Noob question on vw trike gear cheanges

[bzuidgeest]

Ok, so this is going to be a total noob question I think. I'm going to rent a vw based trike. Right hand gas, right foot brake pedal, left foot clutch pedal, left hand shift gears, gear lever is in the middel on the "tank".

Everyone tells me you shift with you left hand. Nobody seems to be able to tell me WHY? Everyone assumes it is obvious and cannot be questioned. It's not to me. Seems to me I could just as well use my right hand...(which seems more natural). I take my foot of the gas pedal in my car when shifting gears (which seems normal), so why could I not use the right hand? Or do I need to keep the gas open for some reason on a trike, to keep gears at speed or something.

As I said, to experienced riders this question might have such an obvious answer. Nevertheless indulge me.

 

[rhino 2]

Bert… Welcome to Trike Talk…

 

[vwbug72501]

Welcome to Trike Talk Bert. I see that your location is Breda. Is that in the Netherlands? Are you a Noobie to trikes or motorcycles in general?

If you are new to trikes then the first rule is: THINK WIDE!!! It is really easy to forget that you have 2 wheels outboard behind you when all you see in front of you is 1 wheel on forks!

Secondly, if you are already a motorcycle rider, trikes lean the wrong way in a turn. You can't lean into a turn. Don't let it freak you out.

Now to your original question. You stated that you take you foot off the gas when shifting in a car but you probably aren't really taking it all the way off. You are just feathering the throttle to match RPMs for a smoother shift. If you take your hand off the throttle grip on the handlebars the engine will want to go to idle while you are shifting gears. When you left hand shift you maintain steering and throttle control with your right hand during the left hand shift. It's becomes very natural very quickly so don't worry.

I'm guessing that the trike that you are renting is a Boom Trike or something similar. I'm not personally familiar with them so have a conversation with the rental people about what gears to use and throttle usage. VW trikes are notoriously light in the front and wheelie prone (even in to 4th gear) with vigorous throttle applications! not what you want going into the twisties. :AGGHH: Most of the VW trikes that I've ridden over the years did not use 1st gear unless you wanted gigantic wheelies .

Again, Welcome and ride safe!

 

[bzuidgeest]

Hello vwbug,

You are correct, that is in the Netherlands and I'm a newbie to most things with less than 4 wheels , excluding scooters, pedal bikes and tractors, none of which are relevant to the question ... I was looking for an forum on trikes that seemed active, so I could ask my question to the experts.

As to your answer. While shifting in my car I do not take my foot of the pedal, but I as far as I can feel there is no active "push" on the throttle anymore. Then clutch, then shift gear, and then push the gas-pedal somewhat at the same time as releasing clutch pedal to "match" revs to the gear you going into (At least when going up) for a smooth change. For what I read on the internet this seems the normal way, as pushing the gaspedal always during shifting would rev the engine in "idle" which is useless. I read sometimes in racing it is done differently, to save a second, but I'm not racing my car.

To me this means I should be able to shift using my right hand and then move that hand back to the steering wheel to apply a little gas and release the clutch at the same time. The only reason I see for left handed shifting is a little faster shifting, but you would think that is offset by the "weird" feeling of doing left handed what I normally do right-handed. Maybe I am overthinking it. It's just that I am a lot better with electronics than machines with wheels, but I get a lot better when I understand why something works as it does.

The people of the rental place said that it should feel natural very quickly. So I'm just going to do it as they say. One has to try new things once in a while. Though the rental people dit not warn for wheelies, they did say I would never need more than a "feather" tough on the gas.

p.s. Definitely something boom like.

 

[vwbug72501]

When you rent it find a big empty open space like a parking lot (car park?) and practice shifting and throttle application until you get familiar with the quirks of the beastie. Then the road experience will be much more enjoyable. Nothing worse than applying a little too much throttle coming out of a turn and having the front end get light, lifting the front wheel, and straightening out your curve!!!

Good Luck and enjoy.