

In fact most experts agree (see Sources section, below) that a quickshifter will reduce the wear on your motorcycle’s gearbox and engine. Reputable companies, like HM Racing, Dynojet and Bazzaz produce well-proven quickshifters that are reliable and won’t damage your motorcycle. It is very hard to quantify these claims as there are a) a lot of different brands of quickshifters on the market b) a lot of different bikes in various states of roadworthiness c) incorrectly fitted quickshifters and d) riders who treat their machines differently. However, there are stories of aftermarket quickshifters causing damage to bikes and some even claiming their gearbox was destroyed because of one.

QUICKSHIFT V AUTO BLIP MANUAL
They remove some of the manual action that many riders enjoy.Early quickshifters can feel spongy or numb.A quickshifter upshifts sound cool as f***.Less upset to the chassis when shifting mid-corner.Here are some of the strengths and weaknesses of a quickshifter. Here is a selection of motorcycles that feature a quickshifter as standard: These days, quickshifters feature on a huge variety of motorcycles, not just Superbikes. If you’ve ever come up against a motorcycle on track that’s using a quick-shifter, you’ll see how with every gearchange they pull a good few feet on you. Quick-shifters have been around for years and are very popular in racing and trackday circles. Motorcycles that come with a quickshifter as standard
QUICKSHIFT V AUTO BLIP PRO
To be fair to BMW, they never claimed it was a ‘proper’ quickshifter, hence it was called Shift Assist but essentially it did the same thing.Ī decade on, BMW’s Gear Shift Assist Pro features on a vast range of their motorcycles, from the R1200GS to the R1250RT and it’s as slick as anything on the market. So much so that when you went to change gear you’d almost headbutt the headstock when the ignition cut, before being yanked back as the mighty K1300S unleashed a 160bhp onslaught a moment later. The time-delay between cutting the ignition and re-engaging was comparatively huge compared to modern quickshifters. It was called Gear Shift Assist and it was clunky, to say the least, but it did work. So step forward a year and the first proper production motorcycle with a quick gearshifter was BMW’s K1300s back in 2010. One of the first factory-fitted quickshifters was fitted to BMW’s HP2 Sport (but they were a very special and expensive limited run bike, which some would argue means they’re not a ‘real’ production bike).

What motorcycle featured the first quickshifter? Most motorcycle quickshifters work using the same principles, although each manufacturer employs different technology, components and ways of enabling a clutchless gear shift. While the gearbox is under load, you won’t be able to change gear but by dipping the clutch or rolling off the throttle, you enable this ‘break’ in load and the gear can be changed.Ī quickshifter does all this in the blink of an eye (usually under 50 milliseconds), meaning from the moment you go to change gear by putting pressure on the lever, the quickshifter is ready to go, it cuts the ignition, you change gear and it activates the spark plugs again.

When the ignition is cut, this essentially takes the load off the gearbox and allows the gearchange to happen. When the gear lever is compressed, the switch senses this pressure and prepares the electronics for the shift.Īs you apply more pressure to activate the gear change, the switch momentarily cuts the spark plugs, which causes a similar effect to when you roll the throttle, which you would usually do when changing gear on a motorcycle without a quickshifter. How do they work?Ī motorcycle quickshifter employs a sensor switch connected to the gearshift rod (or lever). This is something that advanced riders and racers will do naturally on a motorcycle without a quick-shifter. These also also known as auto-blippers as they ‘blip’ the revs on a downshift to reduce the chances of the rear wheel locking up. Most quick shifters will only enable a clutchless upshift but there are shifters that will also allow you to clutchlessly downshift. They enable faster gear changes and therefore they improve the performance of a motorcycle. A quickshifter is an electronic device that allows you to change gears on a motorcycle without having to dip the clutch or roll off the throttle.
