MCRIDER007
Well-known member
NO. You are mixing apples and oranges. Higher gear ratios do not always result in better mileage. If that were true my C14 wth its 3:40 to 1 6th gear ratio would get far better mileage than its 4:08 to 1 5th gear ratio. It doesn't.....most of the time 5th gear gets better mileage. The auto companies are getting better fuel economy through better engine design and 6 to 8 gear transmissions that are designed to keep the engine rpms in the most fuel efficient range at all speeds rather than just providing taller final gears.If you think carrying around 2-3 extra pounds will negate the 6th gear MPG gain, then you may want to think about losing 5 lbs of body weight and really gain some MPG!!I'm not an engineer but using logic I would conclude, if you add another gear that is taller then the current 5th gear on GenII bikes you will gain better fuel economy. When the auto companies added 5 speed trans to cars the gas mileage improved over the 4 sp boxes. When the auto companies came out with automatic trans with 6 and higher gears the MPG increased even while increasing the HP. I realize tuning had a major role. I may be using voodoo logic but that has been my life's experience with vehicles. My 2003 Toyota Highlander had a 5sp automatic and I got average 26 mpg. I now have a 2015 Lexus RX350 that has more HP and weighs more and I am getting an average 28 mpg. The Lexus has a 6 sp auto trans. Any of this make sense to the 6 speed doubters??Personally, I think the extra weight of that 6th speed pinion is not worth the marginal improvement in MPG. You're carrying that extra 2 or 3 pounds around for every single mile ....
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