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It's been more or less stated earlier, but my understanding is, applying heavy throttle at low RPMs stresses the crank because the piston, being forced down by explosion exerts more force on the crank, because the crank has a higher resistance to turn caused by the leverage (may be the wrong term) put on it by the transmission in a high gear. Doing this repeatedly can throw the crank out of spec.
In short, at a lower gear the piston and crank have a better mechanical advantage over the transmission. But just cruising at steady throttle should not have much effect on the crank even at lower RPMs.
That said, I cruise at about 2800 to 3000 RPMs unless I'm just putting through town in a 25 MPH limit. It sounds stupid to be running at 3000 RPM at 25 MPH.
Last edited by nevada72; Nov 17, 2019 at 08:58 AM.
I added a tach on my 07 heritage when I first got it. I was concerned about 'lugging', I'm running a PCV5 and SEac and have found the shift points in the manual a little low. I add about 5mph to that chart and I won't shift into 6th until about 65 mph. I usually run between 2200 and 2800 rpm. Bike seems happy.
my 99 fat boy doesn't have a tach. but running around at 3k? maybe on a ricer not a harley. do people ride around only looking at the tach the bike will let you know when to shift by the sound of the motor. even when i had bikes with tachs i never looked at them, too busy watching traffic and enjoying the ride. forget the tach look up and enjoy the ride..
I concur with dgwv, above. Here's the owner's manual for my 2018 FLHCS (Heritage 114):
I do not shift by what the tach says, but by feel. When I shift normally, it's very close to the recommendations above when I take a glance a the tach.
those recommendations are for max fuel mileage and minimum noise. Its a toy,not a diesel rig. Spin that motor and have some fun.
Tried all different shift points, rpms, 'under load' situations...after riding rice for most of my life where Suzukis dont really care if you lug them or run the living crap out of them, I think I've finally figured it out. If going up any incline I'll run it over 3000 rpm, if level or downhill low 2000s seem just fine. I normally shift around 3000 rpm when accelerating or 3500-4000 if I'm getting on the freeway. In traffic I get tired of shifting constantly so I've been running the rpms higher to avoid 1st, 2nd, 3rd...back to 2nd, back to 3rd, back to 2nd. & I'm only in 6th going at least 70 or 75...
I don't think you'll find many of us comfortable at 55 in 6th gear with an '07. Try a quick pass that way. My '07 Ultra would have made an example video for lugging in that situation.
I concur with dgwv, above. Here's the owner's manual for my 2018 FLHCS (Heritage 114):
I do not shift by what the tach says, but by feel. When I shift normally, it's very close to the recommendations above when I take a glance a the tach.
we should run this by Bob RR to see if its right or not.
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