Road Speed and Gear Selection

[jre]

Hello,

Well I picked up my GT1000 on Saturday and rode out into Kent, Sussex and Surrey on the weekend

It's a fantastic bike and I enjoy riding it very much. I even had a couple of comments from passers by saying they liked it when I stopped to pick a Mars bar in Groombridge.

I'm a very new rider. I only started riding two months ago, and passed my test two weeks ago. I've been riding a Honda CG 125 daily, except fot the preparation for the test when I rode a Kawazaki 650. I'm basically saying I am a very inexperienced rider.

The GT1000 is obviously a very different bike to my CG, the gearing is very different. I found that in 3rd gear it's a bit "lumpy" at 30mph, but at 35mph it's smoother, whereas my CG is very smooth at 30mph in 4th. By lumpy I mean it's as though 30mph is too slow for 3rd and the engine or gear box has slight "shuddering".

I want to ride my new bike properly and not be the cause of unnecessary wear and tear. In my inexperienced state, I would say that up to about 35mph I should keep the bike in 2nd. So in London I'd pretty well always be in 1st or 2nd. Does anyone have some comments on this? I would really like to hear what other people have to say.

Cheers,
John.

[JR]

If your doing London most of the time you should have stuck to the 125 Honda, it is better suited to traffic, and also you would gain experience. To go from a zero bike rider to a 1000cc bike in two months is not a route i would comend to anyone. But hey what do i know, only been road riding for 45 years. If it judders in any gear, change down, and keep the revs up (depending on road conditions, ice, snow, water etc).

[Psychlist]

Nice bike John, you generally find that Ducati's are overgeared to keep the revs down for noisde and emmissions regs, so yes, your bike should be more than happy in second for 30/35mph. The best solution for all-round road riding is to fit a different rear sprocket with 2 (or sometimes 3 if you do a lot of town work) extra teeth. An easy diy fix is to change the 15 tooth front sprocket for a 14, but that does put a little more wear on the chain as it has to turn a tighter arc around the 14 so a bigger rear is the preferred option. Once you've got used to the handling (take your time, don't be tempted to rush it) you'll appreciate having a Duke, especially when you get on some twisty country roads with the engine buzzing from 5 to 7k on the tacho, enjoy :wink:

[David.Hicks]

Originally Posted by Psychlist

The best solution for all-round road riding is to fit a different rear sprocket with 2 (or sometimes 3 if you do a lot of town work) extra teeth. An easy diy fix is to change the 15 tooth front sprocket for a 14, but that does put a little more wear on the chain as it has to turn a tighter arc around the 14 so a bigger rear is the preferred option

I went for a 14 on the front - much cheaper and easier to do. In my experience the supposed extra wear on the chain really is unnoticeable in practice. Going for a larger rear is much more hassle, and much more expensive (partly because you need a new, longer chain).

[David.Hicks]

Originally Posted by Psychlist

The best solution for all-round road riding is to fit a different rear sprocket with 2 (or sometimes 3 if you do a lot of town work) extra teeth. An easy diy fix is to change the 15 tooth front sprocket for a 14, but that does put a little more wear on the chain as it has to turn a tighter arc around the 14 so a bigger rear is the preferred option

I went for a 14 on the front - much cheaper and easier to do. In my experience the supposed extra wear on the chain really is unnoticeable in practice. Going for a larger rear is much more hassle, and much more expensive (partly because you need a new, longer chain).

[jre]

Originally Posted by JR

If your doing London most of the time you should have stuck to the 125 Honda

Well, that's what I'm doing! I'm still riding in on my CG, although I will probably bring my Ducati in to show it off sooner or later.

I'm keeping my new bike for when I can enjoy it, and that's not riding to and from work in London.

John.

[jre]

Originally Posted by Psychlist

The best solution for all-round road riding is to fit a different rear sprocket with 2 (or sometimes 3 if you do a lot of town work) extra teeth.

Thanks for the tip, but I'll probably not make any changes at least yet.

Originally Posted by Psychlist

when you get on some twisty country roads with the engine buzzing from 5 to 7k on the tacho, enjoy :wink:

Oh I did! Around the Ashdown Forest, and Headcorn it's very pleasant. But I'm keeping under 5k revs while I'm running it in.


John.

[stevel]

Leave the sprocket change til later by all means, but the juddering cos you're in too high a gear can be quite hard on the engine, esp transmission and bottom end. Even worse when running-in! Don't let it labour, far better to drop a gear and keep it spinning......it's a "characteristic", you'll get used to these!
Take it easy S

[triumph5ta]

The standard gearing is high, great when on the open road. Just keep the revs up a bit and you will be fine. Dont let the engine "labour", If I remember right the running in period is 6000 rpm for first 600 miles the 7000 rpm up to 1000 miles then the red line limit is the , er , limit.
Yes you will get admiring comments, I had a guy step out in front of me in London to ask about it, lucky I was just trickling through traffic .
Adam.

[Black Dog]

I've just swapped a Bandit 1200 for a GT1000, and I'm finding the same thing. The gearing is incredibly tall - on my A-road commute I was following traffic at around 50 this morning and decided against an overtake, so I changed up. And again. And again. Fine, I thought. I'm in top now. Nudge lever to check - and there's another gear to go. In contrast, the Bandit in 5th gear, even at 40, felt buzzy, like I needed to change up all the time.

As others have said, keep the revs up and keep it smooth, at least while you are running in. I think I may well go for the 14T option. You gain much better acceleration and the loss of top speed is pretty much academic 99% of the time. I did this on my Yam XT660, and it transformed it. The only problem was that this messed up the speedo reading, as the speedo drive came off the gearbox output. Anyone know if this happens with the GT?

To answer the OP, if he's riding the GT at much the same speeds as his Honda, then he will find he is using a much lower gear. After all, the Honda is cruising close to its top speed in top at 60, whereas the GT is around half its maximum speed.

[Kenoir]

On the Ducati, I need to be doing 20-25 mph to comfortably change up to 2nd. You just get used to it. I like to keep the bike in a gear that makes it responsive instantly without it screaming. If you can drop it a gear, you'll get a quicker 'pick-up' when you want to accelerate and when you close the throttle, you'll notice more engine braking, just be a bit careful with this and don't let the clutch go too quickly until you're used to it (avoid doing this mid corner).

As a rule of thumb, whatever gear you would use for 'easy' bimbling, drop it a gear and as long as you pay attention to the bike, road, other people, you'll find it much more responsive.

[Black Dog]

Jre, I've just re-read your original post, and you NEED a 14T sprocket at the front!

Yesterday I swapped the standard 15t for a 14T and took it for a blast today. It has made the bike much more nimble and completely removed the tendency to shudder if you ride it like a "normal" bike. Subjectively, it feels more eager to rev and there is a slight loss of engine braking. Two big improvements over standard:

1. Sixth gear is now useable from about 65 and up, and at 80-90 it is in the sweet part of the range. I guess that anything over 120 is going to sound busy, but who does those speeds regularly on a naked bike?

2. Slow corners no longer need first gear.

Well worth doing. It's a pretty easy job if you have some decent tools and a modicum of mechanical knowledge, but as it involves slackening off the rear wheel and readjusting the chain and wheel alignment, I would suggest that someone without experience should entrust it to a proper mechanic. It's such a quick job that I can't imagine it would cost much.

From experience, the clutch slave cylinder needs to be removed to get the sprocket on and off. It's only three allen bolts, and you don't need to drain the clutch, even though the manual says you must, but it's an extra complication.

[CrossTownTraffic]

Rich,

What sprocket did you use? was it an official Ducati or an alternative if so is a standard fit for the DS engine? and is it as easy as you make it sound?

Thanks,

Ian

[oh_seven]

Originally Posted by JR

But hey what do i know? only been road riding for 45 years

Good question. What do you know? I see a lot of old guys in cars who don't know jack and they've been driving for 45 years +!!

Yet I see young lads who've been riding 1-2 years and they handle litre bikes like Rossi.

There's an eight year old rides trials with his Dad who leaves me breathless with his skills.

Age and years riding aren't the only measure of skills and ability.

[JerryXt]

nice choice of bike, and + 1 on the gearing. Ride the engine where it's comfortable. If it's labouring, change gear.

Don't wory about the fact that it's a 1000. It's not a 1098 and the power is nice and manageable. Enjoy it!