Race Pattern Gear Shift

[mxj560]

Evening everyone

Nice simple question (I hope ).

How easy is it to change the gear setup to race pattern on a zxr400? Is it a case of just switching the linkage around or is there a kit or something that needs to be fitted?

[zxr500man]

just change it around,if i remember right ya turn the clamp the on the splines the oppisite way that it is.

[cargo]

10mm spanner and 30 seconds

[mxj560]

Nice one chaps! I thought it was that simple but wanted to make double sure.

Here's to a couple of dodgy gear changes in the spring!

[cargo]

I hate race pattern...................and I've been racing for years..................hate hate hate

[mxj560]

Oh dear, why the hatred?

I've been considering it for a while, seems to make a bit more sense to me (i prob won't think that when i change down instead of up and blow my engine ).

If I don't like it, i can always change it back

[cargo]

So far as I can figure most racers like it becasue it makes the up change very positive you just stamp on the lever...............although with modern quick shifter perhaps this is not so important now ? ? I dont know cos I hate quickshifters too.

The other reason is that on left handers when the bike is on it's side it is easier to get you foot on top of the lever to change up as you exit with your foot under the lever there is a strong chance of catching your foot on the road. This I really do understand but I've only ever found one particular corner where it is a potential problem for me and I short shift up one gear to avoid it.

I have given it a fair chance on a few occasions but I found myself having to concentrate very hard on getting my foot in the right place and changing in the right direction so much so that my concentration on the track was reduced..................I race on closed roads take it from me concentrating on the track is by far more important than any gain I could get from the gear change pattern..............that and 20 years on road bikes before I raced was a hard habit to break.

[gavinfdavies]

when you change it round, make sure there's enough clearance between the long rod thing and the gear pedal, otherwise they can touch when you stamp down on it (to shift up...)

I've found the race patter is good for quick positive up shifts (as cargo says, you just stamp) but worse for down shifts (takes longer to hook underneath with you toes, when undergoing heavy braking etc). My GPZ however is still standard (and yes, it does cause my foot to get confused since i often alternate between bikes!) and noticebly trickier to fast up shift, but easier to down shift, especially junctions (just keep stamping till it stops!)

so it's all how you ride really. All in all, there's little in it i think. Ride fast and your foot will think for itself, try to think about it... and you'll downshift when doing 14000rpm in second... oops!

[mxj560]

I have checked the clearance and it seems ok. Am looking forward to trying it now (won't be until March time though!)

My only concern, as you say, is if i ride another bike without race pattern, and do a downshift and blow an engine or have a highside!!

Whenever i get round to riding again, I'll post my thoughts on the race pattern. As an aside, my dad was not too impressed with it!!

[cargo]

To my mind you need to get to a stage where race pattern is completely automatic and you dont need to think about it at all
If you have been riding road stlyee for any length of time you will be conditioned to it and in an emergency it is very likely that you will react in road stylee with not very pleasant results.

None of the reasons for using race pattern on the race track apply to road use and road stlyee makes sense from a up is up and down is down point of view.

Your dad is right

[gavinfdavies]

my two bikes have both types of shift, and i regularly jump from one to the other. it doesn't really cause problems, i find that it's easier when you're not thinking about it. The only time i have a problem is on the race pattern bike, approaching a junction, i think about it too much, and end up trying to pull away in 6th gear hehe! I have once or twice shifted from say 3rd down to 2nd instead of up to 4th, but oddly never whilst flying along, only when thinking about it. Plus you tend to realise before you left the clutch out. i figure if i swap back and fourth enough i'll get used to it.