5sp Vs. 6sp. whats the difference when riding?

[Cormanus]

I ride my 5-speed all day long (literally) at 80-90 mph, and it seems fine to me. Then again, I rode a Shovelhead Harley for 20 years, so draw your own conclusions.

Done.

[Insolentsquid_imp]

Never ridden the 5 speed, but I can say that even on my test ride from the dealer, I found myself in 6th very quickly, and without thinking.

Just seemed to be a natural progression for the engine and the 60/70 mph speed limit.

[ClassicVW_imp]

Allow me to become Captain Obvious.....
Sounds very much like personal preference that only test rides can determine.
Some find themselves in 6th right away and all the time.
Others are completely fine with 5 gears and don't ever find themselves wanting for a 6th.

I find it a bit strange that with my CB I never look for a 6th gear, but I'm frequently looking for one on my Honda NT700. Gotta be the gearing difference.

[Offroad]

I hardly ever get to 6th gear (it's like O/D), but I don't like the interstate at 70mph either....I always try to take a back curvy road ;-)
Also I like the noise, so I stay in the lower gears as much as possible...my gas mileage is terrible, but I didn't buy this to save money on gas ;-)

[rboe]

Many a time I find my self tooting down the freeway on the Moto Guzzi Griso doing about 75 and realize I'm in fifth. Something about the vibes does not encourage shifting.

On the CB I'm pretty sure I'd try for eight gears if it had them. My old KZ550 would be in top gear - in town! I think I did what I could to quiet the engine down by up shifting (the CB is not as bad in this regard) but the V twin Griso can be quite happy in 3rd or 4th (maybe it has a wider ratio range, not sure) and does not push the need to shift.

Come to think of it, my big single, the Honda XR650L, once I hit third, becomes pretty lazy about shifting too and I'll forget to shift into fifth sometimes (for some reason I thought she had six speeds, I need to ride her more often!) but I need to be well above 60 to do so.

[the Ferret]

Coming from a 13 CB 1100, I thought the 6 th gear unnecessary and bought my 14 dlx for purely visual reasons. At first I was only using 6 th above 60 mph. However now I find myself in 6 th as a natural progression of shifting, and will be in 6 th at a lower speed. The CB pulls it fine, the rpms are more relaxed which frankly may not appeal to some, but it appeals to me. I generally shift between 2800 and 3200 ( and now that I read that excellent piece about building the CB1100 know why..engineers designed it that way) and can't remember the last time I was over 4000 rpms. I'd rather hear quiet (in all aspects of my life it seems... I just hate noise... A ticking clock is like water boarding to me) than to hear a cacophony of motor and exhaust noises. Personal choice. I wince when I hear open exhaust bikes go by whether I4 sport bikes or V twin cruisers. Maybe it has to do with age as I've had both in the past but no longer find them desirable or acceptable.

Anyhow to the point of the original post I don't find having a. 6 th gear on the CB a must have, but I find it awfully nice to have.

[nhawk7504_imp]

I wrote to the engineers and they like the ratios of the five, personally. Speed limit in Japan is 63 mph and they said it pulls nicely in top gear from high 20s mph all the way up into the low 60s which was the original design intention, a lazier ride than say a water cooled 6 speed. - Then you take the six speed and the ratios are a bit closer and the rider is shifting more, which again gets away from the original intention which was that relaxing ride. Europe wanted the 6 for their speedy Autobahns. I drove at 85 mph in Germany, for example. To each his own. I shifted my YAM FZ1 too much I thought. I found my initial CB1100 test ride that the gearing was good. While I might argue for 6th, I have to admit, passing power in 5th at 70 is good, so there you go. The designers have ridden all the Hondas, so with that in mind, they like the 5. Ride and enjoy!

[ClassicVW_imp]

The thread "Interesting Reading" contains a link to all the interviews with the CB1100 designers and engineers. That's exactly what they said the about the 5-speed. They were shooting for a sweet spot at 100 KMH, the speed limit in Japan.