Topic: Ever pinned out your speedo?

[anubiscycle]

I had Wrecker out on a quick 40 mile run today. Man this thing runs way tough. Tougher than my 750 has yet to date even with all the mods. It was tight all the way into the 11,000 RPM range. It was stable all the way through the range as she climbed to pin out the speedo and go some more. 

And before you tease, no there is nothing wrong with the speedo. 

[Jeff]

Not on my 550, but I've maxed out my 98 Superhawk. Not the brightest thing to do, but it sure was fun.

Jeff

[Gordon]

I pegged the speedo on my '74 VW Bus once (85 mph).  Damn that was scary!!

I think that's the only vehicle I've ever done that on.  Don't think the 750 or 550 could reach the end of the speedo on a level surface.

[brian]

I had a Built 1967 Mini Cooper S MK II , with a 130 MPH speedo that I was able to hit

[burmashave]

I've never come close on a bike, but I've done it in a few cars.  The funniest time was in a late 1970's Toyota Celica.  I had it running down a long gentle incline (the only way to get a Celica to go fast), and my buddy asked how fast we we were going.  I said, "We're going 'M'."  The Celica spedometer didn't pin.  Instead, iit wrapped around, and it had gone all the way around to the "M" in MPH.

[DME]

I´ve maxed out every vehicle I´ve ever owned. Just one of those things that "has to be done" 
Never seen the speedo run out of scale though.....
Closest must have been 290 kmph on my spruced up Honda Fireblade back in -98.
Never seen more than 260 kmph on my FZR streetfighter but without a fairing it feels as if my head will fall off if I went any faster....
On the Honda Cafe I´ve seen 190 kmph, which isn´t too bad for a stock engine.

Dan

[siter81]

Fastest i have gone on a bike is 125 on my zl1000.It had more in it but i didn't push it.The CB has only gone about  85,by  my choice.Whenever i go really fast i think about the price of the ticket or how much it would hurt to wreck at that speed.I guess it shows i am not 25 anymore?






Siter81     

[cafehonda]

Never really trusted my speedo, but at a local club weekend, all of the volunteers got to turn hot laps on the track. It has a 1.3 mile front stretch and one of the volunteers is a sheriffs deputy, so we got out the radar gun just to see. 134.7 mph in top gear, tucked in and #$%*tin'  my britches the whole way. Total lap time was 2:10 and change. The AMA boys turn about 1:34 lap times . No mods to the mill except smoothed intake ports and a three angle valve job, pods and a Hindle race pipe. I did have a 15 mph tail wind, just to clarify.

[Steve F]

Yeah, I had one on the work bench in pieces, and spun the poiinter with my finger.  Does that count? 

[6adan]

Did it one time in my dads 60 model 98 Olds. This was in about 1966, the Olds speedo had a red on a drum that turned, I went past the point where there was no red showing,it showed 120 when the red stopped. Young and dumb. Dannie

[medic09]

We've done it a few times in our previous ambulance.  The first time I *know* of was when I had an iffy trauma patient in back from a highway accident, we're on the interstate heading into town, and I lean into the cab and ask my partner "how fast are we going?".  She points to the pegged speedo and says "dunno, it stopped there".   

After that, I figured better off not knowing.

Hey Tom, wanna drag?  But we get to use lights and sirens.   

[anubiscycle]

We've done it a few times in our previous ambulance.  The first time I *know* of was when I had an iffy trauma patient in back from a highway accident, we're on the interstate heading into town, and I lean into the cab and ask my partner "how fast are we going?".  She points to the pegged speedo and says "dunno, it stopped there".   

After that, I figured better off not knowing.

Hey Tom, wanna drag?  But we get to use lights and sirens.   

An Ambulance chasing me might give the wrong image to the public.  I am sure my lawyer would be right behind you.  I think it honestly it topped out at about 155- 165MPH  ?

[Jeff]

An Ambulance chasing me might give the wrong image to the public.  I am sure my lawyer would be right behind you.  I think it honestly it topped out at about 155- 165MPH  ?

Sorry Tom, I call BS on the Home Wrecker doing 155+. 120mph maybe. Speedometers, even direct from the factory, have a huge margin of error. A current model CBR600RR will top out around 160. No way a ~30 year old air-cooled 550 even comes close to that. My 98 Superhawk had a liquid cooled 1000cc engine and wouldn't even do that. It would read 155 on the speedo, but wouldn't actually do it.

Jeff

[Rushoid]

Sorry Tom, I call BS on the Home Wrecker doing 155+.

What the hell does BurmaShave got to do with it? 

Pegged the 120MPH speedo in Dad's '65 Mustang 20 years ago. 289 3-speed, with sloppy steering and drum brakes. She just floated along...
Only hit 105 I.A.S. on the bike. That was fast enough for me. Guess I'm getting to be a GHOF. 

[Chris Schneiter]

Did it one time in my dads 60 model 98 Olds. This was in about 1966, the Olds speedo had a red on a drum that turned, I went past the point where there was no red showing,it showed 120 when the red stopped. Young and dumb. Dannie

Ah, those GM 455s.....The ONLY time I've pegged a speedo was in my Mom's Buick Electra...It hit 130 (top of the scale) and was still climbing, but it felt as if we weren't even touching the ground, so I backed off...I wasn't thinking about tickets...rather, shattered car parts spread through the corn fields on either side of the road..now, I almost never go much over 80 or 85 with any vehicle...but man, thet 225 was balsy! If you stompted it from a stop, the tires would just hiss, and smoke would pour out from under the fender skirts!

[anubiscycle]

Blah blah blah, Jeff I know what I saw. Pinned out the 150 speedo and it climbed just a pinch more. What is the secret? Proper gearing. As for what is in the trans I do not really know, now I want to. However I am not ripping it down to find out. This motor came to us from some old school racers less the top end which we later did.

The Huge inaccuracy you were speaking of on old speedometers was +/- 7mph. This was spec as far as I knew.

It's not like I said 0-150 in 3 seconds. It does the corners well. Not as fast as some bikes here that have a lower top speed. There is a price to pay for the top end speed. Fact is you could problably eat me in the corners on a really nicely tuned stocker. However when the straight away comes, watch for the crazy person passing you at a ever growing margin.

What does Burma Shave have to do with this anyway?

[mlinder]

Quoting myself from an older post:

I'm over-guessing, but without actual CD, I can't give an absolute.
Motorcycles are very bad aero.
Even a very good one would be lucky to hit .7 to .75
To hit 160 mph, One would need something like 125hp at .7 or .75

So, you probably weren't quite at 160, or even 150, as the Aero on homewrecker isn't all that hot, but if the engine is as powerful as you say, I'll totally buy 140-145.

[Jeff]

Blah blah blah, Jeff I know what I saw. Pinned out the 150 speedo and it climbed just a pinch more. What is the secret? Proper gearing. As for what is in the trans I do not really know, now I want to. However I am not ripping it down to find out. This motor came to us from some old school racers less the top end which we later did.

The Huge inaccuracy you were speaking of on old speedometers was +/- 7mph. This was spec as far as I knew.

It's not like I said 0-150 in 3 seconds. It does the corners well. Not as fast as some bikes here that have a lower top speed. There is a price to pay for the top end speed. Fact is you could problably eat me in the corners on a really nicely tuned stocker. However when the straight away comes, watch for the crazy person passing you at a ever growing margin.

What does Burma Shave have to do with this anyway?

So, if you pinned it at 150, that means you were doing closer to 140. Gearing can give you top end, but not 15 - 25 mph. If that was the case, your gearing would be so messed up that it would be unrideable at slow speeds, which, by the type of riding you typically seem to do, doesn't seem to be the case. Add in poor aerodynamics, even with that little fairing, and for a 550 to pull that type speed would be nothing short of a miracle, unless you added a turbo or nitrous or the like.

So, with all that said, I still call BS (not Burma Shave either) on 155-165mph.

Not trying to be a wanker, just calling like I see it. I'd love to be factually proven wrong. Hook up a GPS to it or something and get a much more accurate reading.

And just curious... did you ever put the Home Wrecker on the dyno to see what kind of power she's making?

Jeff

[burmashave]

What does Burma Shave have to do with this anyway?

Tom called BS.  My name is B-S. That makes me King of BS.  Bwahahaha! 

By the way, the brick-like Celica I got to "M" had one of those lame spedometers that went up to about 90.  "M" was fast, but my guess would be in the 120 range.  I pegged my dad's '77 Impala wagon a few times, and it had what I'd call the "parent alert feature."  Once pegged, the spedometer wouldn't work at all for some time.  The needle would just bounce all over the place.

[anubiscycle]

Yes I did put Wrecker on the dyno. AND NO WE WILL NOT GO DOWN THAT BS SUBJECT HERE AGAIN>

[Jeff]

Yes I did put Wrecker on the dyno. AND NO WE WILL NOT GO DOWN THAT BS SUBJECT HERE AGAIN>

Did you ever post the results? I'm really just curious to see what these motors can acheive. If you posted and said "100hp" I'd be mighty impresssed. If you posted 75, I'd be impressed with that too. I know what you mean with the "BS SUBJECT". The difference is that I'm not posting with a rude tone to my comments unlike what happened before. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know squat about these motors, so I'm not trying to prove anything.

Jeff

[ofreen]

Pinned out the 150 speedo and it climbed just a pinch more. What is the secret? Proper gearing. As for what is in the trans I do not really know, now I want to. However I am not ripping it down to find out. This motor came to us from some old school racers less the top end which we later did.

There is no need to tear down the engine to determine gearing.  What RPM are you turning at 60 MPH in 5th gear?  What sprocket sizes are you running?

[Troy R]

Uhhh is this tech forum?? Or ....

[Pinhead]

Pegged the speedo in my '78 2-Door Ford LTD, probably 95 to 100mph and hit a deer. Luckily the only damage was a busted turn signal indicator and a dead deer...

[dgfischer]

Blah blah blah, Jeff I know what I saw. Pinned out the 150 speedo and it climbed just a pinch more. What is the secret? Proper gearing. As for what is in the trans I do not really know, now I want to. However I am not ripping it down to find out. This motor came to us from some old school racers less the top end which we later did.

The Huge inaccuracy you were speaking of on old speedometers was +/- 7mph. This was spec as far as I knew.

It's not like I said 0-150 in 3 seconds. It does the corners well. Not as fast as some bikes here that have a lower top speed. There is a price to pay for the top end speed. Fact is you could problably eat me in the corners on a really nicely tuned stocker. However when the straight away comes, watch for the crazy person passing you at a ever growing margin.

What does Burma Shave have to do with this anyway?

So, if you pinned it at 150, that means you were doing closer to 140. Gearing can give you top end, but not 15 - 25 mph. If that was the case, your gearing would be so messed up that it would be unrideable at slow speeds, which, by the type of riding you typically seem to do, doesn't seem to be the case. Add in poor aerodynamics, even with that little fairing, and for a 550 to pull that type speed would be nothing short of a miracle, unless you added a turbo or nitrous or the like.

So, with all that said, I still call BS (not Burma Shave either) on 155-165mph.

Not trying to be a wanker, just calling like I see it. I'd love to be factually proven wrong. Hook up a GPS to it or something and get a much more accurate reading.

And just curious... did you ever put the Home Wrecker on the dyno to see what kind of power she's making?

Jeff

I'm with Jeff on this one.

A stock cb 550 would top out at 113.7 mph

http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/honda_cb_550_ss_1975.php

Getting another 40 mph on top of that is a stretch. Gearing will get you some, but the gearing to get you to 155 would make it hard to ride at slower speeds.

 Edit:
 186,282 miles per second