unbelievable was a typo and yes you are hurting the motor its called lugging it.

"Lugging an engine means putting the engine under an extremely stressful load. A common way to lug an engine is to operate it at an extremely low rpm while the transmission is in a higher gear (for instance, leaving the transmission in fourth gear when it should be in second or third where engine speed is better matched to transmission speed). Lugging causes extreme stress between the rear thrust faces of each piston and the cylinder walls. Small bits of piston skirt can break away causing the rear surface to scuff. The best prevention for lugging an engine (either old or new) is to downshift to a lower gear where the engine runs more freely, and the transmission assists the engine in delivering peak power to the rear wheel."

Reasons not tolug your engine:

1. Loosening up of the entire drive train from the compensator sprocket to the transmission hub to the rear wheel pulley.
2. Premature wear on chains and belts, transmisison.
3. Damage to the connecting rods.
4. Overheating and subsequent damage to the pistons and valves in conjunction with pinging, detonation or pre-ignition (pick your favorite term)
5. Potential for shifting the flywheels at the crankpin.
6. Damage to the main bearings.

Does torque come into play?  Engine tune and conditions?  Engine type?  Rider attention, IOW, shifting PRIOR to need?  I for one see no reason not to idle along in 6th at 35-40, until I need to accellerate, then I may drop a gear or 3, maybe even 4.  If I am at a leisure pace on the backside of a mountain enjoying the view at 30 what damage will happen if I am in 6th?  BTW, 52000 on the odo (08 C14), mountain state, and quite a few (7) trips to the track (Advanced Street Skills or ASS, yes, I am a certified SMART ASS instructor).  KIPASS is the ultimate anti lug system as long as the batteries are fresh and SteveWFL is alive
This is yet again another rides yours, I'll ride mine. 

So, what oil should I run with car tires?

<edited Lugging Primer> Lugging an engine means putting the engine under an extremely stressful load.

Oh well now that makes all the difference! Due to your primer on lugging I'm totally convinced! Perhaps we
should make that post a sticky, or add it to the Wiki. You must be some kinda motorcycle engineering god.
How has Mama Kaw stayed in business all these years without you to proof read their owner's manuals?
Perhaps they just want to spend money on warranty work out of the goodness of their hearts so people will
stay employed. Yeah, that must be it.

I pretty much agree with what you said about lugging, or at least agree that it is bad for the bike's power train.
I disagree, as does Mama Kaw, and probably jscC6, and perhaps others, that "just cruising" in 6th above 34mph
is lugging on a C14. Going up hill with the throttle wide open at that speed in that gear would be. Just cruising at 35-40 in
6th, or even to gradually accelerate with a modestly increased throttle opening to 45 mph (if the speed
limit increased for instance) would not be lugging. Perhaps it's the "just cruising" term that is the problem.
Still, to effectively refer to someone here as an ignorant fool because you don't like their gear ratio selection after
you said on the other thread...

  Bottom line is we are all riders and deserve respect equally.

..seems....well never mind...I've referred to you as a motorcycle engineering god, I'll leave it at that.

Nope......you are just boring the hell out of it,....

Agreed. 

Your life your bike and your ride.

   

This is yet again another rides yours, I'll ride mine. 

 

  KIPASS is the ultimate anti lug system as long as the batteries are fresh and SteveWFL is alive

So, what oil should I run with car tires?

 

I am now at 245 miles on her, so obeying the owners manual by staying under 4k :/

you cant fix stupid.

you cant fix stupid.

Yes you can, right Jim?

You're a funny guy, you know that....    You may want to add the popcorn.  Seems that's the kiss of death for a thread these days.

Keep it civil people....

I try to cruise between 3-4k rpm.  I try not to ride any length of time under 3 k.

Fred

You're a funny guy, you know that....    You may want to add the popcorn.  Seems that's the kiss of death for a thread these days.

Keep it civil people....

 

Just cruising at 35-40 in 6th, or even to gradually accelerate with a modestly increased throttle opening to 45 mph (if the speed limit increased for instance) would not be lugging. Perhaps it's the "just cruising" term that is the problem.

Could be.  But I doubt one can accelerate *at all* at 35MPH in 6th gear.  Even if one could, even gradually would be "lugging".

Still, to effectively refer to someone here as an ignorant fool because you don't like their gear ratio selection after you said on the other thread.....seems....well never mind...

Agreed.  Typically threads on this forum are very civil.  Not sure why these personal attacks have to slip in.

Anyway, logically speaking, I see no reason to risk extra stress on the engine by going into an unnecessarily high gear like proposed (6th at 35).   It won't save gas.  It probably won't make any vibrational difference.  And it leaves the rider with absolutely zero power available, even to maintain speed.  And the driver has to jump not one but two gears to have any power (4th at 35), and three gears to have any real power (3rd at 35).

I, personally, would probably not go higher than 4th at 35.   To each their own, however.

Usually 3 to 4.5. 4.5 and up when I'm feeling froggy.

But I doubt one can accelerate *at all* at 35MPH in 6th gear. 

Mine can, but mine's blue so.....sorry, I just had to whip in some of that color business  . I most likely don't do it (6th gear at 35-40mph) as often as jjcC6, but when I tour, I usually avoid the interstate and find a parallel road that has several little towns on it. Almost every one of them has a gradually lowering speed limit down to 40 or 35 mph.
I slow down and just cruise through town in sixth gear. As I exit the town the limit usually goes up to 45 and I slowly accelerate still in sixth. I don't give it much extra throttle to only go 5 mph faster. It does accelerate nice and smooth without any sign of struggle or lugging. Mine still has flies in and has yet to be re-flashed so maybe the blue ones can handle it better.     These towns usually let the 45 mph last roughly a mile before the 55 or 65 mph limit which is followed quickly by a 70 or 75 mph sign within a tenth of a mile so that's where I down shift to really accelerate to get "the flock outta town". If I make a stop, or have to slow for a school zone, then I'll stay in 5th for the remainder of the cruise through town. So no, I don't make it a point to just cruise at 35-40 in 6th, but it does occur frequently during a road trip for me. It's a good thing I've got that warranty, I'm probably killing my compensator sprocket as well as my muffler bearings

you cant fix stupid.

I agree, you can't.

I am now at 245 miles on her, so obeying the owners manual by staying under 4k :/

And just what/who are you obeying by doing that? You do realize that your bike was already run hard and at redline on a dyno at the factory don't you? It is a new to you bike, that is why the folks that write manuals want you to ride like a cadaver. That is all!

 

6th gear at 35-45mph is like driving a Prius at 55mph on the left lane (the fast lane)...

Let me reply to the many responses to my post about 6th gear at 35-40.  Please understand that I'm talking about level roads, and it's not that common for me simply because I ride very few roads with a speed limit that low.  My point was that I ride in the highest gear I can.   I did not mean to throw stones or insult anyone, so I hope nobody took it that way.  But I stand by my statement that I don't get why anyone would not get to the highest gear possible for easy cruising. 

You should also know that I'm not a slow rider by any means.  In the past two weeks I've seen top speed on both my Concours and my Ninja 1000, and I've been over 100 probably 15 times in the past two weeks.  But there is a time and place for it, and a time and place (like in the Houston area where I live) where it makes no sense to me to run hard.

2,900rpm in top brings up our open-road speed limit over here...

I don't think you can wiggle your way out of this one Jim. "They" are on to you and are going to beat you accordingly for your misuse of your motorcycle. <chuckle>

I leave mine in 6th all the time. Sure I have to slip the clutch a bit more to launch it from a stop but it saves me having to make all those shifts. Besides, it shifts pretty clunky if you use [brand X] oil in the crankcase (that ought to take a bit of the heat off of you).

Brian

Let me reply to the many responses to my post about 6th gear at 35-40.  Please understand that I'm talking about level roads, and it's not that common for me simply because I ride very few roads with a speed limit that low.  My point was that I ride in the highest gear I can.   I did not mean to throw stones or insult anyone, so I hope nobody took it that way.  But I stand by my statement that I don't get why anyone would not get to the highest gear possible for easy cruising. 

You should also know that I'm not a slow rider by any means.  In the past two weeks I've seen top speed on both my Concours and my Ninja 1000, and I've been over 100 probably 15 times in the past two weeks.  But there is a time and place for it, and a time and place (like in the Houston area where I live) where it makes no sense to me to run hard.

I don't think you can wiggle your way out of this one Jim. "They" are on to you and are going to beat you accordingly for your misuse of your motorcycle. <chuckle>

I leave mine in 6th all the time. Sure I have to slip the clutch a bit more to launch it from a stop but it saves me having to make all those shifts. Besides, it shifts pretty clunky if you use [brand X] oil in the crankcase (that ought to take a bit of the heat off of you).

Brian

LMFAO.  thanks Brian 

Well for those of you that may not realize, here's what your owners manual said about it.  Check out page 8 of "How to Ride the Motorcycle"

http://www.kawasaki-techinfo.net/showOM.php?view_lang=EN&spec=US&book_no=99987-1608&lang_code=EN

Well for those of you that may not realize, here's what your owners manual said about it.

http://www.kawasaki-techinfo.net/showOM.php?view_lang=EN&spec=US&book_no=99987-1608&lang_code=EN

Blasphemy!!!!!!!!