[Texas Jay]

I bet this has been covered here before, but I'll still add my two cents.

I shift into 5th gear just past 50 mph. At about 65-70, it would be really nice to have that extra gear to lower the rpm's. I'm sure there's a logical reason why there is no 6th gear, but I don't know what it is.

The bike rides fine. It would ride better with another gear.

 

[RickyT]

I had the same issue when I had the 800. I kept attempting to upshift when I was already in high gear. Must have done it on every ride. I eventually just traded up to the 1400

 

[oldgeezer]

I've had 650's, 800's, 1200's, and 1450's and they all felt like they could have used another gear. Guess I just got used to it.

 

[Gixxerdale]

Problem? I still have 4 gears to go at that speed! ;-)

 

[inspiron]

My Suzi has 6 gears ...

 

[Pinhy]

my RX-8 has 6 too! ;-)

 

[Trapper]

One good thing about the chain drive, it's an easy fix with a bigger front sprocket.

 

[c50tiger]

You do get used to it (or trade for a bigger motor). But still... I don't think there's ever been a definitive answer on the ellusive 6th gear...

 

[inspiron]

On my 1400, the 6th is seen as a sort of "overdrive" for the highway ...

 

[DrBob]

Cruisers, as a general rule, only have 5 or sometimes only 4 gears. You'll get used to it.
The VS800 has a high RPM motor, and will cruise all day at 85-90 MPH, so a 6th gear was not considered to be needed when the bike was designed. Adding it now would require a wider case, which would mean redesigning the whole motor, and then modifying the frame to accomodate it...too much effort for a 20 year old design. There is nothing wrong with a cruiser that tops out at 110 MPH- you don;t need to go faster than that anyway!
But I have owned 12 different bikes, with 4, 5, and 6 speed transmissions, and on every single one I thought "man, if this thing just had one more gear for high-speed cruising..."

I ride a lot of highway miles, so I changed out the rear drive unit on one of my 800s to one from a European-spec VX800 (a naked sport bike with the same engine, manufactured in the early 1990s), which is geared about 6% higher. I also swapped on a taller 140/90/15 tire, so between these two mods I dropped the RPM by about 10% at 65 MPH. But of course, that one is no longer as quick off the line as my other one, nor will it stand up on one wheel as well as the other one.
It was not a lot of work, but it did take quite an effort to track down a low-miles, European spec VX800 drive unit.

 

[cobra marauder]

You now have a 15 tooth front sprocket. You can go up to a 17 tooth sprocket. I have heard that it fixes that problem. I have the same problem with my 98 marauder. The sprocket is like $18. Its the $ you will have in haveing it replaced. Plus I have never been one to mod a lot. I look at as Suz put that bike together like that for a reason. :mrgreen:

 

[Ride-or-die]

Problem? I still have 4 gears to go at that speed! ;-)

i was gonna say i just got into second

 

[prekarious1]

not even 3/4 of the way through first. to each his own though.

 

[member]

The throb of a V-Twin may make it seem like it needs another gear but at the speeds mentioned it's only turning at about 3700 to 3800 rpm's.

Adding a sixth gear would drop that to maybe 2700-2800 rpm's and increase fuel consumption and probably require downshifting to pass. You bought a V-Twin for the sound and the vibration then want it to go away ?.

 

[axel_2078]

I didn't buy a v-twin for sound and vibration. I bought it because it was more comfortable than my gixxer. To me the vibration is an unpleasant side effect, but certainly not something I go shopping for.

 

[boz]

i drive a '94 Toyota Tercel...that has 4 gears.
i ride a '94 Suzuki Intruder 800...5 gears.

my bike has more gears, more speed and more cool-points than my dingy-old car...so i'm not complaining.

the intruder does get a little loud when you get up to 80-90 mph though.

 

[Texas Jay]

85-90 mph? I haven't been there yet. I've been to 80 and the engine was doing fine. But it would do *better* with a 6th gear.

 

[Pinhy]

ive been right to 80...on this old thing, that is a little TOO fast...was only for about 2 minutes though...seemed like an hour!

 

[Matt C]

You now have a 15 tooth front sprocket. You can go up to a 17 tooth sprocket. I have heard that it fixes that problem. I have the same problem with my 98 marauder. The sprocket is like $18. Its the $ you will have in haveing it replaced. Plus I have never been one to mod a lot. I look at as Suz put that bike together like that for a reason. :mrgreen:

Where can these sprockets be purchased, and can the stock chain be used with the larger ones?

 

[Trapper]

www.sprocketspecialists.com . Yes, you can go to a 16 or 17 inch with existing chain. Apparently it's easy to do yourself as well. There is a how to section here.
http://www.migcruisers.com/