Hi all,

I have a question regarding my 2001 CBR 929RR. I feel like once I get into 4th and 5th gears, it just doesn't seem to have much power. I've seen videos of people with the same motorcycles hitting 140-150 easy and I have issues getting over 100. Needless to say, I treat my bike with respect and usually shift around 7k RPMs and have never gotten over 10k RPM because naturally when I hear the sound of the bike getting that high, I shift.

0-50 1st gear
50-70 2nd gear
70-80 3rd gear
80-110 I am usually working my way up and ended at last gear.

Is it because I am just shifting too early and should be in a lower gear to get above that level? In last gear trying to get over 100-110 just feels powerless and like it's losing all power.

I've tried getting the RPMs over 8k, but it doesn't do it effortlessly and would require me to really just slam down on it.

Looking at these youtube videos, others with my bike are hitting 10-12k RPMs with what seems like no effort... but then again I have no idea how hard they are throttling it.

Am I just being too soft on the throttle? Is there such thing as a limiter being put on it? Do I need to clean air filter? Gas issue causing lack of power? I don't normally get above 8k RPMs, but I know for sure I should be able to hit 110+. When I do try to do it in last gear, it usually loses power and is impossible to get over 110.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

As long as you properly maintain the bike, hitting redline or the limiter won't hurt the engine. It's a sportbike, that's what they're designed to do.
From your explanations, you're not going WOT(wide open throttle)? If you're not utilizing the entire power band of the engine, and potentially not going WOT, how do you expect the bike to accelerate?

 

This may be a dumb question, but by WOT do you mean throttle turned all the way to the max and unable to twist any farther? I have definitely never done that before to the point where I couldn't turn the throttle any farther... maybe I will have to give that a try!

Thanks.

 

W....wide
O....open
T.....throttle

If you want to max the bike out in any gear you're going to need full throttle (unless of course your changing down).

When accelerating there is also the torque curve to consider. Torque is a measurement of the pulling power of the engine.

E.G. If you change up too early (say in 3rd), you wont hit high enough on the torque curve in the next gear to get maximum acceleration.

Just remember, once you're maxed out in third, you're probably going to be in licence loosing territory

 

The power band on your bike kicks in at 8k rpm. Don't be afraid to go there from time to time.... I get 120 pretty easily. If you want more than that, you gotta stretch out the shifts and stay in the powerband to get there.

Cruising around at low RPMs isn't good for an engine either, especially ones that are meant to go much higher. 5-6k is good when your not demanding power, but much lower than that and your charging system may not even be working. It doesn't hurt a thing to wind it up more when going through the gears. I find that I get better mileage when I ride harder, but that may be just my set up.

If you think your bike redlines high, have a look at the tach on a more recent 600.

 

Wow, thanks for all of your replies. I definitely was babying the throttle way too much. I went out of my comfort zone and went above 8k and once I got around 8-9k it was ridiculous how much power I actually got while working up to 11k.

I was easily hitting 90+ in 2nd gear, so it's obvious what I was doing now.

I've driven standard vehicles my entire life and I guess I am so accustomed to shifting when you hear the engine reach a high point and traveling at low rpms is my norm. Good to know this isn't the same case with my CBR.

 

Also, nice bike! Looks just like mine.

 

Well sir, you obviously have good taste.