How often do you shift in to 7th gear? :D

Just wondering. I know everyone does it every now and then.

Probably tried 6-10 times in the last few months.....always wishing for just a little bit more.

Haha I swear I do it at least once every time I ride!!

It usually happens in the mornings when its still cold out and I try to not rev the engine too hard till its warmed up properly. So I do very early gear changes, and since I'm still sleepy in the mornings (don't think a student can ever get enough sleep ) I pretty much every morning on my commute find myself wanting to go into 7th Usually not because I'm in need of more umph but because I don't want to rev it harder the first couple of minutes

More frequently than I care to admit.

When I ran 13/52, there was a couple times on the highway.
With 13/42 now....let's just say, not yet.

Probably almost every time I take it for a longer ride...
Wouldn't mind having a tach so I can keep an eye on the revs. I obviously don't hear it, but then again I'm old.

As least once every highway segment of an all day ride.

Every time I ride on the highway, I search for 7th.

...every time I'm cruising above 55mph for more than a few seconds, Strangely, it's not a problem when I'm riding in "pin it and grin" mode

ever since I changed my gearing to 13-48,,,,I try to shift to 7th gear all the time,,,,usually when I'm not paying attention and thinking about something else......

To find the 5.5 gear.

Not as often as when I try to shift to .5st in the tight stuff

I'm constantly trying to get it into 7th gear..

Will be putting on 14/39 sprockets at some point to fix this issue.

99% of my riding is off road, so I put on a larger rear sprocket.
That said, every single time I ride on a street I try to get into 7th gear...

oic0 wrote:

Just wondering. I know everyone does it every now and then.

I used to reach for the missing 7th a lot until I mounted my FMF programmer up on the handlebars which doubles as a tachometer.
All the LEDs turn red at about 8000 RPM and I find it easier to keep track of shifts but it still happens occasionally. You can see it in parts of this youtube video (skip to about 1:50):


Another video showing the FMF Programmer in "Tach mode":



Occasionally I will still accidently reach for the missing 7th gear but only when I run the 47 tooth aluminum rear sprocket I use for trail riding and it is too bright out to see the LEDs on my programmer.

When I am feeling like a long trip out of town and am going to be on the highway a lot I put my aluminum 43 tooth sprocket back on.
This is usually not that big of a deal as I need to tighten the chain up and lube everything anyhow before a long highway trip.

[quote="SomeGuyFromCali"]

oic0 wrote:

...When I am feeling like a long trip out of town and am going to be on the highway a lot I put my aluminum 43 tooth sprocket back on.
This is usually not that big of a deal as I need to tighten the chain up and lube everything anyhow before a long highway trip.

That's weird, cuz when I swapped back from the 13/47 to the 13/43 I had to go back to the shorter chain...

[quote="Rapid Dog"]

SomeGuyFromCali wrote:

oic0 wrote:

...When I am feeling like a long trip out of town and am going to be on the highway a lot I put my aluminum 43 tooth sprocket back on.
This is usually not that big of a deal as I need to tighten the chain up and lube everything anyhow before a long highway trip.

That's weird, cuz when I swapped back from the 13/47 to the 13/43 I had to go back to the shorter chain...

I've got a 110 link chain and I can do 13/42 to 13/47 on the same chain

Marylucky wrote:

I've got a 110 link chain and I can do 13/42 to 13/47 on the same chain

I forget my exact chain length , I know I bought a new one when I got my new aluminum sprockets but that was back in 2009.
I am also running the Zeta Axle blocks but doubt that makes a difference in the required length.
I can definitely switch back and forth using the same chain though, just put my 47 tooth back on to shoot some helmet camera videos out at the local OHV area.
110 links sounds correct but I would need to count again to be certain.

Marylucky: How does that 42 tooth rear sprocket feel? I was actually considering something like a 45 tooth next since the stock 43 tooth makes the top 4 gears too high on the tight trails and I feel like the 47 tooth makes her rev up pretty high on the open road at highway speeds. 45 tooth would seem like a nice medium but I havent heard of anyone using that setup yet (13/45)

Have you ever take it on the trails with the 42 tooth rear? Seems like the gearing would be pretty dang high like that but on the road it would be awesome...

SomeGuyFromCali wrote:

Marylucky wrote:

I've got a 110 link chain and I can do 13/42 to 13/47 on the same chain

I forget my exact chain length , I know I bought a new one when I got my new aluminum sprockets but that was back in 2009.
I am also running the Zeta Axle blocks but doubt that makes a difference in the required length.
I can definitely switch back and forth using the same chain though, just put my 47 tooth back on to shoot some helmet camera videos out at the local OHV area.
110 links sounds correct but I would need to count again to be certain.

Marylucky: How does that 42 tooth rear sprocket feel? I was actually considering something like a 45 tooth next since the stock 43 tooth makes the top 4 gears too high on the tight trails and I feel like the 47 tooth makes her rev up pretty high on the open road at highway speeds. 45 tooth would seem like a nice medium but I havent heard of anyone using that setup yet (13/45)

Have you ever take it on the trails with the 42 tooth rear? Seems like the gearing would be pretty dang high like that but on the road it would be awesome...

Originaly my bike is a X so I have 13/42.

When I got my R wheels I put the 42 on to do trails.
It was too long and I was always stalling the bike when I was in the mud.
Then I put the 47th on the R wheels. Now it's perfect for trails.

On my X wheels I have a 45th.
I don't think I've lost some top speed since the bike can't go up to the last rev with the stock 42.
I love the 45 on the street and I should have done it 3 years ago.

Marylucky wrote:

I love the 45 on the street and I should have done it 3 years ago.

Well that settles it then... off to Rocky Mountain ATV to order myself up a 45 tooth.

Every time I do this - which is quite often - I think of this thread now....which makes me realize how often I try to shift into 7th.....

Sure would be nice if there was a gear indicator on dash. I'm
looking for 8th sometimes.

I do this two or three times every ride, but I am still new to the bike... My prior bike had a big red gear indicator on the dash, and I didn't realize how much I came to rely on that. I think it's because I am through the first three gears so quick that I don't realize I'm already in 4th or 5th. I haven't really needed the 7th gear, I just try to click up before I realize it's not there.