In a motorcycle, why is the neutral position typically above the first gear and below the second?
In: 1946
I can tell you that N-1-2-3-4 is not preferable. As a kid I had a Bridgestone 175cc dirt bike with N-1-2-3-4 gear pattern however, if you upshift from 4 the next gear would begin at N again then 1-2-3-4. When you forget this downshifting and find 4th gear when 1st was needed was nowhere near as terrifying as shifting from 4th into 1st at speed.
It’s so you don’t accidently shift into 1st gear when shifting down and destroy your gearbox at too high a RPM for it.
Safety, as what other have pointed out here. Also, not all motorcycles have the 1 down-5 up configuration. Here in Asia (specifically the Philippines), there are smaller bikes that have all up/down shifting.
So it’s less likely you’ll accidentally engage neutral. Engaging neutral is especially bad when slowing down because engine braking is a big part of deceleration for bike, and when in corners since you’ll lose your centripetal force and you might lose balance.
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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Just like in a manual car transmission, neutral is any position where a gear isn’t selected. There’s a neutral position between every gear.
While there’s a bunch of neutral positions, the neutral between 1st and 2nd has a detent that creates a “click”, making it easy to find.
You use neutral when stopped. Taking off from a stop you use 1st gear to get rolling, so of course it’s positioned next to first. While they could have added a neutral below 1st, that means that you run the risk of downshifting to N, while putting it “between” gears means you have to intentionally search for it..
MotoGP has been fooling with moving neutral position N 1 2 3 4 5 6.
Neutral is locked “gear” only accessible by pulling a lever allowing Neutral.
Well I didn’t say that you DID say that. But, that’s what this thread is literally discussing. You may not have referenced it directly, and you may not have meant to tie them together *indirectly* either, but it’s still likely that others reading through it will.
Hence why I both upvoted your comment and added some clarification.
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