New owner question

[Kevin58]

When running in top gear below about 45ish mph, if I wind on the throttle without changing down the engine is very lumpy until it gets to towards 55/60mph. I’ve never had a v-four before, only inline fours so I don’t know if this is how they run (and I just need to drop a couple of gears at that speed before accelerating) or if something needs attending to.

 

Hope someone can give me some advice and knowledge regarding this. Thanks.

[tbzep]

52 minutes ago, Kevin58 said:

When running in top gear below about 45ish mph, if I wind on the throttle without changing down the engine is very lumpy until it gets to towards 55/60mph. I’ve never had a v-four before, only inline fours so I don’t know if this is how they run (and I just need to drop a couple of gears at that speed before accelerating) or if something needs attending to.

 

Hope someone can give me some advice and knowledge regarding this. Thanks.

It's geared too tall to be in 6th at 45 mph.  Shift down a gear or two according to how hard you accelerate and it will be smooth.  Another option is to change the sprocket sizes, dropping teeth in the rear and possibly adding a tooth in the front.  One of my bikes has a smaller rear sprocket and I often find myself a gear higher than when doing the same things on the other bike.  You will lose top end but will have more grunt in every gear. 

[TimC]

I agree with @tbzep for the most part.  My 6th gen. was okay cruising down a rural road in 6th at 45 mph, but the rpms are too low to get any decent acceleration in top gear at that speed.  Drop down a gear or two like tbzep said.  The bike will be happier and you'll have more fun!  😉 

[bmart]

And lugging a vehicle, any vehicle, is quite bad for it. Ride it in the powerband it was designed to operate in. 

[Kevin58]

Thanks for the advice guys. I did think this might be the case, but wasn’t 100% certain. Thanks again.

[Skids]

What they said, way too high a gear at those speeds. Perhaps you are focusing too much on fuel conservation and not enough on matching gear to speed. 

[MaxSwell]

Although I've never ridden a 6th gen, If you want some giddy-up start with rev's above the VTEC engagement rpm, which, if I recall correctly, is above ~6800 rpms.

 

 

[bmart]

We 5th gen owners don't have to wait for it. 🤣