Hmmmm. Why?

[Breed777]

Ok so im on my learners..... on the open road today and decided to sit at 100 since I think the law sucks and its my neck and I feel safer at 100 than doing 70 and getting a Kenworth up my butt....

anyway....

Sitting at 100, and look in my mirror (yes i use em!) and some pocket rocket comes flying past me (had to be doing 130-140 easy)....


Heres my question.... seems everyone on here is about safety.... the gear required, the quality of the roads, bike maintenance etc all this to keep us alive and safe....

So.... Why do people speed? that guy could have comfortably sat behind me at 100....i was doing the limit....

I remember when the speed limit used to be 80km on the open road.... people did 100..... now its 100... people do 120-130....

Whats with doing everything you can to stay alive and then break the speed limit.....

in saying that... around town i do 50 and god it feels slow!



Is the 100km/hr limit just too slow? can bikes and cars safely go faster? or are people just saying they know better than the law?

Im sure there are guys on here who could easly ride round at 180kph and never crash....Watched Karate Kid this weekend....'Learn to fight so you never have too' great quote...

I wanna learn to ride over 100 so I never have to (unless on a track)...

your thoughts....

oh, and had i swerved to miss debris that rider today would be picking his face off the road... and I would probably be dead....

[Ragingrob]

I think you only have to check out places like Germany to discover whether people can drive faster than 100 and still be safe.

Road infrastructure has a great deal to do with it though, our country definitely does not have roads like the autobahn. Licensing also plays a massive part.

[MSTRS:Me]

You ask 'Why?"....the answer is simple "Cos we can".
And I don't agree with your theory re 100-120/130. There are very few that will do that these days. Many more stick at <95.

[FJRider]

The only limits are the one's you set yourself.

There are laws though ... ignore them and it may cost. Not just in monetary values either ...

[Breed777]

I think you only have to check out places like Germany to discover whether people can drive faster than 100 and still be safe.

Road infrastructure has a great deal to do with it though, our country definitely does not have roads like the autobahn. Licensing also plays a massive part.

Yeah thats a good point. I have been driving cars for about 15 yrs and to be honest I have done 120...but I am still happy to sit at 100 99% of the time.

Maybe I just dont have a need for speed...saying that on both the bike and in the cage I will zap round town at 60-65 most of the time (and that seems to be the consensus with traffic)... in tauranga round town its either 35 or 65...nothing in between

[MSTRS:Me]

And the 'speed' thing of which you mention...
Most of us aren't too bothered about speed per se...it is 'speed inappropriate for the conditions' that rattles our cages.

[Breed777]

You ask 'Why?"....the answer is simple "Cos we can".
And I don't agree with your theory re 100-120/130. There are very few that will do that these days. Many more stick at <95.

I guess alot depends on the area your from... here is the Bay Of Plenty I vote we have the worst drivers in NZ.... even in the cage I feel safer in Auckland... its like you guys are prepared for something to happen and your ready for it... Tauranga is full of old grannies who mistake a driveway for a street and take out half a house (Dont laugh it happened here last year!)

[Breed777]

And the 'speed' thing of which you mention...
Most of us aren't too bothered about speed per se...it is 'speed inappropriate for the conditions' that rattles our cages.

Your bike has a cage? that an aftermarket thing...

[MSTRS:Me]

I guess alot depends on the area your from... here is the Bay Of Plenty I vote we have the worst drivers in NZ.... even in the cage I feel safer in Auckland... its like you guys are prepared for something to happen and your ready for it... Tauranga is full of old grannies who mistake a driveway for a street and take out half a house (Dont laugh it happened here last year!)

You don't spend much time out on the open road? Poor drivers are everywhere and so are the infuriatingly slow.
The few times I find myself in Aucks on the MW, I'll sit at 105ish and I can assure you that very few pass me. It's more likely I'll be doing the passing.
The same applies more or less everywhere else I go too.

[Brownstoo]

I always cage at 100 coz my car doesn't go faster lol, and when I'm riding it's usually 100 coz I like my licence, and not paying fines, not because it's unsafe.

It's not really that 100 is the safe speed to go. It's just a random number they picked, and most people got used to driving at that speed.
In South Africa they changed the limit from 90 to 120 or something, people crashed and died for a while, but then the road toll went down as people got comfortable with the new limit. It's like that, the safest speed is whatever speed you're comfortable riding with.
And learning to go fast is just an experience thing, comes with time I guess.

And yeah the 'speed' thing is more of a 'stupid' thing. More when people do stupid things than simply go fast.

[Breed777]

You don't spend much time out on the open road? Poor drivers are everywhere and so are the infuriatingly slow.
The few times I find myself in Aucks on the MW, I'll sit at 105ish and I can assure you that very few pass me. It's more likely I'll be doing the passing.

Dont spend alot of time on the open road but in my experience I have never passed a vehicle doing 100.... whats the point.... I only wanna do 100 anyway.... and its nice to have a car ahead sometimes...
Id pass someone doing 80 for sure... Im sure cops get that excuse all the time ' I was just doing 120 cause I was passing that other guy doing the limit'

Im happy to do 100 and if the guy behind me is gettin pissed off well I suggest some green tea and and some Enigma...

[Ragingrob]

Yeah it makes a big difference as to what you're used to. I'm constantly in 100kph areas on country roads etc and that was where I learnt to drive and ride, so I'm used to it and everything under 105kph feels slow some days.

[Breed777]

Yeah it makes a big difference as to what you're used to. I'm constantly in 100kph areas on country roads etc and that was where I learnt to drive and ride, so I'm used to it and everything under 105kph feels slow some days.

Yeah Im definately more of a city commuter....
Still Have seen guys at the light pull away fast and wheelie it for 50 metres up the road...

Never found it impressive and no desire to do it... Mr Suzuki gave me 2 wheels I intend to use em both

[Ixion]

Ok so im on my learners..... on the open road today and decided to sit at 100 since I think the law sucks and its my neck and I feel safer at 100 than doing 70 and getting a Kenworth up my butt....

anyway....

Sitting at 100, and look in my mirror (yes i use em!) and some pocket rocket comes flying past me (had to be doing 130-140 easy)....


Heres my question.... seems everyone on here is about safety.... the gear required, the quality of the roads, bike maintenance etc all this to keep us alive and safe....

So.... Why do people speed? that guy could have comfortably sat behind me at 100....i was doing the limit....

I remember when the speed limit used to be 80km on the open road.... people did 100..... now its 100... people do 120-130....

Whats with doing everything you can to stay alive and then break the speed limit.....

in saying that... around town i do 50 and god it feels slow!



Is the 100km/hr limit just too slow? can bikes and cars safely go faster? or are people just saying they know better than the law?

Im sure there are guys on here who could easly ride round at 180kph and never crash....Watched Karate Kid this weekend....'Learn to fight so you never have too' great quote...

I wanna learn to ride over 100 so I never have to (unless on a track)...

your thoughts....

oh, and had i swerved to miss debris that rider today would be picking his face off the road... and I would probably be dead....

Are you sure that you would not be happier with a nice beige Corolla ?

[NDORFN]

When I'm in the car, I sit on 109 on the open road, and 55 in town for the obvious reason that when you're in a large, heavy object travelling in a flow of other large, heavy objects it pays to go with it. When I'm on the bike... anything goes.