Preferred shift pattern - road or race?

[enigma51]

I like the "race" setup.
I am tall and have big feet so to hook under the shifter when you accelerating feels awkward but when im sitting up for braking its fine It makes a huge difference on the track for me but on the road its just more comfortable when changing gears

[F5 Dave]

Good to see you're consistent on the subject.

Good grief I didn't know you cared so much. Actually. STALKER!!!!

Funny thing is the next answer from Enigma is Race preference & Avitar Kev Schwantz

[cowboyz]

i use road pattern cause that is what I have always used and when in doubt I revert to auto pilot and I would be worried that all would be going wrong if I changed things.

[k14]

Big fan of race pattern. Had my bikes like that for 3 or 4 years now. I have to have it with my rs. Very common to have to change up gears whilst i am leant over in a corner and its even an issue to get my feet to the top of the lever whilst doing so. Is totally impossible to get it underneath whilst at full lean.

Yeah only problem is that other bikes aren't like this so is a bit of an issue when riding them. Also it isn't possible to change a mx bike to race pattern so when I get one it has the potential to cause problems.

[Sully60]

I prefer to use the R1 button to shift up and L1 to shift down, I've never had any real problems using this pattern.

[Jantar]

its many, many years since I rode a race bike on the track. But even 30+ years ago I preferred 1 down, 5 up. Mind you, I will admit that the expansion chambers touched the track before the pegs.

[SPman]

I prefer a right foot gear shift!

[HDTboy]

Tried both. My 2nd bike was race pattern when I bought it, so I kept it that way, learnt it, and would never go back by choice

[Motu]

Down for up is just the old shift pattern before the Yanks made it law for all bikes to be sold with left shift up for up.So your race pattern is just a Norton,or BSA,Matchless,AJS,Moto Guzzi or damn near any other pre 1970 bike shift pattern.Triumph were the odd one out with up for up,and then the Japanese bikes started to use that pattern.At one stage every bike I had (about half a doz) was down for up.I never had a problem changing between the two,or between left and right shifts for that matter.

[Toaster]

I prefer up down up down up down up down up down up down up down but that wasn't an option.

[Jantar]

....Triumph were the odd one out with up for up.....

Mmmm, I seem to recall riding my Triumph Super Cub rather hard one day, after spending a week or two on a Suzuki T250. The up shot was that I was aproaching a tightish right hand bend, I hauled on the front brake and dabbed at what should have been the rear brake while changing down a cog or two ...... instead, the front brakes worked fine, the rear brakes locked up, and I somehow found that I was a gear higher than I should have been.

Yep the good old triumph gears were not only the opposite way to the Suzuki, they were also the opposite side. I did get around that corner at around 20 mph faster than I had ever done it before.

[jrandom]

I prefer up down up down up down up down up down up down up down...

I thought not preferring that was why you switched from a gixxer to the 109...

[erik]

I've switched to race shift pattern. I think it makes it easier to change up while going round a corner, no fear of my foot touching the ground while I shift. To be fair, my foot never touched the ground on the bandit while I was using the standard shift pattern. But it did on my previous bike, the Zeal, which had lower pegs. It could theoretically happen on the bandit (maybe only on the track...) so why risk it.
I think it makes sense, when you're braking for a corner and changing down, the bike is usually reasonably upright so there's no worries getting your foot under the lever to shift. So you get into a low enough gear knowing that it'll be easy to shift up as you need to in the corner as you accelerate.

On the road I think it might be easier to use the standard pattern because it makes it easier to shift down when coming to a stop at an intersection, or makes it easier to change down a gear if you find yourself in a corner in too high a gear or going up a hill and you realise you need to change down.

I think that because of this, the standard pattern can encourage you to be lazier because you don't have to change down before the corner, you can simply change down in the corner when you have to. It might be harder to change up in the corner, but if you're cruising you can avoid that problem by not accelerating so hard out the corner.

I think the race shift pattern encourages better riding by making it more difficult to change down in a corner, so you have to do it before the corner, but then allows you to change up as you accelerate out of the corner more easily.

[Fatjim]

Personally, only one corner on the tukas causes me issues with trying to change up, and I just hold second a bit longer if my exit speed is slow and short shift if I get brave and go faster.

I'd rather have a more positive gear change going down through the gears than going up, because when your braking hard into a corner and you miss a down shift, clenches follow. Also, when you down behind the screen its easier to rest your foot under the lever than on top for us old blokes with zero flexibility.

[F5 Dave]

Well just to take us off in a tangent this is a little story from many years ago from a colulmn called Jody's box in a US MX mag ,

"The best motocross advice I ever got..."

The best motocross advice I ever got is meaningless today, but I’m going to reveal it to you (with full knowledge that the majority of you won’t really comprehend its significance). Ready? I don’t remember the name of the genius who shared it with me, but it changed my life when he leaned over and yelled into my helmet, "Down for low!"

In the good old days, "Down for low" meant the difference between finishing the moto and being pitched over the bars, bogging off the line or looking like a goon. What does it mean? It means that you select first gear by pressing the shift lever down. It seems so basic today, but that is only because a federal law was passed in the mid-’70s mandating that every bike have first gear at the bottom (on the left side of the bike). Before the government intervened, some bikes shifted on the left, some on the right, some up, some down and there was even one that shifted in a continuous circle (first, second, third, fourth, fifth, first, second, third...forever). Once, at Texas’ Lockhart track, I raced a Hodaka in the 100 class (up for low on the left), a Bultaco in the 250 class (up for low on the right) and a BSA in the 500 class (down for low on the right). I was thrown over the bars twice every lap.

Advice, especially good advice, is only valuable if you desperately need it—otherwise, federal laws will suffice.

If I could offer you only one tip about motocross it would be, "Aspire to the Novice class." Speed is over-rated. The faster you are, the less happy you are. I guarantee that there is not a single former National Champion who is happy with the speed at which he rides today. His joy of riding was ruined by speed that he can no longer maintain. (Whereas the rest of us can go this slow forever.) Glory is fleeting, but obscurity lasts. I have other nuggets of wisdom to impart.

Enjoy the stupidity of youth. Never mind that you don’t know how stupid you are. Trust me, in ten years, you’ll look back at the things you did, positions you took, tattoos you got and things you said and wonder why more people didn’t pick up bike stands and smack you across the forehead. On the plus side, stupidity fades as you get older—just like those tattoos

Today is the day to scare yourself silly. See that double? Do that double! If you start thinking about it, you’ll never do it. People who think too much end up living longer, making more money, vacationing in Tavarua, marrying wisely and investing well—but they don’t clear as many doubles.

Always check the water in your radiator. Never take for granted that your handlebars are tight. Look in your gas tank. Don’t keep score (they pay people to do that and they normally get it wrong). Accept the fates of motocross. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but nobody really wants to hear about it. In a nutshell, crashing can be defined in 11 words: "One second my hands were full; the next they were empty."

If a competitor compliments your riding style, compliment him on his. That’s called tit-for-tat. If he insults your riding style, compliment his. That’s called sarcasm. Never compliment your own riding style. That’s called being a factory rider. Keep all your old trophies so that after you die your children will have something to remember you by on the drive to the dump. If you’ve never won a trophy, buy one at a garage sale.

Whining is contagious. Avoid whiners as you would lepers. Forgive me, that was a thoughtless statement. Accept lepers, but avoid whiners. It’s often said that the squeaky wheel gets the grease—except at a factory team where they get a new wheel instead.

Be suspicious of people with perfect tans, art deco goatees, excessive jewelry, large entourages and Armorall’ed dashboards—they obviously have too much time on their hands. Hard work never killed anybody, but it beats the heck out of excessive personal grooming.

There’s no such thing as a loner. At least we don’t know any.

Take your parents to the races with you—even if they don’t want to go. Make your mom blip the throttle while you put on your helmet. Noise, as mom will soon learn, isn’t as objectionable when you are making it. Race a four-stroke at least once in your life. Teach a neophyte how to put a bike on a stand without getting a hernia (it’s all in the hip). Kiss a trophy girl (winning a trophy is optional).

Never mention how long it has been since you’ve had a flat tire. Never ram unless you’re willing to be rammed.

A 34 waist is the ultimate size. Why? The young are headed for it and the old dream of it.
Jeremy McGrath is no different than anybody else with two arms, two legs and 70 Supercross wins.

It’s not that hard to move out of the Novice class, but it takes years to get back in. You’re never as fast as when you’re slow!

Oh yeah…down for low.