HAS ANYBODY PUT A 6 SPEED ON THERE SPORTSTER.WONDING IF ITS WORTH IT

 

Should find the answers you need here..

https://www.hdforums.com/m_1658214/tm.htm

 

It's an interesting idea since many of us sportster riders are looking for that imaginary 6th gear already!
here's the link.... http://www.bikernet.com/garage/xl6-1.asp

 

It is an interesting idea.... I wonder about altered gear ratios though..... I personally wouldn't want to sacrifice the low end.... I guess I should just read theinfo and find out, instead of writing this meaningless post [8D]

 

On a recent trip to bike week I shifted into 6th gear a 100 times but it was never there......I was running with an Ultra classic @70mph or better most of the way and he was purring along and I was screaming along lol

wayne

 

Kinda, sorta, slightly off topic but I rode 575 miles on my Nightster this weekend on some rural roads and some interstate roads. I came to the realization that although the bike can cruise along at 75-80 mph, it seemed much more comfortable at 70-72 mph. Kinda the sweet spot in fifth gear. Very smooth and not alot of shake, rattle, and roll. Of course if another bike has different exhaust, AC, or mapping it might run at a slightly different speed, but there was a definitely a very comfortable speed where it felt like the motor wasn't even working hard at all. I averaged 48 mpg over the entire trip.

 

I have noticed a similar range on my bike.... 70-75, she just sits in and purrs.... I don't feel any power loss at higher speeds, but I do notice a difference in smoothness. When I rented an 07 Road King for the weekend, I noticed that the bike cruised very smoothly at80-85 in sixth gear. However, on the lower end the bike felt sluggish in comparison to my Nightster. Of course, the RK was completely stock. The RK was certainly much more comfortable at high speeds (not that this is really important to me).

 

Okay, this 6th gear stuff is starting to really tick me off. You guys are nuts. First off, I did 300 miles this past weekend at high speeds on the highway.I have Stage 1: SE Street Perf pipes, SE air cleaner, Fuelpak. With this setup and nothing else, my bike runs so well I don't even need a 6th gear. In fact, I didn't even think I needed one BEFORE stage 1.

Now, a lot of you have Stage 1 on your bikes. Unless you did it wrong (how...?) you should be fairly well-equipped for riding without a 6th gear. For instance, you guys might not be into this, but honestly the 1200 sportster runs BEST at 80mph-90mph. I know you all have excuses like "oh, I don't want to get myself in trouble, etc," but you do not need a 6th gear!!

I was hanging with an Electra Glide and I was out-accelerating the EG at 80-100mph when he was doing his little "6th gear" nonsense. I was passing cars going 80mph like they were standing still. GIVE IT SOME THROTTLE.

Even the guy on the EG was saying when he went to pass people at those speeds he didn't have enough "oomph" to do it quickly -- he had to "wind up" the bike first. I'm telling you, if you look at the SE SP pipes chart on the HD website, you see that extra horsepower you gain at the high revs? Guess where that's hanging out? That's right: 80+ mph. So get your horsepower going and you need no 6th gear at all ever.

I'm not joking. The 1200 sportster in 5th is faster than any of the touring bikes as far as acceleration at high speed. Keep in mind, that IS with Stage 1 done properly.

[sm=rant.gif]

 

I just posted this on a similar thread:

Like everyone else, I have tried shifting to 6th many times. Most of my riding is done in the 45-55 mph range and I'm used to a certain sound from the engine. When I get to 65-70, I try to shift to 6th to get that "normal" sound back - LOL!

Actually, a 6th gear meansfaster acceleration only,unless the final drive ratio changes. Harley has designed these bikes with a certain final drive ratio based on the different engine sizes for a reason. Putting a 6th, or "overdrive" gear (from an engineering standpoint) on any bike willstressthe engine'sdesign limits beyond what was intended. If you want a slower turning engine at 70 mph it's best to get a big twin, or an old British Panther.

As far as the EG above having trouble getting out of his own way, did he ever hear of "downshifting"?

 

Yeah, trust me. The guy I was riding with used to race motocross and used to run his BMW at 110 on the highway because it ran smooth there. This guy isn't a squid. Besides, if you do have to down shift, doesn't that nullify the whole 6th gear thing? He says you don't need the 6th until after 80mph, so unless you're cruising over 80, there's really no reason to have the 6th gear.

Also, I have a 1200 Roadster, just like you, and I find it crazy that you want to shift to 6th at 65-70. Seriously, do you even know where the power is located on the 1200? It has been stated before that the "real power" starts at 4,000 rpm on the 1200. Since you have a 1200, you should be running the gears up to 3,500 minimal and even up to 4,000 while not aggressively riding. I run 65-70 in 4th gear and don't even shift to 5th until 70 or more. You should really try running 70mph in 4th because it will put the engine around 4k rpms, which is where it runs really smooth.

Thus, if you run 5th gear at 4,000 rpms, it's just as smooth -- which brings you to around 80mph. That's why you guys are all nuts... take your bikes to 4k and see how much smoother it runs than any other rpm, provided your bike is fully broken in.

Even the 883R I had would do 70mph in 5th really smooth at 4,000 rpm. If you're doing a bike with more power geared for a higher top speed [e.g., the 1200 sportster] at the same shift points as the 883, you have problems...

Go by what the tach says, not what the "sound" of the bike is. Geez, the sound doesn't mean crap relative to how the bike is actually running on the tach.