which gear is best

[battypup]

Is it better to be at the low end of a high gear or high end of a low gear? When I am at 25 miles an hour going up a local hill I seem to be at the high end of 2nd and the low almost lugging end of 3rd. Also I was cruising between 45mph and 55mph on some slightly hilly back roads and again seemed to be between gears. So is it better on the engine and tranny to be reving high or almost lugging. Thanks

[Rockhead]

It's a matter of feel. If the bikes chugging and the gear is too high for the speed it's time to drop down one or maybe two if coming up to steep hill. Ride enough and you'll find where the engines happiest.

[Clint]

With five gears in the box, you shouldn't ever have that limited a choice. Shifting only changes rpm by a few hundred at legal speeds, so your "low end of a high gear or high end of a low gear" scenario doesn't exist.

[hotcargo]

dont lug it , drop it down a notch , you'll get the hang of it

[hammersfan]

Originally Posted by hotcargo

dont lug it , drop it down a notch , you'll get the hang of it

[TFee3]

BTW - my friend who has a new Harley Softail Classic has a 6-speed tranny, and he says he can't ride it in 6th gear under 55 mph. My new C90T is a 5-speed, of course, and I can drive it at 45 mph without shifting. I've heard some complain because they're only 5-speed trannies, but I can't see the advantage. My bike goes every bit as fast as his in 5th gear.

[kay]

Originally Posted by TFee3

BTW - my friend who has a new Harley Softail Classic has a 6-speed tranny, and he says he can't ride it in 6th gear under 55 mph. My new C90T is a 5-speed, of course, and I can drive it at 45 mph without shifting. I've heard some complain because they're only 5-speed trannies, but I can't see the advantage. My bike goes every bit as fast as his in 5th gear.

I don't think it's about the number of gear levels you (well, not you, the bike, rather...) have but more about gear ratio. For example, when I ran in Bonneville (this was a cager) I tested many different gear and rev set ups and in the end decided to kill the 6th gear and go with 5. I was able to get more speed that way.

Regarding selection of gear, when I feel I'm in between I go for lower gear. That way you can accelerate promptly if you want to and the bike will be be more stable. Besides, if the speed is feeling like it's right in-between, that is not even a high-end of the lower gear. So I don't think you will even have to worry about rev-ing it too high.

I dunno if this is the "correct" answer, but this is just what I do.

[Funkmon]

I tend to ride at extremely low RPMs. If I need to get out of the way, I can usually gun the 5th gear and do it. If not, a quick downshift is okay, too.

I mean REALLY low, too. I'm tooling around at like 30 MPH in 5th gear, sometimes. Usually, though, if it goes below 35, I'm in 3rd, or 4th, depending on how the engine sounds.

[kay]

Originally Posted by Funkmon

I tend to ride at extremely low RPMs. If I need to get out of the way, I can usually gun the 5th gear and do it. If not, a quick downshift is okay, too.
am
I mean REALLY low, too. I'm tooling around at like 30 MPH in 5th gear, sometimes. Usually, though, if it goes below 35, I'm in 3rd, or 4th, depending on how the engine sounds.

Wow, that IS low.
It's different with different bikes but with my standart Kawi even, the power band is above 4000 and with my gsrx it's above 6000. So in town, I am usually in my 3rd gear with Kawi and 2nd with the sport bikes, going lower if I need to. I hardly ever go up to my 5th or 6th (Kawi only has 5) unless I'm riding on highways.

[ChicsterMG]

Don't forget, too, a big V-Twin like that 1600 you putting around on, will seem like it is revving high in the lower gears when it is actually where it needs to be. When it is screaming, you will know.

[GregR1]

you should never ever lug an engine at really low rpm. even a cruiser bike has a powerband, so keep the revs up in there and not at "idle rpm". one reason is to make sure that the engine is making usable power in case you need to make a sudden emergency move. other reason is that lugging an engine can twist (and damage) a crankshaft - it's being overloaded.

now, if you LIKE breaking parts, go right ahead...

[battypup]

Thanks for the advice. I thought that the higher rpms were maybe the way to go. I don't have a tach though and am still new to the sound, so I was timid about red lining. That doesn't look like it is a problem though. I will let it rev and not worry too much about the red line. Thanks again.

[Funkmon]

Originally Posted by GregR1

you should never ever lug an engine at really low rpm. even a cruiser bike has a powerband, so keep the revs up in there and not at "idle rpm". one reason is to make sure that the engine is making usable power in case you need to make a sudden emergency move. other reason is that lugging an engine can twist (and damage) a crankshaft - it's being overloaded.

now, if you LIKE breaking parts, go right ahead...

Eh, my 5th gear is insane in range. I never let the engine knock, and if I get close to lugging the engine, I pull in the clutch a bit.

Battypup, if you redline the engine, it won't do much. It will be...redlined. That means the highest useable RPM it has that won't do it damage. Don't worry about it. Just try to figure out the bike's sound, and put it where you feel comfortable.

To answer the original question, it's better for everything to be at the high end. When in doubt, drive like a drag racer.

[GregR1]

my 1st gear goes up to 120km/h (around 74mph)... wanna know my 5th gear's range? i didn't think so!

another way to check your redline is to just max it out in each gear, and make a mental note of what the speed is that you got "stuck" at. that way, if 3rd is good to 80mph, you'll know that once you're doing 20mph or so you should be down a gear in 2nd

[battypup]

isn't red lining damaging to the engine.

[GregR1]

Originally Posted by battypup

isn't red lining damaging to the engine.

that's why there's rev limiters in the electronics that kill either fuel or spark to the engine when things spin too fast

[battypup]

even on cruisers

[GregR1]

Originally Posted by battypup

even on cruisers

on just about any engine. otherwise, you could mistakenly downshift one gear too many and force the engine to spin WAY past "redline" and cause things to "not work so well anymore"

[kay]

Ya, even on cruisers. That's why the "redline" itself is different from bike to bike. Like my standard Kawi bike has a redline of 10,000rpm but my gixxer's "redline" is 16,000rpm. So it's set so that you WON'T break your engine.

Besides you won't be riding like a crazy idiot hitting redline all the way, right? So don't worry too much.

In fact, I've redlined my Kawi (OK it was on a track so no speed tickets!!) but it was no problem.
I have to admit, I have not yet redline the gixxer at top gear. Theoretically, it's supposed to do 298km/hr or something but never had the chance to hit that yet even on tracks!!

[battypup]

Good to know. I am positive I won't be riding at redline speeds any time soon as I am still way too new to worry about speed that much. It is good info though. I appreciate the knowledge.