Re: Desire to learn to ride...

Have started commuting to office, around 25 km everyday. And I love the rides

Think I got the knack of riding a geared motorcycle. Almost, that is. One thing I would like help with is down shifting. Say I'm riding in gear 2. Shifting from there to neutral and gear 1 happens smoothly in my SS 125. But what is not happening is going to gear 1 from the higher gears, 5, 4 or 3. I go till gear 2, and get stuck there. Say when stopping at a signal, or when I have to slow down to a stop because of a jam ahead, I have this problem. I apply the brakes, while simultaneously downshifting. But almost always, I can't make it go lower than gear 2. So, when I have to start off again, it is from gear 2. This sometimes kills the engine (especially if I have a pillion). This is dangerous, as I can get hit from a vehicle from behind (who may not know that I've stalled). The electric starter helps, but still it is not an ideal situation to be in, with vehicles trying to start off all around you.

Are there any tricks to get the SS 125 to neutral / first gear, when down shifting from gears 5/4/3, coming to a stop? Or, should I practice starting off from gear 2 itself?

Re: Desire to learn to ride...

Hi Wanderingsoul,

I am not an expert , and I have not ridden the SS125, but heres what I would do. When you are nearing a standstill or at a standstill and the bike wont move to 1st , just shuffle the bike back and forth a bit with your legs with the clutch engaged. This will sorta "free-up" the gears and you might be able to engage first.

I recently (re)acquired a geared bike and I am loving it !

Re: Desire to learn to ride...

+1 to Mr. besser..
Also what i would try to do is get into the 1st gear before you come to standstill. i,e move into the 1st gear while you are cruising to stop instead of after cmming to stop..

Re: Desire to learn to ride...

Thank you, Mr.Besser and Yogesh! That helps Will try those out.

Btw, have put in 300+ km on the odo and my first service is due today. Hope that brings in some more freeness to the gearbox.

Re: Desire to learn to ride...

You wont feel any difference after 1st service. It will take 1000 odd Kms for the gearbox and engine to start feeling free (called breaking-in).

Re: Desire to learn to ride...

Are you sure about that? I think its the other way around. ie. If the bike is jerking and struggling to pull, you shift down and if the engine is revving too high and the bike doesnt go fast enough then you shift up.

Re: Desire to learn to ride...

May be am not best of the conveyors
What I meant was that in newer bikes, when the engine is still raw(not broken in), learners easily tend to stay at lower gears for longer time, and with the gear tightness the engine give sudden jerks for even small amount of acceleration, so its better to shift up when this happens. By jerk I did not mean "Jerk and Stall" in which case you need more torque and hence shift down and keep motoring on happily.
Hope this conveys the message better

Re: Desire to learn to ride...


Yogesh: You are right. Think I should wait for at least 1,000 km for the break-in to happen. No improvements in the gearbox. In fact, it has gone from bad to worse Previously, it used to go to gear 1 from neutral, when i pressed hard. Now, when i press down, the green neutral light goes off, but when i release my foot, the green light is back on (stays in neutral). Finding it very hard to make it to gear 1, 9 out of 10 times. Also, the clutch was smooth before the service. Now, I have to leave it all the way, for it to engage.