I don't think I've ever had my Sporty over 3700RPM... that too high? I guess I don't know the limit until I start screwing the engine up. I just broke the habit of shifting at ~3k like I was told to for the first 500 miles.

 

I cruise around 2500-2700. She vibrated a lot with the stock exhaust, the D&D Bobcat exhaust I got really smoothed everything out. My forty eight makes a lot of weird noises, most of them area normal. I'll never forget the first time i heard the angry evil sewing machine inside the engine.

 

The rev limiter is designed so you won't over rev the motor. The dealer Stage one download raises the rpm redline by a 1000 rpm.

Go ahead and twist that throttle some.

 

Okay thanks Guzzi, I wasn't sure what the actual limits were. That makes me feel better.

 

I bought my Iron new. At 3400 RPM to 4000,it had a bad vibration in the pegs and bars. It was really disappointing. After 4000 miles it started to settle in and get much better. I just did the 1200 conversion And Now its back. But after 500 miles its going away again. Plus the bike is so much more fun to ride.

 

Oh, I absolutely agree when the road in front of you is clear.

But when you're in traffic and you're just running lazily in the flow that's a different scenario.

 

Couldn't disagree more. When I'm in traffic I cruise as close to 4000 as possible.

1. That makes the bike louder and more noticeable to surrounding traffic.

2. You have almost twice as much available HP if you need to accelerate out of a tricky situation.

3. You can use engine breaking for extra stopping power if necessary by down shifting.

 

This is a joke post, right? Dear god let this be a joke.

1) Don't be that jackass intentionally revving just to make the bike louder. You just make everyone around you angry. All you're doing is playing into the South Park caricature of a Harley owner and further cementing the average driver's negative opinion of motorcyclists.

2) There is this thing called a "transmission" on these bikes. It allows you to choose several different gears when you need them. You may not have noticed, but you are, in fact, allowed to shift down to a lower gear even if you've already shifted into a higher gear. For example, if you need to accelerate, you can swiftly downshift for added power. If you are frequently in situations where the microseconds it takes to downshift are too much of a delay for your "safety" then you need to take a serious look at your reckless riding style.

3) Engine braking does not give you "added stopping power." The maximum stopping power is determined by the amount of grip available to the tire. This grip amount is easily exceeded by the rear brake alone. Using engine braking will not make you stop faster than simply using the brakes alone. Engine braking is useful to control speed (and prevent brake overheating) when going down long downhill sections, when coasting lazily to a stop, or when someone in front of you slows slightly and you just need to bleed a few miles per hour with no particular rush. It is NOT an appropriate method to stop quickly in an emergency and it actually reduces your ability to effectively modulate rear-wheel braking force to avoid lock-up.

Bottom line: I've been riding for damn near twenty years now. I've seen more than my share of bad/dangerous driving from cars in my commuting in downtown Seattle and in my pleasure riding in the country. I've heard your "points" from young riders before. They were wrong then and they're still wrong now.

 

Zen,

1. I couldn't care less about perpetuating any stereotype about loud/obnoxious Harley riders. When I look around on the road, whether in my car or on the bike, 3 out of 4 drivers it seems are either talking or texting on their phone while driving. The roads have never been less safe for motorcycles than they are now with how distracted the average driver is. It's certainly not the be all end all, and it's not a crutch to be relied upon, but it does help, and I don't give a rats *** what anyone thinks about my bike being loud as they peruse their facebook feed while whipping down a 40mph road at 50mph in rush hour traffic.

2. I must have given you the impression I am regularly putting myself in situations where milliseconds matter. Far from it. I am actually a very defensive/conservative rider. But let's be real. A stock 1200cc sporty has perhaps about 20 available HP and 30-40 lb ft. of torque at 2300 rpm if you look at the average Dyno chart. At 4300 rpm, that number is closer 60 HP and 50-60 lb ft of torque. You honestly believe if it would take you "microseconds" to read an emergency situation, make the mental connection of what you need to do, and then physically downshift two gears in order to be where you have legitimate power available to you? My guess is that for everyone other than professional drivers and athletes whose reaction times are wired at otherworldly levels, that is at least a half second to full second process. I hope to never find myself in a situation where every half second counts, but I would like to be as prepared as possible if I do.

3. You are absolutely right. I am wrong.

With all due respect, I couldn't care less that you've been riding for twenty years so don't even bother trying to old time me. Four of the 12 students in my MSF class were all 50-60 year old guys who had been riding for 20 years and were only there because they were never properly licensed and had gotten pulled over by the cops and told they needed to get a license. Every single one of them failed the driving test miserably. Most of them couldn't have done the figure 8 portion of the test if you made the box the size of a football field.

 

I have been riding for 56 years and I say you are wrong too.