Are you an "under revver", "over revver"?

[gggGary]

https://www.advrider.com/do-we-need-to-ride-harder/

I tend towards under revving with occasional excursions into the upper reaches.
The older I get the less frequent those events. But get me in a group of riders and all bets are off.

 

[magoo66]

Under rever now with a couple extra over revs now and then .Over rever,wringing the neck of whatever I was on in the youthful days.Cool video.

 

[atom4488]

Hmmm, not sure I entirely agree with some of his analogies. I do fully agree that lugging an engine is not a good thing, but winding engines out all the time isn't either. With an engine like the XS650, although it has a fairly high redline, I feel that it wants to be ridden in the fastest fattest part of the torque band. Not sure exactly where that lies, but i'd say between 3000 and 5500 rpm (?) That's certainly how I ride mine.

 

[DogBunny]

I once heard that in Europe, where gas is way more expensive, they lug their standard transmission cars and motorbikes as a matter of course, in order to save gas. (Does lugging actually save gas? I have no idea.)
I'm a lugger. I believe the actual redline of an XS650 is actually about 6K. Extended stays above that is what kills XS650 engines in my opinion. At 6K, to me, an XS650 engine sounds like it's about to explode. I find the sound of low RPMs soothing (punctuated by frequent rapid accelerations). I don't think lugging an XS650 engine hurts a thing.

 

[Downeaster]

I'm a "sweet spot" guy. The Six-Hifty liked around 4K IIRC.

The FJ has an 11K redline, sweet spot is about 5K, can whack the throttle open in 5th or 6th and pass without down-shifting and it hovers right around 50mpg if I don't get too enthusiastic.

Da Ninj has a 12K redline and is also happy around 5K, tho that does require a down-shift if I want to pass when the opportunity is snug.

I don't think I've ever bounced either of them off the redline, altho I've snuggled up to it on occasion.

 

[Jim]

"You paid for the whole tachometer... now go out and use the whole tachometer."

Brilliant.

 

[nj1639]

3k and I'm downshifting.
4K on cruise with little adventures above to reach my age/speed limit (70ish) where the road allows - short bursts.
I've changed back to stock gearing from 32t-r just because of the lugging.
Bike loves 4K and I am the bike when I ride.

 

[RC4MAN]

My V-Rod is a thirsty beast so since most of my riding is in the mountains where I can keep the speed down I tend to bog it around at lower RPM's and reap the benefit in increased 55 MPG, but at speed on the hwy it drops to 30

 

[gggGary]

Way back in the day the KZ1300 (6 cylinder) manual put the efficiency/HP torque best fuel consumption right around 4K conveniently that was about 60-65MPH on the shafty.
As a boy I used to cringe cuz my dad was a "rod rattler" lugging the crap out of standard tranny pick ups.
There are a lot of nuances. long as you aren't asking for power down there low RPM is prolly harmless.
Worth considering; at low throttle: you are effectively lowering the compression ratio. And low compression motors do just fine at low RPM.
On the other hand Italian tuneups are FUN!

 

[jetmechmarty]

3500 to 4000 RPM. That probably makes me a lugger. Since I’m in the minority with my 17/34 sprocket preference, my guess is that I’m less a lugger than most of ya!

 

[Mike G]

On the XS I also tend towards under revving with occasional excursions.

Back in the day, riding the RZ...difinitely over revver!

 

[Vincenthdfan]

On my XS's I just really, really enjoy that mid range pull and exhaust note...any higher is just a waste of energy.

Same way on my lil CB-350's...they absolutely love to rev, but Im pretty happy with letting it top out around 5,000 to 5,500 rpms, anything more is just stressing the engine unnecessarily.

On my Road King...high RPMs are reserved for when Im trying to get away from brain dead drivers on the highway on-ramps in Washington State...I swear they all failed merging 101 in drivers ed!

 

[Adamc]

I'm an 'under' type now. More so since getting Taffy the XS; and even more so since getting the GS1200.
I spent years spanking the tits off low to mid cc Jap two strokes!
The whiff of two stoke oil still sends me into a high state of intoxication!..... And the revs.... just keep revving!

Oh I wish I still had the RGV

Nowadays I'm happy short shifting on a wave of torque!

Ads.

 

[gggGary]

I'm an 'under' type now. More so since getting Taffy the XS; and even more so since getting the GS1200.
I spent years spanking the tits off low to mid cc Jap two strokes!
The whiff of two stoke oil still sends me into a high state of intoxication!..... And the revs.... just keep revving!

View attachment 249280
View attachment 249281
View attachment 249282

Oh I wish I still had the RGV

Nowadays I'm happy short shifting on a wave of torque!

Ads.

If you DO wind out the GS be a bit careful in first she'll rear on yah.

 

[Adamc]

If you DO wind out the GS be a bit careful in first she'll rear on yah.

Especially with Mrs C on the back!.... OOooh Did I actually type that!!

 

[bosco659]

I once heard that in Europe, where gas is way more expensive, they lug their standard transmission cars and motorbikes as a matter of course, in order to save gas. (Does lugging actually save gas? I have no idea.)
I'm a lugger. I believe the actual redline of an XS650 is actually about 6K. Extended stays above that is what kills XS650 engines in my opinion. At 6K, to me, an XS650 engine sounds like it's about to explode. I find the sound of low RPMs soothing (punctuated by frequent rapid accelerations). I don't think lugging an XS650 engine hurts a thing.

I’m with you @DogBunny, I rarely run my engine up to 6K. I feel sorry for it at that speed. Perhaps a better balance job on the crank, rods and pistons would help but I have no reason to go there at this time. My bike seems to be happy between 3200-4500 rpm.

 

[jetmechmarty]

It’s the butt dyno that doesn’t like high RPM. It gets buzzy. The engine handles it fine. With 277 mod, going to redline feels great in my very brief experience.

 

[Raymond]

It depends on the bike. The little Honda NX250 just luvved to rev, six gears, loadsa attitude, if we can just get past these cars, vans, caravans before those bends, well, you get the picture. OTOH, 106 cu inches of Victory Hammer, very happy to take throttle from not much above tick-over. Buell X1 - what a torque monster that was.

Probably cursed with a bit too much mechanical sympathy so I don't really seek out top speed or red line. But to me the sinful part of lugging an engine is expecting more power than the engine wants to deliver at low revs. Happy to proceed in a high gear with low to medium revs and small throttle but if more power is required then change down.

 

[arcticXS]

These guys are revving alright:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1408224216416402

130 km/ h (81 mph) on Zundapp 50 cc from early 70's

 

[willis]

I'm with Bosco, 3200-4500 is a fun zone for me. Occasional bursts up to 5500, but like Marty says, it gets pretty buzzy for extended periods at that RPM.