In a motorcycle, why is the neutral position typically above the first gear and below the second?
In: 1946
To shift through gears in a manual gearbox, you disconnect the gear you are in, then connect the gear you want to be in. Being in two gears at the same time is impossible, it would lock up the gearbox and break something.
This means there is a neutral position between every gear shift. The neutral position between first and second is the most useful, so the shift drum has a detent for the ball (the thing which “clicks” and stops the shift drum, it’s usually a spring loaded ball which clicks into a detent). Since you want to shift fast from first to second, the neutral position is left in between the shift lever stroke, so finding it is sometimes a bit more problematic.
Some bikes do have a different setup, like neutral under first gear. (I think that’s what the super cub does, which is actually the most mass produced bike in the world…).
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