Cruising rev range

[Scotwing]

When driving or cruising around built up areas or towns, I find i,m always shifting up or down gears to find the best responsive gear for the speed I,m doing. At around 30mph when driving through towns I tend to drop into 3rd gear (revs at around 2.5k) I am reluctant to shift up to 4th as i feel the bike may be lugging at this point (revs at around 2k). Is this the case or would it be better to shift up for better fuel economy. I usually shift up to fourth gear when riding at speeds of 40-45mph, and then 5th gear 45mph onwards. These speeds/ gears are based on relatively flat roads. On inclines etc I drop into a lower gear.
What sort of speeds/ gear selections do you prefer?

[Ashrack]

Funny, I was wondering the same thing yesterday as my wife and I tooled around some neighborhoods just for fun. Thoughts I had included:

Fuel economy drops massively going from 0-10 in first gear... would second a second gear start work better, or would that habit hurt the tranny?

Would it be better to get up to 3rd gear and hold through 20 - 40mph, or get up to 4th and hold, or just shift to keep rpm around 2500 (3500?)

Obviously the best fuel economy is going to be around 55-65 in 5th gear, but what riding habits could maximize your fuel economy (without trade off in tranny damage) for low speeds?

[Spike]

Hi Scot - Didn't see any replies so I thought I would so you don't feel lonely - In normal driving conditions around town, speeds under 50 mph, I just watch my tach and shift accordingly, keeping the RPMs around 2500 - I prefer the higher (or is that lower) gear range, meaning, I'd rather have to downshift to speed up rather than cruising in 2nd / 3rd / 4th and hearing the engine whine.... Just my 2 cents worth, YMMV....:06biker:

[ParkerBill]

Hi Scot - Didn't see any replies so I thought I would so you don't feel lonely - In normal driving conditions around town, speeds under 50 mph, I just watch my tach and shift accordingly, keeping the RPMs around 2500 - I prefer the higher (or is that lower) gear range, meaning, I'd rather have to downshift to speed up rather than cruising in 2nd / 3rd / 4th and hearing the engine whine.... Just my 2 cents worth, YMMV....:06biker:

I do pretty much the same thing, but heck, my ST doesn't lug even at 30 mph in 5th gear, although I typically shift down to 4th below 35 mph. I typically try to keep the rpm's at 2k or above. Ony exception to this is if I am in an area or situation where I think I might need more rapid acceleration, then I might drop down an additional gear or two for a bit. The ST1300, at least mine anyway, pulls very well at about any rpm.

[FLSTRDR]

I try to ride at 3000 rpm or above all the time. This keeps the engine powerband always on tap for a needed acceleration spirt and I believe keeps the combustion chamber cleaner by not lugging the engine. Honda engines have always liked higher rpm being that they are designed for that.
Sonny

[dduelin]

I usually keep the revs over 2500 when in cruise mode.

As an aside to the issue of max fuel economy I have noticed mpg's of better than 50-55 when holding a steady 45 or 50 mph while in 4th gear on flat roads.

[Panjandrum]

I try to ride at 3000 rpm or above all the time. This keeps the engine powerband always on tap for a needed acceleration spirt and I believe keeps the combustion chamber cleaner by not lugging the engine. Honda engines have always liked higher rpm being that they are designed for that.
Sonny

+1.

I do not want to be doing a gear shift if I need to accelerate out of trouble. I have recently been riding slower than usual as I lead my SO on her early street rides. Being around 3000 rpm also tends to keep my speed closer to posted speeds... something I tend not to do normally.

(MY BAD?):eek:

[BigTom]

After we are at operating temp, (I start there, this time of year) I like to stay at 3000rpm or above.

The real powerband starts at about 4000 on my bike, and 3000 is near max torque. Always seems the best to me for fuel milage.

I don't think 2nd gear starts are a good idea, not so much for the trans as for the clutch. 1000 lbs (2 up) is a load under the best of circumstances. I think the damage would far outweigh any (small) gasoline savings.

[MGDaversa]

I can't give you a good reason why, but I tend to keep the revs between 2500 and 3000 for cruising. If I go outside of that range and I know it's just a temporary speed-up or slow-down, I don't bother shifting, because there's no need. If I'm going through curves, especially in unfamiliar territory, I prefer to keep the revs a little higher rather than lower.

[Blrfl]

Gene observed that he got better mileage keeping the RPMs around 4000, which I started doing this spring just to see how it would do for me. As much as I like the laid back quality of the bike in the 2500-3500 range, I've found there are a lot of benefits to keeping Gene's 4000. Fuel economy is better around town by about 1 MPG, but the big plus is the extra squat in the suspension, which keeps the bike a lot more planted in the turns.

MHO, YMMV.

--Mark