What gear should I be in going uphill?

Question

I am driving a 1971 Suzuki ts 125.

I'm still getting used to shifting gears on this bike, as it is my first legitimate motorcycle. I'm not sure what gear I need to be in for going up hills. Pretty steep, but not outrageous.

Also, when should I change gears to go uphill? Should I change before I slow down to turn up a hill?

Answer 1

save yourself a whole lot of trouble on the shifting thing...j

learn to listen to your engine so you just know when it needs to be shifted (when rpms start toppin out on level surfaces, a little bit more for going up hill)

and it depends on the hill really... you could tear *** up it in fifth gear and down shift when needed, or you could get a slow rolling start (DO NOT try to stop at it and go... you should be moving when you approach the hill)

Answer 2

It's better to down shift before you hit the hill because, you are goiung to slow down, while you go up and you do not want to interrupt power delivery on a hill while you coast backwards... If you were in fifth, i'd vote for third, and if you were in third, I'd vote for first if it wasn't too complicated for you. (yes, even the Late Great Johnny Ace had problems getting it into first, sometimes, so you may just settle on second.)

Down a couple of gears if you got em. Okay?

And for gosh sake, get it out of any overdrive gear! (any gear that is less than direct drive is an overdrive gear. 1:1 normally in a gear less than the overdrive, so if you got 5, 5th is probably an overdrive. If you got six, 6th is probably an overdrive gear.)

Answer 3

don't think about what gear, think about how many revs you're doing. You want the motor pulling strongly without over reving. You should be in the right gear before you hit the slope and don't up shift until you're past the steepest point.  TS125 was pretty gutless when new, after all these years...?

Answer 4

Driving (or riding) a manual shift car / motorcycle is NOT like a fixed formula.  You shift when you feel you can.  When you are pulling more weight (or going up hill), you will have to shift later.

Only experience will teach you when - exactly.

good Luck...

Answer 5

go up hills in 2,3 maby 4 depending on how big the hills is and yes you will probly need to shift down some times.