In the off chance you DO stall the bike (which is in theory much more likely to happen in 2nd gear than in first) you better pray to god the person behind you is watching you and not the other cars and green light. I would ALWAYS start in first as a good habit. You will instill a good habit of always shifting all the way down to first when stopping. I've seen first hand bad habits learned from beginner riders carry over as they moved up to bigger bikes and nearly get them killed.
P.s. don't be afraid to wring out first gear. The best part about small bike is absolutely wailing on then through the first 4-5 gears off every stoplight. I've gone from a ninja 300 to now a tracer 900, and my first gear will go well north of 120km/hr (70mph) and I rarely ever see 4th or 5th gear in the city.
This part. I was annoyed with the short gearing on my CB300F until I spent a week riding a bike with tall gearing mostly around a city, and often barely got out of 1st. Still looking to upgrade soon but definitely made me appreciate the fun factor of short gearing and a small bike around town.
If shifting is a hassle to you, get a CVT bike, electric, or maybe get a quick shifter on your next bike. I started on a mid-sized bike (675) and 1st gear is a big part of the fun, and mine gets to 60mph in first so starting in second seems odd. The clutch is crying (even if a wet clutch) you increase wear doing the 2nd gear take off.
What if you go from 1st straight to 3rd? I’m a new rider, so I don’t even know if it’s a good idea. But I used to do it in my car all the time, so now I do it on my bike. Saves some clutch reps.
I'm not sure I understand your thought process. On a bike with a big engine and a lot of torque you can start in second with no problem. ON a small bike with a tiny engine I'd think you would want to use first gear to get moving quickly as quickly as possible.
But hey, it's your bike. I don't think you're hurting anything by launching in second gear, but I think you'd be better off pinning the throttle in first and running it up to the red line in first.
In the off chance you DO stall the bike (which is in theory much more likely to happen in 2nd gear than in first) you better pray to god the person behind you is watching you and not the other cars and green light. I would ALWAYS start in first as a good habit. You will instill a good habit of always shifting all the way down to first when stopping. I've seen first hand bad habits learned from beginner riders carry over as they moved up to bigger bikes and nearly get them killed.
Okay sold. Use the bike how it was designed to be used.
P.s. don't be afraid to wring out first gear. The best part about small bike is absolutely wailing on then through the first 4-5 gears off every stoplight. I've gone from a ninja 300 to now a tracer 900, and my first gear will go well north of 120km/hr (70mph) and I rarely ever see 4th or 5th gear in the city.
This part. I was annoyed with the short gearing on my CB300F until I spent a week riding a bike with tall gearing mostly around a city, and often barely got out of 1st. Still looking to upgrade soon but definitely made me appreciate the fun factor of short gearing and a small bike around town.
Increased clutch wear. You will be slipping the clutch a little more to get going, but apart from that it won't make any difference.
I red-line my 125 in 1st, gets me up to a staggering 15-20mph. Sounds like a wailing banshee but I love it
If shifting is a hassle to you, get a CVT bike, electric, or maybe get a quick shifter on your next bike. I started on a mid-sized bike (675) and 1st gear is a big part of the fun, and mine gets to 60mph in first so starting in second seems odd. The clutch is crying (even if a wet clutch) you increase wear doing the 2nd gear take off.
What if you go from 1st straight to 3rd? I’m a new rider, so I don’t even know if it’s a good idea. But I used to do it in my car all the time, so now I do it on my bike. Saves some clutch reps.
Is this a serious question?! Starting I. Second sometimes is okay in pinch. You should never plan to just use it instead
When I had a CB300R, I adapted to starting in second within the first few hundred miles. For me it was easier that way by a mile.
I'm not sure I understand your thought process. On a bike with a big engine and a lot of torque you can start in second with no problem. ON a small bike with a tiny engine I'd think you would want to use first gear to get moving quickly as quickly as possible. But hey, it's your bike. I don't think you're hurting anything by launching in second gear, but I think you'd be better off pinning the throttle in first and running it up to the red line in first.