how much freeway driving?

[Chris]

I thought of you guys today. I was in Kennesaw, Georgia inbetween Hwy 41 and I75. Had to go eight miles south into Marietta. Now should I go the Hwy 41 way (slow with lots of traffic) or the I75 way (fast with some traffic).
Went the I75 way and did 65-70mph the whole way. Didn't take long and was not as dangerous. Just my opinion.

Chris, Atlanta

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Chris

Went the I75 way and did 65-70mph the whole way. Didn't take long and was not as dangerous. Just my opinion.

OK, I think we've got it.

That's about the place where the choice does become a little tricky as both routes from there south are heavily travelled. What time of day was it that the "flow" on 75 was less than 80 mph.......and there weren't a few "nuts" doing 90 or more ???

[Chris]

Time of day was 1pm. Traffic on I75 was light, flowing about 75mph. Of course there were some nuts doing 90mph. There are always nuts doing 90mph. Why should I worry about them? They are in the left lane and not concerned with me in the far right lane.
I was doing 65-70mph with no trouble at all.
Chris, Atlanta

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Chris

Of course there were some nuts doing 90mph. There are always nuts doing 90mph. Why should I worry about them?

What is wrong with this picture ????

For one thing, there are (usually) no nuts on US 41 doing 20-30 over.
Secondly, that nut in lane 1 can go to, or push someone else into, lane 4 in the blink of an eye.

I give up.

[dan_]

Ya know this prolly goes back to the helmet no helmet conversation ya know? All about how much yer willing to risk.

[alanmcorcoran]

This one's a bit different, I think. Some GZ's out there have just enough punch to make it on (most) highways. (Mine, I think, doesn't.) There is also the rider weight and wind profile factor. Plus, when you add in the fact that a lot of us GZ'ers are newbs, and are not used to what is an acceptable (survivable) level of turbulence, it's helpful to hear from people that are further down the learning curve. My GZ shakes, shimmies and generally bounces around quite a bit when I am riding WOT (WTFO?) on the freeway. At first, I thought I was minutes from certain death. Now I just go with the flow.

I kind of straddle the fence on this. In the first 4-5 months, I really was pretty terrified of the freeways out here. Now they don't scare me at all. But I really prefer the Strat to the GZ on the freeways by a huge factor. Partly because of reduced traction/stability of the GZ and partly because I can't keep up with the flow of traffic or safely pass slower vehicles.

I also think there is a difference between a country highway (paved with asphalt, one or two lanes, no traffic lights) and a "super-slab" (three or more lanes,mostly concrete, high speed, high traffic.) The GZ is fine on the first. It is a lot less capable on the second.

But, hands down, the absolute worst for me is city road driving, traffic light to traffic light. I did it enough times before I got over my freeway terror to know that I want to avoid it at all costs. Just not fun on a bike at all.

I think it's important to remember, different strokes for different folks. The guy that asked the question will find himself agreeing with some people on here more than others, and, in the future, will give their opinions greater weight. Don't mean there's only one right answer.

I think you are right that the helmet thing is more about risks than facts. I don't think there is much disagreement that, if you fall off your bike and hit you head on the pavement, it's probably better to have it in a helmet if you want less damage. By the same token, many of us that wear them would also agree that, the less helmet you have on, given good weather and disregarding the consequences of an accident, the better. For me, the inconvenience of the helmet is a reasonable price to pay for reducing my chances of a life-altering brain injury. Course, I'm increasing those odds tremendously by riding the bike in the first place, helmeted or otherwise.

[JWR]

The most I have done is 100 miles at one shot.
No problem at all running 65 to 70.

[Quimrider]

After doing a 160+ miles at wide open throttle into a head/cross wind it's wasn't very enjoyable. Doable, just not very fun. I do have the 16t front sprocket so that cuts down on your RPM and your max speed. If you're not comfortable on the freeway, you should get comfortable on the freeway before you try to go on a 300 mi trip. just my $0.02

[trykemike]

hey quimrider did you back out of your power mods ?
I still have 4 7/32 holes in inner ring on exhaust and 1/2 hole in intake hood and use 1/16 enricher circuit with hot idle set to 1500 rpm. Tip of plug is black but rest is light brown.
no starting problems runs good 100-115 kph on hwy cruise mainly 80-100 kph get top of 130 kph and 90-95 mpg (32 k/l ). pipes are blue/gold until 1st bend then chrome the rest some blue at weld where 2 pipes join.

18000 km on bike change oil ever 2000 kms filter every 6000 km.

Sound in good for me when riding but not obnoxious to bystanders.

try to keep rpm at 6000-6500 max cruise 5500 rpm .

[alantf]

Originally Posted by trykemike

change oil ever 2000 kms filter every 6000 km.

Oil & filter change every 5000 km (3100 miles) is good for me. 10,000 km on bike, & no problems.