I kinda liked the gear pattern on the the old Kawasaki triples (and others) with neutral at the bottom. Never had a problem missing 2nd gear. You just had to be mindfull not to drop down one to many when coming into a corner. I had a 70' Kaw 175 on/off road bike with the all up pattern. On the neutral switch it had another position that corresponded to first gear. Even had a wire connected to it. But it didn't go to anything, like they were about to add a first gear light then changed their mind. That would have been a good idea. I eventually added three more positions (4 speed trans) and connected them to a bank of numbered lights from an 8 track player that mounted nicely between the speedo and the handle bars. The first gear position indicator ? My first million at 14 years old ? Hell no, I'm still a broke *****ole man