[speedista]

Hi all,

hoonin' around on my new sprint ST ('09). only been able to get around in the city (60 kph). I find 4th gear is best suited for 60k. if i whack it in 5th (60k), the drive train and engine really don't feel like they like it. does this sound right to you guys?

cheers,

 

[KitNYC]

60k as in 36MPH? No, it's not going to like that in 5th. You're lugging it; try 2nd, maybe 3rd. I never get to 4th below about 55MPH, and mine's a 955.

Cheers,
-Kit

 

[radix99]

What he said. Sometimes on the freeway at 70 mph I realize I'm only in 5th gear and have to remind myself to upshift. And I've gone pretty aggressive on my sprockets (19/43).

One of my other bikes is an inline-4 400cc. Guess I'm used to the RPM being up there quite a bit.

Stock these bikes will do around 100 kph in 1st gear, if I recall correctly. I'm not saying you should always be in 1st below 100 kph, of course, but if you're in 5th at 60 kph you're definitely lugging it. That's no bueno for the engine. Personally I'd try to keep the revs above 4k in general, and even that's a little low to "whack it", as you say..

 

[speedista]

cheers. yep as in 36mph. they're such a different engine to the 4 cyl.

 

[DaveM]

Hi speedista

Forget about the gears and keep the engine spinning above about 3,000rpm, 5,000rpm is the sweet spot where it will start to pull like a steam train to the red line

They will pull from as low as 2,000rpm but that is getting a bit low to do often IMHO.

Cheers
Dave:AustralianFlag

 

[speedista]

Yep 3-4 is where it's at. cool. thanks a lot. as i wrote, first triple and this engine is just one sweet spot. the drone @ 3, the raw up to 6ish (haven't got past that yet, trailing throttle burble. could not be happier.

 

[Pixel]

Was just thinking about this on my daily ride to work today! In urban commuting, I'm almost never over 3rd gear. Most of my morning stop-n-go commute I do in 2nd. Danged school zones and 20mph limit here on university campus...

Ps, my gas mileage really suffers with stop and go. I get 31-32 (us) mpg with low gears and lots of red lights.

 

[Rider14]

Was just thinking about this on my daily ride to work today! In urban commuting, I'm almost never over 3rd gear. Most of my morning stop-n-go commute I do in 2nd. Danged school zones and 20mph limit here on university campus...

Ps, my gas mileage really suffers with stop and go. I get 31-32 (us) mpg with low gears and lots of red lights.

The OP is definitely in too high a gear. Try lowering the front sprocket by one tooth - makes slow speed clutch work a breeze.