I don't even think about shifting until 5500 RPM.... That's where my girl loves to sing.... Third LT, ZERO issues with winding her up...
+1 on everything. Well said.bobst2 said:cruising down the highway at 50 the bike dosent care if you are in forth or fifth but in fifth u will have less throttel responce but you dont need to run in forth.
i think when guy are talking about the big rpm is when you ask the bike to perform
hard cornering you want the rpm around 5000 or up so you can make it really handel.
also if you have never driven the bike in the upper rpm you have a big plesent surprise
comeing the big girl will suprise you when shifted at 7000 :bmw: . i dont live by the 5500 rpm rule but definatly take it well above that on occasion
without any fear of damage
SteveW said:I’ve had my 03 LT for close to a year and have been a watching this site daily to learn things about this beast. I keep reading here about how these machines like to be run at much higher rev’s than my other bikes so I just have to ask, do they really?
I’m talking about normal everyday riding here. As an example, at 50mph in fourth gear the engine runs at around 3k RPM’s, and compared to my other bikes except the Triumph that’s screaming. I’d like this LT to last me for a lifetime, so should I continue cruising around in lower gears and higher rev’s, or should I shift?![]()
Patric said:Interesting discussion, I have been thinking about this very thing. I don't think the motor really cares what RPM you're at, as long as it isn't knocking.
On the other hand, I have killed TWO gear boxesin my '02 K1200LT/ Hannigan 2+2. Both times it was the bearing on the front of the input shaft. The first time I thought it might be lubricant related, like maybe the lube I was using got past the seals on the sealed bearing & washed its grease out. Now after having a second gear box fail, I think maybe I need to learn to drive stick. I should keep the RPM up to at least 3,250 - 3,500 under a light load, & 4,000 or more under harder acceleration. My LT is a fulltime sidecar rig, & that extra 500 lbs on the side puts a lot strain on the drive train.
In town I would tend to dog it, & the RMP would drop to maybe 2,500. Then when speeding up coming out of a town, I would just crank it on. The bike accelerated OK like that, but I now believe it put too much stress on the input shaft. If I would have back shifted a gear or two, & spun the motor up some. It would have put a lot less stress on everything, the input shaft especially. It was just easer to be lazy, & leave in a higher gear. But now, this time… when I finish putting my rig back together I plan on keeping the RPM up.
3,000 is nothing for the LT. However, it isn't just RPM, it is how much load you have on the engine. If I am just cruising along on the level, I will shift into 5th as slow as 45 MPH as the engine is just loafing along. No reason to run at 5,000 in 2nd just to be at 5,000 RPM. However, if you are pulling a steep grade or accelerating up an on ramp to blend in with 70 MPH traffic, then crank up to to 6 grand and get on with business.SteveW said:I’ve had my 03 LT for close to a year and have been a watching this site daily to learn things about this beast. I keep reading here about how these machines like to be run at much higher rev’s than my other bikes so I just have to ask, do they really?
I’m talking about normal everyday riding here. As an example, at 50mph in fourth gear the engine runs at around 3k RPM’s, and compared to my other bikes except the Triumph that’s screaming. I’d like this LT to last me for a lifetime, so should I continue cruising around in lower gears and higher rev’s, or should I shift?![]()
Voyager,Voyager said:3,000 is nothing for the LT. However, it isn't just RPM, it is how much load you have on the engine. If I am just cruising along on the level, I will shift into 5th as slow as 45 MPH as the engine is just loafing along. No reason to run at 5,000 in 2nd just to be at 5,000 RPM. However, if you are pulling a steep grade or accelerating up an on ramp to blend in with 70 MPH traffic, then crank up to to 6 grand and get on with business.
As with most things in life, there is no precise formual for all situations. I just try to match the RPM to the load. High load = high RPM, low load = low RPM. That is my style.
My digital displays says I am getting around 50mpg but when I fill my gas tanksaddleman said:90% of my riding is in max. mpg mode. I'm almost always in 5th gear by 35 MPH on flat ground. My last fill up back & forth to work was 55.98 MPG.