Maybe it's just Me...

[EVAHank]

Hi, Everyone;
I've had my 2010 Voyager 17 for about a month now, and I have one problem that I cannot figure out and would like some advice/opinions.
When I'm on the highway, I shift into 6th gear at about 60mph (about 2500rpm in 5th gear). When I do, the tach drops to about 2000, and the drivetrain shakes like I'm lugging the engine. Should I shift at a higher rpm? This doesnt seem to happen when I shift at the same rpm at lower speeds/gears. All of my previous bikes have been multi's, so I'm still getting used to the beast. Any advice/opinions would be gratefully accepted!

Ride Safe & Sane;
Hank & 'The Grey Ladies'

[David (N. Alabama)]

Hey Hank. It is not because the bike is a twin and you are used to multis. It is because both 5th and 6th gears are overdrive gears. 2000 RPMs in 6th gear is too low unless you are on level ground and don't require much throttle input to maintain that speed. I typically don't use 6th gear unless I am on the interstate. Peak torque is at 2800 RPMs so I like to keep the RPMs between 2500 and 3000 unless I am in one of the lower gears. If I am just cruising along I shift at around 3000 RPMs. If I am accelerating away from traffic I shift at around 3500 to 4000 RPMs.

When you get on the throttle hard you will feel the power pulses. You feel those because the engine uses a single pin crank, not because it is a V-twin. There are V-twin sport bikes out there that are high revving machines. They are usually 90 degree V-twins though.

I forget how many miles you say the bike has, but these bikes need over 10,000 miles on them before most will consider them broken in. My bike at 37,000 miles runs and sounds great.