do you remember when you first learned to switch gears?

[masterchief]

gearing up and gearing down. how long did it take you to get fully comfortable with this? cause i'm feeling like a total retard right now for not getting it as quickly as the others in my m2 course.

[afong56]

gearing up and gearing down. how long did it take you to get fully comfortable with this? cause i'm feeling like a total retard right now for not getting it as quickly as the others in my m2 course.

i did okay, but i drove stick for 16 years before i ever got on a motorcycle, so it didn't take too long.

hope you're having fun at the m2 course. . .you'll get better quick--you'll even be better by the end of tomorrow. . .

[CLJ]

I learned today, also at my M2 course. I nailed it a few times, and botched it a few. Like any skill, I suspect time and practice practice practice. It will come!

Awesome day and gorgeous weather, so much fun!!

[Baggsy]

It takes a week or two on the same bike to get it down well. Even then some bike/rider combinations are prone to miss-shifts. In the course you might get a different bike on the second day. I spent half the course starting in second gear.

[matthew]

The 2nd day of my M2 course I was feeling pretty good about it. I just had to remember to give it a little gas when going into first, and not pop the clutch when going into 2nd or 3rd

[hondahhh]

Do you ever drive a standard car? If not then it will be a little harder to grasp because you don't have any experience.

If you could learn how to ride a motorcycle in a day, it wouldn't cost so much money, that's why it takes 2 days just kidding.

It can be super frustrating at first if you don't "get it" and it probably doesn't help seeing everyone else get it. But before you know it, it will be second nature and you'll look back and laugh. Try finding some youtube videos, somebody might explain it in a way that clicks with you better.

[hc7]

i did my m1exit in 2009 and didn't get a bike til this year. never driven stick. i stalled and had incredibly jerky gear changes at first, but two weeks later i was getting much much better. just passed my m2exit today!!!

[absolute]

i actually pop the clutch for all my gears except for 1st gear and its smooth, in 1st i release it smoothly. but u shudnt have a problem w/ jerky gear shifts if u pop clutch of 2nd and above. just remember to roll off throttle quickly at the same time u pull in the clutch to up shift. and shift up and release as quickly as possible. if u switch gears a bit slower u'll need to smoothly release the clutch. but if u can switch fast popping the clutch wont result in jerking. unless ur downshifting and u rev match incorrectly.

-pull in clutch and release throttle at same time
-up shift
-release clutch(slowly if ur upshift is slow due to the rpms dropping too much which causes jerky feeling) and ease ur throttle in.

this goes for driving a standard car as well which i've been driving for years b4 picking up biking.

but practice makes perfect!

[skitta]

... i'm feeling like a total retard right...

I know how you feel. But don't (easier said than done, I know). Everyone is different. I had the same problem when I took the course almost two years ago. I had a heck of a time with stalling. So frustrating! I passed (surprisingly), and I'm still having issues with downshifting. Hang in there!

[haisam10]

Took me about a month to get silky smooth and quick at shifting. Before that the shifting would be smooth but would be sloooowww. U get better over time for sure. Becomes second nature.

[unL33T]

gearing up and gearing down. how long did it take you to get fully comfortable with this? cause i'm feeling like a total retard right now for not getting it as quickly as the others in my m2 course.

Maybe 10 minutes to get the actual action of changing gears down. But I also took less than a day to get used to driving stick and since that day about 10 years ago that's all I'll buy. Now that said, I still don't necessarily make all my shifts silky smooth (on the bike anyway) but I had no problems shifting after 10 mins on the course.

[daytona675]

Took me a few weeks to get confident, but I recall times throughout my first season where I'd shift out of 1st only to hit neutral. You'll be fine though, just keep practicing. The more often you ride, the more confident you'll be.

[Kennerisclutch]

i learned just over this past weekend. its hard because youre thinking of multiple things at once...i drive stick so it helped as i was used to the "clutch-gear shift" mentality, and i've been driving stick for about 9 years now. it took time, especially with EVERYTHING youre learning at the same time. just gotta relax and not let it overwhelm you.

[ZX600]

No..

[afelotreyu]

I had a massive issue with the clutch when I did the course, the stupid bike kept on stalling.. As for shifting it was a bit odd for a little but then it became second nature.

But don't let it bother you, time is not an issue as long as you learn right, so its ok if its taking you sometime, specially if you are not familiar with driving Manual cars.

[bear22099]

I recall someone on here complaining that having neutral between first and second was dangerous. Apparently he pulled out in front of a truck on the highway and about crapped his pants when he got neutral instead of second gear. User was pega something.....

[dricked]

No I can't remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday let alone my learning curves at 9 years old. Don't worry, you'll get it, well mabie not but keep trying.

[just_luc]

I spent half the course starting in second gear.

isn't that the way your supposed to ride? I'm not sure if my bike has a 1st gear.. I haven't been in it SINCE my course... I always start in second.

[Lightcycle]

I save my 1st gear for tunnels.

[Dayao12]

HAAHAH!!

It took me 2-3 hours to finally get the clutch and gear changing down behind the Honda Dealership where I got my first bike XD Riding home is a different story. Thanks to Youtube and Mordeth13, I learned how to ride =P