Cruising RPM & cruise control questions

[spyderjim]

I have a 2012 RT SE5. It is new to me. Only put about 100 miles on so far. What RPM is the most efficient for cruising? Also for shifting. I'm told that at any speed it is 4000RPM. Seems a bit high. It also appears you do not have to roll off the throttle when shifting. I was finding by doing so, I would often miss 2nd & 3rd gear.

Also, my cruise control does not operate as indicated in the manual. The manual says move button to right, and push down to SET speed, then when activated, push up/down to increase/decrease speed. Mine SETS speed by pushing UP, and if I push down, it turns OFF the cruise. Any comments on this??

 

[Bob Denman]

The key to "clutch nirvana" with the 991/SE-5s, is to maintain your rpm levels at least to the point where the clutches are fully locked-up.
Generally speaking; that would be at least 3500 rpm.
The best way to insure this, is to upshift at 5,000 rpm

Cruise control... Mine always was happy to set a speed, by thumbing-down on the button... :dontknow:

 

[Pennyrick]

I have a 2012 RT SE5. It is new to me. Only put about 100 miles on so far. What RPM is the most efficient for cruising? Also for shifting. I'm told that at any speed it is 4000RPM. Seems a bit high. It also appears you do not have to roll off the throttle when shifting. I was finding by doing so, I would often miss 2nd & 3rd gear.

Also, my cruise control does not operate as indicated in the manual. The manual says move button to right, and push down to SET speed, then when activated, push up/down to increase/decrease speed. Mine SETS speed by pushing UP, and if I push down, it turns OFF the cruise. Any comments on this??

The engine likes to run around 4,000-4,5000 rpm to cruise and that will mean you will never be using 5th gear unless you are in a 65-70 mph zone. You do not have to roll back the throttle to upshift.

Your cruise seems to be operating incorrectly. This is a four-way switch. The ON position is when it slides to the right and the OFF position is when it slides left. Click down to set and up to resume. Are you sure you are not sliding the control OFF when you are moving it up and down? You also have a display on your dash monitor that tells if the cruise is on or off.

 

[boomerkc]

SE5 shift points for me...........

Saw this in another thread and it's working great for me. 1st gear 0-30 mph, 2nd gear 30-40 mph, 3rd gear 40-50 mph, 4th gear 50-60 and 5th gear for 60 and above. Works very smoothly and just happens that the rpm for the bottom speed in each gear is right at 4,500 rpm. With the SE5, it's very important that you remember the Rotax engines love the higher range of RPMs, not like the Harleys and Goldwings. Keep the RPMs up, keep the clutch happy.

 

[Jeriatric]

RPM's and economy

If you run your spyder between 4 & 6K it will be happy. Cruising in the 5K+ range keeps it happy. Economy at highway speeds is more a by product of speed and headwind conditions (resistance) than RPM.

 

[bullant12]

:agree: with all the statements above as far as shifting. The 990 Rotax is a high reving machine and it likes to shift in higher revs. On my SM5, it likes to go higher than 5000 RPM to do a nice and smooth shift.

As far as the cruise control, you might need to get it check. On my previous 2010, it took me 2 trips to the dealer to have them finally replace the switch because it did the same thing as yours. When I got my 2013, it works just like the manual states. Good luck!

 

[ARtraveler]

Previous posters have you pretty much covered. I always try to operate the :spyder2: in the "happy" range. (5000 rpms ballpark).

Cruise Control: Double check that you are not miss applying the buttons. The big switch (left/right) is for on off operation. The indicator in the instrument cluster will show off/on for cruise. The other button (up/down) is for set/resume/increase, decrease speed. It works just like a car cruise control. DOWN on the button will set speed (hold a second or two) or decrease speed by about 1 mph per additional click. UP on the button will resume speed (hold for a second or so) and increase speed at about 1 mph per click.

There have been a few defective switches. I had one go out at 26,000 miles or so.

 

[DrewNJ]

I agree with everything except the 1st gear stuff...or to add to it: if your cruising through a neighborhood at 25mph you will be better off shifting up to second and cruise through....your not going to harm the clutch at no lockup and very light throttle at low speed.

First gear is an acceleration gear from a stop. On-off throttle in first at higher rpms will cause more issues than it will solve.

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[Jeriatric]

Crusing

Isn't that supposed to be at about 6700 in 5th :doorag:

 

[Silvervette05]

I have had my 012 RTS for about 2-3 months now, and everyone has answer questions I was about to ask, THANKS everyone. :2thumbs:

 

[JustDennis]

Starting riding the new-to-us 2012 RT and found that it is happier with the higher RPMs. After years of riding Harleys, the higher revving engine is a change for me. I really have to concentrate on running the RPMs higher. This thread answered my questions. Thanks

 

[Dan_Ashley]

First gear is an acceleration gear from a stop. On-off throttle in first at higher rpms will cause more issues than it will solve.

I don't understand how on-off the throttle in first at higher RPMS will cause more issues. Could you explain that? I really do not understand.

 

[DrewNJ]

I don't understand how on-off the throttle in first at higher RPMS will cause more issues. Could you explain that? I really do not understand.

momentum vs. load in the peak of the power band.
warning, I really suck at some of these explanations...but here goes...
for example, think of it with the trans gears (however the same idea applies to all the moving parts on the driveline). When you apply power the pressure on the gears is on the "drive" side of the gears. When you let off the pressure goes to the "coast" side. now imagine going back and forth drive to coast suddenly at high rpm's with a heavy machine that has very little momentum.

almost like slamming the drive train with power on the drive side and then letting the weight of the bike with limited forward momentum yank on the coast side.

It's this power struggle back and forth between the power the engine makes and the lack of momentum that will damage parts.

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[DrewNJ]

Or, think of it this way. First gear is where the engine power is multiplied the most due to gearing. so if first gear is 4:1 vs 5th gear at 1:1 the power is 4 times greater due to the gear reduction. The strain on drive train components is also multiplied 4:1. This gearing also multiplies the momentum strain on the coast side 4:1
(Note: i have no idea what the actual ratios are off hand....)

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[Dan_Ashley]

Got it! Thanks. If you on off the throttle at low speed and low RPM you are essentially banging the gears together real hard and repeatedly. This will cause them to wear out faster.

Now I understand a little better.

 

[DrewNJ]

Figure the one shift taller gear will be softer/easier because of the taller gear as well as being outside the peak power band of the motor, so its easier on the drivetrain .

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[Bob Denman]

Good explanation! :clap: :firstplace: