1st gear moving off

[aprilia_rsv4]

Is it normal for the rsv to be jerky and no power when moving off? rpm 3000.

[zgriders]

no...not with an RSV4
BTW: welcome to the forum

[David_r]

Cant recall what revs I take off with, but yes the RSV4 with stock gearing doesn't like low speed.
The 15/42 sprocket mod greatly improves it's low speed manners. (that is if there is not some other issue)

[igotyofire]

Is it normal for the rsv to be jerky and no power when moving off? rpm 3000.

yes, the bike is geared very tall in 1st. If you have ever ridden a Vtwin motorcycle then basically the RSV4 needs to be ridden in the same manner at low rpms. The motor should smooth out about 4,000 & be really smooth at 5,000 for cruising around. As you get used to the motorcycle you may find taking off smoothly will get better & easier.

[aprilia_rsv4]

So its suppose to act like that below 3000 rpm..so its best to change the sprocks sizing but what would i lose by doin so?

[Pete Gala]

Top end

[igotyofire]

So its suppose to act like that below 3000 rpm..so its best to change the sprocks sizing but what would i lose by doin so?

Well I reckon you you can take off smoothly from lower rpms, but that is once you get used to it & really good at slipping the clutch in a way that it doesn't vibrate or judder too much which means giving enough throttle as well. Lets face it the RSV4 is a race/track focus oriented motorcycle & the engineers designed this thing to be ridden at speed. This bike is not something you want to be doing alot of stop & go on especially in traffic.....it just wont be the most pleasant experience. I think with more seat time on the bike you will understand it better & it wont be much of an issue for you. I pay no attention to the rpm that i take off from a stop, my inputs are all based on feel...Just give the motorcycle what it wants in terms of inputs to be smooth. The fact that you mentioned there is no power at 3000rpm suggest to me that you are trying to release the clutch too fast & get on the gas, you might try slipping the clutch lever out slightly slower. Dont expect to have much usable power at 3k rpm. I think most people change the gearing, ive yet to change mine but I would suggest that as it seems to be highly recommended.

[David_r]

So its suppose to act like that below 3000 rpm..so its best to change the sprocks sizing but what would i lose by doin so?

Top end speed that most people won't miss + a bit more prone to lift the front end on the gas out of corners. For which you get a stronger and more responsive bottom end.
Check the 15/42 gearing threads: All seem to like it (I know I do)

[SlamDunK]

So its suppose to act like that below 3000 rpm..so its best to change the sprocks sizing but what would i lose by doin so?

Have a look on gearingcommander.com
I'm running 15/43 and top end is limited to 167.
That's plenty quick enough for me.

[fastmike]

Ummmm... Why would you ever try to take off at 3000 rpm?? Of course it is going to be rough taking off at that low of an rpm. This bike is not designed to be a putt around cruiser. It's meant to be revved and ridden in the slightly higher rev range. Try giving it more gas and slipping the clutch more to take off around 5-6000 rpm. You'll notice a much smoother take-off, especially with stock gearing. Then once you get the opportunity do the gearing change.

[Jaguar]

Start by changing just the front sprocket for a 15T - this has minimal cost and lowers the gearing enough to make it much friendlier round town and more responsive in the twisties. Add a few more revs - 4-5k is enough - and you'll have no problems.

[SubZero]

Honestly, the best mod I ever did thus far was changing to the front 15 sprocket...

It makes riding around in Singapore much much easier... Bike feels more better at low rpms, and easier to control..

[illtal]

learn the art of clutch slippage...

[Rspec99]

All modern superbike-class sportbikes have very tall first gears. The RSV4 is no different but there feels to be less flywheel effect as some other bikes which makes it a bit harder to get off the line. Gear changes for street riding makes a huge difference in rideability and for a stockish bike there is little penalty in top end because the RSV4 does not have enough power to pull to the rev limiter in 6th gear anyways. I believe AF1 had posted in another thread that their mildly tuned RSV4 topped out at 177 mph, which according to gearingcommander.com is not even redline in 5th. I guess 6th gear is an overdrive...

[Jaguar]

All modern superbike-class sportbikes have very tall first gears.

Not actually true: for example, the 1198S tops out at about 90kmh in 1st, compared with 150-ish for our bikes. Have a look at www.gearingcommander.com for comparisons.