garlic Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I am in Jersey. 41 years old. Picked up my FZ last Sunday. I am loving the FZ. I have been riding for less than 2 years. Curious to hear how others have perfected their shifting styles. I learned quickly that finding the right grip and number of fingers on the clutch made a huge difference in my smoothness and quickness in shifting. Would love to hear from others on this forum how they perfected shifting style for optimal speed and or smoothness. Obviously nothing beats more experience. Just curious to hear from others and their experience specifically with the FZ. Everything on this forum has been very helpful. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qjohnson Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Just get to know where that friction point is on the clutch and keep riding. Practice makes perfect! I don't really even think about it anymore it just happens. Just be careful when your getting on the gas hard in first that you don't shift into neutral instead of second Not only did I miss the gear and rev the engine up but I also racked myself on the gas tank pretty hard lol. I had to pull over for a few minutes to recuperate haha (rofl) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garlic Posted September 4, 2014 Author Share Posted September 4, 2014 I agree 100% on experience. The more I ride the more I realize how subtle the movements are. Being too deliberate slows everything down. I feel like the quicker the movements the smoother the shift. Obviously all related to matching the revs to the speed. Seems easier to do when pushing the bike a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member hippiebikerchick Posted September 4, 2014 Premium Member Share Posted September 4, 2014 I'm still getting used to shifting on this bike. The engine breaking is strong so if you don't shift right away you are held back. I found that my smoothest shifting is when I'm not trying to accelerate super fast. The best way to learn is to keep riding and doing it! Shouldn't be too hard to take that advice! Illegitimi non carborundum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator mjh937 Posted September 4, 2014 Global Moderator Share Posted September 4, 2014 I found initially I was coming off the throttle too much. I find if I just roll off a small amount and shift quickly it works well. I also find that the more I think about it the worse my shifts are. If I am thinking about anything else I can shift flawlessly (well, mabe almost flawlessly). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ralph Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I have been riding bike since before Yamaha were making bamboo rickshaws so do know how to change gear as said before it is a thing you just do and don't even think about after a time, but what I have found with the 07 is that the clutch biting point is quite sharp and the gear lever is set a little high, the lever is adjustable the rest just practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YZEtc Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I feel the FZ-07 gear shifting is not bad, but not the best I've had, either - it's middle of the road. It's a bit clunky in the way it feels and sounds, and it's best when you do it quickly at just the right time after letting off the gas. I've found that the shift to 3rd gear is the clunkiest. If your bike still has a mile of throttle cable free play like they do when they come out of the shipping crate, it will be harder to shift smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator Guru Posted September 4, 2014 Global Moderator Share Posted September 4, 2014 Yes, the gear box is a bit clunky if I compare it to other bikes. Especially going from neutral to first after starting up. It doesn't seem to hurt it though. I took out the slack of the throttle cable and changed the oil yesterday and it seems to make a difference. As for how many fingers I use to operate the clutch, I honestly don't know. I will have to take a look when I go for a ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I've asked the same question before here. In the mean time, the deed is getting better. And yes, I noticed the mile of throttle cable slack - need to do something about that. Doing the shifting "dance" faster makes it easier as it is naturally easier to match the revs. And it's true, if I think about it, I screw it. In terms of clunks, while I don't think there is anything that can be done about shifting into 1st (it's loud), I noticed that if you are gentle enough with the shifter - just feel it before pulling the clutch in and then gently sliding it into gear it makes little to no noise. I was a bit rough with it initially but then I noticed that there is very little effort that is needed and I don't need to hammer it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member hippiebikerchick Posted September 4, 2014 Premium Member Share Posted September 4, 2014 I thought all or most bikes make that clunking noise going into first as feedback to the rider so they can be sure they are in gear. Illegitimi non carborundum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 At start up, the clunking noise is evident. But once warm, it's okay. I had a few Yamahas. The FZ-07 is the louder of them when cold. Shifting is smooth, so i'm satisfied. Suzuki offers betters transmission imo. past bikes: WR250X, KLR650, V-Strom 1000, DR650, FZ-6, SV650S, Seca II, GS400S, Seca 750, YZ80. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scordiaboy515 Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 Most riders do not realize this about modern UJM's. The transmission on all these bikes are sequential, that means under full throttle upshifts you don't need to use the clutch......just put slight pressure under the shifter while accelerating.....let off the throttle just enough (you will have to figure out just how much) and it goes right into the next gear, super quick shift every time. May take a little practice to get right and smooth. Ask any roadracer or track day guy....that's the way we do it. Of course when downshifting and part throttle upshifts in town riding you can't use this method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member hippiebikerchick Posted September 6, 2014 Premium Member Share Posted September 6, 2014 Most riders do not realize this about modern UJM's. The transmission on all these bikes are sequential, that means under full throttle upshifts you don't need to use the clutch......just put slight pressure under the shifter while accelerating.....let off the throttle just enough (you will have to figure out just how much) and it goes right into the next gear, super quick shift every time. May take a little practice to get right and smooth. Ask any roadracer or track day guy....that's the way we do it. Of course when downshifting and part throttle upshifts in town riding you can't use this method. I think I have done this by accident a few times. Illegitimi non carborundum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subby Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Hey Peoples. Just picked up my Fz07 (MT07 in Australia) 3 weeks ago. Loving it, but I've also had probs perfecting my gear changing. I'm fine gearing down and rev matching, it's going up through the gears that has proven challenging.. I'm a relatively new rider and upgraded to this bike from a pezzy R15 which was piss easy to gear change smoothly on. I assumed that it was probably the extra power and torque that demanded smoother and more refined throttle and clutch control. I'm getting a lot smoother, but have been surprised how long it is taking me to really hone in to this clutch and throttle. As some of you have mentioned, quick changing without completely shutting the throttle and not squeezing the clutch right in seem to be working best for me, but sometimes I still get that extra revving when it's not quite in gear between shifts even though it's not lurching (if that makes sense.) Sometimes I nail it, but there's still lots of room for improvement. Good to know that I'm not the only one though. It's definitely amateur hour over here, but I was feeling like I should of mastered it by now. Anyhow, looking forward to conversing with ya'll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ralph Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I think part of it is because of the stacked configuration of the gear box, the gear box and clutch are set higher not all in-line like older design's and so are not running in oil so they loose the damping effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subby Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I suppose it's only going to improve my skills. I like a challenge and it's definitely fine tuning my muscle memory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemer Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 When I got my FZ-07 one of the first things I did was replace my levers with shorty levers. I don't like like the engagement point being way out, it makes my hand achy and stiff if I'm clutching that way a lot in traffic and it doesn't feel natural either. With shorties the clutch engages just shortly after I start to let the lever come out. My hand doesn't cramp as much that way and I feel it helps to make smoother, quicker shifts. Just think about what you're doing, use good common sense and you'll develop a technique that works well for you. Practice, practice, practice makes perfect. Beemer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subby Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Cheers beemer. Yea I think some shorties are not far away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainmay Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Most riders do not realize this about modern UJM's. The transmission on all these bikes are sequential, that means under full throttle upshifts you don't need to use the clutch......just put slight pressure under the shifter while accelerating.....let off the throttle just enough (you will have to figure out just how much) and it goes right into the next gear, super quick shift every time. May take a little practice to get right and smooth. Ask any roadracer or track day guy....that's the way we do it. Of course when downshifting and part throttle upshifts in town riding you can't use this method. I was wondering why no one had mentioned this yet. I very rarely use my clutch for upshifts. I have a couple R6es still. One of them is a track bike, and I never use clutch for upshifting with it, either. On a semi-related note, I also prefer a GP shift pattern. I think this pattern makes it even easier to upshift as all you have to do is put a little downward pressure on the shifter and it goes right into gear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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