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Old 11-30-2017, 08:46 AM   #1
andyismarine   andyismarine is offline
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simple questions-new to Vaquero

ok, lets see. I recently bought a new 16 vaquero, and love it so far. Had a warranty claim issue i posted about on here but it finally came off back order and we are in good shape now. bike is still all stock.

Here's my question, I'm new to both the 6 speed and cruise control on this bike. I have noticed that my mileage (indicated on gauges, not actually doing the math) seems to be better in 5th gear doing 60 mph with the cruise set, then it is in 6th gear, I live in west Tennessee, and their are some hills and curves so maybe the Rpms are too low to pull up the hills and that is causing the issue?

also i have read mention in some other threads about the cruise control surging, I think that may cause some of the issues also? Is there anyway to make it better?



whats everyone else doing? does this sound about right? Thanks
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Old 11-30-2017, 11:00 AM   #2
Hillhouse   Hillhouse is offline
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Glad you resolved your other issue.

As for mileage difference between CC running in 5th vs. 6th. I believe you will find that in sixth gear you are the low 2k rpm range which is lugging the engine vs. 5th which is higher rpm, power range. Similar to your finding top speed will be higher in 5th than 6th. My Voyager doesn't "surge" but sounds like it is continually adding throttle then backing off. I don't use it much below 70.
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Old 11-30-2017, 12:30 PM   #3
RACNRAY   RACNRAY is offline
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As has already been said, using top gear on hilly terrain tends to lug the engine, requiring larger throttle openings when climbing inclines. Lower RPM's also do not promote high intake port velocities thus reducing cylinder volumetric filling and lessening combustion chamber turbulence, all stuff needed for good power and MPG.

I have found most large cc V-twins will achieve best MPG between 2500-3000 RPM.

I had my Vaquero for 5 years and put 100,031 miles on it. The c/c always surged but that was fixed when I bought my Indian which has a superior c/c, no surging and immediate response to road changes.

One thing bout my Vaq, I had it making so much good quality power that it would cruise along, on cruise control in top gear at 40 mph just as happy as if it was in 4th gear.

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Old 11-30-2017, 05:22 PM   #4
mike07nad   mike07nad is offline
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As a new Vaquero owner I would suggest that you do some research on the Ivan ECU upgrade Lugging and MPG issues are much improved with that single upgrade.
 
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Old 11-30-2017, 11:43 PM   #5
Sabre-t   Sabre-t is offline
 
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A fuel controller or Ivan's would definitely help gas mileage and power in those Tenn. hills. I have the Dobeck EJK, and with it tuned, I get much better CC results in 6th gear on hilly interstate.



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Old 12-01-2017, 11:19 AM   #6
Spondulas   Spondulas is offline
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I don't rely as much on the tach as I do on my butt dyno. Every engine has a sweet spot where it runs the best and provides good fuel mileage. You need to continually find that sweet spot and stay in it. It isn't practical to just say x rpms and y gear since both of those are contingent upon terrain and load.

As for the cruise surge, my Voyage does it sometimes going downhill when it backs off the throttle to maintain set speed. Seemed to be more prevalent when the hill was steep and long. I used to manually apply just a slight amount of throttle and it would smooth back out. As soon as I hit flat ground I would let off the throttle and let the cruise do its thing.
 
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Old 12-01-2017, 02:00 PM   #7
andyismarine   andyismarine is offline
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Thank you all. Ivan's upgrade is on my Christmas list. hopefully Santa is good to me. I appreciate the help.
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