I have been perfectly happy with my 07 RKC till yesterday, and the tall gears got the best of me. It all started with a group ride about a hundred miles or so we were raising money to help fight breast cancer. The group as a whole was running fifty nine to sixty one MPH, and I was shifting from fifth to sixth, fifth to sixth, fifth to sixth over, and over, and over again and again to the point of ruining my whole damn weekend. Now I'm not lazy, I've been searching the forum from 09:00 till 11:00. So what I want to know from some one that knows is, can I use a 31 Tooth Bakers front pulley to rid my self of ever having to go through this crap again, or will I have to go down to a 30 tooth front pulley. I'm pretty much a lone wolf but I think I could learn to like group rides a little, because of the fun I had before it started and after it was over.

 

Why didn't you just leave it in fifth gear. It can handle speeds of higher than 61 and lower than 59 and not me lugging it

 

Agree with the above

 

After seven years with this bike I know how she feels and how I
felt and neither was right, plus the wind was being a bastard as well.

 

i changed to a sportster rear pulley. 98 tooth if i recall, would have to go looking for that info. it increased the rpm a few hundred and is a simple change. i find 6th to be a lot more useful now. i like it way better than what the stock 6th gear is.

 

Even the owners manual gives a shift chart and I believe 6th I recommended above 65 mph.
Unless I am cruising above 65 I never use 6th gear.

 

You have options.
The 31T front pulley will work with your stock belt but will be at the limit of adjustment.
If you are a DIY kind of guy, it is even possible to elongate the axle reciever slots in the swingarm (with appropriate reinforcement) to accomidate a 30T and still use your stock belt.
You could also, keep the 32T front pulley and change the rear pulley to the Japanese Sportster version which is a 68T. That in itself is an improvement that will have the same approximate effect as changing to a 31T front pulley and is easier and cheaper to do. This will get you very close in sync. with the '09up bikes that come geared with 32T/68T.
I kept my stock 32T front and opted for an '09up 68T rear cushdrive pulley but that might be more of a project than you want to take on.
Point is, with a 32T/68T you will bring your gearing into the usable range, giving yourself a litle more grunt down low and will be able to keep it in 6th gear more often.

I know of the out of sync. shifting while riding in groups with the '07 -'08 bikes geared 32T/66T along with the newer '09up 32T/68T bikes. With 32T/66T final drive the bike is too sluggish off the line and has more top end than you can legally use. If you are travelling on the by-ways, slower than super slab speed, you find yourself travelling faster than you should just to keep it from getting bogged down in 6th.

 

Yes I saw a lot of that as well in my search and that is the
Jap version of sportster as well, but what about the belt did
you use a stock belt?

 

Probably not the answer your looking for but I ran into the same issues when I had my '07 RK. I just kept it in 5th more.........Worked and it cost nothing.

If you really want to alleviate the situation I would suggest changing to a stock '09 or a little later rear pulley as that might eliminate the situation altogether.

 

That's just a fifth gear day! That bike will run all day at 65 in 5th!