Need to change sprocket and chain.

[brb]

What has worked for me on my 2012 manual is going down 2 teeth on the back to a 41 from the 43 std. When I do get aggressive from 1st to 2nd hitting that limiter is rarely an issue. The gear spacing is increased and highway revs are less. The 5 percent gear change appears to be fine for this engines power curve. I did at one time use a 70 series rear tire with this gearing and overall the 8 percent change was a little too much. As far as people calling out lugging this engine by speed in which gear they are in that really depends on what total load is on it. This engine has super efficient combustion and a high inertial crank but the rider needs to keep the engine in the proper rpm range for that load. The auto mfr,s have all gone to 8~10 speed trans for this very reason.

 

[the Ferret]

This engine has super efficient combustion and a high inertial crank but the rider needs to keep the engine in the proper rpm range for that load.

and what rpm range is that?

 

[brb]

For me if I am riding around 1800~2500rpm. Then again my rear sprocket is a 41tooth and that is different than stock. The old cruiser guys used to use vacuum gauges instead of a tach to use as a load tester. They would be red and green to show how much of a load the engine is under. The MAP sensor is what tells the ECM what load is present along with TPS,water temp, rpm. The MAP, manifold absolute pressure is the vacuum the engine is making minus the baro number. Ex baro of 29 minus 20in intake vacuum(throttle closed)=MAP of 9, low load. or baro of 29 minus 5in intake vacuum approx(throttle wide open)=MAP of 24, high load. The baro is set on startup, most mfgs use the MAP for this instead of having 2 sensors. That is why when going up in higher elevations shutting off the engine and restarting makes the engine run better. When I am trying to get better gas mileage I try to ride like I have a vacuum gauge instead of a tach. I do not see the load but you can feel it. If I am almost to the top of a hill and the load seems too high and I do not want to downshift I back off the throttle and change that MAP reading. I apologize for the rambling got too much time on my hands. Most of my riding is in the 1800~3200 range but to me the 2500~4000 range this engine seems to come into its own. Man I really went off the point of this thread, leave the gearing alone just change the chain with a high quality unit.