Taking off in second gear instead of first gear

bigjack7679

Registered
So i have been riding my busa for a month now. When at red lights etc.. i have started to ease off in 2nd gear. Not to fast to where the bike shakes or tremble.
Just keeping it in the power band. I also wil go 2nd gear, 4th gear and then 6th or 1st,2nd, 4th, then 6th. Mostly when im just cruising.

I normally I take off in first if im in a rush, traffic, hill etc...

Is this hard on the bike at all or is it ok to do?
 
My personal opinion is, I keep it in 1st at a traffic light or stop sign, Then look in the mirrors - if the vehicle coming up behind you
doesn't look like it's going to stop MOVE ASAP ! If you are in second you might stall it in a panic situation, in 1st you could get out of the way faster.

I also think you are going to slip the clutch more starting in second, over time it might put more wear on it.

I don't think there would be any problem going from 2nd to 4th to 6th. Just my 2 cents worth. :laugh:
 
My personal opinion is, I keep it in 1st at a traffic light or stop sign, Then look in the mirrors - if the vehicle coming up behind you
doesn't look like it's going to stop MOVE ASAP ! If you are in second you might stall it in a panic situation, in 1st you could get out of the way faster.

I also think you are going to slip the clutch more starting in second, over time it might put more wear on it.

I don't think there would be any problem going from 2nd to 4th to 6th. Just my 2 cents worth. :laugh:


They talked about being at a stop sign in my MSF training class and how it is important to stay in first at stop signs so i do need to make that an habit.

THANKS FOR THE INPUT:thumbsup:
 
If shifting bothers you that much, why not buy an auto shift?
I don't think this doing the clutch anygood.

Yes stop signs you need to be watching the car behind you! Also leave yourself plenty of room between you and the car in front of you at red lights (2-3 full bike lengths) and watch behind you as much if not more then in front of you.
 
If shifting bothers you that much, why not buy an auto shift?
I don't think this doing the clutch anygood.

Yes stop signs you need to be watching the car behind you! Also leave yourself plenty of room between you and the car in front of you at red lights (2-3 full bike lengths) and watch behind you as much if not more then in front of you.

It doesnt really bother me. Just lazy at times. i will look into an auto shift

Thanks
 
and you should not be directly behind a car at a stop light or stop sign either. you should position urself to the right or the left of the rear of the vehicle in front of you so you have an escape route along the side of the vehicle in front of you in case the car behind you is not paying attention and you can clearly see that they are not going to stop in time.

stopping a few bike lengths behind the car in front of you will do little to help you get out of harms way if the car behind you isnt stoping cause you will have no where to go and still have to navigate around the rear of the vehicle so you dont get crushed.
 
and you should not be directly behind a car at a stop light or stop sign either. you should position urself to the right or the left of the rear of the vehicle in front of you so you have an escape route along the side of the vehicle in front of you in case the car behind you is not paying attention and you can clearly see that they are not going to stop in time.

stopping a few bike lengths behind the car in front of you will do little to help you get out of harms way if the car behind you isnt stoping cause you will have no where to go and still have to navigate around the rear of the vehicle so you dont get crushed.

I make sure of that. MSF training course was real good on teaching everyday safety

Thanks
 
2nd gear can become fickle in our bikes and first gear is pretty wide in our bikes so i personally dont see a need but thats my opinion also like the guys above stated you have to pay attention to the people behind you and 2nd isnt getting you out of the way any time soon. Last year i was sitting at a left turn light and the guy came flying up behind me the straight through light was green but mine was red and he must have thought it meant he could turn left cause the other light was green ... i had to hole shot it out of the light and go straight or i would have been rear ended with him doing 45-50mph into the left turn... he never even slowed down into the turn or after for that matter i dont think he even saw me even after i took off.... so always keep the eyes in the back of your head open
 
I take off in 2nd all the time. Don't have to slip the clutch much more(if any) than with 1st.
 
and you should not be directly behind a car at a stop light or stop sign either. you should position urself to the right or the left of the rear of the vehicle in front of you so you have an escape route along the side of the vehicle in front of you in case the car behind you is not paying attention and you can clearly see that they are not going to stop in time.

stopping a few bike lengths behind the car in front of you will do little to help you get out of harms way if the car behind you isnt stoping cause you will have no where to go and still have to navigate around the rear of the vehicle so you dont get crushed.



True but hopefully motorcyclist have enough sense not to stop in the middle of a lane when at a stop sign or redlight, due to this is worst place due to vehichles with oil leaks tend to leak in the middle of the road way.

Here ya go for all of you that are lazy to shift.. I also believe Pashnit sells this at a much cheaper price.

All Electric Motorcycle Shifter - Suzuki GSX-R

Its not cheap being lazy hang on for the price.

Aaaaaaaand if your to lazy to push a button you can get a MPS Auto Shift to hook up to it.
MPS Racing

Or just buy an old Hondamatic LOL
 
I take off in 2nd all the time. Don't have to slip the clutch much more(if any) than with 1st.

+1 on this. :thumbsup:

I almost always downshift to 2nd gear, and take off in 2nd, at stop signs & traffic lights. With proper throttle & clutch control, I can still take off from a stop, without being a hindrance to any vehicle that may be behind me (no stalling either). I typically use 1st gear only, to move or inch the bike forward, like in a parking lot, garage, etc...

It works for me. :)
 
the hardware of the transmission doesnt matter which gear you take off in....it matters what is comfortable and safe(if it stalhs all the time or not). Your clutch also doesnt ever know what gear your in.

I have noticed in life some people like doing things differently and this lets them feel liberated this sounds like one of those situations to me, but what do i know.

a few years ago i installed a electric up and down shifter for a handicap guy on his busa.....Pingel produced it and albeit aggravating to get set up it worked for him fine... this might be the ticket if you find shifting your motorcycle painstaking!
 
I always take off in first, its like a auto trans where I'm having the clutch lever out about 4' after starting, barley or no sliding the clutch at all. then nail it. hee hee hee. PS kinda like a a/t stalling at 1300 rpm to start then going through the gears at 4 to 5000ish rpm for cummuting riding. Very flluidly
 
True but hopefully motorcyclist have enough sense not to stop in the middle of a lane when at a stop sign or redlight, due to this is worst place due to vehichles with oil leaks tend to leak in the middle of the road way.

Here ya go for all of you that are lazy to shift.. I also believe Pashnit sells this at a much cheaper price.

All Electric Motorcycle Shifter - Suzuki GSX-R

Its not cheap being lazy hang on for the price.

Aaaaaaaand if your to lazy to push a button you can get a MPS Auto Shift to hook up to it.
MPS Racing

Or just buy an old Hondamatic LOL

My big :moon: on a hondamatic. :laugh: I think I will stick with my sexy busa.
I reall don't mind shifting. Just want to get opinions from experience riders.
Thanks
 
+1 on this. :thumbsup:

I almost always downshift to 2nd gear, and take off in 2nd, at stop signs & traffic lights. With proper throttle & clutch control, I can still take off from a stop, without being a hindrance to any vehicle that may be behind me (no stalling either). I typically use 1st gear only, to move or inch the bike forward, like in a parking lot, garage, etc...

It works for me. :)

Ok. Sounds like me. Thanks for the info
 
the hardware of the transmission doesnt matter which gear you take off in....it matters what is comfortable and safe(if it stalhs all the time or not). Your clutch also doesnt ever know what gear your in.

I have noticed in life some people like doing things differently and this lets them feel liberated this sounds like one of those situations to me, but what do i know.

a few years ago i installed a electric up and down shifter for a handicap guy on his busa.....Pingel produced it and albeit aggravating to get set up it worked for him fine... this might be the ticket if you find shifting your motorcycle painstaking!

How long did it take to install that setup.
 
I always take off in first, its like a auto trans where I'm having the clutch lever out about 4' after starting, barley or no sliding the clutch at all. then nail it. hee hee hee. PS kinda like a a/t stalling at 1300 rpm to start then going through the gears at 4 to 5000ish rpm for cummuting riding. Very flluidly

Sounds good to me.
THANKS!!!
 
I feel that some of the FUN in riding is that I GET to shift.
They have had automatic bikes out for some time, but I don't think that they ever sold well.

Using the clutch lever also builds grip and finger strength. If you never had to pull a clutch or brake lever you wouldn't build any
strength and it would be boring. Might as well drive a car. :laugh:
 
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