Boxerworks.com

It should get to close to 200kph.

A 1983 20K km R100RS I had years ago, displayed 215kph, at sea level, a very long straight, and no headwind. For the Ozzies, this was the road below Wilmington Pass, following the coast heading north to Port Augusta.

The keyword of course is "displayed". No gps to validate in 1985, and knowing the inherent inaccuracy of these speedos....

I've never seen more than 200 kph since, and these days I doubt I'll ever even try. Here in Victoria, Oz, the government likes the income from speeding, and the bastards are everywhere.

First, anything that you might read on the speedo will be optimistic ...
If you are seeing @ 120+ actual speed on a relatively stock machine,
you're in the ballpark of "as good as it gets".

I once got to 195 kph in a steep dive, but had to abort the test as I was coming under attack from ground fire.

185 is about it for my 81 RS.

My bog standard '81 RS will do 140mph any day... and of course my speedo is accurate

In reality, very few speedos are accurate over about 70mph. There is no legal requirement, certain in this country, for them to be accurate outside the Max national speed limits and, as far as I'm aware that goes for most other legislatures as well.

In other words, before you start beating your bike up, make absolutely sure that the reading you are getting bears some relationship with reality.

Rob

Rob Frankham wrote: In other words, before you start beating your bike up, make absolutely sure that the reading you are getting bears some relationship with reality.

Rob

That's a good point Rob, I'm going to get an air speed indicator.

I'm w----a------y past 'starting' to beat up my bike. That started last century.

Rob Frankham wrote:My bog standard '81 RS will do 140mph any day... and of course my speedo is accurate

In reality, very few speedos are accurate over about 70mph. There is no legal requirement, certain in this country, for them to be accurate outside the Max national speed limits and, as far as I'm aware that goes for most other legislatures as well.

In other words, before you start beating your bike up, make absolutely sure that the reading you are getting bears some relationship with reality.

Rob

140 mile/hour (mph) = 225.308 16 kilometer/hour . Your speedo must've come from a similiar batch to mine all those years ago!

How often do you get to open yours up Rob? At least here in Oz, we have the occasional wide open space that's almost endless. That's where they use the police spotters in 'planes! Time and distance between road markings!

I've managed to open mine up once or twice in the past 12 months, but still nowhere near its top speed.

SteveD wrote:

Rob Frankham wrote:My bog standard '81 RS will do 140mph any day... and of course my speedo is accurate

In reality, very few speedos are accurate over about 70mph. There is no legal requirement, certain in this country, for them to be accurate outside the Max national speed limits and, as far as I'm aware that goes for most other legislatures as well.

In other words, before you start beating your bike up, make absolutely sure that the reading you are getting bears some relationship with reality.

Rob

140 mile/hour (mph) = 225.308 16 kilometer/hour . Your speedo must've come from a similiar batch to mine all those years ago!

How often do you get to open yours up Rob? At least here in Oz, we have the occasional wide open space that's almost endless. That's where they use the police spotters in 'planes! Time and distance between road markings!

I've managed to open mine up once or twice in the past 12 months, but still nowhere near its top speed.

Me... I never exceed the 70mph national maximum speed limit.. ever... would I do such thing? it's just that my miles are a bit longer than anyone elses

Rob

Yeah, the RS should do over the tonne. My 77 with 33/11 just does 115 mph by GPS indication, tucked in and down. By the speedo I'm doing over 135!!!! Woo Hoo!...........................uh, I mean just over 55 officer, I swear! This machine is older than you with over a hunnert thousand miles on it, I don't think it could hit 60 on a good day....Hey, I'm just sayin'.........

All BMW speedos are at least 5% optimistic, some are 10%......so we need to be talking about gps validated speed. My 'S' with a tuned engine is still accelerating at a real 115, but that's when I chickened out! For an RS would be difficult to say for sure as not all RS bikes are the same with various changes in engine tune and gearing over the years, I would reckon in the range of 110-120, but will go all day at 90-95,

My '89 with some performance modifications will pull just under redline on a flat surface, no downhill cheating. This is 115mph with a GPS. I suspect this is just about the maximum 'actual' speed that most 1000cc machines in well-tuned condition will do, even the fabled "big-pipe" 1977 models. My speedometer reads around 120 at this speed.

Can anyone prove me wrong???