Question about motorbike gearchanging

[HandyAndy]

hope this helps.....

most modern jap bikes have the 1 down 5 up set up, as in 1 click downwards to select first gear then 5 upward movements of the lever to go thru all gears,
yes, it is better for selecting the gear if the engine is running, tho first gear can be achieved whilst engine not running.

the lever actually is spring loaded so that each time a gear is selected the lever returns to its original position, so in fact the lever only moves within a very small down or upwards arc, also the gearbox is sequential & most modern bikes will happily accept clutcless up changes but needs a blip on the throttle & clutch for down changes ie... going from 6th to 5th.
tho this can be altered if a quickshifter is built into the system, (expensive).

i,m an ex semi pro bike racer, so hope my experience helps.
happy to help if i can.

cheers
andy