Performance Question

[Chilly Willy]

Hi All,

I was on a 75 mile ride on Saturday and had difficulty maintaining speed.  Basically I was going up a long continuous hill (though not that steep) and directly into the wind.  I had the bike in 6th gear and the throttle fully pegged, but I could barely creep beyond 50 mph.  I'm also a big guy 6'2", 260lb, with a wide chest and shoulders (and gut  ).  Currently my bike is naked, though I'm looking into getting a fairing soon.

So, is there something wrong with my bike that needs to be adjusted or is it my noob riding skills combined with my fat tuchus?  Would shifting down help in the future?  Or is it a matter of being mismatched for the bike (aka, I should look at upgrading to a SV650)?

Thanks,

Chilly Willy

[Alphamazing]

Shift down and you'll be fine. 6th is merely an overdrive and typically doesn't have enough power to keep speed up in those sort of conditions. Remember to keep your RPMs above 6000.

[Chilly Willy]

Thanks Alpha!  Could you explain the above 6000 RPM thing to me?

Chilly Willy

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

the 6000 thing is simply because the powerband on our bikes doesn't start until about 5500... so keeping it above that will keep you in the zone where the bike makes the most power.

[Chilly Willy]

Thanks again, that helps quite a bit!  Yep, it was a little embarassing to be passed by the other riders in the group since I was supposed to be holding lead position on Saturday.  Now I'll know what to do if that happens again.

Chilly Willy

[thatguy1025]

I dont know about all that now Alpha........ Remember the skyway trip, i was in 6th the whole way up those mountians and was worried cuz my bike wouldnt do over 89.

50 just seems wayyyyy to slow

Nick

[natedawg120]

I dont know about all that now Alpha........ Remember the skyway trip, i was in 6th the whole way up those mountians and was worried cuz my bike wouldnt do over 89.

50 just seems wayyyyy to slow

Nick

this sounds like a case of CSS - Car Shifting Syndrome.  I know that when I first started riding my bike i have always shifted by the sound of the engine.  I would routinly shift at between 5-6k rpms because that is when it sounded like I needed to shift.  Then when i ventured onto the interstate I quickly learned that while accelerating if you shift so soon you are going to have no, NO, power when and if you need it.  I know that my bike, stock 05, with me on it has no problem holding interstate speeds once there in 6th gear unless i am going up one hell of a hill.  Once you get used to the sounds you will be alright.

[Turd Ferguson]

Well, remember the slower you go, the less power you have if you don't shift gears.  Even without a headwind and riding on flat ground, the GS500 isn't going to accelerate much in 6th gear at WOT while going 50mph.  The RPM's are WAYYY too low.  You are bogging the heck outta the motor, and it is actually not good for it (mucho carbon build up!)

Shift down a gear or two...the GS500 makes power all of the way to 9,000-10,000 RPM! 

-Turd.

[Codger]

Treat 6th as a cruise gear once you are up to speed. 
Anything significant, acceleration, high winds, decent slopes kick it down a gear.
I had a 30 mph headwind on a trip and spent 200 miles in 5th to run 70.
If you have to do that, be ready to fuel a lot sooner.

[ducati_nolan]

Yup, you have to rev the sucker up to get it going at a good rate, especially for a big guy like yourself. It's okay for the rpm to be down quite a bit while grusing at low speeds or going down hills, that won't lug it, but if you want to accelerate or go up a hill, yeah 6000+ in general. So long as you don't bust redline the high RPM won't hurt these things, just ask those who race them. 

[Chilly Willy]

Good points, thank you!  You're right too, I've been associating car RPM and motorcycle RPM.  I've been holding the motorcycle's RPM at 4K, but I need to drop a gear or two and be up in the powerband on hills, wind, etc.  After all, even on flat ground with no wind, I'm putting a strain on the bike.  One of the guys I was riding with is about 140lb and was riding a Triumph Speed Triple.  He kept looking at me as if to say "what the heck is wrong with your bike?"  Now I know--Thanks!

[Alphamazing]

Let's just say...

The GS has an 11,000 RPM redline for a reason!   

[rangerbrown]

damn right, keep the rpm up and she will cruse like a missle

[94suzuki500]

The gs redlines at 11000 cars red line near 5-6 so drive it the same percent.  When you drive your car you usually are driving it at about 50% of the whole rpms range, around 3000 rpm or higher if you are accelerating fast or going up streep hills.  And do so with your bike, ride it at 5500rpm or higher if riding fast or needing the power to get up steep hills.