How You Shift Gears
When you are riding a motorcycle, you shift gears by using a lever that comes out of the right grip near the throttle. As you pull the lever towards yourself, the bike ratios change.
A high quality motorcycle lever feels smooth and provides just the right amount of friction to make it easy to shift between gears.
However, not all motorcycle levers feel the same. There can be some lag involved, especially if you are generating enough power to make a big engine turn over quickly.
Some motorcycle levers feel too loose and almost impossibly hard to shift. The situation can be improved by making more use of the other hand, as that will make the levers work a bit more smoothly.
Another way to improve things is to use an electronic quick shifter on your bike.
What Are Electronic Quick Shifters?
An electronic quick shifter is something that is added to the gearbox on your bike. As soon as you pull the right grip, the electronic component controls the gearbox to shift up or down into a new gear.
There are two main types: a plunger style and a trigger. The plunger style is installed in a hydraulic line. When you pull lever, the plunger pushes a rod to engage the gear. The trigger style has a small joint that clicks into place when you push it down.
How Fast You Shift Gears
If you’re looking to increase the speed of your motorcycle without changing your bike or engine, you need to find a way to shift gears fast. A motorcycle quick shifter is a viable option as it will allow you to shift gears without you having to let go of the throttle or clutch during operation.
If you want to shave seconds off your time or consistently win against your motorcycle buddies, then you need to know how fast you’re shifting gears right now.
Calibrate Your Quick Shifter:
Decide if your quick shifter comes with instructions or the tools you’ll need. Generally, it comes with a specialized wrench, which will allow you to calibrate the quick shifter. This is important as it will prevent you from over- or under-shifting, which could be dangerous.
Check that your feet are placed squarely on the pegs or floorboards, and the best way to do this is to place your feet on the pegs and roll off the bike, noting the exact position of your feet.
If your foot is on the peg and your ankle is straight, then you’re in the right spot.
Next, sit down and rev the engine to about 5000 rpm for a few seconds.
How Fast A Motorcycle Quick Shifter Changes Gears
There are many different ways to shift a motorcycle, and not all of them are created equally. The easiest way to change gears on a motorcycle is to do it slowly.
There are many different ways and styles of shifting a motorcycle, including both fast and slow ways of doing it. There are a few methods that are better than others, but the best way to improve shift speed is with a motorcycle quick shifter.
Some motorcycle quick shifters act just like a clutch. When you press the computer-controlled button, it does the shifting for you automatically. This is great for beginners that don’t have the hand muscles for clutch work, or for people that have hand problems that prevent them from changing gears slowly.
You still need to shift down and up, but since it’s taken care of for you, you’ll be able to make those changes almost instantly. With a high-end motorcycle quick shifter, you may be able to cut your changing time by up to 85%. That’s why quick shifters are so popular among professional racers.
The Cost of a Good Quick Shifter
A good motorcycle quick shifter can cost you thousands, but it will be worth it if you take your riding serious. You can easily get by with a less expensive shifter if you can’t afford the premium ones.
The Basics – How Motorcycle Quick Shifters Work
Motorcycle quick shifters simply let you change gears without taking your hand off the throttle. When you put them in the right position, they do all the work for you. So what happens if you want to change gears but the bike is already in the right gear? Nothing at all.
Motorcycle quick shifters can be pretty impressive, to say the least. When we first tested the Shiftlight system, we were blown away. We are used to quick shifters on our cars, but we thought that we’re not good enough for bikes.
Our mind was blown when we saw that the Shiftlight device automatically figures out how long you should stay in a gear to get the most performance out of it. It shows you the RPM the motorcycle will reach before it’s time to shift and even gives a countdown to help you know when to shift without taking your eyes off the road.
When we learned that you can increase your shift speed by up to 500%, we were amazed.
You may ask how that’s possible. It’s easy – the Shiftlight device automatically shifts the gears for you.
There is no shifting involved. Your right hand does not have to move at all.
Are Motorcycle Quick Shifters Bad For A Transmission?
Maybe you have become fed up with your motorcycle or scooter’s slow gear shifts. Maybe your bike is manual, you have a little time on your hands, and a couple of hundred dollars to spend on something better. If this is the case, you may be thinking a quick shifter is worth a shot. So, are motorcycle quick shifters worth the money?
The simple answer is: yes.
If you are looking to improve your motorcycle’s shifting speed, a quick shifter is worth it. Despite what some sources say, quick shifters are not bad for your bike’s transmission at all. In fact, a quick shifter allows you to shift gears faster than the bike can naturally. This was one of the reasons why they were banned in the early 2000’s. What is really the cause of gear shifting problems, however, is poor maintenance… not the fault of the bike’s original components.
In reality, a quick shifter is just a shift lever unit with an integrated clutch assembly. All items are contained in a single assembly and can be installed in no time. This unit mounts directly into your bike’s transmission, but you should still have it installed by a professional mechanic, just in case.
Who Makes The Top Motorcycle Quick Shifters?
Motorcycle quick shifters make up part of a larger product category called “Cruise Control” for motorcycles. Cruise control is also sometimes referred to as “throttle control” and is present in all motor vehicles of some type. In many types of motorcycles, however, the lever which is used to assist in throttle control is not able to perform double-duty as a cruise control.
The Choetech Motorcycle Cruise Control Adapter is one example. This particular model can be fitted to the handlebar of any model motorcycle and is designed specifically to make throttle control easier. By gently squeezing the throttle and holding it in place, you can ride with your hands completely off the bar.
Cycling analyst Sheldon Brown recommends that you avoid single-purpose quick shifters. He warns that some models have been outfitted to be unsafe for the opening of throttle. He even goes so far as to recommend you avoid single-purpose quick shifters under any circumstances.
The problem with these quickly-flickering clutches is that it can lead to the overuse of braking. This puts an unnecessary strain on your braking system and could prove to be very harmful to your bicycle.
What’s Next?
When you’re shopping for a 2-cycle motorcycle that performs well, it’s important to consider whether or not it has an aftermarket quick shifter. It will increase the performance and add that motorbike to the top of your consideration list.
Quick shifters will change your riding experience immensely. When you shift gears normally, you do it through a 1 to 2 millisecond pause while the engine speed comes down below the shift speed. A quick shifter will change that. It will enable your motorcycle to drop the engine speed below the lower limit in less than one millisecond, so you won’t lose any power when you shift.
The quick shifters work just as well if you’re up or down-shifting. That is, you’re not going to miss any acceleration or braking time because of the quick shifters.
Your 4-stroke bikes will notice a big performance increase, while your 2-strokes will notice an incredible 500% shift speed increase.