Speeds for Gears.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by Rookie Rider

Im new at this and im trying to listen to my bike and i cant.

O.K., try this......... keep an eye on the speedo....... You're riding along quite happily when you notice your speed is dropping. You give it a bit more throttle & not much happens.... This is when you need to change down.

You give it more throttle & you speed up. You get to the point when you haven't any throttle left, but it still wants to go. This is when you need to change up.

I know this is really basic, but it's just a way of trying to get the VERY basics across. :2tup:

[alanmcorcoran]

Main thing I changed after riding a while is I upped the speeds considerably before I shifted. I don't know if this means I will kill the engine earlier than otherwise, but in second and third I wind it up pretty good (even if you can't hear it - which I find hard to believe, you should be able to "feel" the engine/transmission) and I generally don't use fifth unless I am going flat/downhill/no wind. The bike will do 65 in fourth. Never use fifth gear when going up hill. I'll go as high as 25 in second and 40 in third.

The thing is, shifting based purely on speed and revs is only going to work under one specific set of conditions. You have to consider hills, wind, etc. as well and adjust accordingly.

On my other bike, I got a lot more torque and I tend to shift a lot faster (lower RPM's) even at 70 I'm only at 3K in fifth.

[cayuse]

I'm shifting at higher speeds now, too. In fact, I notice a harmonic buzz in the frame at certain speeds which turns out to be about 7000rpm. That's about when I shift, unless I'm REALLY in a hurry, and I let it wind up a bit more.
As for hearing the engine..... get ear plugs. The good ones will cut out almost all the wind noise leaving you with the low frequency stuff like engine, talking, car horns, etc...
I'm spoiled now; I won't ride more than a few blocks without them; can't stand wind noise.

[Rookie Rider]

I got ear plugs now too, lets see if they help me.

[jonathan180iq]

Even with earplugs, you should be able to feel what's going on.

The GZ is very good at giving immediate feedback, being such a simple machine.

[cayuse]

Trouble is, for a newbie there's no point of reference at all. He's rolling along and the bike's vibrating and the engine's buzzing and he's worrying that the motor's about to explode. But, it's actually just doing what a GZ250 does at 7 grand. It's pretty happy to go somewhat faster with no ill effects. Once he absorbs the numbers we've posted above, and goes out and rides and sees what that feels like he'll be learn how to 'listen' to the bike (with his ears and his butt).

[Suncross]

My Gz didn't come with a tach. I am going by soiund, but like Cayuse said, I have really no reference. I have put about 400+ miles on my GZ, and I really got the hang of shifting. I over rev the engine at times I think, but that's only because I have been told it is better to over rev than to lug. I get stuck in traffic where people want to ride at 33.4 mph, and it's either lug it in 4th, or rev it a little in 3rd.

All in all, I think I am just going to install a 16T front sprocket for smoother riding. lol.

[Suncross]

Originally Posted by 5th_bike

Here once again is Jaime's table with rpms vs. speed for the 15 and 16 tooth front sprocket. Thanks Jaime !
[img]15T16Trpm.png[/img]

[attachment=0:n88fscnq]15T16Trpm.png[/attachment:n88fscnq]

(Ah well, one day I may figure out how to place an image *as is*)

The point being, you don't want to go too slow. For instance, when you are going 25 mph in 5th gear, it has a hard time accelerating from there. The engine runs better above 3500 rpm and the corresponding speeds (mph) are (for a 15 tooth sprocket):
Gear.. Speed mph
5.......35
4.......28
3.......23
2.......17
1.......11

According to that picture, I have been shifting as such:

1st-2nd 5,000
2nd-3rd 5,000-6,000
3rd-4th 5,000-6,000 (actually I hardly ever get passed 5,500 according to that chart. Only sometimes when I am not looking, and then the engine is screaming)
4th-5th 5,500 (past 5,500, I usually shift from 4th to 5th. If I am about to go up a hill pushing 45mph, I will let off the throttle a little as going up, and then pull back down on it. I stay in 4th though).

So according to my numbers.. I haven't been lugging or over revving have I?

[grego]

hi all
i haven't really figured the shifting thing out completely. have installed a tach and its 500 rpm higher then the rest of the worlds for some reason. at 30 mph it reads 3500 at 35 it reads 4000... being a newbie i like 4000 as a shift point the engine doesn't sound like its straining. when it hits 4000 shift ! don't know if its right or wrong perhaps some knowledgeable person will correct me if i'm wrong. i have yet to take it over 6000 cause i haven't hit 600 miles yet.....

safe biking

grego

[grego]

hi all
i haven't really figured the shifting thing out completely. have installed a tach and its 500 rpm higher then the rest of the worlds for some reason. at 30 mph it reads 3500 at 35 it reads 4000... being a newbie i like 4000 as a shift point the engine doesn't sound like its straining. when it hits 4000 shift ! don't know if its right or wrong perhaps some knowledgeable person will correct me if i'm wrong. i have yet to take it over 6000 cause i haven't hit 600 miles yet.....

safe biking

grego