Jump to content

Top Speed With Sidecases


Recommended Posts

This past weekend a friend and I were riding a 2 lane road and had been stuck behind 4 vehicles traveling at a speed less than what we would have preferred. The first vehicle in line was the culprit and the other 3 would not pass.  My friend riding a BMW K1600GTL went around as soon as we hit a stretch of straight road with a broken yellow line.  I followed.  Both of us managed to get safely around but that distance goes by quickly when you run out of broken yellow line.  In any case my friend said he saw 120 mph as he pulled back into the right lane.  I was right behind him.  I never looked at my gauges (too busy watching the road ahead at that speed) but I know we were fast.  I have the Yamaha side cases and I never felt a wooble or any other control issues at that speed.  It did not feel as if it cut me back on top speed but then again I was concentrating on control as there was oncoming traffic.  As to acceleration the FJ-09 kept up with the BMW just fine.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest lawrenceofsuburbia
...my friend said he saw 120 mph as he pulled back into the right lane.  I was right behind him... I know we were fast.  I have the Yamaha side cases and I never felt a wobble or any other control issues at that speed.  
I have often felt that the influence of side cases/ panniers is that at some speed they do tend to stabilise the bike (other bikes, that is, up to now!). I put it down to the panniers having a similar effect to the feathers on an arrow or dart - that is, the drag on them induces extra stability at the front of the arrow/ dart - which with a bike is quite welcome at decent velocities!   Of course, there may be other opinions... L of S
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's not quite how it works L of S. The drag and added wieght doesn't stabilize the from of the bike like an arrow. It ubsettles, creates lift, and causes the front end to wobble and lose traction from the lessened contact patch. Its like riding a mini wheely all the time. No Bueno, especially in the corners.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest lawrenceofsuburbia
That's not quite how it works L of S. The drag and added wieght doesn't stabilize the from of the bike like an arrow. It ubsettles, creates lift, and causes the front end to wobble and lose traction from the lessened contact patch. Its like riding a mini wheely all the time. No Bueno, especially in the corners.
Sorry, od... I have to disagree, as my experience is that the panniers (empty or not) DO seem to have a somewhat settling/ stabilising effect when fitted, whatever the physics or aerodynamics may be.   And I have to add that I have noted this on other bikes with large-ish panniers installed... However - a cuppla caveats to that broad statement: (a) I do not ride at the warp speeds that some of you enjoy (and so would I if..!.): (b) I have never experienced the front-end wobbles that some here talk about.  
Therefore, the moderate stabilising effect of the panniers, when fitted, is of academic interest only to me, but an interesting phenomenon.   YMMV, and probably does!
L of S 
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For many (read: most) hard luggage, the recommended top speed is going to be stated around 80mph. Now, this doesn't mean that you're being unsafe by driving above that speed, it's just a recommended speed set by the manufacturer for two things: 1. To cover themselves against any potential lawsuits and 2. that is the maximum speed at which they believe the cases to be stable.
 
Are they stable at greater speeds? Yes, as long as they are secure to the frames, and the frames are secure to the bike. Do they become less stable as the speed increases? Of course, though each rider will find that they feel comfortable at different speeds, regardless of what the set maximum is.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was taking a lot of long sweepers this weekend over a mountain pass with my new Shad panniers. It seems like every time I'd be exiting a sweeper near triple digits (MPH) the front end would get light and then it would feel like the bike was wagging it's tail.
 
I've never taken the FJ on those same twisties without the panniers, so can't compare with or without. I have taken the same pass at those speeds with my Triumph Sprint (even two up before) and never had that problem on my Triumph. Granted the Triumph has a better suspension, or I just need to tweak the FJ's suspension.
 
BTW, I don't have that pesky speed limiter anymore, but I can tell you this FJ gets a bit unstable around 110MPH and if you can ignore the butt pucker moment and power pass that it does seem to settle down (at least to 135 that I know of).
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×