hi guys just curious. I am going to be buying a bike within a year hopefully and I just wanted to hear y'alls opinions on 5 speed vs 6 speed. Is it worth trying to find a good deal on a used 6 speed or would the 5 speed be just as good if i found a good deal. I will most likely just riding the bike back and forth to work mostly average speed 60-70mph. thanks in advance.
5 speed vs 6 speed
Myangel51105
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300 Posts
Over the speed limit?? Never. LOL
Seriously, maybe it is just me, but I have no problem running 75 to 85 with my 88 and 5 speed. The engine should be running at least 2,500 rpm just be in the power band anyway. Running at 3,000 to 3,500 doesn't bother me at all. But, I have been riding for a long time and have ridden everything from Brit iron to Japs. Maybe I am just used to those higher rpm bikes. I remember the first time I rode an old ironhead Sporty and how the engine just loped along compared to my Triumph. That was a long long time ago.
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1,411 Posts
well,, i never heard of nobody with 6 speeds that wished they only had 5.
of course, my old man probably figgered 3 or 4 speeds was just fine in 1943. i don''t guess he ever got much over fifty, though.
also, some six speeds have a 5th gear that whines because it ain't got a conical gear which was fixed the next year.
my old lady whines regardless of what gear she's in. she is pretty fast, though...0 to bitch in 2.8 seconds.
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just sayin'.
of course, my old man probably figgered 3 or 4 speeds was just fine in 1943. i don''t guess he ever got much over fifty, though.
also, some six speeds have a 5th gear that whines because it ain't got a conical gear which was fixed the next year.
my old lady whines regardless of what gear she's in. she is pretty fast, though...0 to bitch in 2.8 seconds.
just sayin'.
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1,968 Posts
My first big Harley was a 84 Disc Glide with a five speed . Didn't like it cause my buddie had a 85 Low Rider with a four speed & his bike sounded better . Sold that bike & got me a new 85 Low Rider with a four speed kick start regid mount and loved that candy red sucker . Nothing sounds as good as a EVO with straights tached out in third & slow shiftin into fourth ! What a rack !
For me four speeds are the shits !
For me four speeds are the shits !
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298 Posts
What kind of terrain do you expect to drive in mostly? Here in flat North Dakota where the only hills are overpasses, a 6 speed is just fine for interstate use. If you are mostly climbing hills or rushing down the other side maybe you would use your 5th gear more. If you get a 6 gear, you will have 6 gears, if you get a 5 speed, you only have 5 gears.
If you find a bike you really like and a test ride confirms it, go for it.
Good luck and welcome to H-D land.
Nodakrider
If you find a bike you really like and a test ride confirms it, go for it.
Good luck and welcome to H-D land.
Nodakrider
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3,256 Posts
I don't know why people think you have to be doing 75 plus to shift into sixth or your lugging the motor - that's crap. I shift into sixth at 65 and it's just fine. Our highway speeds range anywhere from 60 to 70 and sixth gear is great at 65. When I have to slow down to 60 - 65 I shift back into fifth. At seventy in sixth, or 65 in sixth, I have no trouble pulling up hills as they come, and I have a bone stock 96" motor.
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463 Posts
That mirrors my experience also. At 65 in 6th the Ultra is turninng about 2300 rpm and giving me 45 to 50 mpg depending on the wind, with no need to downshift to pass, etc.
When I traded my '05 RKC on the '08 Ultra the major difference mechanically between the two to me was the 6 speed. Best upgrade they made in that time frame IMHO.
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47 Posts
I appreciate everyone's opinions and inputs. I think I will probably go with the old saying of its better to have and not need then need and not have unless I come upon a good deal on a 5 speed I will probably wait and try and find a 6 speed.
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300 Posts
5 speed bikes had FI.
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692 Posts
I shift in the sixth year at about 55 unless I am getting on it. Baker has a 7 speed kit but the final ratio is the same and they also have a reverse gear Kit. There is also an outfit that sells a kit so all you have to do is push a button and it will shift. The only up shifting I think a lot of drag racers run a cat like that so they don't mess a gear.
That sounds pretty accurate...I have a 09 Softail Night Train that has those same numbers. That cruise drive for every day driving wants shifting at 20mph then 30 mph then 40 and so on whether you're coming up or down in the gears. Of course that's not the way I drive...I've had to prove it couple times but I can hit above 60mph in 1st gear alone before hitting the rev limiter. Currently adding a tach so I know exactly where redline hits and the rev limiter engages. So I know exactly when to shift before that.
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1,785 Posts
Started off on 4 speeds, then went to 5 speeds in the 70s.
Held that until 2020, now I have a 6 speed.
They all go down the road.
I shift on the 10s.. 20mph, 2nd gear 30mph, 3rd gear etc. At 60 the revs slow to a low speed and at 75 Im only doing 2670-90 RPM.
Chug a lug, chug a lug...
Held that until 2020, now I have a 6 speed.
They all go down the road.
I shift on the 10s.. 20mph, 2nd gear 30mph, 3rd gear etc. At 60 the revs slow to a low speed and at 75 Im only doing 2670-90 RPM.
Chug a lug, chug a lug...
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9,726 Posts
60 mph in first on a stock harley transmission and final drive is going to be somewhere around 7300 RPM, which is quite a bit over the OEM rev limiter setting and even well over the higher setting that many speed shops set it at. 6100-6200 is where they will set them. So, be careful. Honestly, I am surprised that you haven't blown it up, as well as surprised the rev limiter has been set that high.
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