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RE: [ST] Looking for a Sprint



>From: James Goldston
>Why so "slow"?  I ALWAYS slow down when passing traffic, because no one
>wants to be passed by someone doing over a 100.  Everyone has cell
>phones now and they won't hesitate to call 911 to report a bike that
>just scared the bejeebers out of them. 

That's what I do too, but mostly because there are often cars of which
I'm not sure they are under cover traffic cops (we got those a lot).
Which reminds me of last week...

I'm so used to sitting upright and continuously scanning my mirrors
for following (undercover) cars and scanning the guardrail for hidden
speed cameras that I had a hard time releasing my "fear of being caught"
when taking the long way home from the simulator, by taking the German
Autobahn. On the Autobahn you don't need to have fear of being caught
by the cops, but more of riding beyond your limits. It was liberating
to just lie down on the tank and opening the throttle wide open for
minutes on end, without having to scan for cops and cams. With the 2
Givi cases mounted on the side I got it to an indicated 235 km/h...
it was pretty exhausting as well, but that was probably more because
of the adrenaline... or perhaps also because of the simulator session
I just had behind me (heavy icing, airports closed because of snow,
airspeed indicator failure during approach on my side, engine failure
at V1 with high weight and an engine fire after take off we couldn't
extinguish, followed by an emergency return and evacuation on the
runway :-)).

I do remember being scared when riding the Autobahn once. I believe I
was riding 160 km/h or so on my PC800 or ST1100 when I suddenly this
black GSZZXXRR something black comes blasting by at something like
250+ km/h. It came out of nowhere and I wasn't expecting it... Not
dangerous, just startling. Dangerous is when you want to pass a truck
on the Autobahn at 160 km/h, behind is clear, you move to the left
lane and suddenly there is this 7 series BMW with high beam in your
mirror out of nowhere. Anticipation helps a lot...

They did have an accident on the Autobahn which caused big discussions
in Germany about the lack of speed limit. Apparently a fast Merc Benz
came charging in on the left lane, approaching a slow Daewoo with a mom
inside and kids. She got scared by the fastly approaching Merc and
tried to move out of the way ASAP, causing the car to loose grip and
slide into a tree, killing all. The Merc continued on, never stopped.
Later they found out it was a Mercedes test rider riding to the factory,
he even had a buddy trying to cover for him. But the recorded security
cameras at the gate said otherwise.

Stuff to ponder?

BTW, the FJR1300A has 144 hp at 244 kgs empty weight. Fast enough, right?

Emile
www.piloot.com

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