What RPM's do you run your bike?

[Mad Dog Jim]

I don't want to ruffle feathers here, but... the wear and tear issue is all up to what you need now vs what you need later. What I mean by that is if you bought your bike not caring so much about what you get out of it today but how long it will last you... the best RPM is ZERO. If you want it to perform, then you can't be babying it.

The chart is awesome! It speaks volumes that the bike will peg out at 6 grand, and that means 70MPH in 2nd gear!!! Who EVER does that? But keeping that in mind, how many of us are in 6th gear before 70? I would say almost everyone... The tach will show you that the average street rider isn't even coming close to over-reving the engine.

I think more damage is done by more riders stroling around in 6th gear at 1500 RPMs or less...

the heat, friction issue is true. However, at higher RPM you are moving more oil, and probably more air too. notice that the rear cylinder cut out on the newer tour models only cuts out at an idle and stopped. You could deduce that they were only worried about damage done at low RPMs with no air flow

 

[eleft36]

Mine runs easy at 2800 and up in 6th gear. If the rpm's are much lower it sounds like it's laboring.

Mine around 2600+, I also find the shifting to be quiet and smooth at 2800 to 3000.

Al

:USA
:CONNECTICUT

 

[Breeze3at]

I DO NOT believe in your theory !!!
Anyone who made a investment and want to protect their investment will perform a strict maintenance schedule . You can do all the maintenance you can , use the best oil ect , ect . BUT the bottom line is engines are made from metal and metal upon metal creates friction , friction creates heat , heat destroys metal . That is why oil is required in the internal combustion engine , BUT even with the best oil the engine still produces heat so the faster the engine runs the MORE heat it produces . WHY does the rear cylinder on a air cooled V-Twin engine go out faster then the front cylinder & IF you don't think that this is true then WHY did HD put in a heat management system in the new bikes incorporating a REAR cylinder shut down ? I believe the MOCO knew about the heat issue for along time but finally had to do something about it because the were loosing a good portion of the market to their competitors . So the MOCO cure is to put a 6 speed trans in their bikes which lowers the RPM,s approximately 500 RPM,s per gear & at the same time they installed the HEAT MANAGMENT SYSTEM , both changes were made to extend engine life and make the HD motorcycle a more desirable product for the consumer .

Also I can drop my bike down to 1750 RPM in 6th gear the speedo reading 45MPH and roll it on and there is absolutely NO shutter and I can do this riding 2 up .

I have never seen conclusive data that the rear cylinder goes out first. In fact carb'd. Harley rear cylinders always ran richer (cooler) due to the firing impulse of 315 degrees after the front. The front fires 405 after the rear (total 720 degrees for 1 complete cycle), so there is less turbulence and residual fuel left in the manifold. Even though the front got more air flow across the fins.
The reason the rear cylinder shuts of on the heat management system is mostly for rider comfort, as it's the one closest to rider.
Anything below 2,000 rpm in gears 4-5-6 is not good for your engine. The harmful effect of lugging your engine is called "Brunneling", which is when the piston has a pounding effect on the bearings when the flywheel inertia is not the predominate force in the engine. Remember we are not talking about abusive high rpms in this thread, but efficient rpms. And like our wise friend Smitty says
"your ride, you decide".

 

[Terry Jackson]

I DO NOT believe in your theory !!!
Anyone who made a investment and want to protect their investment will perform a strict maintenance schedule . You can do all the maintenance you can , use the best oil ect , ect . BUT the bottom line is engines are made from metal and metal upon metal creates friction , friction creates heat , heat destroys metal . That is why oil is required in the internal combustion engine , BUT even with the best oil the engine still produces heat so the faster the engine runs the MORE heat it produces . WHY does the rear cylinder on a air cooled V-Twin engine go out faster then the front cylinder & IF you don't think that this is true then WHY did HD put in a heat management system in the new bikes incorporating a REAR cylinder shut down ? I believe the MOCO knew about the heat issue for along time but finally had to do something about it because the were loosing a good portion of the market to their competitors . So the MOCO cure is to put a 6 speed trans in their bikes which lowers the RPM,s approximately 500 RPM,s per gear & at the same time they installed the HEAT MANAGMENT SYSTEM , both changes were made to extend engine life and make the HD motorcycle a more desirable product for the consumer .

Also I can drop my bike down to 1750 RPM in 6th gear the speedo reading 45MPH and roll it on and there is absolutely NO shutter and I can do this riding 2 up .

Your theory that lower RPMs reduces heat and wear is only a theory that is many times false. Any vehicle needs a specific amount of fuel to create a specific amount of HP to run at a set speed. Many times running too low an RPM actually requires more throttle to overcome the mechanical disadvantage, putting more heat in the cylinder (especially up hill). At lower RPMs, piston speed is lower, but piston sidewall loading is actually higher, increasing cylinder wear.
The best RPMs is the one that requires the least amount of throttle as a set speed, and is usually better determined by feel.

 

[harley@16]

a little north and south of 3000

 

[AFRetired]

Lugging, by definition, means that the engine is struggling to accelerate. How would you know it's struggling? Because when you give it gas to accelerate, it doesn't go faster. It might bog down, it might buck, it might lurch. And you might get noises from the engine, like pinging or knocking. If any of those things are happening, you're going too slowly to be in that gear, and you need to downshift.

Personally, my 103 Ultra w/255 cam cruises in sixth just fine as low as 2000 rpm. If I want to accelerate quickly, I downshift.

Ironmark,

I too have the 103 with 255 cams although I only have about 1000 miles on that set up and I have found that it also has plenty of power at lower rpm's than before. I wonder what actually constitutes an engine being lugged.

 

[ironmark]

I cruise in 6th gear @ 50/55 MPH all the time my Dakota Digitals reads 37PSI oil pressure , oil temps run 190 / 200 @ 70degree ambient air temp and cylinder head temps run around 215/225 . Yes the Dakota Digitals can read your cylinder head temps by utilizing the heat management sensors and I keep this function on most of the time . Also when The RPM,s increase the cylinder head temp increase accordingly even though there is more air flow on the engine . If you read the first sentence in my original post I mentioned that it depend on your engine build , a stock engine will have a harder time performing the same as the engine build on my bike (108 lbs rear wheel torque) , the 255 cams are a low end torque cams which helps at lower speeds .
I also disagree with the point that the MOCO put in the heat management system for "RIDERS COMFORT" face it by the time your bike gets hot enough to actuate the heat management system your leg is already toast , shutting down the rear cylinder only stops combustion heat & stopping combustion heat will slow down the heat build up on the rear cylinder but there will still be friction heat . The heat management system is there to help protect the engine by slowing down the heat build up on the HOTTEST part of the engine .

 

[BUBBIE]

When I posted this question I was just curious about how everyone else runs their bike basically stating where my bike ran the smoothest and got the best fuel economy. Tach or no tach, I do not think this determines whether a rider is SEASONED or not. My dyna is an 07 with 104,000 kms (65,000 mi) and I still like to look at my tach ocassionally. Using the above two members situation, does this mean a rider that uses or looks at his tach is a biker in a different catagory as one who doesn't, What is the True Biker MOLD?

************************************
When I answered the question and used the Two bikers that had NO tach, I gave them a complement and that is ALL it was. I didn't make any implication that you weren't.(.)
Also notice Me saying that I look at tach when I had one on my bike... (a good thing.)

I find that the Seasoned rider Usually Knows a lot about his bike and MANY on HDT ARE seasoned riders, YOU probably included with the seasoned..?..and Many are Not.

I took Knowing/reading a lot of Posting the other Two members have done here on HDT to Complement them.(.) AS Seasoned riders/true biker Mold

Some Newbe's do things different than the Seasoned riders do and Have to learn about the Best Way to ride and maintain their bikes.. Usually by Asking questions here on the Forum. Then Making Up their own minds on what they believe and the way they want to do things..

Seasoned ?, and by Not including ALL bikers I don't know and I can't tell by reading their post..?.. I would have no opinion on. I feel If the shoe Fits.

I doubt a newbe biker would be offended by me singling out a few members and calling them seasoned,nor would care one way or another. So, no harm no foul.

There are a lot of different ways to ride and maintain a bike and ride style and a lot of different Opinions here on HDT and IF I rubbed you the Wrong way, IT was Not intended that way...

I have rode with many riders and prefer to do it alone or an occasional small group as Many Don't ride like I do... Most of the ones I don't like to ride with are Seasoned riders, and seasoned a little differently than I am.

So IF I spiced it the wrong way ?
not intended.

signed....BUBBIE

 

[Porter]

Interesting post!

My take is that this post intended to poll what rpm's responders run there bikes at, assuming that their particular rpm range was what they thought was the most "beneficial" for their scoot.

"Beneficial" has too many meanings to me:
1.) Available power for acceleration in a panic situation
2.) Fuel consumption
3.) Engine/component lifespan

To me there are too many variables. I am sure there is a sweet spot that will average the best of all the variables, but that will also be making compromises.

I am in no way, shape or form experienced/knowlegable about all the variables that can come into play, as well as the individual rider's habit (heavy in the throttle, hard braking etc.).

I try to keep my rpms above 2000 all the time, no matter what. For me that is my "golden rule". From here (2000 rpm) I plan my accelerations to be very easy. Slow easy roll on the throttle.

If I get into traffic or and area were I know I have to have power readily available: I target +2800 rpm.

I know heat isn't alway good above getting to operating temp (~180F oil temp) and I know that on a really hot day, 6th gear drops ~20 degrees on my oil temp gauge over running in 5th gear at highway speeds. (65 mph speed limit)

I think there is a trade off between engine wear (per each revolution), metal/bearing fatigue from lugging and simply being safer by having power immediately available. I also think that rider habits ("hard riding", fluid changes, maintenance, etc) probably blur this trade off so much that most riders will never have a singular causitive agent for a component failure. Especially after say, 40K miles.

Again, there are so many on this board that have so much history and experince with multiple HD's through the years, I doubt there is a perfect answer. It could be that HD engineers made a mistake, but I would have to use 6th gear at 80mph to get to the 3000 rpm range. Seems crazy to me that to use 6th, you are inviting a speeding ticket to stay in the "good range" for your engine. Plus, for me, 80mph misses too much of the scenery, most of the time (East Coast is not Arizona Vistas for 100 miles!). Seems strange to me to ride around, lurching forward when you let off the throttle every time, as well. I know lower gears are different, but most of my time is highway in 6th.

 

[pru7536]

Interesting topic regarding engine speeds! I would never have guessed there would be such a variance in the RPM’s at similar speeds and how we ride and shift ‘em. My geezer glides both purred at cruising speed at 2.5K. Generally I upshift at 3K in all gears. Very seldom does my tachometer see 4K; it has never seen 5K. Once I upshift, I’m back at 2.5K. I don’t go below that unless I’m slowing down with no load on the engine, then I’ll downshift around 2K, which puts me back at 2.5K. If I’m still slowing down, I repeat the process. Regarding sixth gear, I’ll upshift at 3K which equates to 70 MPH then I’ll be back at 2.5K. I don’t run in sixth gear at less than 70 because I feel that it puts undue strain on the engine by lugging it. From second gear and up 2.5K equates to multiples of ten in road speed. For example 2nd gear = 30 MPH, 3rd gear = 40 MPH, 4th gear = 50 MPH, 5th gear = 60 MPH and 6th gear = 70 MPH. If in interstate riding where I’m gonna get run over only doing 70, I may get to 3K cruising which equals 80 MPH. I wouldn’t attempt to accelerate in anything other than first gear from less than 2K. Looking at the chart “The Tank” posted toward the beginning of this thread, my bikes appear to closely follow the published tables.