Right hand to left hand shift change time frame

When I began racing, I needed two things - a decent front brake and 6 speeds close ratio, and the same on public roads. But I was like most kids - I believed bullshit. An RZ350 Yamaha will easily beat most Commandos under any circumstances. My mate objected when I said his RZ350 Yamaha is probably as quick as a TD3 racer, after he blew-off a Minnovation Seeley 750.
 
Sorry I'm late but I know for a fact in 1984 I bought a FJ1100 and had a stiff tariff because of the cc's. Bitching didn't help then either!
 
Actually, I have yet to see a hand-change Norton, they are all foot change...
Plenty of them back in the day …
Right hand to left hand shift change time frame
 
In reference to my question about the moving of the shifter from right side to left, I researched by reading the Wikipedia page about Norton Villers Triumph, and their ultimate demise. Kind of a confusing history those last years, for someone from the States anyway. Since I've never seen any refernce made about or seen any '76 or newer Norton for sale, I assume the '75 850 Mk3 was the last year of the Norton bikes. I do see that according to some internet news stories that "Norton is back" as they put it, and the rights to the Norton brand in now owned by Indian mega-motorcyle-maker TVS, and is or will be producing and selling Norton badged bikes, but the more I read about the "new Norton" the more confusing and conflicting it seems. I believe I read a response or post of a member here having a new Norton 961. Anyway, was 1975 the last year of original Norton production?
Quawk,
You have a lot of reading to do to get up to speed on Norton history since the demise of NVT. Vintage Rebuilds and then Norton USA with Kenny Dreer, Norton in Minneapolis, Stuart Gardner and now TVS.
 
Afaik almost all Japanese bikes had the one down rest up pattern. Bridgestone may have been an exception. Because the Japanese brands were becoming far and away the biggest sellers in the US in the mid seventies they drove the change to standardize on what they already supplied.
If I'm remembering correctly, my buddies Kawasaki 100 with a 5 speed, shifted either all up or all down as you progressed thru the gears and of course the opposite when slowing down. A quick search of these old models revealed some had a rotary pattern, so neutral was found at each end of the shift pattern.
N-1-2-3-4-5-N. I didn't know any models like that.
Iowa farm boys in the early 1970s, gravel roads and 1000s of acres of cropland with farm lanes, pastures and creeks! It was the life!
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If I'm remembering correctly, my buddies Kawasaki 100 with a 5 speed, shifted either all up or all down as you progressed thru the gears and of course the opposite when slowing down. A quick search of these old models revealed some had a rotary pattern, so neutral was found at each end of the shift pattern.
N-1-2-3-4-5-N. I didn't know any models like that.
You are correct, many/most Kawasakis had the "5-up" pattern up to the 70s, maybe longer.
 
A quick search of these old models revealed some had a rotary pattern, so neutral was found at each end of the shift pattern.
My first street legal bike, a Bridgestone 90, had the rotary shift pattern. N1234N. I think other Bridgestone models, may have had that feature. It was only really useful when rolling up to a stop light or stop sign from crusing speed.
 
You are correct, many/most Kawasakis had the "5-up" pattern up to the 70s, maybe longer.
So what happens when you are speeding down a long straight stretch of road and change up one time too many and get a neutral ? Do you hit it again and get first gear, our do you try to change from neutral back into top ? Top gear might be turning relatively slowly ? If you went from top to neutral to first, it might become interesting.
 
The original question was asked in the Norton COMMANDO section, not the "Other Norton Motorcycles" section.
Gotcha - where the confusion lies is your comment “ yet to see a hand change Norton “ - not “ yet to see a hand change Commando “ . Glad we cleared that up !
 
So what happens when you are speeding down a long straight stretch of road and change up one time too many and get a neutral ? Do you hit it again and get first gear, our do you try to change from neutral back into top ? Top gear might be turning relatively slowly ? If you went from top to neutral to first, it might become interesting.
I'm sure what you've described may have happened. I don't recall that happened to me, that's 55 years ago so I plead old age memory, but it may have. But I suspect when you hit neutral you realize what you've done. Yep, could've been disasterous. Having only a four speed trans with a low power bike I think you tended to "know" what gear you were in.
 
Rob,
Do you ever get to ride that motorcycle?Looks very nice!
Thanks,
Mike
Yes - but not as often as I would like - that will change after I have the magneto overhauled.
When riding it, with the hand change and manual ignition advance, etc, I feel as busy as a one-legged man in a bum-kicking contest!
Starting it with the weak magneto is a challenge.
Cheers
 
So what happens when you are speeding down a long straight stretch of road and change up one time too many and get a neutral ? Do you hit it again and get first gear, our do you try to change from neutral back into top ? Top gear might be turning relatively slowly ? If you went from top to neutral to first, it might become interesting.
That almost happened with the 6 speed box fitted to the Yamaha RD350s sold in the US, though actually it went straight from 6th to 1st!

So by the time I bought one of the first RD250s sold in the UK in 1973, it still had 6 speeds in the box, but you could only access 5 of them!
 
That almost happened with the 6 speed box fitted to the Yamaha RD350s sold in the US, though actually it went straight from 6th to 1st!
I've had two different Yamaha RD350s sold here in the U.S. over the years. One long ago, one more recently. Rode both of them many miles. A shift from 6th to 1st never happened in my experience, nor do I think it's possible. That bike with a 6 speed, close ratio trans, and no gear indicator, you tended to keep upshifting 'cause many times you weren't sure if you were in 5th or 6th gear, so you kept upshifting to be sure you were in top gear. 5th and 6th were very close in ratio. There would have been many times having done one more upshift while in 6th, there would have been possible to, but never did shift directly into 1st.
 
Since we've strayed off in to other makes, Ill share this Fun Fact: the positive stop, foot change gear selector was first designed and put out on racer and production bikes by Velocette. Apparently one of their TT racers (Alex Woods maybe?) reckoned he could drop 2-3 secomds off his lap times with a foot shifter. Every modern bike uses this concept, thanks Velocette!
 
A shift from 6th to 1st never happened in my experience, nor do I think it's possible.

"As far as is known, all UK RD350Bs came equipped with a six-speed 'box, whereas the RD350 and 350A had the sixth gear blocked off and re-geared to suit. The B model arrived with the sixth gear fully functional and safe. Urban myth or fact, the word on the street was that if you didn’t modify the quasi-five speeders properly a nudge up from a newly acquired sixth would have the bike back into first. A surer way of focusing the motorcyclist’s mind has yet to be found!"
 
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