Bought tech8 boots now i cant shift

[pyromaniac]

I bought alpinestar tech-8 boots and were very suprised, first thing i noticed when i tried them on the bike for the first time was that i was like standing on the toe, could hardly ride. After trying to soften up the boots and little other things it went better.

However i could still hardly shift up gear. I've tried to understand why and i can see the boots are much bigger in any dimension than my older ones. First problem is that it hardly fits between the shifter and footpeg, it have to be angeled alot down to fit. Then its not as flat where the shifter meet the boot so it wants to slide off. I think a part of solving this problem is modify the shifter about 5cm forward.

So to the questions. Are you supposed to the able to move your foot with the boots on, i mean move it up and down so the toes are closer and futher away from the knee. If so then my boots need go get alot softer, i cant move the foot up or down at all. I can change the angle of the foot by moving the complete boot but then it cant be tight at the top.

I cant figure out how to do if i cant move the foot angle. How do you shift gear(up), do you move your foot under the shifter and lift your foot from the footpegs or can you move your foot up and down as if you were riding in normal shooes?

The bike is a 00rm125

 

[Jeff Gilbert]

After the boots break in they'll be fine. I have Tech 6 and after 8 months they are still a little stiff but I can shift now.
Put on your new boots and stand in a bucket of water for a few minutes and then ride your bike untill they are dry. Another thing I did was mow the yard a few times in mine.

 

[MX-727]

I almost killed myself the first day I rode with my T-8's. The will soften up and you will love them. Keep riding and walking in them.

 

[rickyd]

Pyro,
Years ago i learned too shift by lifting my whole foot.. Hows your breaking going w/the T8's?? I have a hard time using the ball of my foot too break, so sometimes i have too use my heel.. They do break in though..
Hope this helps you out,
Rick

 

[factoryRM]

I spent a whole day walking in my new tech 8 boots. I even wen't to the store with my boots on. By the falowing race on saterday the boots were perfectly soft and I could shift really easy. It would probebly be faster if you just ride them and break them in but I never ride with stiff boots.

 

[john stu]

i too have tech-8's and you should walk around in them in the house (where you nobody can see you lol)for a few days when ever you get the chance this will help a lot and i would raise your shifter to the highest notch that you can run without it hitting the chain (much lol) p.s. after getting used to the tech-8's i will never buy cheap boots again i LOVE mine!!also to keep the boots soft i spray wd-40 on them this also keeps the leather from cracking after cleaning as some cleaners will dry out the leather.i have had mine almost two years and they feel and look a month old (really they do)

 

[pyromaniac]

I had them on in the shower :) and i have had them on for like 5 hours while preparing building my own track, totally soaked. Yeah they did soften alot and they now feel pretty good on the bike however i still have problem shifting but i think i will need to modify the shifter cause its too short. The braking works fine i just hit the brake a few times in the beginning when i didnt want to.

However they are still too still to actually move the angle of the foot by only using the power of my foot, i can move it if i move my leg and use the weight of my body. Well if it can take as long as 8 months then i guiss they should get alot softer over time. I think it will work fine if i just modify the shifter. Its size 12(47 euro) so they are pretty big i guiss the bike is make for 6 or what the japanese people have :)

 

[john stu]

now that i think of it i raise my foot sometimes to shift

 

[toalco-kdx]

today was my first day riding in my tech 6s . last night i stood in hot water with them and they loosened up alot while i wore them around. i would recomend that to someone with new boots. i still have to move my whole leg to shift though and i need take my whole foot off to brake but that didnt bother me as much as i thought it would. another thing was that i couldnt really tell where my foot was on the peg so i kept worrying my foot was going to slide off. but im glad i got the a stars cuz they were really comfortable the whole ride.

 

[hlinar]

UMMmmmmm, I guess raising the shift lever 1 spline is too easy a fix?

 

[mudwalker]

hlinar beat me to it, thats what I had to do.

 

[Zerotact]

I tried moving mine up on my KDX and there wasn't enough clearance.........

 

[pyromaniac]

I have moved the shifter up as much as possuble and it was a bitch, very stupid made on the rm. However i have walked around with the boots quite a bit and they are getting softer and im able to shift pretty good. I still think making the shifter 5cm longer will help alot.

 

[hotrodvw]

I used glove oil (Baseball/Softball) on the leather on my Tech 6's, and sat in the house on the couch while wearing them watching tv. I think the natural body heat helps some, but by far, walking in them and the glove oil helps a ton. Mine were pretty darn good w/ in 4-5 rides. Eric