I have a 2001 1200 bandit, at first I thought it needed a 6th gear, but if you get the chance to notice other bikes and what revs they sit on at around 120km/h, the bandit dosen´t realy need 6th. The wind protection is good but you may find that it doesn´t seem that way cause it has a gap at the very front which reduces the waffle effect other bikes get, so it may feel like the wind is always on you but it is better than the waffle effect