May Poll Question Asks How Fast Do You Go?

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

I cannot tell a lie. A few years ago, I got a speeding ticket. A state trooper caught me doing 80-plus miles per hour on the V-Rod that I then owned on Route 63 north of Goshen. It was a bright, sunny day. Visibility was unlimited. There was no other traffic. The V-Rod rode like Lincoln Continental, and going 80-plus felt much like going the speed limit.

The state trooper was nice as I handed over my license, registration and insurance card. When he asked if I knew how fast I’d been going, if memory serves, I replied honestly, “84, sir.”  The trooper took my papers, ran my plate and, in an act of generosity, wrote me a ticket for only doing 15 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.

The fact is that it’s sometimes hard to ride slowly on a motorcycle. There’s always the urge to blip the throttle and lean into curves. That’s part of the fun of riding. While I never make it a habit of riding excessively fast – I do like to enjoy the scenery and scenery can’t be enjoyed if it’s a blur – I usually ride  five to 10 miles per hour above the speed limit. That’s fast enough to get a little more thrill out of the ride, but slow enough to probably avoid another ticket.

Which me bring to the May poll question: How fast do you normally ride? Cast your vote in the poll to the right. My gut tells me that most riders push the limit … at least a little.