seen 185 indicated a good number of times, so I know what he was feeling. The 1000RR has HESD (Honda Electric Steering Damper) that makes it absolutely rock solid at all speeds. If you're used to that, I can see how the ST would be terrifying. I guess it's all about knowing your machine.
 
Hi
I've done 210km/h on my ST1100.

The fastest I've been on any bike was 230km/h on my RG500 but not for long
power poles look like picket fences.[MAD][/MAD]
 
The GPS photo: Max Speed was reached during fall of 2008 on a trip to Monument Valley. My bike ('05 ST1300) was loaded with full sidebags, full Givi topcase, and strap-on sleeping bag. No wobbles or other probs.

This speedo photo link is from 2007 when I was riding my SilverWing (now sold). It would easily rap out to 105 on the speedo. Didn't have a GPS back then.

More Speed is the best medicine I've found to fight the drowsies. :rolleyes:

'Geezer
 

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This speedo photo link is from 2007 when I was riding my SilverWing (now sold). It would easily rap out to 105 on the speedo.
...

'Geezer, just as you show, my former wife's Silverwing would easily get up over 90... I enjoyed pulling up next to those loud cruisers at certain stoplights and just leaving them and all their noise behind. They'd rarely pull up next to me at the next stoplight. :crackup
 
Problem with the ST is that 120 feels not very different from 60, just the white lines go past faster. On my VTX, 120 feels like you're screaming, very fun. On the ST, 120 feels like, OK, yawn, so what do you want me to do next? Which is also very fun in a different way.

120 on the VTX was highway 10 near Austin following a mile behind a busa. Came over a rise and he was on the side of the road with an LEO.

120 on the ST was on the turnpike that goes up Florida when I brought it home from Florida. No exaggeration: I was in the right lane at 85 or so. The left lane traffic was passing us fast. I hooked on a train of cars, minivans, etc, they were cruising at 110. For miles and miles. That night eating I asked some sheriffs about it, they said it was normal, couldn't get the judges to put an end to it. And LA drivers think they drive fast.
 
I've done 140 on an old 1100 several times, and that fast on an old BMW R100RS many times. Now I think about tires and animals and debris on the road, and know that it takes 1/4 mile to make a lane change at those speeds. So, I've sort of surpassed the 'too soon old and too late smart' thing. I still like to go over 100, but just a short burst once in awhile. 80 is a nice cruising speed.
 
On US 50 I had my 01' ST 1100 up to 120 per sigma bike computer with Givi E52 trunk and camping equipment on pillon. Lots of tail movement due to the E52.

Per GPS 108 on NMSR-197. Road was just to rough for anything higher.
 
Just found this thread, read it in its entirety.

One small comment on some of the posts:
Don't bash a guy because he does not feel safe going fast, if he's thinking of going 100mph and all the things that could go wrong with the bike is whats going on through his head.... then thats whats going through his head. Everyone is different, everyone sees things differently, what makes sense for one may not for another.
Just because a bike can go fast, does not mean its a sin not to go fast.
There is nothing wrong going only doing 55mph on a Busa or an ST :eek::

Now, as for me :)
I have always felt the need to find out how fast all of my bikes will go.
I don't know why, but sooner or later, I want to know.

85 Vulcan 750 160km/h (100mph)
89 FZR600 190km/h (118mph)
91 FZR1000 240km/h (150mph)
97 GSF1200S 260km/h (162mph)
97 CBR1100XX 315km/h (196mph)
97 TL1000S 265km/h (165mph)
98 YZF1000 R1 285km/h (178mph)
98 GL1500C Valkyrie 215km/h (134mph and thats 'w bit touring windshield)
05 ST1300A ???? time will tell :D however I am a little disappointed that from what I read here it won't break 145mph.... but really.... don't care either :eek::

All my speeds are speedo readings, for sure there is some error in them, especially the XX its only supposed to be able to do ~180mph, however 6-9% speedo error is pretty big at speed.

Interestingly at the track, the fastest I've ever got up to was about 230km/h (R1) and track riding definitely slowed me down on the street.
My mission for the ST, will be exactly what its name stands for, sport-touring :D

The only plane that I flew that could match those speeds was a Thorp T18, it was a fun plane that could go ~165knots ias :p:
C172 cruise, 110knots, almost at redline :O had to get home "fast" one day, had to land her before official "night" (no night rating, that day is a story in itself)

On a slightly different note,
If you got pulled over for speeding, and the cop saw a gps on your bike, could he/she check it to see how fast you were going, and use it against you?

Tazmool
 
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