Posted by Eigenvector on November 1, 2007, 9:57 pm
I haven't been able to figure out why this is a good thing.
The gearing on my bike is 1-N-2-3-4-5
Why is neutral between 1 and 2? It's not confusing to shift, after time it
becomes second nature, but at the same time N is REALLY hard to find on the
bike as it is right next to 1st. What this means is that letting the clutch
out at a long stop is a game - Let's see, is it in 1st, neutral, or 2nd?
Would N be at the bottom of the shifter travel there wouldn't be any
problems - click it all the way down and you're in N, one click back to 1st
or at the worst 2nd.
Posted by Albrecht via MotorcycleKB.com on November 1, 2007, 10:32 pm
Eigenvector wrote:
>The gearing on my bike is 1-N-2-3-4-5
That's been the DOT required standard shift pattern since the early 1970's.
>Would N be at the bottom of the shifter travel there wouldn't be any
>problems - click it all the way down and you're in N, one click back to 1st
>or at the worst 2nd.
Have you ever gotten into neutral by accident while you were in a tight turn?
Did you almost lose control of your bike?
Some manufacturer tried neutral at the bottom in the 1960's, I don't remember
who. Another manufacturer had a rotary shift pattern where if you were in
high gear and shifted one moe time, you were in low gear.
You can imagine what happened with that arrangement.
--
Message posted via http://www.motorcyclekb.com
Posted by Joe on November 1, 2007, 11:08 pm
> That's been the DOT required standard shift pattern since the early
> 1970's.
I'm not sure it os DOT mandated... But it sure is universally accepted and
used now.
--
Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"
http://yunx.com/valk.htm
Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
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Political Video:
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Posted by Joe on November 1, 2007, 11:07 pm
> There were some with neutral at the bottom, but I forget which ones at
> the moment.
Bridgestone two-stroke street 350's had a "programmable" shift pattern. All
down, all up, left or right side of the bike... In the 1960's or early
1970's I think. We owned one... But *gave* it away. I think you could
also do a standard shift pattern... 1 down, all up, etc.
It also had a *dry* clutch...
One strange and (at the time) fast bike.
My dad upgraded from the Bridgestone 350 to the Kawasaki 750 two-stroke...
Both raced at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. Lots of fun back in the
day...
Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R
Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"
http://yunx.com/valk.htm
Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
http://tinyurl.com/5apkg
Political Video:
http://tinyurl.com/2v4avg
Posted by George R. Young on November 1, 2007, 11:20 pm
> I haven't been able to figure out why this is a good thing.
> The gearing on my bike is 1-N-2-3-4-5
> Why is neutral between 1 and 2? It's not confusing to shift, after
> time it becomes second nature, but at the same time N is REALLY hard
> to find on the bike as it is right next to 1st. What this means is
> that letting the clutch out at a long stop is a game - Let's see, is
> it in 1st, neutral, or 2nd? Would N be at the bottom of the shifter
> travel there wouldn't be any problems - click it all the way down and
> you're in N, one click back to 1st or at the worst 2nd.
>
>
Kawasaki has a feature called Positive Neutral Finder. If you're stopped
and in 1st, you can only upshift into neutral, it won't go into 2nd.
I have it on a Concours and personally don't like it. Real pain if you
ever have to bump start the thing.
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