Here we are in 2025, and a lot
has changed I'm sure in QS tech.
-What is the best today (air shift?) and why is it so much
better than the affordable models.
-Are the upshift-only models seamless for our ZX14R's
-Do we need to ECU flash first, or mention it when
getting ECU flashed...
-What are the easiest to install, most difficult.
-Smoothest
-Most reliable

The only one I've ever used is the HM Plus. I got it ten years ago. 65 mls kill time was recommended for a sport bike with slick gear box. Apparently the 14's gear box wasn't slick enough. 90 mls was reliable but I can shift with the clutch that fast.

I would try a reputable electric shifter like Pingle. Maybe an air shifter but most seem to be favoring electric. The problem with foot shifters is the series of mechanical interactions between the shift pedal and the shift star inside the clutch cover (and there's more after that). The 14 has a big motor. You can shift fast but you're taking some risks if you want to shift ultra fast under a lot of load. The parts just don't line up, the shift is missed, the engine hits the rev limiter and you coast along not in any gear while the engine settles to idle. The worst thing to do is to try to shift down and start afresh. I banged my transmission so hard just a couple times doing that. It caused damage. Use the clutch and shift up if you miss a gear. After chipping my gear dogs about twice, clutch shifting wasn't a problem but it was impossible to trust the quickshifter. I once shifted from 2nd to 3rd at WOT and high rpm and the shift just didn't make it all the way. The rpm screamed to 11,000 and the gearbox slammed back to 2nd gear. The bike stood straight up and I was doing about 80 mph.

I like the feel of a foot quick shifter. It's not worth damaging your transmission though. The Gen3 Hayabusa has a bi-directional quickshifter I'm anxious to try. There's another thing I've mentioned that's superior about the Hayabusa, the gearbox is a lot smoother.

For the 14, I'd do the research and look for an electronic/mechanical shifter. Footquickshifters are for road racing but you need something more reliable for the ZX-14. The foot quickshifters are fun though. Just be aware, you can fuck some things up if you use them and it goes bad. Get other testimonies but thats mine.

So If I miss a shift for whatever reason and get a
false neutral, I best shift up, never down
to get out of it?
I think I've read that
before; ''DON'T DOWNSHIT to get out of a false neutral''.

Yes.

Cool,
I'll cool my jets on quick shifters
for now, I don't want too much damage
exposure.

If you get a foot quickshifter, you'll need to use rearsets too. HM makes a quickshifter foot pedal that bolts on just like the OEM shift pedal. It's possible that one will work better than the HM Plus that requires rearsets and two extra mechanical pivot points before applying force to the shift shaft.

Some owners do clutchless upshifts just by backing off the throttle and say it works just as good as a quickshifter.

HM has an up and down quickshifter. It does an auto-blip for clutchless downshifts. I'd love to try it. It's just my previous experience with this product didn't meet my expectations when really put to the test. There are other foot shifters with more settings that might make them more useful for all-out race shifting. You can set the HM to 80 or 90 mls kill time and it works on the 14 but since you leave the throttle open, you feel a pretty good jerk as the next gear engages.

I'm sure I'll be looking into quickshifters again in the future. The HM has only two settings, kill time and sensitivity. Kill time is how long the ignition is cut to make the shift, sensitivity is how easily the switch is activated by pressure on the gear shift pedal. I think it was the Power Commander quickshifter utility that had kill time and some other parameter where milliseconds could be chosen to keep the ignition active while the mechanical parts moved...or maybe that was an MSD product I was enquiring about. I'll be looking into this stuff again. For a straightline machine, I'd go straight to an electric shifter and probably auto shift.

Ok, thanks.
I think that pretty much settles if for me,
definitely for now, no quick shifters in
the foreseeable future, I would want 'incredible'
quick, and perfect up and downshifts all the time
or pass.
I'm doing a lot more clutchless upshits now
than using the clutch, and figure on
continuing that path.
However, I'm downshifting using the clutch,
I don't think I'll ever get the hang of
good clutchless downshits.

For a straightline machine, I'd go straight to an electric shifter and probably auto shift.