Lugging?
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 1,712
Likes: 410
From: Puyallup, WA
If you can't increase speed/RPM's smoothly and quickly when rolling on the throttle; then you're lugging the motor. Roll on the throttle, if it chugs/bucks, you need to be at higher RPM/lower gear. Cruising through downtown at 5000 RPM will wear out your motor, just like lugging will. Find the sweet spot.
Road Warrior
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,272
Likes: 443
From: SETx
I've shifted mine at 2K, 2500, 3K, 4K and never seen a single spec of fuel mileage change in any of them. Logic and my mechanical background tells me that the fewer times a metal part goes past another metal part, the less it's gonna wear. I don't mind cruising at 2K if I'm on flat ground with no real load, 80mph is 3K on the dot with my tire size. If I'm trying to merge etc, I'll run it up a little higher but otherwise I shift between 2500-3000 and the RPM and the revs fall back to about 2K. As long as you don't try to pin the throttle when the revs are down I don't think you're going to harm a thing. Easy throttle pressure and let the engine do it's job. It's easier on everything, including the clutch.
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Supporter
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 15,788
Likes: 5,621
From: along the shore of Mishigami
After all these years on a Harley I've been doing it wrong, riding around at 2800-3000 at highway speeds around town at 2200-2400 in the lower gears. The older TC's with single phase alternator don't crank out 14+ volts till about 2200 rpm. On a flat/level road, think Indiana and parts of Ohio 6th gear at 65 mph was pretty happy on the Roadie, need to pass downshift, go a hill downshift. It's that simple.
