So; I've been thoroughly enjoying hopping on my recently refurbished 1974 XLCH nearly every afternoon for about a 1/2 hr tour around the local area...like a time machine. As I get more confident in the bikes mechanical integrity, I've run it through the gears a few times...pulls sweet but seems about 5500 is all I need to rev it to before I shift; vibes a bit and seems to be telling me "next gear please". As there's no redline on the tach, does this sound like a good point to shift when doing an aggressive run?
5500 rpm won't hurt a mechanically sound Ironhead. Next time you go through the engine, balance the flywheels. It really makes a difference.
Agree with SP33DY on both points. 5500 is nothing for an Ironhead, I have my rev limiter set at 7000. They want to run between 2500K and 5K for day to day riding around, cruise at 4K, and 6500+ on hard acceleration depending on what cam you're using. And indeed a good balanced bottom end makes a huge difference in how much vibration gets induced into the chassis. Mine is pretty dam smooth up to redline, although I will confess it is not a touring bike.
:wink:
-JW