I have a newbie question -- what is the difference between lugging the engine or rattling?

 

Actually you it will usually rattle (pistons) when you lug it. It's hard on the pistons to lug a Harley you should alway keep it at no least that 2000 rpm I shift at about 3000 to 3500 with my 6 speed. Most bikes have their own personallity and it will just FEEL like the right time to shift. Just keep experimenting until you find yours. Just keep it at 2 grand if it starts to drop below shift down to the next gear.

Ps we ar not taking about at a stop light on the 2ooo part rpm.

 

Lugging
If your cardid not haveAUTOMATIC trans you wouldfeel the difference in gear selection.
Every motor has a sweet RPM spot where it is happy
Not 6th gear at 55MPH
3rd gear at 55.
3000RPM is where the motor is happy (correct oil pressure and charging Voltage)
Feel the bike
THAT IS WHAT RIDING IS ALL ABOUT

 

I shift my '07 Deuce at 26, 36,48,58, & 68. Does anyone know if these points would be around 3 grand or so?

 

Assuming you have the same rear tire rolling radius:

I do more like:

 

if you have an efi bike you csan't over rev it because you have a revlimiter. when the engine purrs and feels comfortable your in the ballpark. If it bangs and jumps your luggin it and they don't like that.
i figure the engine is built to take the rpms. and the rev limiter is there to protect you. If you have a tach 3 grand is close to the sweet spot i would bet and you can't do no harm runnin it there

 

Amen!!
For all the 07 riders that have the marbles in a can, clatter and heat problems, read this:
http://content.hamptonroads.com/stor...&ran=43046
Maybe they'll listen if itcomes from an outside, unrelatedto Harleysource and not a fellow 07 rider. 'Course they'll be some that say Tom and Ray secretly work for HD and this article was posted with a pre-07 date in order to allow the MOCO to tell folks they ain't ridin right.

 

Why is it that installing the IDS makes the clatter go away? It doesn't change the engine in any way. What this article is refering to is noises made by the engine, not the driveline. Will you consider the possibility that youcould bewrong; that people aren't lugging these motors, but that there's a problem in the desgin that the IDS compensates for?

 

I have considered the possibility that I'm wrong, but after reading about the clatter and doing google search, there isn't much mentioned about it except for on this forum. And yes, that article refers to engine noise but the marbles in thecan and excessive heat are relevent to the clatter the drive line will make when lugging. If you're at the proper RPM's, you won't have any of the three

In 5th gear at low RPM's (below 2500)my 07 has the whine and I'm guessing what people here consider the clatter. It's kind of a rythmic knocking, like a truck or car with a manual trans makes in reverse (straight cut gear)if you let the clutch out at idle... it will whine, buck and clatter through the drive line, and I'm guessing the IDS takes care of that on the Harley's, but that doesn't change the fact that the engine wants more RPM's.

 

I keep my 07 RKCustom between 2500-3200 rpm. Runs best at 3000 rpm (smoothest and best MPG). It runs fine at2500rpm, anything less and you will feel the "torque pulses". However EVERY bike is different. I road an 06 Street Glide and it seems just fine at 2200rpm in high gear.

I will be installing an IDS this week, not so I can change my shifting habits, just so I can reduce the amount of shifting I do.