Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hey I'm thinking of changing the shift pattern on my bike to 1 Up 5Down...

I'm trying to think of any negatives of doing so, so far the only thing I've come up with is if I ever let someone else ride the bike they'll mash through the gears getting used to it. But no-ones ridden the bike in 9 months so I doubt that's going to happen.

So, pro's and cons?

Cheers

Aren't all jap road bikes 1 down 5 up? Race bikes are often 5 down, but not until you're playing GP stuff

Most racebikes will have their gear lever in reverse order so the rider doesn't get his foot stuck between the lever and the road whilst changing gear mid corner.

aardvark wrote:Most racebikes will have their gear lever in reverse order so the rider doesn't get his foot stuck between the lever and the road whilst changing gear mid corner.

yep...as Jase sez

i did that once, i was flying onto the freeway onramp (as you do) flat knacker in second gear at about 10k revs around a corner, before i decided to shift to third (forgetting about the reverse shift pattern) and nearly highsided myself when i went to first gear by accident

i promptly changed it back

Oops yeah I meant 1up 5 down, GP style.

For the reason Aarkvark mentions. I'm the only one who rides my bike.

I'm thinking of doing it 'cos when I head out to the track there's 3 places where I have to shift while leant over to the left.
At the moment I'm short shifting through 2 gears before I start my lean, which puts the bike way below the 'power'band and it's still redlining by the time I exit the turn.

If I try to shift while leant over I dont have the room to get my foot back on the peg, and more often than not I nudge the lever trying, and the bike finds a neutral mid corner and makes horrible noises

Title edited

would be worth looking into. but then again, i'd rather be going for a bigger bike than the 250.. and then doing it

On the 6, I find I have to short shift coming out of the northern hairpin. But since I only ride it on the track on the rare occasion, it's just as easy to leave it the way it is.

aardvark wrote:On the 6, I find I have to short shift coming out of the northern hairpin. But since I only ride it on the track on the rare occasion, it's just as easy to leave it the way it is.

i agree...plus wen i changed my bucket racer..it confused fuk outta me...i had to think to change gears, it didnt come naturaly....i quickly changed it back...

You bloody sook Neka.... Just takes a little to get used to, you would be suprised how quickly you get it, and then you will never go back to normal shift.

It is very much worth doing, it also makes it much easier to upshift quickly, which is the main reason I do it.

Duane wrote:, i'd rather be going for a bigger bike than the 250.. and then doing it

OK, I'll get back to you in October then

There's no doubt I'll probably make some mistakes if I do change it, but it's not hard to learn new habits, and I'd rather change my shifting habits on the street, so it's 2nd nature by the time I get back out to the track.

Aardvark, the northern hairpin - Turn 5? I dont know directions out there I just refer to the turn number.
The shortshifting I was talking about happens to me just before turn 6 (2 gears) and just before turn 8.

.i had to think to change gears,

On GP pattern it helps to memorise this ...

Head down - foot down
Head up - foot up

Worked for me...

Try racing an old British bike (AJS in my case) with 4 gears, on GP pattern and on the RH side!! Farken orful.

balanse wrote:

.i had to think to change gears,

On GP pattern it helps to memorise this ...

Head down - foot down
Head up - foot up

Worked for me...

Try racing an old British bike (AJS in my case) with 4 gears, on GP pattern and on the RH side!! Farken orful.

mate..i have enuf truble sorting out the standard shifting!!

a GP-style race-shift pattern is really only worthwhile for track use. It can shave valuable tenths from your lap-times......a lot of racers also have the 'Down-for-Up' sticker across the top clamp or inside the fairing somewhere, just so they don't forget.........

Old pommie bikes with a RH side 4-speed , bluchhhh, get me a bucket....

Now the old-timers will remember that Kawasaki released some *humdinger* gear shifts in times gone by.........like the 500/750 triples, these had a selector shaft that extended out both sides of the cases, so that the pommies could have a RH side gearchange if they wanted......and neutral was on the 'bottom',so its just '5-up'.

and the earlier rotary-valve singles also had rotary gear-shifters.......you could shift gear from 5th to 1st, then neutral in the blink of an eye ( and if you did, your 3rd eye would blink very rapidly !!!) *ugly scenes*

Old pommie bikes with a RH side 4-speed , bluchhhh, get me a bucket....

yes indeedy but - a rare opportunity to thank the yanks for something one out. Every manufacturer at the time was heading that way (RHS) cause the poms were DA KING but for harley, and in usual yank fashion..they got it their way.

California (I think) mandated LHS and soon everybody was adapting.

like the 500/750 triples, these had a selector shaft that extended out both sides of the cases

Not the 500/750 triples as I recall it. Further back to the A series Kawasaki 2 strokes to find this and the rotary selector.

Certainly my '73 H1 had a "modern" pattern with no options for otherwise - parhaps the H1A had it??

I recall several other bikes having LHS/RHS options but mostly European or very early Jap (like '60s)