flexabilty

[rovert57]

had my 1200gsa t/c for around a fortnight now ,only been out on it a couple of times but i am suprised how much you have to use the gearbox, considering its a big twin I thought it would have a lot of lowdown grunt ,I am finding that you need to be in a lower gear when riding in traffic to keep the revs up .
Generally what revs/gear do you keep your motor at for normal urban riding as this is my first big twin not sure weather this is normal ?

 

[Cheeseman]

The 1200 twin cam motor likes more revs than the 1150. It has more power and a higher red line. I generally use between 3k and 5.5k for riding. You can use lower revs, but you won't get the same tourque or power. Find what suits you and don't worry about it.

 

[comberjohn]

Let me tell him, let me tell him!
De catted exhaust and either a Hilltop re map or fit a Power Commander 5.
The 1200 has to run very lean for emissions and a bit more fuel low down turns it into a big pussy cat that can rev, too. Mine pulls strongly from below 3k
Do a search for Hilltop and Power Commander when you have a week to spare.

 

[Mr Bean]

I too was surprised by the amount of gear changing needed for a 1200 twin - even with a remap it still requires a fair amount of juggling.

 

[Bungy]

1st gear is a short enduro one i think?

 

[autogs]

1st gear is a short enduro one i think?

enduro gearbox was an option not standard fit

 

[oldnfat]

Let me tell him, let me tell him!
De catted exhaust and either a Hilltop re map or fit a Power Commander 5.
The 1200 has to run very lean for emissions and a bit more fuel low down turns it into a big pussy cat that can rev, too. Mine pulls strongly from below 3k
Do a search for Hilltop and Power Commander when you have a week to spare.

+1 decat headers make a big difference....combined with a remap means you can lift the wheel on power alone....not something I could do on the stock bike. It really does make a massive difference.

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

Why the comments about being surprised that a big twin needs a few more revs? That's the very reason it DOES need a few more revs. Them big F-off pistons and spaced out firing sequence are never going to be as smooth as say an in-line four.

All the comments above re mild tuning will add worthwhile smoothness & throttle response but you ain't ever gonna get the low down tractability of an engine with more frequent firing, and smaller pistons.

When you couple the above with a 1st gear that is (IMO) too tall and a drive chain with loads of backlash, slow speed riding needs the revs up a bit a lot of clutch feathering to keep things smooth.

The good news is, if you keep the revs up on these bikes they respond loads better and almost smoothly. They will sort shift but I'd usually ride mine 'on the revs' and be in what would normally 'feel' like one gear too low.

Andres

 

[Bendy toy]

My PC5 really helped with low speed smoothness (and top end revs ;D ), but as Andres says it's a big twin so at 2000 revs you will feel the power pulses and it's a relatively short stroke (so it can rev usefully) making bottom end roughness even more noticeable. The pistons are big so the top end rev limit is also lower than for a four cylinder. Basically, a four has a better rev range and is smoother to use than a twin.

If you've come from a four-banger you will need to recalibrate your head for gear shift points. It's much happier spinning along and (other than the rider getting caught in wrong gear) really has no need to run below 3000rpm. Learn to miss-match the clutch and throttle on down-shifts so the revs blip. You can thin shift down faster than a typical upshift with no crash or clunk.

Mine has the standard gearbox. It's fine in everyday use but town traffic would be so much easier with a lower 1st gear.

 

[Greenman14]

Mostly I don't ride below 2500 revs, and I hardly ever visit Mr Revlimiter.

 

[Bendy toy]

Mostly I don't ride below 2500 revs, and I hardly ever visit Mr Revlimiter.

Ditto

I've only ever hit the limiter when I first fitted the PC5 and surprised myself how much better it could spin.