random 696 qustions

[BomberHead]

i bought a dark 696 a few weeks ago and have put about 230mi on it so far. i love this bike, its amazing. however i still have yet to get use to it. my former bike was a 1981 KZ750 E2. its a 4 banger and has about half the power of the 696. i learned to ride on it and was very comfortable cruising at about 3.5 rpm's. it redlines at 7.

ok. now to the questions.

what is the ideal rpm's on the 696. it seems to want to stay at about 5 grand. but i feel as if im doing something wrong because the low rpms on the KZ. if im going 65 ot 70 on the freeway and shift into 6th gear, i feel as if im bogging it down. or running it too low. could someone shed some light on this?

on the KZ i would pretty much sit upright with a slight lean forward. i bit more agressive then a harley sportster position/stance, but pretty much upright. and on the duc if i try to sit upright my hands go numb. the only way i can prevent this from happening is by using my abdominal muscles to keep me steady in a forward leaning position and take the reliance off my arms and hands. is this right?

how long should i let it warm up before riding off? the guy at the dealership said that i could ride it once i turn the choke off and its at a constant idle. but i feel that it achieves that in a matter of seconds.

sorry for my "Newbness" but any help would be greatly appreciated.

[707soldier]

i bought a dark 696 a few weeks ago and have put about 230mi on it so far. i love this bike, its amazing. however i still have yet to get use to it. my former bike was a 1981 KZ750 E2. its a 4 banger and has about half the power of the 696. i learned to ride on it and was very comfortable cruising at about 3.5 rpm's. it redlines at 7.

ok. now to the questions.

what is the ideal rpm's on the 696. it seems to want to stay at about 5 grand. but i feel as if im doing something wrong because the low rpms on the KZ. if im going 65 ot 70 on the freeway and shift into 6th gear, i feel as if im bogging it down. or running it too low. could someone shed some light on this?

on the KZ i would pretty much sit upright with a slight lean forward. i bit more agressive then a harley sportster position/stance, but pretty much upright. and on the duc if i try to sit upright my hands go numb. the only way i can prevent this from happening is by using my abdominal muscles to keep me steady in a forward leaning position and take the reliance off my arms and hands. is this right?

how long should i let it warm up before riding off? the guy at the dealership said that i could ride it once i turn the choke off and its at a constant idle. but i feel that it achieves that in a matter of seconds.

sorry for my "Newbness" but any help would be greatly appreciated.

my answers,
Question 1:
5000-6000
Question 2:
you are doing it right, I have the same experiences
Question 3:
after I see one bar on temp gauge

[nkryptit]

Q1:
It should be fine for a wide rage of rpms, you might not be able to thwack the throttle open starting at 2.5k, but I don't know if I would consider that bogging, you're just feeling the nice twin under your ass, it's different than those four bangers.

Q2:
Work those abs, you hit it on the head.

Q3:
I usually start it up with the fast idle lever, then turn it down after I put my equipment on.  Maybe 1-2 mins max.  Then take it easy for the first couple miles until everything gets up there.... 2 bars OK...3 bars Better.

[BomberHead]

right on. thanks guys. this forum rules 


oh.. and one other question i forgot. does the stock exhaust have removable baffles?

[nkryptit]

Negative.