George......
that's right....the 5th gear on our FXR2's, FXR3's, and FXR4's are geared such that it functions just like an overdrive....while most won't think of it that way.....that's how Harley has definitely designed it....and that's why I will defend that there is absolutely no reason to have 6 gears on a FXR, it's just too light of a bike to warrant having to shift through 6 gears....
The kind of riding I do here is quite unique....we have some of the most beautiful canyons that require sharp cornering, while at other times offering sweeping curves....and the gearing of the FXR2, or FXR3 matches perfectly with the type of elevation climbing we find ourselves doing here from 4,900 ft up to 11,000 ft and higher....and all in 4th gear because it's a rare thing to get much over 60 mph in the mountains....
Here is a thread, that if you take it slowly there's a lot of information within it....I am not sure whether you need to become a member to see the "attachments" or not.....but you may....
Click, view, and read:
http://groups.msn.com/HarleyTechTalk/evo1340.msnw?action=get_message&ID_Message=1356852&ShowDelete=0&CDir=-2It's a great thread that deals with FXR gearing, and about one guy's bike that is a 1993 that he has done some "hop up" to it and doesn't like the low gearing [3.37 final gearing] and is trying to lower it down.....
The quick answer to your question however is yes the FXR2, FXR3, and FXR4 with the 2.925 gearing is the highest gearing given to any of the FXR models......and with a "mild" cam can have a lot of great umphf and yet when you get to highway speed of say 70-85 your RPMS are quite tolerable for the ride.....this is another reason why these bikes are such wonderful bikes....
Guys like Mike who has put screamin eagle heads and has bumped his compression is enjoying his mods too with this gearing......and so will Howie when he does his mods......any engine he builds will be able to handle this gearing nicely.....where the guys with the 1985-1993 FXR's with 3.37 gearing end up having issues is that the lower gears end up being so much like "granny gears' they find themselves constantly shifting....these guys are screamin for a 6th gear...but in reality if they "perhaps" considered the gearing they could bring it down fairly inexpensively comparatively speaking of course to the cost of a new 6 speed tranny by as I have said above going to a 33T transmission pulley and a 65T rear wheel sprocket allowing them to get to 3.037 gearing.
I know I keep "harping" on this gearing....but my son-in-law changes gears all the time on his sports bikes to get what he is after.....and I recently did a lot of research on the gearing of my 2002 RKC and actually went to 3.37 final gearing for that bike....and everything I just said doesn't hold true for a RKC because it's a MUCH heavier bike by about 140 lbs so your not running out of gears so quickly.....and sure you are running a bit higher RPMs at 70-85 mph but with that big frame and 16" tires and front forks and so forth....a lot is absorbed, it's still quite acceptable and a LOT MORE FUN TO RIDE off of the line.....I call it the legal FUN 0-40 mph.
I created a thread here earlier this spring when I was thinking about modifying my FXR gearing "down" to 3.37 but after studying what the 2.925 actually does on the highway....it just didn't make sense, I am sure you could find my thoughts on the subject if so interested under the FXR forum here, not that my thoughts are that important but I sort of go into why I didn't feel after all that it was necessary.....and as it turns out in the "thread" above the guy that was building up his engine felt it was too low of gearing for him for his 1993 FXR with 3.37 gearing as well.
Regards,
Tim
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Topic: What's the difference between a "94 & '95 EVO? (Read 16685 times)