Is a quick shifter worth it? Detail Overview with Pros and Cons

Shifting gear is required to have the motorcycle running smoothly and at full potential. As it takes an amount of time and effort to shift the gear on the motorcycle. While in motorcycle racing every second count thus riders use a quick-shifter to change the gear. That’s what we will be discussing today. 

So, Is a quick shifter worth it? Quick shifter is very useful for track riders as it helps to shift the gear without using the clutch or throttling off the accelerator. It makes the gear-changing process smoother and faster. But, unless you are into racing quick shifter is not worth buying, you can shift gear manually.

And quick shifter is a worthwhile investment if you are looking to improve your lap times. But If you have a smaller displacement motorcycle and you ride at economic speed into a city then a quick shifter will not be worthful. Most of the riders who use quick shifter are into racing, track or at least do sporty riding. 

In order to save time while racing riders generally use clutchless shifting before a quick shifter. As the name suggests with clutchless shifting you can shift the gear without using the clutch but there are some limitations with clutchless shifting.

For example, you can’t downshift with clutchless shifting and for shifting you will have to throttle off for a little which will anyway eat your time.

It also saves time but it’s a technique that is performed by professional riders and you will have to learn to apply clutchless shifting. It’s not recommended to perform clutchless shifting as there is a risk of internal damage to gears in the long run if you did the process wrong. That’s the reason riders who are into racing take use of a quick-shifter to save time.

What does a quick shifter do?

Quick shifter eases the process of shifting the gears and provides you hassle-free uninterrupted ride. In order to change the gear while riding a motorcycle, you need to roll off the throttle, pull off the clutch, and shift a gear then release the clutch, again roll the throttle back to gain the previous acceleration. Thus this whole process does eat away some seconds even if you do quickly. While with a quick shifter the gear change will be done in just a millisecond (usually under a millisecond).

In motorcycle racing, every second counts, and with the old process of gear shifting riders will not be able to win the race compared to the rider using quick shifting. But, now with the use of quick shifter riders don’t need to go through the old process of shifting gears.

Now the whole process will be automatic, with a quick shifter rider do not need to touch the clutch or roll off the throttle. With a quick shifter, all you need to do is shifting the gears directly. 

With a quick shifter, your time will be saved and the momentum of the motorcycle will be maintained helping you to keep the focus on race or riding.

Motorcycle quick shifter pros and cons

In this section, we are going to talk about the pros and cons of motorcycle quick shifter. 

Pros of Quick shifter in motorcycle	Cons of Quick Shifter in motorcycle
Quick shifter makes the gear-changing process faster and smoother	It adds cost to the motorcycle as a component add-on
It helps to reduce the lap times (most helpful in racing)	Changing gears at less speed can feel numb, as a quick shifter works better at high RPMs.
Quick shifter helps to maintain the momentum of the motorcycle	It takes away the traditional feeling of manually changing gears
It helps you to focus more on riding and maintaining speed	It’s an additional electrical component that could go bad at times
Nowadays quick sifters are equipped with auto-blip that lets you downshift the gears too.

Conclusion

Quick shifter is only good for those who are into some racing or track otherwise it doesn’t make a big difference in the experience or time. And, if you think saving some second can do a lot then you can go ahead and spend $125 – $400 (taking for general riders). Otherwise, a quick shifter will add nothing for normal riders. Apart from this, it takes away the experience of manual shifting. Although, using a quick shifter can be fun as there is no mess of pulling the clutch and throttling off.

FAQs

Can you put a quick shifter on any bike?

Yes, Quick shifter can be integrated with any motorcycle but quick shifter works best at high rev. Fitting quick shifter to every motorcycle doesn’t ensure you the same experience or fucntion. Because with quick shifter you can change the gear up but in order to downshift you motorcycle must be equipped with a ride-by-wire throttle that helps the system to auto-blip the throttle plates automatically.

Does Quickshifter hurt the gearbox?

According to the general consensus on the internet, it’s said that quick shifting can be less harmful to the gearbox than manual gear change. Thus, a Quick shifter doesn’t hurt or shorten the life of the gearbox in any way. A quick shifter just cuts the ignition for a while as you shift the gear and then it activates the spark plug again. The whole process is automated and done in just some millisecond. 

Is a Quickshifter bad for transmission?

A quick shifter does not harm the transmission in any way as it works by cutting down the fuel or ignition system for a few ten milliseconds during a gear change. Because quick-shifting automates the process of gear shifting thus it is less damaging than clutchless shifts. 

Can you downshift with a quick-shifter in a motorcycle? 

Auto-blip quick-shifter helps you to downshift the gear without using the clutch or throttling of the gear. But in order to use auto-blip, the motorcycles must have a ride-by-wire throttle that helps the system to auto-blip the throttle plates automatically.

Firstly quick-shifter were made only to upshift while auto blip lets you downshift the gear. With the technology enhancement, the quick shifters are come integrated with auto-blip that does not only let you upshift the gear but also downshift it.