Total Motorcycle Community Forums

sailorstarrr wrote:so if I'm driving around in 3rd or 4th gear at 5k, that's not damaging my engine, right? is that about normal?

5k rpm isn't damaging the engine at all on the EX500. It's a nice healthy rpm. You might save a little fuel if you cruise a little lower, but as long as you're not running the engine over redline, you're not going to damage it. Those engines are made to run, so don't worry about it. It took me a while to get used to the higher rpm sounds being normal since my van cruises at around 2k rpm.

and also, when I am going from a stoplight, about what rpms should I be at as I release the clutch?

The generic answer to that is enough to keep from stalling. That's all that really matters. It's better to err on the high side while you're getting used to it so that you don't stall at an intersection, but if you go too high and let the clutch out too fast, you'll be jerked forward, which can also be dangerous. Keep it smooth and don't worry about slipping the clutch; that's what it's designed to do. I don't pay attention to the tach when I'm starting. Just feel for the friction zone as you let the clutch lever out.

You know, those bikes should be able to idle forward at 8-10 mph anyways. Adding a slight amount of throttle when you release the clutch should get you moving the way you want to. Just listen to and -feel- the engine.

And I concur with Sev's canned reply: Go take the MSF BRC.

I've found that my bike needs to be at about 2500 rpm to pull forward without stalling. So I'm typically at 3-6k before I let the clutch out

sailorstarrr wrote:so if I'm driving around in 3rd or 4th gear at 5k, that's not damaging my engine, right? is that about normal? and also, when I am going from a stoplight, about what rpms should I be at as I release the clutch?

ty for all the help

Di, there's a lot of very good advice here for you to take on board, but I can't help thinking that you'd do best to start learning directly from the bike, and not worry too much about revs and gears and what your dials are telling you at this stage.

Sev is right, learning to ride is not about instinct, but it is about experience, and it's experience that you need to acquire right now. Apart from the basic advice that has been given here, listen to the bike, get the feel of what it is doing. Just trust it to tell you when it is happy and working efficiently, and, more important, trust yourself to know it when you hear/feel it.

Until you start to become part of the bike, and operating the controls becomes second nature, you've got a hell of a lot of information to process, often all at once. And it is just too much to try and process it all through your head. If you are sitting at a traffic light ready to move off into traffic at a busy intersection the last thing you need to be peering at is your rev counter. As somebody said, just keep the bike from stalling. Listen out for that. Feel for it. Be gentle and progressive with the controls and you should be fine. Over time you'll learn, and in the meantime you'll make a few mistakes. That's what learning is about.

BTW. There have been a number of posts here discussing what revs and gears to use, but you can bet your last penny these guys didn't get this info out of a manual, they got it by listening to their bike.

sv-wolf wrote:BTW. There have been a number of posts here discussing what revs and gears to use, but you can bet your last penny these guys didn't get this info out of a manual, they got it by listening to their bike.

Indeed! I'm a numbers guy; I love numbers, so I enjoy that which I've shared. However, those numbers came from experiencing the ride, not the other way around.

Actually a bike's easier, Just 1 down four up (or 5 up 6 gear). With a car its over here and up or over here and own and up and over and down or up. You get what I mean Lol.