Shift rpms and Fuel Economy...

[Bob Denman]

Well this is very interesting... :dontknow:
I have finally bit the bullet and moved my shift-points out of the basement. Largely due to the recent discussions regarding potential clutch damage for not allowing it to get locked-up fully... :yikes:
I've been shifting at 4000rpm and downshifting when rpms levels drop to about 3200...
...And I'm STILL getting almost 34pmg! :thumbup:
I have seen the light... :bowdown:

 

[docdoru]

Well this is very interesting... :dontknow:
I have finally bit the bullet and moved my shift-points out of the basement. Largely due to the recent discussions regarding potential clutch damage for not allowing it to get locked-up fully... :yikes:
I've been shifting at 4000rpm and downshifting when rpms levels drop to about 3200...
...And I'm STILL getting almost 34pmg! :thumbup:
I have seen the light... :bowdown:

Move up another 1K (5K upshifting and 4K downshifting). :doorag:

 

[bullant12]

Move up another 1K (5K upshifting and 4K downshifting). :doorag:

:agree: With my SM-5 I'm getting 30 MPG's with the trailer (I shift at 5500 RPM's with it)... around 32 without.

 

[Bob Denman]

Doc,
I'm sitting on an RT; the powerband is about 1000 rpm lower than the GS/RS... :thumbup:

 

[ulflyer]

Like you Bob, I'm making sure I'm over 4K before shifting up, but with the SE it wont let me downshift as soon as I'd like, or feel like it should, mostly wanting to get out of 5th to 4th.
Maybe I'm missing some technique on how to do it, but I hit the paddle to downshift and it simply won't till it gets down to the computer designated point.

 

[eddieshep999]

I have a Spyder RT-S SE5 2010 Model

Ref Revs and when to shift up

Is the recommendation to shift up in all gears over 4,000 rpm's e.g. 1st Gear reach 4,000 rpm -Change up to 2nd
2nd Gear reach 4,000 rpm -Change up to 3rd etc

At present when town riding at 30mph I tend to have the revs just over 3,000 - in 3rd gear I don't change up to 4th gear until I Need to go
over 40mph, 5th gear is usually selected if on the Highwayand I need to go over 50+mph

Is this ok or do I need adjust my Revs V Gear change style to ensure I get the best out of my Rotax engine


Thanks

Eddie Sheppard
Reading UK

 

[ARtraveler]

Welcome aboard Bob. It really does work.

I usually drive around town in no higher gear than 3rd.

Up to 50-55 no higher gear than 4th.

60 or higher--5th gear.

These points keep the revs up and you machine is ready for power if you need it.

 

[retread]

Normally, I don't pay much attention to gas mileage, my '08 GS gets 30 to 33 mpg no matter how I twist its tail. However, there was one ride through the back roads of southern Indiana where I never got above 4th gear, and that rarely, or 45 mph, again rarely, and got over 38 mpg!

john

 

[Sny]

The PEAK is 1000rpms lower. The peak is also nowhere near 4-5k rpms.


Most people ignore everything below 4k rpms when they dyno, it's just not meant to be run at those rpms

At 5500 rpm the RS and RT are both right at 70HP. Before that they drop off rapidly.

 

[Bob Denman]

Is the recommendation to shift up in all gears over 4,000 rpm's e.g. 1st Gear reach 4,000 rpm -Change up to 2nd
2nd Gear reach 4,000 rpm -Change up to 3rd etc
At present when town riding at 30mph I tend to have the revs just over 3,000 - in 3rd gear I don't change up to 4th gear until I Need to go
over 40mph, 5th gear is usually selected if on the Highwayand I need to go over 50+mph
Is this ok or do I need adjust my Revs V Gear change style...

Eddie,
It sounds exactly like what I'm doing! :clap:
:thumbup:

 

[RedBird]

shifting points

My husband and I have had a major fight over this shifting points. I tried to tell him about not shifting into 4th and 5th gear. He gets mad if I don't shift up. Thanks for making me feel better. When he is not on the bike I will ride with the lower gears. When he is on.. he can shift how he wants too. Most of the time he will be on his Goldwing and not on my RedBird.

Welcome aboard Bob. It really does work.

I usually drive around town in no higher gear than 3rd.

Up to 50-55 no higher gear than 4th.

60 or higher--5th gear.

These points keep the revs up and you machine is ready for power if you need it.

 

[Chupaca]

Well..!!

Well this is very interesting... :dontknow:
I have finally bit the bullet and moved my shift-points out of the basement. Largely due to the recent discussions regarding potential clutch damage for not allowing it to get locked-up fully... :yikes:
I've been shifting at 4000rpm and downshifting when rpms levels drop to about 3200...
...And I'm STILL getting almost 34pmg! :thumbup:
I have seen the light... :bowdown:

Now that you have seen the light, don't go towards it..!!:roflblack::roflblack:

 

[ARtraveler]

The portions about Bob are from June 2012. We found another older post. :roflblack:

 

[ulflyer]

My husband and I have had a major fight over this shifting points. I tried to tell him about not shifting into 4th and 5th gear. He gets mad if I don't shift up. Thanks for making me feel better. When he is not on the bike I will ride with the lower gears. When he is on.. he can shift how he wants too. Most of the time he will be on his Goldwing and not on my RedBird.

Redbird, tell hubby to tend to his GW and from now on he's confined to the rear seat of Redbird, unless he wants to shuck out $1000 for a new clutch! His GW has enough torque to pull an 18 wheeler and is twice the size of our Can Am motors which are made to run higher RPM's.

 

[Ga Blue Knight]

In town traffic on my RT I spend most of my time in first and second gear running around 5,500 rpm. On back roads third gear and sometimes fourth at 5,500-6,500 and only get to top gear (5) on the interstate and do around 6,000 to 7,000 rpm.

 

[Sarge707]

I Rarely shift the RT below 5,500 to 7,000 and stay in 3rd gear till at least 50 MPH. I didn,t buy it to worry if I,m getting 2-3 extra miles a gallon.:hun: My 255 HP Sea Doo only gets 5-6 MPG.:yikes:

 

[Huddleston]

Move up another 1K (5K upshifting and 4K downshifting). :doorag:

That is what I do.

 

[can-am sam]

Shifting up at 5000 revs of higher makes for a smooth quick shift. Shifting up at lower rpms can make a harsher shift.

 

[PrairieSpyder]

Shifting up at 5000 revs of higher makes for a smooth quick shift. Shifting up at lower rpms can make a harsher shift.

I used to upshift about 3500, but have learned to wait till over 4000 and usually over 4500. I'm going to try try this and see if I get any improvement in mileage, which has never broken 30 mpg.

I let the Spyder decide on the down-shifting, unless I'm in a hilly or twisty area and think I'll need the power before the bike knows about it.

 

[ARtraveler]

I used to upshift about 3500, but have learned to wait till over 4000 and usually over 4500. I'm going to try try this and see if I get any improvement in mileage, which has never broken 30 mpg.

I let the Spyder decide on the down-shifting, unless I'm in a hilly or twisty area and think I'll need the power before the bike knows about it.

I have been refining this for myself over the last few months. I now upshift at about 5500 rpm's and downshift at about 3500 rpm's. I like to do the downshifts manually about 95% of the time. In my particular case--this seems to work well for me and for my :spyder2:. This gives smooth, seamless shifts between gears.

Akspyderlady does not manually downshift on her :ani29: and is happy with how that operates.