How High of RPM's do you cruise at?

I'm just curious about how high you guys run the RPM's when cruising around town.

I have a VF500 and generally am just driving a mile and a half to class or practice.

How many RPM's do you guys cruise through town 30-35ish?

Is it better on the bike to run at higher rpm's like 6K or should I shift up to put it at 3K? It isn't much hard riding...

So where do you ride at different levels? For city, highway, and traffic riding?

 

Depends on thy road 5-5500 isn't all the difficult, just Prrrrs along, even at 7k for like 16 miles wasn't all the hard. Oh what a feeling.

 

Don't lug the motor! Very bad for the bearings. But seriously, I cruise at 8k, the bike likes it like that. It's a 12k RPM motor, keep it spooled up.

 

When I first got the VFR, I was used to lower revving bikes and was cruising too low at around 3-4000 RPM. Now, I keep the revs up and she likes it much better. Usually around 5-6000 and she runs like a top. Responsive with a twist of the thottle and decelerates nicely when the throttle is closed down. Sounds great too!

 

I try to keep the bike around 5K, but in traffic its hard...my rage is usually from 4-8K rpms...untill the road opens up and traffic goes away, then I am at 8-11K rpm's :rockon:

 

I use the 60% rule. Ride using the middle 60% of the rpm range when just cruising. Don't cruise below 3K rpm - as was said before, you're lugging the motor and below 3K, the oil pressure drops off precipitously.

On my VF700F, 5500 in 5th gear is right about 55 mph. 3700 or so is 45 - what I usually ride on city streets.

 

When I forst got my VFR I wasnt used to the high revs either.
I was actually scared to take it over 5-6K while cruising at any speed.

I eventually found that she like it much better while at approx. 8K
Its sounds much better there anyway (especially with the str8 thru Can)
Sounds like a Ducati all jacked up on steriods, I love it espec. between 6-8K

-S

 

The older VFs are notorious for not spreading the oil well enough at under 3k...So I was told... I used to ride my VF700F low at first but realized 5-8k was a nice comfy zone.... My new VFR I try to stay just above the VTECH kick at 8k....

 

I keep it no higher than 4th in town, away from town on the highway...I use the harley gears (5th and 6th)

 

There is an old rule. Run the engine between 1/3 (4000rpm) and 2/3 (8000rpm) of the red line in general use. Below 1/3 the engine does not get enough oil. This will keep you into the good power area on most bikes and reduce wear and tear on the engine.

 

Good to know.

 

On another note, nothing wrong with 3rd gear 3300 rpms either, like in a cruise down town, sweet sounds a plenty coming from under neither, not to mention the sound reverberating off the buildings.

 

At highvay around 5k, in town 3-4k, or anything that feels ok (engine runs smooth)

 

I am on a week-long trip from Maine to Georgia, and am spending a lot of time watching the RPM's. I notice that if I am cruising around at 30-35 mph, I typically run around 4...in stealth mode. If I am on the highway, I like 6-7000 rpm's. For cornering at race speed, I like to run 7-8,000 rpm's to pull me out of a deep lean fast, and engine brake effectively.
The moral of the story, if I am not going fast, I run a low RPM to keep the bike cooler. My bike likes 7,000 the best at 75-80 mph.