The Magic of 90 kph

A few months back on a cold Sunday club ride, two fellow riders and I were scoffing meat pies and cappuccinos whilst discussing the return trip to Goulburn. The rest of the group had left before us to try and get home and thaw out in front of their fires.

66 Dream loves a 90kph cruise, but any faster and you'll wish you had better brakes.

Three items were on our informal pie shop agenda: One the road was in poor condition and could generally be best described as pothole ridden with occasional rough sections in between.  Two, it was very bloody cold with the thermometer well below double digits. Three: One rider was on a Royal Enfield Classic 350 and thought we’d leave him behind on the return leg.

Mmmm, well, let’s just sit on 80-90kph I suggested, it won’t bother me.  We’ll be less chilled and have time to take evasive action from wandering wildlife, we’d already had a close call with some Roos looking for a warm motorcyclist or two to cuddle.

Plan agreed upon, we donned our gear and set all six wheels in motion.

As we left the 80k zone coming out of Bungendore, my natural urge to twist the grip was resisted and I settled into a very cruisy 85-90kph on my Honda VF750C cruiser.

This was not my first time doing the 90k cruise, when I have my wife on the back of the Goldwing, otherwise known as The Queen Mary 2, she appreciates a more sedate pace, it’s more in keeping with her comfort zone.

Anyhows, back to the club ride…

You know what, it was very pleasant, I even started to think, those Classic Enfield jockeys are maybe onto something. My mind, well what’s left of it, started to contemplate all the ways the 90 kph could be the sweet spot.

Now of course much of the following pontifications would have a close relationship to road condition and the type of road one is traveling on, I mean let’s be frank 90kph on the freeway would be far more boring than normal and probably put you in danger of being rear ended by some half distracted tradie in a Ford Ranger Raptor.

(Apparently Raptors come with an automatic tailgating function and yes, there’s definitely something different about the way Ford Ranger Raptor drivers pilot their machines, like some malevolent combination of aggression, impatience and speed with a distinct lack of spacial awareness.)

Likewise a perfect set of open hot-mixed twisties might leave you wanting. For more thrills than 90kph has to offer.

But there are lots of situations where a more leisurely approach might just be sweet. So when might we curtail the pace?

Of course there is the issue of rubbish roads that buck riders too and fro, less speed reduces the battering on your body and gives you a much greater chance of braking and swerving around the pothole/mound/groove/dead animal or whatever the goat track throws your way.

Then there’s heat, or the lack of it, even a few k less can reduce an icy blast to something a little less frigid, which in this neck of the woods for about 6 months of year can be a factor.

Most importantly though, going slower means you are riding in a different frame of mind.  At 80-90kmph you can take in the countryside, chill a little, where as anything from 100kph takes you into the realm of having to concentrate so hard that you are disconnected from the environment, the faster you go the more focused you have to be to simply remain safe.

Everything is more peaceful at moderate speeds, less wind pressure, less impact harshness, less wind noise, less tension, less stress, and as they say, sometimes less is more.

Some bikes are more suited the sedate approach, the Royal Enfield Classic 350 is probably the epitome of the concept, the seating position, power and engine style make it the perfect 90k cruiser.  You’d don’t need a Classic 350 to experience the joys of life in the slow lane, though I’d happily own one. Many bikes excel for this riding style, it’s probably better to think about those bikes that won’t work, such machines include sports bikes of any capacity that need wind pressure to relieve weight of your wrists, those that lack low down torque and need to be in lower gears at this speed thus necessitating too much gear changing, those with engines that just don’t like to run at anything under 100 kph.

It’s really not a capacity thing, my Honda Spada 250 is magic from 100kph up, but hard on the wrists below about 80. The engine is not lacking torque at 90k but it’s revy nature constantly begs for the bike to be thrashed and the turbine smoothness of the 90 degree V2 means that 100-120 just feels and sounds right, 80-90 feels a bit boring.

On the other hand my Kawasaki Versys 300 with it’s upright ride position and soft suspension is a lovely 90k cruiser despite the rev happy nature of its power plant. Basically in top gear at 80k everything smooths out and remains sweet through to around 110, below 80, top is a tad vibey.

Perhaps not surprisingly my Honda Magna 750 cruiser is almost perfect at 80-90kph., it’s in the name after all. Wind pressure above 100kph means you are having to lean forward against the blast and that V4 donk is totally smooth and torque laden at 80-90kph, also the engine has just the right sort of super subtle sound that soothes the soul and body, it’s just lovely.

In my experience most bikes have a speed where everything just comes together and all is right with the world.  It’s a complex combo of engine, vibration levels, suspension, seating position, torque curves, gearing, braking and probably more.

Certainly for each of my bikes I can say with precision what that magic speed is. The problem arises when the speed is outside either the legal envelope or the traffic expectation.

Lets see now, my honda cub 50 is probably 50…kph that is, well what do you expect from 4.5 hp. The Honda C77 80kph, (anything beyond that and the suspension will turn into a pogo stick then eject you and the brakes will induce brown stains in your undies should you actually need to stop, the motors fine of course being an old Honda.

The truth is that many sports bikes are just pigs at lower speeds, which probably accounts for the propensity of owners to picking up love letters from the RTA starting with ‘on such and such a date at this time you were…….:

Like I said, I can see the appeal of the Royal Enfield 350 and similar machines.

What is your ideal 90kph bike and how do you feel about taking the ride at a slower pace.