How Do Motorcycle Quickshifters Work? (Expert Explanation)

Quickshifter can be found on many motorcycles nowadays and not only on racing bikes. You can find them on street motorcycles, cruisers, or tourers, but there are some differences between these quickshifters, and each type of motorcycle has a slightly different quickshifter.

That is why in this article, we will show you how quickshifters work, and everything that you may want to learn about them will be written in this article.

So how do motorcycle quickshifters work? A sensor placed in the shift linkage detects when the rider moves the shifter and signals the motorcycle’s ECU to disconnect the spark. This is where the shifter cuts the power for milliseconds, and the gear is shifted without the need for a clutch or throttle blip.

This is the shortest possible explanation. For more details, stay with us.

How Do Motorcycle Quickshifter Work?

Standard factory-built quickshifter on most bikes have a switch inline with the rode, linking the gearbox with the gear lever. When a rider pushes the lever up, it shifts to the upper gear, while when the rider shifts the lever down, it shifts to the lower gear. It is the opposite on some race motorcycles, which means pushing the lever downshift to upper gear while shifting the lever upshifts to lower gear.

When shifting your gear, there is a switch being pressed, and spring puts weight to that switch. After the switch is pressed and the contact is established, the force that is applied to the lever is shifted to move the selector that is located inside your motorcycle gearbox.

Quickshifter is a simple design that relies on a rider and a positive shift he made.

The time during gear shifting (although it is calculated in milliseconds) is the time when your rear wheel is not powered. This time is crucial on race tracks, and it is vital not to lose precious time while shifting gears. That’s why the quickshifter is so powerful and vital.

There are two varieties of quickshifters. Quickshifter that assists only on upshifts and another one that assists on upshifts and downshifts.

The first one that we will cover is upshift because it can be found in both motorcycle quickshifter types.

But before we dive into the quickshifter and its mechanism, let’s explain to you first what happens at every gear change from a mechanical aspect. The reason we need to explain that to you is to understand the quickshifter mechanism better.

“Normal” bikes without quickshifter have a set of rules to be followed when shifting gear. The first thing a rider needs to do is close the throttle and press the clutch lever after that. The rider disengages the power from the rear wheel by pressing the clutch lever and can now shift the gear up or down, depending on his needs.

If you want to learn How to Fix Motorcycle Gear Shifter, click on this link.

At this point, the engine revs get lower, and there is no more power in the transmission, and the gears get unloaded and allow the shift dogs to let the gear so it can be shifted. Once the gear is released and the rider shift to the desired gear, he releases the clutch lever, and the power is again transferred to the rear wheel, and the rider applies the throttle again.

Now let’s dive into a quickshifter that helps you on the upshifts. It instantly takes away the throttle motion needed by cutting fuel or spark to your engine.

Spark cut is the best way to lower the engine power. Carbureted bikes have a method of cutting the spark because fuel cutting is not so practical in carbureted engines. On the other hand, cutting fuel is the method more preferred for many reasons. Most of these reasons are related to a negative impact it can have by sending unburned fuel leftover through your engine and catalytic converter.

A transducer mounted on the shifter or linkage is responsible for the interruption timing. The transducer feels a pressure change on the linkage or shifter, and it starts to interrupt the power for the gear shift.

Now let’s get to the quickshifter that can perform downshifts as well. Their structure is a little bit different. This quickshifter is also called autoblippers, and here is why. When a rider downshifts, the engine revs need to rise and not fall. What happens is that instead of lowering your engine power, the engine speed gets raised.

At this moment, the engine is blipped as many riders do that instinctively when they downshift, and they do that to smooth the gear engagement and coordinate the drive and driven plates speed in the clutch.

What Are The Benefits Of A Quickshifter?

It may seem that clutchless upshifting may only take a few milliseconds, but these milliseconds can add up during the whole motorcycle race, and in the end, it can be the difference between the first and second place.

A quickshifter makes upshifting fast and uninterrupted, allowing the rider to shift in corners without interruptions. Quickshifters also let the rider free up some concentration and attention because instead of performing two simultaneous moves (pressing the clutch lever with your hand and with shifter with your foot), you only need to do one, and that is shifting the lever with your foot.

The Drawbacks Of Using A Quickshifter

There are many different types of riders, and every rider has his own preferences. This means that some like quickshifter while others don’t. Some say that quickshifter is for lazy riders, while others say it is a helpful motorcycle device.

The only “problem” that a quickshifter can present for some riders is that there is a possibility that a rider will lose his throttle and clutch feel, and once he rides a motorcycle without a quickshifter, it may happen that he won’t shift as well as he used to.

The smoothness of shifting sometimes depends on the engine speed when we talk about clutchless shifting. Some motorcycle engines don’t do well at lower RPMs when quick shifting.

There are many aftermarket kits like Bazzaz Quick Shift and Dynojet Quick Shifter that allow you to adjust your motorcycle ignition cut time and the sensor sensitivity, enabling you to tone in the best possible performance for your bike and your style of ride.

What About Downshifting And Auto-Blippers?

Auto blip enables you to downshift without the need to use the clutch. You can find it on some bikes, but you can buy aftermarket kits. The only thing the motorcycle needs to have is a ride-by-wire throttle, allowing the system to electronically auto-blip the throttle plates. So if you think about auto-blip downshifting, it is a bit advanced electronic technology compared to only upshifting quickshifter.

Auto-blip is really fun stuff to have, and if you ever have it, you will most likely enjoy it.

What Motorcycle Had the First Quickshifter?

One of the first motorcycles that had factory-installed quickshifters was BMW HP2 Sport. A year later, BMW started manufacturing BMW K 1300s back in 2010. First, it was a little clunky, and it was called Gear Shift Assist, but it did its job.

Comparing the time delay between cutting the ignition and engaging, it was a lot bigger in comparison to the quickshifter used in modern motorcycles.

Although BMW has never said that it was a quickshifter like it is nowadays, they specifically said it was Shift Assist.

If you want to learn How to Fix a Motorcycle Clutch, click on this link.

Motorcycles with Quickshifter

Quickshifter have been part of modern motorcycles for years, and they are popular not only in racing and tracks but also in regular everyday rides.

If you have ever watched a motorcycles on race tracks race with motorcycles that have quickshifters, you could have noticed the difference the quickshifter makes.

Here is a List of Motorcycles that Have Quickshifters Installed as Standard Equipment:

Motorcycle Autoblipper Demonstration

Here is a demonstration of an auto-blipper on a Yamaha YZF-R1:

Demonstration of autoblipper on a Yamaha YZF R-1

Motorcycle Quickshifter Demonstration

Here is a demonstration of a quickshifter on a Kawasaki ZX-10R:

Demonstration of quickshifter on a Kawasaki ZX-10R

Quickshifter Strengths and Weaknesses

Although a quickshifter is friendly and handy motorcycle equipment, it has its pros and cons, and it is not for everyone. Here are the Pros and Cons of a quickshifter:

Pros

Reduction of gearbox wear
Smooth and faster gear shifting

Faster lap time
The rider can focus more on riding

Cons

Some manual action is removed, which some riders like
They are an electronic component of your bike that can malfunction
They raise bikes price

The first quickshifter can feel numb or spongy

Good for

Riders who don’t like clutch shifting

Racing

Not so good for

Commuters

Low rev or low-speed gear shifts
Single-cylinder motorcycles since vibrations can mess their quickshifter

Can a Quickshifter Do Any Damage to the Gearbox?

A quickshifter shouldn’t do any damage to your gearbox; at least, I have never heard of that kind of situation, and I am talking about factory-fitted quickshifters. If a motorcycle has a factory quickshifter, there is a small chance of it causing any problem to your engine or gearbox.

If you want to learn How Does a Motorcycle Transmission Work, click on this link.

There is a possibility that aftermarket quickshifter can cause damage to your motorcycle and harm your gearbox or engine, and that is because they can be installed in the wrong way or a wrong quickshifter kit is integrated into your bike.

I have never witnessed any of these aftermarket quickshifters problems myself, and it all depends on many different factors such as:

Quickshifter brand

Proper installation of quickshifter
Motorcycle type
Rider type and his riding style

Quality quickshifter companies like Dynojet, HM Racing, and Bazzaz manufacture quality quickshifters that have proven that they won’t damage your bike.

Best Motorcycle Quickshifters

You can find many different quickshifter manufacturers on the market, and the technology that is used on OEM motorcycle equipment is coming side to side with many aftermarket brands.

It is almost impossible to choose the best motorcycle quickshifter since there are practically no differences between the best brands in the market.

But here are some of the best companies that produce quickshifters:

Bazzaz

This is an American company that started back in 2003 and is specialized in motorcycle engine management. They are known in AMA (American Superbike series).

These companies manufacture many electronic motorcycle parts, from fuel controllers (identical to a Power Commander) to traction control systems. They produce Z-Bomb, a device responsible for eliminating the built inn electronic governors programmed to some bikes.

The price of their quickshifter is around 450$.

HM Quickshifter

This is a UK company that is specialized in motorcycle quickshifters, but not only that, they also produce pit boards, lap timers, and dashboards.

All highest-level motorcycle racing contests use their products from MotoGP to World SBK, BSB, and they are also used on the Road Racing scene.

Tom Sykes uses HM’s Quickshifter on his BMW S1000 RR 2020 in World SBK racing.

Dynojet

Although they sell quickshifters, they are primarily famous for their Dynos and Power Commanders.

Translogic

Translogic is another company that produces high-quality quickshifters that are used in motorcycle racing championships like top-tier ones MotoGP, World Endurance, British Superbike.

Their systems have adjustable parameters and are designed to be plug and play. They have two different products, the Intellishift and QSX Quickshifter.

The Intellshift has the iS4-ECU technology, and they claim it is the same shifting technology that is used in MotoGP.

Translogic claims that they have tested their shifter to more than 1 million gearshifts which is a pretty significant number.

If you want to learn How Does a Motorcycle Clutch Work, click on this link.

FAQ

Why Is My Quickshifter Spongy?

Older factory fit quickshifters are not such advanced technology, and because of that, they cut motorcycle ignition for a longer time, making the gap between gear shifts and the system seem like a long time. This can lead to a numb feeling of gear shifting.

Are Quickshifters Only Good for Racing Motorcycles?

Nowadays, you can find quickshifters from adventure to tourers motorcycles which means that quickshifters are not reserved only for sport and racing bikes.

Can You Install a Quickshifter on Any Motorcycle?

Theoretically, you can do it, but I don’t think that a quickshifter is needed on bikes like Harley-Davidson and similar cruisers. You just need to know that a downshifter is limited on bikes that have integrated a Ride-By-Wire system throttle.

Can You Have a Push-Button Gearshifter on a Motorcycle?

You can find automatic motorcycles manufacturers by Honda since it has these buttons on its left-hand switchgear, enabling you to shift gears by pushing the button.

Are Quickshifters Worth to Have?

The answer to this question depends on your needs and riding style. If you race and you want to have a faster lap time, then a quickshifter will be an excellent investment. On the other hand, if you ride during the city and don’t care about shifting speed, then there is really no need for a quickshifter.

Riders who like sport riding style will undoubtedly enjoy riding with quickshifter even if they don’t go on race tracks.

Final Thoughts

Quickshifter is an exciting motorcycle part, and although it can be pretty expensive, it will give you a lot of fun moments. I don’t have a quickshifter on my Kawasaki Z750 from 2004, but I have ridden some motorcycle as BMW S1000RR, which has a quickshifter, and all I can say is it is a pretty good damn thing, and I enjoyed it very much.

You need to determine by yourself what you like, want, and what your riding style is. Use all of these elements and then decide if you’re going to get a motorcycle with a quickshifter, install a quickshifter on your bike, or you enjoy a bike without a quickshifter.