High speed run - Germany

[dcb]

Reg Local said:

This was 10.30 on a Saturday morning on the A60 between Prum and Wittlich-Land. Not too far from the Nurburgring if you make the effort.

Thanks for the info. I've been to Bitburg a couple of times (schocking beer),
but don't know that area of Germany all that well. I have spent a lot of time
further south in Bavaria and Baden-Wuertemburg,

Reg Local said:

Would I try this in heavy traffic, at night or in poor weather? Probably not, but the benefit of “no” speed limit (there is a 130kph advisory limit on autobahns), is that it leaves it up to you to choose your speed. As long as you do it responsibly and remove as much risk as you can, these speeds are perfectly safe.

The Germans expect you to think for yourself. Most unlike Nanny State UK.

Mind you, I think I read somewhere the risk of high speed driving is the
difference in speed between the lanes, squared i.e. (v1 - v2) ^ 2

Given that UK lane speed differences are rarely more than 30 mph and German
differences can easily be 90 mph, there is more risk on German autobahns
even though that risk is trivial compared to non-motorway roads. For example
13 is 30% more than 10, but a lot less than 100.

Reg Local said:

I used to teach this stuff to police officers on UK motorways, and we would occasionally reach these speeds, but it was nice to have a go in my own car on a nicely paved and relatively traffic-free road.

I've been driving in Germany for over thirty years. I like it a lot. Miles better
than the dull tedium of UK driving.

I'd be interested in your opinions once you've got say 10,000 km of autobahn
driving under your belt.

[StonedRollin]

Willy Nilly said:

I got mine up to 145ish along there for a few seconds. I let my brother get ahead for a few minutes when we were cruising at 100 or so then opened it up. I ran out of road but the bike was still pulling hard, it was quite uneventful

Good effort. It is amazing how that bit of road really pulls you on when you get your first sight of the Alps in the distance and you know what awaits.

I had a top box on the back of my FJR and it is a strange sensation at that speed when you can feel the back end of the bike clearly being upset by the airflow. It felt as though the rear was gently bobbing up and down whilst moving from side to side at the same time. Was fine when you got used to is though.

[Ed/L152]

New tyres have better wet weather performance, part worn are better in the dry. Or so I've read, and it makes sense.

[A44RON]

The first time for me on an Autobahn I hit an indicated 168mph in an Aston V8 Vantage N430 (not mine), on the way to the Nurburgring 24-hours. Rather unnerving on a two-lane stretch, passing trucks and vans that were probably doing 60mph. But also rather liberating knowing it's legal. At one point I even passed a local plod car.

This was on a Friday midday. There was a small amount of traffic initially, but I just waited for an opportunity for the outside lane to be totally clear and went for it. Only stayed at that speed for a minute or so until I could see cars up ahead, so I gradually backed off accordingly.

It certainly got the heart racing, but wasn't anywhere near as difficult finding an opportunity to gun it as some people have made out on here. And this was on a Friday before the big race. Just use your judgement and you'll be fine