Proper RPM rate at which to operate a bike

[Andrew Falanga]

Hi,

 

Well, I asked this question in the thread I had going about mileage but I think it got lost so I'm starting a new thread. Just a couple questions about operation of RPMs.

 

The shop here in Boise told me that I should run around 4k (I have a 96 R1100RT). So, is 3500 - 4500 around 4k? Is 3800 - 4200 better, or closer to around 4k (yes I do know numerically it's closer )? Is >= 4k the best idea?

 

Since taking some long rides with others in my church I've noticed that the bike is actually more smooth if operated in the 4k and above area, but I'm still wondering what the experience here says.

 

Thanks,

Andy

[OlGeezer]

Hi,

 

Well, I asked this question in the thread I had going about mileage but I think it got lost so I'm starting a new thread. Just a couple questions about operation of RPMs.

 

The shop here in Boise told me that I should run around 4k (I have a 96 R1100RT). So, is 3500 - 4500 around 4k? Is 3800 - 4200 better, or closer to around 4k (yes I do know numerically it's closer )? Is >= 4k the best idea?

 

Since taking some long rides with others in my church I've noticed that the bike is actually more smooth if operated in the 4k and above area, but I'm still wondering what the experience here says.

 

Thanks,

Andy

 

Keep it over 4k and she will be happy.

 

If you get in the twisties and keep it around 5.5k, you will find you have plenty of power, no need for brakes and can keep up with just about anyone.

 

Enjoy!

[Jeepster]

While I'm far from being an expert on the subject, I will say that my 04 seems to run better and get better mileage when I run the RPM"s at 4k OR over.

But it seems to like it when I let the Tach needle see the whole dial (under redline) occasionally.

Just have fun and after a while the seat of your pants and your gas receipts will tell you what's best for you and your bike.

[leikam]

It works best if you bounce it off the rev limiter, Andy.

[russell_bynum]

It works best if you bounce it off the rev limiter, Andy.

 

Yep.

 

My RT saw full throttle acceleration to redline on every ride, and kissed the rev limiter at least once on most rides. It's somewhere north of 100K now and still runs like a stripe-assed ape.

 

[Tony_K]

It's somewhere north of 100K now and still runs like a stripe-assed ape.

 

Yup

[Francois_Dumas]

I would say that it depends on your bike (they're all different), your riding style, your skills, your mood and the situation and road conditions you're in.

 

On long trips I usually humm along BELOW 4000 rpm in 6th gear because speed limits dictate that and the RT seems to be feeling better that way. When 'action' is needed I'll be in 5th and often slightly over 4000.

 

I am seldom in a hurry on the bike (and not even in the car), so I am not one to revv it up (anymore). Nor is the RT made for that IMHO. The 1100 even less than my 1150, and that even less than the 1200.

 

In the end I guess you'll get as many different answers and opinions as there are RT riders here.. there is no 'definition' of at what revs you should run, but your own.

[Haynes]

It depends whether you are looking for efficiency or smoothness.

If you could find some info on the rpm for maximum torque, you wouldn't be far wrong for finding the most efficient rpm for engine if you rode at those revs.

For smoothness, you can feel how the RT loves to runs at around 4000rpm and over.

[lvnvbiker]

I seem to get better milage on my RT when I stay above 4000 also. These bikes like to rev, and your power realy kicks in above 5k. That being said I try to keep my city rides 4k+ and use the gearing to stay there. The advantage to this IMO is having the power on tap to evade and the compression braking available for the same purpose. It took a while to get used to riding at these rpm's coming off a string of Harleys, but once you do it for a while you'll realise that the bike likes it and the responsiveness of the machine becomes somewhat thrilling. It makes me giddy as a teenage girl on her first date!

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

You may have noticed that while cruising down the highway in top gear, the engine is doing somewhere between 4 and 5 krpm.

 

On my 1100 I used to keep the RPM's between 3000 and 4000 for city riding most of the time, and higher for cross-country cruising. Definitely not below 4500 for sporty/twisty riding. Bike was healthy at 135,000 miles when I sold it last month.

[rob1100r]

Not to hijack your thread, but check this video out...a minute or two into it when he's rippin on an 1100GS, note where the RPMs are! (Where in Europe is this place?)

 

[UKTN]

The rider is on the Isle of Man. i recognized the roads and the title has IOM in it!!!

[rob1100r]

gotcha!

[Boffin]

The rider is on the Isle of Man. i recognized the roads and the title has IOM in it!!!

 

One of the beauties of the Isle of Man is that ouside of towns/villages there is no speed limit. I have passed a police car at 120 on the road from Douglas to Peel

 

Andy

[JohnnyJ]

Stupid question but I'm going to ask it anyway.

 

High RPM's in first gear seems more harsh than it does in higher gears. I am reluctant to come close to redline in first or second gear. Is there a defference, or am I high?

 

 

JohnnyJ

 

 

[Jeepster]

Stupid question but I'm going to ask it anyway.

 

High RPM's in first gear seems more harsh than it does in higher gears. I am reluctant to come close to redline in first or second gear. Is there a defference, or am I high?

 

 

JohnnyJ

Your engine doesn't know the difference as long as transitions are smooth.

Your transmission may be getting torque spikes depending on your shifting technique. Just remember the Boxer motors are not racing engines,

but they are VERY robust and taking them to redline or to the limiter will not hurt in itself. Just don't FLOG the drivetrain and you should be OK

[jaytee]

Dunno about your old-fashioned engine, but I know that on the 1200 there are definete locations in the RPM band that seem more... balanced, I guess. Less harsh vibrations and smooth running. I suspect that these engines are designed to keep the vibrations down at typical freeway speeds - on my bike, its 75mph in 6th (or almost exactly 4000).

 

JT

[mbelectric]

The rider is on the Isle of Man. i recognized the roads and the title has IOM in it!!!

 

And nobody passed the man....

 

MB>

[Bullett]

It works best if you bounce it off the rev limiter, Andy.

 

Ummm, don't you mean the shift indicator???

[Huzband]

It works best if you bounce it off the rev limiter, Andy.

 

Ummm, don't you mean the shift indicator???

 

See Ranger Barker episode in Ouray.

[Bullett]

It works best if you bounce it off the rev limiter, Andy.

 

Ummm, don't you mean the shift indicator???

 

See Ranger Barker episode in Ouray.

 

 

Wow. That was quick.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Is there a defference, or am I high?

 

It's 4:20 - do you know where your RT is?

 

The engine doesn't know what gear it's in; feel free to flog it in first through fifth gears as needed.

[UberXY]

Hi,

 

Well, I asked this question in the thread I had going about mileage but I think it got lost so I'm starting a new thread. Just a couple questions about operation of RPMs.

 

The shop here in Boise told me that I should run around 4k (I have a 96 R1100RT). So, is 3500 - 4500 around 4k? Is 3800 - 4200 better, or closer to around 4k (yes I do know numerically it's closer )? Is >= 4k the best idea?

 

Since taking some long rides with others in my church I've noticed that the bike is actually more smooth if operated in the 4k and above area, but I'm still wondering what the experience here says.

 

Thanks,

Andy

 

Lots of good answers, and of course it depends on the bike. My R65 likes 3500, my RT likes 4k, but the powerband on my RZ350 race bike was 8000 - 9000.

[Andrew Falanga]

Thanks everyone for the great answers. Sounds like 4k is best. It seems a little weird to me, but I've not been around bikes much. This RT is the first bike I've had in ~11 years and I had only 1 bike prior to that. Running at this RPMs seems "harsh."

 

Andy

[Andrew Falanga]

Your transmission may be getting torque spikes depending on your shifting technique. Just remember the Boxer motors are not racing engines,

but they are VERY robust and taking them to redline or to the limiter will not hurt in itself. Just don't FLOG the drivetrain and you should be OK

 

What would flogging the drivetrain look/sound like? Since reading some of the replies in this thread I've been running the bike higher (also since taking those rides with others). To my astonishment, my 96 does well in 3rd @ 55 - 60. At this speed, in that gear, the RPMs move between 4500 and 5k (5k is actually reached a little above 60). I'm not taxing the engine or tranny in terms of over driven RPMs, but there is a noticeable difference in the level of vibration when running at ~60 in 3rd versus 4th (which is to expected). I'm just curious what flogging the drive train looks/sounds like because in this gear at this speed, the motor sounds "loud" to me. Could just be that it's because I'm too used to running it around 3500 before taking things more seriously that it should be at >= 4k.

 

Thanks to all,

Andy

[rglassma]

Although I typically ride my R1200RT between 3000 and 4500 rpms, I am not convinced that the best gas mileage is above 4K.. I think you will get better fuel economy if cruising between 3K - 3.5K rpms on the '05 R1200RT. As you cruise above 4K rpms, the higher you go the more drastically your fuel economy decreases. I do feel that the engine is smoothest between 3.9K and 4.5K due to the counter balancers kicking in. Of course the torque kicks in at 4.5K as well, but I feel an inverse relationship between more torque and higher fuel economy.

 

It really depends on what you are after.. If you are after economy, I would stay below 4K rpms (3K - 3.5K being best in my experience) Performance is best above 4.5K.

 

 

 

YMMV...

[Mister Tee]

I think speed has a much greater effect on mileage than RPM. I find, for some odd reason, I get about the same mileage when I'm working my engine near the rev limiter in the twisties, than I do going a constant 80 mph down the freeway in 6th gear. One would think my agressive twisty riding would result in very poor mileage but it doesn't. The only real difference I see is that my average speed in the twisties is a lot lower. Plus, high power climbs up a mountain followed by an unloaded engine decending a mountain probably results in an economical engine operational mode.

[Jeepster]

What would flogging the drivetrain look/sound like? Andy

I was basically referring to to shifting and using the clutch SMOOTHLY. As most everyone here knows these bikes are not sportbikes.

And while wheelies and burnouts can be fun sometimes these aren't the machine to use for that purpose.

Likewise a solid CLUNCK while shifting is mostly unavoidable, GRINDING gears is not a good idea with any trans.

In other words just use your head and enjoy your ride.

[Selden]

Thanks everyone for the great answers. Sounds like 4k is best. It seems a little weird to me, but I've not been around bikes much. This RT is the first bike I've had in ~11 years and I had only 1 bike prior to that. Running at this RPMs seems "harsh."

This is not an unusual reaction for people whose experience is with automobile engines. Except for Harleys, motorcycle engines generally tun at higher revs than cars (although boxers are more car-like than most).

 

My first motorcycle was a 1965 Honda CB92, a 125cc twin, and it had very little power below 6000 rpms, but cruised comfortably at 8000 (roughly 60 mph). My wife's Honda VTR250 feels best around 10,000 rpm. Don't sweat the tach; keep the engine at whatever speed feels good. For me, the sweet spot for an R1100RT is 4000-4500 rpm.

[Andrew Falanga]

This is not an unusual reaction for people whose experience is with automobile engines. Except for Harleys, motorcycle engines generally tun at higher revs than cars (although boxers are more car-like than most).

 

My first motorcycle was a 1965 Honda CB92, a 125cc twin, and it had very little power below 6000 rpms, but cruised comfortably at 8000 (roughly 60 mph). My wife's Honda VTR250 feels best around 10,000 rpm. Don't sweat the tach; keep the engine at whatever speed feels good. For me, the sweet spot for an R1100RT is 4000-4500 rpm.

 

WOW! Yes, I'd say that my experience is with cars mostly and that I'm used to my suburban ... 1500 - 1700 @ 75mph.

 

The sweet spot you mention sounds pretty much exactly what I've noticed for mine as well. ~3900 - 4500 is amazingly smooth (for me anyway, I hear that K bikes are usually more smooth).

 

By the way, I love that tag line. I'm a programmer working at HP, as a contracted employee though, and one of the jobs perks was that we worked with HP-UX, Linux and Lynx (and for me, I had some FreeBSD too, that was the best ). However, someone thought that WinCE was the place to be so now I'm working in Windoze. Very sad. Oh well, better to employed right now.

 

Thanks again everyone for the info. It's great to be able to get the info on line like this.

 

Andy

[Andrew Falanga]

Not to hijack your thread, but check this video out...a minute or two into it when he's rippin on an 1100GS, note where the RPMs are! (Where in Europe is this place?)

 

 

That was incredible.

[Dave_C]

I try to bump against the engine cut-out whenever possible

[Stephen Ball]

The best part is that the sig is accurate.

 

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