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Let's torque about this :)
#445311 05/17/2011 6:15 PM
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 34
alanrco Offline OP
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Posts: 34
Had my new (and first) Triumph America for a week now. My last bike was a Honda Shadow VT750. Thing I can't get my head around is top gear speed/revs. I have a reasonable understanding of torque and HP and I guess the Holy Grail for sports/street bikes is HP whereas cruisers it's torque.

I think once the revs reach maximum developed torque, then above that its a flat line. Please correct me if I'm wrong but for cruisers isn't it not best in top gear for the maximum torque to be at the legal limit? My Honda was doing 3500rpm (max torque of the bike) at 70mph. The America developes its max torque at 3300rpm but at 70mph it's 4000revs. Surely it could do with a 6th gear or taller gear ratios?

Please be gentle if I've got this completely wrong

I love the bike tho,

70mph is legal limit in UK on dual-carriageways and motorways but I looked on wikki and saw how confusing the limits are in the states...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_the_United_States


Alan


There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that understand binary and those that don't!
Re: Let's torque about this :)
alanrco #445312 05/17/2011 6:22 PM
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,937
Loquacious
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I'm ALWAYS trying to shift into sixth!

(But no, I ain't gonna gear it taller)


And you may see me tonight With an illegal smile J. Prine
Re: Let's torque about this :)
erle #445313 05/17/2011 6:56 PM
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Posts: 96
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These aren't like your ordinary v-twin cruiser. They love rpms, there are a lotta folks here that raise the rev limiters and they still wind up. Switching back and forth from my tractor to this one reminds me constantly.. don't worry about putting r's to it! Part of the enjoyment is that my other bike would be spitting parts when this one's just getting happy. They're not really torquers and if you don't ride em as such they perform great.


ride when I can, work when I have to
Re: Let's torque about this :)
erle #445314 05/17/2011 11:00 PM
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,821
Bar Shake
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Quote:

I'm ALWAYS trying to shift into sixth!

(But no, I ain't gonna gear it taller)




Yeah, me too for a while but I get used to it.

And I lowered my ratio 16 front, 44 rear


Contra todo mal, mezcal; contra todo bien, también
Re: Let's torque about this :)
alanrco #445315 05/17/2011 11:09 PM
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Bar Shake
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Torque vs horsepower is really a false dichotomy, they are inescapably linked.

A Pretty Good Expalnation


Contra todo mal, mezcal; contra todo bien, también
Re: Let's torque about this :)
erle #445316 05/18/2011 12:10 PM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,174
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Learned Hand
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Quote:

I'm ALWAYS trying to shift into sixth!

(But no, I ain't gonna gear it taller)




same here, alway wondered why they built the american amd SM with the 5 speed. the gear box is the same as the triples which have a 6th gear.


05 speedmaster - 1100cc, 11:1 racing pistons, Carillo rods, thunderbike cams, ported and polished head, 2mm over intake and exhaust valves, Barnett kevlar clutch, scepter pipes, oversize manifolds, 45mm HSR's, TTP stage 4 firestarter

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