Topic: The Dreaded Lugging Question!

[Chilli42]

Hi,

Looking for some help on this. I'm not a rookie but don't have years of experience. I've just got a Street Triple and am getting used to the clutch/throttle on pulling away in first gear. My bike before was a Ducati Scrambler so quite different.

Anyway, I think I may has been lugging it a little bit a few times while pulling away in first gear from a stop. Basically. breaking it down, not that I consciously do this, I get the friction point on the clutch, twist the throttle to say 2500rpm and as I the let the clutch out slowly. But then occasionally the revs then drop say a 1000rpm and you can "feel" the the engine (I'm guessing engine, could be clutch) is no longer in it's sweet spot. It's not jerking or shuddering but feels not as smooth as it does otherwise. Then I'll give it a bit more throttle or feather the clutch and we're off back to normal. I'm assuming this is what is happening, could be the clutch engaging at lower Rpm's. Sorry, not that mechanically minded.

My question is, would this still be classed as lugging the same as going up a hill in 4th at 20mph or sitting on the freeway at 55mph in 6th and then trying to accelerate hard in terms of harm or damage done to the engine?

My bike has 100 miles on it and I'm want to break it in as best I can, varied Rpm's etc and worried that by doing this I've already screwed that up! :-( If so, what's the worst that could have happened?

Would appreciate any thoughts, facts or opinions? I'm probably being a bit paranoid but I'm already in love with the bike so don't want to ruin it just yet!


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[Chilli42]

Thx. Yes I understand this but just takes some getting used to after riding an L Twin for a while. So in your opinion would doing what I have done done any harm to the bike as it's new or is a first gear slight load different not an issue?


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[flybox1]

Pardon my candor, but, L Twin, V Twin, inline 4, single cylinder, doesn't matter 1 lick. Engine load from a clutch is engine load. Would be the same in a V8 auto.

It is detrimental to an engine to lug it. Yes. Have you damaged it? No. But you will cause premature wear of primary chains and cam chains lugging an engine. Not to mention probably combustion fouling to a degree from putting the valve train/EFI in "out of spec" conditions.

Learn to wind up your motor. Its far better to run it up in the Revs than to lug it around. Revs are its best friend.

Heck yes!  The only time i'm under 4k rpm is when i'm stopped.

[Stev-o]

Life begins at 5K RPM!  Give the bike some throttle!!

[ekpent]

 I must be getting to be an old fuddy duddy. I went for a little 60 mile cruise last night on my 750 and only had to go over 5 grand a couple times. Just a nice mellow cruise---------

[Chilli42]

Pardon my candor, but, L Twin, V Twin, inline 4, single cylinder, doesn't matter 1 lick. Engine load from a clutch is engine load. Would be the same in a V8 auto.

It is detrimental to an engine to lug it. Yes. Have you damaged it? No. But you will cause premature wear of primary chains and cam chains lugging an engine. Not to mention probably combustion fouling to a degree from putting the valve train/EFI in "out of spec" conditions.

Learn to wind up your motor. Its far better to run it up in the Revs than to lug it around. Revs are its best friend.

Thx. Candor appreciated. I totally agree and have grown up with stick shifts and had a few bike. I guess just muscle memory hasn't set in yet for the new bike.

So realistically, if you really lugged an engine all the time is it only years after that you see a detrimental effect or feel the damage? There is so much talk about it but how many people actually keep their bikes for that long?


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[BobbyR]

Chill, it is a learned behavior to roll on more power while taking off. If you work at it a bit it will become automatic. If you rode a big twin, they have their torque down low. These motors don't. My rule of thumb is to keep the motor at 4K when riding around on local roads,  you get better response if you need it and engine braking which helps the handling. We have become adverse to motor sounds because of the overdrives in our cars.  Happy riding!

[Chilli42]

So realistically, if you really lugged an engine all the time is it only years after that you see a detrimental effect or feel the damage? There is so much talk about it but how many people actually keep their bikes for that long?

Years after? I have no empirical evidence to document how quickly damage sets in. Probably sooner than we all think. How many keep their bikes for years? Tons of folks. I had 2 bikes for over 15 years each, each with over 200k miles on them. I have now a bike 8 years old that I still ride regularly. Others have had their Hondas since new, some for 15 years, some for near 30. Its likely the "new riders" buying "new bikes" are less prone to keep something long term as the social tendency is to exchange regularly these days. Same with cars. Drive it for 3 years, get another.

Its very expensive and wasteful, but if thats what folks want, then its their money. For some, enjoyment is under the helmet time only. Others, equal parts shop/garge and riding. Choose your preference. Buy a bike accordingly. But in either case, stop lugging the damn engine you Sissy! 

I hear you, you make a lot is sense. Now I'm curious. How does long or short term damage manifest. As in how do you know say 5 years later that their is an issue and what is entailed in fixing the issue due to Lugging. Is that an general engine rebuild or replacing rings etc ?


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[jonda500]

Assuming the kickdown is working, automatic cars generally last longer than manual versions of the same model. This is because it is impossible to "lug" the engine in an auto (with working & properly adjusted kickdown). So yes it is bad to lug your engine, whereas using the higher rpms is not! (Repeated high rpm takeoffs will wear out the clutch discs quicker though...)
John
nb Any time I want to crack the throttle open a fair bit more I change down 1 or 2 gears first to get the desired response from the engine.