E-Z shifting for beginners: Difference between revisions

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====Upshifting====

Pull the clutch in at the same time you close the throttle (one motion with two hands), click the shifter, then let the clutch out as you bring the throttle back up (same motion in reverse). You can do this amazingly fast. If you're damn good, you can do it [[Can I ride my bike home if the clutch cable breaks?|without a clutch]], but you shouldn't. Practice from a stop~~, reaching~~ third gear, then ~~holding in~~ the clutch ~~and bringing yourself~~ to ~~a complete stop~~. Note that you won't usually coast to a stop [http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Accelerating%2C_changing_gears#Downshifting in normal traffic].

Pull the clutch in at the same time you close the throttle (one motion with two hands), click the shifter, then let the clutch out as you bring the throttle back up (same motion in reverse). You can do this amazingly fast. If you're damn good, you can do it [[Can I ride my bike home if the clutch cable breaks?|without a clutch]], but you shouldn't.

Upshifting is usually easier to learn than downshifting. Practice by starting from a stop and accelerating until you reach third gear. Then gradually come to a stop by going slowly and carefully down into second, then first. Since first is so low, shift down into it, but come to a stop without letting the clutch out, at least until you get used to using first gear. Note that you won't usually coast to a stop [http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Accelerating%2C_changing_gears#Downshifting in normal traffic]. When you get completely stopped, start the routine again and keep practicing until upshifting is easy and natural.

====Downshifting====

When you disconnect the engine in an upshift, it naturally lowers its speed because you're no longer applying gas. That ~~brings~~ the engine speed ~~down to match~~ the wheel in the next higher gear. ~~Downshifting~~, ~~therefore, has an extra step: Clutch in as~~ you ~~drop~~ the ~~throttle~~, [[Braking while downshifting/Blipping the throttle|"blip" the throttle]] ~~(briefly give it~~ a ~~burst of gas~~ to ~~push~~ the ~~rpms higher than they were)~~ and ~~then let~~ out the clutch and either apply gas because you're downshifting to accelerate, or just leave it alone because you're slowing down. ~~Failing (by a wide margin) to match speeds like that will cause~~ the ~~rear tire to skid, as it doesn't have the traction~~ to ~~speed up the engine on its own~~. Practice by going back and forth between 2nd and 3rd gears, or 3rd and 4th, depending on where you are. That will be smoother than trying to go from 2nd to 1st, which is almost never done out on the road, except when coming to a full stop.

When you disconnect the engine in an upshift, it naturally lowers its speed because you're no longer applying gas. That lowers the engine speed so it matches the wheel speed in the next higher gear. When you downshift the opposite happens. The rpms will rise, and if you're not careful the rear tire will lose traction because it's forced to try to speed up quickly to match the new, higher engine speed.

There are two ways to avoid this. One is to learn to [[Braking while downshifting/Blipping the throttle|"blip" the throttle]], which is difficult to do when you're worried about everything else as a new rider. The way that works best for new riders is to let the clutch out gradually when you downshift. This will allow the engine and wheel speeds to match each other gradually and result in a smooth shift. Let out the clutch slowly and either apply gas because you're downshifting to accelerate, or just leave it alone because you're slowing down. Popping the clutch while downshifting is to be avoided.

Practice downshifting by going back and forth between 2nd and 3rd gears, or 3rd and 4th, depending on where you are. That will be smoother than trying to go from 2nd to 1st, which is almost never done out on the road, except when coming to a full stop.

====Stopping====

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 ====Upshifting====
-Pull the clutch in at the same time you close the throttle (one motion with two hands), click the shifter, then let the clutch out as you bring the throttle back up (same motion in reverse). You can do this amazingly fast. If you're damn good, you can do it [[Can I ride my bike home if the clutch cable breaks?|without a clutch]], but you shouldn't. Practice from a stop, reaching third gear, then holding in the clutch and bringing yourself to a complete stop. Note that you won't usually coast to a stop  [http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Accelerating%2C_changing_gears#Downshifting in normal traffic].
+Pull the clutch in at the same time you close the throttle (one motion with two hands), click the shifter, then let the clutch out as you bring the throttle back up (same motion in reverse). You can do this amazingly fast. If you're damn good, you can do it [[Can I ride my bike home if the clutch cable breaks?|without a clutch]], but you shouldn't.
+Upshifting is usually easier to learn than downshifting. Practice by starting from a stop and accelerating until you reach third gear. Then gradually come to a stop by going slowly and carefully down into second, then first. Since first is so low, shift down into it, but come to a stop without letting the clutch out, at least until you get used to using first gear. Note that you won't usually coast to a stop  [http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Accelerating%2C_changing_gears#Downshifting in normal traffic]. When you get completely stopped, start the routine again and keep practicing until upshifting is easy and natural.
 ====Downshifting====
-When you disconnect the engine in an upshift, it naturally lowers its speed because you're no longer applying gas. That brings the engine speed down to match the wheel in the next higher gear. Downshifting, therefore, has an extra step: Clutch in as you drop the throttle, [[Braking while downshifting/Blipping the throttle|"blip" the throttle]] (briefly give it a burst of gas to push the rpms higher than they were) and then let out the clutch and either apply gas because you're downshifting to accelerate, or just leave it alone because you're slowing down. Failing (by a wide margin) to match speeds like that will cause the rear tire to skid, as it doesn't have the traction to speed up the engine on its own. Practice by going back and forth between 2nd and 3rd gears, or 3rd and 4th, depending on where you are. That will be smoother than trying to go from 2nd to 1st, which is almost never done out on the road, except when coming to a full stop.
+When you disconnect the engine in an upshift, it naturally lowers its speed because you're no longer applying gas. That lowers the engine speed so it matches the wheel speed in the next higher gear. When you downshift the opposite happens. The rpms will rise, and if you're not careful the rear tire will lose traction because it's forced to try to speed up quickly to match the new, higher engine speed.
+There are two ways to avoid this. One is to learn to [[Braking while downshifting/Blipping the throttle|"blip" the throttle]], which is difficult to do when you're worried about everything else as a new rider. The way that works best for new riders is to let the clutch out gradually when you downshift. This will allow the engine and wheel speeds to match each other gradually and result in a smooth shift. Let out the clutch slowly and either apply gas because you're downshifting to accelerate, or just leave it alone because you're slowing down. Popping the clutch while downshifting is to be avoided.
+Practice downshifting by going back and forth between 2nd and 3rd gears, or 3rd and 4th, depending on where you are. That will be smoother than trying to go from 2nd to 1st, which is almost never done out on the road, except when coming to a full stop.
 ====Stopping====