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How Do You Practice Gear Shifting?


ktk_ace

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Besides whats thaught in the book/video, how do you guys practice the gear shifting on a motorcycle?

I practiced the other parts on a scooter with no clutch lever so i would love to know.

 

Tips wull be welcomed too, Im starting from near scratch .

 

I do mostly Suburb (60%) , CIty (30%) and canyons(10%)

 

PS. Wanna get ready for school in 2014/2015 so I'm honing my skills on a light bike from scratch.

Riding in a desolated stretch of road so anything I can practice ?

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I don't.

 

I likely did at some point in my early stages of riding but now it just is part of riding.

 

One key thing though that I can help with; is to adjust your clutch lever free play to a minimal amount and adjust the lever height/distance for your hand size/riding position then adjust the shifter pedal up/down to the correct position for you as well. You can also "double up" the shift rubber pad to make it thicker and thus easier to be more firm with your shifts

 

I removed the oe rubber and slid a piece of hose over the rod then reinstalled the oe shift rubber with lots of sopa and elbow grease. It made a huge difference. I have never missed a shift since or found any false nuetral from being a little lazy on the shifter pedal.

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  • 1 month later...

Interesting, I never even considered practice for gear shifts. Well, at least not "practice" as in doing set drills or routines.

 

For me it was all practiced whenever I was riding, mostly around the suburbs during my commute. No specific drills as such, just refining my sense of timing for throttle blips, smooth shifts etc. I guess the practice was just practicing "doing it right", as mentioned by Casey Stoner in his biography (a very interesting read, BTW!)

 

Adjusting the controls to your liking is a good start, but I'm not so sure on adding padding to the shift lever? Early on I also had a habit of using too soft a movement on the gear shift lever, lots of false neutrals and failed shifts (not such a good thing for the bike either - just remember to always shift UP if you get a false neutral, to avoid gear damage). But I don't see the solution to be modification of the shift lever (certainly adjust the position if needed), but it seems more beneficial to just learn the correct amount of force to use on the lever... learn to "do it right". That way you'll be able to transfer your skill from bike to bike, and not find yourself feeling uncomfortable if you ride a bike that doesn't have your mod.

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Besides whats thaught in the book/video, how do you guys practice the gear shifting on a motorcycle?

 

Just by doing it as you go.

It is a very intuitive thing to learn.

 

The principle: as you increase or decrease the speed of the motorcycle, the engine rotational speed cannot cover the wider range of rotational speed of the wheels, so you select the correct combination step by step.

 

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  • 1 month later...

The important thing is to get used to the timing of clutch in, shift and releasing the clutch. A lot of people get in the habit of lazy shifting, I know I do it a lot when I'm riding around town. I find it's easier to practice on an open road where I can ride at a comfortable speed with out fear of breaking the speed limit or having traffic in front of me. In case you don't know, lazy shift is when you hold the clutch in for longer than needed or you release it slowly. Bring in that clutch lever, shift your gear and release the clutch as soon as your done.

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