i have an old FXR with an andrews 4 speed box and it goes well my not so bright son just got a 2011 fat bob with a 6 speed gear box after alot of let me call it pestering i took it for a ride . it was like being on one of thoese bikes that are out side coles that you put 20 cents in it was so easy to ride it doesnt fight you every corner ( the FXR is raked and has 8" over forks) at 100klm the engine sounds great clicked it up to 5th nice then again to 6th the engine chugged and laboured . what a waste now i know blokes are going to say its great at 120  or 130 but really its just a marketing tool to say we have 6 gears might as well put an ash tray on just as useless unless there is an autobahnn i dont know about ? 

well australia's speed limits havn't changed since the 70's? When you convert the US highway speed limit to k's its around 120/130. So you could use 6.

Seems fine on a major highway where the speed limit is 110 with or without a pillion. Sixth gear also works well for me when riding solo at 100. Not so good when riding with pillion at 100. Then, as you have stated, it labours.

But, since the speed limit in the US on highways is around 70 - 75MPH and they are an American bike after all, what do you really expect?

 

Hesh

 my 4 speed sits on 120 nicely i think its a bit of wankerism myself and harleys way of saying hey we are modern we have 6 gears like a japer its seems to take them ages to work out what we guys want it took till 2007 to get a decent back wheel i had to lace an mg 15" to an FLH hub to get a 180 mm rear on the FXR now the come out with crap we dont need

Wankerism allright , Can only guess what one thinks of the Baker 7 speed then ?
Each to their own i guess , many like the much popular HD 5 speeds too ?
Theres nothing at all wrong with the HD cruise drive six speed tranny , especially on the Hwy with the larger capacity stock donks , an 07 96B heritage i had seemed worse as in lugging in 6th at 110 and it`s rattly straight cut fifth gear , the 09 rubber mounted roadie seems much better with no fifth gear rattle , it now is a bit of a slight whine in 5th (actually reminds you what gear your in) and doesn`t labour or lug in 6th at 110 either , just be sure to peg em back on any sort of incline , avoiding lugging the donk . The ratio differences do seem noticable though when riding with a few 5 speeds at hwy speeds , i like the 6 speed the way it is now which seems ok up to $1.90 , the new models seem even better again with the 103 , and theres no whine in 5th ? (aparently 1st 5th & 6th are/were straightcut while 2nd 3rd & 4th were/are helicial cut and the 6 speed also cruises at 500 or so rpm less than the 5 speed at hwy speeds , assisting economy , as advertised ?)
The ultras also have abs , cruise and a cigarette lighter too , so yeah why not add an ashtray and air con too hey , aparently an "oil cooling system" is on it`s way soon as well , they sure have come a long way since the old singles or side valve flatheads , or have they ?
Just wondering where have you been for the last half a decade man , the old mines bigger better harder faster thing is almost a thing of the past for most , i think they`re all works of art , especially the ol`FXR`s and 4 speeds too ?
Same with the fat v`s slim , rubber debate , both serve a purpose , but it`s each to their own ?
Enjoy them all while you can , i say !

I don't use it that often but its there if ya want to use it you can, when living in the pilbara and you use a tank of fuel cruising at $140 without a break its excellent, riding with the 5 speed boys wishing they had a six speed box, one bloke on is 86 softy with a S&S engine ( think it was a 88ci) put a 6 speed tranny in and said it was one of the best mods he had done for the long pilbara hauls.

 

like cranes on a shutdown, ya better of looking at them than for them

if it was a true 6 speed and not a 5 with OD then it may be a different story, but it aint so I just live with it and hardly ever get to use 6. Dont bother me that much I just use a gear thats right some times that 3rd. I dont really care how many are left in the box

Hi all...Do pipes,air,cam and tune and they pull well at a 100klm.Besides,The gearing is a little out of wack,They need a bigger back sprocket or smaller front.I think they have done this to pass noise regulations.1st gear is a little to tall,bit slow to take off with a little too much feathering of the clutch IMHO.
Stock bikes suffer in sixth gear though,But who leaves them stock..

No problems cruisen with 6 speed, find it better than the 5 speed on my last bike, each to their own though.

I don't mind my 6th gear at all for cruising at 100/110+. I don't know why you wouldn't want an overdrive for cruising on the highway.

But you can't make everyone happy as is evident by people who also bag out ABS, twin cams, efi etc. If you don't want a bike with these developments, the older bikes are still around to buy

When ya got the road and the speed limit ta use number six it's the beez kneez.

 

Out of the total Harleys sold worldwide in 2010, Australia was prolly lucky to have made it to the 9500 mark.

The other       212610  were sold in countries that have Interstate Highways, Motorways, Autostradas, Autobahns and whatever.

I reckon Harley prolly made the right decision designing a tranny that included an O/D and suited the 160 km/hour plus situations that most of those places offer.

 

Australias speed limits and the real fact that Australia only represents 4.314% of their world wide market would have been well down the list of considerations when it came to designing the tranny me thinks.

 

 Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Retail Sales 

 My experience is I find the 6th gear quite useful, especialy on the 110kmh roads.  Mabe you need to get out of the city.

The cruise drive 6 speed may not be the best box ever made , but It`s all good for the tourers at hwy speeds , i may of had a slight tail wind and a mainly flat hwy , but coming back from Melbourne to Sydney with the screen on , spent most of the time in 6th at 120 with cruise on just to see how it would go on fuel , kickin back two up and fully loaded returning from a lap of tassie and GOR trip , 6 gal tank full of 98 octane caltex vortex , achieved 380 kms from the roadie which i thought was pretty fuggin good concidering !
Any other time comparing servo to servo top ups on trips with 88ci 5 speeds with 5 gal tanks , seem to always use a litre and a bit , less than the 5 speeds for the same amount of k`s ?
The Baker 7 speed aparently addresses some of the HD cruise drive 6 speed ratio issues and is even better for touring ?

+ 1 for the 6 speed . 120 on speedo is probably closer to 110 genuine speed , anyone checked a stocker with GPS ?

i put a ultima 6 speed in my evo softail 4 years ago when i rebuilt her it was the best thing i did for the open rd it loves $1.20/$1.30 in 6th in that 2500 t0 2800rpm that evos love and i will be putting it  in my new frame in a few weeks for rebuid #2 so thay should be better in a twinkie as thay have more hpdont thay

 when you build your own bikes you make do with what you have no one had seen an mg spoked rim laced on to an FLH hub either but that how i made my 180 rear back in 1986 as for fitting andrew inturnals in to a box they use to sell it as a kit even kiwi could do it

 dear parts fitter dave the frame has been streached lowered and raked  with twin spar wish bone frount mounting a box is easy when you run a 3"primo belt. ask a harley machenic not a m&w parts fitter not much left stanard on the old girl it has shovel tanks that didnt come with anFXR it has GSXR1100 brakes front and back twin disc eletroglide sliders on the front its called customizeing dave you can even try it yourself not every thing comes from a cataluge

 Yeah Dave, see what you gone and done, you gone upset Mr Orange County choppers , king of the customs, and you only being riding and repairing for near 30 years, feel ashamed at having questioned the man, next time you order shit from Arlen ness be sure not to insult him

 

98 octain does not give you more milage, if you have high compression motor it stops  the fuel igniting before spark. In most motors that have low compression it does f**k all, but costs more. Do a search on the subject and find out all about fuels . It is interesting.