You should be well into 6th gear at 80mph if you're just cruising down the highway. Hell, I'm in 6th gear by 45mph if I'm not accelerating.

"Reserve power" is just peace of mind in your own book. Honestly I've never felt the need to be in a lower gear just so I could "get away" if I needed to. Bikes are plenty fast even in 6th gear. But hey, whatever floats your boat.

 

I was actually riding in 5th gear, but I see your point. I usually do ride in 6th gear when on a highway no matter what I am trying to be prepared for. I guess I just wasn't thinking about that too much, since I haven't been on a highway in a while. I was just trying to get a good feel for the bike since I haven't rode it much more than stop-n-go traffic since I went down on it.

Thanks for all the input.