GP or standard shift pattern?

[mike_rbm]

You may be right, Dave!  I'll give GP shift another try I guess during my coming trackday at Grattan with STT on July 5th!   ;)

In my experience, I really didn't feel/notice any advantage of GP shift when using it except for the long left sweepers that required a shift in the middle of the corner.  My bike shifts really good, and I have never got a false neutral (true Honda quality).   ;D  I personally like to tap down on the downshift (easier shift than hooking the shifter up as you said) as I personally think precise downshift is more important as corner entry speed and exiting speed is what really makes a bigger difference in lap time (try to get a higher average cornering speed when you mis-shift going into a corner is basically impossible).   ::)

Regarding concentrating on riding...........  Everything you said about how the bike handles, how the bike gets traction, staying on the intended/desireable line, maximizing speed, etc, are riding!   ;)  At least that's what I meant when I said to concentrate on riding.   ;D

I do know exactly what springs I have in my front and rear suspension and all the sag numbers plus all the damping setting.   ;D  I am pretty picky in nature, so I tend to feel every details in how my bike acts when riding.   ::)  

For corners that required extra shifting in the middle of the corner, I too thought about a gearing change so that I wouldn't need to shift in the middle of the corner, but then with a smaller displacement bike (less HP/Torque), there are just compromise that will need to be make in certain tracks with certain layouts.  Changing sprocakets for a different gear ratio for the long sweepers to avoid extra shifting tends to mess up all other gearing in technical area (tighter turns) as I can't stay in the power band in a higher gear or revving the life out of the motor still going too slow in a lower gear (my bike doesn't have a desireable close ratio gearbox).............  I rather compromise for the long sweepers as I tend to make up more time in the technical section overall on a smaller displacement bike!   ;)  

Good info!

I think a lot of racers use it because they think it's going to make them faster, or because they think it's the "thing" to do. It's all preference.

I street shift. So does Kevin Schwantz and a bunch of other pretty fast guys. Why? Because it's their preference.

As mentioned before it's what will do it for you. There are alot of advantages to GP. Upshifting while cranked over in a left hand turn and overall ease. Give it a fair shake. A fair shake would be a full practice day or weekend, not one quick session. Again, I say GP.  ;)