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Ess Jay

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May 25, 2019
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Gold Coast, Australia
This may have been discussed before so apologies for not spending the time trawling ... my girl is a 2010 model, so far as I know she hasn't been 'flashed' and still has the standard exhaust but me'eh, she runs sweet ... the other day I was on the motorway (110kmh / 70 mph speed limit) and she was at 2.5 - 3k rpm ... but I still had 5th and 6th gear left which dropped her down to around 2 - 2.5k rpm which just seemed 'low' ... anyway, I'm going on a tour soon, loaded up with travelling kit and all that so I was just wondering, what's the best rpm range is for economy, engine wear etc etc ?
 
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swakop_toe

swakop_toe

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Cape Town, South Africa
Ess Jay said:
This may have been discussed before so apologies for not spending the time trawling ... my girl is a 2010 model, so far as I know she hasn't been 'flashed' and still has the standard exhaust but me'eh, she runs sweet ... the other day I was on the motorway (110kmh / 70 mph speed limit) and she was at 2.5 - 3k rpm ... but I still had 5th and 6th gear left which dropped her down to around 2 - 2.5k rpm ... I'm going on a tour soon, loaded up with travelling kit and all that so I was just wondering, what's the best rpm range is for economy, engine wear etc etc ?
Click to expand...
Below ek 3k rpm is the most economical, I found, but is difficult to do in 6th, staying in the speed limit and not feel like she's "labouring".


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Checkswrecks

Checkswrecks

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Ess Jay said:
This may have been discussed before so apologies for not spending the time trawling ... my girl is a 2010 model, so far as I know she hasn't been 'flashed' and still has the standard exhaust but me'eh, she runs sweet ... the other day I was on the motorway (110kmh / 70 mph speed limit) and she was at 2.5 - 3k rpm ... but I still had 5th and 6th gear left which dropped her down to around 2 - 2.5k rpm which just seemed 'low' ... anyway, I'm going on a tour soon, loaded up with travelling kit and all that so I was just wondering, what's the best rpm range is for economy, engine wear etc etc ?
Click to expand...
RPM is not the dominant factor in fuel economy, as best economy is a combination of wind drag versus hp and torque. You'll find that the absolute best mpg seems to be in the low to mid 50 mph range. The bike has the aerodynamics of a brick outhouse, so the faster you go the worse the wind drag becomes.
 
E

Ess Jay

New Member
Joined
May 25, 2019
Messages
16
Location
Gold Coast, Australia
swakop_toe said:
Below ek 3k rpm is the most economical, I found, but is difficult to do in 6th, staying in the speed limit and not feel like she's "labouring".


Sent from my Nokia 5.4 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
The "labouring" thing is what I was 'concerned' (for want of a better term) about ... she seems happy enough cruising along in 4th or 5th ... I guess I'll have to find a headwind to use 6th ... but I guess riding around the UK, that shouldn't be a problem :rolleyes:
 
E

Ess Jay

New Member
Joined
May 25, 2019
Messages
16
Location
Gold Coast, Australia
Checkswrecks said:
RPM is not the dominant factor in fuel economy, as best economy is a combination of wind drag versus hp and torque. You'll find that the absolute best mpg seems to be in the low to mid 50 mph range. The bike has the aerodynamics of a brick outhouse, so the faster you go the worse the wind drag becomes.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that mate ... I won't be in any hurry on the trip and most of it will be spent on country roads and lanes so I'm guessing most of the time will be between 40-60mph so all good
 
E

Ess Jay

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May 25, 2019
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Gold Coast, Australia
swakop_toe said:
Indeed. I'm sure our STens can handle a 7th gear.
Then you can cruise at 180km/h at 4k rpm!

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Click to expand...
There's plenty left in her no doubt but I don't know how things are your way but over here (Australia) and I'm pretty sure it's the same in the UK, there'd be a lot of Constable Ticket Happy's absolutely salivating and thanking God for answering all their prayers if that happened !! ;)
 
Checkswrecks

Checkswrecks

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Sierra1 said:
Mine will get 60mpg @ 60mph on average. :cool:
Click to expand...
It was rare when I'd get close to that and those were times I did long stretches at about 50 mph. Nice flat constant 60-ish would usually be in the low to mid 50s.
 
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