Shifting through gears
#2
#5
From a Reggie Pridmore "C.L.A.S.S." class I took a long time ago at Road America on one of my BMW's:
1. When ready to upshift, stabilize the throttle at whatever rpm you like to shift at for a second.
2. Pre-load the shifter peg with a little bit of up-pressure.
3. Now, simultaneously, just back off the throttle the tiniest bit, (you still want to maintain rpm, you don't have to roll the throttle all the way off) and then squeeze in the clutch JUST ENOUGH to let the trans ease into the next gear. You don't have to pull the clutch all the way in. Depending on the bike, I've found it normally takes less than 1/2 or even 1/3 of the total clutch lever travel to make this work effortlessly.
4. Now smoothly roll on throttle as you smoothly let the clutch all the way out.
Of course, all this takes much, much more time to talk about then to do. It all happens in less than a full second. The key is to get smooth with the sequence.
All this will result in smooth, quiet shifts. You may even find you are asking yourself where did my clunky transmission go-
Good Luck, and practice!
1. When ready to upshift, stabilize the throttle at whatever rpm you like to shift at for a second.
2. Pre-load the shifter peg with a little bit of up-pressure.
3. Now, simultaneously, just back off the throttle the tiniest bit, (you still want to maintain rpm, you don't have to roll the throttle all the way off) and then squeeze in the clutch JUST ENOUGH to let the trans ease into the next gear. You don't have to pull the clutch all the way in. Depending on the bike, I've found it normally takes less than 1/2 or even 1/3 of the total clutch lever travel to make this work effortlessly.
4. Now smoothly roll on throttle as you smoothly let the clutch all the way out.
Of course, all this takes much, much more time to talk about then to do. It all happens in less than a full second. The key is to get smooth with the sequence.
All this will result in smooth, quiet shifts. You may even find you are asking yourself where did my clunky transmission go-
Good Luck, and practice!
#6
Most of the time when shifting from one gear to another, I just give it a little extra gas, pull in on the clutch, shift gears, release the clutch and when done properly, there's basically no felt change from one gear to another. Also like COAC said, I've done it so much I really don't pay any attention to it, it just comes natural after awhile.
#7
It took me a while to catch on to this technique, but pre-loading the shift lever (as noted above) by using your toe to apply a little upward pressure first, then pulling the clutch really makes for slick UP shifts. It works best if you do it in two steps and don't rush to pull the clutch. I had a Goldwing for a little while and that thing wouldn't
shift smoothly til I did it this way. I have carried the technique over to the Street Glide, makes it shift like a Ferrari. Of couse, do not do for down shifting.
shift smoothly til I did it this way. I have carried the technique over to the Street Glide, makes it shift like a Ferrari. Of couse, do not do for down shifting.
Last edited by coop creek; 07-21-2015 at 08:45 PM. Reason: Credit to Ray Lloyd
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#8
#10
I would guess that I don't roll off the throttle at all. I shift very quickly and rarely pull the clutch in very much to shift. I guess from reading the fully detailed checklist above, I probably do all those things. But at this point, I've been doing it so long that it just seems like 1 fluid action and instinct.