I road my Sportster 1200T on the freeway last weekend and got her up to above 85mph in 5th gear. The bike was only revving maybe 3500 or so -- there was lots more to go if I had wanted to. Pretty sure the bike does not need a 6th gear for anything. The big heavy touring bikes need a lot of gears to get all that mass moving. Not so the more nimble Sportsters. My 1200T really hauls *** in any gear.

 

Same old threads.

But yes, could really use a 6th gear. Can get it done aftermarket I believe.

The 1200's might not be as bad with higher gearing. Sick of the excessive vibration.

 

Not for me. I ride an iron 883. I cruise the freeway at 80mph, which is already 15 over the speedlimit here where I live. I've had it to 99mph before, but I had already pushed it quite a bit, and wasn't comfortable trying for that last 1mph with the amount of road I had left. I don't have any reason to go over 85mph. If I did, I'd buy a sportsbike.

 

If the 2015 883's are anything like just a few years ago, you can swap a 1200 pulley on, and get their same gearing. Which would slow the motor a bit on the interstate. I suspect any dealer would do the swap and roll it right into the bikes payment. Or just buy a used pulley on ebay and swap it yourself. Lots of 1200 guys used to install 883 pulleys for extra performance, so you can find plenty used.

 

One of the hardest things for riders coming off of big twins to a Sportster is to ride the bike in the 3000 - 3500 RPM range and higher where the power band is. It will seem really wound up, but the bike is built to ride up in that RPM range all day long....

I prefer the gearing on the 1200 Rubber mounts as I commute using freeways (65-70 mph) and highways (55-60 mph) speed limits. The sweet spot on my 1200 is around 3200 RPM. I don't even shift to 5th gear unless I am going 65+ mph and then really, prefer not to shift to 5th until at 70 mph. I don't see a need for a 6th gear. At 70 mph the bike is moving along at a sweet RPM and hardly any vibration. A 6th gear would seem too low of a RPM at 70 mph. BUT...that is a 1200cc Sportster. The 883cc Sportster RPM will be higher at those speeds than my 1200cc.

 

When I rode 4 speeds I was quite frequently going for the next gear.

When I ride 5 speed Twin Cams I quite frequently look for the non-existent 6th... and do the Same with the Sporty.

But when I ride 6 speed Twin Cams, I ALSO look for the next gear...the non-existent 7th.

No matter what you have, probably will look for the next phantom gear. For me, it is a bit of a way to get me to look at the speedo...and then I realize I am far enough over the speed limit. lol

An 883 can be a bit nicer with the 1200 pulley, IF you are doing a lot of high speed highway riding and IF you wont miss the extra grunt down low.

I have an 883 with an NRHS 1250 conversion. I kept the 883 pulley, and can easily ride all day long at 80 mph with frequent jumps up to 85-95 mph with no bothersome vibes...and it is not hurting the engine at all.

 

Last week after riding my wife's 2011, 1200 nighster I was wondering the same thing. Because I am used to riding my 08 rocker I felt like the sporty was gonna vibrate to hell on the highway.

Then some guys here pointed out to me that sportster's need to be kept at higher rpm than the big twins. Once I started doing that the bike felt completely different at high speeds.

I can see the appeal of them, although an extra gear would not hurt at all it really doesn't need it.

 

1200 here, I feel like 70mph in 5th is just about right. Still lots of power available, vibration becomes a purr, and the exhaust sounds great. I don't feel any need for a 6th gear. Heck, I don't even click into 5th until the cruising speed is 65+...

 

No! The 5th gear in the bike is 1 to 1 final drive which is the same as HD's 6th gear set.

It is a common perception that the 6th speed is over drive. It is not. The more lower gears are to get going faster sooner just as it is in the 6 to 9 speed automatics in cars currently. Although the upper end in those are overdrive.

Add the larger XL1200 front sprocket to lower the fifth gear rpm. But you may not like the slower acceleration.

Don't worry about the engine at 70 or 80 as it is doing fine. The XR1200 and the XL1200T Superlow both use the 883 gearing for more acceleration and pulling power in 5th.

I took the XL1200T on a 4,000 mile trip early this summer and rode all day at 75 to 80 mph. The engine loved it.

 

Six would be nice but when I can't stand the vibration I'll trade my sportster for a rocking chair. Besides at about 99.9 mph it smoothes out again, or maybe I had other things on my mind and just didn't feel it.