[kenrbass]

I sold the Yamy royal star and bought another wing (my 4th) The yamaha just vibrated a little to much.

Question:
The 1800 seems like first gear is a granny gear. I find myself wanting to take off in second and was wondering how common this is?

 

[Buzzy]

I sold the Yamy royal star and bought another wing (my 4th) The yamaha just vibrated a little to much.

Question:
The 1800 seems like first gear is a granny gear. I find myself wanting to take off in second and was wondering how common this is?

Pretty common I say or at least for me it is. I am 6'1" and around 260# and when riding solo, I often start out in second. Especially if I am at a light and making an immediate left turn. Nothing like trying to grab second thru a long spirited sweeping left hand turn while your toes are scraping the ground.
I know a member on another board (DJfire) who rides competition low speed maneuvers. He does most of his low speed maneuvers in 3rd gear and we are talking walking speed while in 3rd.
The GL1800 has plenty of low end torque and while it may not "sound right" when taking off in second, it is perfectly safe for the bike so long as you are not climbing a hill or maxed out with 2 up and gear. Then you run the risk of lugging down the engine and excessive clutch wear.

 

[budoka]

Talk to anyone that has done a lot of bike rodeo competitions. Most seasoned skills vets will use second gear for many of the events especially 'slow races' and the like. If you go to most any "lakeside" brand gathering, you'll see (and hear) lots of twisting throttles and reving v-twins while the handlebars are swinging wildly back and forth as the riders try to maintain balance and control. Usually quite ineffectually I might ad. The use of second gear and then the front brake is one of the most effective ways of maintaining smooth and wobble free steering control at mega slow speeds, it's amazing how slow a Wing will travel like that. Incidentally, it also works real well for a certain big twin powered bike, but like anything takes some practice to get the feel for it.

 

[Two Wheel Wing]

I usually use all gears, but you can certainly start out in 2nd if you want. Like others have said, the engine is certainly powerful enough to handle it. You just don't want to slip the clutch too much.