In a motorcycle, why is the neutral position typically above the first gear and below the second?
In: 1946
Largely, most bikes do not have a gear indicator. You do not know what gear you are in unless you’ve been keeping track or have a good understanding of it. Some bikes don’t even have a tac, you just shift and drive by the noise largely.
When rolling up to a stop, you can repeatedly hit down on the shifter to bring you into first. This is important for when you intend to take off.
If neutral was below first, you’d have to repeatedly hit down on it until you hit neutral then hit up one.
Most bikes, neutral is a very light tap and super easy to skip if you have any intention of doing so. Neutral shifting can be tricky in some bikes even to newer drivers.
Though, I’ve definitely accidentally neutral shifted after first gear when riding with dress shoes (flatter toe).
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