Freeway cruising revs.
 

I was wondering where the revs on your bikes are when cruising on the super slab. Here in the Bay area/ Sac area (cali) the average freeway MPH is about 80ish. At that speed the engine speed is about 5500 or 6000 in 5th gear. If I shift to 6th it will drop to about 4000-4500 and it just feels like its lugging a bit while cruising. Should I be concered maintaining an engine speed of 5500-6000 sustained for my 45 mile commute? This may be a simple bone head question, just want to know.

at 80mph you should be in 6th gear!

u can always shift back down 2 5th to acc. past someone or get out of way

+1

Sounds perfect. There's no way that it's lugging, I run mine in 6th at speeds as low as 45mph. It's not until 2000rpm or less that it starts to lug.


Exactly.


Why? There's never a need to downshift on the big twin!!!

It depends, is your gearing stock?

39T rear gives better milage but you lug her at the speed limit in top gear. There is so much torque available in that motor that eighty-ish in 6th is loafing along with the 41T stock sprocket. Passing should be a roll on breeze, if not then perhaps there's another issue to look at.

Stock gearing. Passing in sixth is just as easy as rolling on a bit, but the engine just feels right at 5500-6000. Feels quick, strong. Will I do harm to my bike if I continue riding in 5th at those speeds?

i'm NOT sure but i doubt you'd harm the bike. again, i'm not sure.

put it in sixth and i AM sure you won't hurt the bike!

why do you want to ride in fifth so badly? if you have a good reason i'd like to know it, i'm curious. i'm not trying to be a jerk, i am curious, that's all. people come up with some out of the box thinking and sometimes are right on!

You have to consider how motorcycle engines wear out. What goes first? They don't wear out bearings or rings. What goes first is the valves, or more specifically the valve seats. These get beat up because of one factor - revs. It's independent of throttle use, etc, etc, it all comes down to how fast the valves are slamming against the seat. Keep those revs down and the valves won't beat up the seats as bad. Cruise around at engine speeds higher than you need to (like running on the highway in anything but 6th) and you will need a valve job sooner.

time X speed = wear
maybe you bike would last x miles, rev higher and it might last x-y miles.
smooth is always better for mechanical stuff. higher revs are less smooth.

that being said, thehawk motor is designed to rev. if you revved higher on a hardley you might be asking for more problems.

I think the biggest problem would be using up too much gas!

I just made a 100 mile trip to Tampa with about 70 of it on interstate 4

I went 85 to 90 the whole way. And I sit up on my bike (high bars)

Mileage was 38.5 MPG

Tom

In 5th?

Stay above 4K when cruising at all times.
Anyone who wants tide 2.5K should go buy a Sportster.
Low revs on these bikes causes weird noises+rattles+timing chain slap=metal on metal wear, etc.

Cheers and rev it fools!

I will ride at anywhere from 3.5k to 6k depending on how much power I want on tap.. But it isn't "lugging" till 2k or lower.

agreed... although I would also say ride the way you like how it feels the best, you won't hurt th engine at 6k rpms and you wont hurt the motor at 3k rpms. If you like how it feels at 6 then ride it there. I will add though its more a "feel" then a nescesity since we have enough torque on hand.

With stock gearing, peak torque is @ 6500 RPMs. As others have posted, just feel it out.
If you run 3K RPMs and you feel it's good enough then your good. Or if you want to run 5500 RPMs and it feels good then your good too. This is a sport-tourer not a cruiser or a full on race bike. Don't lug it or rev the shit out it. If you ride the bike properly, you should shift just prior or right at the torque curve. If your running at highway speed you should run in what should be called the "comfort zone". The "comfort zone" is the RPM range where the engine is not lugging but in a more relaxed RPM range(below the torque curve) to allow smooth power delivery and a slight lag in throttle acceleration. In other words the the RPMs take a second or tow to build up to produce a lot more power right under or at the torque curve. Fifth or sixth is really up to you. I ride in sixth @ 80. (16/43)

I have stock gearing, and I'm taching 3500 rpm @ 65 mph in 6th.

Of course if you want to, the VTR will do 70 mph in 1st @ redline. No need to shift at all.:rolleyes:

Yes, but keep in mind that is at full throttle. At part throttle the torque peak (if you were to dyno it that way) would be something much lower than that. This is really not something that comes into play with this discussion, I don't think.

why do you want to ride in fifth so badly? if you have a good reason i'd like to know it, i'm curious.


You know, the engine just feels right at about 5500ish revs. Nice pull and all. The reason for riding in 5th gear is to get the same engine revs and feel in 6th I would be going 90-95 mph. I dont really have a problem with that, but Johny Law dosn't like it. 80 mph around here is the freeway norm so 5th gear it is.

again, not trying to be rude or a jerk, but you're not convincing me. i don't even cruise at 5500rpm on my gixxer! maybe my vibe is off!