[Jadefoxx215]

I posted this in another forum but wanted this forums opinion as well.

Ok so here’s the deal, I had my first long ride with my 07 250. I think I did about 40 miles approx. The good news is it was a great ride, I made it home without a problem so at least I thought.

Since it was my first ride I had my BF trail me to make sure things went ok, the whole time I was very mindful of my speed and my tach, thinking that it would be best to go approx. 5-10 mph faster then the posted speed limit. I hate being the person that slows everyone down. When I get home I ask the BF how I was doing and he said that I was going SLOW AS HELL… that really caught me off guard I thought I was keeping up with the road speed. The highest speed limit posted was about 50 mph and I remember looking down and my speedometer and tach and I was going 55 at 6500rpm in 6th, he said that I never went over 45.

What could I be doing wrong? Could my speedometer be off? What speed should my bike be at if my RPM’s are over 6k? This bike reallllly screams too and I was trying to be cautious b/c I’m still breaking in the bike but really decided to throw that out the window once I was on the road. Can someone tell me what I’m doing wrong besides apparently going too slow?

Sorry if this post rambles but I’m very confused/upset at not knowing if its me or the bike, I think its me.

[Gmillions]

I think that your BF is used to going a lot faster than the posted speed limit…

Don’t be upset because you don’t ride as fast as he does… if you were going 5-10 mph above the speed limit then you were fine. As long as you’re mindful of traffic you don’t have to go super fast to impress anyone.

Just keep riding!

G

[megaspaz]

Well, if your BF was pacing behind you, then the only conclusion I can come up with is that one of you has an inaccurate/optomistic speedo. You’re probably not doing anything wrong as an optomistic speedo isn’t really your fault. But there’s nothing wrong with going with the flow of traffic either. Not uncommon with motorcycles to have inaccurate/optomistic speedos either.

—
If there’s anything more important than my ego
around, I want it caught and shot now…

[Matt]

As Megaspaz says, motorcycles often have speedos that report the speed as faster than you are really going.
By how much? Not alot. With the exception of some Lifans (chinese made honda clones) I’ve never heard of them being off by more than 10%. So if your speedo said 50, you *may* have been doing as little as 45. My ZZR-250 is pretty much dead on as far as the speedo goes.

Don’t worry about the speedo, worry more about the traffic. Go with the flow, maybe slightly faster (very slightly) so you are always moving through the traffic and never getting stuck in someone’s blind spot.

[shaggles]

Most or all motorcycle speedometers are off a little. I found out this weekend mine is off about 2 mph. 10 mph would be a lot but if yours is a little optomistic and your bf’s is a little pessimistic that could add up to 10 mph. Try finding a road that has one of those signs that clocks your speed. Around here they’re usually in construction zones. That’s how I happened to notice that my speedo was off. I always assumed it was anyway but it’s nice to know by how much.

[Ben]

Like everyone is saying, motorcycle speedo’s are usualy a little off. My speedo says I’m going about 5mph than I usually am depending on the speed. I’ll echo everyone else and say that your boyfriend is used to going FAST. I regularly hit 90mph on my commute to work, so sometimes slowing down to 45-50mph can feel pretty slow. But if your boyfriend is experienced at all he should realize you are a new rider and not try and push you. The only reason I can think of why he made that comment is if he maybe didn’t totally support your choice in motorcycles. Was he trying to pressure you into a larger bike?

If you want to find out how fast you are going then either find one of those road signs that tell you your speed, or have a friend (not your Boyfriend) pace if you at 50mph in their car to see how much your speedo is off.

Ben
~Best Beginner Motorcycles Admin

[Jadefoxx215]

thanks everyone for the feedback, I really appreciate it and Ben, your idea is good about the radar speedo…i’ll try that.

[ScottyJ]

You can always go blowing by a cop and he or she will be sure to tell you how fast you were going.

Oh, and you’re sure your speedo wasn’t showing you KPH?

[Author]

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