[ScottRNelson]

You don't really need a tachometer to be in the right gear. On most Ducatis, if you give it full throttle below about 3000 rpms, the bike will be kind of jerky and sort of buck and jump until it gets to an engine speed that it is happy with. You might not notice it in first or second gear, but in third or above it will definitely behave that way. So ride along in third gear and figure out at what point the engine is happy to accept full throttle and you'll then know the lower rpm range to use. Actually, on my ST2 I can go down below 2000 rpms and it's still smooth as long as I don't open the throttle more than about 1/8 turn or so. I don't look at my tachometer very often, because I can feel if the engine is in the right range.

As for finding redline, the Monster engine starts losing power before you get to redline, so when it stops pulling, it's time to shift up another gear. It's difficult to get the engine way past redline anyway, so that shouldn't be a big worry as long as you don't run the engine at high speed all the time.

So what I do when I ride, whenever I'm not in a hurry, is shift up as early as I can into a higher gear. As long as the engine is in a happy range that's all great. If I need to pass somebody or otherwise need more power, I'll downshift until I can feel that it's in the powerband. But when I'm just cruising around, I'll be in sixth gear unless I'm going slow enough that the engine isn't "happy" there, then I'll shift down a gear or two.

So I suggest that you ride in the highest gear that gives you smooth operation and allows you to accelerate as needed and you'll do just fine. You'll learn more about your bike from being in too high of gear and having to downshift again, than by always running to redline and running the engine too fast. You'll soon get a feel for it, and you won't need to look at your speed to know if you're in the right gear..

 

[ScottRNelson]

coming from a harley background, i'm a little confused on when to use the 6th gear. does anyone have the "recommended" information on when to shift the gears (e.g. when not pushing the bike)? please let me know. i just got my monster and rode it twice. i think i may be shifting up too early.

If I'm not in a hurry, I shift into the highest gear that the bike will run without lugging the engine. On my ST2, which I just got off of a few minutes ago, I'm often in 4th gear before I get all the way across a wide intersection.

In general, I like the engine to be at least 3000 rpms, but some Ducatis need slightly higher than that. If I want to go fast, I'll try to average about 5000 rpms.

If the engine is too slow for the gear you're in, the bike will sort of buck and jump when you open the throttle. The choices are either to go easier on the throttle or shift to a lower gear.

I'll probably get flamed for my opinion, but it's worked well enough for me through the four Ducatis that I've owned so far.