How Does a Motorcycle Work?
Gear Shift
- The Gear Shift is on the left-hand side of the motorcycle just ahead of the foot peg.
- The Gear Shift controls a ratchet mechanism that shifts the gears.
- Most motorcycles use a 1-N-2-3-4-5 positioning of the gear shift lever with the "1" being all the way down.
- Upshifts from first gear are accomplished by a hard upward thrust with the top of the boot on the underside of the shift lever after first pulling in the clutch.
- The first upward kick from first gear goes through Neutral directly to second gear. The gear shift lever is released after each upward kick. Successive gear shifts upward take the machine to third, fourth, and then fifth (or higher) gear.
- Downshifts occur by pulling in the clutch and kicking down the gear shift lever one gear at a time and releasing it after the shift in preparation for the next kick down.
- There is a complex motion involving the left hand operating the clutch, the left foot operating the gear shift, and the right hand opening and closing the throttle to accomplish smooth shifting both accelerating and decelerating.
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