What some call lugging, is mostly gear noise coming from the trans, to an extent! When I thought I was lugging mine, I really wasn't! Then I switched the trans fluid out to Red Line Heavy Shock. Most all lugging sound is now gone. I keep my R's at no less than 2200 and don't have a problem. If you switch over to the Red Line, you will see that at a lower RPM, you will hear less noise from the trans.&nbsp\\;

 

2800+ all the time??
What's up with that?
Seems just a little on the high side to me. Might agree with different RPMs for different builds....not below 2k in most all cases (especially when applying any kind of loading) but 2800+ sounds a little high to me.
....just sayin'...

 

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Really? Cause I just got back from a 2300 mile road trip and set my cruise at 70 - 75mph which equals out to about 2700 - 2900 rpm.
Ol' Kelsey seemed just fine with my Andrews 37H cams at that rpm. She wasn't luggin'! In the city I keeop her above 3k though...

 

You have to keep it like others have said @ or ABOVE 2K

 

In other words, anywhere from 2000 to 2800 is an acceptable minimum according to the forum experts. You are lugging if your bike starts to shake and shimmy under throttle or you don't get the response you expect as you roll on the throttle. I've coasted downhill in a high gear at around 2000 but when you level out or need to accelerate, you better downshift. Listen to your machine, be the machine!

 

When mine was stock 2100 was ok. Now with the 103 putting out 116 torque 2800 min. cruise at 3k. If you cam an engine you need to increase tour rpm range or the lower end will not last long.

 

THis is the best explination I've read. Road Kings don't have tachs, so I need a seat of the pants explination. I don't understand why adding torque would raise the problem in RPMs. It would seem to be the other way around. I was thinking of adding cams to get more torque on the low end because that seems the place where the RK doesn't react quick enough for me.

While kjmorgan's explination makes the most sense to me, is there any documentation other there on the problem?

Beary

 

&nbsp\\; There was a post around here a couple days ago about fuel mileage going up as you rode in higher RPM ranges on the 96s'.&nbsp\\; I'll +1 you on the Redline which I've been a fan of for a while but just put it in my ride.&nbsp\\; I'm VERY happy with the results.&nbsp\\; I used their VTwin line and the whine, rocks and heat are much better.&nbsp\\; No IDS in the future for me, my bike tells me when to shift and I listen.

 

I don't fathom the higher RPM and better mileage notion. Higher RPM's equal more fuel as the engine is working harder. When cruising in town I was between 25-2800 RPM,&nbsp\\;my mileage was down as compared to just grabbing the next gear and cruising between 21-2300 R's, making sure to stay below 2500 R's,&nbsp\\;which resulted in better mileage.&nbsp\\;

 

Usually keep it over 2K.