Shift Gears on a Motorcycle

One of the most important processes of riding a motorcycle is shifting gears. This may seem like a challenge to master, but shifting gears is really a simple process. How you shift gears, however, will depend on whether your motorcycle has a manual transmission or a semi-automatic transmission.

Steps

Shifting Gears on a Manual Transmission

  1. Become familiar the clutch, throttle, and gear shifter. The clutch is located in front of the left handgrip. It is responsible for transferring torque from the engine to the transmission. The throttle located on the right hand grip. Rolling on the throttle increases the engine RPM to prevent the engine from stalling. The gear shift is a bar located in front of the left foot pedal. It is responsible for switching between gears. Practice the following:
    • Squeeze the clutch lever in, then slowly ease it out.
    • Roll the throttle towards the back of the motorcycle ("roll on") to go faster.
    • Roll the throttle towards the front of the motorcycle ("roll off") to go slower.
    • Press down on the gear shift to put the motorcycle into first gear. This only works if you are in neutral or second gear, otherwise, pressing down the gear shift will only take you to a lower gear.
    • Move the gear shift upwards to reach the remaining gears. The predominant gear pattern for manual motorcycles is one down, and four or five up. Neutral is found between first and second gear.
  2. Start the motorcycle by squeezing the clutch, then pressing the starter button. Make sure that you are resting in the neutral position. Neutral is indicated by a green "N" light on the meter console; all new bikes comes with this feature. At this point, you should be sitting on the saddle of the bike.[1]
  3. Shift into first gear. Start by closing the throttle, and then pull the clutch in all the way. At the same time, move the gear shift into first gear by pushing downwards on the shifter. Then, slowly apply throttle while releasing the clutch gently until the motorcycle starts to roll slowly. After this point start increasing throttle input and release the clutch all the way.
    • Do not be in a hurry to release the clutch lever, continue to coordinate the throttle and the clutch until the motorcycle is moving. As the motorcycle increases speed, continue to ease the clutch lever out smoothly and slowly.
  4. Upshift into higher gears. When you have achieved sufficient speed to justify shifting to a higher gear, roll off, (close) the throttle as you squeeze in the clutch. Place the toes of your left foot under the shift peg, lift the peg up as far as it will go. You can continue moving into higher gears by bumping the gear shift upwards more. One bump goes to second, another to third, another to fourth, and so on. NOTE: an experienced rider does not need to operate the clutch to shift up. He simply lifts the shifter lightly with his foot, and then, when he down-blips the throttle, the next higher gear will engage. Doing this smoothly takes a bit of practice, yet saves shifting time, and also slightly increases the lifetime of the clutch plates.
    • If you are in first gear and you lift half way, you will find neutral.
    • If you release the clutch and roll on the throttle and nothing happens, you're in neutral, squeeze the clutch and lift again.
    • If you skip a gear by accident, don’t worry. It won’t damage the bike as long as you make sure to match the throttle to the gear you have shifted to.[2]
  5. Downshift to a lower gear. Roll off ("close") the throttle as you squeeze in the clutch. Press down on the gear shift peg, then release it. Smoothly adjust the clutch and throttle together to match the speed that you are currently traveling. If you are coming to a stop, keep the throttle closed, hold in the clutch and continue to press and release the shifter until you are in first gear.

Shifting Gears in a Semi-Automatic Transmission

  1. Learn the required controls. All that you need to do to shift gears on a motorcycle with a semi-automatic transmission is throttle the engine and use the gear shift. On a semi-automatic, the clutch is tied in to the gear shift, so using the gear shift activates both controls at once.
  2. Turn the bike on. Straddle the bike and make sure it is in neutral before proceeding to shift gears.
  3. Shift into first gear. This is a very basic process, as all you have to do is throttle the engine and press down one click on the gear shift. First gear is always found by moving the gear shift down a notch, while the remaining gears can be reached by moving the gear shift upwards.
  4. Shift into higher gears. To do this, use the same process of shifting into first gear. Throttle the engine and push the gear shift upwards with your toe. Pushing it one click with move it to 2nd gear, giving it another gear will move it to 3rd, and so on.
  5. Downshift into lower gears. To slow down and eventually come to a stop, you can downshift into lower gears by pushing down on the gear shift. Always put your bike in neutral when you are stopped.



Tips

  • Motorcycling demands 100% of your attention 100% of the time. Learn to operate all of the controls from muscle memory by “playing” with your motorcycle in a safe environment.
  • The easiest way to stay out of trouble and avoid accidents on your motorcycle is to identify that trouble long before you reach it, or long before it reaches you.
  • Build the habit of shifting down while the wheels are turning. Sometimes, when a motorcycle stops moving, the “teeth” in the gears line up in a position that makes it impossible to downshift until you ease the clutch out.
  • The largest majority of motorcycles have a manual transmission. This means that the clutch must be used to disengage the transmission every time you want to start the motorcycle moving, every time you want stop the motorcycle, and every time you shift, or change gears.
  • When at a very high speed, brake with the front brake gently at first and then progressively harder until you have slowed down to the speed you want and then gently ease off on the brake pressure. Use a little rear brake to stabilize the bike.
  • Modern bikes rely on the front brake to stop. Using the rear brake at a high speed has very little effect.
  • When the engine is cold don't pull the throttle fully, as you may wreck the engine. Let it warm up first!
  • Keep your knuckles pointed upward to the sky, especially for beginners as to not give the bike to much throttle in first gear.
  • If your motorcycle doesn’t have this feature, you will have to develop a “feel” for your gear shift peg.
  • One lift, or one press, equals one gear. You cannot go from first gear to fifth gear by just holding the shift peg up. It must be reset for each shift up, or down.
  • Some modern motorcycles have a digital display in the speedometer console that will display the gear that you are currently in.
  • When the light turns green, look left and right and left one more time to make sure that no one is “trying to beat the yellow light.” Pulling out in front of a red light runner can turn a great day into a not so great day.
  • When you take your bike out on the streets and highways, keep your eyes up, searching for problems in your path of travel. Check your rear view mirror from time to time looking for people who don’t see you.
  • Always stay in first gear when waiting at a stoplight. Have an escape route planned and glance in your rearview mirror from time to time while waiting on the green light. If something bad happens behind you, escape!

Warnings

  • When shifting up, listen to the engine. If it is making a very low grumble, shift down. If it is whining loudly, shift up.
  • When shifting into neutral from first gear, make sure that you let the clutch out slowly to ensure you really are in neutral. Releasing the clutch quickly, while still in gear, will cause the vehicle to stall (at best) or leap forwards unexpectedly.
  • When downshifting, only downshift one gear at a time.
  • If You don't shift up when the engine hits the rev limiter, your engine could eventually blow
  • If your shifts "clunk" a bit, try playing with your jetting settings to get it just right.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.autoevolution.com/news/shifting-gears-on-a-motorcycle-14103.html
  2. ↑ http://www.motorcycleassistant.com/how-to-shift-gears-on-a-motorcycle.html
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