Shift points? What speed in what gear?

[Cheburashka]

I'm just about road-ready, and am wondering how you know when you've hit redline. Mine's a '64 with all stock drive train. Has anyone marked down the basic speeds at which they shift gears?

Thanks

[pknopp]

Have you not rode before? Basically you just know. It's not always the same either.

[G-Man]

This is an extract from the manual which can be found on this site.....

http://www.mediafire.com/?jddnnx5qvs3np0x


G

[Cheburashka]

Have you not rode before? Basically you just know. It's not always the same either.

I've been riding since 1980. I know the shift points on my Pacific Coast intuitively, but they're different from where they were on my Silverwing, or my Interceptor, or my Ascot, or my R75/5. Every bike's different, and that's especially true when you're working with something that's 40 years old. It's good to have some kind of reference point, especially in the absence of a tach.

According to the manual linked to here (THANKS!!) you shift into top gear at 31MPH. I've tended to rev significantly higher than that. I'm a little surprised, since the range for 1st to 3rd is around 10mph per gear, but I would expect to be able to hit at least 70. Where is the power band the best on these engines?

[pknopp]

O.K., I thought I would check. This is a brisk take off. Not winding out but making sure I get up to speed in a decent time.

12-23-36........

I would hate to try and hit 70 on mine. It might do it.....I dunno. I do know that it's nearly 50 years old and 55-60 serve me well for what I use this bike for.

That is of course a rough guess based upon needle position on the exact speed at shift.