Does anyone else feel this way about their Sportster ? I love my bike , it accelerates well , it slows down well and it gets down the road in a most pleasing fashion . On the open road I can ride all day long with a stupid grin on my face . BUT there is one thing that my bike just won't do and that's to exactly match and maintain the speed of another vehicle . If I'm stuck in moving traffic or behind a car on a narrow road , my bike just doesn't seem to know whether it's speeding up or slowing down . I try experimenting with different gears but in the end I find myself slipping the clutch in order to perfectly match the speed of the vehicle in front . How you guys manage to ride in groups is a mystery to me . Years ago I rode a couple of TL 1000's and it was exactly the same . I could accelerate like a rocket and stand the thing on its nose but try to behave myself in traffic and it was all over the place . So is this just a big V Twin thing or is there anything I can do to fine tune my bike ? I've got a carb version ( XL 1200 R ) which allegedly has a " Thunder Slide " in it . Any views most welcome .

 

I ride in Washington DC traffic almost every day. Have no problem matching other vehicle speeds.

It's all what you practice.

 

I used to get that "too high for 2nd, too low for 3rd" chugging feel but it turned out to be my chain was just shot. With new, top quality X ring chain, all is smooth. I do agree that traffic speeds and gearing match is not perfect, at least on my 883. With more torque (1200) I can see it being a bit annoying.

When's the last time you replaced your manifold seals and rebuilt your carb? Freshening up the accelerator diaphragm and making sure all is nice and tight might help. Maybe the throttle response with the Thunderslide is not that good? I have a Dynojet carb kit, but have no complaints, worked fine for 29 years so far. Not familiar with the Thunderslide, isn't it a Dynojet product? I'm not even sure I can buy that stuff here in California anymore. I had a heck of a time getting a new mainjet from Dynojet in Nevada due to CARB rules.

John

 

I find myself in first and second gear far more often than I'd like to match town traffic, have to keep the rpm higher than if I was by myself. I never had that problem with a metric and their lower gear ratios, but if I rode my sportster like I do without traffic, I'd have the same problem you do, those sportsters are geared really tall. So are the big twins, but they handle low rpm better. It's either slip or spin, lot of clutch work or higher rpm to keep it smooth. If you're getting into lugging territory and needing to slip the clutch for it, your drivetrain is getting more stress than if you just ran higher rpm in a lower gear to start with.

 

Sounds like you have no idea on how to ride a bike to me. Is this a troll post? Seriously?!?

 

If you need to slip the clutch, you actually need to downshift.

 

No it is not . I have ridden bikes for Forty years but I have only ridden a Harley Davidson V Twin for the last six months . How dare you make such a nasty and ridiculous suggestion . I have made a similar post on a leading UK Sportster dedicated FB page and I have received a unanimous chorus of agreement from fellow riders .Perhaps your passion for Drag Racing has caused you to forget what it is like to ride in slow traffic. So, if you have nothing constructive to add to this discussion you would be well advised not to contribute . Troll indeed ! that's just bad manners .

 

It wasn't nasty or ridiculous, just blunt; That is something you'll tend to find in bikers here in the US. And I'll admit I sorta thought the same thing based upon your clutch slipping remark. If you have to slip the clutch to maintain some desired speed you're just screwing up your clutch. In no circumstance should you slip the clutch as part of normal riding, except the normal taking off routine, and perhaps in some rare circumstance.

Having said that - is it possible your throttle cables are set up so tightly that they cause the throttle plate to move excessively under normal riding conditions? There should be at least a very small bit of play or it seems like every heart beat causes the throttle to move.

 

Hate to break it to you but it isn't the bike and I'm pretty sure you already know that.

We're not trying to mean here please understand that and doesn't matter how long you've been riding it's apparent you aren't comfortable on it yet.

Figure out why.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/spor...6329499116220/ Have a read .