RSTD Overdrive gearing

[Davo]

Hello everyone,

I tried to do a search but didn't get a "match" for my question.

 

I recently bought a 2006 RSTD. It has bub pipes which make it a bit louder going down the road. I understand that 4th and 5th gear are overdrive gears. I feel that the bike is a more "revvy" at 75 mph or higher than I would have thought of a bike with two overdrive gears. I came off of an ST1300 which only started to wake up at 85 so maybe I'm just having to adapt to a new bike. I also wonder if the Bub's are just allowing the sound come through and it I'm hearing more exhaust. I really like the RSTD and plan to have it for a long time. I just wondered if everything is operating normally.

 

Davo

[tazmocycle]

4th and 5th is a big jump up from 3rd, i usually don't go to 4th unless i'm going over 70 mph. 5th i use less unless i'm on interstate, pretty level road and over 75mph. if i'm pulling my trailer, i stay out of 5th at any speed and use 3rd and 4th most of the time. the engine will start to feel like it's lugging if you get too low in speed. many of us put in a dyna-tech 3000 to pick up the power to get to use the higher gears. some also put in the v-max gears which is 11% lower gear ratio and picks the rpms up so you can use 4th and 5th gears at lower speeds. you can look at the history section of the forum and see the gear ratios on all the ventures and royal stars. when you are out riding, try winding out the gears a little more and you'll see where the power band kicks in and it don't hurt to hit the rev-limiter, that way you know where you can go before you have to shift out. the rev limiters are set pretty low(5800-6200) as what these motors can do around 8k( thats the top limit you can set on the dyna-tech 3000).

[Dave77459]

Hello everyone,

I tried to do a search but didn't get a "match" for my question.

 

I recently bought a 2006 RSTD. It has bub pipes which make it a bit louder going down the road. I understand that 4th and 5th gear are overdrive gears. I feel that the bike is a more "revvy" at 75 mph or higher than I would have thought of a bike with two overdrive gears. I came off of an ST1300 which only started to wake up at 85 so maybe I'm just having to adapt to a new bike. I also wonder if the Bub's are just allowing the sound come through and it I'm hearing more exhaust. I really like the RSTD and plan to have it for a long time. I just wondered if everything is operating normally.

 

Davo

 

I can't speak to the bubs, beyond thinking louder than aftermarket == more tiring on big-mile days. I put on Harley-Davidson touring pipes and they were too loud for the type of riding I do. BUT, they were awesome as a training tool. I left the intersection near the freeway and let each gear run until I hit the rev limiter, then shifted and repeated. I hit the freeway in 3rd like a missile, and I knew how much this bike (I also have a 2006 RSTD) had at higher revs. And it sounded like an F1 race car to boot.

 

Try hitting the rev limiter a few times, and realize that the engine has way more to give, as tazmocycle said. This is a 4 cylinder, not a v-twin, and is ridden differently.

 

 

4th and 5th is a big jump up from 3rd, i usually don't go to 4th unless i'm going over 70 mph. 5th i use less unless i'm on interstate, pretty level road and over 75mph. if i'm pulling my trailer, i stay out of 5th at any speed and use 3rd and 4th most of the time. the engine will start to feel like it's lugging if you get too low in speed. many of us put in a dyna-tech 3000 to pick up the power to get to use the higher gears. some also put in the v-max gears which is 11% lower gear ratio and picks the rpms up so you can use 4th and 5th gears at lower speeds. you can look at the history section of the forum and see the gear ratios on all the ventures and royal stars. when you are out riding, try winding out the gears a little more and you'll see where the power band kicks in and it don't hurt to hit the rev-limiter, that way you know where you can go before you have to shift out. the rev limiters are set pretty low(5800-6200) as what these motors can do around 8k( thats the top limit you can set on the dyna-tech 3000).

 

 

I'll just echo what you said. I don't use 5th with a trailer, or rarely at all unless I am really moving and going down hill. 4th is fine for super-legal speeds. ;-) More responsive too. I even think I get better fuel economy at most speeds if I don't use 5th. Lugging is like pouring gas out the tail pipe.

 

Dave

[djh3]

I have a RSV, all drive train I think is the same. I am "relearning" how to drive this vs the V-Twin I had before. 4th and 5th a re my struggle too. 4th is all I try to use as a top gear around town. I'll try to force myself to use 4th up to about 60. The 55-65 range steady is tough for me, I just keep thinking I need to shift. This motor goes against the ideas we have been taught for MPG. It likes the higher RPM range for effecincy. My normal route to work I average around 36-38 mpg. 2 lane rual speeds mostly 60-65mph. I took a 2200 mile road trip which I got to do some freeway driving @ 70+. MPG went up to 42.

As far as mufflers go. Just before the trip I swaped out to the RK mufflers. Pulling up thru the mountains and highways etc I decided not what I wanted. I still have them on right now trying to convince myself I like them enough to keep on. I think when I change the tires in a few weeks they are comming back off. Just to much for me. The wife aint said nothing yet but I'm waiting.