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Gear indicator. Why ?

11K views 121 replies 65 participants last post by  Ironman 
#1 ·
Every so often I'll see posts on this forum and others where ppl are wanting something that will tell them what gear they are in. The GW already has a Neutral and OD light. Why is anything else needed ?:shrug:
 
#27 ·
And those that stick their nose up at a gear indicator will probably claim that they've never done anything like that, because they are far too competent a rider.

I agree with you..., a gear indicator would be a worthwhile item. A neutral indicator and a 5th gear indicator only, is way too sparse. :thumbup:
Honda could replace the neutral indicator and 5th gear indicator lights with a single Gear Position Indicator... Making the dash a tiny bit less complicated...
 
#28 ·
Let's be honest, you don't really need a neutral light or an overdrive indicator either; a real rider intuitively knows what gear he/she is in or isn't. However, I like having those farkles (guess I'm a wuss), and I wouldn't mind having a full gear indicator too. If Kawasaki can do, so can Honda.
 
#29 ·
Honda could replace the neutral indicator and 5th gear indicator lights with a single Gear Position Indicator... Making the dash a tiny bit less complicated...
There's a good idea. Somewhat unusual for this cesspool... :lol:

I wonder how many would scream long and loud if the manufacturers removed the gear indicator from their cage. :shrug:

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#31 ·
I'm in the "i don't get it camp".

What difference does it make what gear you're in? Get in the habit of going into first after you stop. If you don't and stall, big deal. Start it and go.

If you think the bike's revving to high up shift. If it's revving to low, blip the throttle and down shift.
 
#32 ·
And then there are those that run the twisties and switchbacks as heard as they safely can and like the gentleman above already said, ya don't want to be caught in a uphill or downhill switchback or tight twisty in third or second when you should be in first or the proper gear to take it safely... [/QUOTE]

Under those circumstances I probably have no idea what gear I'm in, nor do I care if its in 2nd or 3rd. BUT, my tach and my sense of knowing whether the engine is lugging or over reving tells me if I should change gears. Isn't that something that all drivers of manual transmission vehicles should know ?
 
#33 ·
In my opinion if you know your bike and know how to ride properly (ie: not treating it likes it's an automatic) you won't care what gear you're in. You will always be in the correct gear. It doesn't matter what number is associated with that gear.
 
#34 ·
Probably for the same reason you tow a trailer farkel :shock:. As soon as you connect a trailer to a Wing, your appear to be nothing more than a little economy car with 3 wheels.
When I see that I think the person really wanted a small economy car as it has ceased being in the motorcycle category :shrug:.
Kind of GAY looking to pull a little trailer behind a bike :nojoke:.
Just one of the reasons the Goldwing gets referred to as an "old persons ride" :eek:4:. :popcorn:
 
#35 ·
And then there are those that run the twisties and switchbacks as heard as they safely can and like the gentleman above already said, ya don't want to be caught in a uphill or downhill switchback or tight twisty in third or second when you should be in first or the proper gear to take it safely... [/QUOTE]

Under those circumstances I probably have no idea what gear I'm in, nor do I care if its in 2nd or 3rd. BUT, my tach and my sense of knowing whether the engine is lugging or over reving tells me if I should change gears. Isn't that something that all drivers of manual transmission vehicles should know ?
I have to own up to and admit that I’m not all that good in the twisties, and by the high standards set by this forum and all of it experts (emphases on ex) I probably shouldn't even be riding a bike...

Trust me, you haven, lived until you are coming down a steep hill out of a switchback and you see this curve in front of you that drops down anywhere from eight to ten feet and it looks like a horseshoe (Not the kind you play with either), the real ones, and ya think, matter of fact you know your in 3rd and still accelerating towards it so you downshift and let out on the clutch and find out you either dropped two gears or you were in second and your rear end is coming out from under you... Oops...


I have to admit I'm not all that good at standard gears, I've never owned a automatic vehicle in my life, even to this day I special order standard in my cars...

I guess you just know how to ride a bike a lot better than I do and you can remember all five gears...

Wish I was that good...

Ole yeah the above scenario did happen to me doing about 45+, 50 I don't know maybe 65+ MPH, I wasn't looking at the darned old speedometer or tach, I was going down a hill coming out of one switchback and going into another switchback, I had just come out of one about 50 yards back and I did almost lost it... It all took less that a half of a second to figure it all out and save my bacon and keep my little girl from going down...


Ole yeah again, try coming out of one switchback and looking at another switchback less than the 50 yards I talked about above and bumping off of the revlimiter all at the same time and please explain to me and everyone else here how are you going to take the time to look down at a tach??? If you had a gear indicator in your dash it would be as completely useless to you as your tach would be...

What ever it is that helps you, or you think helps you, if you don't have it in your line of sight you might as well be texting wile riding, because if you look down at it you can and probably will wreck someday because of it...
 
#38 ·
...I guess you just know how to ride a bike a lot better than I do and you can remember all five gears...

Wish I was that good...

...If you had a gear indicator in your dash it would be as completely useless to you as your tach would be...
I'm confused - do you like the indicator or think it's useless?

It sounded like you started out bashing (not literally) the folks that say they can ride without an indicator then you end saying they are useless.
 
#39 ·
if i'm in the twisties......i don't have time to look at a gear light.
I now have mine mounted right in the center of the top of my windshield so when I look across the top of the windshield I see it out of the indicator with my peripheral vision without taking my eyes off of where I'm riding... It may be all of a half of an inch below my line of sight if that???

I do admit I don't use it all that often but it is there when I decide to play heard in the tight twisties and I never have to take my eyes off the road...
:thumbup:

For me it just a tool, nothing more...
:thumbup: :thumbup:
 
#41 ·
I'm confused - do you like the indicator or think it's useless?

It sounded like you started out bashing (not literally) the folks that say they can ride without an indicator then you end saying they are useless.
I like it where I have it mounted, if it were anywhere else I wouldn't have it at all...

As I said for me it is just a tool, I'm sure you have ridden across US-33 from the VA side into WV and how tight some of the curves are there, when I go up there I go for the day not just a pass or two, and yes I am bumping off of the limiter going through there...

The indicator does help train me to be where I want to be wile going into or through a tight one...

For everyday use as far as I am concerned it is useless, but for what I use it for it is a helpful tool...
:thumbup: :thumbup:
 
#42 ·
Well it is funny how those who po po a gear readout, are the ones who seem to need a volt meter, a tach, a couple trip speedos, and of course a speedo healer, a blinky headlight, a garagedoor high beam gizmo, a blinky tail light, a back up alarm, and a radar detector.
 
#43 ·
That's an easy one to answer. A symptom of ghost shifting is not knowing what gear you are in. This way you could at least follow what the transmission unexpectantly does.
 
#44 ·
There is a "Fine" line between "Want" and 'Need" ... I got one for my 2002 and the fit and finish was fantastic, I am not sure wht the company was and it fit right where one would put a Voltmeter, it had nice graphic and a nice "dimming" readout... it was a very nice product and it WOULD make you bike look a little cooler than the rest..... did I "need" it? NO never looked at it... but it was "Cool"

Matt(BCNV) ;)
 
#45 ·
I like it where I have it mounted, if it were anywhere else I wouldn't have it at all...

As I said for me it is just a tool, I'm sure you have ridden across US-33 from the VA side into WV and how tight some of the curves are there, when I go up there I go for the day not just a pass or two, and yes I am bumping off of the limiter going through there...

The indicator does help train me to be where I want to be wile going into or through a tight one...

For everyday use as far as I am concerned it is useless, but for what I use it for it is a helpful tool...
:thumbup: :thumbup:
Gotcha - and yes, riding US-33 is fun. I'll never forget taking my cousin on that road in my truck. About half way through I look over and he looked so green and about to puke. It was hilarious.

I myself still feel the numbers mean nothing. In my mind the sound of the engine is all I need to know if I'm in the proper gear.

To each their own. Your bike, your ride, your $$. Just enjoy!
 
#47 ·
QUOTE=Mikey S.;3366787]What?! Yous gots ta be kidding. Every one whos anyone knows that ya can't "never" put enough "stuff" on yer Wing![/QUOTE]

I believe that I've found what some would call the most useless, and pricey, accessory for a Wing.

It would be funnier than hell, however.

Some guy down in AZ makes large sized, bolt-on, motorized, replicas for those "wind-up" keys. He makes them for cars: Beetles, Mini-Coopers, PT Cruisers etc.

Got to admit that it would be funny - especially among my HD-owning friends - to come rolling up on a Goldwing, to a mission staging location, with this giant wind-up key spinning on the back of the bike.

But, "useful stuff"? Eh... Not so much!
 
#48 ·
I wish the Wing had a gear indicator, always thought it would be nice feature to have....along with a trip computer. I never understood why Honda put a overdrive light on the Wing though....that's totally unnecessary
 
#49 ·
I think it's OK for someone to have a gear indicator on their Wing if that's what THEY want. I also think it's stupid to pound your chest and act all high and mighty while you cut them down for wanting it. Stupid people always feel a need to brag. If the shoe fits.................
 
#50 ·
Every so often I'll see posts on this forum and others where ppl are wanting something that will tell them what gear they are in. :shrug:The GW already has a Neutral and OD light. Why is anything else needed ?
Maybe it's because there are 4 more gear positions unaccounted for? :shrug: Maybe it's just me, but I thought the answer was pretty obvious.

I have had many times where I lost track of whether I was in 4th or 3rd gear when I'm approaching a turn, so I would like to have one. I'm sure someone out there who thinks he is a perfect rider will get his testosterone levels up and denounce that and tell me I shouldn't be riding if that everhappens. Tough.

Why do people do any of the thousands of things that have been brought up on this board?

One of the most annying things that happens on this board is when someone asks about a product or how to install something, inevitably someone will post an unhelpful comment to the effect of "Why would you want to do that?" Threads about windshields are probably the worst.

The way I look at it is; As long as he isn't trying to install it on YOUR bike, don't worry about it. Just because you don't need doesn't mean that somebody else does. You don't want people telling you what to install on your bike, so why worry about theirs. You may not like what they have done to their bike, and many people probably would not like yours. That's what makes life interesting. We all think different.
 
#51 ·
Farkle is short for Functional Sparkle or even "Fancy Accessory Really Kool Likely Expensive". I thought the term was in pretty common use. Non functional sparkle would be more along the lines of "bling"

We have some shiney bolt on stuff (like most of you) but everything we have bought also serves some sort of purpose other than safety chrome.

My source is the Urban Dictionary.

I think the gear indicator would be nice. My speed of the pants-o-meter knows what gear is going to be best for pulling out of a corner but sometimes in all the excitement I forget how many times I downshift.

I still try and shift into sixth gear frequently, even with the OD light visable.
 
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