WHY GP shift pattern???

[junior varsity]

Feels a lot more intuitive to me

that's it for me exactly.

[Oldfisti]

I find less miss-shifts with my GP pattern...

Same for me.

Never missed an up-shift since.

[vwboomer]

Also, at least on the Duc, you are getting rid of the linkage and instead the lever is connected directly to the shift shaft, and ALL slop is eliminated. Which is why it seems to shift more effortlessly.

[rule62]

Once had the bolt that holds the stock shift lever to the rear-set bracket shear off.  There I was... shift linkage just dangling.  Switched to a direct shifter lever.  GP pattern now.  Never looking back.

[DoubleEagle]

A most convincing argument for GP pattern.

Any idea why the bikes didn't originate that way to start with ?

Dolph     

[psycledelic]

Reverse shift is definately worth trying to see if you like it.  Simple and free modification.  Just flip the linkage upside down and try it.  I have yet to find a negative to it.  It stopped all of my pussyfootin misshifts.  Makes it SOOO much easier to stomp (literally) through the gearbox when you are accelerating hard.  Keeps your toes off the asphalt.  And, as mentioned earlier, a good excuse to keep others off of your bike.  There is a pretty ugly week or so until you get used to it.   Bikes don't respond well to starting from a stoplight in 6th gear.  It takes a bit longer to get fully converted when put in instinctive situations (cars pulling out, beating the yellow light, etc.)  All said and done, it was a big hit for me.  The best part is that if it isn't for you, just flip the linkage back over and you are back where you started with no $ lost. 

Just remember to BE CAREFUL on the road when trying it.  Don't let fiddling with your gears occupy attention that should be focused on the crazys in their cars.  Cause you can bet that they are not paying any attention to you.

[DoubleEagle]

My one concern is so much about my riding style IS about being focused on the road ahead and my peripheral surroundings ( especially at warp speed in the twistie bits ).

I'm thinking my instincts are responsible for certain things and shifting is almost just an instinctual movement .

I'm one of these people that has trouble chewing gum and walking at the same time so I don't want to be wondering " now do I push or do I pull ? "

It took me quite a while to get comfortable with braking w, my index finger only. I still have to have at least 3 fingers on the clutch lever.

Dolph     

[psycledelic]

I'm one of these people that has trouble chewing gum and walking at the same time so I don't want to be wondering " now do I push or do I pull ? "

Dolph     

There will definately be a wondering period.  A couple of moments where you have to hold the clutch in and think it out.  A couple of stalls.  One or two endless searches for neutral.  The 30mph roar of 1st gear on Main St is a crowd pleaser.  In the end, it becomes just as second nature as the original pattern was (in my case anyway).  Must be that mucsle memory crap. 

[MendoDave]

I'm thinking my instincts are responsible for certain things and shifting is almost just an instinctual movement .

I'm one of these people that has trouble chewing gum and walking at the same time so I don't want to be wondering " now do I push or do I pull ? "

Dolph     

I don't think I would like it. I recently had an opportunity to drive a D8 CAT The "gas Pedal" is the opposite of well everything else. Its deadman position is full throttle. There is a lever that reverses the way this works when you want to Idle the machine. It was weird..

[fasterblkduc]

I used to set my bikes up with this pattern but I have switched back. It's a matter of preference. I'm sorry to disagree with most of you but there is no real advantage to gp shift. If you are shifting mid corner, then you are going into the corner in the wrong gear.
 
I can only think of one corner on one racetrack where shifting midcorner is necessary and it's a downshift oddly enough. It's a huge carousel that you have to drive through without hitting the rev limiter, then at the end it drops into a chicane. If you don't downshift before you hit the chicane, you lose your drive out.

As far as upshifting better, just learn to stop using the clutch and you should never miss a shift again. If you put your toe on the bottom of the shift arm and put pressure up, as soon as you roll the throttle off real fast, it shifts! Just keep the constant pressure on the shift arm and it will work quickly and smoothly with no need for a clutch.

I used to race with gp shift but when doing 2 or 3 downshifts going into a corner, it's very hard to bang down the gearbox when you have to pull your toe up to downshift. It actually caused me lots of false neutrals, and a few race wins. It's so much easier to bang downshifts by pushing the lever down instead of up.

It's just personal preference. Run it however you like. Racers are split almost 50/50 on this. Most of us put a sticker on that says the shift pattern for the cornerworkers that pick up our bikes after a crash, and the tuners that run our bikes on a dyno. Honestly though, if you think that it gives you some advantage to shifting mid corner, then your technique is wrong.   Trust me on this...it is EXTREMELY rare that you should need to upshift on a corner. Especially on a Duc because the power delivery allows you to pull out of a corner no matter what gear you are in. Someone mentioned being good enough to shift while leaned over, and while trying to stand the bike back up...sorry man but you lose time that way and when racing, that fraction of a second is too important. Driving hard out of a corner is crucial and that momentary loss of drive will put the guy behind you, in front of you. No racer sets himself up to have to shift midcorner, we set up for the corner and drive out by getting in the right gear BEFORE tipping in...myth busted!   

[GLantern]

I used to set my bikes up with this pattern but I have switched back. It's a matter of preference. I'm sorry to disagree with most of you but there is no real advantage to gp shift. If you are shifting mid corner, then you are going into the corner in the wrong gear.

As far as upshifting better, just learn to stop using the clutch and you should never miss a shift again. If you put your toe on the bottom of the shift arm and put pressure up, as soon as you roll the throttle off real fast, it shifts! Just keep the constant pressure on the shift arm and it will work quickly and smoothly with no need for a clutch.

I used to race with gp shift but when doing 2 or 3 downshifts going into a corner, it's very hard to bang down the gearbox when you have to pull your toe up to downshift. It actually caused me lots of false neutrals, and a few race wins. It's so much easier to bang downshifts by pushing the lever down instead of up.

It's just personal preference. Run it however you like. Racers are split almost 50/50 on this. Most of us put a sticker on that says the shift pattern for the cornerworkers that pick up our bikes after a crash, and the tuners that run our bikes on a dyno. Honestly though, if you think that it gives you some advantage to shifting mid corner, then your technique is wrong.   Trust me on this...it is EXTREMELY rare that you should need to upshift on a corner. Especially on a Duc because the power delivery allows you to pull out of a corner no matter what gear you are in. Someone mentioned being good enough to shift while leaned over, and while trying to stand the bike back up...sorry man but you lose time that way and when racing, that fraction of a second is too important. Driving hard out of a corner is crucial and that momentary loss of drive will put the guy behind you, in front of you. No racer sets himself up to have to shift midcorner, we set up for the corner and drive out by getting in the right gear BEFORE tipping in...myth busted!  

Your missing my point.........for racers i can understand picking what is going to be most comfortable for you and you should not be shifting out of the corner.  HOWEVER not all of us are racers or are even that good where we set up a perfect corner everytime and don't have to shift on the drive out.  For the average rider such as myself i see an advantage for when i don't time it perfectly and it takes less effort for me to just slide my foot up on the peg to shift up then to slide it under and then up.

For a good racer i'm sure it doesn't make any difference what you are running it is personal preference.  Hell we still don't know why Rossi does that whole sticking out that leg thing before the corner but it keeps him comfortable right?  To someone who is new to the track or doesn't know the corner perfectly why not just make it a little easier on yourself?

I'm sure a lot of us do not go into a corner in the proper gear and this helps us when we make that mistake.  I have been bouncing off the limiter out of a corner and or right towards the end of my drive and having a gp shift makes it a lot easier on me.  We didn't seem to be talking about racing here but the average rider.  Most of us are not worried about the fraction of a second.

[fasterblkduc]

A few posts here have referenced track riding and I hear that as a common explanation of why it is a good idea. The overall point is that track or street, you should not be shifting midcorner. This is a bad habit that just needs to be corrected instead of trying to make a bad habit easier to do.

Whatever feels comfortable is the best way for you to set yours up. It's my advice that you should correct bad habits, rather than enhancing your bad habits by making it easier to do. Shift pattern aside...track or street...boxers or briefs...develop better riding habits for yourself and don't repeat the myth that you should set up gp shift to make it easier to upshift mid corner.  [moto]

[derby]

I used to race with gp shift but when doing 2 or 3 downshifts going into a corner, it's very hard to bang down the gearbox when you have to pull your toe up to downshift. It actually caused me lots of false neutrals, and a few race wins. It's so much easier to bang downshifts by pushing the lever down instead of up.

so you concede that it is easier to shift one direction or the other... 

personally, i've caught more false neutrals upshifting with standard shift than i ever have with gp-shift.

[fasterblkduc]

so you concede that it is easier to shift one direction or the other...  

personally, i've caught more false neutrals upshifting with standard shift than i ever have with gp-shift.

Did you shift w/clutch or without clutch? I used to catch false neutrals with standard shift too until I learned to go clutchless. Once you learn that, it's super smooth and fast. In fact, I can't even imagine a false neutral from clutchless upshifts because you put pressure on the shift lever, then quickly chop the throttle. Since you already have the pressure there, it pops into gear everytime.

You know, you made me wonder something. Yes, I do concede that it is easier to shift one direction. As I stated, downshifts are much easier to kick down than up. I wonder if gp pattern, clutchless downshifts would be easy? hmmmm I only use the clutch on downshifts because I'm slipping the clutch out while trailbraking into the apex (racing). I've never tried clutchless downshifts, so I'm just wondering.

In other words...it's give and take. It's easier to kick the lever down than up. So, do you want to make it easier to go up a gear, or down a gear? I've found it to be much more beneficial to be able to be more aggressive with downshifting, and learned a technique for upshifting that eliminates the disadvantage from having to pull up with the toes.

[GLantern]

Whatever feels comfortable is the best way for you to set yours up. It's my advice that you should correct bad habits, rather than enhancing your bad habits by making it easier to do. Shift pattern aside...track or street...boxers or briefs...develop better riding habits for yourself and don't repeat the myth that you should set up gp shift to make it easier to upshift mid corner.  [moto]

I don't think i was clear enough i'm not talking about midcorner, you shouldn't be shifting midcorner no matter what.  I'm talking about the drive out of the corner.  After the apex it is much easier to just tap down on the shifter in my personal experience when i am slammed back into my seat from acceleration.  When i had standard shift trying to pull my body back up to wedge my foot under would upset the chassis.  And when i'm driving out of that corner going from 60 upto 110 in the blink of an eye and still maybe a little bit leaned over i'd rather keep everything as stable as possible.

I know in a perfect world you should not be shifting till the bike is perfectly stood up straight, if you hit the corner correctly.  But we are not all perfect riders as i stated previously nor do we have the $$ to set up the gearing perfectly for every track or street situation.  From a standard riders perspective i feel having a gp shift after the apex of a corner would make it easier on the rider and the bike.

But like you said it is preference and i am talking only about one example, even though it is the whole reason i switched to gp shift.