I Enjoy shifting. Even before the pulley swap I used first.
I would be willing to start off in second IF I had a Sixth.
But, I guess I will have to settle for having a Fifth.
Anyone have a shot glass?

I always use first (with one exception). Starting off in second requires excessive clutch slippage and the clutch will wear sooner.

My only exception is a gate drop on an MX track. In that case I will do a WOT whole-shot in second allowing me to not shift, or just shift to third, prior to entering the first turn. On a dead start harescramble I will still use first gear because I use the "kick-n-release" method.

I have an 18" rear wheel, a Kawasaki front pulley (2 teeth more), and a Kawasaki rear pulley (3 teeth less).....and that makes the gearing really tall and I have to start out in 1st.....every time!

ohiomoto wrote on 06/08/17 at 09:56:00:

You're pulling holeshots on the Savage?!

You ought to see it go through the woops section!  

I use first on all motorcycles (except as noted). It's not an optional gear. It's there so the rider can extract maximum performance with minimal wear. I've never ridden a Savage (configured as a Savage) so maybe there's something unique about the gearing that changed on my LS650. But I have owned dozens of motorcycles and all of them had a very useful 1st gear.

I use all the gears and I use the clutch up and down ,I guess I like shifting, I'd hate a bike with an auto trans.

 Hole-Shot

Ain't that when you hit the same hole twice ?

I've got the extra 2 teeth on the front pulley and don't need to shift till I'm about 30mph ... by then the cars have been left back at the light !