Duane wrote on 08/11/09 at 12:10:07:My bike is basically stock. I did pop the brass plug so I don't backfire anymore. She seems to like running at 60mph the best. I do ride on the interstate but I stay to the right usally and run at the limit or if traffic is pushing me I will go 5mph over the limit. If you hit 80mph your about tapped out, don't exspect the normal pull of power you get from twisting your right hand. I also have a windshield and bags. I don't notice any problems iwth wind unless we are talking really strong winds.
Lane position is important for safety. Riding on the right side of the right lane invites people to encroach. If a car faster than you passes on the left & someone faster than them wants by, they might just swing over at you to clear the bumper of the first car. When I was riding 10 speeds in traffic I would take enough of the lane to force them around me & not let them pin me on the curb, because if I was just a foot or so off the curb, they'd fly by me & not even hang a wheel in the other lane. ( Talking about 4 lane roads. 2 lanes were a bit harrier, had to watch them a lot closer) & for the record, while I was on a bicycle, I wasnt, by any means, a slow moving vehicle. If I was in traffic I was moving at or near the speed limit & above it sometimes. If I was needing a break I'd hit a residential street & cool down, then get back on one of the more main arteries thru town & run with the cars.
In town it can create a situation where people pull out in front of a rider because they couldnt be seen by the driver, sitting at a stop sign. In Odessa, I pulled out in front of a guy on a bike. He was hugging the curb & there were trees & shrubs near the road. From where I was sitting, at a stop sign, he was invisible. After the near miss, I followed him home. I asked if that had ever happened before & he said he had nearly been hit there several times. I explained how it happened & that if he had been out by the center line, I could have seen him. I bet he changed his lane position.