Skipping Gears

[SeñorJack]

Hey guys, my fz8 is my first brand new bike and also my first six speed tranny. I have had a few inline four carbed bikes before this and two thumper 650s.

My question is this: Can I skip gears on acceleration and deceleration? as say I want to go 80 mph. can I pull hard in third and jump up to sixth to cruise? or the same in reverse. say I am cruising in sixth low in the rpms and want to pass a car, or get the bike in a more aggresive rpm range, can I jump down to fourth or third and match rpms as I release the clutch?

I have rode like this in the past with no problems, but with the 6 speed I am often tempted to skip a few gears from time to time. Just wondering if this is bad on my gearbox.

and sorry if this has been discussed and I missed it, or if this is a poor spot to post this question!

 

[WARPTH]

There should be no issue what so ever with the gear box but be prepared for a compression lock up if you haven't got the revs in the right spot.

 

[JSP]

Go for it. Just make sure you are the correct speed for the gear you want.

 

[Hoover]

If you match your revs and shift points, you will not have any problems, however, as you have to go through the missed gears anyway, why not just short shift?
I understand what you are aiming to do and I bet if you short shift you will have a smoother ride. Especially going up gears.
From time to time I will bang down 2 gears at once, but normally if I want to get on the gas and I am in too high a gear.

 

[SeñorJack]

If you match your revs and shift points, you will not have any problems, however, as you have to go through the missed gears anyway, why not just short shift?
I understand what you are aiming to do and I bet if you short shift you will have a smoother ride. Especially going up gears.
From time to time I will bang down 2 gears at once, but normally if I want to get on the gas and I am in too high a gear.

do that from time to time, but I was just wondering how many other people ride like this and if it is hard on the gearbox. I like to feel the power but dont want to get a felony for speeding haha

I am not a pro, but I rarely (like twice ever) lock up the back switching gears. I try to match the revs accurately and consistantly

 

[Hoover]

I'm sure it doesn't hurt it short term, but if you always ride like that, who knows.

 

[Fazed]

I never skip gears going down. That's a dead set certain way to lock up the back wheel

 

[Bajaedition]

Skipping gears is way more prevalent the higher the displacement bike you have.
I jump on the ZZR, get on the freeway with a ride group and hit 80 mph, look back and see all the 600s trying to catch up and skip from first gear to 5th. Wink at my buddy on his ZX12 and we both just laugh.

Here is some advice, learn what rpm level each gear works best in, You are on an 800 now and the torque range can cover a few gears.
SO, Know what gear you are in, It is not much to hit to high of a gear going up, it just kind of makes you call yourself stupid, but hitting to low of a gear shifting down and you can be side hopping quick.

I am the king of grabbing clutch, and coasting down, doing double downshifts as the speed decreasing till I release where I want to be.
But that is just common to me, I have been riding 35 years. I can remember some harry situations when I released in the wrong gear.

And one big problem is the FZ8 has no gear indicator so you need to learn to count gears.

Now, I am not the best rider in the world, lots O guys can chew me up and spit me out in the twisties. But I can hold my own and embarrass a few young kids when I take off my lid and my grey hair is revealed. But I carry years of experience riding the streets and back roads. Best advice I can give you about skipping gears I have......Learn to count gears, you need to always know what gear you are in.

Have fun.