General rant..

[Darkeyce]

Can someone please explain what i'm missing here? I live in NJ, we (generally) don't have the wide open roads that some the of the Cali riders here write about. Even so, There are some roads we can get our Busa up to speed on. Which brings up my first point of confusion. Actual speed. I know a number of people have gotten a GPS and used that to clock their top speed on a strech of road or over a days ride, but how long are you people rding this fast. I've don't think i've ever done better than 145 (indicated), but I couldn't keep it up for more than 10 miles or so, I'd run out of road or just plain get tired of trying to think at hyper speed and not kill myself. Are you guys running at these speeds for extended periods of time or just in "spurts?" Which takes me to the second part of my confusion. I use my '02  Silver/Silver as my commuter, I get a mix of traffic and open road but I still avg about 30-31 mpg. I read about people getting 35-50 mpg here? Are all you guys coasting downhill? When i crack the throttle on my ride I can HEAR the fuel getting sucked out of the tank (ok...a slight exageration). How can you guys be getting this kind of mileage? [point of clarification I use the term 'guys' to describe all members of this board, not to be gender exclusive or insensitive ] OK...I just got my ride in May, I've only got 3k on it. Someone please tell me that as I ride it more the gas mileage gets better? Or maybe someone is gonna fill me in on the Jedi mind trick they use to not exhaust themselves (mentally) when riding at high speeds? Speaking of high speeds, If i shred one more t-shirt or choke myself on a jacket that is being pulled off of my body by the wind I'm gonna scream. Am I the only one having these kinds of issues?! Does everything always work out for everyone but me? I polished my rims..they looked ok for about an hour. Then i washed the bike. Apparently whatever i did accelerated teh aluminum oxidation process...I came back outside and they had turned black and looked all funky. I had to start all over. Does no one else go through this?!How in the world do you polish a swingarm while it's still on the bike? I dunno..but I'm gonna try, no one mentioned any difficulties they had. I'm sitting here feeling like I'm special 'cause everything I try turns into some kind of challenge between me and my diety! I can't even get the 'clickable smiles' to work! Arghh!

Ok...rant concluded.

 

[bigpig13]

Hey Darkeyce I am also in NJ, Cherry Hill area. I have the same problem with my bike there are not too many places where you can really get the bike up to speed. I have had my bike for about a month now. I have about 1500 miles on it. Nothing could compare to this bike. I ride to Seaside Hts almost once a week. Friday and Sat nights a lot of bikes are there I have a black on black Busa LE. See you around.

 

[captain]

Darkeyce I live in Oklahoma and I assure you there are not any hills to coast down. I don't run all out for miles at a time, as a matter of fact I don't know anyone that runs for ten miles at a time at 150 mph. As far as the jacket, when I used to wear a regular everyday jacket yeah it would pull me off the bike but after wearing a riding jacket which is cut and made differently I dont have any problems. Gas milage? I have run the full gammut with as low as 30 and as high as 50 depends on how fast you accelerate, when you shift, how fast you ride, and how far you ride. I'm thinking that maybe its the NJ air thats causing your bad mileage and the spotting on your bike

 

[Wulfgar]

The longest I ever had the bike above 150 was when i was late to work one day...I was coming north on the 5 from San Diego(Cali Rider here by the way) and I had 83 miles to go in 40 minutes.

I didnt go under 135 the entire time...even white lineing.

Stayed under the wind screen the entire time. When I got to work(made it in 38 minutes) I was so exhausted and so tired and kicking myself in the ass so hard for being stupid enough to ride that fast through conjested SoCal traffic I almost fell asleep training my client!!

As for MPG, personally I get at best 33 MPG. Which is normal for such a high performance bike. How some people are getting 50 mpg is beyond me.

Polishing the frame and swingarm? I polished everything on my 2001 GSXR 1000. Was SUCH a pain in the ass I will NEVER do it again. Took me about 40 hours+ of labor
If i polish my busa Im definately going to pay a shop to do it.

the wheels? well I think maybe ya, it is the NJ air that is making them black and icky. Ive never heard of polishing making the aluminum oxidation rate faster

 

[race24x]

I am from maine here and we have acid rain from all of the wonderful factories out west it spots up everything.As far as gas milage I was getting 48 or so before the exhaust and break in after the exhaust and 3500 miles it went down to 36-43 indicated even with my 120 pound girlfriend I am 255 pounds.So I think maybe some just get alittle better mileage. I would think break in you would get better because things loosen up a bit in the motor but I am no expert either. Farthest I have been at speed was the trip to Canada. Nothing for miles of straight road great twisties through the Forks ME we went 120-140 for about 40 miles from the border to the first town . I got mine up to 190 indicated on this great straight that must have been 4 or 5 miles long you could see forever. nothing but trees(and animals I hope not) around .

 

[jmasin]

gas milage varies widely depending on how you drive. I average 35mpg. Honestly, the only reason I ever check is to keep an eye on whether something is wrong or not (a sudden drop). For me, the difference between 30 and 35mpg is a wash.

I've done a top speed run a few times and it was NOTHING near 10miles. It was more like 10 seconds. I like the thrill, but have this thing where if I get to 150, and am ok, I let up and don't push my luck. Murphy and I have been good friends over the years.

Don't know squat about polishing.

As far as wind, a double bubble windscreen does help.

 

[amsctalx]

I ride my 2500 mile 2001 in several different roles - commuting, sport-touring, top-speed blasting with friends. With a corrected speedometer/odometer I have calculated an average fuel effeciency of about 30.5 miles per gallon. This includes cold starts, traffic, etc. This was done by filling the tank to a consistent reference point, noting the fuel fill quantity, and dividing the miles riden on that tank by the fuel fill. I then averaged the mpg across three fuel fill-ups. I should note at this point that I have a PCII with a custom map to correct fueling issues caused by my exhaust.

I do not, as a rule, trust fuel mileage displays on cars or bikes. They are (again I generalize) notoriously inaccurate. One auto manufacturer accepted that the instantanuous fuel economy algorithm was almost 30% optimistic. Most manufacturer's average calculations are more accurate than that, but the best way is still the manual method. Pople that approach 50 mpg mileage are not, I suspect, thrashing their bike quite the way I do.

As far as speeds go, here in Central Michigan I can sometimes hold 160+ for perhaps three miles. There are certain highways and freeways that, during certain times of day, allow me to hit 180+ without getting too close to other (auto) traffic.

Comfort comes, I think, with conditioning. I have been riding hyper-sports (mega sport-tourers, what-ever) for years and I have fewer comfort issues than many newer, younger riders. Like any other physical activity, people develope muscles in response to strain. I use my legs to grip the bike and to assist steering. This is actually less fatiguing (to me) than to just let my legs hang limp on the pegs. The proper helmet and a tight riding suit also help me cope with long-distance rides on any of my sport bikes.

I hope this helps...

Mike

 

[MET]

Darkeyce,

You'll have a better day tomorrow.

 

[Darkeyce]

Ninja...was my day showing? I thought I had tucked that in.

Thanks for the replies...you guys answered a bunch of my questions. Baiscally everyone isn't hopping on their ride and tooling around at a buck 25 all the time and getting 45 mpg (excpt in Maine eh race?). I feel better.

I've got riding gear...no leather, Areostich Darien jackets and pants (cordura), Motoport kevlar suit (too small now anyone one to buy it...only slightly damaged). I realize that proper gear helps with fatigue at speed...but it's been SO blasted hot this summer...well..it's been hot all over 'nuff said.

My brother called me and said never polish angry..maybe i should wait 'til winter...

Oh..I got the smilies working...things are already looking up.

 

[Tree]

On the polishing, try rubbing your rims down with denatured alchol after you are finished polishing them. There may be residue left over from the polish left in the pores of the aluminum. There is a web site, of which I can't remember and don't have book marked, that sells a polish finisher this is supposed to keep the shine for weeks. I never used it, just the alchol. It lasted fairly well.

I have a Fieldsheer Titanium Air jacket. Padded with hard armor, and it works well on the 95+ degree temp's in MO and IL.

Hope it helps,

Steve

 

[STUNNAH]

POLISHING...TRY MOTHER'S ALUM POLISH OR BLUE MAJIC YOU CAN BUY EITHER FROM A PARTS STORE LIKE AUTO ZONE. IN YOUR CLIMATE IT MAY BE NECESSARY TO TOUCH-UP YOUR POLISHED PIECES MORE OFTEN THAN SOMEONE THAT LIVES IN A DRIER CLIMATE.

ATTTIRE... YOUR ON THE RIGHT PAGE WITH CLOTHING THAT IS MADE FOR RIDING. I'VE HAD TO WARN FRIENDS ABOUT SOME OF THE GEAR THEY WEAR. HAD ONE FRIEND THAT WORE A JACKET THAT HAD A HOOD ON IT, THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO DIE BEFORE HE HAD THE CHANCE TO PULL OVER.

GOOD RIDING ROADS...MOVE!!!!!!

 

[jetset]

Dear Darkeyce and Bigpig13,We must ride sometime I live in NJ also about 23 mi west of Newark.I've opened my Busa to an indicated 185 mph ,what my actual speed was is a mystery.You can't maintain that speed for long in NJ you'll run out of road or into someone(John Law).check out 280 and 78 someparts of 87 and the long strech 287 . Your timing is very important. Most important be safe. Now if you want the safest way to pin the BUSA they have track days at Pocono Racetrack thats not too far away and you can always drag it at english town.