Is the RE Interstate-Worthy?

[dewjantim]

Here in Ky on Saturday night we have people driving 70 in the ditch.......Dew.

[GreenMachine]

I don't like being pass by a semi while tooling along on my classic doing 60..I have to stay pretty close to the line and keep the bike from being blown..Have had the bike out on 2 lane country highway doing 50 - 60 and due to windy conditions , it seems that I'm driving sideways to keep her straight (most of u guys know what I'm talking about)..It still alot of fun but if I need to deal with alot of stuff (interstate, winds, etc) I think I'll take my 03 1100 yamaha out for that scenerio...Is that to say I'll never ride the enfield on anything but a country road...No but I'll give it some thought especially if I have something in the garage with a bit more umph and weight. Just my thoughts..cheers

[jonapplegate]

In regards to the post about cyl. head temp gauges, If you had such a gauge mounted, what would you consider too hot or a good operating temp. range on an aircooled machine  

[Foggy_Auggie]

Just normal running in everyday conditions would give a baseline for a cylinder head temp gauge.  Because each engine and state of tune is individual.  And the heat sensor thermocouple would be mounted where ever the owner wanted it.

When parameters are established, it would be the deviations outside the normal range to look for.  These deviations would indicate a change in air/fuel ratio and/or timing.

Obviously a quick increase in temperature, outside the norm, requires a shutdown and inspection.

[LJRead]

If heat is the problem with sustained high speeds with R E, and the new EFI engine is touted as being more powerful and able to sustain high speeds, have they made some changes aimed at reducing engine heat?  I doubt it, but maybe Kevin or Jim can tell us.

[Kevin Mahoney]

The conventional cast iron engine is not that great at getting rid of heat. The new engines are much better at it,

[Bankerdanny]

For short stints sure, but I wouldn't do a cross country interstate trip.

I have an '02 500 ES with Ace bars and stock carb/exhaust/gearing. The forward tilt makes a big difference when speeds top 60. I have upgraded the tires to Avon AM26 Roadrider's, which were a HUGE improvement over the stock retro tires.

The couple of times that I have ventured onto the highway I just keep left and find a semi that I can draft from (at a safe distance of course).

My bike seems pretty comfortable at an indicated 60-65, but I will say the sweet spot seems to fall between 50 and 60, which is not enough for most interstates.

[jonapplegate]

this is a question that occurred to me after reading Foggie_auggie's post about the cyl. temp. guage. If one did mount a temp. guage, What would the temperature rages be to llok for, especially max. temp. obviously. I live where we get the full range of temperatures , Negative 0's to 110f and I ride often all year round unless there is snow on the road or it is below freezing a little bit.

[cyrusb]

Yes, on a trailer.

[Kevin Mahoney]

I totally agree with BankerDenny. this is very good advice. Cyrusb also has a point. For extended higher speed riding the bikes with the AVL lean-Burn engines are better, but I still wouldn't recommend driving cross country at freeway speeds.

[Bankerdanny]

As an addendum to my previous response, I changed to an 18-tooth counter sprocket. It moved the sweet spot up ever so slightly to about 60.

It also made cruising at 45mph a bit smoother because I can keep it in 3rd and not feel like the rpms are a bit high.

[deejay]

As an addendum to my previous response, I changed to an 18-tooth counter sprocket. It moved the sweet spot up ever so slightly to about 60.

It also made cruising at 45mph a bit smoother because I can keep it in 3rd and not feel like the rpms are a bit high.

Nice, I'm doing this change this weekend, although I'm still trying to find a socket big enough to fit over that 2" nut.

[Bankerdanny]

Sears. I got a large box end wrench.

It's not 2" though it's 1 1/2.

[doomed1]

Say, does anyone know if the new UCE engines will kick the cruising speed up to the 70-80mph range? I intended to get an RE this summer, but if i can get a solid interstate cruising speed, then I'll want to wait till next year so I can ride my bike between home and school at each end of the summer, or potentially move on to a more interstate worthy bike.

[cyrusb]

Doomed1, Look at it this way, It will do everything a late model 250 UJM can do. And less...