Its a 1300cc twin, what do you expect?
It comes with 6 gears for a reason ;-)
Of course the XR might hold 3,000rpm in top, but open the throttle and it will take until the end of the next ice age to pull itself up into the power, the 1290 will judder a bit, but will still pull strongly - as long as you don't mind it eating chains.
I often find myself using 5th on winding roads for extended periods, 6th on my 2018 model will cruise below 60 in top, but more than a whiff of throttle will have it lumbering a bit, smooths right out by about 65 on the speed (62 on sat nav) so ideal for fast A-Road and Motorway cruising - probably exactly what it was designed for.
It comes with 6 gears for a reason ;-)
Of course the XR might hold 3,000rpm in top, but open the throttle and it will take until the end of the next ice age to pull itself up into the power, the 1290 will judder a bit, but will still pull strongly - as long as you don't mind it eating chains.
I often find myself using 5th on winding roads for extended periods, 6th on my 2018 model will cruise below 60 in top, but more than a whiff of throttle will have it lumbering a bit, smooths right out by about 65 on the speed (62 on sat nav) so ideal for fast A-Road and Motorway cruising - probably exactly what it was designed for.
