Hi.  I have a total newbie question related to shifting gears.  I used the search feature and couldn't find the answer.  I also know that my question is specific to a motorcycle's make and model, thus appropriate for this forum.

I am going to preface this by saying I am completely new to motorcycling.  I have my permit, and am taking the MSF on March 24, 25, 28 and April 3 (and am absolutely frothing at the mouth.)  I bought a 1990 GS500 in December, and have eagerly been waiting to take the MSF course and get my license.  My motorcycling experience currently consists of riding it up and down my driveway, and taking very short trips around my development (which consists of three dead-end streets, so almost no traffic.)

Anyway, my question is:  are there specifc speeds (of the miles per hour variety) to shift gears, or is gear shifting completely based on engine speed (RPM)?  For example, if you are cruising around at a very low speed (say, 10-15 mph) at relatively low RPMs in first gear; at what point, or what has to happen, to warrant shifting into a higher gear?

Thank you all in advance for your assistance.     

Hi

Did you ever ride a ten speed bike?  When did you shift gears?  For me it depends on how strong my legs are, how fast I am going, and how steep the hill is.  Shift too soon and I will stall out, shift too late and my legs are tired from spinning too fast.

Same idea.  Feel comes with experience.  Have fun.

Cheers

Hi.  I generally like to keep my rpms between 3k and 11k.  Obviously you don't need to wrap it out to 11k if you are just doing normal riding.  Just riding around, I normally shift at about 5krpm.  But i agree it's something you just need to feel out for yourself.  Practice, Practice, Practice!

Quote from: tialloydragon on March 06, 2010, 06:42:42 PM

Anyway, my question is:  are there specifc speeds (of the miles per hour variety) to shift gears, or is gear shifting completely based on engine speed (RPM)? 

The RPM and/or speed you're doing when you change gears depends on your current speed requirements.

For normal riding. Not hammering to get anywhere. Not racing off into the distance. Changing around 5 to 5.5k is about right. This will bring each subsequent gear's RPM to around 4k. Which is about right for sitting at that speed or accelerating nicely into the next gear. E.g. Changing when 3rd is at 5.5k will roughly give you 4k in 4th. Which is about bottom for riding around in, in 4th. You can, then drop a little below 4k, but don't expect to give a sudden throttle twist and roar off. The engine will be borderline lugging.

If you're going onto a highway you need to rev out each gear longer. Depending upon the speed required and your comfort level, you can leave it in 4th and slowly give more throttle. Which is to say, don't just crank open the throttle. Give more throttle and as the speed builds give more throttle. Nice and smooth. Fourth gear at 4k will see you at around 60kph (37.5mph). If you take fourth up to 9k you'll be doing around 140kph (87.5mph). Which should see you merged onto Most highways. But there is no set rule. If you feel you want to change up to 5th around 100kph (approx 63mph) then that's cool too.

If you're riding quite slow, which I assume your current riding is, feel free to get going and then pop it into to 2nd and ride around. First gear is your Getting Started gear. Slower riding is less jerky in 2nd.

In the beginning you may find yourself looking at the speedo/tacho all the time when changing gears. BUT... you will develop a Feel for When the time is right to change, and will change. Also, while you might think initially, how on earth am I supposed to know which gear I am in? And you'll even try to mentally keep track of the gear. This too, will become natural. And you'll Just Know when you're in 4th, 5th, etc.

Michael

The easy answer is if the engine sounds like it's working too hard for what you're doing, shift up. If it sounds like it's just chugging along and wants to die, shift down.

When you're learning you'll probably just want to keep it between 3-6k rpm all the time, and as you get comfortable and get a feel for it you'll just know what to do.