5th or 6th

[John Luciano]

I was talking yesterday with a man (Jack ) who owns a 2010 Harley Trike (factory 6 speed ) He just got back from Sturgis .He was pulling a trailer 2 up. At first he was getting in the low to mid 20's for MPG. He was told to drive in 5th not 6th. When he made the switch he started getting low to mid 30's ...BTW HI Jack U can chime in anytime if this is not correct. Jack reads us but doesn't write in .

 

[Lucky]

That sounds strange to me.Be interesting to see the theories on this one.Wonder if it had to do with lugging it down.At least it improved that is always good.

 

[1550vt]

I just ripped a 6-speed out of my trike and put the 5-speed back in. I NEVER realized any fuel savings out of 6th. gear....maybe even worse mileage. I changed my output pulley to re-gear what I was looking for with the 5-speed and have never been happier.

Now, I had a problem with my 6th. gear and had a reason to pull it out, but I was looking for an opportunity to get it out of there and one came up.

I am perfectly happy purring along at 75-80 running 3300 RPM in 5th. gear. No lugging, no shifting up-n-down on the steep hills and the motor really likes it. Stock for 70MPH in this particular model year bike was 3100 rpm and I have mine running around 2850 at 70 in 5th. and close to 3300 at 80. The TC is close to a "square" (short stroke) motor and it likes the RPM's.

 

[Gorilla]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>John Luciano</strong>
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<div class="message">I was talking yesterday with a man (Jack ) who owns a 2010 Harley Trike (factory 6 speed ) He just got back from Sturgis .He was pulling a trailer 2 up. At first he was getting in the low to mid 20's for MPG. He was told to drive in 5th not 6th. When he made the switch he started getting low to mid 30's ...BTW HI Jack U can chime in anytime if this is not correct. Jack reads us but doesn't write in .</div>

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</div>Efficiency. With the load that is on the trike (trailer/2 up) the engine is not operating high enough in the power band to handle it. Basically you are lugging down the motor. With the stock gearing and a stock motor 6th gear is not at it's peak efficiency until probably around 70 MPH+.

 

[soloagn]

A freind of mine has a "07 ultra classic with a CSC trike kit, and a 6 speed tranny. He ran 5th gear most of the time cause he couldn't pull 6th, it was lugging all the time. He finally went down 2 teeth, I belive it was, on the motor sprocket and it runs like a dream in 6th gear now.

 

[Baz]

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<img src="images/misc/quote_icon.png" alt="Quote" /> Originally Posted by <strong>John Luciano</strong>
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<div class="message">I was talking yesterday with a man (Jack ) who owns a 2010 Harley Trike (factory 6 speed ) He just got back from Sturgis .He was pulling a trailer 2 up. At first he was getting in the low to mid 20's for MPG. He was told to drive in 5th not 6th. When he made the switch he started getting low to mid 30's ...BTW HI Jack U can chime in anytime if this is not correct. Jack reads us but doesn't write in .</div>

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Exactly what you would expect due to the increased weight / drag = load.<br />
Therefore you will tend to use more throttle - means more fuel.<br />
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This is why I said in a earlier thread that the gearing if suitable for a bike can & will never be suitable for a Trike due to the increased load caused by weight, drag, rolling resistance etc. ie it needs to be lowered to offset the above by having the engine run within its torque band. It will lug less as it will be able to more freely rev.

 

[Shriner Jim]

Hey! Everyone is right. I found 6th gear useless until I made some changes. Before I made the changes, I could always get better fuel mileage if I stayed out of 6th. Mine is a 2008 Ultra, that year (and others), the moco geared them too tall. I at first changed the primary sprocket (EVO sprocket and chain) but that made too much noise. I also wanted the compensator back. I then changed the front belt pulley to a 30T Andrews. It pulls very well now, especially from a stop. Riding two-up, I get into 6th gear at 60 mph and can stay there up most hills.<br />
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It purrs at 3K+ rpm at 70 mph.

I like it. <br /><br />
Ya'll keep 'em straight out there!

 

[1550vt]

I certainly agree that you can gear one to work well in 6th. and I actually had made some rear tire changes and had mine set-up perfectly to truck-along in 6th. at around 2900. I am not suggesting that everybody jerk-out the 6 and toss-in the 5. Like you guys are saying, if you have a good solid 6-speed, you can easily re-gear to match your load and riding comfort. I just had a junky early JIMS 6-speed that worked fine....but the noise in 6th. gear finally became unbearable and I was in deep suspicion about the trap door bearings.<br /><br />
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This gave me the opportunity to put the 5 back in and my point is that you can make 5-speeds work and keep the RPM down a bit by putting a 34-tooth output pulley on. Tire size (aspect ratio) can make a big difference also. Before I junked my 6-speed, I had dropped the rears about 1-inch in diameter and it made all the difference in the world and 6th. was fine.<br />
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When I pulled the 6-speed out....it made 5th.

a bit too short, so I went to a 34-tooth pulley.<br /><br />
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Lots of ways to "skin the cat" and if you're lugging along in 6th. and really want to keep it, you can re-gear with a pulley. It's not all that easy to get to and replace a pulley and smaller tires are certainly an option, but you need to watch your ground clearance and don't get carried away.

 

[BlueTrinity]

Efficiency. With the load that is on the trike (trailer/2 up) the engine is not operating high enough in the power band to handle it. Basically you are lugging down the motor. With the stock gearing and a stock motor 6th gear is not at it's peak efficiency until probably around 70 MPH+.

You're right on Ted. Most HD techs will tell you you shouldn't be in 6th at anything under 65 mph.

 

[1550vt]

Here is an old-timer discussion. In the old days, we use to refer to motors as long-rod or short-rod. Ford engines were generally long rod motors until the 289 came along. Chevrolet motors were more "square" or short-rod motors. On a long-rod motor, the connecting rod was longer than the diameter (bore) of the piston. The long-rod motor usually made it's power at a lower rpm range and conversely...the short-rod motor was a hi-revving engine.<br /><br />
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The EVO was considered a long-rod motor but the Twin-Cam is more of a square...or short rod motor. That is...in it's stock configuration. In short...the TC likes more rpm's to do the same work and feel good than the earlier long-rod motors.<br /><br />
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Judge your gear by using your tachometer if you can't tell if it's lugging or not. Generally speaking...if you are cruising at anything below 2600 rpm-or-so...you are in too high of a gear. Don't be in such a hurry to get into 6th.<br />
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gear.

Getting into 6th. gear is not the point. Riding at a good rpm that the engine likes is the point. 6th. is an overdrive gear and you likely should never be in 6th. unless you're cruising at 75 and above.<br /><br />
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There is nothing at all wrong with riding around all day in 5th. gear if you want to. 6th. is just there if you need it to lower the engine rpm if you like to run the interstates at 75-80.<br />
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The TC really likes 2900-3200. You will discover (if you have not already) that riding around in 6th.

at 2500 rpm may not save you any gas and may actually result in reduced fuel mileage.

 

[Casper]

I believe the 2011 went to a 30T...

 

[robert8194]

The manual on the 2011 calls for 6th gear at 55mph. The dealer told me to stay in 5th until I hit 70. I don't know about mileage but it seems to run fine in 6th above 60 or so.

 

[1550vt]

It all depends on the overall gearing from the motor main shaft sprocket all the way back through the transmission and the output and drive pulleys and even the diameter of the rear tires. Kentucky said they went to the 30-tooth transmission output pulley which would increase rpm significantly over the 32-tooth pulley with the same transmission gearing making 6th. gear feel a lot more comfortable to the motor.

I don't know how they are geared now, but the early TC-88 dressers running in 5th. at 3100 rpm doing 70mph could easily achieve mpg's of 40 and above. Some of the Road Glides were getting close to 50 and more. You need 2600 rpm and above just to get the alternator to start charging adequately.

Why don't some of you folks run through a couple of tanks not ever shifting out of 5th. Then, run through a couple of tanks riding like you normally would...shifting in and out of 6th. and we will see if there is any mpg differences one way or another. I know in my case it was not and I never saved a drop of gas trying to run in 6th. as often as I could.