Motocross Boots? How to upshift?

[Magician16]

I bought a set of motocross boots the other day, my first pair ever. The reason I bought them was because I bruised the hell out of my shins riding off road before the purchase. Well, now that I've got them. I can't figure out how to upshift. The shifter would need to be moved up a couple of inches, which is simple on Jap bikes. How can I do that on my Magician?


The only way I could upshift was to look down to make sure the boot was below the shifter and yank the whole leg up. Maybe after the boots are broke in more, it will be easier, but it would sure be nice to raise the lever.

[franque]

It's the same as any Japanese bike, take out the shifter bolt (you might need to remove the countershaft sprocket cover to do this), remove the shifter, and the rotate as needed on the splines to get the necessary position. It's possible that the shift lever might need to be bent, too, to get the correct position without hitting the side cases, but that's pretty much par for the course, just make sure that you heat the shifter before bending it.

[TxTaoRider]

Allot of mx boots are really stiff (particularly the less expensive ones) and they work better if you break them in. I have a pair that just wouldn't bend enough to shift well on my quad. I had a race coming up so I wore them at work and and around the house for several days, and at night I'd bend them. By the time the race came up they worked fine.

[Magician16]

Originally Posted by franque

It's the same as any Japanese bike, take out the shifter bolt (you might need to remove the countershaft sprocket cover to do this), remove the shifter, and the rotate as needed on the splines to get the necessary position. It's possible that the shift lever might need to be bent, too, to get the correct position without hitting the side cases, but that's pretty much par for the course, just make sure that you heat the shifter before bending it.

This doesn't work on the Magician. It has to be adjusted with linkage.

[Magician16]

Originally Posted by TxTaoRider

Allot of mx boots are really stiff (particularly the less expensive ones) and they work better if you break them in. I have a pair that just wouldn't bend enough to shift well on my quad. I had a race coming up so I wore them at work and and around the house for several days, and at night I'd bend them. By the time the race came up they worked fine.

I've been breaking them in for a couple days. Hopefully it doesn't take much longer.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by Magician16

This doesn't work on the Magician. It has to be adjusted with linkage.

It does work the same way even if you have linkage. I had to do this on my X22R. Remove the bolt and rotate it one notch. Promise you it will work.

[Skyd]

Interesting you posted this because I just got my first pair ever after riding for 25 years. I should have done it waaaay sooner. Anyway I had the same issue and realized I had developed a bad habit of riding with my toes down and shifting.

I did indeed move my shifter up 1 notch, and I've also noticed as my boots break in and I get more used to them it's becoming more natural.

I'm not familar with the magician though, I have the hawk.

One thing I noted was I used to shift by really getting under the shift lever so that it was across the top of my foot. With my boots on, and mine even have a little rubber section for shifting (Oneal Sierra Pro) I find I'm really only getting the end of the shifter with my boot....I'm not sure if that makes sense but once I started doing that it became MUCH easier...still need to break old habits though.

[Magician16]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

It does work the same way even if you have linkage. I had to do this on my X22R. Remove the bolt and rotate it one notch. Promise you it will work.

I had already taken it loose and moved it a notch, but that only made it slightly higher than the peg. I tried moving it another notch, but then the linkage allowed the shifter lever to go straight up when upshifting, so I had to move it back.

[Megadan]

If the linkage has no adjustment to it you could make your own with rod ends, jam nuts, threaded rod, and a hexagonal linkage adjuster. It would just take a bit of time to find all the right parts to mix and match to make it work, but it is easily doable.

[Magician16]

Originally Posted by Megadan

If the linkage has no adjustment to it you could make your own with rod ends, jam nuts, threaded rod, and a hexagonal linkage adjuster. It would just take a bit of time to find all the right parts to mix and match to make it work, but it is easily doable.

Yeah, I was thinking about doing that. I'm going to work on the flex on the boots for awhile first.

[dirtbkr188]

A little tip I learned years ago was to put on an old pair of socks and the new boots, then wade into a pool or stream to get them soaking wet. Wear them for a while so they "conform" to your feet, and let them dry for 24 hours. Repeat if necessary, I had to do it two times once.

[Skyd]

Originally Posted by dirtbkr188

A little tip I learned years ago was to put on an old pair of socks and the new boots, then wade into a pool or stream to get them soaking wet. Wear them for a while so they "conform" to your feet, and let them dry for 24 hours. Repeat if necessary, I had to do it two times once.

I rode mine in the rain the other day, not as effective but more fun ;-)

[ExMxer]

Originally Posted by Magician16

I've been breaking them in for a couple days. Hopefully it doesn't take much longer.

Wear the shit outta them for a spell. Mow your yard in them, walk the dog, anywhere around home you would wear your fav comfy shoes. The more they move, the quicker they get loose.

[Magician16]

They're getting better. I went on a short ride, just now and I could shift all the way through the gears. Not as easy as with my old hikers, but they're loosening up.


By the way, I haven't been wearing them much because the right one rubs against one of my bruises I got before I got these boots, deep bone bruise on the shin.

[Magician16]