Okay... I'm a complete NOOB... Squid... whatever ya wanna call it...

Anyway...

Now that my Bike (2k3 Gixxer 600) is out of the "Break-In" period... I can get it above 7k RPMs, and below 10.5k RPMs...

My question is... what shift "schedule" do you go by...

In 1st gear should I run her all the way up around 10k, then pop into 2nd... and so on for every gear?
Or should I be shifting at a certain MPH... or lower RPM range in different gears...?

Any help would be much appreciated, as I don't wanna do anything detrimental to the bike, and would also like to ride SMOOTH and not be gearing up and down at the wrong times...

Thanks! http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

I feel it bears mentioning that I've never driven a manual trans. car either... so no shifting experience... period.
http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/bash.gif

http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/wtf.gif

The simple answer is "at the appropriate point".

I tend to shift when I need to, thats not running to the rev limiter, but where I realise that the next gear is going to give me appropriate accelerating or engine breaking for my situation.

If I am jsut cruising the freeway at 100mph for instance I will be in 6th, unless I start to come accross some cars, in whch case I will drop to 4th or 5th, to ensure that I have (more than) adequate acceleration to et past them.

Around town I rarely use anything higher that 4th, because the difference in acceleration between 2nd and 4th is so vast - at 35mph in 6th my bike is as slow as a car.

When I am slowing too, I ensure that I am in the appropriate gear, if I should have to acclerate out of trouble (your best defence often) then you do not need the delay whilst you change form 6th to 1st....

So, as you slow, drop down the gears, as you come to a stop, you should be in 1st, ready to go.

HTH

Errrr...........have u taken any riding lessons ? when to change gear is pretty fundamental, it's like asking when do I brake !! http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/bash.gif

It really depends on how you happen to be riding at the time. If you're really taking it easy, you'd be fine to shift around 7-7.5K. But if you were on a track, you'd want to bring it up near the rev limiter and rarely drop below 10K.

Don't worry much about it. You'll just know.

fRaGgLe said:

The simple answer is "at the appropriate point".

I tend to shift when I need to, thats not running to the rev limiter, but where I realise that the next gear is going to give me appropriate accelerating or engine breaking for my situation.

If I am jsut cruising the freeway at 100mph for instance I will be in 6th, unless I start to come accross some cars, in whch case I will drop to 4th or 5th, to ensure that I have (more than) adequate acceleration to et past them.

Around town I rarely use anything higher that 4th, because the difference in acceleration between 2nd and 4th is so vast - at 35mph in 6th my bike is as slow as a car.

When I am slowing too, I ensure that I am in the appropriate gear, if I should have to acclerate out of trouble (your best defence often) then you do not need the delay whilst you change form 6th to 1st....

So, as you slow, drop down the gears, as you come to a stop, you should be in 1st, ready to go.

HTH




What he said http://www.gixxer.com/forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

I KNOW that I can "shift by ear" and not let'er REV too high... or watch the RPMs...

But I was looking for Optimum shifting...

I've got friends that ride... and when we are "cruising" around town... we generally let each gear get up to 5-7k RPMs, then shift up... and so on, until we hit 6th and just cruise in that gear...

If I'm flying down the road at high speed and looking to get to 6th in a hurry... I just listen to the engine and shift when I feel she's topped out. If there's no traffic, I hit it at about 7-9k RPMs for each gear... then upshift.

I'm just really looking for what is BEST for the engine... and having not driven anything with a manual trans... I thought I could benefit from the experience of others who have.
This is the same reason I posted about different Fuels and brands of Fuel... because I drive a Corolla as my CAGE when needed, and ya don't exactly put performance gas into that engine, as it'd prolly run on rubbing alcohol... a performance bike is a different story.
Basically I'm leaning on the resources of the thousands of people on this forum... instead of 2 of my friends... heh

Thanks for those with helpful posts.

if u really want to know what best then follow Suzuki's specs. and look in your manual that came with the bike, there should be a table in there that says what speeds you should shift and what gear you should be in at certain speeds. same thing. anyways, if it doesnt have that then call the dealer. i have a 99 and my manual has the table.

PCDestroyer said:
I'm just really looking for what is BEST for the engine



that depends on what you mean by 'best'. best power? best reliability? best fuel economy? there aren't easy answers, but for the most part, you don't really need to worry too much about it. if there's any single one thing i'd advise is to not lug the engine around at very low rpm's. your current shift schedule sounds fine in terms of being good/bad for the engine.

i'm glad somebody mentioned the owner's manual because i disagree with the shift schedule that's in it. the one for my '00 750 says shift to 6th at 37mph. i consider that to be close to, if not right at, the lugging point. at the very least, i'd personally be uncomfortable shifting at the manual's schedule.