HM Quickshifter Plus: First thoughts

On any modern superbike an aftermarket quickshifter is an easily justifiable expense, why you may ask? Because they’re friggin awesome! And the HM quickshifter ‘Plus’ is no exception, even performing better than many factory fitted quickshifters that I’ve experienced.

Recently I invested in a 08 Fireblade, which is a cracker of a bike, but it was missing something. And that something was the sweet, satisfying, semi-perverse effectiveness of a quickshifter on gear change. So I gave HM a call to test out their Quickshifter ‘Plus’, and boy am I glad I did because the unit transformed my bike and riding experience. 

The ‘Plus’ model sits in the middle of the HM range next to the ‘GP’ (most expensive) and the ‘Lite’ (cheapest). All of them do the same job, the lite just has the least features. 

The ‘Plus’ retails at around £340 and some of its key features include: 

• Plug and Play

• No moving parts

• Small LCD Display 

• No tuning needed

• Programmable Kill Time and Sensitivity

• Programmable Shift Direction

• Full 1 Years warranty and HM Technical Support

Fitment

HM say that if you can comfortably change spark plugs then you can fit this unit, and I’d agree with this to an extent. If you have an 08 Blade be prepared to lose your cool a few times, not the quick shifters fault I might add, probably just my shitty mechanical skills connecting the supplied loom to my well-concealed sparkplugs… Then again, good things take time. 

The QS kit is pretty idiot proof and within the box you’ll get: 

1 x HM Plus

1 x Loom for your chosen Motorcycle (fits to spark plugs)

3 x Right hand grub screws

3 x Right hand locking nuts

1 x HM Plus Quick Start Guide

and Various sized HM Quickshifter stickers (cause everyone loves stickers)

The eagle-eyed readers will note that you don’t get a shifter rod in the kit, but if you ask HM they’ll sort the right one, as you need a shorter rod to account for the 50mm length the QS unit. 

Besides setting up the loom to the spark plugs the rest of the install was simple, all that's left is to thread the rest of the loom through the bike and replace the existing shift rod with a shorter one and the HM unit; being sure to mark what height your original shift lever was at, so it’s in the same angle as before. 

Set up

With the ‘Plus’ and ‘GP’ quickshifters you get a handy LCD screen that allows adjustment of the shift pattern direction (compression or extension); sensitivity (how much force required on the lever to cut ignition), and kill time/length of ignition retard in milliseconds. 

Despite me childish levels of excitement, I’d recommend quick paddock stand test run to make sure everything is working as it should, and once clarified you can start adjusting the unit. 

With the LCD screen and back button, the ‘Plus’ is like a Casio watch to set up. And set up is dependant on what RPM’s you change gear at. For example, if you like to short shift then reducing the sensitivity and increasing kill time should help. Either way, I found it pretty sweet right out of the box after slightly adjusting sensitivity to 75% with the unit working perfectly from around 3.5k RPM right up to the redline - which is bloody impressive! 

With the base setting dialed in, I’ve been testing it out for around two months on the road and here are my thoughts.

Initial thoughts

HM you tech wizards, I salute you. 

I’ve ridden bikes with factory quick shifters that don’t feel anywhere near as satisfying as the ‘Plus’ unit, so if you’re thinking of upgrading from a stock quickshifter it’s deffo worthwhile.  

Seamless is the first adjective that springs to mind, as there are no dramas using the strain gauge activated unit, it just works each and every time. And the fact you can adjust the sensitivity and kill time separately is mega functional, especially if you ride on-road and on track which require vastly different settings.

The track is where this unit would really come into its own and be most practical (track test coming soon). On the road I would say the unit is almost too effective because it goads you to keep chomping through gears seeking the next satisfying seamless blip, which on a litre bike is very naughty. But oh so good.

Swift is the second adjective; not only are the shift el rapido but my riding style has also become more fluid, as the unit reduces the thought required to upshift allowing one to focus more on flow and corner assessment. 

If you can’t already tell, I'm a big fan, even repping one of the HM stickers on my bike to let other quickshifter enthusiasts know what the dealio is... Lame or cool? You decide.

To sum up, If you fancy upgrading the rideability and performance of your motorcycle then look no further. Believe me you won’t be disappointed. 

Find out more: https://hmquickshifter.com/