Cruising RPMs?

[MojoGuzzi]

Searched for threads that might apply before starting this potential NEPRT....

What RPM do y'all usually cruise? That is, once you've accelerated or decelerated for road conditions and gear...where do you cruise? 3500? 4K? 5K? What makes sense for ya?

Mostly, I keep mine at around 3800-4200ish. I wonder if that's too low.

Not a big thread, just a thought.

 

[Ignacio]

once you've accelerated or decelerated for road conditions and gear...where do you cruise? 3500? 4K? 5K? What makes sense for ya?

I don't think this thread qualifies for the NE or R part of the area.....so it kinda narrows it down. The notion seems silly to me.....

Assuming top gear, since road conditions dictate velocity, I cruise at whatever RPM (there's no s by the way on the end) corresponds to that speed. I never cruise deliberately at a particular RPM.

 

[MrZappo]

What is your basis for thinking that an RPM in the middle of the engine rated RPM range is too low ? Why would Yamaha set up the drive train so that the RPM is too low when in top gear on nearly every highway in the country in which they sell the bike ?

Too low for what ? Are you thinking that it will cause damage ?

 

[HotRodZilla]

Even if I'm on a 35mph road, I'll shift to 5th. If I need speed, I'll downshift. Any time I'm cruising on any highway, it's 5th gear unless the fun bone kicks in. Then maybe 2nd...

5k rpm is around 100mph in 5th gear. FYI...

 

[900gc]

At an RPM where I hopefully don't get a ticket.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Resisting my initial urge of sarcasm...

By now you must have realized that the FJR engine produces a LOT of torque and does so throughout its RPM range. It never seems to matter to the engine what RPM it is turning, it just works. I let my "cruise RPM" be dictated by the speed in MPH I wish to travel. I never let my Speed Over Ground be dictated by a preferred engine RPM.

I will say that my experience with a BMW R1200RT gives me some insight as to why you would ask this question. Most of us here seem to have forgotten what it was like to ride a normal motorcycle with a normal "powerband". The FJR just builds so much torque that paying attention to the tachometer is not important.

 

[bluesdog]

I never exceed the posted speed.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

75mph is 4K on my 2014. I don't pay any attention to rpm, there's no reason to. I pay attention to, ahem, maintaining a responsible speed and interval for the conditions at hand.

 

[Uncle Hud]

I cruise in cruise control because that's why it was invented. RPMs vary based on cruise speed and, like Bill Lumberg, I don't really pay attention to rpms.

Anything at or below 55 mph = 4th gear; everything above 55 mph = 5th gear.

To emphasize that I don't always pay attention, I did about 2 hours at 80 mph in 4th gear two weekends ago. FJR did not explode, burst into flames, or spew motor oil. Not even sure it significantly affected mpg.

 

[hppants]

Redfish and I are fishing in the same hole. (he he he)

Prior to my introduction to the liter bike (2 Feegs' ago), I rode smaller Honda inline fours. The 700s had a 10,750 redline and really didn't wake up until at least 4K and the cams started hitting about 7k. The later model 750 nighthawk really wanted to run at 5K. Anything lower than that and the CV carbs were lean. Loved both bikes - plenty of shifting all day long. Footsies were tingling too.

Enter Yamaha. 1.3 liters. 145 hp. Butt load of torque beginning at 1700 rpm. Meh - get to 5th gear as quickly as possible and fa-get-a-bout-it.

 

[danh600]

I rode a 1300 v-twin before the FJR. While it was no where near as fast or as powerful as the FJR it

did have a longer power band. It pulled from low RPMs up. While I agree the FJR pulls good at any RPM

to me it really comes alive at 4k.

I don't ride by RPMs but I make an effort to keep it revved a little higher then I did my v-twin. It

just seems to run better that way.

I like that feeling when an FJR hits 4k. It seems to kick it up a notch. My v-twins never did that.

 

[Warpdrv]

Whatever RPM gets me the best mileage - when I'm cruising..... so always highest gear for conditions..

But for some reason, the FJR always tends to wake up the

in me....

Did I mention I own a gas station and with 20+K gallons in the ground, so I'm rarely giving a **** about gas mileage.

 

[Cav47]

^^^^^ Exactly my thoughts coming from a V-Twin Superhawk.

Running the higher RPMs was a little getting used to after getting used to all the grunt down low. The FJR made the transition very easy given the pull from low RPMs. One of the Sportbikes I rode right after getting rid of the Superhawk felt like I was killing the motor at 5000 RPM because it was an inline 4 with little torque and high HP.

The FJR is the right bike for me.

 

[Geezer]

The first couple of years I had my FJR I would cruise at around the 5k mark. The motor just felt right to me at that point in the RPM range and I learned to approximate my speed by knowing the gear and RPM I was using. It is something that became a habit when I learned to ride, which was on a 2-cycle machine. I still use gear and RPM to judge corner entry speed. I do the same thing in my car.

Anyway, over time I have slowed down some, and now cruise more often around 4k. I now use the MPH on my GPS to determine cruise speed and rarely look at the tach when cruising. My GPS is mounted up high so I can see my speed at a quick glance.

 

[Spud]

A little over 5K in 5th, just hold it there until I run out of gas....

 

[deagle]

In 5th gear whatever the speed limit (or above) dictates. When cruising around town or where the speed limit is like 35 mph, I leave it around 3,000 - 3,500 rpms.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Hey, MojoGuzzi, are you coming from a V-twin? Because I did, and their powerplants are designed to shift at about 4,000 to 5,000 rpm. For perhaps two months and 5,000 miles, I was up-shifting the FJR at 4,000 rpm just like I'd done on the Vstar. Then the FJRForum comments started to sink in about performance above 4,000 rpm.

Over the next weekend, I did about 850 miles with a conscious effort to delay shifting until above 7,000 rpm. It felt like I was riding a completely different bike. Spirited riding is best done between 5k and 7k (twisties or just plain adrenaline sessions) because you never have to touch the brakes.

Nowadays, I only shift at low rpms when it's a "good neighbor" thing to ride quietly.

 

[mcatrophy]

I shift up when I think I can get sufficient acceleration in the next higher gear, not before, not after.

I may shift up at 2000 (32.5 in 4th, quite happy to trickle at 30 in 5th), I may shift up on the limiter (though that's extremely rare).

Ride the bike to deliver what you want from it, no need to stick to some arbitrary rule.

 

[DiggerDr.]

What a machine! How many bikes come to life in high gear @ 75 mph? And still have over half the rpm range left.