Well...

Firstly. They know most people do not ride much at all.

Second. Do you think Harley really cares what happens to your engine after the warranty period? After all, they'd just be making more money in parts and dealers with labour.

The same applies to the car world and manufacturers saying its OK to go 10,000 miles between oil changes. Do you think those motors with 10k between oil changes will last 200,000+ miles? I highly doubt it.

 

My 320d Touring had oil change intervals of 15,000 miles. The on board computer showed as doing 50 miles per (UK) gallon. After 122,000 it was still doing 50 miles per gallon. So yes I think engines using long life full synthetic oils will go 200K with 10K oil service intervals.

But what this has to do with what rpm you change gear...

 

Oh , wasn't it a Sportster ? Sorry . I just thought it was a good example of what you can get out of a Harley if you twist that throttle a bit further .

 

I've just come back from a 70 mile ride around rural Warwickshire and Oxfordshire. I thought I'd try to make some mental notes about revs , speed and gears but I failed dismally . Why ? Because I can't see the gauges without reading glasses and when I'm riding a bike I can't hold an intelligent thought in my head for more than two seconds. And that's actually one excellent reason why riding a bike is essential to maintain good mental health. Maybe you chaps in America have some really long and boring roads that allow you to contemplate such matters .

 

Yes, we do. This allows me to entertain super-intelligent thoughts in my head for hours on end.
If I could just come up with one.

 

I don't pay much attention to the tach either. I simply record the ECU data into a log file.
I have about 18,000 miles worth of data to look at usually in the morning while having my coffee.
Now if Excel would allow more than a million records (1,048,576 rows is the limit)

 

I have to admit, I feel kinda stupid after reading everything on this post. You can rest assured I'm gonna alter the way I push this motor. Thank God I only have about 700 miles on it, perhaps I haven't done too much damage.

 

You haven't done any damage. The owners manual says to keep the rpms under 3000 for the first 50 miles and under 3500 for the next 450 miles.

Make sure you do the 1000 mile service.
It includes engine oil, oil filter, transmission fluid, clutch adjustment, primary chain adjustment, checking all critical fasteners and many more checks.

 

I've been riding my 1200 sporty for only a couple weeks now, and after reading the entries on the posts here about the speed vs. rpm levels it only confirms what I found out myself and that is to not focus on looking at the tack........but just listen to and feel the feedback of the engine and bike! It'll "tell" you when you're in the sweet spot for sure! It loves to rev up and it comes to life in a big way! Lots of power and torque!...............(Especially with the Vance & Hines short shots!!) ...So nice!!

 

We should have a prize for the best expressed version of the same advice . This is definitely a front runner . Well put !