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As posted before the handbook's 'guide' to shifting the new 6-speeds will lug down the motor at every shift.. Any way it sure does mine..
What is the shifting range that your motor feels best at? It feels to me that all gears are a little taller than the 5-speeds.. Mine fells best shifting into 2nd at 30, into 3rd at 42 or so, into 4th at 50-55, 5th at 60-65, and 6th at anything above that for cruizing..... Using a RPM/Speed caculator this is about 3300 - 3700 rpm ranges with a 180/60-17 rear tire.
What should the ideal power band on a Stock bike be (have slip-ops but no Stage 1 yet)? Sustained RPM's of 3000 - 4000 shouldn't be taxing the motor should it?? Isn't the rev limit on a stock machine around 5500..
I have a tach on my Low Rider so for just cruising I shift at about 3000 rpm. The engine lugs below 2000 so you need to keep the revs up above there but the way this bike is geared that is not pushing it hard. Hard acceleration shift at 3500-3900rpm. I am still breaking in though so I'm not over 3500 yet. A tach is really a nice addition if you don't have the low rider.
Without a Tach, listen to the motor, it will tell you when it's comfortable. When you feel it chugging and working to hard , downshift it. Better to turn it up a bit than lug it here, can't get into trouble with a few RPM's higher than you need until you get the feel of the motor. 70-75 is usually good for 6 th gear.
The motor feels the most comfortable at about 15mph over each gear what the books says.
If I shift as TampaJIm suggest (which is what the book says) when I shift into 3rd at 30, the engine goes into a chuggy noisy strained sound, and when I shift ino 4th at 40 it starts to clang like a bad wrist pin, or piston slap.. I just cant believe the MOCO recommends this.. My Service guy says " oh thats normal for an air cooled engine to sound like , but he hasnt riden it yet so maybe he will hear what I hear . I dont think its anything real serious because if I just drive it like it feels it wants to be drivin it runs great, no noises or hesitation at all.
As long as you dont think shifting at 3500 to 4000 rpm is to tight on a motor that only has 700 miles. then I'll try to relax and explain everything at my 1k service. And see what they say. Its just that I feel if I broke it in as the book says, it would be straining all the time, this cant be right, its like takeing a 350 small block and shifting from 2nd to 4th why would they print that?
Again I'm baseing the rpm numbers from a rpm/speed caculator, I dont have a tach...But the bottom line that it feels comfortable at is shifting into 2nd at 30, into 3rd at 40, into 4th at about 50 or so.. anything less and it labors.
Thanks for you help and input....
Don't have a tach,and never used one for shifting when I did.Motor will tell ya when to shift.If its lugging, downshift. If its screemin,upshift,unless yer in 6th,then just hold on and enjoy.
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