GP shifting for a regular streetbike?

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

Does anyone here ride with a GP shift set up? I'm thinking about switching over. Any reason this would be a bad idea for a commuter bike?

 

[Billb2]

If you mean "no lift shift" ...well, that would be a trip!

 

[halik]

Well the whole idea is that shifting with the down motion is faster than with the up motion. When you need to get out of trouble while commuting, down shifting is probably what you need...

Why do you want to have GP shifting on a commuter bike anyway?

 

[MiataNC]

People do it all the time.

The question is can you learn it without trashing yourself or your bike. If you have been riding a normal shift for years, your muscle memory will need to be retrained.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

i think eventually i'd want to do some track days. gp shifting is supposedly better for clearances when you're leaned over? i figured since i'm still relatively new the switch to a new shifting style wouldn't be so dramatic.

i really didn't think about the traffic situation until you mentioned it. maybe i'll just wait until i actuallly do some track days and improve my skills.

 

[MiataNC]

Originally posted by: M0oG0oGaiPan
i think eventually i'd want to do some track days. gp shifting is supposedly better for clearances when you're leaned over? i figured since i'm still relatively new the switch to a new shifting style wouldn't be so dramatic.

i really didn't think about the traffic situation until you mentioned it. maybe i'll just wait until i actuallly do some track days and improve my skills.

All of your shifting should be done before you lean the bike over and enter a corner. If you are in the right gear, you won't be shifting mid-corner, and you will already have the bike picked up exiting the corner before you have to shift.

GP Shift won't make you a better/faster rider. Matt Mladin, Kevin Schwantz, Mick Doohan, Joey Dunlop and Steve Hislop all prefer street shift over GP, and I don't think anyone would say they were/are slow riders.

 

[rwalterk]

This is the last place I thought I'd ever see a post about GP shifting.

I've done a lot of track days and whoever is telling you that a GP shift pattern is better for ground clearance is feeding you a lot of b.s. As MiataNC said, you should not be shifting gears mid-corner anyway, so the ball of your left foot should be on the peg and not above or below the shifter.

If you want to try it just to try it though, there's nothing wrong with that if you can keep yourself from getting confused. There are times on the street where just one wrong shift can put you in the hospital. Be careful.