50km/h gear and RPM?

[Breed777]

Well, Im still learning alot, but was wondering what gear and how many rpm your bike is doing round town at the 50kph mark?

Having never had a bike before what is better for your bike.... lower gear and higher rpm or change up to the next gear and drop them rpm.... im guessing lower rpm is better for fuel economy? whats better for the bike itself? :niceone:

[3L4NS1R]

you stay at 50kph for that long? :bleh:

lower rpms make lugging the engine more likely. which is never good for it...

I've always been told to aim to keep the rpm at about 1/3 of the way to redline when you can. Of course, on a 250 this is not doable very often.

[slofox]

Wot 'e said - don't let the engine labour at low revs...bad.
I aim to have the engine freely spinning but not screaming its arse off...depends very much on the particular bike - there is no universal law here...

[bezajel]

In third gear my revs more-or-less match my speed, so about 5k revs at 50km/h in third, or about 6k revs in second. Depends a bit on how warm the engine is...

At around fifty I flip back and forwards between second and third depending on the road and traffic - eg. to and from work I only bother with third if I've got enough space to get up to 50 before having to slow to a stop again. Likewise on a ride around the bays I only use second on corners that require it.

Dunno what the ideal rev range would be for my bike, I go with high enough that the engine's doesn't sound like it's tripping over itself, and low enough that it doesn't sound like it's about to have a baby.

[AllanB]

I figure around town you are better in a lower gear revving a wee bit than a higher one lugging it for this single reason - if you need to accelerate out of trouble in a hurry in a lower gear you'll be ready to fly. That second it takes the engine to get up and go in a higher gear (or you to change down) may be the difference in getting out or getting hit.

Regardless of engine size.

I wonder why so many magazine reviews make comments like - "pull cleanly from 50kms per in top....". Other than telling everyone you are a dick using a gear designed for the open road around town it has no relevance in a review to me at all. Yeah yeah it may show the engine carbs (EFI's?) well and or is a grunter, but still - 6th gear at 50? Out of interest I tried it recently on my Hornet - and yes it does pull cleanly from 50 in 6th. Whoop deee dooo it must be better than a bike that does not.

[newbould]

In third gear my revs more-or-less match my speed, so about 5k revs at 50km/h in third, or about 6k revs in second. Depends a bit on how warm the engine is...

At around fifty I flip back and forwards between second and third depending on the road and traffic - eg. to and from work I only bother with third if I've got enough space to get up to 50 before having to slow to a stop again. Likewise on a ride around the bays I only use second on corners that require it.

Dunno what the ideal rev range would be for my bike, I go with high enough that the engine's doesn't sound like it's tripping over itself, and low enough that it doesn't sound like it's about to have a baby.

I am amazed! I also ride a scorp and routinely run around town in 5th, dropping to 4th if the traffic looks like slowing ahead. I would hate the scream in 3rd and second would be horrendous. 60 kph = 4k rpm = 5th gear
50 kph = 4k rpm = 4th gear so yes I guess it would be 5k rpm in 3rd.

12500 km in the last 13 months 1/2 and 1/2 about town v 80 kph road limit and no problems with services so far. But if idling along at these rpm is truely damaging for a "thumper" then I might have to change my riding habits,

May explain why I get more than 34 km / l of fuel!

[Cheshire Cat]

50k in 6th gear is about 4.5- 4rpm so I tend to stay in 5th. not that i go 50k all the time:devil2:.....mainly cause it's rotorua and you get road raged :2guns:

[Breed777]

Today I was rocking round at between 8000 to 10,000rpm is this too high? ie bad for the bike?

[Cheshire Cat]

Today I was rocking round at between 8000 to 10,000rpm is this too high? ie bad for the bike?

in 6th gear?!

[Breed777]

Geez no :) think it was 3rd....might have been doing 70k/hr maybe?

[hayd3n]

whats your redline???

[Breed777]

ummm without looking (cause im lazy!) I think its 18,000?

[Slyer]

I figure around town you are better in a lower gear revving a wee bit than a higher one lugging it for this single reason - if you need to accelerate out of trouble in a hurry in a lower gear you'll be ready to fly. That second it takes the engine to get up and go in a higher gear (or you to change down) may be the difference in getting out or getting hit.

Regardless of engine size.

I wonder why so many magazine reviews make comments like - "pull cleanly from 50kms per in top....". Other than telling everyone you are a dick using a gear designed for the open road around town it has no relevance in a review to me at all. Yeah yeah it may show the engine carbs (EFI's?) well and or is a grunter, but still - 6th gear at 50? Out of interest I tried it recently on my Hornet - and yes it does pull cleanly from 50 in 6th. Whoop deee dooo it must be better than a bike that does not.
They say this to demonstate that it has good low-mid range power.

[Cheshire Cat]

Geez no :) think it was 3rd....might have been doing 70k/hr maybe?

That sounds normal then lol try changing gear earlier.

[SMOKEU]

I don't cruise at 50kmh, but at 55kmh I'm doing 5,000rpm in 6th.

[Breed777]

So which is better for the bike.... 5000 in 6th. 7000 in 5th or say 9000 in 4th?

[discotex]

The rule of thumb is to pick a gear that has your RPM somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of your redline when cruising.

[Breed777]

ok, so if my redline starts at 17000 I should aim for 6000 to 8000 ish rpm. So me doing 11,000 probably not a good thing huh

[sil3nt]

Probably not good for your fuel mileage but i doubt it would do anything bad to your bike. You say 4th is 9000rpm at 50kph? Keep it there and you should be fine. They say cruising revs on my bike should be between 6k and 10k and i redline at 14k.

[AllanB]

You are overthinking it - if the engine feels sluggish or gutless when you give it a bit of throttle the gear was too high. If it feels, sounds like you are thrashing the shit out of it at 50kms per - change up.

[Dargor]

At 50k, 1st gear 15000rpm, touching the red line . Screaming.


na, i laugh at noobs that do that.

[discotex]

ok, so if my redline starts at 17000 I should aim for 6000 to 8000 ish rpm. So me doing 11,000 probably not a good thing huh

Nah that's sweet as it's just not the sweet spot for fuel economy as someone already said.


At 50k, 1st gear 15000rpm, touching the red line . Screaming.


15000rpm in 1st = 125km/h for me ;)

(waits for someone on a thou to brag about going 150+ in first)

[p.dath]

I quite like keeping my bike between 1/3 and 2/3 of the rev range. The gear kinda selects itself then.

[davebullet]

What cc gixxer is it?

Find a torque curve, and keep within the meat of it. For my SV650 - she'll always pull cleanly from 5k (redline 11.5k). I usually cruise with no load on the engine around 4.5k. She will run fine below that (down to 3k) but you are labouring her if you give her throttle.

[Hiflyer]

i just listne to the engine and if it pisses me off i'll change up but id im going for a mean blat than changing down isnt a bad thing

[gatch]

About 5500 in 4th was 50kph on the spada, down to second for powering out of turns/slow traffic.

In saying that if I was in a bad mood it would be a different story, poor wee thing..

[Breed777]

its a 250 GSXR.... think my fuel economy is screwed tho.... done 44km on a full tank and it sitting just over half full now... shouldnt I get about 250km from a tank? (I ran it done till it died, put on the reserve, went to petrol station and managed to fit 9.9 litres in)

[Harvd]

that doesnt sound right, you should be getting in another 3l in considering its a 16l tank and i imagine you ran on reserve for a bit before filling up. Did you fill it up as high as possible? Because on its sidestand it still has a bit of extra volume and that could have affected how much you could fit in.

How far did you get on that 9.9l?

[Breed777]

Well I thought i filled it pretty full.... but it died at the lights, I put it on reserve and rode 3km to petrol station and when I filled her up, (on side stand....only have a side stand) it was 9.9lt. So far the gauge is sitting at close to half way after 44km.... although my flatmate who is learning was doing a few hill starts and stalls on the weeked (Practice) so that might use a bit?

[crazyhorse]

Every bike revs at different RPM's.

Would you drive your car in 5th (or 6th if it has it) around town? Doubt it!

Listen to the engine, it'll tell you if you need to go up or down the gears. Generally I ride in 3rd gear on the GSXR. They are all different. I try to avoid 50km riding though.

[Harvd]

Well I thought i filled it pretty full.... but it died at the lights, I put it on reserve and rode 3km to petrol station and when I filled her up, (on side stand....only have a side stand) it was 9.9lt. So far the gauge is sitting at close to half way after 44km.... although my flatmate who is learning was doing a few hill starts and stalls on the weeked (Practice) so that might use a bit?

Maybe it says only half full because you didnt completely fill it?
Na a few hill starts and stuff wouldnd have had much effect unless they were revvin the shit outa it??? and for a long time. Will be interesting to see how far it will go before you need to refil and how much you get in next time

[McWild]

If you care about fuel economy, use a higher gear and cruise.

If you don't, just rev the little thing to your heart's content. It redlines at 18k for a reason!

Me, I never really cruise for long. Having said that it's a 2 stroke so as long as it's in the powerband who cares.

[Breed777]

Thanks guys... will post back here on the weekend when i fill her up.....

[Breed777]

Ok.... riding along needle is at half empty.... after 77km.....
but when bike has been sitting for a while (on side stand) the needle drops....which is the true reading?

[Morcs]

FZ6, 6th gear at around 59kph (still legal speed in a 50k zone) doing about 3.5k rpm

[ajturbo]

if i put my bike into top at 50kph... i'll stall

[Blackshear]

FZ6, 6th gear at around 59kph (still legal speed in a 50k zone) doing about 3.5k rpm

NO THAT'S ILLEGAL, ONLY 55.9 IS THE LIMIT!

But I agree. 50km/h seems so goddamn slow. ESPECIALLY WHEN SOMEONE SITS AT 40.

[Morcs]

NO THAT'S ILLEGAL, ONLY 55.9 IS THE LIMIT!

But I agree. 50km/h seems so goddamn slow. ESPECIALLY WHEN SOMEONE SITS AT 40.

Really? I thought that the tolerance was only 5Kph in school zones and stuff.

[Knoppies]

Really? I thought that the tolerance was only 5Kph in school zones and stuff.

When I was still a lightie (a kid that has yet to hit puberty) my father told me that all car manufacturers have the speedometer overstate your speed by 5km/h. This means that when your speedo says you are doing 55, you are actually doing 50. As much as I wanted to trust my dad, I think the only reaction I would get from an officer is a good lauph.
I've tested this (with those permanant radar guns that say 'your speed is: SLOW DOWN') and when my gauge says Im doing 55 it says Im doing about 50, when My gauge says 50, it says 45, but as my gauge nears 60, it seems to become more accurate. I dont know above 60, the radar gun I was using was in a 50 zone and above 60 they say 'SLOW DOWN'. I tested this in an Isuzu Bighorn and I think it is safe to assume that it differs for every car.

Ive noticed that the radar gun tends to aim quite far back, so be careful that its not the vehicle behind you that is triggering the speed, and you think its yours.

From this I assume that the tolerance level is 5km/h, and your speedo adds another 5km/h. But I dont know. All I know is I have been told in a school zone it is 5km/h, and above 100km/h its 10%.

EDIT: I just realised its an old post, hope your all forgiving.

[Morcs]

When I was still a lightie (a kid that has yet to hit puberty) my father told me that all car manufacturers have the speedometer overstate your speed by 5km/h. This means that when your speedo says you are doing 55, you are actually doing 50. As much as I wanted to trust my dad, I think the only reaction I would get from an officer is a good lauph.
I've tested this (with those permanant radar guns that say 'your speed is: SLOW DOWN') and when my gauge says Im doing 55 it says Im doing about 50, when My gauge says 50, it says 45, but as my gauge nears 60, it seems to become more accurate. I dont know above 60, the radar gun I was using was in a 50 zone and above 60 they say 'SLOW DOWN'. I tested this in an Isuzu Bighorn and I think it is safe to assume that it differs for every car.

Ive noticed that the radar gun tends to aim quite far back, so be careful that its not the vehicle behind you that is triggering the speed, and you think its yours.

From this I assume that the tolerance level is 5km/h, and your speedo adds another 5km/h. But I dont know. All I know is I have been told in a school zone it is 5km/h, and above 100km/h its 10%.

EDIT: I just realised its an old post, hope your all forgiving.

My speedo doesnt overread. thats the joy of having a speedohealer... you can set it to take out the factory overreading of around 5%.

[Hiflyer]

My speedo doesnt overread. thats the joy of having a speedohealer... you can set it to take out the factory overreading of around 5%.

Or if you have a hyousung it's like 9% :gob:

[Ooky]

I've tested this (with those permanant radar guns that say 'your speed is: SLOW DOWN') and when my gauge says Im doing 55 it says Im doing about 50, when My gauge says 50, it says 45, but as my gauge nears 60, it seems to become more accurate. I dont know above 60, the radar gun I was using was in a 50 zone and above 60 they say 'SLOW DOWN'. I tested this in an Isuzu Bighorn and I think it is safe to assume that it differs for every car.

Ive noticed that the radar gun tends to aim quite far back, so be careful that its not the vehicle behind you that is triggering the speed, and you think its yours.

From this I assume that the tolerance level is 5km/h, and your speedo adds another 5km/h. But I dont know. All I know is I have been told in a school zone it is 5km/h, and above 100km/h its 10%.

EDIT: I just realised its an old post, hope your all forgiving.

those speed guns on the side of the road aren't that accurate need to take their reading with a grain of salt had a lot of issues with them at work when they 1st came out

[cheesemethod]

Yeah any cheap mass produced bike speedo should be far more accurate than a sensitive scientific instrument that is up to a standard that can be used as evidence in court.

EDIT: My bad, I should have read the whole post before I typed, I thought you were saying that police radars and lazers were shit. :doh:

[Hiflyer]

can you use slow down signs in court!?!? :pinch:

[cheesemethod]

I've tested this (with those permanant radar guns that say 'your speed is: SLOW DOWN') and when my gauge says Im doing 55 it says Im doing about 50, when My gauge says 50, it says 45, but as my gauge nears 60, it seems to become more accurate. I dont know above 60, the radar gun I was using was in a 50 zone and above 60 they say 'SLOW DOWN'. I tested this in an Isuzu Bighorn and I think it is safe to assume that it differs for every car.


There's one just outside Whangarei that seems to be broken. I drove past it in my cage a week ago doing 40 and it told me to slow down. So I went around the block just to go past it again, this time doing about 20, and it just sits there flashing "SLOW DOWN"

I've found with a few of these signs I can't even set them off with my bike, if there's no other traffic on the road they just stay blank.

[Ooky]

Yeah any cheap mass produced bike speedo should be far more accurate than a sensitive scientific instrument that is up to a standard that can be used as evidence in court.

EDIT: My bad, I should have read the whole post before I typed, I thought you were saying that police radars and lazers were shit. :doh:

haha wasn't talking about bike speedo's in that post anyway! was talking about car speedo's as in the post i quoted. but in saying that police lazers do have to be re calibrated I believe annually or they cannot be used as evidence in court :Oi:

[Jonno.]

From this I assume that the tolerance level is 5km/h, and your speedo adds another 5km/h. But I dont know. All I know is I have been told in a school zone it is 5km/h, and above 100km/h its 10%.
You usually give you up to 10km/h over the limit although in a school zone before and after school the tolerance is 5km/h because the speed limit is 40km/h. Speedo accuracy isn't factored into it.

[Ooky]

There's one just outside Whangarei that seems to be broken. I drove past it in my cage a week ago doing 40 and it told me to slow down. So I went around the block just to go past it again, this time doing about 20, and it just sits there flashing "SLOW DOWN"

I've found with a few of these signs I can't even set them off with my bike, if there's no other traffic on the road they just stay blank.


the one in whangarei was changed to say slow down because the boy racers were using it to see how could get the fasted speed :first: