Don't look at your speedo; the tach's more important for deciding when to shift. Plus, this way you can honestly say that "Officer I had no idea..."
Shifting gears
Here's my question
I own a CBR 600, had it about a month, but I'm a little unsure about when to shift gears. I have only been riding a month and had never driven stick prior to that. I took lessons before geeting the bike and how to shift was covered but not really when to shift. I have been shifting at the suggested speeds in the owners manual i.e 20km-2nd, 30km-3rd, 40km-4th and so on. I'm not haveing any performance issues when shifting and the bike isn't making any strange noises but it doesn't seem right. I just thought I could get a bit more out of each gear. My rpm's are at like 2k-4k when I shift. Another question I have is is it bad for the bike to double shift i.e go up two gears before releasing the clutch?
I own a CBR 600, had it about a month, but I'm a little unsure about when to shift gears. I have only been riding a month and had never driven stick prior to that. I took lessons before geeting the bike and how to shift was covered but not really when to shift. I have been shifting at the suggested speeds in the owners manual i.e 20km-2nd, 30km-3rd, 40km-4th and so on. I'm not haveing any performance issues when shifting and the bike isn't making any strange noises but it doesn't seem right. I just thought I could get a bit more out of each gear. My rpm's are at like 2k-4k when I shift. Another question I have is is it bad for the bike to double shift i.e go up two gears before releasing the clutch?
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Do you like acceleration? If so then you are shifting way too early, might as well be riding a scooter. I guess it really depends on what your goals are for riding... do you want to have fun and get the most out of your bike, or do you want to use it to save on gas money? I ride a gsxr 600 and I usually don't shift til 7/8,000rpm for just cruising around town, but I won't shift til closer to 13,500 if I wanna have some fun.Here's my question
I own a CBR 600, had it about a month, but I'm a little unsure about when to shift gears. I have only been riding a month and had never driven stick prior to that. I took lessons before geeting the bike and how to shift was covered but not really when to shift. I have been shifting at the suggested speeds in the owners manual i.e 20km-2nd, 30km-3rd, 40km-4th and so on. I'm not haveing any performance issues when shifting and the bike isn't making any strange noises but it doesn't seem right. I just thought I could get a bit more out of each gear. My rpm's are at like 2k-4k when I shift. Another question I have is is it bad for the bike to double shift i.e go up two gears before releasing the clutch?
Also, if you shift up two gears it should not be bad for your bike, but it will take pretty much all the power away in the rpm range you are using.
I would like to give er more than I am in each gear, I was just concerned about damaging the bike because the owners manual suggested those shifting points. But if I shift 7k-8k than double shifting shouldn't be an issue, it's just seemed kind of silly to shift every 10k(speed). Thanks for the replies.Do you like acceleration? If so then you are shifting way too early, might as well be riding a scooter. I guess it really depends on what your goals are for riding... do you want to have fun and get the most out of your bike, or do you want to use it to save on gas money? I ride a gsxr 600 and I usually don't shift til 7/8,000rpm for just cruising around town, but I won't shift til closer to 13,500 if I wanna have some fun.
Also, if you shift up two gears it should not be bad for your bike, but it will take pretty much all the power away in the rpm range you are using.
The owners manual is VERY conservative about shifting gears. I'm not normally out of 1st until around 3-4.5k... Don't worry about revving the engine to 6k - it's not even 1/2 way up the scale. It's the same as around 3000rpm in a car if you look at it that way ....
G
there is no set point to shifting. if you short shift, you are not going to hit any high revs as you go thru the gears. if you bang it off redline for every shift, it's going to scream like a banshee.
you shift as conditions merit. accerlating hard? shifts are coming fast and often, and at high revs. out for a cruise? you may not make it out of 4th.
you shift as conditions merit. accerlating hard? shifts are coming fast and often, and at high revs. out for a cruise? you may not make it out of 4th.
There is no need to double shift, just use the gears as they were intended 1st then 2nd then 3rd etc. You won't damage your bike shifting at a higher rpm, just don't bounce it off the rev limiter (redline) all the time. It's really not that difficult once you get a feel for where you like to shift, it just takes seat time to get it.I would like to give er more than I am in each gear, I was just concerned about damaging the bike because the owners manual suggested those shifting points. But if I shift 7k-8k than double shifting shouldn't be an issue, it's just seemed kind of silly to shift every 10k(speed). Thanks for the replies.
Thanks again. I was only double shifting while sticking to the suggested shift points. I would shift into 2nd at 20km but before I knew it I was doing almost 40km so I shift straight up to 4th. But shifting at higher rpm's should eliminate that. But what about shifting down, what rpm range should I start to down shift?There is no need to double shift, just use the gears as they were intended 1st then 2nd then 3rd etc. You won't damage your bike shifting at a higher rpm, just don't bounce it off the rev limiter (redline) all the time. It's really not that difficult once you get a feel for where you like to shift, it just takes seat time to get it.
Ride it like you stole it! As already said above, there really is no shift points, it varies based on the bike, riding style, conditions, etc. Shifting between 2-4k will get you around, but you're just lugging it around, from my experiences bike engines do not like this type of riding. You'll need to stretch its legs a ltitle bit. When accelerating, like maybe at 40% throttle, when you feel like bike loosing power, shift...you'll feel it start pulling again. I think you'll find that most riders rarely ever look down to shift, and maybe to catch a glimpse of the speedo. I shift based on feeling and sound alone.
Here are some good guidelines, if the RPMS drop so low that the engine stumbles or stalls then it's too low. If the RPMS exceed red line then it's too high. Everything else in the middle is up to you. High performance motorcycle engines are designed to rev.
G
not when the rpms say to. when you need to. as you shift down, rpms are going to go up. if you are diving into a corner you want to be ready to accelerate out, so you shift down as you go into the corner, hit the gas and shift up on the way out.But what about shifting down, what rpm range should I start to down shift?
if you are shifting because you are slowing down you just listen to the engine. if it sounds like it's bogging or working, you shift down. if the engine is screaming, you've shifted too far.
Get out and ride, that is the only way you will get to know what your bike wants. Don't look at the tach, go by feel. If you find it hard not to look at the tach then cover it with a piece of paper, that is what I did when learning to drive stick.Thanks again. I was only double shifting while sticking to the suggested shift points. I would shift into 2nd at 20km but before I knew it I was doing almost 40km so I shift straight up to 4th. But shifting at higher rpm's should eliminate that. But what about shifting down, what rpm range should I start to down shift?
or when the rear tire locks up, that is always fun.if the engine is screaming, you've shifted too far.
G
or when the rear tire locks up, that is always fun.
but that looks so cool when you do it at a stop light. freaks the cagers out bigtime.
Going to a stop sign would be fine, but very suprising when going to enter a corner.but that looks so cool when you do it at a stop light. freaks the cagers out bigtime.
My concern about short shifting as you are is that if you are actually in a position where you may need some get up and go in traffic and need to accelerate quickly, my bet is that you would have a significant hesitation before the bike would respond to significant throttle. Having said that, there's nothing actually wrong with riding the way you are. I'm just guessing, but over the long haul it might even be better for the bike (but like anything, moderation to some extent is needed)...
Cory
Cory
That was one of the things I noticed, if I ever did give it some gas it wouldn't quickly accelerate right away. I went for a ride this afternoon and tried shifting at higher rpm's and enjoyed it a lot more. The bike would really take off when I gave it some gas while in the mid-range rpm's. Much more fun.My concern about short shifting as you are is that if you are actually in a position where you may need some get up and go in traffic and need to accelerate quickly, my bet is that you would have a significant hesitation before the bike would respond to significant throttle. Having said that, there's nothing actually wrong with riding the way you are. I'm just guessing, but over the long haul it might even be better for the bike (but like anything, moderation to some extent is needed)...
Cory
Ignore the manual in that respect. Honda is out to lunch. I have the same bike and cruise between 4k-6k and shift around 8-9k. The sound of the engine will tell you when to shift...red line is 15k You have plenty of room for error ;-)
B.
B.
being in 4th at 40km/h seems like it would be almost lugging the engine, at least if you tried to gun it from there, and lugging an engine is one of the hardest/worst things to do to one
It didn't feel like it was lugging but it wouldn't take off right away if I gunned it. Either way I have seen the light.being in 4th at 40km/h seems like it would be almost lugging the engine, at least if you tried to gun it from there, and lugging an engine is one of the hardest/worst things to do to one
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