Please help me Shift!

[Anonymous]

I am new to the motorcycle world. Like most of you I have wanted one ever since I was a kid. Well now I have one. I own a 1985 GS550L and after finding this website I am very glad its the bike I bought.

I only have one prob. The needle on my Tach is broken off. Since I am not an experienced rider I am not sure when I should be shifting. I am always afarid that the engine is reving to high. But I dont know how then engine should sound.

Could someone please tell me at what speeds they shift their GS. If you just tell me in miles ( I know this is an american website ) I will do the conversion myself.

Thanks very much
New proud GS owner.

[Jethro]

Well, my 1100 will be much different than your 550. At 65 in 4th gear I'm at 4500 on the tach, your bike is probably more like 6000.

I'll tell ya though, I shift more by sound than anything else. You'll get to know your torque band a little better as you get more familier with the bike. Also keep in mind that some people like to run at a different base RPM than others. For example, I find that I rarely ever use 5th gear at all. I like to keep the RPMS up higher, so that when I want a burst of speed, it's right there and I'm already in the sweet spot. Even for short runs at 90 I just let the motor wind up and spin in 4th. If I spend any time at 90 I change to 5th gear. When just cruising around I am generally at about 5000 RPM. I am making this more complicated than it needs to be... basically, I'd just try shifting at different RPMS (that you judge by sound) and see what feels smooth. You'll know when you let the motor wind up too much and let the clutch out and the bike jumps.

[DMPLATT]

Can't help ya. Mine is a 750.

However, I don't go by speed. My Tach gets goofy over 5k sometimes, sometimes not.

So I go by sound. Since you are new, I'd concentrate on getting your Tach fixed. They you'll soon learn your engine's SOUND and RPM's. After a while, you won't need to look at your Tach.

Only time I Concentrate on my Tach is when I'm gettin on it pretty good.

Just my .02.

BTW, I'm sorry I don't know the SPEEDS at which I change. I'd say I'm usually hitting 2nd @ ~25MPH, 3rd @ ~ 40MPH and 4th @ ~ 50MPH.
This is just leasurely cruising. When hitting her hard, that all changes. 3rd would be up around 50-70, and so on. :twisted: I have hit 90 in 3rd, but think that was too much (see Tach problem above). However, hitting 70-80 in 3rd puts her up around 8k. :twisted:

Yours will be different though. Lower.

[Anonymous]

Hey Thanks. Just one more question!

When I accelerate hard in second gear my bike sounds like either the gear is skipping or like it cuts out for a split second and then I get a little extra boost of power. Is there something wrong or is my bike supposed to do this. It only happens in second gear. It almost sounds like the bike is shifting.

Thanks

[DMPLATT]

It will sound different when you hit the power band. It takes on a different (cool) sound.

However, what you are describind doesn't sound right. Does the clutch slip at all, or do you get a good strong pull thru the gears?

Try shifting a bit earlier from 2nd to 3rd and see if that helps.

[Poot]

Hey ride Havoc, where in ontario are you??


I'm riding today (rainy) all around t. and could maybe swing by your area , seeing as reading the stuff is never gonna give you a true feel for you bike right off the bat.


Its real hard to say when to switch, b/c i dont know what a smaller engine would be revving at at mph, or any speed for that matter.


give me a shout at 647-291-7221 if you need anything (if I dont answer i'm probably riding)



poot


1980 GS850 L

[Detman101]

I am sorely in need of a tach cable and my tach is jumpy below 7k.
I mostly go by sound for shifting at anything below 9000 rpm.

Dm of mD

[sagent]

Can't help ya. Mine is a 750.

However, I don't go by speed. My Tach gets goofy over 5k sometimes, sometimes not.

So I go by sound. Since you are new, I'd concentrate on getting your Tach fixed. They you'll soon learn your engine's SOUND and RPM's. After a while, you won't need to look at your Tach.

Only time I Concentrate on my Tach is when I'm gettin on it pretty good.

Just my .02.

BTW, I'm sorry I don't know the SPEEDS at which I change. I'd say I'm usually hitting 2nd @ ~25MPH, 3rd @ ~ 40MPH and 4th @ ~ 50MPH.
This is just leasurely cruising. When hitting her hard, that all changes. 3rd would be up around 50-70, and so on. :twisted: I have hit 90 in 3rd, but think that was too much (see Tach problem above). However, hitting 70-80 in 3rd puts her up around 8k. :twisted:

Yours will be different though. Lower.

My tach also does not work but I was raised on dirt so I am Used to playing it by ear/feel. I would also say that my speeds are pretty much the same. (Of course I also ride a 750). I reccomend trying those and you will be able to hear it if you are overexerting the engine.

good luck

[Poot]

well! it seems we have a trend...


my tach also isn't working at the moment..

[SqDancerLynn1]

My tac works The problem with 2th gear sounds like the engaugement dogs on the gear are worn & need replacement

[earlfor]

My tach works fine, but I dont use it much. I'm beyond any legal speed limit in 2nd gear before getting to the powerband. :-)

Earl

[Anonymous]

Shifting RPMs GS550LF

I've been riding a 1985 GS550 LF since last June (2004) and I don't believe you'll get anywhere near redline even without the tach. I babied it last year before I put new tires on it. This year with the new Pirelli Sport Demon tires, I've started riding more aggressively and I'm still way below redline at all times.

This machine has a very wide RPM power band. It will get kind of non-linear supposedly if you change from stock exhaust and use a non-airbox intake system (pods), which requires rejetting the carbs. (incidentally K&N does make intake filters for the weird carbs on this machine). I plan on leaving mine stock except I replaced the OEM air filter with a K&N filter element inside the stock airbox.

Anyway, I poked around town last year riding like I was riding a V twin or something similar. I read on this Forum that this isn't the best way to ride the GS's because they were made to run a little faster in RPMs. The discussion area I was looking at was regarding undercharging the battery. I had to replace my regulator/rectifier and battery because I was getting 17 VDC measured with an accurate VOM while the engine was running (at any speed). As I said, I'm riding harder this year and there is still plenty to go. I worry more about destroying the clutch than anything else because I just don't have any idea how much abuse it can take or what qualfies as "abuse".

Finally, I'm having a hard time reading the gear indicator numbers in the daylight this year. I guess it was a problem last year too but I wasn't riding the same then so it didn't seem so important. I usually can't tell when I'm in 6th gear until I glance down and see the speedometer and tach needle are both parallel. That should help you too. I'll leave it to you to figure out the Km or MPH position vs RPMs IN 6TH GEAR, just that my needles are pretty much pointing in same direction in 6th gear.

I'd still recommend getting that tach fixed. I think there is a special section on the GSRESOURCES (not in the FORUM) about getting into guages. If the needle just fell off inside, you might be able to fix it that way. Otherwise you'll be looking for one at a salvage yard. I don't have any advice on that aspect.

Good luck.



Tim

[AOD]

The owners manual for my 550 says you should be in 6th gear at 37MPH... L O L

You'd probably be surprised how much you can rev the engine, but in the past my speedo responded very slow (it's all good now) so I'd gauge my speed by my gear.

2nd gear for 25MPH and below. 3rd for 35MPH, 4th for 45MPH, 5th for 50MPH+, 6th for highway only.

~Adam

[Scud]

Tach....whats a Tach, I used to put those on Mr. Buckles chair in 5th grade.. 8O

Scud