Paladin. wrote on 01/17/09 at 18:20:34:Redline is 6500 rpm, 5300 rpm on a stock bike is 81 mph. Not straining the engine at all. Drop to 5000 rpms and you are cruising at 77 mph which is passing most interstate traffic. 70 is about right, and is only 4580 rpm.
I rode L.A. to OKC in 2.5 days, I-40, kept up with traffic, warm enough that I was mostly riding in a t-shirt, thank you SPF-45. That was a year and a half ago, if I hurt the bike it hasn't manifested yet.
Somebody else had mentioned you did this trek. It's good to know that everything is still fine after such a long haul. Guess I don't really need to be worried about keeping it at 70 after all...
One thing I did notice about long trips, every now and then it would stick... After cruising at 65, I would try to increase speed to make up any difference between me and the rest of the group and the engine would lag. I would have to give it gas a few times, trying to fix the problem, which I still don't know what it was. I cleaned the carb later and did a stage 2 rebuild kit, which I think helped because it only did that once on my next trip. Haven't had it out for any distance since then though. Looking forward to the summer and some cruises to Ocean City.