Am I shifting right? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Am I shifting right?

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mango14

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Hey y'all,

This is my second year of riding but I usually ride alone so I don't know my bad habits. I just bought a 2020 Kawasaki Z400 and riding it has been fun but I'm not sure if I'm riding correctly. The user manual tells me when to shift but it seems so close together (each gear shift is 10kph). My bike is really quiet so I can't hear the engine revving. Is there something I'm missing or just follow the book? Thanks for the help!
 
User manual for shifting? Are you referring to the break in period?

Standard procedure on a brand new bike is usually take it easy for the first 1000 km, get your obligatory dealer service(so as to not void warranty), and off you go
 
mango14 said:
Hey y'all,

This is my second year of riding but I usually ride alone so I don't know my bad habits. I just bought a 2020 Kawasaki Z400 and riding it has been fun but I'm not sure if I'm riding correctly. The user manual tells me when to shift but it seems so close together (each gear shift is 10kph). My bike is really quiet so I can't hear the engine revving. Is there something I'm missing or just follow the book? Thanks for the help!
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The manual is just a guide line, you can shift whenever you want to (before the limiter). Keeping the revs low will save on gas but depending on the bike you'll see a power loss for 'early' shifting. z400 i'd probably shift around 6kish to balance betwen power and gas consumption. i wouldn't overthink it, you should be in 3rd or 4th for most around town riding. highway would be 5th and then 6th for cruising.

concentrate on shifting smoothly and then up your game to 'blip' downshift.
 
bigpoppa said:
User manual for shifting? Are you referring to the break in period?

Standard procedure on a brand new bike is usually take it easy for the first 1000 km, get your obligatory dealer service(so as to not void warranty), and off you go
Click to expand...

Whelp, didn't know there was a break in period. I meant the owner's manual that you get with a new bike.
 
bigpoppa said:
User manual for shifting? Are you referring to the break in period?

Standard procedure on a brand new bike is usually take it easy for the first 1000 km, get your obligatory dealer service(so as to not void warranty), and off you go
Click to expand...
typically the user manual states what gears you should be in for which speeds.
 
Evoex said:
The manual is just a guide line, you can shift whenever you want to (before the limiter). Keeping the revs low will save on gas but depending on the bike you'll see a power loss for 'early' shifting. z400 i'd probably shift around 6kish to balance betwen power and gas consumption.

i wouldn't overthink it. concentrate on shifting smoothly and then up your game to 'blip' downshift.
Click to expand...

Oh thank you for the help! Does shifting whenever not affect your bike negatively in any way?
 
mango14 said:
Whelp, didn't know there was a break in period.
Click to expand...
ruh roh!

did you buy her new? if so double check the manual but around 1,000kms you should be bringing her in for first service.

It's typically just an oil change and checking the tightness of fasteners so plenty of people opt to do it themselves. for warranty purposes you'll want to keep receipts. if you feel overwhelmed just book an appointment at a dealer (snow city in scarberia is good) and let them handle it.
 
mango14 said:
Oh thank you for the help! Does shifting whenever not affect your bike negatively in any way?
Click to expand...
there are certain situations you want to avoid, such as 'lugging' the engine is not advised. That's being in too high a gear for the speed you are traveling.

example;

being in 5th gear while trying to accelerate from 20kms/hr. it puts undue strain on the engine.
 
Evoex said:
there are certain situations you want to avoid, such as 'lugging' the engine is not advised. That's being in too high a gear for the speed you are traveling.

example;

being in 5th gear while trying to accelerate from 20kms/hr. it puts undue strain on the engine.
Click to expand...
Awesome. Thanks so much for the help. And I just reached 1000km, so guess it's time to take it in.
 
shift like 20 kph apart instead of 10 for regular cruisin and just give or take adjust it from there dependin on how it feels eventually you'll find the sweet spots the bike likes just make sure you aint lugging the engine
 
mango14 said:
Awesome. Thanks so much for the help. And I just reached 1000km, so guess it's time to take it in.
Click to expand...
no problem.

reference the manual, some are 1,200 maybe others are higher/lower.

it's got all the service intervals and checks there.
 
It gets easier fast enough (y) and you will get better at everything. Nice bike!
 
The owner's book gives prescribed road speeds for upshifting and downshifting more or less because that's the speeds they want to be used during emissions compliance testing. Are you doing an emissions compliance test? No! So you do not have to be locked to those speeds for changing gear ... although generally they will work okay for puttering around town in traffic. It's quieter and will use less fuel like that, but it's not much fun.

If you need maximum acceleration (or for climbing a hill) then the engine needs to be higher in the revs, and anything below the red zone on the tachometer is fair game.

Most small bikes aren't happy below 5000 rpm or thereabouts. They'll idle below that, and it's ok to be below that for puttering around a parking lot, but on the road and moving, 5000 rpm give or take is the practical minimum. And that's for cruising at a steady speed. Most small bikes don't make functional power until 7000 rpm or more. If you need to accelerate fast, to overtake a car, or because you want to, it will need to be between that and redline.
 
As you're referencing a 2020 I assume you bought this new from a dealer and it has the owner's manual. Hard to believe the dealer did not coach you on the break in process and when to come back for your first service.. This aside, as a relatively new rider with a brand new bike I'd really take the time (maybe 60 -90 minutes) to read through your whole manual to better understand the bike and its service and maintenance requirements, whether you do some or all of it or have a shop do it for you.

I've no idea when the rev limit is on your bike but as a general rule of thumb I'd keep it in the 50% to 75% of the range for most day-to day riding. Regardless of the break in period, don't lug the engine at any time and rev it to the max when you need that extra power for passing or whatever.
 
Remember picking up a new motorcycle from a dealer, all I ever heard was blah, blah something heres the key you are good to go.
But then I went home and read the entire owner manual followed by a search for the service manual to read that too.
 
For shifting you don't need the manual or to look at the RPM's, you use only your ears, if you hear that the engine is whining too loud then you shift gears. You are not going to go 50 km/h on 1st gear or 80 km/h on 2nd, unless you have an R1.
 
Brian P said:
The owner's book gives prescribed road speeds for upshifting and downshifting more or less because that's the speeds they want to be used during emissions compliance testing. Are you doing an emissions compliance test? No! So you do not have to be locked to those speeds for changing gear ... although generally they will work okay for puttering around town in traffic. It's quieter and will use less fuel like that, but it's not much fun.

If you need maximum acceleration (or for climbing a hill) then the engine needs to be higher in the revs, and anything below the red zone on the tachometer is fair game.

Most small bikes aren't happy below 5000 rpm or thereabouts. They'll idle below that, and it's ok to be below that for puttering around a parking lot, but on the road and moving, 5000 rpm give or take is the practical minimum. And that's for cruising at a steady speed. Most small bikes don't make functional power until 7000 rpm or more. If you need to accelerate fast, to overtake a car, or because you want to, it will need to be between that and redline.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help, it was helpful!
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