R6's RPM

[Francis]

Hey, guys. I already got a thread going but I didn't want to ask another question there since that thread has good replies and is pretty much on-point. I didn't wanna derail it.

But anyways, I'm a really new rider. My ass is on a Ninja 250r. The other day I was riding with someone that rides a CBR 600.

It's a 60 KPH city limit. She's in 1st gear most of the time (obviously, right?) but shifts to 2nd when she reaches 60.

Anyways, I believe I go up to 3rd or 4th to reach 60. I'm not entirely sure, but I think I shift around 6k rpms (too low? lol)

My question is, my friend's brother, a new rider, has an R6. He asked me why I chose a 250cc, didn't really answer him coz it seemed like he was giving me crap.

Now I've been thinking, if he has an R6, he's mostly doing the same thing, right? Being in 1st gear most of the time in the city? I don't know an R6's power, but does anyone know how much rpm for a 150 pound guy on an R6 be till he reaches around 60 kph on a flat surface with little wind? Is that even a valid question or there's no way of figuring that out? haha

For me, I like the sound of high rpms (when I say high, I only mean around 8-9k) and LOVE shifting. If I was on an R6, I would feel like I'm driving an automatic since I'm mostly in 1st gear. By the time I need 2nd gear, I probably would have to stop at a red light.

[HKr1]

60kph is like 38 mph, Iam sure thats half of what an R6 will do in first gear

[scotty]

yup because 100kph = 60mph so its not far off.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Francis]

Yea... I live in Canada

But yea, theoretically, it seems like an R6 is overkill for the city. But what do I know, I've only been on a 250 and been ridding for less than a month...

The speed limit here goes up to 80 kph most of the times though hahahaha

[c-dog]

You know what's even worse? A 1000cc sportbike on the street. All you use is first gear and occasionally second - for street riding that is, even out in the country riding twisties (keeping it legal of course). For city riding, etc. it does feel like an automatic. On the highway you can shift a little more though.

You came to some good conclusions about the shifting and what is fun, etc.

My ZX-10R isn't as much fun as the 250 is. Sometimes you wonder who is having the most fun - and it isn't always the guy with the fastest bike.

[gogoKawi]

For the most part, I shift my ZX6 just like my 250, which means often. In reality, a 600 and a 250 aren't really that different to ride when it comes to shifting in the city. Unless you want the engine to scream, the difference in shifting while city riding is only about 10 mph.

I would never cruise the city in 1st gear doing 40 mph on my ZX6. I usually shift into 2nd around 20 mph, and 3rd gear around 40 mph. Can I wind the gears out longer? Sure. But I mostly only do that at the track or if I'm hitting the twisties pretty hard to stay in power band. Unless the sprockets were changed, that R6 must be screaming its heart out. Give your friend another month or 2 and see how he shifts. I guarantee it will change as he gets used to the bike.

[zilaniz]

I have an 08 r6 so I will chime in here.
I am never riding around the city in first gear,usually 3rd-4th and I shift quite often. I keep my rpm's in the range of 4-6k when I am cruising around town(redline is 16.5k) Could I cruise around town in first gear? yes but it would sound horrible since the rpms would be so high not to mention the throttle would be very sensitive at those rpm's, especially in first.

And yes the r6 is overkill for the city, not to mention the turning radius is HORRIBLE and it is very top heavy, its not really fun cruising around town on it. R6 is a horrible first bike, it is very twitchy/finicky, hard to explain unless you've rode one.

[backinthesaddleagain]

No sense riding around in first. Even if I can do 60mph in it that doesn't mean anything below 60 dictates riding in first. Zx14 guys I know ride around in 3rd. Its just like with a car. Drive around in first. It will get old fast.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Samer]

Also, the fact that you weigh 150 pounds is irrelevant. For a particular gearing ratio, the engine rpm vs. bike speed is fixed regardless if you were 100 pounds or 300 pounds. How quickly you reach that speed is another story ;-)

[slolane]

Good comments above... I just sold my ZX14 as I was having so much more fun riding the 250 full time. When riding the ZX14 around town I would be in 1st and 2nd gear mostly and for me part of the fun of riding is running through the gears winding it up. Try to weigh what you need, want and can afford when picking your bike and try to ignore marketing and silly salesmen.

[Francis]

Originally Posted by zilaniz

I have an 08 r6 so I will chime in here.
I am never riding around the city in first gear,usually 3rd-4th and I shift quite often. I keep my rpm's in the range of 4-6k when I am cruising around town(redline is 16.5k) Could I cruise around town in first gear? yes but it would sound horrible since the rpms would be so high not to mention the throttle would be very sensitive at those rpm's, especially in first.

And yes the r6 is overkill for the city, not to mention the turning radius is HORRIBLE and it is very top heavy, its not really fun cruising around town on it. R6 is a horrible first bike, it is very twitchy/finicky, hard to explain unless you've rode one.

What do you mean by "top heavy"?

At first, I would shift to 2nd around 20 kph, so pretty much around 4k rpm. Right now I take it to about 6k.

I'm still trying to figure out which gears to use in certain situations. Lower gear means acceleration would be faster, right?

Speaking of shifting, I'm having a hard time downshifting. Whenever I downshift, the rpms seem to jump (as in...low noise then it becomes really loud when I downshift). Am I doing it wrong?

Even if the speed doesn't really change, it still seems like the rpms jump like crazy.

[backinthesaddleagain]

The R6 has a bit of a higher center of gravity. When you change gears for a given speed revs go up if downshifting or down if upshifting. When you downshift blip the throttle so the revs match better. Search this site or google for blipping throttle. And lower gears have faster acceleration.
Posted via Mobile Device

[almost40]

An R6 is a great, no awesome track bike. Crappy bike for the city even for a rider who is in total control of his or her machine. Keep an eye on your cousin (or whomever it is) Ill bet dollars to doughnuts that the R6 is on its side SOON. Stick with your 250 you will learn alot more on it and will keep yourself out of jail.

[JMcDonald]

Yeah, if I had a 600 I'd be dead or in jail heh.

As far as shifting out of first at 40mph on an R6, that doesn't really seem all that crazy to me, given a lot of us shift at around 8k on our bikes anyways. I usually shift around 8-9k if I don't have traffic in front of me.

But you are right that, the steps between each gear are relatively similar. With my gearing, shifting around 8k or so gives me shifts at about 30, 40, and 50mph to get to 4th. On an R6, those numbers just go to about 40, 50, and 60 if shifting at the same RPM.

[Rayme]

All of the R6's qualities are the extreme opposite of what a good "city street" bike is. Ackward seating, poor slow speed stability because of geometry and radius as mentionned, low torque and gearing favoring high RPM. But it looks cool!

A 250R is much more fun to drive in small streets, the lack of power isn't much of a negative here.

[backinthesaddleagain]

Originally Posted by JMcDonald

Yeah, if I had a 600 I'd be dead or in jail heh.

As far as shifting out of first at 40mph on an R6, that doesn't really seem all that crazy to me, given a lot of us shift at around 8k on our bikes anyways. I usually shift around 8-9k if I don't have traffic in front of me.

But you are right that, the steps between each gear are relatively similar. With my gearing, shifting around 8k or so gives me shifts at about 30, 40, and 50mph to get to 4th. On an R6, those numbers just go to about 40, 50, and 60 if shifting at the same RPM.

I would agree that shifting out of first at 40mph when accelerating makes sense. On the CBR600 shifting out of first around redline (13K rpm) = about 58 mph with the front wheel a bit off the ground. Riding around in first, even around 8K rpm doesn't make sense. I think the OP was referring to riding around the city vs accelerating.

[backinthesaddleagain]

Originally Posted by Samer

Also, the fact that you weigh 150 pounds is irrelevant. For a particular gearing ratio, the engine rpm vs. bike speed is fixed regardless if you were 100 pounds or 300 pounds. How quickly you reach that speed is another story ;-)

Agreed, also for the OP: flat ground, headwind, tail wind doesn't matter. A given rpm, in a given gear, with a given F/R sprocket ratio will give the same speed. If a bike tops out at 100mph @ 12K rpm in 6th for instance, adding a headwind might cause the bike to top out at 98mph @ 11500 rpm for example.

Play around with same mph, but different gears and see how the rpm changes, or same rpm but different gears to see how mph changes. Have fun and be safe.