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beansbaxter

Needs a life
Posts: 5911

posted June 23, 2002 03:43 PM

Redlining??

I took the motorcycle out pretty hardcore yesterday and redlined it a few times in second and third. Speed makes it hard to watch the road ahead and keep an eye on the tach...I need to get a shift indicator light.

But I only redlined it for a few seconds maybe a total of 10 times. Have I done any damage to the bike? It runs absolutely fine, but I'm scared I might have done some long term damage.

Any insight here??

Also...what is a good shift indicator light to get? If anyone has one, can they post pics of it? Thanks.

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sailusvi

Expert Class
Posts: 216

posted June 23, 2002 03:51 PM

I bump the rev limiter every time I go out.....mine is a 2000 fast green one.....6000 miles

Zhooligan

Moderator
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Posts: 3829

posted June 23, 2002 06:29 PM

That is why they put the rev limiter on the bike. So the bike will cut the revs before you take it to the place where damage will actually occur!

Don't worry about it. Hitting the rev limiter will make your times slower as the rev limiter is past the sweet spot of the torque.
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ZXtra

Expert Class
Posts: 490

posted June 23, 2002 09:29 PM

Re: redlining

I've hit the limiter a few times too, especially early in the riding season when I'm not used to how fast the ZX12 spools up. No damage.

-ZXtra
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beansbaxter

Needs a life
Posts: 5911

posted June 23, 2002 09:38 PM

Boy...I feel a whole lot better. I didnt know there was a rev limiter that stops the damage from occurring if it is revving too high. So what is the point of redling then if it doesnt matter? Is it just so the rider knows when to shift basically?

And where do I get one of those shifter indicators that light up when you preset the rpm range into it? I dont see any on any website.

frEEk

Administrator
ummm... yeah
Posts: 9660

posted June 23, 2002 10:10 PM

the point of redlining is to prevent said damage. if there was no redline, then the engine would just keep reving higher, and eventually blow up. so no, it's not jsut so u know when to shift. it actually sounds like u'r confused by the terminology. "redline" is just the RPM where the rev limiter kicks in.

redelk

Moderator
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Posts: 3212

posted June 24, 2002 06:27 AM

Edited By: redelk on 24 Jun 2002 07:30

Redlines, shift lights and peak HP

IMHO, you don't need to go to the indicated redline on the tach or hit the rev limiter to use as a reference point for shifting to the next higher gear.

For example, this dyno sheet shows that I'm at or pretty close to max HP just after 10K RPM. Unless I'm drag racing, I under the impression that it's kinda pointless and little is gained by going much past that point. At least as far as general street riding goes.

If your looking for a shift light, DYNA makes one of the best and I think you can get one from Doug at Spencer Cycle (one of our board sponsors - just click on his ad when it shows up on the upper right of the forum index). It's kinda pricey, but if your SERIOUS about a shift light, it's the one. I think most folks are setting it to come on in the mid 11K RPM range.

There is a cheaper alternative called a Harlan Shift Light, that's about a third of the cost, but their website seems to be down right now.

Not just any shift light will work on the 12R since our bikes have whats called a "stick coil" where the coil is intergrated into each sparkplug cap. So, the type of shift lights that just wrap around a sparkplug wire will not work.

If your doing a lot of drag/street racing or high speed runs, a shift light will be a must. If you just trying to figure out where's the best place to shift a 12R in general riding, I'd say any point slight above idle.