Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: Shifting and cruising rpm speed, vulcan, 1500

Question
I own a 2003 Kawasaki Nomad 1500 and would like to know at what rpm should I cruise.  I was told the Nomad likes high rpm's. Example, at 50 mph should I cruise 5th gear at 2000 to 2200 rpm or go to 4th gear and cruise at 2400 to 2600 rpm? Is staying in 3rd or 4th gear for extended periods of time okay? Logically I would guess you should be in which ever gear allows the bike to accelerate with out bogging down.  Thanks in advance for you answer.

Answer
Everybody has their tastes. There is no one good answer.

Imagine this question: what lane position should I be in?

The answer to both is that it depends on the situation.

Big twins have lots of torque and seem to like to cruise at low RPM. However, it is certainly okay to run it at a higher rpm. Modern liquid cooled Japanese motorcycles can handle it fine.

Every bike has a different "happy spot." Listen to and feel through your butt what the bike is telling you about the gear/rpm. With time, you'll get into a comfortable routine.

Generally speaking, here's what I recommended in How to Ride a Motorcycle for shift points:

First Gear: 0-10 mph Shift up at 10 mph
Second Gear: 5-25 mph Shift up at 25 mph, shift down at 5 mph
Third Gear: 20-40 mph, Shift up at 40 mph, shift down at 20 mph
Fourth Gear: 35-55 mph, Shift up at 55 mph, shift down at 35 mph
Fifth Gear: 50+ mph, Shift down at 50
Caption: Every bike will be different, but here are some basic guidelines for when to upshift (when accelerating) and downshift (when slowing) to keep the engine spinning in the desired rpm range. Another easy way to judge shift points is to shift at a certain rpm range—check your owner’s manual or performance specs to find the middle of your powerband which would be your ideal shift point.

If you're going to be traveling along at high speed for awhile (50+) top gear is fine. If there's a lot of traffic and you are constantly jostling for position and having to adjust your speed, keep it in 4th until traffic smooths out. Consider 5th gear "overdrive," only use it when you're not planning on doing anything different for awhile. Don't use it below 50.

Pat