How do the gears on motorcyles work?

Question

I have never driven a motorcycle but have always wanted to. I heard the 1st gear is all the way at the bottom and to get to 2nd gear you have to hit the lever up twice then 3,4,5,and 6 is repeatedly upwards after the 2nd gear. Is this true?

6
5
4
3
2
N
1

So I thought you have to hit up twice to get to 2nd. So to shift up through all the gears I just have to keep doing full shifts on the lever? (click up all the way the lever can go for gear shifts)

I went to a store and sat on the motorcycles and when I clicked the gears up, it would only go up like 1 or 2 clicks. Is this like some sort of safety feature for when the motorcycle isn't on?

Answer 1

"Grand Prix" shift pattern is reversed (ala the Brit bikes). The reason is that when you are accelerating out of a LH corner you don't want to have to put your foot between the bike and the road to upshift. If you are taking corners correctly you will have already downshifted prior entering the corner.

Answer 2

You're correct - the 1st gear is all the way down. Shift the lever up from that point, and you're on Neutral. From there, going up will put you on the 2nd, 3rd, till you reach the top gear for your machine. That works ALSO for Triumph - I currently own one (and learned to ride on, back in 1973.) And it was the same for any Japanese models I've owned in the past - 4 altogether.

On Vespas and knock-offs, you shift by twisting the left handle. It usually has the clutch handle attached. Thus, when the clutch handle goes down, you switch the gear down and vice versa. The neutral position is between the 1st and 2nd gears. There's a good chance that the gear position is marked, so you don't need to guess.

Answer 3

Yes, is a sequential gearbox. 1st gear is at the bottom, but 2nd gear only needs one upward tap of the lever. Neutral is a half tap up from 1st (you get a feel for it when you ride a motorbike). Most of the time upward shifts can be done without using the clutch, but it takes a bit of practice.

Answer 4

Bro, I am sure once you get on a bike it will take you a few seconds to figure out the gears, so far as I know, all the way at the bottom is 1st, push up and it goes to 2nd, 3rd and so on.

To put it in neutral, pull up from 1st, just a little tap, or from 2nd down, small tap.

When you shift down and you push down, it goes to 1st, unless again, you do just a soft tap and it goes to neutral.

Take an MSF course, they will teach you to ride and they provide a bike for you.

Answer 5

The other answers are correct. Here is a little more detail.
--The shift lever starts out in it's resting position.
--When you press down on the shift lever, the trani shifts into 1st. Then you release the downward pressure on the shift lever and it springs up to it's resting position.
--To shift to neutral or 2nd, lift up on the shift lever.
--If you just wanted to go to neutral, you wouldn't lift the shift lever all the way up. There wil be an indent in the internal shift mechanism. You can feel it. Then release upward pressure on the shift lever and it will spring back down to it's resting position.
--If you wanted to shift from 1st to 2nd - while in 1st, lift the shift lever up. You'll feel the internal shift mechanisim touch neutral and with a continuous upward movement of the shift lever, it will stop when the trani goes into 2nd. Then when you release the upward pressure on the shift lever, it will spring down to its resting position.
--It's a continuous procedure. Lift up or press down until the trani goes into the next gear. Release pressure on the shift lever and it springs back to it's resting position. Ready and waiting for the next gear change.

Answer 6

its the correct pattern on 95% of bikes the exceptions being AMF harley davidsons and most orange county choppers have what is termed "pollock shift"

Answer 7

On most Japanese machines yes, British bikes usually are one up the rest down.