cqyqte
Grumpy retired oldtimer... "eat a Snickers bar"
As most of us here I like to go fast and tinker with whatever is in the stable to make it go faster and look sweeter. Most of the bikes and cars I've owned I have modified and in my opinion are faster and safer at the posted speed limit than what came from the factory.
Here comes my point. Several times in creating a custom bike I have searched for the right gauges and opted for a new piece of technology that requires calibration before the job is completed. There are equations, proceedures and rechecks to be done to make sure you get it right. Yes there's the mark off a mile and ride and set method, there's the measure the tire select the right numerical key method, then there's the drive along side a vehicle and calibrate the gauge to accurately reflect the factory setting of that vehicle method, and last but not least there is the GPS calibration method. All of these means to establish accuracy in a new gauge for a custom build gives you results.
I have done them all, but no matter which one I have chosen I have found that when I ride with friends, albeit for coffee, a trip, or just out for a rip, I get "Man you are going to get caught for speeding one of these days!" Now I do run hot on any road no matter what the posted speed limit, but normally only 10 over. In my neck of the woods most cops on radar duty don't ticket you unless you are 16 over or running hot through a school zone.
So why the comments from the righteous friends? Well, and I am sorry for the long wind, but I have found that most of the factory bikes that my friends ride read faster than they are actually going. Now, I can here the doubters rustling as I type. I have experiment with this idea to see if it is Mythbuster "Busted" or "Confirmed". I have affixed GPS units to their bikes individually, we have found a construction site with one of those radar signs and run multiple bikes at it a speedo held speeds, and have driven with friends in expensive cars on the highway where they have set the cruise at 60. In every instance the factory bike has indicated the wrong speed. In the case of GPS the factory bikes indicated higher speeds than the GPS, the radar sign read lower numbers than those on the factory dial. Now lastly on the highway with a car held to 60 by cruise control each bike had to run faster than 60 to keep up. The last test to attempt to validate our results we ran the same construction site with the car held again at 60 and the radar sign confirmed 60.
For the record, the factory bikes we played with in this less than perfect experiment were, Yamaha VMax, Honda Goldwing Aspencade, Triumph SpeedTriple, Kawaski Concours. So what's up? Are the factories looking out for our best interests because they know we like to run hot when we ride. Is Big Brother controlling us more than we think
Here comes my point. Several times in creating a custom bike I have searched for the right gauges and opted for a new piece of technology that requires calibration before the job is completed. There are equations, proceedures and rechecks to be done to make sure you get it right. Yes there's the mark off a mile and ride and set method, there's the measure the tire select the right numerical key method, then there's the drive along side a vehicle and calibrate the gauge to accurately reflect the factory setting of that vehicle method, and last but not least there is the GPS calibration method. All of these means to establish accuracy in a new gauge for a custom build gives you results.
I have done them all, but no matter which one I have chosen I have found that when I ride with friends, albeit for coffee, a trip, or just out for a rip, I get "Man you are going to get caught for speeding one of these days!" Now I do run hot on any road no matter what the posted speed limit, but normally only 10 over. In my neck of the woods most cops on radar duty don't ticket you unless you are 16 over or running hot through a school zone.
So why the comments from the righteous friends? Well, and I am sorry for the long wind, but I have found that most of the factory bikes that my friends ride read faster than they are actually going. Now, I can here the doubters rustling as I type. I have experiment with this idea to see if it is Mythbuster "Busted" or "Confirmed". I have affixed GPS units to their bikes individually, we have found a construction site with one of those radar signs and run multiple bikes at it a speedo held speeds, and have driven with friends in expensive cars on the highway where they have set the cruise at 60. In every instance the factory bike has indicated the wrong speed. In the case of GPS the factory bikes indicated higher speeds than the GPS, the radar sign read lower numbers than those on the factory dial. Now lastly on the highway with a car held to 60 by cruise control each bike had to run faster than 60 to keep up. The last test to attempt to validate our results we ran the same construction site with the car held again at 60 and the radar sign confirmed 60.
For the record, the factory bikes we played with in this less than perfect experiment were, Yamaha VMax, Honda Goldwing Aspencade, Triumph SpeedTriple, Kawaski Concours. So what's up? Are the factories looking out for our best interests because they know we like to run hot when we ride. Is Big Brother controlling us more than we think
