I'm a happy new owner of a 2004 599. My previous bike was an old Yamaha XS 650 that I used to learn on after taking the MSF course. I finally sold that because being an older bike I kept having frustrating issues with it.

Shifting is different on this bike than my older one. It's very 'jerky' and seems like I'm not properly matching engine speeds. So I break out the manual and find the following recommended shift points:
UP
1st - 2nd 12mph
2nd - 3rd 19mph
3rd - 4th 25mph
4th - 5th 31mph
5th - 6th 37mph

Down
6th - 5th 28mph
5th - 4th 22mph
4th - 3rd 16mph
And then at 9mph pull the clutch in and downshift to 1st.

Is that what everyone does??

On my old bike I just relied more on feel I guess. I also used to stay in 3rd gear for slower in town riding. Does the above mean that any riding over 37 mph I should do in 6th gear??

Hi Daveincsa,

When you said "On my old bike I just relied more on feel I guess." i think you had it about right for how to ride all bikes!!
I wouldnt take any notice of those speed to gear quotes!!!! your bike will rev to 13500rpm, changing at the speeds quoted wont get you over about 3000rpm.
your 599 wont start to REALY pull unless you have 7000+rpm on the clock.
just do it!!!

I wonder what sort of fuel economy you could get with those shift points?

Anybody here ride their 599 like a senior citizen?

The jerkiness you feel probably has more to do with throttle/clutch coordination than anything else. It's certainly not the shift points.

My go-to gear around town is 3rd, and that is up to about 40 mph. A few times I've even forgotten to go to 6th on the freeway.

IMHO a good cruise rpm is around 5K... That way, real juice is always only one downshift away.

And all in all, I'm running about 42 mpg. Throw the Honda shift points out the window; they seem like a real buzzkill. :grin:

1st-2nd 70mph...The rest of the gears are there to decide just how angry the police are going to be with you.... :)

Seriously though, higher the RPM smoother the shift, around town I rarely get out of second...

+1 on what Steve said

Maybe adjust the clutch lever. That may help. And no i don't use the "recommended"
shift intervals. Like steve said you're just gonna have to develop the relationship
with this gal. She wants a commitment man!!

When i shift i just use feel- and how much pull i wanna feel haha. if i tried to pay attention to speed and rpm it just wouldnt be as fun... to me atleast.

The biggest thing that makes my shifting jerky is when my technique gets sloppy. Higher engine speeds certainly seem to help, but no where near as much as good technique. Also of note, I found it very tough to shift well with the stock clutch lever. It had a ton of release before it would actually engage the clutch, and I had to stop pulling so far on it. Replacing it altogether did a lot of good.

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