The 690's gearing is an odd duck; too tall in 1st and too short in 6th. I currently do plenty of freeway jaunts, so I'll stick with stock. Once I stop using the bike as a commuter, I'll probably get a higher toothed sprocket out back.
The one saving grace (on the 2014 at least) is the smooth throttle. I can run at very low idle without the snatchiness I'd expect from a big thumper. Still, the slowest I can idle along without clutch is about 8-9 miles an hour. I'd prefer 5-6.