How fast?

It’s a question we hear all the time..and here’s the answer we always give: It depends on several factors, with your weight and whether the bike has a windshield being the most significant. I weigh a little more than 200 lbs, my bike has a windshield, and I can see about 62 or 63 mph on a flat road with no wind. If I have a tail wind, I’ll pick up a little bit. If I take the windshield off, I’ll lose about 4 or 5 mph off the top end (yep, the windshields actually add about 5 mph to the bike’s top end).

My bike has the 28T rear gear, and even though that’s lower overall gearing than stock, it gives me a bit more top end that does the stock 26T rear gear.  The lower gearing lets the engine get into its powerband. I’ve seen over 70 mph on my bike, but that was on a slight downhill on a long straight.

Our good friend Arlene weighs a lot less than me (I’m too nice a guy to ask her weight).    Arlene tells me she sees 72 mph all the time. When Arlene was down in Baja earlier this month, she actually grabbed a shot showing that…

Speedy Battishill in Baja!

You can read about Arlene’s latest Baja trip here, and if you would like to check out her Go Go Gear (and you should), you can see it here.

And speaking of Arlene’s recent trip in Baja, she just assembled this YouTube video…it’s really cool.   Check out Arlene’s high speed runs, the Mexican infantryman waving her through a checkpoint, and marine life in the Sea of Cortez as seen off the coast of Bahia de Los Angeles. That’s about 500 miles south of the border…

Nicely done, Arlene! Sure wish I could have made that trip with you guys. Next time for sure!