XT600E - low top speed question??
 

Hi - new member here - just bought a 2001 xt600E to do some off road prep- great bike for London commuting - love it - it has 5000 miles and is in great condition - however on a long road i can only get 70mph max out of it ; then it runs out of 'puff' - just stutters and judders a bit - under 70 engine sounds great

i am a fairly big bloke so it may be that this is all i get from it

Views or suggestions? B

Seems a little low, but its a pretty non-race engine, theyre choked up so to speak. Do you have stock gearing?

My top speed goes down if I gear the bike "deeper" as it wont be able to "ring out" in 5th. Youre max torque is at around 5500rpm, if you cant reach that in 5th gear, gear it a bit lower, og ring the heck out of 4th before shifting up.

My absolute topspeed was 156km/h (gps) leaning over on the bike, sunny day, no wind very smooth tarmac and all that.

Normally it goes up to 130km/h and looses its breath.