Newbie help FZS 600 revs and gear

As others have said, this depends on your riding style and the current
conditions.

As a newbie, you may be asking exactly what revs you should be using,
so all the advice saying "whatever the bike feels comfortable with"
may not be helping you a lot.

So I thought I'd throw in 2p for you:

I ride a Thundercat, which has basically the same engine as your
fazer. It's a fairly free revving sports engine that is happiest
between 6 and 12K on the rev counter.

It starts pulling at 4 (which is basically idling it - you should be
slipping the clutch or just trickling along if you are riding at less
than 4K), but there is a flat spot in the rev range around 5K so if
you start an overtake at 4K you tend to run out of oomph at
inappropriate moments.

So, town riding:
I therefore tend to try and stay at or around 6-7K in town to allow
for getting out of trouble asap without giving the cage drivers too
much to complain about in the way of noise. When filtering I'll
usually stay in 1st gear whatever speed I'm doing as if the traffic is
moving too it is nice to let them know I'm there anyway. So I'll
happily go to 9K in first gear in that situation. More than that and
you shouldn't be filtering anyway as the cars are moving fast enough
that you don't need to.

When not in heavy traffic I'll drop into a higher gear to reduce noise
and consumption and go into more of a 'cruise' mode, but still keep it
at around 6K.

Straight bits:
The bits in the rev range where the cat pulls most are at 6.5 and 9K,
so most of the time if I'm cruising I'll be just below the lower of
those two bands. This gives me spare power where I need it if I want
to do a quick overtake.

If you want fun and excitement on a 'FOF or a ride out with mates,
then keep the revs higher and prepare to be kicked in the arse when
you reach the 9k band. It'll continue to pull amazingly quickly from
there to the red line, and the grin will probably reach past your
ears, but be prepared to reach for the wallet more often.

In the rain:
Lower revs generate less torque, and you are less likely to spin up on
corners, so riding in the 5k flat area isn't a bad idea all the time.

As a general rule, bigger engines will generate more power lower down
the rev range, so they don't need to go so high. Your 600 should see
you happy for a good few years though. The only time mine seems to
lack anything is two up for long periods on a motorway when it has to
try a bit hard.

If some of this is too obvious to you then I apologise, but when I
first started this is the sort of thing I was looking for.


Oh, and by the way, don't get fixated on what revs you are doing. As
you ride more and get used to a bike you'll find yourself starting to
do things automatically. One of these is learning when to change gear
and what gear to be in for hazards coming towards you.

I'd recommend reading Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist books. They did
my riding a lot of good.

Basically, (and yes I know I'm possibly saying ignore all of the
above) just get out there and enjoy it. Summer's coming and you've
got a fun bike to be on.

 

<snip very useful advice>

Got some earplugheadphone er6 things today and it feels so
much beter riding and not having the engine noise so loud but
still audible, a lot more relaxing also solved my clutch slipping
habit. Using the revs you suggested now,

 

Oooh, groovy - those look even smaller than the Sony Fontopias I've got now.

Hang on, how much are they? <fx:boggle> Think I'll stick with the Fontopias.