How Motorcycle Transmissions Work
Your bike is a powerhouse and mean machine, and its inner workings can be pretty complex. One of the most complex pieces of the puzzle is the transmission. We here at Biggs Harley-Davidson know it’s important to understand the vehicle you ride, so we’ve put together an overview of motorcycle transmissions and how they work. If you want to know more, or you’d like to see the motorcycles we have for sale, contact our store in San Marcos, California, today!
Sequential Manual Transmission
Most bikes come equipped with what’s called a sequential manual transmission. While the average car allows you to pick whatever gear you want, allowing you to switch from third to fifth, a bike will force you to go up one gear at a time. You’ll start in first gear, move up to second, then to third, etc. Downshifting works the same way.
Luckily, you don’t need to worry about skipping a gear and damaging the transmission. Your Harley-Davidson® motorcycle comes with a foot pedal that just gives you an up- or down-shift option, so skipping a gear isn’t possible!
You should also keep in mind that to shift, you’ll have to go to neutral, then up or down to your target gear. For instance, first to second gear would actually be first to neutral, then to second. This is useful, and we’ll explain why later.
Basic Shifting
Your gear shift lever is, most likely, near your left foot, though this differs by model. The clutch is up on your handlebars, again probably on your left. Finally, your throttle is on the right side of your handlebars.
To shift gears, you’ll squeeze the clutch, shift gears with your foot, roll the throttle, gradually release the clutch, and accelate. To shift up, you’ll put your foot under the gear shift lever and lift it toward you. To shift down, you’ll push down on the lever. One click means one gear shift.
## Practice Makes Better
If you think reading that process was hard, you won’t be surprised to learn that it’s even hard to put into practice. Even if you’ve ridden a bike before, a new bike will have a slightly different process. Whether your bike is custom-made or factory-fresh, every model will have different ins and outs.
Practicing with a new bike will be vital. We recommend an empty parking lot in a low-traffic time to get a handle on things in a relatively safe place. If you’re a first-time rider or still struggling, motorcycle riding classes are a great way to learn new skills or touch up on old ones. There are classes for every skill level!
Transmission Maintenance
Unless you’re old-hat at motorcycle transmission maintenance, we recommend leaving it to a professional. It’s incredibly complex machinery, and there are a lot of expensive mistakes that are too easy to make.
For maintenance, help, look no further than Biggs Harley-Davidson! Our expert maintenance team is ready and waiting to make sure transmission runs as smooth as possible. We proudly serve the people of San Diego and Oceanside, California—let us serve you today!