Highway Cruising

[Guest WildJackal]

I went for a long ride this weekend with a Jackal mounted friend. Interstate cruising speeds averaged between 70 and 80 mph. We would switch off occasionally; I would ride the Jackal and he would take the Sport.

 

I really liked the Jackal. It was very happy in 4th gear between 70 and 80. You could shift to 5th at 80 and downshift back to 4th at 70. Very smooth, happy motor.

 

Conversely the Sport was ragged at steady cruising speeds. The Sport seems happiest at steady speed cruising when below 4000 rpm. The 70 to 80 range put it in the low 4000's in 6th or the high 4000's in 5th. The bike just isn't happy there. It's almost like I need a taller 6th gear.

 

Back to technical topics ... the only modification I've made is to add a Stucchi crossover which I felt improved the 4-5000 rpm dip. What can I do to make the bike a happy to cruise at steady, boring speeds? Will a PCIII make the engine happy to idle along in the 4000 rpm range?

 

Thanks

[al_roethlisberger]

hrmmm, possibly I have found that as stock, at a constant 3-4k, some Sport/LeMans sometimes did cough and run rough... so perhaps yours is exhibiting this behavior as well? If so, yes a PCIII can cure this.

 

 

My bike is smooth as glass at 4-5k highway cruising..... ~80mph

 

So yours should be as well. Due to gearing, the Sport may seem a bit more "busy" than the Jackal at comparable speeds, by design, but it still should be a well sorted ride.

 

 

al

[jrt]

Just below 4K is a bad place on my bike. It vibrates more at 3800 or 3900rpm than any other. I try to cruise at about 4200+ rpm and everything is happy.

Another thing to consider is that the flywheel on the Jackal imparts a very nice cruising aspect to it. Lots of inertia for a nice smooth ride.

J

[Janusz]

 

Conversely the Sport was ragged at steady cruising speeds.  The Sport seems happiest at steady speed cruising when below 4000 rpm.

I am just curious how did you come to this conclusion. If it is true in your bike's case there must be something wrong with it.

 

V11S loves to rev and is the happiest over 4000 RPMs for sure. You can cruise all day at 6,000 RPM (that would be 170 km/hr on my speedo) and it surely will be much healthier for the engine then puttering at 3000 - 4000 like some old woman.

[mik]

Other than a occasional belch while accelerating in first, I've found my LeMans to be quite smooth and responsive in any gear as long as the rpms were 3000 and up. It cruises comfortably at sustained 80 to 100 mph speeds with no worries .

[Guest dkgross]

my bike is VERY VERY happy at 5000 rpm. I don't even pay attention to what gear I'm in. I've cruised on the slab at just about 80 mph at 5/k and it's smooth as silk.

 

I tend to always run between 4k and 6k (and a little higher when I need the juice..) There's just not enough guts under there for me.

 

I love my bike.

[Guest jerroldt]

My 2003 Le Mans has a buzzing at 2000 RPM (40MPH) in top gear. Other than that it is smooth as silk as fast as I want to run it. I guess each bike is different. One thing that I have noticed is that the speedo is fast by about 3 MPH.

[al_roethlisberger]

My 2003 Le Mans has a buzzing at 2000 RPM (40MPH) in top gear. Other than that it is smooth as silk as fast as I want to run it. I guess each bike is different. One thing that I have noticed is that the speedo is fast by about 3 MPH.

 

...that "buzzing" is the engine telling you that you are lugging it.... don't

 

Anything much below 3k(and certainly 2k) is really lugging this engine, and is detrimental to it's long term health, plus there's not much power down there anyway

 

al

[Guest gooddog]

i haven't been able to use sixth gear for weeks. you don't need it unless you plan on doing 90 mph or faster. my un modified lemans would ping horribly doing a roll on from a 4 k cruise speed on up. by cruising in the power band you bike will level out and be more responsive when you need it.

[Guest WildJackal]

My bike only has 3400 miles on the clock, perhaps it just needs more miles. The bike pulls strong and accelerates fine. Its just at steady state crusing speeds that it is unhappy.

 

Janusz 80mph would be about 130kph. I would need to be in 4th to pull 6000rpm. I'll give it a try but I think it will be vibrating something fierce.

 

I started the thread to ask if a PCIII would make a big difference. I wanted to hold off on that purchase but the bike is miserable as is. Smooth as glass, Al? I could live with that.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

[jrt]

Ah, this is becoming more clear. Mainly, you just need to put some miles on the bike. 3400 miles isn't even close to being broken in. I have 10000, and it's starting to smooth out nicely.

Ride it in 4th or 5th if you need to, but keep the rpms above 4000. Below that, the motor really is lugging- it bashes all the splines together and isn't good for the driveline of the bike. I know, I know, it sounds good at those low rpms...(in a fatherly voice)...quit that.

J

[Admin Jaap]

my bike is VERY VERY happy at 5000 rpm. I don't even pay attention to what gear I'm in.

(preferrably in fourth gear)

[GuzzTim]

I have about 2800 miles on my 2001 V11 Sport and it vibrates a lot at 4000-4300 which is about 80ish in 6th... I too will ride it at 5000 in 5th where its smoother and am looking forward to it generally smoothing out with higher miles...

 

Cheers, Tim

[Guest dkgross]

I'm not that stupid after all

 

yeah...I almost never see 5th or 6th gear unless I'm on a LOOONG slab of interstate.

 

At my 3000 mile service, Micha asked my about my riding habits. At that point, I hadn't played to much above 5k. His words "ride this bike hard. It will love it".

 

Took me a little while to get used to it, but I just forced my self not to shift until I hit 5k-6k, and when cruising, I made sure to always be at 5k or above.

 

around the 5000 mile mark (literally overnight), the engine changed. All the vibration just WENT AWAY. It was perceptively noticiable. Wish I knew why that happens.

 

Wild Jackle..give MotoInternational a buzz and get some Bar End Weights from them!!! They're not to spendy, and that will certainly help ease the buzz. You've got more than enough miles on her now to run her harder. Just make a habit of reving up to 5-6k on every shift, and if you're doing a highway run, keep it in the 5k area. You ain't gonna hurt her

[badmotogoozer]

Wish I knew why that happens.

 

The rpm at which it all goes to glass is mostly (AIUI) a result of the balance factor used when balancing the engine. At that rpm everything is balanced and smooth.

 

Rj