Just an Off the Wall Question........

[Led]

I see the Europeans have a shift pattern.......where you push DOWN on the shifter for the next higher gear.........

But in the U.S of A........we have to lift up for higher gears.........I am torn......

I could see the "downshifting" into higher gears (which is upshifting here)  if you wish to bang through the gears fast.......

But then to downshift, you need to lift up on the shift lever.    I don't know.....seems like a "Horse apiece" to me?

I cannot decide!!   Lol!    What do YOU say???

This is all for fun of course!!!     

[Skinhead]

Combine this with the reversal of the shifter and the brake pedal as on some of the 60's (maybe 70's as well) British bikes.

[GiG]

That shift pattern is on my Moto Guzzis, and I love it.
The secret is the heel - toe shifter. Press once on the heel to find first, then all upshifts are stomping down on the toe section.
Downshifting occurs  by stomping on the heel section.
The NHTSA decreed all motorcycles have the pattern we have on the Valkyrie many years ago

[Led]

Combine this with the reversal of the shifter and the brake pedal as on some of the 60's (maybe 70's as well) British bikes.

You know.....I had completly forgotten about that aspect!   I worked on a 70's Triumph chopper like that!

Glad that was LONG ago.  I cannot imagine flying down the highway again, when EVERYTHING is opposite of what you are used to!!

 

[Moonshot_1]

I see the Europeans have a shift pattern.......where you push DOWN on the shifter for the next higher gear.........

But in the U.S of A........we have to lift up for higher gears.........I am torn......

I could see the "downshifting" into higher gears (which is upshifting here)  if you wish to bang through the gears fast.......

But then to downshift, you need to lift up on the shift lever.    I don't know.....seems like a "Horse apiece" to me?

I cannot decide!!   Lol!    What do YOU say???

This is all for fun of course!!!     

This is a margin call of sorts.

If you got the heel/toe shifter set up it is a moot point.
If you don't then I would think that you would be better served with the pattern of pushing down for downshifting simply because it is related to braking issues which are more critical than speed issues.

You can apply more force, and be more authoritative in using the shifter going down than going up.
If you gotta stop and stop RIGHT NOW, that comes in handy.

[f6gal]

I rented a Valkyrie in Germany and the shift pattern was the same as here.  I use a heel shifter, so I kind of have both.

[Avanti]

I changed my Interstate to up shift when pressing down with my toe and down shift by pressing down with my heal.

[Jess from VA]

My first bike was a '70 BSA Lightening (Brit).

The shift pattern was the same (as I recall) but the shift and brake pedals were on the wrong sides of the bike (from everything else I've ever seen or owned).

So when I traded it for a Yamaha sometime later, I spent several months foot braking by downshifting with no clutch (which was hard on the trans, but did slow you down some in a rather harsh manner), and trying to shift by raising up on the brake pedal (which doesn't do anything helpful at all).

And the times I would forget most often were in the most stressful situations, like when cars pulled out in front of me, or some dog would run out and try to chew on my leg.

Heel toe shifters since 1988, and would not own a bike without one. 

[DIGGER]

To me.... even more confusing ....in the late 1960s when I was around 17 yrs old we had a yamaha and a honda with a standard left side 1 down for first with upshifting by pulling up with toe.    We also had a Gilera (Italian bike) that shifted on the right side.   When riding all three bikes on a regular basis it created problems on shifting and breaking...especially in emergency situations