[ST] The 3000-dollar question

["barry.croft" <barry.croft@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Erik Miner wrote:

> Think of 3K as a bottom redline..
> front sprocket to an 18t from the 19t..

There's no doubt the stock bike has (a) a rough patch and (b) can lug a
little below 3000. But it doesn't HAVE to be like that! It's easy and well
worth sorting it out, because the 955 engine becomes near-perfect once you
sort the low rpm running. I did three things to my RS which in combination
have made it a beauty to ride in traffic:

- - The 19 to 18 move. This has to be the best bang per buck way of getting,
effectively, 4.5% more power everywhere. It moves the sweet 5-6000 rpm band
in top gear from a license-stealing 90-100+ mph down to a still naughty but
less serious 80-90+. It means super-quick acceleration from the lights, and
on the open road less gear-changing and safer/easier overtaking. You also
get more engine braking in top, improving fine control at speed. More to the
current point, it allow you to trickle down below 3000 in top gear, to as
low as 2000, without lugging when you pull away. But it doesn't cure it
totally, and it leaves the roughness.

- - The carbon can + associated tune. This definitely fills out the low and
mid range substantially, and improves sub 3000 running. The economics are
nowhere near as good as a sprocket, but then it also looks good and sounds
good - not over-loud, just mellow. The mid range becomes awesome, and the
rough patch around 2500-3000 rpm virtually disappears.

- - The idle CO to 3%. My bike was running at about 1% to start with, and
would in certain conditions surge or hunt. On a tip from this list I asked
my dealer to reset it to 3%, and that made the very lowest revs very sweet,
got rid of the minor surging I had before, and improved 'just a whiff'
throttle control.

It's difficult to say which is most important, but since the sprocket/idle
costs next to nothing, I'd say do those first. Then if you want even more
mid-range torque do the can/tune. I regularly let the revs purr down to 2000
and even below in top in traffic and it pulls away again sweetly, with no
lugging, just a lovely deep warm mellow sound. I bloody well love this
engine!

As to why Triumph moved to 19, who knows? 19 is clearly too tall a gear,
even for fast UK roads. I reckon 18 is perfect (it should just about reach
the redline in top, at about 155 mph). At first my mileage worsened, while I
was going through the 'wow, look, throttle-only wheelies' phase. But once
I'd changed my style to suit 18 there was no detectable difference in fuel
consumption, just a more flexible engine and more power whenever I need/want
it. I used to think 17 would be too low, but now I've had 18 for a while I
can see the attraction, especially if you live say in canyon country! The
only edge 19 has that I can see is that you get a slightly more relaxing
ride on long fast motorways.

Barry
00RS 'Mellow Yellow' (18/43)


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