got loud pipes ?

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as for 70mph - that will get you run over on I-465

that said ..

the honda rebel does about 75-80mph top speed - and gets 65-80 mpg whiledoing it

 

Well, yeah, I'm running the original (pre 2004) Screamin' Eagle 2 "not for road use" mufflers on my Fatboy, and open Hooker stepped tuned drag pipes on my WideGlide, and both are pretty loud. The RoadKing has a full Vance & Hines system, and it puts out the tone as well..

But I don't understandstand the question, as I live in a state that has no acousitcal criteria on either mufflers or maximum sound level. I could run stock mufflers, or no mufflers, and be legal.

Doesn't matter how loud (or quiet) the exhaust is, so that doesn't factor in to the speed that I ride.

 

You may want to invest in Iso pegs if that is where the uncomfortable feeling is.

 

I had the same issue when I had a stock 883. I just lived with it,

 

quibbling the legals of it is nor the same as 'attracting attention'

i prefer stealth mode - going unnoticed is usually best for that attention


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http://www.chuckhawks.com/sportster_vibration.htm
[quote]ORIGINAL: Chuck Hawks website
[font=arial]
By Chuck Hawks


I really like the XL Sportster. The 2004 and later models, with their rubber isolated engines, have pretty well licked the vibration problem that plagued Sportsters from 1958 through 2003. But how ahout riders with pre-2004 Evolution Sportsters?
I particularly like the powerful 1200cc Sportsters. Sportsters are quite versatile, and are an awful lot of fun to ride. However, pre-2004 XL's are not good bikes for long trips at freeway speeds, due to the vibration that makes itself evident somewhere between 60 and 70 MPH (depending on the individual bike and the rider's tolerance). This vibration comes from the solidly mounted engine/transmission unit, and is usually felt most in the handlebars, and to a lesser extent in the footpegs.
Any pre-2004 Sportster, and especially a 1200, does vibrate when you run much above 3000 rpm in 5th gear. I don't know how to eliminate that. But there are things you can do to control the vibration. Below are some approaches that usually work.
The 883 Sportster
One point that is worth making at the outset is that typically an 883cc Sportster vibrates less than a 1200cc model. So while I appreciate the performance of the various 1200 Sportsters, if you intend to tour on a Sportster, and ride solo, consider an 883 unless you feel you really need the extra power of the 1200cc motor.
Taller gearing
Probably the most effective thing you can do to reduce vibration at cruising speed is to change to taller gearing. This is accomplished by changing one or both of the belt drive pulleys (or sprockets on chain driven bikes). While this does not eliminate the vibration, you can increase the speed at which you cruise before vibration becomes annoying. The examples in this section apply specifically to 5-speed, belt driven Sportsters, but the principle remains the same for XL's with 4-speed transmissions and/or chain drive. Hot XL magazine (now defunct) published a good article on Sportster gearing, which included gear charts for all Sportsters, in the Spring 1998 issue. I used the numbers from their gear charts in the examples that follow.
To ascertain the gearing you need, first take a test ride and note the rpm range where the bike cruises smoothly in 5th (top) gear. (Your bike must have a tachometer to do this. If it didn't come with a tach, now is the time to get one installed.) Then, using a gear chart, you can select the belt sprockets that will move the speed you want to cruise at into the rpm range you find tolerable.
The last I heard, H-D used 27- and 29-tooth tranny (front) pulleys. The 883 Sportys come with 27-tooth pulleys, and the 1200's come with 29-tooth pulleys. The larger the transmission pulley, the taller the gearing; also, the smaller the rear pulley the taller the gearing. I believe

 

Still no idea of what you are talking about....

We were discussing the speed at which we cruise, not about attracting attention or riding in 'slealth mode'....

I just prefer to ride at the posted speed limit, and I don't see anything wrong with that...