Noob Question....How do I shift this thing?

[Anonymous]

Well, now embarking on the new adventure to fix up this old 78 GS1000 I have ran into a strange problem (because of ignorance).

When I try to start the bike, the starter goes, and even if I have the clutch pulled in, the rear wheel will spin (when on the center-stand). I also tried to MOVE the bike, and realized the bike was in gear, so I pulled in the clutch and it it did disengage the engine.

Iv driven a 5spd manual tranny (in a car) for a while, and know how THAT system works...but I am stumped as to how a bike trans works.

Ok...so my question is, since there is no OWNERS manual (just the shop manual...which doesnt say)....what placement are the gears? As in, where is neutral, 1st, 2nd, 3rd...ect? I know where the shift pedal is, but I dont know what pushing up or down does.

[frosty5011]

1st gear on way bottom..........5th gear on way top. Neutral is "between" 1st and 2nd gear.

Your "Neutral" light on the dash should light up when it's in neutral (if bulb isn't burned out). Also, even if out of gear, and on kickstand.........rear wheel may still turn, although with very little force. You could hold it still with your hand.

[Billy Ricks]

First is all the way down with neutral between 1st and 2nd. Then just keep shifting upwards through the gears. It's not uncommon for the bike to jump a little with the bike in gear when you hit the starter. It's best to start the bike in neutral. The bike will clunk into gear the first time after starting. After that the clutch plates are unstuck and it will shift smoother.

[Anonymous]

My God, man, take a rider's course. You have no business riding if you must ask questions like these!

Nick

[Anonymous]

My thoughts exactly...Kind of scary, in a funny sort of way!

[Anonymous]

hey man, everyone's gotta learn sometime. DDman, i dont care what anyone here says, i think you're cool

the teedot

[Anonymous]

Lol...thanks for the help and for not flaming me too bad

I DO plan on taking a riders course before I even attempt to move the bike under its own power. I have it all set up for the first 2 weekends in June. I just wanted to know so if I get the bike running by then im not trying to figure out how to keep the bike from getting away from me.

Im a person who wants to know HOW something works before I attempt to work on it or use it. Thats how I learned how to drive a Manual trans. in a car so quick. Once I knew HOW it worked, it was that much simpler to me.

[Anonymous]

hey man, everyone's gotta learn sometime. DDman, i dont care what anyone here says, i think you're cool

Totally disagree. Yes, everyone's gotta learn some time, but I'm afraid this guy's going to get on that 1000-cc bike once he figures out the shift pattern, and go kill himself. There are lots of tempting weeks between now and late June.

DDman, you'll be cool in my book if you stay the hell away from that bike until you learn how to operate a motorcycle properly, under controlled conditions, under professional supervision. Frankly, I hope you don't get it fixed in a while.

Nick

[earlfor]

The gearshift lever is in front of the left footpeg. Bike transmissions use a rotating shift drum and you must go through every gear. Unlike a car, you cannot shift from 1st to 3rd without going through 2nd. The gearshift returns to the same position after every shift whether upshifting or downshifting, so there is no visable pattern change. Pull in the Clutch,, press the lever down until you feel it stop moving a gear in the tranny. All the way down is 1st. One shift up is 2nd, another time up is 3rd, another up is 4th, another up is 5th. To get to neutral, press the foot shift down (4th), down again (3rd), down again (2nd) and then a light half a press to neutral, You will feel the transmission lightly indent when it reaches neutral. Another light bump down and you will be in 1st. Half a bump up from 1st you will be back in neutral. Without the bike running, You may need to have the bike on its wheels and roll it 6 inches between shifts as the transmission is supposed to be turning when being shifted, If any shift takes more than a lb of force, roll the bike, do not stomp the shift harder as you will only succed in bending a shift fork and that is BAD news.

It is very important for a first time bike owner to take a motorcycle safety course. The safety course will help tremendously. It is meant to give you the basics to build from to become a proficient rider. It will not turn you into Ricky Racer in two days. :-) :-) Take it easy. That GS1000 is quick enough to get away from you in about 1 second flat and you can be wrecked head on into a tree at 60 mph in about the same time you can think ??? what do I............? BANG!

Earl

Lol...thanks for the help and for not flaming me too bad

I DO plan on taking a riders course before I even attempt to move the bike under its own power. I have it all set up for the first 2 weekends in June. I just wanted to know so if I get the bike running by then im not trying to figure out how to keep the bike from getting away from me.

Im a person who wants to know HOW something works before I attempt to work on it or use it. Thats how I learned how to drive a Manual trans. in a car so quick. Once I knew HOW it worked, it was that much simpler to me.

[Anonymous]

DDMan,

Nick's being a bit harsh but with good reason. A 1978 GS1000 is an EXTREMELY POWERFUL motorcycle. It was the fastest 4 cylinder production motorcycle in that year with a top speed of 135 mph and 87HP. The bike was designed and built with experienced riders in mind. Now 87HP may not seem like a lot relative to a car but consider this; at a dry weight of 554lbs, that's a staggering weight/HP ratio of 6.36 lbs/HP! To compare a car at an average weight of 3500lbs with 150 HP that would equate to 23 lbs/HP. This means that the Suzuki is 4 TIMES MORE POWERFUL than your average car!!!

Please take that into consideration and DO NOT attempt to learn to ride on this machine. The first time I rode a motorcycle, I drove a 125CC Honda and I nearly side swiped a fence at 30MPH! Some of my friends that rode the same bike for the first time did not fair so well and some bruised bones and egos resulted but no one was seriously injured.

Go and get yourself a good used bike with under 250CC and learn progressivley under the watchful eye of an experienced rider and of course, take a motorcycle safety course. That should give you enough time to get your awesome '78 GS in good riding condition and you will enjoy the experience even more.

I have more than one buddy that tried to learn to ride on a big bore bike and the result was that they were terrified of it and would never sit on a bike again.

We want to keep you as a happy member of the riding community and of course, a contributor to this forum.

[Anonymous]

Again, thank you all for helping me out here....this is my plan.

I know the GS1000 is a massive and powerful bike. Im going to take this riders safety course which is where they GIVE you a bike (125cc) to use and run you thought all the operations, and stopping, starting, turning, controling skids, ect.... It is a DMV certified course and actually can TAKE THE PLACE OF the the "behind the wheel" test, so you dont have to to go down the the CHP to show them u know how to ride a bike before getting your license.

If I get on the bike (after its fixed) and realized its too much for me, my plan was to recoup my losses and sell it (maybe making a little profit, depending on how much work I do to it).

Thanks again for looking out for me . Im really glad this site is here, as all the cars I have owned had sites like this one, and they have saved me more than enough times.

[Hoomgar]

You got it right on DDMan.
I think you have a level head about it.

The guys on here are giving you nothing but good advice and if any
of it seemed harsh it was only because they don't want to see a new
rider go out and hurt himself and trash a vintage GS at the same time.

You take your course, learn, and feel your way up to the power of your
1000 gradually and you should be fine. In the mean time there is no
reason why you cannot get on here and ask as many questions as you
want no matter how dumb they may seem so that you can learn from
people that do know.

Ask away brother!

[joeadams]

From what I'm reading here, It was a terrible idea to buy my 750, hop on it and go. Of course I did read the DOT motorcycle manual and knew what levers did what.


DDman, you should be able to handle that bike. It only goes as fast as you make it go. Just don't be dumb. Easier said than done though.

[Anonymous]

*L* my first experience riding was on a honda CT70. it went something like this...

hrmm, this is kinda fun, la de da, turn into big dirt lot and ride in a few circles, uhhh theres a cable in my way and I dont have room to go around it, let off throttle then freak out not knowing where the brakes are, bike runs into cable at a walking pace, cable went between front fender and tire and bike kept pushing causing the bike bike to go vertical and me to fall on my ass before the bike fell over sideways. nothing but a bruised ego and a broken tailight and I got right back on soon as somebody told me where the brakes where *L*

[dpep]

DDman, it sounds like you have a very good approach to this. I think you are going to be good rider because you have put a lot of thought into it and sought advice before climbing on.

I do not hold that faster, larger displacement motorcycles are inherently less safe than small, low horsepower bikes for beginning bikers. There can be situations in fact where the opposite is true. It is not what you ride; it is how you ride it. As long as you ride at or near posted speed limits what difference does it make if you are 10 mph below the bike's top speed or 50? And that added power can occasionally help you accelerate out of hazardous traffic situations.

The advantage of a small bike to the beginner is in the weight and control, and that comes into play either at a dead stop or at very low speeds, not high. You did not mention your height and weight, but being able to plant your feet on the ground and hold the bike up when it gets a little off vertical is very helpful.

Since you have never ridden before I think that you do need some riding instruction and practice prior to the DMV course. Otherwise you may not pass it first time. The problem is that, as you sagely suspected, the shifting (also braking) is so totally different from driving a car. Here is my best advice honed from many years of getting people started in the fantastic fun of motorcycling.

Call a friend or make a friend who rides. You follow in a car and have him/her ride the bike to an open field somewhere around where you live. You may have to search out an open field if you live in an urban area; the alternative is a empty parking lot which is not as desirable because it will skin up you and your bike if you happen to go down.

Once in the field practice taking off from a dead stop. Give it plenty of throttle and control your start with your clutch. Learn to pull in on the clutch when things don't go right. As soon as you are moving along in 1st gear with the clutch all the way out, pull in on the clutch, apply pressure to the brakes and stop. Repeat this process several hundered times or at least so many times you are absolutely sick of it and it has become a a mindless exercise that you aren't even thinking about when you do it. Now you can reward yourself by kicking the bike up into second gear. There is no need at this point to go beyond second gear. Now practice taking off and stopping in a turn. Do that to the point of boredom as well.

You are know ready to take your MSF or DMV course and pass with flying colors. If you don't have to think about the the clutch and brake actions while trying to absorb everything else being thrown at you in the course, it will be very much easier on you.