Possibly a good idea?
#1
07-21-2018, 11:08 PM
Possibly a good idea?
i was thinking about small things that would be nice to have on my bike. The one idea I really think would be a big help to the average rider is a change to the gear indicator system. On both my Harley's as well as my wife and my cars the gear indicator only functions when the clutch is not depressed. One you hit the pedal (or lever on the bike) the gear indicator disappears. I would love if when you hit the clutch the indicator still showed the most recent gear. In my head it would still read the most recent gear but flash on and off to let you know that it's not engaged but here is what gear you were in when you pulled the lever. Every once and a while I get that situation where I have to hit the clutch to slow down and the traffic ends up slowing me down more than expected. Sometimes in that situation I forget what gear I started in and have to guess how many gears to downshift to re-engage smoothly. I don't like having to drop all the way down to first just to figure out where the trans is. It's a small idea and one that isn't super important or life changing but still I think it would be nice useful. Thoughts?
#2
07-21-2018, 11:24 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
i was thinking about small things that would be nice to have on my bike. The one idea I really think would be a big help to the average rider is a change to the gear indicator system. On both my Harley's as well as my wife and my cars the gear indicator only functions when the clutch is not depressed. One you hit the pedal (or lever on the bike) the gear indicator disappears. I would love if when you hit the clutch the indicator still showed the most recent gear. In my head it would still read the most recent gear but flash on and off to let you know that it's not engaged but here is what gear you were in when you pulled the lever. Every once and a while I get that situation where I have to hit the clutch to slow down and the traffic ends up slowing me down more than expected. Sometimes in that situation I forget what gear I started in and have to guess how many gears to downshift to re-engage smoothly. I don't like having to drop all the way down to first just to figure out where the trans is. It's a small idea and one that isn't super important or life changing but still I think it would be nice useful. Thoughts?
Why would you "drop all the way down to first just to figure out where the trans is"? They are sequential.
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tar_snake (07-22-2018)
#3
07-21-2018, 11:28 PM
I always thought that gear selection is rider/operator participation with the vehicle and traffic situations, and that gear selection is used as part of the vehicle operation.
I have had many manual transmission vehicles that had no gear indicator at all besides the position of the gear selector and/or my physical awareness of the engine torque and rpm as it reflects to the gear position, road contact and need for operation at any given moment.
aka; don't need no idiot light
I have had many manual transmission vehicles that had no gear indicator at all besides the position of the gear selector and/or my physical awareness of the engine torque and rpm as it reflects to the gear position, road contact and need for operation at any given moment.
aka; don't need no idiot light
#4
07-21-2018, 11:32 PM
Got plenty of gauges and lights already. Personally I don't have much problem knowing what gear I'm in.
More blinky stuff is just more stuff to go wrong. And they way they wire crap in these days it would probably turn out to be something like. "Oh, I'm sorry sir, your gear indicator light has burned out, so for safety reasons the ECM has disabled the bike. To fix that burned out LED we have to replace the entire wiring harness. Don't worry it's only $700 plus labor and we should have it back to you the middle of next month... or so."
No thanks. Shoot I'm not even sure why my bike has turn signal indicators. I can see the lights themselves just as easy as I can see the indicator on the speedometer.
More blinky stuff is just more stuff to go wrong. And they way they wire crap in these days it would probably turn out to be something like. "Oh, I'm sorry sir, your gear indicator light has burned out, so for safety reasons the ECM has disabled the bike. To fix that burned out LED we have to replace the entire wiring harness. Don't worry it's only $700 plus labor and we should have it back to you the middle of next month... or so."
No thanks. Shoot I'm not even sure why my bike has turn signal indicators. I can see the lights themselves just as easy as I can see the indicator on the speedometer.
#5
07-21-2018, 11:41 PM
I'm not saying it's vital to my riding experience. Hell, I've ridden lots of vehicles with no gear indicator. But between my two Harley's my jeep and my gti they all tell me what gear I'm in. I just would like if the indicator told me the most recent gear after hitting the clutch. It's a small thing but I think it would be nice. Example is being on the freeway at 60ish. Speed has been up and down due to traffic so I'm not really sure if I was in 4th 5th or 6th when I come round a turn and hit traffic slowing me down to 30mph. Now it's ****. I need to hit 2nd kinda high or 3rd kinda low. But was I in 4th or 5th when I hit the curve and had to grab my clutch to slow down unexpectedly. Like I said. I've dealt without this feature my whole life. But once and a while it would be a nice feature.
#6
07-22-2018, 12:43 AM
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#7
07-22-2018, 04:08 AM
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0488FB (07-22-2018)
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#8
07-22-2018, 04:58 AM
i was thinking about small things that would be nice to have on my bike.
The one idea I really think would be a big help to the average rider is a change to the gear indicator system.
On both my Harley's as well as my wife and my cars the gear indicator only functions when the clutch is not depressed.
One you hit the pedal (or lever on the bike) the gear indicator disappears.
I would love if when you hit the clutch the indicator still showed the most recent gear.
In my head it would still read the most recent gear but flash on and off to let you know that it's not engaged but here is what gear you were in when you pulled the lever.
Every once and a while I get that situation where I have to hit the clutch to slow down and the traffic ends up slowing me down more than expected.
Sometimes in that situation I forget what gear I started in and have to guess how many gears to downshift to re-engage smoothly.
I don't like having to drop all the way down to first just to figure out where the trans is. It's a small idea and one that isn't super important or life changing but still I think it would be nice useful.
Thoughts?
The one idea I really think would be a big help to the average rider is a change to the gear indicator system.
On both my Harley's as well as my wife and my cars the gear indicator only functions when the clutch is not depressed.
One you hit the pedal (or lever on the bike) the gear indicator disappears.
I would love if when you hit the clutch the indicator still showed the most recent gear.
In my head it would still read the most recent gear but flash on and off to let you know that it's not engaged but here is what gear you were in when you pulled the lever.
Every once and a while I get that situation where I have to hit the clutch to slow down and the traffic ends up slowing me down more than expected.
Sometimes in that situation I forget what gear I started in and have to guess how many gears to downshift to re-engage smoothly.
I don't like having to drop all the way down to first just to figure out where the trans is. It's a small idea and one that isn't super important or life changing but still I think it would be nice useful.
Thoughts?
A lot of members including myself generally won't bother even looking at threads with a "guess what" type subject line.
Second; do us all a favor and break up your paragraph like I have above.
It not only makes it easier to read but it also helps in determining what you're saying or asking.
As for your question; You should be able to feel and hear what gear you're in.
If you need an indicator to know when to up or down shift then get a tachometer.
If you don't remember what gear you're in then downshift and let the clutch out or just be more attentive.
I always know within a gear where I was at and it's not that big of a deal at a stop to just depress the gear shift until it's in first.
That's my "thoughts".
Last edited by Bluraven; 07-22-2018 at 07:38 AM.
#9
07-22-2018, 05:03 AM
Banned
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