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12/5/2022
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La, CA, USA
Edited Date/Time
10/2/2025 6:44pm
for the first time, ducati v4r homologation $$pecial comes with a N-1-6 gearbox with a cable operated neutral (un)lock. this eliminates possibility of bike slipping into neutral of course.
makes you wonder, why don't factory mx bikes use this by now? or production even, given how seldom neutral is needed.
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bikes/2025/september/ducati-panigale-v4r/
I've wondered the same thing many times. Seems like a no brainer
Its easily done because neutral is not between 1st & 2nd, its like on a 1972 Kawasaki G5100 with neutral at the bottom
Someone explain like I’m 5 why gearboxes are 1 down X up.
Because if you wern't paying attention to what gear you were in it was easy to "over shift" into neutral
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Maybe I’m the only one but I’d happily buy a bike that had no neutral gear.
Superbikes have neutral lockouts to prevent accidental N during a race. Until this bike, they retained N between 1 and 2. However they are up for 1, the rest down. That is because you often have to upshift exiting a fast corner and you can't always get your foot under the shifter when leaned over. Downshifts are nearly always more upright while braking so not an issue. This is MotoGP tech on a production bike.
Have fun starting a direct drive 450
Why don’t we have push button shifting. Think like the thumb operated hot start levers on on left one on right. Left to down shift right to upshift.
Could keep your feet in position better, quicker shifts, wide open shifts etc.
I always thought it was so you didn't have to pay attention, which is good for me because I rarely know what gear I'm in.
Stark Varg owners just took their shirts off.
Same, I just know when I need a different gear, and then I hope one exists while I’m shifting..
Finding neutral with a secondary lever/button instead of my foot would be awesome! And it’d be a good thing for new riders too, how many newbies have you watched go 1-2-1-2-1-2 while they’re trying to find neutral, and looking you like you’re sending them snipe hunting, thinking that this neutral thing is just a legend..
A lot of the tech on newer bikes seems really gimmicky to me, but button shifting (at least on the upshift) is something that would actually be a strong selling feature for me. I wonder if maybe it has been tested and doesn't work as well as imagined?
Another thing with shifting, I try to go by feel most of the time, but a display showing the gear engaged would be nice to have in certain situations.
Yeah, newbies…..
My 4 wheeler has it and it sucks
I’m picturing Ferrari f1 level shifts and tuning not a foreman 9000 grizzly quad
I rode some kind of ninja hybrid with push button shifting. Kind of weird. I like the idea of motorcycle riding requiring both adds and both feet to do what I want a bike to do.
It works well on mtbs fwiw. Shimano just released di2 triggers and SRAM has had a big fat rocker paddle for awhile
Pit Row
Huh, I started riding on a mini enduro 60, and my present bike is an 89 KX500.
I like to haul ass in the woods, and it doesn't matter what gear I'm in. If I'm going too slow, I shift up, if I'm going too fast, I down shift.
So, does this system prevent a false neutral (in-between gears) 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6? I would bet most of the time when we hear about riders hitting neutral off a jump and crashing it actually comes from either up or down shifting and getting it in-between gears. Just curious how that works.
I'm too old to be shifting up or down right before take off or in the air so not my issue, slow and steady and keep it on two wheels for me.
And @lostboy819 I’m assuming you guys must not ride but motorcycles come with clutches. It’s the lever on the left side. It disengages the transmission assembly from the output shaft.
Leave you bike in gear pull in the clutch and then push it or even better try to start it in gear with the clutch pulled in when its cold and see what happens. You cant be that stupid can you ?
I vote for reverse, Ed!
Damn . . .ol
Mine does pretty good. Idk. Don’t own a roached bike. Never gonna happen so it doesn’t matter. Much rather have a neutral lockout either way.
And what is a netural gear that you are talking about 😂 just goes to show you have no clue about anything that has to do with motocross bikes
The real reason was a gift to you by the government. As of 1975 all bikes sold in the US were required to be 1 down, Neutral, the rest up to standardize the pattern.It was done for "Safety". Prior to that, shifters were on both sides and the manufacturers had free rain on the direction.
On an interesting note, some bikes had rotary transmissions with allowed you to past top gear and be in neutral. Pretty slick until you went one snick to far and the revs popped up real fast!
I had a Bultaco that ran in reverse when I started it one time after I installed new points. 😁
Some days my Bultaco had 5 neturals 😉
At the track, I only use first on my way back from the snack shack with some Nachos
it does yes. even spacing between gears. probably also allows them to do something with teh shift forks to avoid false neturals between other gears besides actual neutral
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