Hey guys got a question for you. I'm new to Harley's and motorcycles in general. Got 12 months of of knowledge and experience under my belt lol
Ok so here my question. When cruising down the road whether it be in town, country, wherever.. What is best for my dyna being in higher rpms in 3rd or lug in 4th..or being high rpms in 2nd or lug in 3rd?
Common sense would tell
me that I should go up to the higher gear and let the engine run a lower rpms because that would mean less strain on the bike. Correct? But what I want to know is what is best for the bike becUase that is just me doing a lot of guessing and no a lot of knowing.. Thanks

 

You are better off riding the bike at higher RPMs. Although it sounds good running at low RPMs where you can hear each cylinder fire, it's better for the engine and performance of the bike in general at higher RPMs.

If you have a twin cam, they really like to run at 2.5K RPM and over. You also have more horsepower on tap at higher RPMs.

And lugging the engine is just downright bad for it.

 

Yea I have a 2012 fxdb.
That's interesting. You would think lower rpms would be better for the longevity of the bike..but you are saying the opposite. That's nice to know. I'm sure someone will come along and go into detail on why twin cams are better off above 2500 rpms.
But thanks for the info

 

I cruise at between 2.5k rpm and 3k rpm. This puts me at the beginning of the "powerband". From 3k rpm on up to about 4k rpm on a Stage 1 setup, is where most of the "juice" is.

 

Look at it like this... Your putting around in traffic @ 40-45 mph in 5th gear, which is prob around 2100 or so rpms, and something happens and you need to pull a quick maneuver or accelerate away fast. Well if you punch the throttle at that speed and in that gear you're prob not gonna be going anywhere too quickly. Now if you were at the same speed in 3rd gear around 3k rpms (or above) and punch it you'll have some get up and go. I try to cruise at at least 3k rpms no matter the gear.

 

Avoid lugging. Running a little higher RPM is definitely better for the motor then running too low of RPM and lugging. Its not like you need to be at 5,000RPM though.

 

What is the source of your information, and what is your definition of "lugging"? And why do you think that running low rpms is not so good for the motor?

 

Twinkies should never see below 2000 rpm (except 1st gear )....it's a counter balance thing I believe. ......but I could be wrong

 

Lugging a motor is bad because it puts more torque than design load on certain components like the crankshaft and connecting rod.

However, lugging is a COMBINATION of low RPM and LOAD. If you're coasting downhill at 1,500rpm, you're not lugging the motor. Conversely, running a motor at high RPM shortens service life, especially with no LOAD.

 

The only Twinkies with counter balancers are the B models (Softtails.)