I kinda asked about this earlier in the season but I'm still confused (imagine that). I understand the mechanics of a seamless transmission. Basically, the gear being shifted out of is still being driven while the next gear is being selected. My question is about the actual foot shifting mechanism. It looks like every time a rider takes off from a standing start he slams down on the lever. In a normal gp gearbox he would pull up on the shifter to engage first. I just watched qualifying at the Red Bull Ring and I could not see one instance where a rider pulled up on the lever to shift gears. So my main question is are all shifts (up and down) done by pushing down on the shift lever? I don't see how this is possible. Are they starting out in second gear and I'm just not seeing the upshifts correctly? Also, is there any neutral at all?
The same way that twisting a throttle that has no cable to the throttle butterfly works. White man's magic.
Neutral is not in the standard position between first and second I am not sure where it is placed but is set so the riders cannot actually hit a false neutral while riding. It may be that you can only get neutral by disengaging some safety mechanism while the bike is stopped. The stomp on the lever may just be to get the bike out of neutral and into first, then everything else is normal.
So you're saying the shift to First is accomplished by pushing down on the shifter. That would make the upshifts done by pressing up on the shifter. Doesn't that negate the whole "gp" shifting idea?
That might be the case if their gears were... N 1 2 3 4 5 6 But I'd be worried about accidentally hitting N if they are banging down gears for a low speed corner, no?
could be there is a handlebar mounted lockout/safety switch preventing the bike from entering neutral while moving? I remember seeing a handlebar mounted transmission control system where you could preprogram certain scenarios such as 6th to 1st or 6th to 3rd. The whole pushbutton thing was pretty slick.
Dont think about it that way, think about it this way: N----------->1 OR 6 N----------> 2 OR 5 N----------> 3 OR 4 N----------> 4 OR 3 N----------> 5 OR 2 N----------> 6 OR 1 neutral is outside the "normal" shift pattern, it is something accessed by another mechanism outside of the normal shift pattern. For example you pull out the shift rod and rotate to lock into neutral then you kick it down to re-engage the gears. think of it like an e-stop switch pull and twist to engage neutral then bump the shifter down to re-engage the shift mechanism.
Good call......I think this article could shed some light on it http://www.crash.net/motogp/feature/201126/1/pics-extra-lever-on-factory-yamaha.html
Interesting article. So that explains neutral. I still don't understand if they shift in a "gp" pattern or regular. Preemptive "f@ck you" to D'ern.
https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=sVRii9H9apA The mechanic can't hold the clutch in, right? So the bike is started in neutral and Marc pulls in that little lever and kicks the shifter down and it goes out of neutral into....first? Second? Edit - I can see now the mechanic quickly releasing the clutch after they start the bike. If he pulled a second lever he did it pretty quick.
I'm talking 100% straight outta my ass here, but *if* all gear changes happen via punching down on the shifter, I suspect it's the computer knowing the difference between accel and decel and selecting the appropriate gear. But remember, that idea is straight outta
