Gears and the Vulcan 750

GreenJello · 07-31-2006

Okay, relatively new rider with a '94 Vulcan 750. I'm just learning where I should be in the gears at the various RPMs and speeds. One thing that's been bothering me is 5th gear. All the other gears appear to hit the sweet spot at about 3500 RPMs, with 5th gear this is about 55 MPH. Obviously with the faster speeds of today's traffic, I'm usually doing about 65 - 70 in 5th. It seems to handle it, but I'm wondering if this bike in inherently limited for highway travel, or if I'm overthinking the situation a bit.

What gears are you usually in for highway travel, and what sort of bike do you own. Is this a problem with the gearing, engine size, or just in my head

?

Trturnerfamily · 07-31-2006

Try moving up a gear at about 4500. You'll be keeping the rpms up and making a smooth transition from gear to gear - no lagging when you need some power and control. I don't usually get to 5th gear till about 60 or so.
Limited for highway driving you say? How about this - I was on Rte 84, PA the other day and was wearing new ear plugs. I put them in too tight and didn't realize how little I was hearing. I happened to notice that I had just blown past a truck - looked down and saw 90 on the speedo. No sweat for the bike - no vibration, no wobble. We're for sure good for the highway.

Rick
'06 VN750

vulcan500rider · 07-31-2006

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roa...er_comparison/

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roa...es_comparison/

GreenJello · 07-31-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trturnerfamily

Try moving up a gear at about 4500. You'll be keeping the rpms up and making a smooth transition from gear to gear - no lagging when you need some power and control.

Okay, that's about what I figured, good to get some backup on this.

Quote:

I don't usually get to 5th gear till about 60 or so.
Limited for highway driving you say? How about this - I was on Rte 84, PA the other day and was wearing new ear plugs. I put them in too tight and didn't realize how little I was hearing. I happened to notice that I had just blown past a truck - looked down and saw 90 on the speedo. No sweat for the bike - no vibration, no wobble. We're for sure good for the highway.

Somerset · 07-31-2006

Hi there,

I have a 1986 Vulcan 750. Mine has a bit a vibration between 3000 and 4000 RPM. Above 4000 it goes to sleep and is smooth as baby's behind.
I usually short shift bellow 3K in the city and stay above 4K on the highway - that's already 100 km/h (approx).
The 750 is a great highway machine - it will run for hours at high speed at 4000-6000 RPM, at least mine does.
I've found mine to be much better highway machine, than a city cruiser, go figure. Mine is doing 100km/s at 4K, 120 at 5K, 140 at 6K. Haven't got the balls to go over 6K in 5th gear

Regards,
S

GreenJello · 08-01-2006

Yeah, it seems to work best when I get it above first gear, I have some problems with it stalling out in 1st for some reason.

07-31-2006	#1 (permalink)
GreenJello Neuromancer Lvl 13 BTK Expert Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 519	Gears and the Vulcan 750 Okay, relatively new rider with a '94 Vulcan 750. I'm just learning where I should be in the gears at the various RPMs and speeds. One thing that's been bothering me is 5th gear. All the other gears appear to hit the sweet spot at about 3500 RPMs, with 5th gear this is about 55 MPH. Obviously with the faster speeds of today's traffic, I'm usually doing about 65 - 70 in 5th. It seems to handle it, but I'm wondering if this bike in inherently limited for highway travel, or if I'm overthinking the situation a bit. What gears are you usually in for highway travel, and what sort of bike do you own. Is this a problem with the gearing, engine size, or just in my head ? __________________ The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen. ~Tommy Smothers

08-01-2006	#6 (permalink)
GreenJello Neuromancer Lvl 13 BTK Expert Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 519	Yeah, it seems to work best when I get it above first gear, I have some problems with it stalling out in 1st for some reason. __________________ The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen. ~Tommy Smothers

07-31-2006	#2 (permalink)
Trturnerfamily Still On The Kickstand Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 25	Try moving up a gear at about 4500. You'll be keeping the rpms up and making a smooth transition from gear to gear - no lagging when you need some power and control. I don't usually get to 5th gear till about 60 or so. Limited for highway driving you say? How about this - I was on Rte 84, PA the other day and was wearing new ear plugs. I put them in too tight and didn't realize how little I was hearing. I happened to notice that I had just blown past a truck - looked down and saw 90 on the speedo. No sweat for the bike - no vibration, no wobble. We're for sure good for the highway. Rick '06 VN750

07-31-2006	#3 (permalink)
vulcan500rider 2006 Suzuki C90 BTK Expert Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Beautiful Uptown Long Beach Posts: 1,872	http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roa...er_comparison/ http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roa...es_comparison/

07-31-2006	#5 (permalink)
Somerset Finally Got Into First Gear BTK Beginner Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 69	Hi there, I have a 1986 Vulcan 750. Mine has a bit a vibration between 3000 and 4000 RPM. Above 4000 it goes to sleep and is smooth as baby's behind. I usually short shift bellow 3K in the city and stay above 4K on the highway - that's already 100 km/h (approx). The 750 is a great highway machine - it will run for hours at high speed at 4000-6000 RPM, at least mine does. I've found mine to be much better highway machine, than a city cruiser, go figure. Mine is doing 100km/s at 4K, 120 at 5K, 140 at 6K. Haven't got the balls to go over 6K in 5th gear Regards, S

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