- This topic has 22 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 7 months ago by BoOZe P-ti Motard.
Total newbie question
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August 7, 2008 at 12:32 am #1851MikeParticipant
I’m completely new to motorcycles and I’ve been wondering… how does shifting work? The closest I come is to riding a late 80s Suzuki 4-wheeler. You let off the gas and then use your left foot to pull up on a lever that shifts the 4-wheeler up (and down to shift down). Is it similar on motorcycles or are there different ways on different bikes?
~Mike
August 7, 2008 at 1:27 am #10006megaspazParticipantSame principles basically.
1. let off on the throttle. I don’t completely chop the throttle, you probably will at first.
2. pull in the clutch lever (left handle bar)
3. shift gear with the left foot . Up to go up to a higher gear, down to go to a lower gear.
4. release the clutch while rolling on the throttle smoothly.#1 and #2 can be done in one step, or can be done in reverse. I do them in one step. Others might do them in different ways.
for #4, if you’re downshifting, you’ll either want to ease the clutch out slowly or blip the throttle to rev match. Easing the clutch out (MSF taught) is easier when starting out than blipping the throttle.
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If there’s anything more important than my ego
around, I want it caught and shot now…August 7, 2008 at 1:34 am #10007AndrewParticipantBlipping?
August 7, 2008 at 2:44 am #10012BuddParticipantI tend to let the clutch out slowly when coming to a stop or slowing down and tend to blip when I am increasing speed or climbing.
“I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine
August 7, 2008 at 4:12 am #10015LokiParticipant“I do it ass backwards myself though… I pull in the clutch, downshift, slowdown, throttle, and then release the clutch.”
Thats the same way i do it.
I would say find a friend who has a bike and/or a dirtbike (a small one) and try to drive it. You can also take the MSF course and theyll teach you everything you need to know.
August 7, 2008 at 4:48 am #10009megaspazParticipantMatching engine speed with the rear tire speed. You could also install a slipper clutch, if there is one for your bike, that takes care of rev matching for you.
If you’ve ever driven a manual car and downshifted and just let out the clutch, the car will jerk. In cars there’s a technique called double clutching which revs the engine rpm to match were it was at in the higher gear eliminating that jerk. Easing out the clutch and blipping the throttle, more or less, does the same thing on a motorcycle. Just doing straight release the clutch on a downshift will upset the chasis, like the jerking in a car, which you pretty much don’t want to do.
edit: I should describe blipping the throttle. You slow down (engine braking or using your brakes or both), pull in the clutch lever, open the throttle with the clutch lever still in, down shift and release the clutch. I do it ass backwards myself though… I pull in the clutch, downshift, slowdown, throttle, and then release the clutch.
I bet fotobits could describe this blipping thing a whole lot better…
edit2: just re-reading this and it’s still not complete. open the throttle with the clutch lever still in == quick rev or 2 (the blip). downshift and release the clutch should be downshift and release the clutch while smoothly rolling on the throttle. and i still do it ass backwards but with the clarifications above.
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If there’s anything more important than my ego
around, I want it caught and shot now…August 7, 2008 at 4:55 am #10017MikeParticipantThanks for all the answers people. I figured it was something like that. I’ll definitely take the MSF course before I hit the streets… and try to find a friend with an old bike.
~Mike
August 7, 2008 at 1:01 pm #10022AndrewParticipantMSF covered basic shifting and that was it. I got the hang of shifting during the class but not quite the hang of smooth shifting.
August 7, 2008 at 2:27 pm #10024BuddParticipantyeah, it is hard to get the hang of shifting when you only go up to 2nd and only to third for one exercise.
“I am the best there is at what I do, and what I do ain’t nice.”-Wolverine
August 7, 2008 at 10:00 pm #10038JirikiParticipantdouble clutching is the action of putting the clutch in, moving the gear selector to neutral, letting the clutch out, then putting the clutch back in and selecting the gear you were moving to…
this has nothing to do with engine/tranmission rpm matching… and actually has nothing to do with motorcycles… this was prevalent in shifting smoother for cars that did not have syncrhos (also known as synchromesh gears)… basically, these are small gears that made sure that the current spinning gear and the power delivery gear would align with the teeth in the gear that you were selecting…. without these gears, placing the transmission in neutral would move the drive gear out of the previous gear before pushing it into the new gear… also, depending on the transmission style, this can change which of the cars gears are spinning…. and that is why it doesn’t apply to motorcycles, all gears are spinning at the same time and are perfectly aligned.. and shifting to neutral while moving is hard as hell
as an ex-rally driver, I hate it when people get terminology wrong
heel-toe-shifting is a way to brake and shift while rpm matching… but you can do rpm matching without using that technique…
August 7, 2008 at 11:09 pm #10039megaspazParticipantHeh. the dangers of reading only the first page of youtube comments… but yeh, i knew there was some technique for cars that did that rev matching stuff…
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If there’s anything more important than my ego
around, I want it caught and shot now…August 8, 2008 at 11:04 am #10074BoOZe P-ti MotardParticipantgood and i noticed if ye wana have smooth throttle action, put one or two fingers on the front brake lever(put it not press it and this timing is a safety timing…)
BoOZe
Solomolo RiderAugust 8, 2008 at 7:12 pm #10101AnonymousGuestOne thing I wondered about before I learned was:
Is it possible to kick-up from gear 2 for example into gear 4 (skipping your intended gear 3) ?
The answer is no, kick up and it will shift into the next higher gear. Kick down and it will shift into the next lower gear. It’s not possible to kick past a gear.
August 8, 2008 at 7:26 pm #10103Texas lone StarGuestBooze your comment regarding putting two fingers on the brake interests me, this is how I was taught many years ago, getting back on bikes in March I decided to do the MSF course, and to be honest I was almost crucified for doing it, yet looking at the Honda Dirt riders manual they suggest it, any thoughts?
August 8, 2008 at 7:42 pm #10105BoOZe P-ti MotardParticipantyou cannot go to fourth gear while being into 2nd? you can na? shifting twice from 2 to go to 4? but the bike will not have the required boost…or am i getting all this wrong?
BoOZe
Solomolo Rider -
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