TOP SPEED

[Fishwishin]

The other day my wife and I found a nice long stretch of road and I decided to wind my stock '23 out for all it had. I am a 220lb dude with a dad/stepdad/grandpa body. I probably had 15lbs of gear on (clothes/helmet/boots) and I have approximately 20lbs of gear on the bike, so let's estimate my bike is having to haul 255-260lbs around. This stretch of road was flat and there was no wind to speak of. The most I could pull out of my machine was 52MPH (speedometer reading, not GPS).
For me this is more of a 45MPH machine, I would like more but if I had a bigger bike I think my wife would give up on riding with me. My wife will not get away from the semi-auto shifting and for her the '22 CT I bought her is her crowned jewel, so for that reason I am quite happy with what I have.

Anyways, I just wanted to post up on what I was getting out of my machine. If I assume the speedo reading is correct what would my RPM's be at 52MPH/stock gearing?

Thank you

 

[Little_Thumper_Boy]

[snip]...52MPH...[snip]...(speedometer reading, not GPS)... If I assume the speedo reading is correct what would my RPM's be at 52MPH/stock gearing?

Thank you

Hey Fish, what elevation were you at?
Based on an effective stock tire diameter, measured rolling with me as the load, of 22.5" OD (realizing load/weight & air pressure can alter that OD slightly), with stock gearing 14/39 that's right about 7,200RPM.
Sneaky, do you get the same RPM?

 

[Fishwishin]

Hey Fish, what elevation were you at?
Based on an effective stock tire diameter, measured rolling with me as the load, of 22.5" OD (realizing load/weight & air pressure can alter that OD slightly), with stock gearing 14/39 that's right about 7,200RPM.
Sneaky, do you get the same RPM?

Thank you for this information. I am at sea level.

 

[BaldRider]

Since my initial top speed attempt with 100 miles on the bike downhill at 6000-ish feet (video on YouTube), I’ve mostly stopped paying attention to the speedo. It has loosened up some and I’m sure I’ve seen upper 50s indicated.

 

[m in sc]

52-54 tracks with what I was seeing as well, flatland, with big drop off on uphills. stock they are a top speed turd for sure .

 

[NMCoyote]

I can get 52 at 5500 elevation, with the 13 tooth front sprocket, flat terrain, no wind, GPS reading. Doesn’t seem to have a rev limiter, no cutting out at top end! There you have it!

 

[mcmd]

Yeah, low 50's on flat ground for me.

 

[dmonkey]

I can get 52 at 5500 elevation, with the 13 tooth front sprocket, flat terrain, no wind, GPS reading. Doesn’t seem to have a rev limiter, no cutting out at top end! There you have it!

There's a rev limiter, it's just not reaching it in 4th. Easy to find it in 1st and 2nd though lol

 

[BaldRider]

The only time I really look at the speedo these days is when I am entering a 35mph or less zone. Otherwise, it is pretty much all throttle, all the time.

Tangent:

I’m sure I’ve said this here before or someone has but riding around on 9ish horsepower really puts into perspective how much power you really need. I used to be squarely in the “100hp isn’t enough” camp but now most of my interest is in bikes less than half of that. My hack probably contributes to that, as well. I just wish you could get all the premium specs on lower up bikes (ZX-4RR does but people clutched their pearls at the ‘low power’ for the price)

sorry, I’ve had too much coffee this morning.

 

[m in sc]

a reflash puts 80 hp out on the zx4rr, good friend is going to get one for sure. Me? i think its def worth the money, that bikes fantastic. Its not about needs, about wants for a lot of people. IMHO a road legal bike should be able to hit 60, its not 1970 any more. There was no good reason honda set up the ecm not to be able to do this IMHO. but, its fixable.

 

[BaldRider]

My Ural can’t really do 60 with a headwind and that one is technically legal on the interstate.

 

[m in sc]

technically, so is the trail. (has to maintain 45 min speed + be over 5hp).

 

[FizzBuzz3000]

a reflash puts 80 hp out on the zx4rr, good friend is going to get one for sure. Me? i think its def worth the money, that bikes fantastic. Its not about needs, about wants for a lot of people. IMHO a road legal bike should be able to hit 60, its not 1970 any more. There was no good reason honda set up the ecm not to be able to do this IMHO. but, its fixable.

Has anyone even done a reflash/replacement of the ECM? It would be nice to get a bit more oomph out of the bike........

 

[BaldRider]

technically, so is the trail. (has to maintain 45 min speed + be over 5hp).

In California, it doesn’t meet the displacement minimum (150cc)

 

[dmonkey]

Yep, you've just got to avoid seeing those dang signs in California!
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/motorcycle-handbook/two-wheel-vehicle-operation/

Motor-Driven Cycles
A motor-driven cycle is a motorcycle with less than a 150 cc motor size.
You may not operate a motor-driven cycle on a freeway or expressway if signs are posted to prohibit motor-driven cycle operation.

 

[m in sc]

luckily most of the rest of the US isn't California .

 

[Kev250R]

My TW200 meets the highway requirement here in So.Cal. but I have it geared so low it can barely maintain 60 so it never sees the freeway anymore. Last summer I took my KTM Duke 200 on an 80 mile round trip on a local freeway (actually a Toll Road so there was no traffic). That bike has a top speed of ~80 MPH but I found that even at 70-75 it was basically flat-out and I was getting passed like I was standing still. Hardest I've pushed that bike and the only time I've ever regretted not buying the 390 Version.

All that said, when I had a Grom I knew a guy who supposedly regularly rode on the freeway on his 125cc Grom with no problems. He did it primarily when traffic was heavy so he could split lanes (which is legal here). That's about the only time I'd feel comfortable riding a sub 200cc anything on our local freeways!

 

[BaldRider]

I like being forced to take the “long way,” though, provided I have the time to do it. If I don’t have the time, I just take the Goldwing and cruise at [redacted] mph.
It would be nice to have a bike that I can shoot up 395 on (without feeling like I’m going to get flattened) to play in the Sierra. Maybe my next bike.

 

[FizzBuzz3000]

I like being forced to take the “long way,” though, provided I have the time to do it. If I don’t have the time, I just take the Goldwing and cruise at [redacted] mph.

I think this is what Honda was thinking about when they decided to make the new Trail/Hunter CUB (aside from the nostalgia factor). It's a secondary bike, to be the unimpressive but really fun bike to bum around on in the middle of nowhere, locally or not. You're supposed to take the out-of-the-way county and township roads, be it gravel or not. It's in place of "regular riding" on highways and heavily-traveled county roads which you would use a better, more powerful motorcycle for that. It has the big rack so doing something like moto-camping is made easier. It's fuel injected so you can get the most out of the small tank and not worry about issues relating to carbs and elevation. It has the autoclutch so you don't have to think that much while riding it. It's... a 125cc motorcycle.

It's a simple bike that is not there to be impressive, it's meant to have fun on at nice and steady 40-50mph.

 

[dmonkey]

Most non-expressway roads in Japan have a speed limit of 60 km/h (~37 mph), which the CT125 is well suited for. Personally, I think that's what Honda had in mind. In the first half of 2023 12,400 CT125s were shipped to Japan.