questions for you spec and test guys
 

When the Hawk came out what was the top speed of a stock hawk? I saw a book yesterday of superbikes and it said 170mph....I know that is way off! And the RC 51 had the same top end....is that right for an RC 51? The TL 1000 R had a top end of 165mph and the TLS said 160mph....not sure that is right either.

Just wondering?

I would say it's more around the 145-150 range. If I weighed 80 pounds it might go 170mph

more like 150 ish depending on tune and gearing.

yeah I'm on the 270 and I've gotten about 150-155 top.

What about the RC 51? What does it do top end?

"205"........accurately verified by the cops arresting 205-tilley."

what a joke!

If memory serves me, the actual top end is a redline limited 165mph. With stock gearing the VTR's will hit the limiter without a problem, so it should be pretty easy to calculate if someone wants to do it.

The VTR won't pull redline in 6th gear with a stock motor with stock gearing. Top speed is around 151-152.

Cycle World had the '98 at 155 and later an '04 at 150. The only person I ever knew to radar theirs (a '98) had slip ons and carbs tuned and "said" they did 161.

I beg to differ, mine has hit the limiter many-o-times in top gear. It's always had standard gearing and was able to do this even when the engine was bone stock.

I need to find a stretch of straight road "WITH NO OHP Busa's!" and see what it would do with my changed gearing 16/43.

I got mine to 135 before backing off. It could have very easily seen 150+
I was scared of deer or tractor or dying. One of those. I love this freaken bike I just don't want to die on it.

I e-mailed the DA up there...
 

Yeah, I e-mailed the DA after I read the the guy had been coerced into pleading guilty for 205 mph.

I'm generally a pro-law enforcement guy (except on speed limits, which are really more guidelines...than actual rules) but this ticked me off. I told him this is why people question law enforcement and our justice system. They basically forced him to plead guilty on that charge to save face. They dropped the reckless driving and operating without a MC endorsement if he would plead guilty to the 205.

He wrote me back that I acted "right and righteous for someone who didn't know all the facts." I responded that while I didn't know all the facts, the one fact I DID know was that it is absolutely physically impossible for that bike, normally aspirated, to come anywhere close that speed, and he should talk to some experts who could tell him that, and that he forced the kid to lie about what he did by pleading guilty to an impossibility. He never responded back the second time.

I don't know how that state trooper in that airplane could've been that far off, but he definitely screwed up and refused to admit it. The DA was touting the guy's 20 years of service and that he takes his word for it. Two guys with stubborn egos. That really has no place in our justice system, but it's there.

The kid could've had the speeding charge laughed out of the courtroom, but he couldn't have skated on the other two, so the cops made a deal that didn't admit their guy had screwed up. The kid ended up doing 205 hours of community service, no jail time, I believe.

Oh, here's another one. I occasionally ride with a county judge, he rides an Aprilia. A guy who should mind his own business, a rancher in that county was checking his cattle in a helicopter saw some guys way out in the middle of nowhere having some fun on their sportbikes. Straight roads, no harm done, but he called the state trooper on his cell phone to come catch 'em.

I don't recall the actual speed of the violations, but the one guy who's ticket didn't get screwed up and dismissed was sentenced to go to Jason Pridmore's riding school. How cool is that?

Hmm... Only seen 120 thus far before deciding to back off. It was on like a mile long straight two lane with trees on either side so at that speed it seemed incredibly narrow and probably felt alot faster than it was.

Khanawalt, where abouts in Colorado are you?

Speedo error
 

I live north of Fort Collins, and I've seen 140 on mine, but it's two teeth up on the rear sprocket, and combine that with the 7% too high they read stock, and you have a 12% error. That means an indicated 140 is only 123.2. I've only had it a week though, so I'm sure I'll be seeing the needle move further toward the right.

I don't know if I wanna spend the $100 on a speedohealer or just adjust my thinking. My VF is also off, just not as far. But it'll sure make me feel good when I can go 170 on it! 'Course, that's only 149.6 actual mph. But if it redlines at 165, that means I'll only be doing 145.2.

Now, if it redlines at an ACTUAL 165, that means that a stock bike would be an indicated 173, which on my bike would translate into an actual 152.46

I'm just glad we're all clear on this now.

Mine pulls to an indicated 135 with ease. That's when my tankbag decided to bail and jumped up and grabbed my head. I have since replaced the sniveling coward with a real bag's bag.

:shock: :shock: So much math... So you have a gps that is giving you your speed right?

Way to much math! I'll worry about a healer when I'm trying to break some sort of record.

Mathematics is your friend!
 

Yessir.

The fastest I have ever had mine was 2 weeks ago on the backstretch at Atlanta Motor Speedway between Nascar turns 2 & 3 ,I glanced down at an indicated 145MPH and decided that was fast enough . It did feel like it had a little bit left in it . I just didnt have the Ballz that night. ( I was tired , It was getting dark and my dumbass was wearing my dark tint face shield) Next time I will top it out just to see where it stops .

I have had many opportunities to test my top speed safely, and can attest that it is impossible for me to break an indicated (i.e no healer)160 even with a tail wind. 152-157 pinned for half a mile with now change.

Friend's 98 hawk does the same as mine...Don't know what some here are doing to see redline with stock gearing in 6th.:o

I saw 165 indicated (so guessing 150-155 actual) way back when my first one was new. Don't know if being at sea level makes a difference I imagine it would. By the way Ken cool VF, always thought those were neat. Have any more pics of it? And I'm betting even w/ a turbo, which I've read there's no room for, most tuners would still have a hard time getting an RC51 to run 205. By the way I want to vomit when I look at the comments on some of these other forums, all those little shit talking kids LOL who don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. Half of them actually believe their bike will go that fast BIAATCH! I guess they know something Nicky and Miguel didn't when they went to Daytona with theirs.

My favorite with the "Kids".... as the Captain would say, is when they look at your speedo and say "Wow this will go 180mph!" I look at them and laugh.....Thinking with my Inside voice....."You really didn't say that did you".

Spoke to a friend at work who rides and R1 and he knows a place where it is very straight for about 2 miles going through a valley with no access roads on either side and he hits about 160+....So I go out there on a week day and see what the Hawk will do with my mods on both my speedo and GPS.

I have seen an indicated 162mph in 5th on redline. When I try in sixth the best I can do is 158 or so. This is with stock gearing. Stock gearing should be able to pull 180 indicated by the speedo. This doesn't equate to road speed as wind drag will offset this by about 20 mph as it does at Daytona on the banking.

You sir, have an incredible way with words.

all i know is i just got my bike sunday, and today i had the thing out for lunch break and i was goin down this long stretch of road, and i hit just a hair over 130 with a bit left to go in 5th gear, that was dadgum fast, , atleast it didn't vibrate like my magna would at that speed

according to calculations based on gear ratios, stock gearing should hit a true 153mph in 6th @ 9000rpm, which is probably about as fast as it will go without extra help. Incidentally, I run 15/41 gearing and lose 10mph off the top to 143.

http://www.bikerenews.com/Stories_Ar...Calculator.htm

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/8...kspeedssu1.png

All the tests I've read that mention a top speed put it at around 153 or 154 stock.