1st gear

[bajakirch]

I was reading an article about a bike that's always intrigued me, the BMW F650 (I REFUSE to refer to it by the ridiculous name some marketing geek probably came up with, the 'Funduro' [retch])

Anyhow, the article had a ride report and the reviewer mentioned that the F650 required him to use 1st gear a lot, which he found different from most bikes.

This got me thinking -- I don't recall any specific instruction on the use of 1st gear in my MSF class. I regularly drop down into 1st when I come to a stop. Is this something I should be avoiding? I know I can start fairly easily in 2nd gear. But honestly, the main reason I don't do that is because I often forget what gear I'm in while riding. So if I'm coming to a stop, it's just easier to shift all the way down.

I'd be interested to hear what you think on the subject.

[popo303]

You should be in first at a stop. I downshift one gear at a time as Im rolling to a stop to assist with the braking. Dont just use your brakes and blindly downshift to first, doing so leaves you in a bad position should you need to accelarate quickly out of harms way. You dont want it to bog down when you need it to jump as a cage is bearing down on you from behind. Try to learn your engine noise and the feel of the rpm's as you downshift and you wont even have to think about what gear you are in...

[Bumblebee]

Consider the conditions of the riding. IOW, what was the guy doing that he needed to be in first so much?

A while back there was a discussion about some of the newer DS BMW's with a gearing ratio that was setup for speed and long range, not off road riding. As a result they had to use 1st way more than normal when in the messy stuff. 2nd gear on the new bikes was set too high or at the wrong speed or something like that.

[gammer]

Its funny how certain gears on bikes are used more then others. On my bike and my riding style, I almost always use 1st gear to start from dead stops. And I find I am mostly in 4th or 5th gear the most.
What I have a hard time with is judging what gear to use for turning corners while still moving. For example, you have a green light and you are turning left in an intersection. For that example I find 2nd revs a tad too high, but 3rd is a tad too low.

[LOKi]

You can get a bike rolling in just about any gear. I did it in 5th until I fried my clutch. But the higher the gear the more your going to have to ride the clutch to keep it from stalling. While starting off in 2nd isn't close to trying to do it in top gear you still have to drag the clutch more than starting in 1st. The less you ride the clutch the longer it will last.

[Munkey]

1st gear = wheelies




j/k

[OhCrap]

I'm talking extreme conditions now, but in the Alps I came across some really tight corners on steep mountain roads that required me to go back to 1st a couple of times. I was riding with all my camping gear on at those times, but I'm guessing a lot of you guys outweigh me and my gear together (aprox. 180lbs).