I have a 2014 Iron 883, and mine has a vibration just under 3000 Rpm under acceleration. It's not that bad, but it is noticeable. I think it has to do with the rubber engine mounts on the 2014's and harmonics. I actually use it shift point reminder during break in......LOL!

 

i have a 2014 iron 883 and this is my first bike. Is it bad to be at 3rd gear on 50 mph 4th gear 60mph? i'am new to this motorcycle world and still learning how to ride just want to make sure that i don't cause any damage to the engine.

 

if you have vibrations your in the wrong gear.

 

Cruising at less than 3000rpm will often result in vibration / lugging. Plus, the throttle is much more responsive at 3500-5000 than it is at 2500 so if you suddenly find yourself needing to giddy up in a hurry, you will have a lot better luck if you are cruising above 3000 than if you are below 3000. For those reasons I never cruise at less than 3000.

 

Bull. (At least, as far as lugging is concerned. All engines have some harmonic points that cause extra vibration, but that's not the same as lugging.)

When I'm just puttering about I upshift at 3,000 RPM and that doesn't lug a damn thing.

If it was a 100 degree day and I was going up a 10% grade with a 150 pound passenger on the back I might want to keep the revs above 3,000, but for just cruising on level ground she'll be just fine even at 2,300 RPM.

 

Prove it.

 

It's mostly a matter of opinion, but if you are up shifting at 3000 rpm, you are really riding a sportster the wrong way. You haven't even begun to enter the engine's sweet spot, you are skipping all of the actual HP you paid for, your bike will be vibrating a lot more than it needs to, you will be stressing out the engine, your lack of giddy up and lack of opportunity to use engine braking are tremendous. Even HD's very conservative suggestions of when to shift gears far exceeds cruising around 2000-2200 rpm if you are up shifting at 3000. Other than possibly squeeking out another MPG out of your tank I can't think of a single decent reason to ride like that (and I've read somewhere a sporty engine gets the best fuel economy in the 3000s anyhow).

Have fun with that!

 

2300 RPM? Not on any Sportster I ever owned.

 

I have. Again and again and again.

But I'll post the video of perfectly fine up-shifts at 3,000 RPM for a third or fourth time.


The audio is clear that there's no lugging, and you can easily see the RPM dropping to 2,200-2,300 after each shift. The bike does just fine.

 

Sportys do just fine cruising at 2300 rpm. They just do better cruising around 3500 rpm