Newbie transmission/shifting question
 

First I'll give you the background on my experience. I've been riding 3 wheelers,quads and dirtbikes/dual purpose bikes since I was about 12 yrs. old. I am 37 now. This is my first "street" bike (05 f4i). I have just over 200 miles on it. What I have noticed so far is that the transmission on this bike sounds very clunky and noisy. Is this normal for this bike? Is it because it really isn't broken in yet? The bike seems to have an awful lot of engine braking. Riding mellow and shifting up through the gears at lets say 6000rpms or so, it seems that each gear up seems to be geared too low. Letting the clutch out in an upshift initially almost feels like a downshift until you get on the throttle. I don't notice it that much if I'm hammering the throttle and keeping the rpm's up. But I can't scream around town like that in 35 mph zones. How can I ride this bike mellow and keep the shifts smooth? Am I doing something wrong? Or is this bike just a different animal than what I'm used to. Thanx in advance.

RE: Newbie transmission/shifting question
 

yes, the tranny is clunky...especially getting into first at a stop sometimes.
as far as jerky, you should be gassing it while letting out the clutch otherwise is like popping it...so that you'll get with more riding, etc.

yes, engine braking, but it's not excessive, you'll get used to it...just have fun.

T

RE: Newbie transmission/shifting question
 

Stinger, my riding background is similar to yours (dirt bikes, quads), including the recent purchase of my first street bike (04 F4i). I've noticed the same thing about the rpm's and shifting. My estimation is that this is the normal behavior of a bike that redlines at 14,000 rpms. It seems that they're just meant to be run hot, similar to a 2-stroke engine. Shifting at 10,000 is normal for these engines, so don't be afraid to do it. Once you'll get used to it you'll learn to really use the engine and it's compression for both acceleration as well as deceleration. Good luck, be careful.

RE: Newbie transmission/shifting question
 

10k rpms for shifting wowsa...my bike hasnt seen past 8k im really babying i guess, of course it hasnt seen faster than 90mph

RE: Newbie transmission/shifting question
 

When I bought my 98 f3 I thought the same thing, that the gearing was a little too-close of a ratio. Wouldn't it be nice to run at 85mph at around 2500 or 3000rpm, instead of 7000? I guess my harly roots are showing through. But the motor could definitely handle it.
Anyway, I asked a friend the same thing, he has extensive race experience. He said that All Bike manufacturers that race a model will make a close ratio gearbox. And that is because the race teams aren't able to change anything in the gearbox to give themselves an advantage- they have to leave them stock! So Miguel Duhammel had to put up with the same gearbox as I have to win all of those races for honda.

RE: Newbie transmission/shifting question
 

haha 8k huh... well it all depends on you're riding style.. (I'd like to see you're rear tire I bet it's as flat as Kansas). Anyway, remember you haven't even changed the oil once yet... there may be chips and/or things you want to get out before you really lean into your bike. I know with your experience you're gonna want to be more poppy on the clutch too. I felt like my bike was pretty tight until around 3k. Honestly look into a hard top shoe... cheap boots are soft and they'll sponge only making a new bike seem that much more tight. Look into break in methods too... It's a highly debated subject in streetbikes so I won't say anything about it here. The engine breaking is normal and it'll just be a growing pain... As for the cruising at 90 with 7 or 8 k... believe it or not.. your engine isn't designed for that... not for long periods of time at a constant RPM... don't believe me read up on it.

RE: Newbie transmission/shifting question
 

I cruise at around 6K RPM. I was cruising at 3-4K, but since switching my mileage has gotten tons better. You also have some power to work with if you need to accel. Anything above 7-8K and I'm thinking about shifting.

RE: Newbie transmission/shifting question
 

yeah but here in california its easy to cruise at top gear for an 1 or 2 getting from here to there, that's why I don't want to change sprockets