2013 RTS Se5 Shift Points?

[scarecrow]

This weekend I had the Spyder Lazer Alignment done by Precisyon Trac. Great Couple.Had the Bike done in about a hour in the heat of my garage. Fla. at 9 am with the garage facing east is brutle. Anyway he pulled up the Buds report and it showed that I need to change my way of shifting or driving or both. lol.
well I quess I am below 4,000 rpm to much when were crusing around town and Clearwater beach. So What am I doing wrong? I do shift above 4,000 in all gears, but it will go below 4,000 when crusing down the beach at 35mph. Should I just stay in Second gear till I reach 45 mph. I'am just not used to a 2 cyclinder screeming at 5 to 6 grand at 40 mph.


Precisyon Trac did a Great Job what a difference in the way this thing handles.

[bullant12]

I shift well above 5000 RPM. In my SM5, 5600 and above is where my engine is happy at shifting.
Rotax 990 engines are high revving machines, so don't be afraid of being in high revs to shift up.

[Pennyrick]

. I'am just not used to a 2 cyclinder screeming at 5 to 6 grand at 40 mph..

It is something you will have to get used to. It is music to my ears and the engine is in it's comfort zone turning between 5-6,000.

If you constantly lug it down under 3,800 rpm you will eventually pay the price in mechanical problems.

[ARtraveler]

When it comes to shifting, RPM's are most important. 5000 rpm is a good ball park to keep the Spyder happy.

Compared to some other vehicles, the high rpm's do seem to make it appear the is in to low a gear. It does require some getting used to.

For me, 30 mph in town--first gear. 45 ish--2nd to 3rd gear. 55-60--fourth gear. Over 65--fifth gear. It's about the rpm's--not what seems right for other vehicles.

Hope these suggestions help.

[Magdave]

Shift at 6k and the next gear will be just below 5k and the bike will run perfect. Now if I am winding it out I shift between 7-8k.

[SpyderAnn01]

It is something you will have to get used to. It is music to my ears and the engine is in it's comfort zone turning between 5-6,000.

If you constantly lug it down under 3,800 rpm you will eventually pay the price in mechanical problems.

It is either something you get used to or you sell it and buy a 2014 instead.

[MouthPiece]

I shift between 5,000 to 6000. See below:

BUDS REPORT 05-29-14.jpg

[Bob Denman]

It is either something you get used to or you sell it and buy a 2014 instead.

Shifting at NO MORE than 2,500 rpm on the 1330s...

[Daisyjoe]

When it comes to shifting, RPM's are most important. 5000 rpm is a good ball park to keep the Spyder happy.

Compared to some other vehicles, the high rpm's do seem to make it appear the is in to low a gear. It does require some getting used to.

For me, 30 mph in town--first gear. 45 ish--2nd to 3rd gear. 55-60--fourth gear. Over 65--fifth gear. It's about the rpm's--not what seems right for other vehicles.

Hope these suggestions help.

This is the same MPH that I use. Seems to work well with my 2013 RTS.

[scarecrow]

Thanks for all the advise. I have less than 2,000 miles on this spyder and have no intention or money to move to the 2014. Now if the bike burns down and BRP hands me a new one or I find a pot of Gold somewhere then maybe We'll be looking for a new one in 2015/2016.

[jcthorne]

Put the bike in trailer mode and the ECM will teach you the correct shift points. Or just leave it there and they will always be correct along with the downshift points.

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

i never new any of this, i just called my dealer & he told me i am supposed shift a lot higher then i have been, 5k on the rpm is right.
glad i joined this site, i really did learn something today, thanks to all
al

[vided]

When it comes to shifting, RPM's are most important. 5000 rpm is a good ball park to keep the Spyder happy.

Compared to some other vehicles, the high rpm's do seem to make it appear the is in to low a gear. It does require some getting used to.

For me, 30 mph in town--first gear. 45 ish--2nd to 3rd gear. 55-60--fourth gear. Over 65--fifth gear. It's about the rpm's--not what seems right for other vehicles.

Hope these suggestions help.

this is is the hardest part of adjusting to life with my new spyder.
30 mph in first is just so hard to get use to.
thanks for this thread.

[swmp321]

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...t=shift+points

The best guide written by a member on this forum. This was just updated! Abide by it and you won't have any trouble.

[robmorg]

I quess I am below 4,000 rpm to much when were crusing around town and Clearwater beach. So What am I doing wrong? I do shift above 4,000 in all gears, but it will go below 4,000 when crusing down the beach at 35mph. Should I just stay in Second gear till I reach 45 mph. I'am just not used to a 2 cyclinder screeming at 5 to 6 grand at 40 mph.

Scarecrow,

I noticed you got a lot of answers concerning when to upshift, but, with a couple exceptions, not a lot of advice about the second half of your question above. So, with the disclaimer that I'm still somewhat of a newbie myself on the spider, I will share my thoughts with you. I've done a lot of "experimenting" over the past few weeks after reading the "Do's and Don'ts Thread" that "swmp321" pointed you to above. I couldn't agree more with swmp321 - there is excellent advice in that thread.

What I've done is not only changed my upshifting habits along the lines of the other suggestions in this thread, but also I've dramatically changed the way I handle down-shifts. I've tried to adopt the concept of never (when I can help it) allowing the bike to get below 4000 rpms and I try to keep it around 5000-5500 regardless of the mph. In order to accomplish that, I simply keep an eye on the rpms and aggressively downshift to keep the bike within that range when I get slower. I no longer allow the bike to down-shift on it's own, unless coming to a stop (like at a red light). If I see the bike falling toward the 4000 rpm range, I will downshift, which will get it back up above 5000 - back into it's peak power range. So yes, to specifically answer your question, I would stay in 2nd gear in the scenario you described above. I live in a a small town, and I now rarely get out of 2nd gear anymore when just riding around town, unless I can maintain speeds above 40 mph for at least a small stretch of time (which is rare while in town).

These changes in shifting habits seems to have accomplished at least two, maybe three, positve things for me. First, I noticed right away that the bike now shifts much more smoothly at these higher rpms. I don't feel that little forward "toss" anymore when the bike shifts, and it also shifts more quietly. Secondly, now that I am no longer lugging the clutch at all, the bike runs with considerably less vibration than what I was feeling before in my feet against the floorboards. And thirdly, even though I am constantly running at higher rpms, I believe I am getting better fuel economy. (Jury's still out on that one, as I've only filled the tank about half a dozen times since I've begun running it this way.)

Now a few disclaimers.... I'm certainly not an "expert" yet. I'm only passing on here what I've personally experienced so far (as well as what I've read). I'd welcome opposing points of view here. Also, the aggressive down-shifting is only possible because there is virtually no slowing due to engine compression on the 900 series engines (other than while in 1st gear). I understand that is not so on the 1330 engine, so I'm guessing that it would not be proper to down-shift as aggressively on the 2014 model. Lastly, my aggressive down-shifting to maintain rpms does not apply to going from 2nd to 1st gear, unless I'm going less than about 18 mph. (Even though the clutch is not fully locked until 3800 rpm's, I've noticed that it does not seem to lug much below that level in 2nd until you get fairly slow.)

Bottom line... Do NOT be afraid of operating at high rpms at almost any speed. Hope these thoughts help you some.

[robmorg]

Put the bike in trailer mode and the ECM will teach you the correct shift points. Or just leave it there and they will always be correct along with the downshift points.

I agree that this can be useful in getting the "feel" for proper up-shifts and down-shifts. However I wonder if leaving the bike in trailer mode, while not towing, would have any negative impact on the VSS system and how that performs. So much on this bike is controlled by the on-board computers that its hard to know that.

[jcthorne]

I agree that this can be useful in getting the "feel" for proper up-shifts and down-shifts. However I wonder if leaving the bike in trailer mode, while not towing, would have any negative impact on the VSS system and how that performs. So much on this bike is controlled by the on-board computers that its hard to know that.

The answer is NO. Verified by BRP. Leaving the bike in trailer mode has NO negative effects and only changes the shift parameters.

Both of our RTs have been in trailer mode since new. The auto downshifting is very helpful in mountain driving too.

[jcthorne]

Scarecrow,



What I've done is not only changed my upshifting habits along the lines of the other suggestions in this thread, but also I've dramatically changed the way I handle down-shifts. I've tried to adopt the concept of never (when I can help it) allowing the bike to get below 4000 rpms and I try to keep it around 5000-5500 regardless of the mph. In order to accomplish that, I simply keep an eye on the rpms and aggressively downshift to keep the bike within that range when I get slower. I no longer allow the bike to down-shift on it's own, unless coming to a stop (like at a red light). If I see the bike falling toward the 4000 rpm range, I will downshift, which will get it back up above 5000 - back into it's peak power range. So yes, to specifically answer your question, I would stay in 2nd gear in the scenario you described above. I live in a a small town, and I now rarely get out of 2nd gear anymore when just riding around town, unless I can maintain speeds above 40 mph for at least a small stretch of time (which is rare while in town).

Putting the bike in trailer mode will accomplish this automatically and you can go back to letting he bike auto downshift for you.

[Bob Denman]

Trouble comes to the clutch plates only when they're subjected to a load while not fully locked-up...
If you're slowing down; you can wait for the computers to handle the downshifting.

[scarecrow]

Yes. I have changed my mode of driving. I have moved to the BRP " Drive it like you've stole it mode". In town rarely out of second gear in the 40-to 48 mph range. Still getting used to the high Rpms. I thinks it funny passing a Chinese Scooter. He's wide open at 40 mph at 4 grand and I'm at 45 mph at 6 grand. Both bike SCREEEEMING going no where. Although we did pass a Lamborghini on clearwater beach. He sounded like it was at 8 grand in 2nd gear. LMAO.

I do have a little problem though. In the morning when the bike is cool. Shifting from 1st to 2nd is smooth, but after the bike reaches higher temps to seams to clunk when up shifting from 1st to 2nd after that. Thought of adding more oil but it's just about a 1/8" below the full mark at temp. The bike only got 2020 miles on it.

Haven't tried the trailer mode yet.

[robmorg]

---

Scarecrow, glad to see you're getting more comfortable with the higher rpm's. It doesn't take long, once you make the effort, and the Spyder is more fun to drive when you've got reserve torque available.

I don't think the 1st to 2nd "clunk" has anything to do with oil level if you're within an eighth inch of full. You've probably already tried this, but if not, I'd try varying the shift point slightly to see if that makes any difference. I see that every once in a while, but not often anymore. There's probably a "sweet spot" in the rpm level that maximizes ease of shifting from 1st to 2nd.

---

Putting the bike in trailer mode will accomplish this automatically and you can go back to letting he bike auto downshift for you.

I'm fairly used to downshifting manually now without thinking much about it. But out of curiosity I'll try that again, this time for a couple of days, to see what it's like.

In "no-trailer mode", the bike definitely performs better, doesn't lug the clutch, and leaves you with reserve torque, when you downshift sooner to keep the rpms up. That being the case, I wonder why BRP didn't just make the auto-shift pattern like it is in the trailer mode all the time. Maybe it was a marketing decision.

[tankguy]

I have a a 2012 RT S SE5, and I have been shifting gears 1-4 up at 5K and 5th up at 65mph. Shift down at about 4K.

Now, here is the new thing that has happened. This last week I was in Durango with the Wife at the BRP owners event and I took my bike to the BRP Tech Tent for a computer problem. I stood beside the guy as he "Reset and realigned the computer with a new program". Since then, I've had to relearn when to shift and where it runs best. Used to be that the computer wouldn't let you shift 2nd until you were above 26mpg and 4.5K RPM. Now it's shifting at 3.5K and 19MPH and it's NOT LUGGING THE ENGINE!! Every minimum shift point has dropped about 1K RPM. I just went into town and the engine was just purring along in 5th gear, 55MPH, and 4K RPM!!! No thumping or lugging and accelerated happily without any lag. I don't know what they put into my bike, but I'm enjoying it and am hoping the that I'll be seeing an increase in my MPG.

I'll keep you posted as to why happens.

Gary

[jcthorne]

I have a a 2012 RT S SE5, and I have been shifting gears 1-4 up at 5K and 5th up at 65mph. Shift down at about 4K.

Now, here is the new thing that has happened. This last week I was in Durango with the Wife at the BRP owners event and I took my bike to the BRP Tech Tent for a computer problem. I stood beside the guy as he "Reset and realigned the computer with a new program". Since then, I've had to relearn when to shift and where it runs best. Used to be that the computer wouldn't let you shift 2nd until you were above 26mpg and 4.5K RPM. Now it's shifting at 3.5K and 19MPH and it's NOT LUGGING THE ENGINE!! Every minimum shift point has dropped about 1K RPM. I just went into town and the engine was just purring along in 5th gear, 55MPH, and 4K RPM!!! No thumping or lugging and accelerated happily without any lag. I don't know what they put into my bike, but I'm enjoying it and am hoping the that I'll be seeing an increase in my MPG.

I'll keep you posted as to why happens.

Gary

When he re flashed your ECM, your setting defaulted to non-trailer mode. If it was requiring you to wait to 4500RPM to shift before, it was in trailer tow mode. Earlier shifts do not lug the engine, they wear the centrifugal clutch that does not fully engage until 3500rpm where the normal clutch locks up and takes over. You do not want to be below 3500RPM at any time other than takeoff from a stop. If your engine was thumping or lugging at 3500 RPM before, there was something wrong with your bike, not normal.

I suggest you put it back in trailer tow mode to lengthen the life of your clutch plates. Remember, these are wear items not covered under the original or extended warranties. Wear them out and its on your nickel.