Rpm's

[dbmb0416]

Since I'm new to biking. Should I get the revs up high before shifting up on the bike or shift up quickly thru the gears? I seemed to be in 4th gear before I hit the 30mph mark. That's how I learned on a car many many years ago.

[webbcraft2150]

30 in fourth is pretty low rpms. The 11 is tolerant of lugging, to a point. Myself, I shift around 4k depending on traffic conditions. Things will start getting exciting around 45-4600rpm. 5k on up and the throttle twisted tight, you better be pointing in the direction you want to go cause "all the troops" will be on board and ready to run. IF this your first bike, and it IS a XS11, exercise extreme caution when you dial it up. Things will happen very very quickly

[dbmb0416]

It is. Got 400 miles last year. If I hurt myself on it my wife will kill me

[trbig]

Got 400 miles last year.

You been riding with TC?

[MaximPhil]

Hi Dbmb,
For normal around town riding I shift at about 3,000 RPM
There is a step UP in power past 3500 RPM with everything going at it @ 7500
As already mentioned be sure you are pointed in the right direction before you give her a handful of throttle...and hold on tight
You have probably heard about the weakness of the 2nd gear so Smoooooth shifting is a good idea. Save the high speed runs for deserted roads
Phil

[BA80]

It is. Got 400 miles last year. If I hurt myself on it my wife will kill me

Pretty sure I rode 400 miles last week.

She's afraid you'll hurt yourself on the bike but sends you up on a shaky ladder twice a year to hang and remove the Christmas lights.

[TopCatGr58]

You been riding with TC?

Hey Tod, that's funny right there! I actually put over a thousand miles on it last year...rode it to XS East with George instead of trailering it!

I won't be putting too many miles on it this year until XS East again because I'll be doing a big revamp of it. Brent tasked me to spruce Godzilla up a bit. I've got the straight neck frame that I'll be swapping it with, and so I'll be doing a bunch of other "Stuff" while I have it torn down, cleaning, polishing, as well as mechanic work like possibly replacing cam chain, mod the swingarm/final drive to allow more room for the wider tire I like to run without rubbing, REPAINT the tank/fenders, possibly make different side covers, put on a single seat mounted farther back so my nu-nu's aren't wedged up against the tank as well as give me a little more leg room for the driver's pegs, design/fab new saddlebag and backrest mounts. Probably a bunch of other stuff as I get into it.

Okay, as folks have stated, the power band starts to kick in around 3500 rpm and up. The ALT doesn't reach full charging level until at least 2500 rpm, and I like to have a fairly quick throttle response, so I always ride it at least 3500 rpm when cruising. Don't be afraid to take it up to 5 k before shifting, you don't have to twist the throttle with such a big handful, just roll it on while accelerating EASILY/GENTLY on up to 4500-5000 before upshifting. Then when you reach the speed you want, adjust your gearing so that you're running around 3k cruising rpm, and you should be good. At that speed, you're not LUGGING the engine if you want to roll on the throttle a bit without downshifting, and you're also running the ALT fast enough to keep it at full charging speed...the charging system is weak to begin with so you want to be fully charging when riding otherwise you can drain the battery when riding at 2k rpm!

T.C.

[dbmb0416]

Thanks for the advice

[mikubuilder]

yeah, I don't think I come down below 4k, unless I'm sitting at the light...