Jump from 125cc to 800cc advice on gear shift

[Fizzer8]

As I've just gone from my yzfr125 bike to this FZ8 I was hoping for a little advice on gear changes. Obviously with the 125 I was changing up and down very frequently. With the FZ8 it's taking time for me to adapt, I'm not sure if I'm shifting too early from 1st and 2nd etc.

What speeds and revs should I be reachi ng on gear changes. I ask as in the city I can't help think that being in 1st too long is bad.

Excuse the noob request but if you dont ask you never learn.

I am in the break in period so this may affect your answers.

example of motorway driving: looked at my speedo today and at 70mph the revs were at 5200ish I was in 6th gear. Was this the wrong gear?

Thanks in advance.

 

[DJK1505]

follow your break in procedures. i dont remember mine now, but somehting like 2500rpm for first 600 miles, then 4500 until 1000 or some crap. Look in your owners manual and it will tell you how to ride your first 1000 miles.

Now once you are past your break in period, every rider is different. some like to stay low in the rpm range, I like to be around 7K or higher, its all up to you. The bike pulls descent from 2K up so you will be fine. As you get some miles under your belt you will get your shifting down. The bike red lines at 11,500, so you have a lot of room to play with, until you find a range you are happy in.

DJ

 

[JSP]

You can go higher rpm in break in, just do not keep it there. Key is to vary your rpms. Do not prolong at 5800 rpm or more for first 600 miles, then can bump it up to 6900 rpm until 1000 miles.

There is great debate on how to break in an engine. Some say rag on it and change the oil within 20 miles. Some follow the book. Both ways focus on not holding a steady RPM. Lots of gear changes and get the rpm range going up and down.

Change that oil before 600 miles.

For shifting, I think anything at 3k or under is a bit low. I would stick to around 5k-7k for good smooth shifts and power.

 

[compensation]

My dealer said not over 5k for the first 600 miles but he is also an idiot. Once i got past 600 miles i brought the rpms up little at a time. For me at 70 mph it is 5k. Our speedometers are off on this bike. When i go downtown it is 1st 2nd or 3rd. I dont focus on speed as much as how long will i be going that speed. If i am going 45mph or 65mph for over a mile i kick it up to 6th. The fuel i save doing that is better spent on more productive and important things like wheelies.

 

[Hereward]

It's not a 125, it's happy whatever rpm you pull, (breaking rev limit allowing) I would say for now keep the RPM low, around 2-4k this way your not having to deal with loads of bhp, it'll keep it all smooth at that rpm range. later you'll want to keep it singing around the 5-6k range and then the 7k+ range when you want to get the most power out of the bike! For now though, be happy with the big step up and keeping it all smooth.............and yes 1st is a very tall gear tall enough to break the speed limit on the motorway

Oh yeah, I also went from the R125 to the FZ8 (I had owned and ridden big stuff in the dim and murky past) The FZ8 is a good bike to move upto but once you start playing up in the 7k+ range (after 1000mile break in) you'll find theres a bit of a monster lurking in there to put a grin on your face, just get used to the bike first as it can catch you out very quickly at the top end of the tacho

 

[Camo]

You can go higher rpm in break in, just do not keep it there. Key is to vary your rpms. Do not prolong at 5800 rpm or more for first 600 miles, then can bump it up to 6900 rpm until 1000 miles.

There is great debate on how to break in an engine. Some say rag on it and change the oil within 20 miles. Some follow the book. Both ways focus on not holding a steady RPM. Lots of gear changes and get the rpm range going up and down.

Change that oil before 600 miles.

For shifting, I think anything at 3k or under is a bit low. I would stick to around 5k-7k for good smooth shifts and power.

This!

 

[Fizzer8]

Thanks for all the useful advise I'll take it all on board.
I have accidently took it past 6,000ish rpm's I felt the power surge breifly and backed off. But enjoyed a good ride out again today trying the gears. I've now found that changing down to 1st at around 10mph stops the noisy clunk, anything over 10mph makes 1st a noisy change.

neutral to 1st is still a hammer. I have tried pulling clutch and revving a little before engaging gear , this only slightly reduces clunk!

Also when I did a ride out at weekend I managed 50mpg which I'm quite pleased with.

 

[highoctane]

I like somewhere between 5-7k It does shift better at higher rpm after your break in youll find on the highway it really roars! And yes it puts the grin on!

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Fazed]

You can go higher rpm in break in, just do not keep it there. Key is to vary your rpms. Do not prolong at 5800 rpm or more for first 600 miles, then can bump it up to 6900 rpm until 1000 miles.

There is great debate on how to break in an engine. Some say rag on it and change the oil within 20 miles. Some follow the book. Both ways focus on not holding a steady RPM. Lots of gear changes and get the rpm range going up and down.

Change that oil before 600 miles.

For shifting, I think anything at 3k or under is a bit low. I would stick to around 5k-7k for good smooth shifts and power.

I vote for this response.

The best mod you can do for this bike is to get an aftermarket end can. The standard pipe is so quiet you can't hear what the motor is doing. Hearing what the motor is doing will help you. There is a power/torque dip around the 3 to 4k rpm range, so imputing full throttle from that point will incur a time penalty until the motor revs past 5K. You don't tend to notice this power dip during run in as you spend most your time under 5K if you follow the book. Trust me, you will notice this once your run in is complete and you can use the whole rev range.

 

[Fizzer8]

I vote for this response.

The best mod you can do for this bike is to get an aftermarket end can. The standard pipe is so quiet you can't hear what the motor is doing. Hearing what the motor is doing will help you. There is a power/torque dip around the 3 to 4k rpm range, so imputing full throttle from that point will incur a time penalty until the motor revs past 5K. You don't tend to notice this power dip during run in as you spend most your time under 5K if you follow the book. Trust me, you will notice this once your run in is complete and you can use the whole rev range.

will be taking a look at cans this/next week, I'm at the 400 mile mark, a week from new. I've done varied rides from motorways to city rides etc.
So I think end of next week for 1st service.

The cans straight forward DIY job? No remapping to do etc?

 

[Fazed]

Yep, easy to do. Just remove the 2 bolts from the heat shield using a 4 or 5mm allen key. Take out the bolt from the mount near the pillion peg. Loosen the clamp thats near the cat. Reverse for installation.

No remapping is required.

 

[Fizzer8]

Is there a significant change in sound. I don't trust YouTube recordings as I listened to stock exhaust on there prior to buying bike. The stock sounded garbage online, but in reality when I started her up for the first time I was very surprised at how good she sounds. If an upgraded can is noticeably deeper in sound and performance improving it will definitely be my next mod.

Evo tech Rad guard fitted and tech spec snakeskin tank grips. Can and mirrors next up.

 

[JSP]

Is there a significant change in sound. I don't trust YouTube recordings as I listened to stock exhaust on there prior to buying bike. The stock sounded garbage online, but in reality when I started her up for the first time I was very surprised at how good she sounds. If an upgraded can is noticeably deeper in sound and performance improving it will definitely be my next mod.

Evo tech Rad guard fitted and tech spec snakeskin tank grips. Can and mirrors next up.

Very much more noticeable. Nice deep growl.

Here is a quick vid that seems to pic it up pretty well that I did.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV3bZg82t9c]FZ8 Danmoto Carbon GP exhaust - YouTube[/ame]

 

[compensation]

Tires! Tires is the best upgrade. Unless you like to make noise more then finding out what feeler pegs are for. If someone first told me to get a tank pad and tires before you take it home it would have helped me alot. Then get the danmoto next paycheck.

 

[Camo]

The stock rubber is ok for the first few thousand km's.

 

[FZER]

Holy cow an aftermarket slip on is a must! My non hauling ass shifting method is actually to ride 1st for a bit and then to 3rd to cruise. On open road it's usually straight to 5th then 6th. I also get 50mpg all the time...Around town I almost never shift out of 3rd/4th, just don't feel safe any higher. I really go down for turns too. I'm thinking about the smaller spocket in the front though. It'll hurt my gas milage some, but come on 50 is awesome with something with so much power.

 

[compensation]

Yeah, i was 1800 miles when i started sliding bad. I guess that is the rider break in point huh.

 

[cpatt]

The stock rubber is ok for the first few thousand km's.

i think i have 9200 miles on my stock tires.(i bought the bike with 5k and i think there stock tires... same brand if there not). personally i dont think there as bad as everyone thinks. ive pushed them pretty hard well what i think is hard and they havent slipped on me yet. that being said i loved the Michelins i had on my buell and the dunlops.

and if your looking in to exhausts look at the two brothers black carbon edition imo there the best looking exhaust out there.

 

[FZER]

Stock tires worked fine for me at the dragon. I did push my bike as well following people that could ride a lot better than me. However, I will go to a little sporter tire after this. Not that I have any problems with these tires at all.

 

[compensation]

Why is a slip on a must? So you can make some noise? There isn't much performance gain as where tires can make the difference from riding or sliding. I must either push mine harder or be an idiot. But having 4 bikes in my garages and 2 having after market pipes, i see no benefits. School me please