Smoother gear Changing, gear shifting on your motorcycle: riding tips
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- How to make smoother gear changes or gear switching on your motorbike by pre loading your gearstick and avoid making the gearbox bang. I am using my clutch when changing but if timed right, after 2nd gear, you don't need to on upshifts. This video may be slow but for those interested in improving their riding, it'll really help. It's also for more experienced riders. Please take basic training from a school before doing this.
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Roadcraft Nottingham is a UK motorcycle school which was established in March 1989.
I am a fully qualified professional motorcycle instructor of 35 years and offer motorcycle riding tips and tips on riding a motorcycle for the first time.
Please remember to like, comment and subscribe for more riding tips and help with any aspect of riding.
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Thank you for this small but effective lesson! I just went out & utilized your technique & couldn't believe how nice & smooth my gear changes were! I took the MSF class but they never taught this technique. I was pulling the clutch all the way in instead of to friction zone like you mentioned. I can definitely tell a difference. Gear changing was much smoother & acceleration was steady, no jerking. It almost felt like I hadn't even shifted. Thanks again for the tip!
Very nice lesson. I'm 54, a total beginner rider and determined to learn to be safe on the road, confident and skilled. This has helped me a lot.
Thanks. Nice attitude towards riding too. We're always learning, have fun. ☺
Just wanna thank you for this great informing video. I'm a fairly new rider 2yrs now and I'm just now finally understanding how to shift smoothly. This technique has really made my riding alot more enjoyable. I purchased my second motorcycle a few months back, from a harley cruiser to a hyper naked. Shifting gears on my new bike was frustrating because I was shifting and banging gears . After watching your video and practicing your technique I can barely feel the bike shifting into the gears, no more bang no lagg. I now enjoy my riding even more! I didn't realize that when shutting off the throttle and rolling back on was so minute, all it is is a quick wrist flix and I don't have to pull in the clutch all the way. The bike responds to those quick motions very well and just rolls along nice and smooth. Great video and thanks for sharing.
joel king... Pleased to have been of help to you. Have fun. ☺
30 years riding and learned something new today. Saw your video while on my lunch break at work. Rode my 06 Concours 1000 today to work, always clunky gearbox even with only 23000km on her. Tried your method for shifting...holy shit! Butter smooth and no clunk. Thanks mate.
... Really pleased I could help. Happy (and smooth) riding. ☺
On behalf of my bike id like to say thank you for greatly improving my shifts no more clunking! Thank you!
If it's any consolation, in every group I've been in during my bike classes, I was the worst rider. It's taken a LOT of practise to be where I am now so don't give up!
You are pressing on the clutch too right? Or is it clutchless?
This is just magic. I'm 41. I never rode a motorcycle before in my life. I bought a Fazer 600 three months ago. Everything was difficult like hell. I saw this video several times and read the comments and couldn't understand what everbody is talking about. I tried it for three days and...WOW. Clutchless upshifting is 90% easier and 99% smoother than otherwise. I rode on the roads for a month only and I already feel sad that I didn't know this before. Unbelievable. Thank you Sir.
buddy thanks alot , you made it so easy i have no more problems shifting gears, specially with first to second so smooth i can't believe i was doing it wrong all this time👍👍
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience. I'm a noob at 42yrs old and your videos have help tremendously and started me off in the right direction, safely. Keep up the great work and safe travels 😊
I took my license for motorcycle last spring.
My teacher never told me abt this method and I never thought it was a problem coz the gearbox never bang.
How ever I tried this method and I was suprised how much faster and smoother this was.
I try to ride as smooth as possible when I have my 12 year old in the back. And this helped a lot. Even in hard acceleration this is smoother.
So thank you!!
I have spent hours trying to get up shifting right & by golly this works a treat. My 2004 FZ6 has a clunky box anyway, but by not using the clutch my gear changing has improved 100%. I only use the clutch for 1st gear & most down shifting. So much smoother, quicker & far more enjoyable. Just do what Russ says & see the difference, amazing it really is.
Russ can i say your a blessing to all new riders, your experience and advice are invaluable. You help me confirm any thoughts i have about riding whilst i learn.
Im greatful for a person like you feeling so strongly about riding to give us access to your vast knowledge.
Superb instructoriong and temprement(most instructors round my way seem very aggressive in their assertiveness)
Thank you :)
safe riding everybody
Just went out and tried this for the first time for a few hours, ive only started riding and this helped me smooth out my shifts alot, thankyou so much! :D
My fazer 1000 had quite a clunky gearbox and this technique helped me too. I love the 600s, nice choice and thanks for the kind words.
@... Experience is really the answer, loads of practise and rather than seeing gears as numbers, hear the engine whether it's happy or not and feel the gears. As long as you keep changing down one at a time you'll eventually, with practise be in first when you stop almost every time. I say almost as everyone can make mistakes.
I tried this last weekend. It works a treat. It feels so much better. It's great how such a small change can make a difference. Thanks.
I'm a new r125 owner, great tutorial! Just took the bike out and my gear chafes are so much smoother now. Thanks :)
First lesson Nov 8 14. Watched this once, didn't get it. Watched it again and it made complete sense. Thanks, Im sure it will make a huge difference to the learning experience.
Watching this video was an absolute epiphany moment for me. 3 weeks into riding and my less than smooth gear changes were winding the perfectionist in me right up!
"Preload!" Smooth as butter now. Thanks.
Been following your videos since before doing my Direct Access.
Clutch less up shifting changed my biking life. So, smooth & powerful. Made riding a motorcycle, a lovely joy.
Brilliant..Thanks so much for sharing this. Been riding for 2 years on an old 200cc Cruiser and often struggled with the lower gears clunking.. just bought my first sports bike & disappointed to find I had the same gearing issues. New bike, I assumed gears should engage smoothly, only to find my gearing technique was flawed. Watched your vid then took my new bike for a spin..had this technique down pat in about 20 mins. Had lots of fun with this too, bike runs like shes suppose to. Many thanks.
i know the cbt is the basics of learning to ride a motorcycle and as i did this on a twist and go from having no confidence i had a geared 125cc ybr sitting outside my home when i did cbt i basicly had to start all over again once id done my cbt in learning to start bike going with out stalling which took some time then actually changing gear thank goodness for my 17 year old son and his patience in explaining this to me and clips on youtube i got the basics of this its now some time since then still on my ybr 125cc got new bike boots been trying to wear them in walking everywhere while wearing them but got on bike yesterday changed gear from 1 to 2 all was fine then tried for 3rd gear and my foot was right under the gear thing and tried to go up and nothing happening tried several times ended up going at 25 mph round the block and putting my old boots on and trying in those yer u got it nothing wrong with the bike all was fine going up all the gears in my old boots what am i doing wrong please help
Watching this video shows me what I am doing wrong when changing gears - causing the bike to jerk forwards a little. So I now know the correct way to do it so thankyou for showing how its done so simply :)
This is great, I had a problem with crunching gears on my Sprint ST, I thought it was the bike. I was wrong, I applied this system and with practice my changes are almost perfect. Thanks
Dhennion is correct, I've known some bikes that when you pull the clutch in and wait a while, it doesn't bang as much and others, no matter what you do, they still bang. Annoying but nothing to worry about. Just make sure your revs are as low as possible when putting into gear and you don't press slowly on the gear lever, make it a positive move.
Ive been riding for a couple of months now thinking my 30 yr old suzuki gs125 was nearing a bottom end rebuild due to its clunking but im glad to say it was me all along!! I wish the people i had done my cbt with had told me this. Thankyou!!
So simple, but so effective! Thanks for the tips, no more clonking up changes thanks to some preload
It was night when I was watching your video. But however I couldn't resist but take my motorcycle out and then try the tip that you gave. To my astonishment I couldn't believe that there really was a change in the way the gearbox responded. I never felt any issues in other bikes that I have ridden.Now I need to get used to changing gear this way as this can really save me from those weird feelings. I experienced this problem of clunky gearbox in Suzuki gixxer 155 sold here in India. Anyway thanks for this tip which nobody else told me 😃
All that's ever told by people is to wait till 3k km in my motorcycle and then change to synthetic engine oil to feel the change in the gearshifts.
Alfred Certainly.... Pleased to hear it. Glad I helped you. ☺
This is one way (a good way) to shift but not the only way to shift smoothly. I do like how he explains simply what's going on in the engine/transmission. The better you understand the mechanics of how your bike works, the better and safer you will be able to operate it.
Thanks for the link, what I meant was that my explanation was basic enough for most people to understand, we don't need to go into that much detail. Cheers. :-)
Thanks for the information and the video. I can't believe this isn't more widely discussed or given as common knowledge. This technique makes my Triumph shifts alot smoother now.
I DO close the throttle fully. I just "flick" it off a little quicker rather than slowly rolling it off like when I'm slowing down.
Great explanation. If you drive a manual transmission car, you should be doing exactly the same thing. Just a slight ease off the gas as you shift. The mechanics of a motorcycle can make shifting so much faster than a car that it is easy to forget to ease off the gas between shifts.....love your vids.
Just a small lesson in mechanics to all the trolls out there, If your gear changes are nice and smooth, your gearbox will last much longer and require less maintenance than if you are constantly jabbing at the lever to change/crunch gears up or down. The only time you're going to damage a selector fork, is if you are so ham fisted (or footed) with the gear change that you literally end up slamming the gears instead of taking your time. A little pre-load on the lever is fine and even the odd missed gear shouldn't be a problem if you don't panic and remember what the clutch is there for before trying to engage the next gear.
True, some older (and I mean a LOT older) bikes did suffer from premature wear of selector forks but this was due to poor selection of materials and poor designs (MZ TS/ETZ and some Suzuki owners will testify to this,) which are now thankfully a thing of the past!
I'm not sure I'm shuting off completely, and the gears just slot in like a fluid. A brief power down is all my motorcycle needs to do it. And the gear lever requires less pressure to select the gears than with the clutch. Just amazing.
I'm driving an Viper x-PLODE 200cc and I had some problems with the "bang",but now everything is ok...except the downshifting,for me It's quite difficult but I'm going to practice a lot.Nice video mate,thanks for posting it !
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this great video! As a new rider, shifting is probably what I've had the most trouble with. The basic rider course (US) doesn't really cover the technique all that well, that 'flick' of the throttle was the missing piece.. If they had explained it the way you did in this video, it would have been SO much better and I wouldn't have been clanking gears!!
thanks from america, no one could give me this advice and it helped out a new rider
so to clearify just pull the clutch in enough to shift then let it back out, dont pull it in all the way.?
Matt Johnson Yes, you generally don't want to pull the clutch all the way unless you're stopped because the more you pull it the more likely the chance that you will dump it instead of releasing it properly
As long as you know where your friction point is you'll always have better control even at low speed and stop and go traffic.
thank you for posting this video... it has helped alot. My banging is now down to a minimum and I'm sure my gearbox is much happier lol It does take a while to get this technique so don't give up. Once you get a few smooth shifts and start to get the feel of it you'll be hooked.
Thanks. Each bike has it's own character so you choose whatever gear you feel the bike is happiest in.
Hi Russ, long time sub, first time commenter! I took and passed my Mod1 today which your guide was very useful for (but I also have a great instructor!) but what I wanted to say was while riding today, I used you 'preload' method of changing gear and they're now lovely and smooth! Thanks for this video, it was a great help!
just got back, these tips work a treat, the odd change is still a bit rough but overall, a vast improvement - many thanks for this!
Another excellent video for those of us straight out of cbt. Every day being a school day as they say!
I seriously need to get my full das underway, but haven't yet got round to it as the cbt was the most fun I've had in a long long while!
Thanks man, I've been riding 3 days and was wondering how to ride more smoothly.
Can you be my teacher in 5 years? Would love to have one like you. Your explanations are so good and it makes sense.
Thanks a lot, I've tried this tonight and it works especially well changing gear from 1st to 2nd. It has bothered me for some time riding throught city traffic, but I seem to get the hang of it. I'll keep practicing! I also liked your video on the countersteering, so you've been a great help for at least two times. Greetings from The Hague, Netherlands.
here in Aus we get taught this method its called positive gear change it helps to not slip into neutral aswell also that the balls of our feet should be on the pegs and tips be out at an angle \CB/ . Good vids man
Wow! Gonna try this 4 sure. My gear shifting takes a lot longer... But with just that very little flick you can't be shutting of completely? My instructor told me there was an order to follow whilst changing gears, now you're telling to do everything at exactly the same time. Looks a lot smoother, idd!! Gonna try!
Thank you for the really great lesson! This video helped me to improve my riding in a profound way! I still learn and knowing the right way is great!
You're welcome and keep up the great attitude, we're all still learning. ☺
Nice video for someone like me who just done CBT and although passed found it difficult gear changing down/ stopping smoothly tricky
Thanks for the nice words, glad I could help. Ride safe.
Good advice for new riders and some others who are making clunky gear changes. been riding over 50 yrs and some of my early bikes did not like this method maybe due to gear design. all the Japanese bikes I've had I've used this method and it's works well.
the latest gear boxes are very robust and trouble free. gear changes done this way are easy and smooth. a little practice makes perfect.
It's these sort of messages that makes what I do worthwhile. Thank you.
been riding a bike for 17 years been doing this since i passed had a great instructor in london ex police biker really great info my gear box is always good and if you get really good you don't need the clutch
Whats interesting is because of the positioning on my instructors 'sport riding position' bike, I started doing the right thing without realising it. i noticed my changes were a lot smoother compared to when i was riding my own cruiser. It wasnt until I rode my cruiser more, did I start doing the exact same thing ( change in foot position, even when my instructor tried my bike once he laughed when he first tried to change it was so different). My changing is now soo smooth it caught me by surprise when I realised what was happening. It started happening when I started doing more confident accelerations. ( confident/assertive). I found the exact same thing occuring in my car. My brain is now learning how to change gear on bike and car without me 'giving it the beans' so much.
TLDR the way I change gear when Iam being aggressive is actually smoother and is translating to when Iam accelerating normally.
No, in California we too use jeans all the time. Of course it is ALWAYS safer wearing full gear, and for canyon riding, its a must. But, on an every day commute, we find it as a normative behavior. Once again, you are the one that makes your own decisions.
Great video. I'm new to riding and my shifting was terrible. Now it couldn't be more smooth thanks to you.
This simple video has made my er6n feel like a new bike. Thanks
I really like this video. I've been riding for 3 years, started out on a 2009 ZX6. I've been shifting the "newbie" way for a really long time and i hate the feeling that my gears either grind it's way in or popping in. I been practicing and your video gave me more information. Thank you =) The only problem I'm having now is worrying. Worry that my brand new R1 transmission might get mess up if I'm practicing it wrong. For some stupid reason i've always fear for my transmission =/
great video!! I'm a new rider and couldn't figure out why my gear changing wasn't as quick or as smooth as others. I watched your video, and just like you mentioned I had my foot on the peg rather than the front of my foot under the gear shifter. I now shift much faster and smoother. Thanks for sharing!!
The ST1100 has such a lovely gearbox, I used to do clutch-less changes on acceleration from 2nd up and the occasional clutch-less downshift, but not too often. I was a courier, so lived 10 hours a day on it and had time to practice :)
I do this on every bike I ride. A guy a few years ago wouldn't believe me saying his ZZR1100 was terrible, I took him on the back of it and showed him. Some bikes are clunkier than others like the Fazer 1000 I had but all can be improved on.
I know it's an an older video but I just got a bike and seeing it being done instead of just explained helped a lot.
Great lesson thanks. Just got a Tiger 1050 and your video is helping with the clunky transmission compared to the Zx9r.
his idea of preloading the gear shifter when speedshifting helps. Put a pound of pressure on the gearchanger when getting ready to shift, and reduce the throttle, and then it basically shifts into the next gear by itself.
Just like to say thanks for your videos, im currently doing my mod 2 just now and your videos have been a great help.
@RoadcraftNottingham I will play with the releasing of the clutch lever after shifts "sympathetically" (I like the term you used) and will pay close attention to the speed of the release and the response of the bike as I accelerate (upshift) and decelerate (downshift) accordingly. Thank you for the prompt response to my post.
Your videos are always a great help. I've got a 1988 honda bros and need to be nice to the gear box and clutch. Thanks so much :-)
Great guide! Helped me a lot. My shifting is a lot smoother after watching this +part two and some practice.
Thank you very much Russ. Great vid as usual. I still can't get rid of bang between 1st and 2nd gear, but the rest seems to improve with every ride, thanks to your tutorial!
Ride safe everybody!
Greg
Banging when going into 1st gear is common, nothing to worry about there. The banging whilst changing is 95% down to the pre-loading or timing. Keep practising and you'll find it getting better.
Awesome video. thanx for sharing! I will admit that I have been letting off the throttle too severe for quite a while now and was not loading my shifter as I should by putting slight pressure on. this video just reminded me of the mistakes I have been makn for a while now.
when you do something wrong for so long you become very skilled at doing it wrong....lol
Great lesson! Just passed my cbt in the UK and this was so helpful for developing clutch control and upshifting smoothly
The single most helpful video on changing gears, thanks!
Thank U sooo much for Posting videos like this, I really appreciate it.
I haven't been on a Bike in over Ten years and it's enough to forget the lit'l but important things, that helps U be safe and not ruin Ur Bike.
Thanks for uploading this video. Was out on the road for the first time as part of my CBT (which was brilliant) and got to put this into practice. Probably room for improvement but no clunks so again thank you!
@chidlowt ..No matter how many times I hear that it makes me buzz knowing I've helped make someone a better rider. Thanks for letting me know. Happy riding. :-D
Very helpful sir! Nice video. Only thing I would tweak is turning the gain on your mic down as far as you can. Should help the peaking while you speak.
Hey bro. Alright its pretty simple. first I agree with RoadcraftNottingham about shifting too early. Don't be afraid to run your rpms a little higher if you need to. when your going up in gears its not as important because you will be putting power on immediately, but when you donwshift, you don't wont to let the rpms drop to low. I ride a 750 nighthawk and I engine brake all the time, everytime i stop in fact. I drop to the next gear under around 3500 rpm which keeps it from bugging out.
I like the angles on this Russ as it shows in detail the way it should be done. Mine was not perfect by a long shot and i watched the vid ages ago and tried it and it does work like a dream. Those elements all rolled into one are the key to it. My problem was bad habits picked up along the way whilst riding solo, as your taught just to pass the test. Same as anything tho you start to ride when you pass and learning things like this just makes that so much easier. Thanks for the vids ;-)
You still with us boss? ☺
A typically helpful video from you. My Mod 1 is next week and i have found your videos very useful. Thanks.
Sorry to correct you mate aswell but the the actual reason you get the 'bang' is because of the difference in rpm's of the the rear wheel (which is connected via the chain to the output shaft of your gearbox) and the crankshaft rpm. The crank in your engine is connected to the input shaft of your gear box via the clutch. Power follows this path, CRANK>CLUTCH>INPUTSHAFT>OUTPUTSHAFT>FRONT SPROCKET>CHAIN>REAR SPROCKET. The input and output shafts only spin at the same speed when in top gear 1:1
thanks a lot. been searching for a video to help explain why sometimes i "clunk" the gears!
You can actually clutchless downshift as well, it’s very easy but obviously this is only recommended to be done when you’re accelerating/decelerating quickly. Just press down to preload the shifter the same as you would when you change up and when you ready to downshift simply blip the throttle as you press down and it will slide down a cog with surprising smoothness, takes a bit of practice to learn how much 'blip' is needed however it can be very beneficial once mastered, especially on Vtwins
Thx for the tips, I'll try to put em into use because I'm fairly unhappy
with my own shifting lately. Been riding for 10 years now, but with my
current bike (Yam FZ1 2008) I seem to have lost the feeling for it.
I always blamed the bike for it because I am a tall bloke
and I really need to reposition my legs when operating the shifter &
rear brake. Last week I ordered a higher seat and maybe together
with your tips I can smoothen things up again.
great instructions. on my ninja 650r if you let off the gass too much during change and not a flick as you say then you will get a big clunky shift.
Correction, one layshft is connected to the clutch, the other to the sprocket or driveshaft. The only thing that always spins with the engine is the primary reduction gear and clutch basket.
You don't have to put 'pressure' on the gear selector for ages before you change, just pull the clutch at the same time as you change gear.
It's all about timing.
Thanks. I've been corrected several times but it's not that important to me to be honest. If people really wanted to know the detailed workings of a gearbox, there are plenty of videos they can search for on UA-cam, this was more a gear change lesson. Feel free to do an upload on UA-cam and I'll gladly link to it in my description. Cheers
Trevor England a
Like this video; tried out the technique couple of days ago and it works really nicely (2014 Tiger Sport 1050). Will hone this over the next couple of months ahead of a 10 day two up tour of France early July, will be interesting to see if the better half notices the difference.
Great explantation, just got my first bike CBR 250cc and gears doing exactly as you describe. your explanation is great, will follow your instructions and hopefully it will al smooth out. Thank you.
Thanks very much. This was exactly what I was doing wrong and because of it I'd tense up at every shift because it wasn't smooth. Around town that meant I was tensing up all the time and just generally made riding not enjoyable. The day after watching this the ride to work was relaxing for the first time. Thanks again man
horrible audio but helpful
@DrJonners Good questions...The actual rule is "never use your gears to REPLACE your brakes"..Engine braking under normal conditions in conjunction with gear changing is fine. On that occasion I was using rear brake only as it provides 100% throttle control and smoother braking effect at the end. Regarding toes, if I'm going fast round corners I move my toes. You may be having a problem cos the gear lever needs adjusting or your boots are too thick. Cheers.
@reefvodkas Blipping the throttle is only done on the downshift and at exactly the same time as the gear lever is pressed down then the clutch is rrleased more smoothly than slowly
this is how i do it: 1>2 using clutch, it also helps when you need to negotiate a turn, 2>5 without clutch usually at about 3000rpm but i have tried it at 7000rpm and even then it works, but you have to be determined and decisive and synchronised when closing the throttle and shifting up.
You can even do full-throttle up-shifting after you install a speedshifter/powercommander. This gizmo cuts fuel and ignition for a split second when you do the upshift. I suppose it's really a racing gizmo .
Great tip! I'm getting use to it now but I can immediately feel the difference. Glad I saw this.
@LadynRed56 So pleased I could help, may be worth sending this link to your instructor to pass on to his pupils. Happy riding!
Thanks Rus. This video is exactly what I need to improve the smoothness of my gear change.
You're welcome Alex. ☺
I saw this 7 years ago and I only shift like this now. Really helpful video. Thanks
@Imreadingthisaloud ..That's a really nice thing to say, thank you. It's people like you that make me want to do these videos. I have more planned so watch this space.....
I keep my foot under the gear lever ready for the next gear most of the time except when keeping in a particular gear for a while, travelling in top gear or going round round faster than average corners where clearance could be a problem (scrapey toes). As you get more used to the bike you'll feel where everything is anyway.