I was wondering what a stock 2005 883 was turning in RPMs say at

60mph
65mph
70mph

I do not have a tach and am just a little curious. Also...what is the top speed of the 883s. I was going to be doing some highway cruising and just want to make sure I am not straining the motor too much. 65-70 mph has usually been my comfort zone on by BT softail. But my sporty is just to comfortable to leave at home!!!!

Don’t worry about running it too hard. With the rev limiter the ignition will just stop working. You could just open the throttle wide open with the transmission in neutral and still not hurt the engine.

There are a few web sites with gear ratio input and MPH input and a few other factors that will give you your RPM. Here is one.

http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/calc_speed_rpm.htm

Now don't go telling him that he can rev the hell out of the engine all day long and not do any damage. That just isn't true. The rev limiter will cut off the ignition beofre detonation occrus, but spinning the engine too fast for too long just causes uneeded wear and heat, which will lower the lifespan of the motor.

If it means anything to you, my '04 1200 is turning about 3000 rpm at 70 mph. Yours should be slightly higher than that.

Thanks. That helps. I think the redline is 6500??? I should be fine tooling around at 3000-3500 on the highway. Funny thing is I was always looking for that 6th gear, even in my softail. I would be great if Baker came up with a 6 speed to the sporty!

Like this one? I think that optional reverse would be nice. I don't believe they make it for the 04-05 models though....yet.



http://www.cas4.com/baker/baker-6-speed-xl-buell.htm

Thats awsome. Not sure if it will work in the 04-05s. I just checked the baker wesite and it only lists it to 2003. I know the tranny was modified for 2004 and this may effect the modification. Anyone have experience with these??
These would be awsome for an 883 conversion AND the original 883 27 tooth pully. Best of both worlds when mated to a 6 speed. Lightning quick off the line and smooth highway cruising! :smoke

I had a six speed honda shadow and was still looking for one more , so it never ends you'll always need one more gear

I had a six speed honda shadow and was still looking for one more , so it never ends you'll always need one more gear

One more gear...more inches...cubic that is...the saga continues!

I learned to ride on a 600 Katana. The thing had 6 gears and redlined at 12,000! I could have used a 7th too. The only auto I ever drove that I did not need another gear was my 2002 Trans AM 6 speed. At 75 mph I was turning just about 1300 RPM. A 325 HP car that got almost 30 MPg on the highway. Geez!

my '04 1200 is turning about 3000 rpm at 70 mph. Yours should be slightly higher than that.

That's exactly what the 883 will turn at that speed given the same gear ratios. The 1200 will just get there quicker. Your Sporty will cruise all day at 32-3500 rpm with no undue problems with occaisional high speed spurts for passing. Extended runs above that will shorten the lifespan of the engine.

At what speed should I expect the '05 883 to start feeling strained?? I weigh about 160lbs if that matters. It is hard to read the status of the motor since the pipes are so darn loud and I did not have the stockers on long enough to test it out. I am about 1/2 way through the 500 mile break in and winter is closing fast! :censor :censor :censor :censor :censor :censor :censor

Thanks. That helps. I think the redline is 6500??? I should be fine tooling around at 3000-3500 on the highway. Funny thing is I was always looking for that 6th gear, even in my softail. I would be great if Baker came up with a 6 speed to the sporty!

I can tell you that the 'redline' is no where near 6,500 revs on your 883.

In fact, the rev limiter that is set by your ignition control module is more than likely set at 5,800 ... Tell ya what ... Go drive the bike in 2nd gear and go wide open throttle. Don't atempt to close the throttle even a little ... I don't know if you have a tach or not, but if you do, I promise that the rev limiter will not allow the motor to accelerate above 5,800 revs ... Fact

While I have an 04 1200R, the bike is geared 883 on the final. Your gears, 1 through 4 are different but I think 5th may be the same. At 70 mph I am turning 3,200 rpm. The maximum torque for the 1200 is at 3,300 rpm so I am 100 rpm low however, the gearing is perfect. I am currently at 28 on the front and I think the rear is 62. You may want to check and see where the maximum torque comes in on the 883. If you truly feel the engine is taching out, then you can replace the transmission sprocket with a 29 and this will drop you roughly 350 rpm on the final. If you feel it is still excessive, go to the export sprocket which is a 30 tooth. Remember, if you drop it to far you will fall outside the powerband and the bike may feel sluggish untill you get it up on the pipe. In any case good luck and please let us know how you made out.

Stephen Hawk

Thanks Stephen Hawk. Your bike must be a rocket. I do not want to make the bike to sluggish. I think I will keep it as it is and see what the 1st trip brings me. Power is decent now and I am afraid to mess with a good thing. If revs get to be too much, I will definatly go with a 29 with I do the 1200 upgrade next year. Most of my riding is around town but I expect to do a few trips this year in the north east. Honestly, the 6 speed sounds great, but is very costly.

Top speed is listed as 90mph but my kid has done well over 100 verified with a GPS. I can't say what the strain point is. Stevo might tell you better, I do know that I've done the long distance thing and maintained 80+ mph for extended time with no immediate negative results but I'm certain I wouldn't want to do that as a matter of course. Common sense dictates, if I exceed that 32-3500rpm too much, I'll be rebuiding sooner than I had planned.

I would love to have this but the price, ouch! That's about double what I spent on my whole conversion, exhaust, AC, etc.

Doug
2004 883>1200 Custom

I don't know where they come up with the top speed for the bikes but in the case of the Harley 04 XL1200R or 05 XL1200C they are full of crap. Yesterday, 12-20-04 my friend and I had the 2 above mention bikes up to 110. Now, both speedometers read 6 mph fast from the factory however, we had more left too. I would imagine the top speed to be at or around 120 mph. At 80 mph I am taching 3,850 rpm and yesterday I was taching just under 5,000 rpm. The bike road very well and the engine ran great. We were in a bit of a hurry so we won't be doing this very often but a top end of 90? Please, tell the bike that.....ha-ha-ha

BTW: The 883 may just be right around 100 mph. With 2 up on a 5% grade its about 75 and taped out.......

Hawk

I live out here in California. Northern that is, to differentiate from the mess that is So-Cal. Anyway, for Christmas I bought myself a set of cycle shack drags with a steped header for some back pressure. (Wouldn't like to burn out my valves now) I drive a 04 xl883. Lets just say, the day befor Christmas was cold as hell here, and me with a skull cap and streakin down the backroads testing out my baby. I went to 110 without a problem, and slowed down only because my face seemed to be falling off from the cold. I am sure I could have hit 120, and probably faster. This wouldn't be all that impressive, but I do weigh in the neighborhood of 300lbs. So I'd say some of you are under estimating the lil harley just a bit.

I live out here in California. Northern that is, to differentiate from the mess that is So-Cal. Anyway, for Christmas I bought myself a set of cycle shack drags with a steped header for some back pressure. (Wouldn't like to burn out my valves now) I drive a 04 xl883. Lets just say, the day befor Christmas was cold as hell here, and me with a skull cap and streakin down the backroads testing out my baby. I went to 110 without a problem, and slowed down only because my face seemed to be falling off from the cold. I am sure I could have hit 120, and probably faster. This wouldn't be all that impressive, but I do weigh in the neighborhood of 300lbs. So I'd say some of you are under estimating the lil harley just a bit.

Thanks. I doubt I will ever be north of 100mph. It is just comforting to know that 75-80mph will not be a problem.

I have just done some number crunching and from what I can work out all the Sportsters have the same gearbox ratios (with the possible exception of Japan as there are different part numbers for their internals). The difference in drive ratios in the different models comes from a combination of different primary sprockets and transmission and rear wheel sprockets. Happily that means that you can make all the changes you need without pulling the gearbox apart. :)

I am running a stock (at the moment) international model 883 which has very similar gearing to the US model 1200s. The quoted max torque for the 883 is at 4300rpm but I am only at 3000-3400rpm at highway cruise speeds of 100-110kph (60-70mph) so I am a long way off max torque. That explains why it feels a bit anemic on hills or overtaking in 5th gear! Still it should be perfect when I do the 1200 upgrade.

FWIW,
My '04 883 shuts down at 110. I don't know if it was some sort of a top speed limiter, or 110 was just running it into the rev limiter in 5th. That's all the faster I care to go on a public road, so it doesn't bother me. I'd just like to work on improving the acceleration.
Tony

The 883 transmission gearing is different than the 1200 although I think 5th may be that same. I have an 04 1200R that has the 28 tooth transmission sprocket on it. At 70 mph I am running at roughly 3,250 rpm. Maximum torque for the 1200 is at 3,300 so I figure the gear change was perfect. The role on power is much better as well....

Hawk

Thats awsome. Not sure if it will work in the 04-05s. I just checked the baker wesite and it only lists it to 2003. I know the tranny was modified for 2004 and this may effect the modification. Anyone have experience with these??
These would be awsome for an 883 conversion AND the original 883 27 tooth pully. Best of both worlds when mated to a 6 speed. Lightning quick off the line and smooth highway cruising! :smoke
I know that there is no trap door so you would have to split the cases to do the 6 speed thing, might as well stroke it and machine the cases for the big jugs

Felt like the limiter kicked in cause I still had about 500 RPMs before redlining (5500 on my tach and what I was told to be the max by the dealer). Pissed me off because my friend on his wide glide just kept going and going like the energizer rabbit. Sooooo.... I just bought the SE Ignition Module on eBay (where else) for $50 and the SE High flow air filter kit $75 and will see how that goes.

:shhhh

I get 110 on my bone stock 04 883. I weigh 180 lbs.

That's about what I get on my 04 883 - 110-114mph, and I'm pretty sure my speedo is about 4 mph "fast". I've only done it a few times on a very straight road through the cornfields in southern WI. Motor doesn't sound like it's in any pain at that speed either!