Simple really... Its a sequential gearbox on a bike. Theres no other place to put neutral. If it was between 3rd & 4th for example you'd have to change through 2 gears to move off from a standstill. If it was before 1st gear you'd be hitting neutral on downshifts to 1st gear.
its the only logical place for it. unlike a car where u put it in neutral when u stop at lights etc u dont on a bike.u are meant to keep your brake foot on the brake when stopped and the other foot is needed to hold the bike up. theoreticaly if your in neutral on a hill u are not in control because u would have to take your foot off the brake to change gear to move off. when u intend to stop you knock it through all the gears to 1st so ur ready to move off again - if it was before 1st you would knock all the way through to neutral and have to change up again to be sure its in 1st. when u stop to park ur in 1st so only one gear away to neutral and when u get back on your only one gear away from 1st
I'v had quite a number of pre. 70s and pre. 60s bikes and they have all had a 1-N-2-3-4 layout and all had 1st at the top and the gear change on the right hand side of the bike. It was't till the mid. 70 when i started to ride Japanese bikes that i found any difference.
Isn't it due to the fact that the selector forks in a gearbox generally sit in the middle of a gear box shaft so neutral had to be positioned where all cogs were disengaged and so it consequentially had to be between first and second or one away from top gear.
BJ, drifts response is the most accurate !!
sequential, for those who ask you, means that for each gear lever movement in the same direction (upwards) the next gear ratio will be selected in sequence. i.e. 2-3-4-5-6 (7)
As opposed to a car, van, truck H style selector, where you 'go through' neutral with each gear change.
As to the 1 down 4 up / 1 up 4 down / left hand gear lever / right hand lever location .. 1975 was the year that standardisation and safety reasons came into play so from then on all or MOST became Left hand gear lever location and down for first gear.
I've ridden bikes with neutral at the bottom, neutral between 1 & 2, 1 up and 4 down, 1 down and 4 up, lever on the left, lever on the right, even kickstart on the left (which is bloody awkward). As Tony says they defined a standard in 75 for safety reasons and manufacturers slowly adopted the standard.
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