I now have 100 miles under my belt on my 2011 XL1200C and I have a couple noob questions.

When running down the road at a constant speed say 45 MPH in 4th gear I notice that the bike just doesn't seem to run smoothly.
It kinda feels like the engine vibration makes the bike surge slightly forward and back ward, if that makes any sense.
I am thinking this is normal as this is my first motorcycle and I really didn't know what to expect.
But I just wanted to get some opinions.
Also it seems to me that the shift points listed in the manual are a bit on the low side.
15 MPH 2nd gear
25 MPH 3rd gear
35 MPH 4th gear
45 MPH 5th gear

Instead I think increasing these shift points by about 5 MPH seems to be a bit smoother.

so now I am shifting at
20 MPH 2nd
30 MPH 3rd
40 mph 4th
50 mph 5th

So this brings me to my last question.
If you shift into 4th at 40 MPH and are running at a consistant 47mph what gear should I be in?
According to the manual I should be in 5th but using my new shift points it seems 4th gear would be better at 47 MPH.
Need some experts opinions here I am trying to learn.
Thanks

 

Don't look at your speedo or tach to shift. Shift by the feel and sound of your bike. You're not going to get that with just 100 miles on it so go ride more.

 

Be sure you're not handling your bike as it would be a 883, the gearing is different on a 1200, so shifting up the gears must occur at a higher speeds.

I have the same bike as yours since three months. I discovered they love to go up in revs, I never go in 5th under 55 MPH. The surging effect you feel comes from riding in high gear at a slower speed. just kick the shifter to get into a lesser gear, and feel how the bike goes.

Mine is now around the 8000 miles mark, I now begin to feel the engine coming right as it should be, the riding in has been completed. Shifting is smoother, the engine breathes better. Great changes since the beginning, I love this bike.

Don't be afraid to open the throttles and go high in revs, there is a rev limiter on those engines, they are kinda protected against noobs like you (and me!)...

 

I'd echo Proteus a bit here as well. I'm riding a 1200 motor in 3rd gear up to about 45mph on consistently flat ground and will occasionally shift into 4th if I'm floating between 45mph and 55-60mph. Those ranges seem like the sweet spot to me. Being in 4th under 45mph or so seems to bog things down and not as smooth.

Keep riding and you'll start to just feel it. Good luck.

 

25 mph - 2nd gear
35/40 mph - 3rd gear
50 mph - 4th gear
60 mph - 5th gear

Roughly what I shift at but if you're going up a hill doing 60mph you don't want to be in 5th gear. What you're noticing, the excessive vibrations is your engine lugging, and that's real bad. Unless you want to kill your motor of course.

 

You can increase or stretch the ranges even more. And you should not be shifting into 5th until you've gotten to about 60mph.

At 47 mph, I'd probably just be in 3rd gear and that would be just cruising.

 

Those shift points listed in the owners manual are the MINIMUM shift points. If you are in 5th gear at 45 mph, you are going to get that back lash, unless you are on totally flat ground.

 

To the OP, shift by feel. My 1200 was my first bike and it took some time to get used to the engine and when to shift. I NEVER used my speedo to determine when to shift, just feel. If you feel like you need more power, upshift. If the vibrations are high and the engine is chugging, downshift. 3 years and 17000 miles later on my bike, the only time I look at my speedo is when I am in 5th gear and cruising on the highway. It'll take time to get used to the ride and feel, but just be patient.

 

Yup, lugging the bike. I never shift into 5th till 60+ either and I tend to lug it myself a bit from time to time, but more so in the lower gears. You're paying too much attn. to the indicators and not the ride / bike. Relax and enjoy!

Hell, just the other day I was accelerating from 45-80 and thought I had hit 5th. but didn't realize for about 1/2 mile that I was still in 4th. The bitch is loud no matter what. hahaha

 

I had XL883N with upgraded Kuryakin Mach 2 and V&H Shorty Exhaust NO dyno or remap. BUT after I hook up x14iED my throttle now is wide open in 2nd gear I can easily hit 30-45mph and 3rd gear 50-60mph without my engine growling...and I notice it my bike runs smoother than before. thanks for this less expensive invention x14iED but more power performance.