Using a higher gear

[RS2MATRIX]

How bad is it, if any, to always be in a higher gear than you really should be
Its a bad habit of mine and i just wondered if it just causes poorer acceleration or is there actually any damage i can be doing to the bike?

Ive tried to use higher revs/lower gears but its always in my mind, "am i ragging it now?" as the bike is knockin on so i like to treat it gently when i can, dont get me wrong i give it a good outing every now and then but when commuting and stuff, ive got a terrible habit of consistantly knocking it up one and being too high/low revs
cheers, nick
____________________
Reiju RS2 Matrix
Kawasaki ZXR400

[TheFoxyDuke]

I did a supervised ride with an Advanced Rider last year and he pointed out that I was keeping the bike in too high a gear, especially when trying to stick to a 30 limit. He advised always staying in 2nd gear in towns with the revs running about 4000+.

Works well - loads of engine braking and hardly ever have to touch the brakes if you plan ahead.

FoxyD
____________________
Currently : Ducati Monster S4R 2005, 996cc, Blue with Corse stripe, Open Carbon Clutch Cover (TokaTokaTokaToka), Marchesini 5 Spoke Wheels, 117BHP.
Wanted : Ducati 749S 2005 onwards.
Rate my Posts, You Sons of Bitches!

[Skudd]

The issue I have with the advanced rider stuff and the not using the brakes at almost any cost, is that in this age and around towns other road users need to know when you are slowing down and a brake light at the rear tells them this. I have read the book and it clearly has a section on the use of the brakes. It just seems when it comes to the AIM it gets neglected and is seen as a weakness to use brakes at any time. The road position and thinking ahead is bang on, so is the right gear at the right time, it's just the no brakes at all thing.
____________________
Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[iooi]

Well seeing as my bike will pull cleanly from 2K in top. Its no problem to tootle around.
Engine braking works well, as i can manage to do most of my route to work without using the brakes, other than for the last bit to stop the bike at any lights i miss judge the timings on.
____________________
Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[DaveH]

Ear plugs!!!

Seriously, use ear plugs, they let enough sound through and block out excessive engine/wind noise

Better watch you speed though...

It just means that there is less acceleration/decceleration available, so you compromise the level of control you have available...or such like.

I used to short shift and keep it in too high a gear (car driver style) but soon got used to keeping the revs up, but ear plugs were the real revelation
____________________
https://www.timhastingsracing.co.uk/

ZX7R & ER6F

[Kris]

Crusiing around in 30's I'm usually in third gear. In 40's I'm usually in fourth.

There's no way I'm sticking to second gear at 30mph; it makes far too much noise and any jolt or bump causes all sorts of jerkiness.

Nope, regardless of what some old musty cunt with an IAM badge and Sam Browne tells me I'll stick to what I've found is best.

Plus my Bandit still has the acceleration anyway.
____________________
NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[ajb]

I tend to short shift a lot, so much so i've compromised a few overtakes by being in too high a gear (a habit that I need to fix because being on the wrong side of the road is not good with oncoming). When I do pick the right gear and accelerate at about 7k rpm+ I wonder what the hell I was doing
____________________
CBR125R '05 > CB500 '00 > CBR600F '99

[T0MMY]

No problem with being in a high gear unless it is too high and causes the engine to labour. I just posted why this is bad on another thread coincidentally...

[metalangel]

Generally in 2nd for city driving as it means if I have to ease off because a woman in a Ka is in front of me I don't have to shift gears. 3rd only if the road is long and straight and clear.
____________________
Previous: 2002 Honda CB500 (sold), 2007 Suzuki SV650SK6 (crashed), 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer (sold). Currently bikeless
"A faired bike will get you 10x more clunge than a unfaired one." -Marlboro Matt

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

IAM spouts so much generalized shit it's unbelievable.

I'm sure there are lots of things I could learn from them to make me a better rider, but there is also a lot of bollocks which doesnt take lots of varying factors in to account, and some of which is just bollocks.

If youre about to stall then the gears too high, that's the only time you can guarantee it's the wrong gear.

[Feasty]

Surely it depends a lot on the type of bike you ride too. I have a single cylinder 650 thumper and a lot of the power is lower down, therefore surely I'm better being in 3rd for town riding? If I stay in 2nd the engine is revving much higher and the bike is generally much more jumpy.
(I'm still not sure if ragging this type of engine at constant high rev's is any good for it compared to a full out sports bike).
____________________
Previous: Aprilia Habana Retro 50cc (beauty), Yamaha SR125 (fell apart), Honda XR125 (nippy little commuter), Honda SLR650 (Geewhizz), Yamaha Diversion 900S (Smoooooth) written off courtesy of a stupid escaped horse.
(7 year gap), BMW F650 (Relaxing ride). Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 (Big and bold). Yamaha FZS600 (got me in trouble too quick!).
Current: Yamaha TDM 900 (Comfy, light but big, power when needed).

[Timmeh]

I'm pretty sure the IAM advice wouldn't work for something like a geared 50 where you're clicking into 2nd at 20mph, and a small engine's got next-to-fuck-all braking about it anyway.

When I ride strokers about town I tend to keep the revs just below where the powerband starts, not only does that help fuel economy a bit but if you need to get out of the way quickly you've got the power straightaway.

On big bikes if the road is clear but 30mph limit I'll often just coast in 4th doing 1,500-2000 rpm. Failing that 2nd or 3rd is your friend. I only ever use 1st on the gixxer when pulling away, but that's because it has a ludicrously tall ratio, and will usually short-shift at about 6k (also because it'll break traction on cold tyres over that)


____________________
GSXR400 x2 | '94 RVF400 | '93 TZR125 4DL (again)
20:22:30 BLUEX5: i would love to be forced to undergo a**l plugging with different sizes
20:48:18 Temeluchus: comp you hunk of smouldering homos3x you

[r0b]

Riding in too high of a gear can cause wear on your bottomend since lower the rpm higher the relative load on crank / geartrain etc.

I ride a ttr600 and its a known problem that riding in 5th at less than about 60 and loading the motor will destroy the 5th gear eventually from the torque pulses of the single.

Regarding your zxr400 I would ride round at around 4000 i know the bike will pull at 3000rpm but im pretty sure when I had a zxr400 i used to ride 30 in 3rd gear what rpm is this? . drop to second if you need to accelerate hard. The zxr loves to rev dont be afraid to thrash it. mine always surprised me how happy it was working hard at high rpm.
____________________
'92 Honda NX650 Dominator RD02
'98 Kawasaki ZX9R C1
'00 Yamaha TT600R Belgarda

[yuri2085]

Riding in too high a gear is less fuel efficient too? (ofc dont be riding around at 8k+ rpm the whole time either.)

[Kickstart]

Hi

For me it depends on the vehicle. Little YSR50 I would be in top. Maserati I would be down in 2nd (4 speed auto so stuff all engine braking) just to make it easier to keep around 30 without having to use the brakes all the time.

Tend to agree with Reuben. While the basic ideas are often sound, slavishly following them as rules rather than understanding the basic idea is probably counter productive.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Flip]

I keep it in third when in town but I have loads of engine braking.

[Ingah]

After reading the thread i'm none the wiser so i'm hoping someone could clarify:

Currently riding a 1995 47K miles CB500 (plan to keep it for years, so am incentivised to look after it well). It's a parallel twin, 6 gears, is supposed to judder (clearly labouring) at 3K RPM or below. Red line is 10.5K, peak power at 9.5K and peak torque at 8K.

What's the healthy RPM to maximise mechanical life? I've always believed that lower RPMs (up to a point) are better for the engine, but this thread seems to dispute that. Is there a general rule or does it depend entirely on the engine design?
____________________
-- Ingah

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

If the engine isn't labouring or near the redline you're probably in the right gear. Simple as.
Sorry if it reads abit curt. I too want to keep my bike tip-top for as long as possible so i keep the revs below the redline and alter the revs on long motorway journeys, that and regular oil/filter changes..what else can we do

Pat
Engines that start from cold the least and don't do short journeys last longest. FACT
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project