ROTELLA said:
...Does anyone have accurate road test speeds for the top speed of the 650?
As reported elsewhere on this forum, I have done some speed testing of my 650, once when the bike had about 600 miles on it and once with about 2000.
Both times the tests were done on straight, flat road in central Washington, and both times I took it to top speed, then back to 60, then back to top speed and held it for a mile or so.
Max speed was 112 indicated (~100 actual). Gross weight was 837 pounds, +/- 10 pounds. Temperature on 1st test was 100F+ and on 2nd test was near 70F. Wind near zero for both tests.
Interestingly, the bike is faster in Normal mode than Power mode. Power mode will get you from 0 - 60 faster, but the rev limits are reached at the high end before reaching the highest speeds.
There has been some discussion of whether the top speed reached in "real world" riding is a limit on maximum available power, or if there is an electronic limiter cutting in at ~100MPH actual. If it's the latter, then adding one of the aftermarket black boxes designed to correct the speedometer error may allow a higher maximum true speed by "tricking" the limiter.
Reports from Japan of a Burgman (Skywave) 650 doing 130MPH seem farfetched, but I suppose it may be theoretically possible with a factory tuned machine with all the electronics set for speed.