Help Me Reach Top Speed

I bought a 03 Vtec with 12,000 miles on it. The bike is in superb condition and I love it but something bugs me.
While riding the other day i pushed it to 151mph but my GPS only recorded a top speed of 137mph
I understand that there might be some discrepencies between real speed and speedo but that seems a lot.
Also and more importantly it looked like i couldn't go much faster.
As per Mr H. the top speed of this bike is 158mph ( I guess it is real speed not speedo)

I weight 200 pounds - new chain and sprocket (16/43) - Leo Vince - no PCiii

Is there anything I can do to improve this? (apart from buying a busa :biggrin: )

Have you tried topping out in 5th gear? As I believe you won't reach top speed in 6th

That seems quite a way off from your GPS reading

Well - if you hit 151 mph indicated and the speedo is usually off by 8% so 137 or 138 would be precisely the ACTUAL top speed.

Perhaps add a can of NOS, or maybe a TORO CHARGER.........

Have you thought about pouring a can of 'Busa or CBR in the gas tank? ;p

Why?

Since you are in the UK and not the US of A I am gonna go out on a limb and guess that you have access to some public roads that have no speed limit.

You might want to start by having a dyno run done to see if you are in the neighborhood of 97-100 rear wheel horsepower. If you ared then you need to practice riding position, gear (someone here suggested 5th instead 6th) and other stuff.

If you are below that horsepower level then you might want to look at synching the starter valves, make certain the bike is not running on three cylinders, stuff like that.

not much info to go on here but you did say the gearing was stock so it should go a little faster top speed that 138 if you need to and have the room.

[image: View Post]zagabul, on Apr 11 2009, 10:41 AM, said:

Is there anything I can do to improve this? (apart from buying a busa :biggrin: )


http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/uploads/1203398371/gallery_13129_3632_263383.jpg
Picture 009.jpg

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Apr 11 2009, 11:41 AM, said:

Why?

:+1:

[image: View Post]poconovfr, on Apr 11 2009, 01:30 PM, said:

[image: View Post]zagabul, on Apr 11 2009, 10:41 AM, said:

Is there anything I can do to improve this? (apart from buying a busa :biggrin: )


http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/uploads/1203398371/gallery_13129_3632_263383.jpg
Picture 009.jpg

That RC51 reminds me of a story I read a couple years ago about how the cops busted a 16 year old for going 200 mph on his RC51. A cop in a helicopter said that although he didn't get him on radar, he calculated his speed at 200 mph because he was looking at his watch and counting the mile markers on the side of the road. When the story made national news, the editor for Motorcyclist magazine came forward and said that unless the bike had a highly modified engine, there was absolutely no way it could do 200 mph (which we all know is true.) The bike turned out to be bone stock but the cop stood by his "calculation." I don't know what became of it, but the actual top speed on a stock RC51 is around 165 mph.

The actual top speed on a 6th gen. VFR is around 150 mph. If you're determined to reach that, go through every gear to red line, stay tucked in the entire time, make sure there's no head wind, have as little fuel as possible, and, I realize you don't want to hear this part, but you may need to, ..............a lot of the top speed runs you read about in magazines are done by guys weighing around 150 lbs. Also, if you've got hard bags on yours, ditch 'em. They add weight and wind resistance.

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Apr 11 2009, 02:41 PM, said:

Why?
Why Not? :dry:

[image: View Post]cornercarver, on Apr 11 2009, 01:50 PM, said:

Since you are in the UK and not the US of A I am gonna go out on a limb and guess that you have access to some public roads that have no speed limit.

I went riding with some friends last week to Germany. I did that speed on the Autobhan.

[image: View Post]cornercarver, on Apr 11 2009, 01:50 PM, said:

You might want to start by having a dyno run done to see if you are in the neighborhood of 97-100 rear wheel horsepower. If you ared then you need to practice riding position, gear (someone here suggested 5th instead 6th) and other stuff.

If you are below that horsepower level then you might want to look at synching the starter valves, make certain the bike is not running on three cylinders, stuff like that.

I will definitely look into that.

Now as of why, i am obviously not riding that fast everyday but it let me think that something might be wrong with it.

[image: View Post]EmeraldVFR, on Apr 11 2009, 02:52 PM, said:

a lot of the top speed runs you read about in magazines are done by guys weighing around 150 lbs.

After all 138 is not THAT bad! :laugh:

You could reduce your gearing slightly to allow the bike to pull redline in top gear.

If I'm not mistaken the top speed "limit" in the UK is 70 mph. Yes....I saw that you did it in Germany....I think that some non natives may have heard that some roads in the UK don't have speed limits.....They probably are unaware that there is a UK known law that 70 is tops on any unmarked road.....Kind of like our different states,that have it in the book for what's the states high for unmarked roads.
Now having that said. When you get on a back road in the UK................Good luck holding 70mph.
I lived there in the UK (MID-lands) for 3 years........Best time in my life,riding/driving/pub'n..........Monk

[image: View Post]Monk, on Apr 11 2009, 11:39 PM, said:

If I'm not mistaken the top speed "limit" in the UK is 70 mph. Yes....I saw that you did it in Germany....I think that some non natives may have heard that some roads in the UK don't have speed limits.....They probably are unaware that there is a UK known law that 70 is tops on any unmarked road.....Kind of like our different states,that have it in the book for what's the states high for unmarked roads.
Now having that said. When you get on a back road in the UK................Good luck holding 70mph.
I lived there in the UK (MID-lands) for 3 years........Best time in my life,riding/driving/pub'n..........Monk


:+1:

... I love the back roads here, some of them are as challenging as any racetrack - tight bends, off-camber curves and real nice long straights to blast up to 130mph :wheel:

As others said, the VFR's speedo is off by 8% on average. More like 10% on mine. I've only seen that high a speed once or twice on my VFR and I have no plans to do it again (I'm clean out of "Get out of jail free" cards! ;p), but I can tell you the last several mph took awhile to achieve.

Remember we're talking 800cc here, not a 1300 or 1350 'Busa or Duc 1098. I think for a heavy 800cc sportbike anything over 130 is pretty impressive! ;)

[image: View Post]cornercarver, on Apr 11 2009, 11:50 AM, said:

Since you are in the UK and not the US of A I am gonna go out on a limb and guess that you have access to some public roads that have no speed limit.

FYI: There are no public roads in UK with no speed limit.
Maximum is 70 mph on Motorway and some A roads, even then that is "if conditions are OK"

Maybe on a track day or on the German autobahns, but anything >100mph definitely looking for a ban, fine and possibly test re-take.

Not being judgmental as been there done that in my younger days, oh the joys of tearing it up around Brecon Beacons, Builth Wells and the A470 (pre-speed cameras)

[image: View Post]Falco1UK, on Apr 12 2009, 08:28 PM, said:

[image: View Post]cornercarver, on Apr 11 2009, 11:50 AM, said:

Since you are in the UK and not the US of A I am gonna go out on a limb and guess that you have access to some public roads that have no speed limit.

FYI: There are no public roads in UK with no speed limit.
Maximum is 70 mph on Motorway and some A roads, even then that is "if conditions are OK"

Maybe on a track day or on the German autobahns, but anything >100mph definitely looking for a ban, fine and possibly test re-take.

Not being judgmental as been there done that in my younger days, oh the joys of tearing it up around Brecon Beacons, Builth Wells and the A470 (pre-speed cameras)


There are still plenty of roads without those pesky yellow boxes :biggrin:

[image: View Post]Falco1UK, on Apr 12 2009, 02:28 PM, said:

[image: View Post]cornercarver, on Apr 11 2009, 11:50 AM, said:

Since you are in the UK and not the US of A I am gonna go out on a limb and guess that you have access to some public roads that have no speed limit.

FYI: There are no public roads in UK with no speed limit.
Maximum is 70 mph on Motorway and some A roads, even then that is "if conditions are OK"

Maybe on a track day or on the German autobahns, but anything >100mph definitely looking for a ban, fine and possibly test re-take.

Not being judgmental as been there done that in my younger days, oh the joys of tearing it up around Brecon Beacons, Builth Wells and the A470 (pre-speed cameras)

I guess I should have been more specific...He has access to some public roads that I do not. He can ride to the Autobahn where I would get a bit wet if that was my desire for a holiday week...still best of luck with exploring the far side of the speedo.

Baileyrock, on Apr 11 2009, 08:41 PM, said: Why? Because it could be an indication of something being wrong with the bike. I agree that 137 is too low and should be closer to 150mph (160 indicated as shown in the videos below) Zagabul, is it maybe a German import with throttle restriction? As an encore: a VFR400 doing 137 indicated.

Let's see:
Check chain
Change sprockets teeth count
Lose some weight (not poking fun..it's simple physics)
Consider hp loss due to altitude (not sure of how much that changes from the UK to Germany)?
Any hard luggage?

Suggested mods:
After market exhaust (catless)
PCIII + 02 Sensor mods
Dyno tuning

You are pretty much there... On a really long flat stretch i got my '04 up to an indicated 154 or so. It just kept going up to 154, then down to 150, then back up. Held it for a bit then slowed. It was drag limited (it still had more RPM range, just no more power), so you might benifit from removing the mirrors, tucking in more, losing weight and getting more power...

I have seen 165 indicated in an undisclosed location North of San Antonio. I have the mods listed in my sig and the bike is well maintained and always clean. 137 indicated is on the low side, but you do have to reach top speed in 5th, 6th geard is too tall. I have also seen above 140 indicated with my wife on the back and hard bags on. My bike does have a custom fuel map, but I only have 105 at the wheel with all of the mods done to the bike. Just to check, you should make sure your bike is running at optimum condition. Staying tucked does help. The VFR is drag limited, so anything you can think of to reduce frontal mass will help. I hope you have some good gear on if you are approaching these speeds regardless of legality.