Total Motorcycle Community Forums

VermilionX wrote: i'll be hitting freeways pretty soon, there i could probably be able to use half of my bike's power.

I think you still don't fully appreciate the amount of power that your bike can deliver. Unless you're planning on riding around at 100plus mph, you won't even be using close to half.

At 75 mph your bike only needs to put out around 35 hp to keep you going down the road. How much does that leave?

It's going to be a long time (I hope) before you can really use half the power your bike is capable of putting out.

flynrider wrote:

VermilionX wrote: i'll be hitting freeways pretty soon, there i could probably be able to use half of my bike's power.

I think you still don't fully appreciate the amount of power that your bike can deliver. Unless you're planning on riding around at 100plus mph, you won't even be using close to half.

At 75 mph your bike only needs to put out around 35 hp to keep you going down the road. How much does that leave?

It's going to be a long time (I hope) before you can really use half the power your bike is capable of putting out.

75mph is definitely less than 35hp... probably more like 18-22hp to the wheel or something to maintain speed. Honda rebel can get up to around 70mph, and that has 18hp at the crank... soo, you get the point.

cool!

of course using the full power of my bike is great.

but i also like the fact that i have that power ready anytime i feel the need to use it...

oh and i can do 75 at a much higher rpm at lower gears and that will use more of my bikes power compared to getting 75 on a higher gear. am i right?

But while would you want to?

Sevulturus wrote:But while would you want to?

just to add variation.

also, my exhaust is like a silent assasin, it's not very loud so reving higher might help me get attention from drivers so they become aware that there's a bike near them.

at low rpms while travelling highway speeds, i can hear the wind more than my engine.

Can always buy a new exhaust...

Also I think, and I could be wrong, but revving high while in a lower gear would probably kill your engine faster. If it's having to make more revs then it's doing more work and deteriorating faster.

That'd be my guess, at least.

People aren't going to notice you because your pipe is loud, ESPECIALLY on the freeway. Most people have the radio on or listen to music. You will not use your bike's power unless you go on the track because I don't think you are going to be going 150+ on freeway.

Shiv wrote:Can always buy a new exhaust...

Also I think, and I could be wrong, but revving high while in a lower gear would probably kill your engine faster. If it's having to make more revs then it's doing more work and deteriorating faster.

That'd be my guess, at least.

riding hard... how long will the engine last?

my engine is covered in the extended warranty that i bought and it's good for 5 years expires 11/2010.

Couldn't tell ya. But if you're doing 5k revs in second and 10k revs in 1st to achieve the same speed, why needlessly kill your engine? Warranty or not.

It's doing twice the work so I'd assume it'd degrade at twice the speed.

No one can answer that question, but look at it from the human standpoint. And pretend you're on a 10 speed bike. Now you've got 2 in the front and 5 in the back allowing you to choose how much work you do at any given point. You start out low and work your way up to higher gears that require fewer pedal turns per rear wheel turn. Now imagine if you were always in first gear, but going the same speed as your friends who are in 10th gear. They'll be making 1 turn of the pedal for every 10 that you do. Who is going to be worn out first?

Your engine sort of works the same way, the harder you make it work the faster it wears out. That's why you have 6 speeds, you probably haven't had a chance to notice this yet, but your bike doesn't really have much acceleration in 6th gear, compared to all the others. To me this means it was meant for maintaining highway speed, not getting up to it. Basically, once I hit 100km/h I throw it into 6th and cruise (for lack of a better term). Less wear and tear on the engine is a good thing to me. Despite the fact it was built/made to rev to 13500rpms that doesn't mean that it is good for it to stay there.

As for hearing loud pipes. If it's loud it's a nuisance, and if you're a nuisance all you get is complaints. Personally, you can't hear my bike at idle, and on the highway the only way I can tell my engine is still running is the slight vibe in the pegs, and the fact that I'm still moving. You're bright red and wearing a cape, trust me, people are going to notice you...