Which Gear?

[sporter]

VTX1800/Roadsmith. Went on my first long ride today. 4th gear seemed to be right for this trip. Speedo showing 60mph, turning about 3000, 5th gear seemed to high (vibration, bogging down) or it just may be my inexperience. Do you think running in 4th for long period will hurt anything?

[John Luciano]

A lot of the Harley TRI glide guys are seeing the same thing . Running at 3,000 the bike is not even breathing hard .. they are getting a toot drop so 5thee is lower. I ride in 5th almost exclusively on the wing. 40MPH to 80MPH range

[Gorilla]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>sporter</strong>
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<div class="message">VTX1800/Roadsmith. Went on my first long ride today. 4th gear seemed to be right for this trip. Speedo showing 60mph, turning about 3000, 5th gear seemed to high (vibration, bogging down) or it just may be my inexperience. Do you think running in 4th for long period will hurt anything?</div>

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</div>Your not hurting anything. As long as you don't over rev the motor near redline your good to go. You actually can do more damage lugging the motor down with to low of a RPM by being in to high a gear. The motor will knock which can cause damage.

[Stephen]

4th gear seemed to be right for this trip. Speedo showing 60mph, turning about 3000,

Give us a gas mileage report on this.

[sporter]

Not exact but I believe it was about 33 mpg. Will get a more definite figure next time out.

[sporter]

Found out what the problem is, my speedometer is off by about 15 MPH. When my speedo shows 60 MPH I'm actually only going 45 MPH, which obviously is too slow for 5th gear. Now my question is where does the speedometer read, front tire, transmission, rear end? Would adding the trike kit affect the speedometer accuracy?<br />
Gas mileage on a 200+ mille trip was 34.66.

[Chumbly]

I too have a VTX 1800, but with a Motortrike kit. I've noticed the same as you... I barely get out of 4th gear either when going the speed limit. 3000-3200 engine rpm is about right for cruising. Don't worry too much about which gear you're in, but try to keep your rpm in a good spot. And yes, lugging, as in too low an engine rpm can damage an engine in the long run. I was also wondering as to my speed...cars seemed to be passing me all the time when I'm doing the speed limit. I will be using a GPS this summer, and it will tell me my true speed.

[jim peacock]

What is h.p. and torque of a 1800 vtx?
WIth my 96 se with a 06 lehman kit two up I can easliy crusie around at 30mph with out lugging it and just pull right away in 5th gear.

[skuuter]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>Gorilla</strong>
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<div class="message">Your not hurting anything. As long as you don't over rev the motor near redline your good to go. You actually can do more damage lugging the motor down with to low of a RPM by being in to high a gear. The motor will knock which can cause damage.</div>

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</div>"BINGO"......my Gold Wing spends most of it's Life in 3rd Gear dancin' occasionally down and up to 2nd and 4th......5th is rarely needed unless lotsa' cruisin' above 65 MPH......"Luggin' is Deadly to an Engine"...<img src="images/smilies/thumbup.gif" border="0" alt="" title="" class="inlineimg" />

[sporter]

Jim Peacock,
I was told H.P. was about 104, don't know torque.

[Konrad]

Cruising down an uncongested city street I have routinely gone from 3d gear to 5th at 35-40mph and have never felt any lugging with my 2006 1800. If I'm approaching the end of an on-ramp I'll downshift for the swift kick into merging traffic.

If it doesn't feel as if it's lugging, perhaps I don't understand the problem?

[sporter]

Mine would definitely be lugging in the 35-40 range if I tried to accelerate.

[Chumbly]

What is h.p. and torque of a 1800 vtx?
WIth my 96 se with a 06 lehman kit two up I can easliy crusie around at 30mph with out lugging it and just pull right away in 5th gear.

It's supposed to be about 106 H.P., 120ft/lbs of torque, but you can't compare 6 cylinders vs 2 and I'm not going to try to compare a G.W. to a VTX...again, different beasts. Irregardless, if you are riding your Wing as you say, you are lugging it... you might not be able to feel it, but it is, beleive me, I've been working around engines alot of years. The question isn't if the engine will do it, it's whether it should. Think about it, if your ride was designed to be ridden without shifting, the engineers would have only put one gear into it. But go ahead, ride like you want, it's your bike.

[Maryland Triker]

My 2011 Tri Glide runs smooth in 6th gear above 55mph on the hyw but if on backroads I generally stay in 5th because the speed fluctuats so much between 40 and 50mph

[Dray]

Here's a nickels worth of thought. Do Not LUG the motor. That is deadly for the big twin. I run the 1300's rear gear (2.80's) for freeway speeds and a lower rpm and can attest to the lugging part. Also, it is highly recommended that you let the motor idle and warm up BEFORE you take off down the road. My local Honda mechanic said they can cold seize. Recommends warmup until high idle kicks down.
Like I said just a nickels worth of thought.

Dray

[sporter]

Dray, excuse my ignorance, what does "1300's rear gear" mean in American English?

[Boscoporp]

I agree! Lugging the motor in higher gears is not a good habit! I have a friend that is constantly trying to stay in higher gears to get better gas mileage! I keep telling him that after he spins a bearing doing this he won't be concerned about gas milage.

Part of the fun in riding a motorcycle is running the RPM's a little higher so that you have that quick engine response with bursts of speed. Not riding in high gear so that you might as well be driving a tractor!