Regardless of the rpms and speed, you just get to "know" when your motor is under more load than it should be for the rpms and speed.
Some people get this and others do not. My ex-father in-law had no concept of mechanical anything. He couldn't even put his lawnmower belt back on without it going backwards.
Some are inherently in tune with the vehicle.
The definitions all make sense to me and one may relate to one person more than another. It's just how you understand this type of thing.
Most of the Harley guys say don't run under a certain rpm in a certain gear as they say that would be lugging the motor. I will say this, that on my old Shovelhead and my '09 Twin-Cam, I typically run in the lower rpm range than most others might do....... But I do know when my motor is under a "lugging" situation and downshift accordingly. There are no set rules for this. It's all situation logistics at the time. But I can cruise back roads at 1800 or 2000 rpms without any fear of lugging the motor.
There is a slight difference between a Harley and the S&S Wedge motors. The Harley uses a multi-piece crank and if you do lug the motor you can possibly scissor the crank and that's a bad thing. On a S&S Wedge they use a one-piece crank similar to the automotive type. The rods are a split main cap design and run side by side versus the Harley which are solid loop rod on the crank pin end and one rod is inside the other forked rod. The two flywheels have to be pressed onto the rod crank pin. Without having the crank trued and welded, a stock crank can get screwed up pretty easily.
Sorry for rambling.
I had many old cars and some smaller European cars, '59 Fiat 500 as an example. All of these small cars had a sweet speed that you just went to and let it run in the zone. My old Shovelhead this is around 55 to 60 mph. Will it run faster, heck yes, but the bars and seat start to vibrate and it just doesn't feel right. Although my wife tends to want me to ride a bit faster. Apparently she doesn't mind the vibration, can't figure that one out, can anyone help with that???
