Clunky downshift

[delagem]

Hand shift; gotta take your hands off the bars to move a lever.

I agree with Fraser, separating the sides of the body for foot and hand seems more logical. I notice with braking that I can't pay undivided attention to not locking the rear brake while also using the front brake.

I put a thumb brake on my 748, and that makes it easier. But the thumb brake doesn't have enough power, so I don't recommend it. Now, forget about trying to brake with both wheels while trying to downshift, too!

[Skins]

Actually, Michael, I prefer using my right foot for braking. I find that I have better control with the ball of my right foot than with ball of my left foot, and while gear changing is a very delicate and important action, braking is even more so.

I've just tried to copy the article I wrote some time ago on this subject, which I called 'CHANGING FOR THE BETTER', into this post, but for some reason my stupid computer won't let me copy and paste from MS Word, which I'm sure I've done previously, into this place, today.

[Skins]

Well, I've managed to get MS Word to cooperate, so here is


CHANGING FOR THE BETTER

Paso owners are fortunate in being able to correct what I believe is a modern motorcycle design faux pas – the gears shift in the wrong direction. But on a Paso, it’s very easy to reverse the gear shift action for better and safer riding. It can be done in minutes.

There are two parts to this subject – the foot and the pedal, and riding technique. In the first part I look at how the foot works and how the pedal works, and in the second part I show how this relates to riding technique.

First, the foot: Imagine sitting in your car. Try to imagine controlling the accelerator not by pushing down on the pedal, but instead by hooking your foot under the pedal and pulling it up. Doesn’t make much sense, does it? If you could control your car’s pedals better by pulling them up with your foot, they’d make the pedals that way.

The human foot is able to control downward pressure very precisely, using the ball of the foot. You don’t have to imagine driving your car to realise this – just think about it next time you’re standing up or walking around. That’s why the ball of the foot is so good at downward pressure – we evolved to spend a lot of time standing and walking around, even if we seem to be doing it less and less these days. About the only thing I can think of that upward pressure of the foot is good for is kicking footballs, which doesn’t have a lot to do with motorcycling.

OK. So if one wants to move something very precisely with the foot, it is better to push down on it with the ball of the foot than to pull it up with the top of the foot.

Now, the pedal: As far as the pedal is concerned, we can ask two things – why is it on the left, and why is it arranged these days so that we have to push it down for first, and then pull it up for the rest of the gears? It is on the left because during the seventies manufacturers around the world decided they had better start putting it there because that was where the US Government said it had to be, and they wanted to sell bikes in the US. Whether the US Government made a law about pushing it down for first, I don’t know, but maybe Harleys and Indians changed gears that way, and everybody copied them, or maybe everybody copied Triumph. Anyway, it doesn’t make much difference which side the pedal is, but it makes a lot of difference whether first is down and the rest up, or first is up and the rest down. Obviously the manufacturers wanted uniformity – unfortunately they just picked the wrong way. Well, that’s what I believe (and so do certain other people, as we shall see) and that’s why I have changed my shift to up for first and down for the rest, and why I hope to convince you to do the same. It’s really easy to do on a Paso – all you have to do is take the front part of the gear change linkage off the shaft and put it back on the other way up, and then adjust the link rod for a good pedal position and shift action. You don’t even have to remove the fairing. It takes only a few minutes.


Now, the second part, riding technique:

This is where things get serious. Let’s consider how changing to a higher gear is different from changing to a lower gear. The most obvious difference is that changing to a higher gear – say from second to third, has a braking effect on the engine, and the revs will drop, while changing to a lower gear –say from third to second, has a braking effect on the back wheel, and the engine revs will rise. However, there are two other differences which are much more important.

Firstly, the change to a higher gear – say from second to third, or third to fourth, can be made very quickly – in a fraction of a second with a good set-up if you know what you’re doing, while the change to a lower gear – say from third to second, takes a lot longer – pull in the clutch, rev her up, and slip her into gear as the revs drop. Of course you have more time available to make the change to a lower gear - as you decelerate for the corner, traffic, or whatever - but it’s good to make the change to the higher gear quickly, so you don’t lose time and momentum when you’re accelerating.

Secondly, and most importantly, missing a change to a higher gear is likely to have very different consequences compared to missing a change to a lower gear. Changing to a higher gear – say third to fourth, you’ll be accelerating, and, especially if you’re in a corner, you’ll need that power for control. Also, you’ll be gassing it, maybe very hard, and if you miss the change you will almost certainly over-rev the motor, or damage the gearbox. Missing a change to a lower gear – say third to second, you’ll probably just find yourself coasting, on a small throttle opening, everything peaceful and quiet, as you contemplate a little extra braking. You might even have a couple of fingers already on the brake lever.

Also, when changing to a higher gear, you will feel the gear going in better, even through the sole of your boot, with the precise and sensitive ball of your foot.

So:
If you’re going to miss a change, make it a change to a lower gear, not a higher gear.

OK, to sum up:- On those high-action up changes – second to third, third to fourth, you should be using that skillful, precise ball of your foot (maybe ‘football’ has something to do with motorcycling after all) to make sure you get it right, while those leisurely down changes can be entrusted to the top of your foot.

And, if you want to see people who really do know what it’s all about using ‘up for first and down for the rest’, watch closely next time you see MotoGP or SBK on your screen.

[Paul]

Skins,

My understanding of why racers prefer the "down for up" change is that quite often they have the bike leant over to the left as they are accelerating and can't get their foot under the lever to change up. It is much easier to push the lever down which does not require getting their foot under the lever.

When changing down (where they need to get their foot under the lever) the bike tends to be in a more upright position.

Paul

[Skins]

So they say, Paul. However, I'm inclined to think that theory might be a little astray. In my experience (which does not include racing) one is just as likely to require a down-change when leant over.

I certainly don't think the 'leant-over' theory is the whole story. I'm certain one can do much more accurate and efficient shifting with the 'one-up-then-down' pattern. Try it, and see for yourself.

[Paul]

Skins,

It will be one of those things that you always worry about. The first couple of days you are so scared to change the wrong way that you get it right. When it moves from a concious decision to a sub-concious one, that's when you end up with a pile of cogs in the middle of the road....

I think I'll leave my Paso as it is.

I believe it has been pretty nippy down your way, with more than the average snow.

Paul

[Skins]

Yes, I take your point, Paul - it's a good one. That's what most blokes say. All I can say is, try it, it's worth it. Be like and Michael Delage and get the most out of your motorcycles.

Global warming has given us a mild winter so far in New Zealand, but we have had a few days of good snow during brief cold snaps, and the ski field operators are happy. I saw a good little South African film called 'Tsutsi' (misspelled, I think) the other day.

[Paul]

Skins,

You were close, the movie is Tsotsi (meaning something like township gangster). I think it was our first ever Oscar winning movie last year. I still haven't seen it, but it will be on Satellite / pay station TV soon. Did you manage to follow the "Tsotsi taal" ? (gangster talk).

I got my bike back from storage two weeks ago. Riding it home I wanted to go for a long ride, but as the battery was flat and I had had to jump start it, I thought I should just ride straight home. I've got a new battery now as the old one would not take a charge, and am looking forward to taking her for a spin on Sunday and finding some curvy roads near our new house.

Paul

[Skins]

Yes, it was an interesting mix of English, Afrikaans, and probably Zulu, Xhosa, Basutu, and I don't what else - I would have been lost without the subtitles. I wonder if the SA release had subtitles?

Gotta go now. Totsiens.

[Paul]

Skins,

Yes it did, otherwise us whities wouldn't be able to follow it.

Paul