Is your 961 smoother at 60 70 80 or 90 MPH

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Jan 16, 2015
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When you are cruising along on the interstate , when do you feel your bike is the smoothest ? I have tested this several times and I keep coming back to the faster is better conclusion. I could cruise at any of these above speeds for hours. But what I am asking is where is your bike the smoothest ? You are probably thinking that I have had too much to drink but I stand by what I am telling you. My bike is not truly smooth until a minimum of 80 MPH and it gets smoother from there . Surely you jest Tony ? No jest . If it wasn't for the traffic getting in the way I would be going 90 mph all the time. I see the folks looking at me on the freeway always . What is this guy on this small bike doing ? Make no mistake , the Norton looks small , especially compared to what I normally see on the roads HD etc.. But , what I wonder is was this by design ? Was a decision made to move the sweet spot up the rev range ? My conclusion is YES , and I am happy for it.
 
Tony,

I posted about this sometime ago.
I can "cruise" at an indicated 90 (5200 RPM) with my sportbike pals, and the bike is very smooth at that RPM.
Surprisingly, much smoother than at 4000 RPM.
The throttle response is also excellent at 5200 RPM.
I thought that this was strange, because most people cruise around 70MPH and that corespondents to approx 4000 RPM.
I would have thought that Norton would design the best dynamic balance for 4000 RPM, where most people spend most of their time.

Generally, I find the buzziest region from 3800-4400 RPM. Below and above that region the motor is pretty smooth.
 
I have the exact same experience as BritTwit. Also, I have a strange lack of power around 3,200rpm-3,600rpm. It's not a huge power loss but noticeable. I ride almost every day so It would be more noticeable for me than someone who just hopped on the bike. So I tend not to stay in that range often. My dad thinks its the pick up sensor. I'm going to look into it further over winter.
 
I almost always cruise with the dial at 80 mph, 4700 rpm. Actual speed is about 72-3. People in their cars cruise at 65-72 in a 55 around here, so I'm just a tick faster than most cars. ADD ON.......Today was a bit chillier. Cloudy and only around 68 degrees F at the beach. 4000 - 4200 was just fine. About 68 to 70 mph on the dial.
 
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