petercnm Posted November 29, 2009 Posted November 29, 2009 Hello all, might sound stupid to a lot you out there, but i'm having trouble knowing what gear i'm in. I drive a dragstar 650 '89 (my first bike, never driven one before!), and i'm constantly trying to remember what gear i'm in. don't seem to hear it... so lots of time, i just go up to 5th, then come down to whatever i need to be in. I saw these gear indicators on the web, but that seems to be only for bikes with electronic speed indicator. Any advice? thanks
Moderator Cynic Posted November 29, 2009 Moderator Posted November 29, 2009 Hello all, might sound stupid to a lot you out there, but i'm having trouble knowing what gear i'm in. I drive a dragstar 650 '89 (my first bike, never driven one before!), and i'm constantly trying to remember what gear i'm in. don't seem to hear it... so lots of time, i just go up to 5th, then come down to whatever i need to be in. I saw these gear indicators on the web, but that seems to be only for bikes with electronic speed indicator. Any advice? thanks Its a situation everybody goes through its part of learning to ride. I don't mean the how do i stop and steer for your test. But the reality of learning to understand and get the best from your bike. It will come, just use your bike and in time you will forget about the gears and which one you are in the same as you would in a car. You will instictively know which. Your bike will be relatively forgiving with gear errors, my 2 strokes punish you quite badly if you don't keep the motor in the sweet spot. Just relax and enjoy.
petercnm Posted November 29, 2009 Author Posted November 29, 2009 Its a situation everybody goes through its part of learning to ride. I don't mean the how do i stop and steer for your test. But the reality of learning to understand and get the best from your bike. It will come, just use your bike and in time you will forget about the gears and which one you are in the same as you would in a car. You will instictively know which. Your bike will be relatively forgiving with gear errors, my 2 strokes punish you quite badly if you don't keep the motor in the sweet spot. Just relax and enjoy. thanks, kinda expected it will go that way. It's a good thing that the dragstar is "forgiving"... Sometimes feel sorry for it to have to put up with me
Ttaskmaster Posted November 30, 2009 Posted November 30, 2009 Listen to the bike. Simple as. The Drag has 3 sounds... 1/. Rumble grumble, you changed up too early. You might even find a slight juddering. 2/. Revvy revvy, I'm nicely in the powerband. Bike feels charged and powerful. 3/. Screamy screamy, feckin' change up!! Bike starts to struggle. Sit there in Neutral and rev the bike up slowly a few times. Slowly roll the throttle and hear what the different rev ranges sound like. They will be about the same sounds, but quieter when you're moving along. Now go out and ride some. Listen closely to and try to feel what the bike is doing. When accelerating, you want to change up just before you reach the upper end of 2/. above. When slowing, drop when it reaches the burbly 1/. sound. Eventually, you'll know what gear you're in by your speed and engine sound. Every bike is tuned slightly differently, but you will eventually find the speed range where the powerband works best. My up-shift points are generally: 0, 20, 35, 45, 60, 70. I may shift up sooner, such as to 3rd at 30, if I am to remain at that speed for a while, but I may stay in 2nd to get more power for building speed further.
petercnm Posted November 30, 2009 Author Posted November 30, 2009 great, thanks for this. I'll give it a go
ryan-4hw Posted December 1, 2009 Posted December 1, 2009 pick a gear, say 4th for example, then just clock the revs at certain speeds, then with a glance you know what gear your in by the revs, if your doin 60 and the revs are above your 4th gear bench mark then you in a low gear and vice versa, and to the man mentions 2strokes! your damn right, i was going for a 2nd to 3rd overtake, had a arse about tit moment and stuck it in 1st, im still in the process of what is similar to a prostate exam, i found 1 of them but the tank has moved the other dangley far away from its usual hiding place
Moderator Cynic Posted December 1, 2009 Moderator Posted December 1, 2009 pick a gear, say 4th for example, then just clock the revs at certain speeds, then with a glance you know what gear your in by the revs, if your doin 60 and the revs are above your 4th gear bench mark then you in a low gear and vice versa, and to the man mentions 2strokes! your damn right, i was going for a 2nd to 3rd overtake, had a arse about tit moment and stuck it in 1st, im still in the process of what is similar to a prostate exam, i found 1 of them but the tank has moved the other dangley far away from its usual hiding place Told you they will punish you, don't diss the smokers......
PeterC Posted December 1, 2009 Posted December 1, 2009 pick a gear, say 4th for example, then just clock the revs at certain speeds, then with a glance you know what gear your in by the revs, if your doin 60 and the revs are above your 4th gear bench mark then you in a low gear and vice versa, and to the man mentions 2strokes! your damn right, i was going for a 2nd to 3rd overtake, had a arse about tit moment and stuck it in 1st, im still in the process of what is similar to a prostate exam, i found 1 of them but the tank has moved the other dangley far away from its usual hiding place No rev counter on a 650 dragstar - or there wasn't on mine when I looked today
petercnm Posted December 1, 2009 Author Posted December 1, 2009 oh, comforting.. i thought i paid for something i didn't get . but thanks everyone for the reply's, most helpful. I only hope the weather will change in belgium by the time i get back (in madrid now), so i can take it to the road again.
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