thanks for the replys but now i am getting more confused. there are conflicting statements in the replys. Again my dealership told me my rev limiter was set at 5200 rpm's . the beginning of redline on my new speed/tach combo is 5200. He then said with upgrades it will increase to 6200. you all agree. So why wouldn't I get more power and speed with a longer gear range with these upgrades without cams and so on just yet ?

 

It is the principle of diminishing returns, without the right cam you will not make power in that range. Does not mean it will not still increase speed with RPM's, but you are no longer in the power band range for your stock setup. There really is no reason to have a power band range that high on a street Harley, running it regularly above 5200 is hard on the motor.
For instance, it takes longer for the motor to rev from 5200 to 6200 than it does to rev from 2500 to 3500 which is in the power band for a stock motor. A racing cam would change that dynamic.

The biggest advantage the increased RPM will give you is those occasions when you do jump on it, you won't hit the wall as quickly and have the motor stutter on you.

I rarely go above 5200, and maybe once a month or so I hit that wall, which is usually when I am just screwing around and not paying attention to the tach or sound, or after changing pipes or something that changes the sound of the bike.

 

just to clarify i am talking about raising the rev limiter which in turn should raise the red line RANGE from 5200 to 6200. but what I think I am hearing is increasing that range won't increase my gear range because I am already at peak near 5200 rpms!

 

Like i said in my ealier post rev limiter and red-line are not the same thing. I guess I wasn't so far off base thinking that you might be confunsing the two as some others in this thread might have indicated. Your dealer is talking about raising the rev limiter not the redline. I agree completely with 8541hog's post above. Torque comes on in a curve (think bell curve) the idea is to stay within the rpms that stay within the highest points on the curve.
There still maybe some benefit as the stock power band may go past the stock rev limt some, but probably not by much. As 8541hog stated the bigest benefit is having a little more padding so you aren't hitting the limiter when you are getting on it. I know mine still feels like it is pulling pretty well when I hit mine, but then of course it falls on its face when you hit it.

 

my limiter is set at 6200 but my bike would probably keep pulling well beyond that because of the cams

 

All this confusion comes from trying to differentiate between Redline and Rev-limiter, for all practical purposes they are the same thing for most people. Simply put it is the point at which the ECM will not allow the motor to rev any higher, whether that is the mechanical limit of the motor or one imposed by the ECM is irrelevant to most of us. If you are truly building a racing motor then it is something you need to understand, but otherwise, why muddy the water with BS that truly means nothing for the majority.

If you increase the limit, whatever the hell you want to call it, from 5200 to 6200 you will have more speed available to you, but it is not practical to consistently run your stock motor in that range, unless you are trying to prematurely bring about it's demise.

I work in a rather technical field, and I constantly run into people that like to make things more complicated than they truly need to be. Remember the KISS principle?

 

jstreet you just said what I am trying to say. when my rev limiter kicks in it seemed like my bike still wanted to go!!! But i will never know if there was any power left without increasing the rev limiter to see if there was any power left before shifting.

 

Unless they have changed the way the ECM imposed rev limiter works, when you hit it the motor stumbles, how can it feel like it wants to keep going?

 

thanks for all the input everyone I think i am starting to get it STOP BEATING ON MY BIKE ! I guess I should listen to my girlfriend for once and stop riding it like I stole it (but it is so hard not to on my fat bob)

 

8541 if the rev limiter was set at 4200 and your bike started to break up at that 4200 mark you know your bike still has power but your bike shut down