I read all the time that 6th gear is useless under 60 or under 70 or under 70+. Why does my bike with the (relatively) small (and completely stock) 96B engine pull strongly and cleanly without a hint of lugging from 50? I feel that it would do this to some degree at 45, but I don't want to push it. No, the gearing isn't changed either.

 

There's a little manual book thing that came with the bike that was written by people who built the bike and might know a thing or about it, and I'm sure somewhere in there is a little chart thing that has your shift points. If you don't have that little manual book thing, they are good to have.

 

You must be riding very "gently" or weigh 60lbs... you are lugging it and your bottom end isn't gonna like that for long, period.

E-

 

I usually shift into 6th @ 55mph or 60 if I'm running alittle faster than normal.
160 lbs and ride it gently 99.5% of the time.

 

I usually shift into 6th right at about 100kph (62 mph), but won't downshift into 5th until I hit around 80 (50 mph). My bike accelerates satisfactorily in that range, but I'm one-staged.

 

I have a 2010 Fatboy and in 6th gear at 50 I also pulll quite nicely.. But 6th is really an overdrive gear to put the bike in about 50 or better to bring the rpm's down and cruise with nice low rpm's.... If you need to pull use 5th gear and wind it out.

 

07 fatty here. it depends on the situation for me. i can pull a 6th from 50 but i don't recommend it.. on a downhill letting off for traffic i can gas her back slowly, but i won't try it on a uphill run at any throttle..

that chug feeling just don't feel good no matter what wrong gear you have it in..

the good news is i can pull a 3rd gr from 10-15mph in my 67.. Torque baby!!!

 

Thanks much for the unwarranted flame. I have read the manual several times, and refer to it often. I have a shop manual as well, back ordered for 2 weeks, finally en route. The owner's manual's recommended shift points are as follows:

First to Second 15
Second to Third 25
Third to Fourth 35
Fourth to Fifth 45
Fifth to Sixth 55

Unless I am deliberately riding briskly, these are precisely the speeds at which I usually shift. Nevertheless, If I find that I have fallen back to 50 while in 6th, the bike will very cleanly pull from that speed without requiring a downshift. I weigh about 200 pounds with full gear on.

My question really was "why do I so frequently read that 6th is useless below 70 (and some have stated that 75+ is more like it)?" I was wondering if they geared up for better mileage, or if they had cams that moved the torque curve substantially to the right, or perhaps some other factor that I was unaware of. I readily admit that I know little about these wonderful machines, and in fact that is why I do read the manuals. Nevertheless, I have also discovered that there is a wealth of "real world" information available on this site that goes well beyond what the manual says.

Just asking...

 

Yes, a 2010 FatBoy as well here.

 

On my Heritage I can pull easily and gently in 6th gear at around 55 mph. With the ultra I had, an 07, I couldn't use 6th gear at 80 mph. The pinging was so bad I thought the engine was coming apart. So, some bikes just might be different and that is maybe why the difference in speeds. Just my humble $.02