My typical 12K of winter riding is all local on 55 mph in 6th that is 2,000 in Softails and Dynas, 2,200 in touring and 2,300 on the Freewheeler. Check H-D graphs of what torque the engine produces at those ranges.

It is more than enough to pull the bike without lugging. On the M8 it is at an amazing level.

Maybe the engineers that wrote the manual saying 6th at 55 mph know what they are talking about. You think?

This never came up with 4 and 5 speeds. Somehow it is thought that the 6 th speed is an overdrive gear. It is not. My 05 Softail Deluxe runs close to the rpm in 5th as the 07 FXSTC does in 6th.

Both those transmissions have 1 turn in to 1 turn out in top gear. The slight difference is in the drive gear, clutch gear and rear pulley.

An overdrive tran will have 1 turn in and some lower number out such as 0.92 or something.

And just what is "optimal cruising rpm" anyway? The best for mpg?

 

7 years old...

 

On flat ground I usually run my tach at 2800 to 3,000 RPM's.
It seems that his is where I get the best MPG's.

I have a '13 CVO Ultra with the 110 engine and my riding partner has a '10 Ultra with an upgraded 103.
We both have True Duals with the cat removed, and both were dyno tuned.

At fill-ups our bikes are usually within 1 or 2 tenths of a gallon and we usually get about 40MPG's

When I ride along I usually go a bit faster and at a steady 3,000 RPM's (near 80MPH) my MPG's may drop to 39+ or so.

I agree about the "lugging" of an engine, especially on hilly terrain where you have to "throttle up" to maintain a steady speed.
It's much better to either go faster or slow down and drop down to a lower gear as it helps with the oil pressure and puts less stress on your engine.

 

instructions = just another man's opinion

 

I'm amazed that 10 years after the creation of this silly post some folks have apparently not been able to figure this out. I encourage those people to consider a different hobby.

 

certain harleys like certain tach ranges when cruising,......mine is closer to 2 k either side of it .........

 

You always beat me to bitching about people bringing these old threads up lpl

 

It's a hobby. 😀

 

and here I was being serious.......da fugg