[chaiya]

Had a brief freeway ride this weekend (280N to 35 heading to pacifica). I could not get my little rebel to past low 60-ish mph. Am I shifting too soon/ doing something wrong? I think in theory i should be able to go a bit faster… Being right around the speed limit on 280 did not feel good….everyone is going faster…much faster…

[Munch]

Probly need a tad more information. How far did you have to be on the highway, what do you use to shift, sound, tach, watching the speedo etc. Though I doubt shifting is the culprit. How did the bike act with more throttle. Have you suffered MPG lately … knowing you have had a time with your carburetor I would look into possible adjustments. Fuel delivery, spark timing etc can all slow you down a bit.
Really though …more information would be needed.

[chaiya]

I wound up buying a new OEM carb and installing it about 2 weeks ago. I also installed an inline fuel filter (to avoid messing up the new carb) and a tach (my bike doesn’t come with one…so that is new to me…usually shift by sound) The bike has been running great since all the repair work. I was on the freeway for just 2 miles (got off at the first exit ) MPG has been about the same as before the carb issue. I cleaned the spark plugs after all the carb issues (they were blackish) but didn’t replace them… do you think that might be th problem? Time for new ones? They are less than a year old.

[Munch]

If the bike ran great no, wouldn’t indicate a problem…however if you hadn’t already I would check the gap of the plugs and compare to what your bike requires. 2 miles could indicate a slow shifting condition on your part to get up to speed in that time.
There’s alot of factors that could come into play, hill, load on the bike such as laden saddle bags etc. Even though you have a tach I would probly say keep using your hearing to judge shift points. Tachs are funny things, especially aftermarket.
I would say try it again…ofcourse at a less congested time and see what changes you can physically make to see if theres a difference. If none can be noticed then might want to take it to a professional mechanic to give it a good check up.

[Clay Dowling]

That bike should be able to go faster than 60mph. I’ve seen video of rebels in the 70s and even redlining at 80. My guess would be some kind of tuning issue as well. You might want a pro to get that worked out. Probably cost you a couple hundred bucks, but might be worth it. Maxing out at 65 would be a major downer.

[Stumpyjay]

This is the type of thing that makes me lean towards starting on a ninja 250… I don’t know how much confidence I would have in a rebel.

[megaspaz]

IIRC, 280 N up to san fran isn’t very level. You’re mostly going uphill in that direction. So I can see the rebel 250 having issues in certain spots on that freeway, especially the onramps which are always going uphill at a decent grade. I’m usually going 280 S from sfo and I always seem to remember it being mostly down hill that direction…

[Sangria7]

I had my Rebel @ 80+ MPH ….

[Anonymous]

Rebels go about 80 mph flat out. It’ll slow down in a headwind and/or hill necessitating a downshift to get back up to 60+

[chaiya]

I was defiantly going uphill. I might try again this weekend ….maybe head south this time (280 to 92 to half moon bay)…see how that goes.

[IanC]

I have a 2003 Rebel 250 and on the freeway when it’s flat I’ve had it over 70-75 but hills will kill it in 5th gear. A few months ago I took a 25 mile trip on the freeway which had hills and going up the hills I was maxed out between 60 and 65, just moved over to the right hand lane and got in line behind all the trucks. I don’t know how much you weigh but the weight makes a big difference on the small bikes (I’m 190+). Another thing to keep in mind is that the Rebel doesn’t have a windshield so your body if you are sitting up straight is acting like a big wall. To test this lean down a little like you are a riding a sport bike and watch your speedo climb.

The thing about the Rebel is 5th gear has very little tolerance to be able to hold and accelerate up hills. If I’m accelerating up to freeway speed I shift late, taking it almost to those little red lines on the speedo (that’s the engines redline), that’s where the Rebel makes most of it’s torque it’s a high reving engine. From a post on the Rebel forum I found the following “the powerband to be between 15 and 35 mph in 2nd, 35 and 50 in 3rd, 50 and 65 in fourth, and the rest in 5th”. That pretty much matches what I’ve found.

Of course at those revs it’s going to be like an electric toothbrush for your feet. All those things made me decide that it’s not my first choice as a bike for the freeway but I’m so glad I got it to learn on, and it’s a hoot around town and at slower speeds. For me the Rebel is happest cruising along at 35-55 mph.

[Author]

Posts