My new bike - 1983 Kawasaki KZ550

primal · 04-23-2009, 06:39 PM

Well, see, its more about the gearing of the bike than the engine I guess. The bike was definitely geared for the double-nickel era. In 6th gear at 55 MPH it cruises at 4.5k RPM. I took the interstate for the first time today and at 70 MPH the engine was running at 6k RPM. I actually do try to keep the bike at 50-60% redline. When I'm really getting on the throttle I shift at around 7k since I don't want to over rev the engine.

I also kinda want something a bit lower. I can wrangle this one around find, but it would be sooo much easier if it was a bit lower.

04-23-2009, 06:39 PM	#37
primal Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Hurricane, WV Posts: 446	Re: My new bike - 1983 Kawasaki KZ550 Well, see, its more about the gearing of the bike than the engine I guess. The bike was definitely geared for the double-nickel era. In 6th gear at 55 MPH it cruises at 4.5k RPM. I took the interstate for the first time today and at 70 MPH the engine was running at 6k RPM. I actually do try to keep the bike at 50-60% redline. When I'm really getting on the throttle I shift at around 7k since I don't want to over rev the engine. I also kinda want something a bit lower. I can wrangle this one around find, but it would be sooo much easier if it was a bit lower.
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