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Is the 6 speed trans really better than the 5?

33K views 92 replies 40 participants last post by  SharkNose 
#1 ·
My 5 speed RG will cruise all day in 4th gear at 70mph. Often times I forget to even put it in 5th gear. Given that shifting gears is a general PITA, why would I even want a 6 speed transmission? Honestly, I think the 5 is better. What do you think?
 
#4 ·
Bet your MPG sucks...Literally. Lower RPMs, bike runs cooler, etc. When I got my cams changed my 5th, and especially my 6th gear woke right up. I run 6th gear all the time.
 
#5 ·
6th gear. Oh ya!

Had an 04 electraglide with a 6 speed. I wouldnt consider a roadtrip bagger without it.The 6 speed you will be turning around 2950 RPM at 80.Basically dropping your rpms down by 500. If you riding in 4th at 70 MPH you are in the torque area, fun to ride, but tougher on the motor, cant do that on a road trip all day. When riding around town, I too will use 4 for some speed and torque, then double shift from 4 to 6 when getting out of town on the back roads or big slab. Ride one with the 6 speed and you will believe its worth it.
 
#6 ·
my 02 Dyna always felt like I needed to shift when I got up to speed on the highway.My 2012 RGU does about 10 mpg better with the 103 then the little dyna with an 88.

is the six speed better? no question!
 
#8 ·
I just went from a 5 speed on a 2005 Electra Glide to a 6 speed on a 2012 Road Glide and there is a big difference. Less vibration, less motor noise and smooth. You can cruise on your bike at 70 in 4th? What RPM?


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#10 ·
Depends on your riding. Two-lane twisties and I'd never use it. Where I find that I appreciate the 6th gear is when I have to jump on the super-slab and hit 65 mph or above. Over a long-haul it smooths things out and makes for a much nicer ride.

Local Service Mgr was funny one day. A customer smarted off he didn't like the 6 speed and the Svc Mgr just said "Don't use it; its just a 5 speed tranny with 1 more gear that lowers the rpms so if you don't like the 6-speed never shift to the 6th gear and you got a 5 speed."
 
#32 ·
Once upon a time we had 4 speeds but then we got 5. Now we have a 6 speed with a rash of failures. Seems to me all of theses new age Harley owners think that anything thst czme beford 09 was junk.
Hmm, less vibration? That's crap. Cooler running. If you had an engine thst didn' t run so hot you wouldn't have this problem.
Progress is good but Harley has a reputation of making bad decisions.
 
#13 ·
Ya think?!! Lol
 
#48 · (Edited)
I have a DD7 and its 7th gear is still the same as HD's 6th gear (1 to 1 ratio). It has shorter gears in 1st thru 6th so you can keep it more in the powerband. The trans was originally designed as a fix for the 2007/2008s that many HD owners complained had too long of a 1st gear. Then Harley made a change to 2009+ gearing, as mentioned previously.

I bought my 2008 RG slightly-used and it was already installed. Its a solid, smooth-shifting trans but would I purchase one? Hhmmm...maybe for a 2007/2008 if you want a shorter gearset, or if you want some more grunt in the intermediate gears (10 to 15% more gear-induced TQ per Baker reps). But is 7th gear going to make the top-end speed on the RG any higher or more fuel efficient during a high-gear cruise? NOPE

DD7 Ratio Stock Ratio
1st Gear 3.76 1st Gear 3.34
2nd Gear 2.75 2nd Gear 2.30
3rd Gear 2.06 3rd Gear 1.71
4th Gear 1.55 4th Gear 1.41
5th Gear 1.27 5th Gear 1.18
6th Gear 1.10 6th Gear 1.00
7th Gear 1.00 7th Gear N/A

Just like most new cars have more gears in the trans, more gears increase time the engine spends in the prime torque area of the powerband to increase overall efficiencies. Same as Harley's 6-speed did verse their 5-speed, etc.

JMHO
 
#16 ·
I typically use 6th gear on the interstates or open four lanes. Touring bike to me means going somewhere beyond the local twisties, and I would never consider "trading down" to a five-speed.
 
#17 ·

I know that on my '62, I sure want a 5th gear. 4 gears limits it. It just doesn't seem to cruise at freeway speeds.

On other bikes I've owned, 5 gears were cool, I just didn't think about it much.

Now, on the RG, I wouldn't give up 6th gear. I love rolling down the road with the motor just humming along instead of screaming at me.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Wow, what a bunch of loafers.
My '01 Ultra Classic was 5 speed, with the early EFI 3.37 gearing which raised the rpm another 300 or so above the 3.15 geared carb'd models. This meant that at 80mph the motor was turning 3600rpm. I did alot of 80mph interstate riding on trips with no problems whatsoever. At 60mph the engine just sounded "right".

Although it's better after the cam install, I still rarely run my RGU in 6th gear unless I'm over 70mph,or on a dead flat road. Just doesn't sound right running at 2500rpm or less.
 
#22 ·
I haven't specifically checked the RPMs at 70 in 4th, but 3600 is probably about right. Anyway just seems like a great setup with the 5 speed? The bike in question does have a stage 1 kit, don't really think that matters. Anyway, just wondering what others thought about it.

Did MOCO fix something that wasn't broken? IMHO, probably so.
 
#23 ·
That's a reasonable perspective. The brakes weren't broken, either-I still want the ABS. Cable throttle looked ok-but I wouldn't trade TBW and cruise control for it. 96 CI twin has a good reputation, but I'm not lusting for one. Several more items on my bike "ain't broke", but they could be improved.:)
 
#28 ·
6 defnitely better.. cruise at 80 at 3k. cruise backroads at 55-60 in 5th. i would not go back to 5 speed.
 
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