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Knowing when to shift... without a tach


Likwid

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lol i ride a 01 busa all the time. its 1100 . and the 90s would throw the first jump in the modern bike era into that category , look at a 98(11750) R1 ( first new era bike)and 09(believe its near 13000) , same with 99 Busa and 09 . you might have some HP and BHP jumps but not to much in revs. also think i remember 04 r6 near 13000

Edited by krzwhtman
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metalurgy sets the rev limit , once metal starts moving at more then 4,000 feet per secound it breaks down. its all about the stroke.

to add bigger the motor longer the stroke .... bigger the motor less revs it will take to hit the magic 4,000 fps number.

one reason harleys will never get up there , they have strokes comparative to Cars. and can never hit those revs till a redesign.

Edited by krzwhtman
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  • 1 month later...

According to a website I looked at (all internets is true) the ideal RPM for my bike is around 2500 to 3500. Using gearingcommander.com I find that using 2500-3500 as the ideal RPM I should be shift around the following speeds... but it sounds like the bike is whining when I do this.... and if I let off the throttle the bike lurches... so I have to keep on the throttle

Try shifting faster?

I've got a high-revving V-Twin in my Suzuki that sounds remarkably similar to yours.

I found my "ideal" shift point by letting it ride up in revs at a medium pace, until it "needs" more gas to shift. I figure that's where the "cruising revs" expire and where the "powerband revs" start.

I don't know how good your transmission is, but I shift very quickly and my engine only drops about 500-750 revs when I do. Takes the lurch out of it.

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if I were I'd take a nice long ride in the country with few cars so you can experiment it each gear. There should be a point between each gear set that you can shift almost seamlessly. Have you done any clutchless shifting? Key points here are learn to shift FAST, not necessarily clutching fast but letting off the throttle just right and clicking up a gear without instantly adding or subtracting power from the next gear. Think of it like... how could I shift the smoothest if i didnt have a clutch. 1st to 2nd is obviously harder due to the big ratio change but all others you should be able to just give a lil flick of the throttle to drop load enough to enter the next gear with neutral load. If it takes more than a lil flick, you're not in a good rpm to shift. It should be pretty clear if you're too high or too low based on the amout the bike lurches forward or back the instant it takes control.

This isnt useful for our typical, vroom click vroom click vroom riding. But I think you're trying to find a nice peaceful medium for daily riding and this is how i do it. You say you're concerned you're shifting too low... if you're transmission is clunking hard on the shift, your revs are WAY too low.

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if I were I'd take a nice long ride in the country with few cars so you can experiment it each gear. There should be a point between each gear set that you can shift almost seamlessly. Have you done any clutchless shifting? Key points here are learn to shift FAST, not necessarily clutching fast but letting off the throttle just right and clicking up a gear without instantly adding or subtracting power from the next gear. Think of it like... how could I shift the smoothest if i didnt have a clutch. 1st to 2nd is obviously harder due to the big ratio change but all others you should be able to just give a lil flick of the throttle to drop load enough to enter the next gear with neutral load. If it takes more than a lil flick, you're not in a good rpm to shift. It should be pretty clear if you're too high or too low based on the amout the bike lurches forward or back the instant it takes control.

This isnt useful for our typical, vroom click vroom click vroom riding. But I think you're trying to find a nice peaceful medium for daily riding and this is how i do it. You say you're concerned you're shifting too low... if you're transmission is clunking hard on the shift, your revs are WAY too low.

Yah just a few miles under the belt since I posted this.

I went on a poker run with JRM, R1Crusher, Bonkers and Swing`R... I'd never hit the rev limiter before riding with these guys.

I think I can safely say I know the extremes of when I have to shift...

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I don't have a tach either... Someone on the yahoo! EN500 group did the math on gear ratios, wheel size, and rpms and has an Excel spreadsheet... PM me and I can email it to you as it's got pluggable cells that you can insert your own values.

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not true, low displacement I-4's are high revving (redline around 15,000 rpm). your vtwin is built for torque at low revvs

QFT. Likwid, i can tell you that on the RC, unless I am up on the slab and crusing, I am hardly ever in 6th, or even 5th when buzzing around town. I like to keep it where I am moving along comfortably just at the bottom of where my powerband picks up. That way I am a wrist twitch from being in the middle of where my power is, for those unforseen occasions. As everyone here ha said, you will just get used to it and find a place with the engine that works. It's a lot like masturbating, only more expensive when things blow. But I think there are a couple guys around here that can fix a bike. :D

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LOL, thanks RVT :)

Yah, I've gotten pretty comfortable, I still tend to shift high but that's only in my neighborhood, I know the dangers of it but I'm ok with that.

I appreciate Palandor, I use GearingCommander.com to get a sense for where the rev limiter is going to hit, as I mentioned, I never really hit the rev limiter until last weekend... then I hit it in every gear trying to keep up :)

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