Starting and shifting

[MongoE9]

Starting: I have noticed when starting cold my bike starts on the 3rd try every time, but never on the 1st or 2nd. Yes this is with choke pulled out etc. This is seldomly a problem on a warm bike.

 

Shifting: I have been told to really get the rpms up before shifting and waiting to almost 65+ to shift into overdrive. Good gouge or bad gouge? Thanks

Mongo

[Freebird]

When you turn on the key, listen to hear if the fuel pump is coming on. If it's not, it does not necessarily mean that you have a problem, it could be that the floats are already full and it doesn't need to. If it does though, wait a few moments for it to stop before hitting the start button. It sounds like your floats could possibly be empty and you are not giving them time to fill before hitting the starter. The fact that it start consistently on the third try leads me to that possibility.

 

It's not bad advice and these bikes do run stronger at higher RPMs but that does not mean that you have to do it that way all the time. If I am looking for acceleration/performance then yes, I wind it out. If I'm just cruising at a leisurely pace though I don't feel the need to wind it up so tight. You don't HAVE to be going 65 before shifting into 4th either. A lot of people run at 50 to 55 MPH in 5th gear if they are cruising on roads where that is the speed limit.

[Seaking]

Its like Freebird suggests.. You obviously need to get the speed up before shifting otherwise you're lugging the engine.. go figure it's a 900 lbs bike with a rider on it.. it's a lot of weight to move.

 

When taking off from the stop, get your revs up before shifting.. don't be shy with it.. then you'll get an appreciation what these bikes can do. I've often hit the rev limiter when in a hurry and it catches my attention every time.. wow.. big bike moves fast!

 

But when cruising along.. I tend to go by the load on the engine for which gear.. if there isn't any head winds, no hills and everything feels right, I'm sometimes in 5th gear tooling along at 50 mph.. no load on the engine.. just enough to keep it rolling and holding speed.. but shift down to 4th or 3rd to get hauling again.. Yesterday's ride of combined highway and windy back roads got us close to 180 miles on that tank of gas before reserve.. For my bike, that's dang impressive considering the weather and terrain here.

 

You could actually ride your bike in 4th at 65 mph and no worry about it.. you'll get quite the acceleration when you drop the hammer to pass but its harder on gas.. you're turning about 4000 to 4500 rpm around that area.. drop it into 5th and you're down around 3000 rpm

 

If you have a local who rides a RSV, follow them and watch when they shift compared to yourself.. You might find you're shifting way to early and not getting the best out of what this bike has to offer..

 

Looks out window, sees sunshine.. no clouds.. no rain... what? CYA.. gotta go riding

[Sylvester]

My advice on the shifting is to install a tach and keep it above 3,000 rpm.

 

[straycatt]

Of course you can wind these motors up tight and get very good performance out of them. If I'm running for speed I'll run into the upper end of the motors limit. However, you will rarely see me run one of my engines to the rev limiter.

 

While you can rev them up, you don't have to. As long as you're not lugging/bucking the motor you are not hurting it. Because of where my clutch whine is at in the RPM range of my motor, I routinely run in fifth (overdrive) gear at 45 MPH.

[MongoE9]

Thanks for all of the feedback. This is one damned cool site! I have no clue what a rev limiter is, but I will keep my eye out for it! I am usually in 4th gear from 40-60 then into 5th/OD from 60 on especially on the Highway. That is either solo, 6'5" 225 or two up, + or minus 180. Good thing she never reads this forum!!!!

Ride safe all.

Mongo

[Seaking]

The rev limiter is the setup on the engine that physically prevents you from over reving your engine past red line and damaging it. You'll know you've hit the rev limiter (limits your maximum revs) when you feel your engine stumble and no longer able to make more power. You can maintain power but you've reached the limit of how much more you can make, because the rev limiter prevents you from over reving your engine.. I'm not sure if it's electrical or mechanical to be honest. You'll know you hit it as it's a weird feeling if you're not familiar with it.. but its not something to fear.. it should be embraced

 

Find yourself a quiet stretch of highway or an on ramp to a highway and while in first gear, drop the hammer and give it all she's got... let it speed up and hold it.. you'll feel the engine shudder, almost like what it feels like when you first hit reserve when you're low on fuel.. you'll be going rather fast at this point.. as soon as you feel it, shift and drop the hammer again... now you're going really fast and you'll hit the rev limiter again... You might be able to hit the rev limiter in third gear but you're REALLY going fast at this point. I can't remember what it is but I remember thinking it would be an expensive fine if I tried

 

Basically what people are saying, is that if you've never hit the rev limiter on this bike, you haven't properly ridden it Now that doesn't mean you should hit it every time you accelerate the bike up to speed, but you should know where it is.

 

Because these are indeed heavy bikes hauling a heavy rider (some heavier than others) you need to get the revs up when accelerating so that the next gear can work efficiently. If you're not going fast enough or the revs aren't high enough, you're making the engine work too hard and it's not efficient.. But getting the revs up before shifting makes the engine work more efficiently and gives you better control.. like dropping from fifth gear to fourth when passing a vehicle at highway speeds.

 

Embrace the power, learn where your rev limiter is when dropping the hammer =)

[V7Goose]

Thanks for all of the feedback. This is one damned cool site! I have no clue what a rev limiter is, but I will keep my eye out for it! I am usually in 4th gear from 40-60 then into 5th/OD from 60 on especially on the Highway. That is either solo, 6'5" 225 or two up, + or minus 180. Good thing she never reads this forum!!!!

Ride safe all.

Mongo

For normal riding with moderate acceleration, those are perfect gear choices.

 

But if you are trying to step out quickly or show somebody what that bike can do, you should not even consider leaving THIRD until you hit 80 (you won't hit the rev limiter in 3rd until 96MPH)!

Goose