That phantom sixth gear

Two of three of my motorcycles have six gears and I have developed the habit of expecting one more gear from my 1300 which is obviously not there no matter how much I try. I wish it did have a sixth gear since commuting on the freeway at 70MPH puts me right in the 4000+ rpm range. So I was just curious why Kawasaki didn't make the engine with that one additional gear? This post isn't about solving problems or changing gear ratios in the final drive, I'm just curious about the rationale behind the design.

You're not the first to question the lack of a taller gear. One of our past members was working on revamping his bike with a rear drive from a GL1100 GoldWing. It would drop the final ratio to a point where 70 MPH translated to 3450 rpm. A litle more tolerable on the ol' ear drums and still keep the power band up there. He left us a couple of years ago in a huff. don't know if he's still around. He was a remarkable genius when it came to building trikes. That was his passion.

In moments of delirium and euphoria I have found myself shifting for sixth gear..........even after 38 years. My brain, ears and eyes simply can't agree sometimes so my left foot sometimes acts autonomously.:whistle: Damned foot !:evil:

scotch wrote: In moments of delirium and euphoria I have found myself shifting for sixth gear..........even after 38 years. My brain, ears and eyes simply can't agree sometimes so my left foot sometimes acts autonomously.:whistle: Damned foot !:evil:

Exactly! My mind is telling me constantly "this is not a cruising rpm" but yeah it is. I've never really counted gears before but I'll eventually quit trying to shift into sixth.

I don't think many of the older bikes had 6 gears. I don't remember any until the 90s but I could be mistaken... I've owned and forgotten a lot of bikes. That being said, being so used to 6 gears on modern sportbikes I am forever trying to shift to 6th on the KZ.

My 84 Honda Ascot is a 6 speed.

(Of course, I think it could use 7. :evil: )