6 speed FLHTCU '07 Electra

[sidecarnut]

What's other peoples view of the new 6 speed gearboxes.
When I took delivery of the Bike and subsequent chats with various people, I am beginning to think that HD have lost the plot.

1st gear cannot be used under 8/10mph without slipping the clutch- great when you are in a traffic Jam in most British cities.

Recommended revs for the engine is a minimum of 3000rpm according to the Dealer/salesman/mechanics- that translates into a speed of 60mph in 4th gear and at 70mph we are revving at about 3500........are you still following this.............we still have 2 more gears to use and we are already doing 70.
Ok so I want to break the law So I can change into 5th...........What do I want the 6th gear for?

I think they should have put this 6th gear before 1st so we could trickle thro Traffic which is something we do a lot of.

Oh and the rub is I have been told if you run the engine consistantly below 3000rpm the rear cylinder will fail.!

I have done 2500 miles so far.

I hope there are lots of you out there that can put me right on this matter, and that I have got it totally wrong.

Ta

[Tony Cross]

There are better brains than mine who could advise you. However I have run in 7 or 8 bikes including a then new 89 FLHTC and an 18month old 04 FLSTCI that had less than a 1000 miles on it; without any problems. The golden rule is to avoid labouring the engiine but at the same time don't over rev it. Put simply let the engine speed pick steadily and avoid the extremes. The idea that a Harley needs to be kept above 3000rpm is IMHO nonsense. Don't expect the best out the bike till you have 10,000 miles on it. It will then be smoother and more tractable. It will be even sweeter when you reach 40,000. Relax and enjoy it.

[Phil]

1`st gear is a little high. I was riding a new Street Glide today, & it was irritating.
Fifth gear is noisy due to being straight cut instead if helical. Putting a decent synthetic gear oil in can quiet it down though.
The 3000 rpm thing is baloney though. Just don`t lug it. How do you know if you are lugging it? Well you shouldn`t be riding a bike if you don`t.
When I get above 60mph on the flat, I stuff it in 6th gear & cruise all day. Better fuel consumption, less engine wear & quieter.

[sidecarnut]

Thanks for your comments- the '07 are different and the engine does labour very easily and yes mine has synthetic in all Orfices! and 5th still sounds like a load of tin cans rattling around inside!

I enclose a comment from an American Buddy:-who has a 2007 ultra - about 5k on it as of today.

1 - 6th gear is for 65 and over only - NEVER use 6th under 65, NEVER use 5th under 55 or it will ping - 2500 rpm is the minimum with no passenger, with a passenger keep it above 2600 or it will ping. check out the torque curve for the engine - 2200 is asking for trouble.

5th and 6th are gas milage gears for high speed running

2 - if you put in a fuel commander/ sert / power commander - you just VOIDED YOUR WARRANTY, same if you change the pipes - other than a few specific listed EPA approved items - the EPA will fine the bejesus out of anybody they catch & they have been catching folks of late - west coast choppers just paid over 200k for said activities.

3 - if you ARE keeping the rpm up in the sweet spot and its running too hot and pinging - there are fixes & hd has paid for them - check out some of the bike bbs's or do some google search on overheat. just remember that most have been traced to using 6th gear at low speeds & thus not warranted.

4 - i had a rear cyl problem - ran a bit hot, puked a small amount of oil from the air cleaner - they took it apart under warranty, replaced the rings in both cyls, redid the rear cyl completely & ran it on the dyno 9 heat cycles to fully break it in under controlled conditions and it its so far [knock on wood] perfect. no leaks, with the cruise on, gets decent milage and does not ping.

[Phil]

Originally Posted by sidecarnut

Thanks for your comments- the '07 are different and the engine does labour very easily and yes mine has synthetic in all Orfices! and 5th still sounds like a load of tin cans rattling around inside!

I enclose a comment from an American Buddy:-who has a 2007 ultra - about 5k on it as of today.

1 - 6th gear is for 65 and over only - NEVER use 6th under 65, NEVER use 5th under 55 or it will ping - 2500 rpm is the minimum with no passenger, with a passenger keep it above 2600 or it will ping. check out the torque curve for the engine - 2200 is asking for trouble.

5th and 6th are gas milage gears for high speed running

2 - if you put in a fuel commander/ sert / power commander - you just VOIDED YOUR WARRANTY, same if you change the pipes - other than a few specific listed EPA approved items - the EPA will fine the bejesus out of anybody they catch & they have been catching folks of late - west coast choppers just paid over 200k for said activities.

3 - if you ARE keeping the rpm up in the sweet spot and its running too hot and pinging - there are fixes & hd has paid for them - check out some of the bike bbs's or do some google search on overheat. just remember that most have been traced to using 6th gear at low speeds & thus not warranted.

4 - i had a rear cyl problem - ran a bit hot, puked a small amount of oil from the air cleaner - they took it apart under warranty, replaced the rings in both cyls, redid the rear cyl completely & ran it on the dyno 9 heat cycles to fully break it in under controlled conditions and it its so far [knock on wood] perfect. no leaks, with the cruise on, gets decent milage and does not ping.

I`ll put my little bit in. I spent the day running around today between our three dealerships on an 07 Classic, about 200 miles. Temp ranging between 85-95.
1- 65 & over for sixth...Absolutely, otherwise lugging. Fifth gear, mmmm don`t lug it. Had no experience of pinging though, the 07 has a knock sensor which retards the timing.
Fifth gear is a pain in the arse, we have replaced several that were just too noisy!
2-Technically correct. Here in California: Pipes, air cleaner are ok. As long as you have not cracked the engine open & added upgrades you are ok. That however is state law.
3- Er....Warranty is warranty, & has f*ck all to do with using the wrong gear.
4- There is a free download map from HD that keeps the rear cylinder cooler, I would recommend it.

[lawnmower]

i got that oil coming out from my air cleaner on my new Ultra after the run to holland it was noticable. I have a vanes and hines fuel pak, pipes and a hi flow K&N filter fitted it seems to run ok but both the header pipes have already discoloured. It seems to run ok thou a little bit warm in traffic still but not too bad.

[Black Rain]

Some interesting comments here. I think the new six speed boxes are an excellent development. My Street Bob easily pulls 6th from 50mph and it makes the bike a real pleasure to ride at motorway speeds. However I was advised not to use 6th during the running in period. I think this was sound advice as I sensed that up to about 1000 miles it would have been reluctant to pull 6th. I am told that at 70mph the engine is only turning around 2750rpm. I might have the exact figure wrong but it strikes me as being impressive. Now the more miles I put on the sweeter it gets. I don't think they have lost the plot at all and should be congratulated for a worthy engineering development.

[waywardchild]

My experience of the six speeder is much the same as Black Rains, My Street bob now has 1600 miles on the clock and gets better with every ride.It did not like top gear under 70mph but now pulls happily from around 60.

[sidecarnut]

And you are happy with the 1st gear non tracktability in heavy City use, and having to slip the clutch constantly under 10mph?

[Black Rain]

Originally Posted by sidecarnut

And you are happy with the 1st gear non tracktability in heavy City use, and having to slip the clutch constantly under 10mph?

I try not to drive in heavy City traffic. But I appreciate that you may not have the choice. My daily commute is around 20 miles each way mostly on the motorway and dual carriageways. I actually like the tall 1st gear and the bike is quite nice when filtering between traffic eg tailbacks off the slipways. I have ridden many worse bikes in heavy traffic. A Ducati Monster comes to mind which was really lumpy at town speeds, but a hoot to ride otherwise. Generally I try to take the bike out for reasonably long runs so that the engine warms up well; as well as respecting that it is an air cololed engine that is likely to overheat if stuck in stationary or stop start traffic.