I wonder if the Expressway ban in China is the perception and history of small bikes that cannot travel very fast, especially with loads of cabbages and the odd pig tied on them? I am surprised that here in Aus they allow small bikes on the freeways as most cars travel over the speed limit, averaging 120 kph. The Police only seem to bother when they are close to town or on a fines blitz to make some money for the week!

I find it uncomfortable on the 200cc Kinlon at 100 with them all passing, often far too close. Bikes will always be vulnerable; stability, lack of protection play a part in that. Car drivers always feel more protected even though in most cases any crash is potential death despite airbags and crumple zones, those aids and the smoothness of modern cars seem to make people drive faster and less aware of what is around them.

I know it would require some hard planning and a lot of political battles but I decided recently that cars are just too fast today, and despite the rights of individual freedom etc. I am coming to the view that all cars should be limited by design to 100 kph. Too many kids die in overpowered cars. I caught my girlfriend the other day, she didn't know that by chance I was behind her in my car, and she was doing 125 kph at times (in a flow of traffic all doing the same speed on the freeway) in a 1500cc Hyundai with her 10 yr old daughter, both happily waving arms and singing along to music. I don't think she looked in the mirror once in the 30 km I followed her, she certainly didn't notice it was me behind her until I flashed my lights at the traffic lights. When I asked her about it she just said she didn't look at the speedo consciously once in the 80 km trip, just went with the traffic (as did I, it is safer or so it feels). And without being sexist, she is an awful driver, always a bit over the line on bends, always braking rather than slowing and so on.

She isn't alone by a long way. I know many drivers young and old that are OK (at best) in a straight line but couldn't handle anything else that may happen. They just groove along, too fast in a pack with the odd rogue flying in and out and the odd old codger just as dangerous at half speed. Her last car, which she wrote off (seems it wasn't her fault lol) was a big powerful saloon with all the airbags, power-steering, ABS and so on - so she thought she was driving well when the car itself was doing half of it and luck was doing the rest.

I love driving fast, I did sometimes use to open the car up to 160 -170 kph for a blast when alone on an empty Freeway and I would hate to lose the thrill of riding a bike fast especially. But I would truly accept lower limits in speed if they were enforced in the design of vehicles for safety. Road deaths are just so stupid, especially of young people, so many of them die for nothing of value. And for every death there is a whole heap of serious injury and paralysing and maiming and scarring and this all affects and traumatises family and friends as well. Doesn't seem to stop the stupidity though.

Since I got this slow old chinese R/T I do a lot more sitting up and looking at what is around me. It is fun riding rather than racing from A to B and I cannot really say that I take more than five or ten percent more in travel time. I have had to work really hard to train myself to slow down overall, the car seems to naturally cruise at 120 kph and it is only a 2 liter job. And the thrill of opening up the wrist on the bike and laying it down on the edge round a bend is still a turn on at my advancing years! Sometimes I wish it was impossible to go as fast as I can.