Ride a Manual, 6 Speed Dirt Bike
This article describes how to properly ride a manual 6 speed dirt bike without hurting yourself, or the bike.
Steps
- Begin by making sure there is gas in the gas tank. (Depending on the type of bike and if it is a 2 stroke engine or 4 stroke engine you will either need straight gas or a gas/oil mixture.)
- After filling the tank with gas, turn the gas gauge on.
- Before starting the engine, ensure the bike is in neutral. (Press down on the toe shifter 5 or 6 times and the once up. If the bike is in neutral it will be able to roll forward and backward.)
- Once in neutral, hold in the clutch with your left hand and give a little bit of throttle with your right. (Only rev the throttle a small amount so you don't over rev your engine.)
- Kick down on the kick start hard enough to turn over the engine and start the bike.
- Once the bike is running, let it run for a few minutes to warm up the engine.
- Once the engine is warmed up, hold in the clutch and press down once with your toe on the toe gear to put the bike into first gear.
- Slowly release the clutch with your left hand as you increase the throttle with your right. (Getting into first and get moving is the hardest part, you may stall the bike once or twice before you get the hang of it.)
- Once in first gear, fully let go of the clutch, rev the engine with your right hand until at full throttle, when you want to go faster and change into second gear, let off the throttle, hold in the clutch and press up once on the toe gear. (You will still be moving so it will be much easier to release the clutch without stalling the bike.)
- Continue to shift up through the gears, the higher the gear, the faster you will be able to go. If you intend to slow down you must down shift. (Shifting down back through the gears, this will ensure you are not going to slow in too high of gear or else you will stall the bike. Being in a lower gear gives you more torque and is easier to go up hills however being in a higher gear allows more horsepower and higher speeds.)
- Once you are finished riding for the time being, Down shift all the way to first gear, then into neutral. Hold in the clutch and press the kill/off switch. Turn off the gas gauge and put the bike on its kickstand.
Tips
- Driving any motorized vehicle that is manual (has a clutch) requires a feel and understanding of the engine. It will take one or two tries before you start getting the hang of it and really start to feel and listen to the engine of your bike. After a while shifting through the gears will be second nature and you will be a pro in no time!
