u were way out there on turnpike and i81...did u ride the turnpike ( ka dink, ka dink, ka dink)...not surprise but glad u found that tormenting sound ..i once had my rear lamp assembly loosen up while riding to work one day...luckilyit didn't fall off as it would had been embarrassing to say the least..kinda like losing your ass while riding down the road and shit falling off and getting crushed by the cars behind you..anyway what u do, about a 250 -300 mile ride this weekend ..sounds like u had a good time and were u please with the bike overall performance? ...what was your average rate of speed?
Nah, I actually took 322 both there and back the entire way. I've only taken the turnpike once, on my KLR - wide open throttle most of the time. It was one of the most boring and uncomfortable experiences of my life (ka-dink indeed, they should be ashamed at how crappy that road is for what they charge to use it and how lame it is), and I am happier 16 dollars less poor, having spent an hour longer traversing more scenic roads at speeds that don't cause me to burn oil.
This weekend was somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 miles. Friday morning I met a couple of guys on Harleys and we flew West off Rt.100. I split off in the mid-afternoon towards State College. It was in between on 30 West that I had the Enfield flat-out at 90 indicated. It was not a pleasant experience, and despite the flogging I was still left in the dust. I am much happier at 65-75, although interesting to note - if you flip the passenger pegs down and put your feet on them, you can lay on the tank and squeeze out a few more MPH on the top end. I would not recommend doing this.
I am pleased overall with the performance, although in hindsight I wish I had just taken it easy - especially on the way up. As far as average speed, on the non-freeway portions of the trip, it was mostly 35/45/55 zones which the bike handled perfectly. Once on the freeway, sh#t got real and I did not hold back; anywhere from 65 all the way up to 90 indicated. Once the speedo goes wonky, it seems to read higher, so I'm not sure where this aligns with reality. When it's not flopping around like a cowtail in the wind, I think it reads about 5mph higher than actual.
Could be that the vibrations I mentioned previously may have been partly caused by unwanted resonance (positive feedback loop, maybe?) of the heat shield. I left that problem behind me, if only temporarily, 100 miles back. I'll see next time I have it on the highway if this is actually the case, as I had reached the end of my wild ride at that point.