A vehicle comprising: a frame; at least two wheels connected to the frame; a straddle seat disposed on the frame; a handlebar disposed at least in part forwardly of the seat and operatively connected to at least one of the at least two wheels for steering the at least one of the at least two wheels, the handlebar having a first handle at a first end thereof and a second handle at a second end thereof, the first handle having a longitudinal centerline; an engine disposed on the frame; a semi-automatic transmission operatively connected to the engine and at least one of the at least two wheels for transmitting power from the engine to the at least one of the at least two wheels; a housing disposed adjacent the first handle, the housing having a lower surface, and the housing having a handle side facing towards the first handle; and a shift lever pivotally connected to the housing about a shift lever axis, the shift lever axis being perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the first handle, at least a portion of the shift lever extending away from the handle side of the housing towards an end of the first handle and being disposed at least in part vertically below the first handle, the shift lever having a rear surface facing towards the rear of the vehicle and a front surface facing towards the front of the vehicle, the shift lever being movable to an up-shift position by pressing one of the front surface and the rear surface, the shift lever being movable to a down-shift position by pressing a remaining one of the front surface and the rear surface, the shift lever being biased towards a rest position intermediate the up-shift and down-shift positions, and the shift lever being operatively connected to the semi-automatic transmission such that moving the shift lever to the up-shift position causes the semi-automatic transmission to shift up and moving the shift lever to the down-shift position causes the semi-automatic transmission to shift down, the vehicle being characterized in that: at least a portion of the rear surface extending vertically above the lower surface of the housing, the rear surface being at a first distance from the longitudinal centerline, the front surface being at a second distance from the longitudinal centerline, the second distance being greater than the first distance, the first and second distances being measured perpendicularly to a vertically extending plane containing the longitudinal centerline, the first and second distances being measured from a common point on the vertically extending plane. a frame; at least two wheels connected to the frame; a straddle seat disposed on the frame; a handlebar disposed at least in part forwardly of the seat and operatively connected to at least one of the at least two wheels for steering the at least one of the at least two wheels, the handlebar having a first handle at a first end thereof and a second handle at a second end thereof, the first handle having a longitudinal centerline; an engine disposed on the frame; a semi-automatic transmission operatively connected to the engine and at least one of the at least two wheels for transmitting power from the engine to the at least one of the at least two wheels; a housing disposed adjacent the first handle, the housing having a lower surface, and the housing having a handle side facing towards the first handle; and a shift lever pivotally connected to the housing about a shift lever axis, the shift lever axis being perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the first handle, at least a portion of the shift lever extending away from the handle side of the housing towards an end of the first handle and being disposed at least in part vertically below the first handle, the shift lever having a rear surface facing towards the rear of the vehicle and a front surface facing towards the front of the vehicle, the shift lever being movable to an up-shift position by pressing one of the front surface and the rear surface, the shift lever being movable to a down-shift position by pressing a remaining one of the front surface and the rear surface, the shift lever being biased towards a rest position intermediate the up-shift and down-shift positions, and the shift lever being operatively connected to the semi-automatic transmission such that moving the shift lever to the up-shift position causes the semi-automatic transmission to shift up and moving the shift lever to the down-shift position causes the semi-automatic transmission to shift down, at least a portion of the rear surface extending vertically above the lower surface of the housing, the rear surface being at a first distance from the longitudinal centerline, the front surface being at a second distance from the longitudinal centerline, the second distance being greater than the first distance, the first and second distances being measured perpendicularly to a vertically extending plane containing the longitudinal centerline, the first and second distances being measured from a common point on the vertically extending plane.