[ace.cafe]

Okay, we have alot of experienced lifetime bikers here.
The question always seems to come up about Bullets,  "Can you cruise all day on the interstate highway at 80mph on a Bullet?".

So, let's cut to the chase.
How many people here actually do such a thing on any bike, and is there any sort of enjoyment in it for you?

I have done it about twenty times, all back in the old days.

I HATED it. Every time.

What is this seeming "allure" to taking your motorcycle out on a hot dirty superslab, full of diesel-spewing trucks, and roasting yourself to death for hours on a boring monotonous droning ride down a 500-mile concrete bowling alley?

Even if you had a Gold Wing, would you actually do this?
What for?

For some reason, this always seems to be a major sticking point that is brought up by potential buyers, yet I have never yet had an urge to ride my Bullet for hours on I-75, and I can't really think of anything that would make me want to do such a thing.
The only thing I can think of is that there are people that have never done it, so they think there is something "good" about it that they would want to do it.

My view.
Motorcycles are for fun.
I run around twisty roads for excitement, and ride down to the store to get something if it's nice out and I want a ride.
Riding behind a 53 foot long  8' x 10' billboard of steel that says "Yellow Freight" on the back, sucking in diesel smoke, and roasting on hot pavement for a few hours, isn't my idea of "fun".

Who thinks this is "fun", and why do so many people seem to think this is necessary?


PS -  Yes, I understand that sometimes we have to go somewhere far away that requires riding on interstate highways.
This is why they make "cars".
If you want to ride your bike when you get there, this is why they make "trailers".
 

[gREgVW]

Ace,
I personally prefer 60-65 even though my Bonneville will easily do the highway speeds but really anything over 65 just becomes a fight with the wind in the standard riding position I prefer and I don't like windshields and fairings. In New Mexico there are plenty of back roads and such but occasionally one has to slab it for twenty or thirty miles before you can get to these other roads. Wether on my Triumph or on my Enfield I just go the the speed I'm comfortable with and get off the super slab as soon as possible. I find that going 65 in a 75 zone allows the other motorist to realize that they need to go around you and do it sooner than if you're try to do close to the speed limit, however 75 usually means 85 to 90 for everyone else. Once your off the slab the slower speeds feel even better. I truly wish all the highways had frontage roads that allow only 55 or lower but they are just not there.

[ace.cafe]

Ace,
I personally prefer 60-65 even though my Bonneville will easily do the highway speeds but really anything over 65 just becomes a fight with the wind in the standard riding position I prefer and I don't like windshields and fairings. In New Mexico there are plenty of back roads and such but occasionally one has to slab it for twenty or thirty miles before you can get to these other roads. Wether on my Triumph or on my Enfield I just go the the speed I'm comfortable with and get off the super slab as soon as possible. I find that going 65 in a 75 zone allows the other motorist to realize that they need to go around you and do it sooner than if you're try to do close to the speed limit, however 75 usually means 85 to 90 for everyone else. Once your off the slab the slower speeds feel even better. I truly wish all the highways had frontage roads that allow only 55 or lower but they are just not there.

I agree.
60-65mph is perfectly fine for cruising speeds. I had an old 53 Chevy pickup, and I rode to Florida and back in it, and never went over 65mph. I wasn't killed or injured, nobody tried t run me off the road, and I survived intact.

It's no problem at all for me to ride my Bullet an hour on the interstate if I need to go to Knoxville or Chattanooga, athough I don't like doing that. I can take the back roads just as easy. But my bike will take an hour of 65 without giving me any grief.
Even an hour on the highway seems like more than I want. Maybe it's just me, but I really find it uncomfortable. Even on my bigger bikes of the past, I didn't like riding them on the interstate, because it's just not enjoyable.

I was just reading a Harley forum a few minutes ago, and most of those guys don't ride above 65mph either, because of the vibrations being uncomfortable. They can go faster if they want, but it's not comfortable for them, they say. They like to do 60mph. Nobody else seemed to put up any argument about that point of view, either.

So,what's the beef?
We can do 60 all day.
Why does it have to be 80?

[j byrd]

Ace, being raised up there in the Knoxville area and having folks in Chattanooga, high speeds are not the only reason the Interstates are uncomfortable. I think all Civil Engineers, wanna-be road designers, and construction trainees start their training in Knoxville and Chattanooga, then it is used as an example of what NOT to do.. The entrance/exit ramps are one and the same and WAY too short, always construction, bad expansion strips,etc., etc. Very nerve wracking riding there,- - now, having said all that, I really don't remember ever getting up to a very high speed there because of traffic and the above problems. You're right, tho', slower, side roads can be so enjoyable. Bikes are to enjoy, not to dodge 4000 pound and up  semi-controlled projectiles with. There, that's my version!   JB

[Geirskogul]

It's not the actual riding that people like, it's the idea of travelling from one place to another, out in the open.  In a car you go from one box (house) to another box (car) to a third box (destination).  The only thing that changes is what's in the windows.

On a bike you see and feel everything.  Yes it sucks, but for those 500 miles you, personally, have felt each and every molecule of air that you've gone through.

[Vince]

     I never ride the interstate for fun. Sometimes I have to, but I don't enjoy it. Corners are where it's at for me and a motorcycle. However, not everyone sees it that way. Many do get their fun on the interstate.  I have met people who are terrified of twisties. Some folks simply treat their bikes as basic transportation. Some ride bikes that scare me in corners. Have you ever ridden a fully loaded Gold Wing of any year? Scary!!!
     I  make every effort to weed out people whose mind set is not compatible with an Enfield. There is a reason we are here and not on a different forum.

[1Blackwolf1]

  Even on my Goldwing of the past, or Kawasaki Drifter of the present I hate interstates.  The bikes could handle it okay, but all you see is billboards and industrial jungles.

  Give me an old two lane, twisty and hilly road and I'm there.  Thats true motorcycling, seeing the country and what it has to offer.  Slows the time frame for the ride down, but much more enjoyable.  55 mph with slow downs for little towns every fifty miles is my kind of adventure.

  Went on a ride from Louisiana to California and back years ago on my '75 Wing full bagger.  Took a different route each leg and stayed generally to side roads, seven days of great riding.  Never broke 60 mph.  Best ride I ever had.  That's my idea of riding a bike.  I take a car if I have to get somewhere in a hurry..have to keep up with traffic.

  I know my Drifter will cruise all day at 90 comfortably..but ask why do I need to?

  Will.

[Anon]

I don't find the freeway to be a fun place at all on a bike.  I can't imagine wanting to go any distance on it unless there is no alternative side road to take.  Even then, I don't think you need to be able to cruise at 80.  Hell, in my 1970 VW Bus I rode at Bullet speeds - usually about 55mph in the right hand lane and occasionally as fast as 65 for short stretches.

Eamon

[Bug_Catcher]

Interstates are dull, but the feeling of driving a good distance on a bike is a good feeling.  It isn't the speed that excites me when I'm on the bullet but I do love the acceleration.  Makes twisty roads fun!

[r80rt]

I left Hardy Arkansas early one morning on a BMW and got a motel room in Milan New Mexico 16 1/2 hours later. 1098 miles and I  averaged 66 miles per hour. That was my last trip in interstate, every long run I make is on two lane roads now, it's way more fun and not nearly as hard on my old body. If all goes well, I'll ride my C5 to Colorado later this year, secondary roads all the way.

[PhilJ]

Don't like interstates either, but when I had to ride them on my Beemers it was 80, at least.
The prettiest scenery is on back roads and on that I ride with my Bullet.

[Sam Simons]

I agree with Ace.....back when Dina Shore told us to 'See the USA in your Chevrolet',highways were OK.....But now,with them brimming with numbnuts,not no,but hell no.........Besides secondary roads best approximate the speed ranges the Enfield's (and Urals,etc.) were originally designed for.....DUH....

[UncleErnie]

Well, this is why I have more than one bike.   If I have to go to Emory Hospital in Atlanta, I better be prepared to move at 75-80mph!  Riding though Kansas- just get me OUT OF HERE!  When I used to go from San Francisco to Seattle, for some reason I found 69mph to be just perfect- all day.  Highway 50 through Nevada- what secondary roads?  There are none.  Sometimes it's nice to just blow off steam and watch the telephone poles fly by.  Sometimes, going from A to B is a choice of an hour, or all day.  No thinks- even the freeway on a bike is better than the Garden of Eden in a stinky car.

Now- I'm broke and can't afford trips.  Still have my freeway / standard, but I ride the BB most of the time (like today, before the sky takes a dump).

[GreenForce82]

I love all the little towns you gotta go through to get somewhere nay further that your own town. I want to take a trip up 51 and 13 to Lake Namekagon whaere my family has a place...

It will take two days...

Nice and easy like...

Head to Monroe and have some cheese at Baumgartners...

Go north towards Mad City and take the back roads around it...

Stop in Lodi and see my Pops...

Grab a bite to eat at a real diner, see if some fellow bikers wanna ride with for a leg...

Sneak the bike up to the top of Gibralter rock park and take pictures to prove it...

Tell the DNR cop "it needed to be done" and thank him profusely for not jailing me...

Catch the ferry to Merrimac just for fun...

Roll through Devils lake state park...

Make it to Baraboo and laugh at it sounding like "Bare A Boob"...

Stop for the night in an old motel on the outskirts, have a pub burger at a local bar.

Sleep like I haven't slept in years...

Wake up refreshed, grab some good eggs, bacon, & hot coffee at another diner...

Hit the road and feel the breeze, stop and take a leak by a tree...

Stop at waysides like "ship rock" and "rabbit rock".

Pass through  Wisconsin Rapids & Marshfield, the last "big" towns on the trip North...

Cruise through all the little towns on 13...

Stop at a few shops and bars to rest, grab a bite, and show off the Enfield...

Stop at the Wisconsin Concrete Park Just South of Phillips...

Cruise on up the rest of the way to "The Lake"


If that don't wet yer Ridin' whistle, I don't know what would...

And if you still want to ride the Highways at a million miles an hour... Too Bad...

Peace and happy dreams of long rides to All...

[scoTTy]

i've done 1000 mile days on the slab..  not offened at all by those days..  those were my younger days on BMW's...  would if i could again today.. being an independent buisnessman has not allowed me to be this way anymore..

I have no problem with going fast

[1Blackwolf1]

I love all the little towns you gotta go through to get somewhere nay further that your own town. I want to take a trip up 51 and 13 to Lake Namekagon whaere my family has a place...

It will take two days...

Nice and easy like...

Head to Monroe and have some cheese at Baumgartners...

Go north towards Mad City and take the back roads around it...

Stop in Lodi and see my Pops...

Grab a bite to eat at a real diner, see if some fellow bikers wanna ride with for a leg...

Sneak the bike up to the top of Gibralter rock park and take pictures to prove it...

Tell the DNR cop "it needed to be done" and thank him profusely for not jailing me...

Catch the ferry to Merrimac just for fun...

Roll through Devils lake state park...

Make it to Baraboo and laugh at it sounding like "Bare A Boob"...

Stop for the night in an old motel on the outskirts, have a pub burger at a local bar.

Sleep like I haven't slept in years...

Wake up refreshed, grab some good eggs, bacon, & hot coffee at another diner...

Hit the road and feel the breeze, stop and take a leak by a tree...

Stop at waysides like "ship rock" and "rabbit rock".

Pass through  Wisconsin Rapids & Marshfield, the last "big" towns on the trip North...

Cruise through all the little towns on 13...

Stop at a few shops and bars to rest, grab a bite, and show off the Enfield...

Stop at the Wisconsin Concrete Park Just South of Phillips...

Cruise on up the rest of the way to "The Lake"


If that don't wet yer Ridin' whistle, I don't know what would...

And if you still want to ride the Highways at a million miles an hour... Too Bad...

Peace and happy dreams of long rides to All...

  And you didn't even call ahead and grab a mug o' suds with me here in Wisconsin Rapids on your way through.  But you definitely took all the scenic routes around the state.  Iron Mountain through Ashland to Superior on Hwy 2 is a killer ride, if you haven't ran that yet..you need to.  Will.

[UncleErnie]

Jiminy- it's not like an extra 5 or 10 mph is going to make you miss the scenery or blow your underwear up around your armpits- inside your jacket.

I recently saw where a woman is crossing the country on a Honda CM400.  Good for her.  Would I want to ride my Enfield from here to Seattle?  Mmmm... probably not.  Sorry.  No offense.  


Come to think of it, this is like reverse snobbism.  Am I disgracing the name "Royal Enfield" because I want to move 65 miles per hour when I go to Knoxville for a swaree at the Time Warp Tea Room- instead of going 50 to 60 (always varying my speeds!) and having less time to spend there because it took more time in transit?   

[ace.cafe]

Jiminy- it's not like an extra 5 or 10 mph is going to make you miss the scenery or blow your underwear up around your armpits- inside your jacket.

I recently saw where a woman is crossing the country on a Honda CM400.  Good for her.  Would I want to ride my Enfield from here to Seattle?  Mmmm... probably not.  Sorry.  No offense.  


Come to think of it, this is like reverse snobbism.  Am I disgracing the name "Royal Enfield" because I want to move 65 miles per hour when I go to Knoxville for a swaree at the Time Warp Tea Room- instead of going 50 to 60 (always varying my speeds!) and having less time to spend there because it took more time in transit?   

No, I don't think that's the point.

The point is that some people seem to consider that a bike that is intended to cruise comfortably at 60mph, is somehow "not suitable" because it can't do 80mph on the superslab for long periods.

I only point out that in the real world, alot of that is "in the mind" and that many people, including those with much larger and more powerful motorcycles, also only cruise at 60mph, just like we do.

Of course, if riding the highway at 80 really IS a big priority, then it's certainly an important part of the decision about what bike to buy.
However, if you make that a buying priority, and then find yourself riding around at 60mph anyway, like many other people do, then you've excluded a nice bike like an RE from the potential choices, under a false premise that you needed long-term 80mph capability.

I found the conversations on the Harley forum interesting, because they ride at 60mph too. Vibrations are too much at higher speeds, they say in their posts.
I wonder how many people actually go on a Harley site and ask "can this bike run interstate highways all day at 80mph?"
Because while it might be "capable", apparently many don't do it.
And that really is the point of my original post.

Not as "reverse snobbery" but as an observation of what people "think" they need, vs what they may really do in the real world on the bike.

[chinoy]

Im with uncle Ernie on this one.
Ace I did a long response but I have sent it to you via pm.

[single]

My RE starts to remind me of my Schwinn when I get on an e-way.But only in traffic.More power or a higher cruising speed would not help as it is the size of the bike that is my main concern.60-65 is fast enough for me,except for the occaisional record attemps,of course.Speaking for the Bullet,anyway.There is something about this bike that has me always concidering what is best for it.I tend to agree that high speed cruising is just a mental excercise for most,if they were honest about it.The guys I have known who really enjoyed the freeways were riding really fast bikes really fast,100 to well over 150 mph.I used to go 90 a lot on my Trident on the freeway.Now there is just too much traffic most places.In order for me to enjoy a fast cruise the bike has to feel as though it is enjoying the same,not straining.The RE will never be like that no matter what.But I still desire to soup it up and strenthen it for the record attempts.....

[UncleErnie]

OK- I understand better now.  
I've been all over the country on 600's and 650's and many people don't understand how I did it.  I think a lot of it boils down to this is a land of WIDE open spaces and our machines grew to reflect that coverage of long open roads- many of them pretty straight.  
The other thing that gtew out of that is, we became a people who expect excess.  We're not getting our money's worth unless there's a little too much on the plate.

OTOH, some folks like .22's, some folks like AK47's. 
(...and some folks like black powder  )

[bob bezin]

i understand. i'm a black powder guy and have been up mt evans on a 400cc suzuki  and over to toronto on it too ,riding two up. on a 650 bsa to new orleans  and california on a 650 suzuki. interstate, two laners.and san francisco traffic. old fort williams on a 350 jawa  (from chicago) and a lot more  .

[1Blackwolf1]

.

OTOH, some folks like .22's, some folks like AK47's. 
(...and some folks like black powder  )

  I like them all.  Black powder for nostalgia, .22s' for plinking, and my WASR (AK variant) for high cyclic rate of fire.,  Also prefer wheel guns over most semi autos any day of the week.. .

  Can run either end of the powerband on the road also, just not appreciating it as much.  Have run the ton and some better on my Wing and Drifter just for laughs.  Now starting to prefer a much slower pace (and I just put in a bid for a 2000 Victory at the Credit Union..).  Must be developing SOME common sense (HAH) as I get older.

 

[REpozer]

Just finished a high speed cruise today. Wet and 35 mph.

[Ice]

I like trails, secondary roads and freeways, but not traffic .I time my distance rides to avoid rush hours.
 
 I do ride my Bullet on the freeways at 55-60 in the right hand lane again avoiding heavy traffic

 Longest continuous ride stopping only for fuel was Palm springs to Tacoma at 65 MPH on my H-D.  
My fascination with the magic 85MPH is not  a sustained speed but rather a brief burst capability sort of thing.

[catastrophe]

I got my bike in July 09 AVL Deluxe. I love the riding 50 - 60 mph. I still find myself looking to go fast 100 mph fast. But, everytime I hit 70 I cant enjoy the ride... to much looking for cars with broken turn signals and the cross wind sucks. I stick to the twisty back roads and meet other bikers doing the same. My brother told me to get a 1100 Yamaha cruiser, you know for power. I asked, "how often would I use that power?". "Its there for when you need it" ,He said. I say if I don't ride at 90 mph allday I wont ever use the bike to its full potential. Ride your RE not use your RE. Use this simple equation.

Highway = Getting somewhere
Side roads / Back roads = Riding Somewhere

[Cabo Cruz]

It's the ESSES for me, fellas!

[birdmove]

  I like them all.  Black powder for nostalgia, .22s' for plinking, and my WASR (AK variant) for high cyclic rate of fire.,  Also prefer wheel guns over most semi autos any day of the week.. .

    And I like my 10" Thompson Center Contender in 30/30 for knocking down 55 pouns steel rams at 200 meters. Or, at least I used to till my eyesight turned to s*%#.

   jon

[1Blackwolf1]

    And I like my 10" Thompson Center Contender in 30/30 for knocking down 55 pouns steel rams at 200 meters. Or, at least I used to till my eyesight turned to s*%#.

   jon

  That;'s why they make scopes, or red dots.  Getting into the same situation.

  Will.