I could never get used to right-hand shift

[willis 2000]

The first bike with RH shift I tried was a late-sixties V7S 750 Guzzi. Clip-ons, 4-leading-shoe front brake, almost skidded it down the road when I attempted to use the rear brake and downshifted instead. The front brake was so powerful when I grabbed a handful it stood the thing right up. Then I rode an 850 Norton Commando. The fierce vibration made me clumsily turn around and put it away. Later on, I rode a Bultaco 360 in a dirt alley and it was amazing, so torquey and light, but I couldn't stop downshifting when I wanted only brake. It took an American law to standardize controls, my hat's off to those who can operate these old bikes.

[pommie john]

It just takes practice. Don't give up.

I prefer a Japanese style shift pattern, but my Norton has one down, four up on the other side, it's not hard to adjust if you persevere.

[orangebear]

it was only old britsh bike for the 60s had right hand shift. all jap bikes hand left foot shift

[pommie john]

Originally Posted by orangebear

it was only old britsh bike for the 60s had right hand shift. all jap bikes hand left foot shift

Laverdas, Ducati singles and probably loads more I can't think of all had right hand gear shift

[GarageRat]

.......and Bultacos, early OSSA's & Montesas, lets not forget the early (57-72) Sportsters as well !

Some riders prefer the right side shift.

[lrutt]

Norton Commandos don't vibrate, odd problem there.

But as for right side shift, pick a bike and stay with it. It can be come 2nd nature if you practice enough. Problem is that not all shift patterns are the same.

When I ride my Triumphs they are 'normal' with 1 down, 4 up on the right.

Then I ride my Norton and it's 1 up, 3 down. Now that takes a bit of concentration at times.

[motu]

Yes, we used to have freedom of choice with motorcycle control layout, but an American law changed all that, and now they are all the same. At one stage in the late '70's all my bikes had right shift, up for 1st. I prefer that setup, but for the last 40 years we have had no choice. It's been getting the same way with cars lately - they all have the same shift pattern. I remember driving trucks in the '70's - you found the shift pattern by crunching gears and experimenting. I was working on a fleet of Fuso's with Fuller roadranger gearboxes....and they changed the shift pattern - you didn't know which box you had until you upshifted down a gear.

[G 981]

It took me a few days to get used to right foot shift when I bought my first Laverda after a series of Hondas.
No biggie, inadvertantly touching the gear lever instead of the brake didn't cause any major issues. Most of the braking should be done with the front anyway.
I also find it gives a better balance with diagonal actions, left hand clutch, right foot gear, and right hand brake, left foot brake. Not all one-sided if you know what I mean.

[blaine.hale]

Originally Posted by motu

Yes, we used to have freedom of choice with motorcycle control layout, but an American law changed all that, and now they are all the same. At one stage in the late '70's all my bikes had right shift, up for 1st. I prefer that setup, but for the last 40 years we have had no choice. It's been getting the same way with cars lately - they all have the same shift pattern. I remember driving trucks in the '70's - you found the shift pattern by crunching gears and experimenting. I was working on a fleet of Fuso's with Fuller roadranger gearboxes....and they changed the shift pattern - you didn't know which box you had until you upshifted down a gear.

Consistency is kind of a good thing in this case...
I'd rather not have to "crunch" my gears and re-adapt to every car I drive. It also puts everyone on the road at risk when the gears aren't laid out in an expected pattern. My newer civic SI has the modern standard of 6 gears in an extended H with the revers on the far right after 6th...prevents me from going into reverse instead of first. That's completely logical. Now, when I take my brothers early 80s Dodge pickup out, its a 4 speed with reverse less than an inch from first (on the left)...Yeah, I definitely almost backed into a few cars in traffic before getting used to it.

I don't mind it on a motorcycle because I don't switch between my BMW and one of my Bultacos every day. Those are recreation so the choice is kind of fun.

[Airhead Wrangler]

Originally Posted by motu

Yes, we used to have freedom of choice with motorcycle control layout, but an American law changed all that, and now they are all the same.

In the states they're all the same. Not so in the rest of the world. In Asia (at least china and southeast asia, not Japan and Korea) the majority of bikes have a shift pattern of N1234 where you push down to shift up. The crazy thing is if you shift up from 4th you go back to N again. Shift up again and you're in 1st. People who think they're in third, but actually in 4th can shift up expecting 4th, get what they think is a false neutral and shift up again into first. Shifting from 4th directly to 1st is enough to grenade most little asian bikes. When I lived in Vietnam I had two bikes one with the conventional 1N234 up shift pattern and one with the asian N1234 down pattern. Hopping between bikes frequently really messed with me.

[mykill]

Originally Posted by Airhead Wrangler

In the states they're all the same. Not so in the rest of the world. In Asia (at least china and southeast asia, not Japan and Korea) the majority of bikes have a shift pattern of N1234 where you push down to shift up. The crazy thing is if you shift up from 4th you go back to N again. Shift up again and you're in 1st. People who think they're in third, but actually in 4th can shift up expecting 4th, get what they think is a false neutral and shift up again into first. Shifting from 4th directly to 1st is enough to grenade most little asian bikes. When I lived in Vietnam I had two bikes one with the conventional 1N234 up shift pattern and one with the asian N1234 down pattern. Hopping between bikes frequently really messed with me.

That almost made my head explode. Changing bikes and shift patterns gets easier with time, but I also rely on other cues. My Truimph and Bultaco (RH normal pattern) have high wide bars, Norton and Matchless (RH upside down) low bars. The rest are LH normal.
My buddy is missing a spleen, possibly a result of an inadvertent downshift instead of rear brake. He was used to RH shift and was riding his Trident. Lost it and got a bar to the belly. Ouch, but a cool scar.

[caponerd]

Originally Posted by pommie john

It just takes practice. Don't give up.

I prefer a Japanese style shift pattern, but my Norton has one down, four up on the other side, it's not hard to adjust if you persevere.

I credit my learning to rely on the front brake to the fact that I owned a Royal Enfield Interceptor since I was 22 years old, and kept it through a succession of Japanese and European motorcycles.

Switching between right/left shift/brake taught me to use the front brake first in a panic situation.

But after all these years, I never forget which foot to shift gears with, no matter what I'm riding.

[England-Kev]

Originally Posted by orangebear

it was only old britsh bike for the 60s had right hand shift. all jap bikes hand left foot shift

Really? you never rode a 72 Kawasaki H1b then, it has the option to shift on either side.

[jbcaddy]

I had an AJS 500 and a Honda 750. I learned to not let the clutch lever out when stopping untill I had been on either for a few minutes and had reset my brain. both levers pulled, both pedals down. it worked for me.
on my bicycle I always switch the brake levers so the front brake is on the right like on a motorcycle.

[Voltaire]

You do get used to it...after a few take offs from the lights and back to first again....
I've had my Commando for nearly 2 years and now I'm ok at it....I have a LHD VW van and I have no problem going from RHD to LHD....but still have the odd moment where I try to change gear with the window winder....