Recently went away for a weekend (from south of Sydney to Victoria, Australia) with a bunch of Triumph riders, mostly T'birds and Bonnies, me on my '06 Speedmaster - all of us with panniers or luggage bags to cater for a 4 day ride.
The first 2 hours down the freeway were no problem keeping up with the bunch at 130 kph. We then turned off onto the old road, and the others took off leaving me in their dust. For the rest of the day, about another 500kms, I couldn't catch them, some Bonnies with pillions.
I only got to see them for fuel stops or at turns where they would wait to make sure I went the right road.
I reckon I push the SM pretty hard, it's got Staintunes, been re-jetted, K&N air filter, dyno-tune, Ikon shocks and springs, and going pretty well I thought.
Most of the roads were fast with sweeping turns, nothing too tight. I thought this would be great for my bike, but I was sadly mistaken.
I still enjoyed the trip but maybe the problem is me, and not the bike. I don't think I could have pushed much harder and still kept within my limits.
