View Full Version : How do you know what gear you are in?
I know this has been posted before, but time for an update for all the newbies (and stupid people like me :oops: )
I guess the answer is experience. However, I have done 6000 miles now and still find it difficult to know what gear I'm in sometimes.
So how do you work it out?
I don't really know. I just use the rev counter. If the revs are OK I'm happy with the gear I am in.
Keep trying for 7th though.
Cloggsy
27-06-05, 10:06 AM
I don't know what gear I'm in TBH, I just use which gear feels right for the occasion ;)
mysteryjimbo
27-06-05, 10:07 AM
I don't really know. I just use the rev counter. If the revs are OK I'm happy with the gear I am in.
Keep trying for 7th though.
Me too. Change up by the revs and kick down till it wont go no further. Otherwise i never know what gear i'm in.
Saint Matt
27-06-05, 10:08 AM
Ahhh, that mysterious 7th gear! I've looked for it a few times lol, if we all had Cagiva Mito's then it wouldnt be a problem!
mysteryjimbo
27-06-05, 10:10 AM
I look in the mirror
Poser....... :wink:
I don't really know. I just use the rev counter. If the revs are OK I'm happy with the gear I am in.
Keep trying for 7th though.
same . . . you just kinda know . . .
always know when im in 1st - cos its so responsive tho.
A vague idea... but all I really need to know is: is it the right gear for what I'm doing?
afterburner
27-06-05, 10:19 AM
I tend to ride in top gear (I check for sixth on my vtr250) and then count down my changes for a corner.
Use the force dear fellow....
Putting the naked's c&s and different toothed rear sprocket kept making me try for 7th gear tho :roll: :lol:
shutdown
27-06-05, 10:30 AM
i always seem to go up without counting but once I hit my false Neutral i know I've only got 1 gear left :lol:
Do you really need to know what gear you are in? I mean, I just change up or down as required.
I don't really know. I just use the rev counter. If the revs are OK I'm happy with the gear I am in.
Keep trying for 7th though.
Ditto
Professor
27-06-05, 11:19 AM
I am indeed a mathematician so I voted for the third option.
I disagree, however, with Daz's formula "Gear X = speed x revs ".
The formula "Gear number = 400*(speed/revs)" is closer to reality.
At least it gives the correct result when you are in 4th gear
(pointy SVS).
suzsv650
27-06-05, 11:34 AM
it dosent realy matter as long as your revs are right!
I just feel for it most of the time, but know that five and a half thousand revs in top gear is roughly 70 mph...saves me looking for that inllusive 7th gear!
As the prof said, in 4th 40mph=4000rpm, 50mph=5000 rpm etc
So I always know when I'm in 4th :D
I'm in the 'if the revs look ok I don't care camp'
That said I'd like a DigiGear indicator .. anyone used one?
fizzwheel
27-06-05, 03:44 PM
I never really know. normally its "the right one" My gearbox seems to have a faulty 7th gear though
I never really know. normally its "the right one" My gearbox seems to have a faulty 7th gear though
Try going from a bike with 5 gears then :lol: Took me ages to use 6th
I'm in the 'if the revs look ok I don't care camp'
That said I'd like a DigiGear indicator .. anyone used one?
i had one on my CBR really useful and i have had one put on my new K5 that i pick up friday well worth the £50 the only problem is if you a flying down the box it can't keep up but you know what gear you were in before you started to change down so you just count
Johnsilver
27-06-05, 03:58 PM
Not normally a problem other than to avoid attempting the phantom 7th. I do a quick calc of 13 times krevs. If it = current mph, then left foot can stop itching. Works for me (standard gearing S K3)
Sid Squid
27-06-05, 04:44 PM
How do you know what gear you are in?
I don't know how, I just do.
SVeeedy Gonzales
27-06-05, 07:08 PM
I never know and never have need of knowing. If it's pulling enough and not screaming too much, that'll do. Is it just me or is obsession with knowing the exact gear more a racing thing? I can see it meaning a lot on the track but on the road less so??
I just know. Don't even think about it. I ride by ear rather than anything else.
7th gear? I rarely get out of 4th I don't even see a need for 6th gear,
daddy_sperm
27-06-05, 08:20 PM
Ahhh, that mysterious 7th gear! I've looked for it a few times lol, if we all had Cagiva Mito's then it wouldnt be a problem!
but then the magical "eighth" appears :roll:
The engine has such a wide spread of power that I wonder why Suzuki gave it six gears. I think 5 at the most would have sufficed.
That would have saved 12 ounces worth of cogs
:lol:
I dont. I ride the bike in different rev ranges depending on the conditions.
When im commuting i might change up at 30ish in 1st etc.
if im blatting 40 or so in first (just where the powerband starts again) i dont really even look, just do it by ear.
If im rideing country roads the bike is more than likely to be in a lower gear at high revs 8k+ for the control, as i dont need/want that much power going arround a tight blind corner and its easy to change up once your out.
Shrug, dont really even notice any more, it just happens.
Dan
I don't see the need to know, between 3rd and 5th as long as it feels right. I do like to know when I'm in top to avoid the 7th attempt and when in 2nd so that I can get the 2nd to 1st shift smooth. I count them all up and I count them all down, saying it out loud helps me remember.
Is it just me - but I think my SV650S K3 does the following:
Speed at 4000revs = gear x 10
e.g. 30mph at 4000 revs = 3rd gear
40mph at 4000revs = 4th gear
Speed at 5000revs = gear x 10 + 10
e.g. 40mph at 5000revs = 3rd gear
50mph at 5000revs = 4th gear
This is easy to use for me. And does help me work out when I'm in 6th gear - but it doesn't stop me checking that I'm not in 5th on the motorway :roll:
Captain Nemo
28-06-05, 02:51 PM
come on now stop messing about trying for seventh?
are you seriously trying to tell me that you lot have all got the old bikes with only six gears..............
Such a flat torque curve that I find fifth and sixth little different at medium road speeds, hence its easy to get lost in the gears just riding by "feel". I think one tooth extra on the gearbox would help - sixth would become an overdrive and the need for instant go would force you to change down - useful for touring mpg too. Hmmm, might try this!
I just kind of know. Sometimes I'm right too!
Really, I just check that I'm not about to lock up the rear by putting it into 1st as I enter a roundabout sometimes but that's about it.
Such a flat torque curve that I find fifth and sixth little different at medium road speeds, hence its easy to get lost in the gears just riding by "feel". I think one tooth extra on the gearbox would help - sixth would become an overdrive and the need for instant go would force you to change down - useful for touring mpg too. Hmmm, might try this!
i tend to forget whether i'm in 5th or 6th on motorways. I don't want to raise my gearing but i do agree that it could do with an overdrive gear as this would suit the nature of the engine. I'm always trying for 7th just because I feel it should be there :?
Peter Henry
29-06-05, 10:17 PM
Engine speed and road speed normally give me a very good indication as to what cog I am hauling at any given time. I do have a greater tendency to observe the rev counter more than the speedo though.Rule of thumb though is just make sure your not labouring the engine by being in too high a gear at any given time. When slowing down be in a gear where you can feel the engine braking working for you as opposed to heading for a corner like a run away train! :lol: 8)
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