03-24-2014, 08:48 AM
Personally, I don't ever intend to ride my 2013 bike on motorways for extended periods. I bought the bike to ride on normal roads and enjoy the fine countryside down twisty back roads.
Therefore, an overdrive gear would be virtually unused by me.
I tend to use fourth on most bendy roads, third and second for really tight corners, and only bother with fifth when the speeds get higher or I'm just cruising along, not engaging the corners.
When I was an instructor we used to see a common problem with older boys coming in for advanced training was poor gear selection.
Most would ride a CBR1100 Super Blackbird everywhere in top gear, changing maybe to fourth on tight corners. The upshot of this was No engine braking, thus no way of tightening a line in a corner. This lead to a loose, out of control feeling and made them scared of corners.
I'm not professing to be Keith Code or anything, but I do think most riders use too high a gear for any given situation most of the time.
How many times have you heard the bikes out on a Sunday morning in your neighbourhood do this;
Bwaaaaaaaaaaaap, bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaap, bwaaaap, bwap bwapbwp... DRONE ALONG IN TOP....
Therefore, an overdrive gear would be virtually unused by me.
I tend to use fourth on most bendy roads, third and second for really tight corners, and only bother with fifth when the speeds get higher or I'm just cruising along, not engaging the corners.
When I was an instructor we used to see a common problem with older boys coming in for advanced training was poor gear selection.
Most would ride a CBR1100 Super Blackbird everywhere in top gear, changing maybe to fourth on tight corners. The upshot of this was No engine braking, thus no way of tightening a line in a corner. This lead to a loose, out of control feeling and made them scared of corners.
I'm not professing to be Keith Code or anything, but I do think most riders use too high a gear for any given situation most of the time.
How many times have you heard the bikes out on a Sunday morning in your neighbourhood do this;
Bwaaaaaaaaaaaap, bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaap, bwaaaap, bwap bwapbwp... DRONE ALONG IN TOP....