[bambams]

Honestly, I've done 113 MPH indicated on this bike, and it's pretty scary. The sides of the road a complete blur. If anything runs out of the woods like a deer you're literally dead meat. Maybe, maybe, a very expensive racing suit would save your life if you got lucky and didn't collide with anything before flopping to a stop, but you'd probably wish it hadn't. The bike is plenty fast, and if you think you need something faster I'd suggest that perhaps you need to grow up a little bit more and wise up. 90 MPH is nothing to laugh about. If you think it is go ahead and dive off and see how you end up. Or imagine an obstacle and try to stop in time or swerve around it. Guess what? Kind of hard at 90 MPH either way. The bike is "fast enough". There's no such thing as needing faster. There is just ignorance and immaturity left. If you're under 25 give it time. You don't start to mature until around 25. If you're under 30 give it more time because it takes some more years to get there. If you're over 30 give your head a shake because you should know better. Maybe seek mental health assistance. If you're significantly older than 30 perhaps it's just a midlife crisis. Seek mental health assistance, or wait it out. The fun of riding a motorcycle isn't 100 MPH. You should be having fun at 5 MPH. If not then perhaps you should seek out newer, safer thrills in life.

 

[17-CBR500R]

I've gotten my 2017 up to about 112 going downhill. On flat ground it tends to top out around 108. I've not done any performance-related mods to it.


I'm 33 and have to disagree about the speed comment above. Sure, bikes are fun on a windy road at 50-60mph but I've never experienced a rush like doing 140+ on my buddy's Ninja 1000. I get my DD up to around 140 on the interstate pretty regularly. Some of us just like going fast. Started going over 100 before I even had my driver's license and have enjoyed it ever since.

 

[GLSRacer]

I've been followed by weirdos on several occasions. Sometimes speed or agility is needed to get some distance between you and the weirdo. This just happened last week. A bunch of teens in a dodge van were acting really strange outside of Kansas City, they straight cut us off then switched lanes again. They then started flashing lights at people. Thankfully traffic started to get a bit heavy right after they cut us off and a couple smart lane changes got us the distance we needed. We had just been cruising at 80 MPH on pretty open highway, there was no one in front of them or me so there was no need for a lane change at that moment. In AZ I've had people give chase because they're mad about something. I always try to drive in a courteous manner and keep plenty of following distance at speed (literally 1 car length per 10 MPH sometimes). Some folks are just crazy and it's wise to have more capability than you think you might need at your disposal. My daily is a Volvo with over 300 HP for that reason. 110 MPH top speed is more than enough for what I ever plan to do with my bike, I don't think I've had my CBR500R above 95. For me, wanting a bit more isn't about speed or ego, it's about being able to get to a speed equal to or slightly higher than what the average road rager might achieve in his/her car or truck. My beater Scion can hit 140 but most cars are limited to 115 to 120 now days so I think that is a good target for the CBR500R. The main reason I want more power is to have slightly better passing power on the highway. We have some roads around here where the passing zones are really short and sometimes up hill. When riding solo it's not much of a problem but I'd probably err of the side of caution if riding 2 up which means getting stuck behind slower traffic.

 

[bambams]

Of course going fast is fun. It will get your adrenaline pumping certainly. That doesn't mean it's smart. The risks outweigh the rewards. There are plenty of safer and even less expensive ways to have a thrill. That said, I'm not telling you what to do. You're an adult. You do you. Live your best life. Plenty of people live long happy lives being reckless. The odds of that happening aren't great, but it doesn't stop people from trying. Some people are just wired to be reckless I think. I'm friends with one of these people myself. Her insurance is about $5000 a year for a single pickup truck. :grin Hopefully you've had better luck than her.

As for needing a faster bike to escape crazy people that's just asking for trouble. On a motorcycle you're far more vulnerable than in a car or truck. So while it sounds great to just speed away from an attack if the attacker's vehicle happens to be able to keep up with you then you could just make matters worse. Instead of being chased by a crazy person at 70 mph you may find yourself being chased by a crazy person at 140 mph. And at 140 mph that truck or car has even more of an advantage than you do. Better probably to just avoid crazy people if you can, even if means changing your route or stopping and waiting for them to find another target to take their low IQ out on.

If you're concerned about crazy people trying to actually murder you I might suggest moving to a less insane state, or simply investing in a good Bluetooth headset for your helmet so that you can dial 911 and ask for police assistance.

Anyway I don't think transforming the 500 into a 140 mph sprinter is very affordable so if you need a bike to do 140 you've probably chosen poorly. Best of luck.

 

[GLSRacer]

I agree that avoidance is always the best course of action if possible. I also agree that a car or truck has a huge advantage due to their mass. Fortunately the one thing a bike has going for it is its slim profile that allows for lane splitting or easier use of the pull off lane to make a quick get away while the car or truck is stuck in traffic. It also accelerates faster that some idiot's Ford Focus, Exploder, or F150. I'm not sure who wants 140 MPH out of their CBR500R but that's going to be tough to accomplish, probably better to start with a CBR650R or VFR800. 120 MPH should be doable with a full exhaust, head and cam package, intake work, a tune, and revised gearing. The crazy thing is that the Ninja 400 will hit 120 MPH stock, too bad that it's so small and doesn't work well for 2 up riding.

 

[Ram Air]

106 mph on the GPS
P.S. I think I had my last ride of the season yesterday.

 

[GRIZZY]

104 mph is all I could get on mine.

 

[Lolm333]

The max I've seen indicated on mine is 112 mph but just barely and that was right before the rev limiter in top gear.

 

[2020 CBR owner]

what is the fastest speed you have taken your 500 to....
I am just trying to see what kind of riders we have on the forums. ..

my top speed 81mph

117 mph I have a 2020 cbr 500r