Those revs/speed sound about right. My 2009 SE with the OEM 18 tooth sprocket does 70 mph at just over 4000 rpm.

I also shift at around the same revs as you. District nurse riding technique...

 

Not sure what the rpm's are going to 2nd and 3rd ( I go by the sound) but hitting 4th and 5th I am at 4000 on average. Now with 7500 km on the T100 I sometimes stretch it out on occasion hitting near 5000, but not often. Depends on where I am and how I feel.

I haven't gone into the red.

 

i shift around 4,000 rpm when there's no reason to be getting crazy. at 70 mph i am running about 4100 rpm or thereabouts.-keith

 

If I'm in traffic shift at 3000-3500 if the road is clear and I'm not in a hurry then 4000 seems like a nice spot to shift.

There definitely feels like a big difference with over 3000rpm and under in general roll-on, roll-off type riding.

james

 

Jeez, y'all DO know these bikes like to rev, don'tcha? If I'm in town, just motoring with the traffic, I'll shift at around 3500-4000, generally trying to keep it at around 3000 at whatever speed I'm travelling. Once clear of traffic, I'll apply a bit more throttle, shifting on average around 4500, though out in the country I'm routinely north of 5500, particularly in the first three gears. The thing to remember is with good oil changed often and a rev limiter in the neighborhood of 8000, 6500 rpm is the sweet spot if you've got the road for it.
I have a 17t sprocket and 3500 rpm in 5th comes out to somewhere between 65 and 70 indicated (actual groundspeed is maybe 60-65). '07 Bonne Black, no AI, no airbox, CR35 carbs, 790 cams, D&D slipons, Piemanated ignitor.

 

Weren't all 02s 790 ccs? If so, stock was, I believe 17 tooth, 19 seems like a lot. I run an 18 t, and it doesn't exactly ease into first. With it, I shift at higher revs, speeds, than I used to. I don't keep so much track of RPM, but if mellow, might shift into 3rd at 25mph, but often now closer to 40. But still, with my setup, usually at less than 4000 rpm. Unless really in a hurry.

 

I generally shift around 4200-4500 rpm, on the open road. Seems like the bike shifts much smother if it's above 3500 and under brisk acceleration. I've always felt like lugging or trying to baby your bike can cause more long term problems/wear than stretching their legs a bit. I'm not saying I constantly thrash my bikes, but there is a reason that bikes were designed to make better power higher in the rev range, they carburate better, less drive line lash, and in mho less stress on engine internals, to a point. Don't be afraid to experiment riding at varied rpm's for a period of time, once you get over the initial felling that you're over revving, you might find your bike has a sweet spot much higher in the range than you thought.

 

Feel

I suppose that in all reality the best point is where it feels right. That is to say the transition is smooth and build up in next gear is seamless. If someone has a torque graph it will be fairly obvious. The only ones i could find were mostly tuned bikes but there was one not to heavily modified and there seemed to be a bulge @3.5k with a drop at 5k then another bulge higher up. I have seen this 5k drop on other graphs it may well be a carb thing. So i reckon you are right where you change if you are looking for smoothness and fuel economy.

 

I shift up around 5000 rpm, cruise around 4000, down to 3500 minimum. This is with the original 17-tooth drive sprocket.

 

I shift up around 5000 rpm, cruise around 4000, down to 3500 minimum.

That pretty much covers it unless I'm running her hard.

 

it feels great in the upper RPM range, but with 23,000 miles I don't want to wear her out

You won't. Use the full rev range, don't go into the red too often, don't thrash it until thoroughly warmed up, don't let it labour in a high gear at low speed, and keep to the oil change schedule. I'd agree with daveel that babying a bike engine doesn't have any benefits. Running the bike out a bit and giving it a leg-stretch does no harm at all.

I remember reading a while ago about a taxi-driver in Sweden who had a Saab with a stupidly high mileage - half a million or something. He did regular airport runs, and the engine was doing motorway speeds, all day every day. It seemed to have lasted well. There are Bonnies on record with well over 100k on the clock, and run well. You damage an engine by neglect and caning it when its cold and the oil is thick. Using the full range of revs is 'normal use' for any modern bike.

 

I have an 18 tooth sprocket and rarely shift at less than 4000, unless it's for slow, around-town riding.

 

Thanks for the responses guys, I can't say for certain what sprocket I actually have on the bike as I haven't had the cover off to inspect it. The previous owner just told me he had installed a "highway" sprocket to drop the cruising RPM. With the taller tire I have the feather the clutch a bit with the wife on the back but other than that I am happy running lower RPM on the highway.

I never get on the throttle on the 70 Tiger as its all original and don't want to beat her up, so I bought this Bonneville to get on harder, low and behold that didn't turn out exactly as expected. I just have a tendency to baby the hell out of everything I own. Maybe that will be my news years revolution, shift at 5-6K every once in a while!

 

You should check your sprocket, Dan, and try the 17t if it doesn't have one. They're inexpensinve and easily swapped around. If you have a 19 on it, the 17 will put a grit-eating-shin on your face and you'll have no trouble forcing yourself to let 'er rev!

 

I'm with Easy on this one...my shift point is usually 6500 to 7000 when I'm not in a hurry & when I cruise (i.e. sustained constant speed) I shoot for the tach to be between 5,000 and 5,500. If RPM's drop below about 4,500, I cog down...

When I'm in a hurry, I try to get my shifts in by 8,000 and keep the rev's on the high side of 6,000...

'04 Thruxton, 18/43 gearing, 20+K miles...

NOTE: lugging a bike does more harm than using the safe range of RPMs for which the bike is designed. In other words, upshifting early and asking the bike to slug its way up the rpm band is not being 'easy on the motor'!!

Cheers,

--Rich

 

We seem to forget that with the torque spread on our bikes it's difficult to "let it slug". 90% of its torque is available from 2500 rpm, by about 3000 the thing pulls beautifully in any gear.

I do a lot of trundling around country lanes and after all my simple mods and correct adjustment of chain etc, my SE will pull from just over 1800 rpm in top gear without transmission snatch on just a whiff of throttle.

Still not satisfied though, so this morning I'm about to try my new 17 tooth sprocket, fitted late yesterday to see what effect it has on our twisty and hilly terrain over here.

 

We seem to forget that with the torque spread on our bikes it's difficult to "let it slug". 90% of its torque is available from 2500 rpm, by about 3000 the thing pulls beautifully in any gear.

I do a lot of trundling around country lanes and after all my simple mods and correct adjustment of chain etc, my SE will pull from just over 1800 rpm in top gear without transmission snatch on just a whiff of throttle.

Okay, fine...I just lack the restraint to feed it a whiff of throttle! Rode a mate's bonneville yesterday on the way home from the battle of the brits meet in the Detroit area and the change in riding position alone (from my thruxton) put me in a much less aggressive mode. The riding position and the 15 or so less RWHP...

When I noticed, I seemed to be upshifting somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 rpms and spent most of the cruising time in the 4,000 to 4,500 rpm range...

EDIT: this was an '06 790 w/ 17/43 gearing.

Cheers,

--Rich

 

4500 to 5500 is a good range for normal shifting,theres no reason to scream the motor all the time.If you need the 17 you dont have enough motor for your weight .

 

I normally shift between 3K and 3.5K in the city and 4K to 4.5 K in the country. Entering a highway it's up around 6K. I will cruise in 3rd and 4th at 2.8K if the road is level and 3K and above in 5th.

Mike

 

Gearing Commander: Motorcycle Gear Ratio Calculator for Sprockets RPM Speed Chain

 

I was curious as to what RPM most of you shift at...

I have no idea! My '05 Bonnie doesn't have a tach, and all I can say is that I shift when it sounds and feels right. I know that's not a very technical answer, but many of you will know just what I mean. For the record, I don't look at the tach on my car (5-speed manual) either! Maybe I'm weird? :unsure
Bob

 

Revs

Took my bike yesterday to have a dyno run and got a print out of a standard bonnie as well. Where the torque and hp cross those revs are the most reponsive and occour at about 5200. There also looks to be a nice bulge of torque at 3500 so you should get decent throttle respose there as well. If you want to go fast wring her neck and use the hp but you wont be being effiucent.

 

Hp/ torque curves allways cross at 5250 rpm I beleave.The more torque you can hold on to at higher rpm the more hp you make.Its all a mater of makeing the motor work hard where the power is.Lower gear ratio will about allways feel quicker but may not be quicker on a watch.Its more a mater of how much rpm drop you have on a wide open shift.The smaller front sprocket will be quicker in 1st gear about allways but if you have enough hp when you go for 2nd gear the bigger sprocket may take over allso with the bigger sprocket theres less time wasted shifting .I guess there is no one size fits all factors that come in to play are where you ride,weight of bike and rider and power of the motor.Alot of tmes what feels fast is not as fast as far as et and hp.Alot of torque and very little ho will feel fast but isnt fast ,to low of gear ratio will do the same thing.

 

Something to try find a road thats stright that you can run 100mph+ .test the 17 ,18 and 19 sprocket and see the true facts on the speedo from point a to point b.I did that a few years ago on a lightly modded 790 with a 17 and 18 sprocket .Guess what the 18 turned more mph.The 17 felt faster.I weigh 170 lbs if I was 250 lbs the 17 might be faster not sure.If you do that test pin the throttle wide open shift as fast as you can with out letting off the gas.

 

I currently have a 19 tooth fitted to my 02 Bonneville with a slightly taller tire than stock.

Thanks,

what tires do you have on your bike?
i dont have a tach, but i got a 2001 bonnie with the 19 front sprocket..
i have a 150/70-17 and 110/90-19 (i know that the front doesnt matter)

id never thought of revs... i shift when it feels right...
redline or some where in between

 

With a BMW R1150RT as my main ride, I find the Bonnie (what a wonderful fun machine!) seems to like higher rpms to be comfortable. I never cruise below 3500 (flat and level, 4000 or so uphill), usually shift at 4500-5000 rpms and generally use a light throttle.