Restricted bike...

Hi everyone,

I’ve got a restricted bike and I’ve been wanting to take it on a long ride up to Scotland from London which is a good 500miles. Would there be any problems it being restricted?

Also are there any problems restricting bikes? What does the restriction actually do? I’ve got a R6 and the throttle is limited. Got another year left before I can take off the restrictor kit but am eager to start doing some miles on the bike. Cheers for the help.

Raq

I take it by throttle restriction you mean there is a pin in your throttle housing? basically means you can’t twist the throttle past a certain point, thus physically restricting how fast you can make the bike go.

other types are done through limiting the fuel movement with carb washers, or on modern Fi bikes, a simple ECU swap. does exactly what it says on the tin, it restricts the power output of the bike.

I have a 33bhp restricted gsx650f and I’ve been across the country on it a few times. no prolems at all but think about the following;

power; what you’re interested in really, once you get up to the top end, you’ll start lacking some. Most restricted bikes will still crack a ton, but will take a bit more time to push that last little bit past 80mph, as such fast overtakes on the motorways where most traffic is travelling at 80mph+ need plenty of observation and planning so you don’t get left high and dry.

distance; travelling a long way will make you tired, achey and bored on a motorway, plan your journey, know it well and make sure you take regular breaks, get off your bike and walk around with your lid and jacket off

Fuel; Know how long your tank will last you and plan accordingly. motorway services can be upwards of 20miles apart so tehre’s no point passing a services if your reserve light comes on.

hope this helps a bit

I’m not sure exactly how the restrictor works but when the bike is off the throttle will not go past a certain point but when you turn on the ignition the throttle will move to different levels depending on how fast you throttle it. I’ve been upto 70mph so far and will probably do a short motorway journey to see how it feels. I’ve been told the R6 isn’t a very comfortable bike for long journeys so will have to see.

How does your bike feel restricted? What’s the top end speed you’ve had it upto?

When I had my ER6f restricted, I had it up to 106, I have now had the restrictor removed, and have not found out yet where it tops out.

All the restrictor did on mine seemed to do was exactly what it said on the tin, however, on slow speed, and filtering you do not notice any difference.

Even if you are doing distance, and not using the motorways, it is only the top end of the revs that are restricted, so on nice bendy roads you can learn to use the bike, and not the throttle

Also there are plenty of bikes out there that have less power than a restricted R6, so you’ve still got yourself a bike with a good bit of poke.

As for travelling all the way to Scotland on it, you might want to join in on a few shorter runs to see just how knackered you feel after a few hours of riding. Often an accident isn’t caused by the bike but by the person sitting on it losing concentration, so work yourself up to long journeys gradually and make sure you take plenty of breaks to keep you mentally fresh.

I had a restricted GS500, there is no change down low in performance, you only notice it once you get further up the revs in a high gear. It could go up to about 95mph on private roads :stuck_out_tongue:

Be careful though, I was caught out a couple of times on fast single carriageways when going for on overtake and the restrictor kicked in mid manoeuvre :w00t: so had to quickly drop back and hope the space I left was still there - not a nice moment.

It was a carb restriction by the way i.e. washers in the carbs as opposed to a throttle stop.

I’ve managed to get it to rev upto about 13,000revs with the restrictor when I’m not forceful with the throttle and it responds. But if i was to try and floor it then the restrictor would kick in. I’ll try and check out how high I can actually rev the bike.

Cheers for the advice, I think I’ll try a trip to Brighton and see how that goes. The weather is getting nicer so I’m sure it’ll be a nice ride. Anyone have any other routes or meets coming up soon?

as i’ve said mine is restricted through the ECU and it revs all the way to the red line in 1st 2nd and 3rd(on private roads)

I only really notice a drop in pull from about 8k/rpm, even then it’s still going. town speeds it still has loads of poke

Like I and others have said though, plan your overtakes and know your limits and you’ll get on fine.

where can you but the restrictors from as i cant seem to find them anywhere, cheers

I got them fitted from the dealer. Most dealers will be able to sort you out, they don’t do it themselves I believe but will give you a certificate which is what you’re really paying for! It costs about £150 plus fitting I think.

I find I can’t really go past 9 or 10k on my R6 but it can do about 105 when really pushed with my arse hanging off the tail and my face on the tank.
Slow speed maneouvres are fine, not that you can u-turn on it anyway, but I have to be really careful with engine breaking due to the RPM cap…

At 16 I rode from London to Liverpool one Friday night on a gutless Vespa and back Sunday evening.

If your young, anything should be doable. If you’re young and don’t think you can do it, you’re dead in the water.

You should have no problem except yourself.

Which model R6 do you have? I haven’t had any problems with the revs, what type of restrictor did they put in? I’m able to rev it all the way to 13,000, not tried any further as yet as need more open road and higher speed limits as it gets over 60mph in first.

On my GS only the top 2 gears were effected by high revs being limited, lower gears I could easily redline.