Why is neutral between first and second gear on motorcycles?

For practical reasons it is advantageous to have neutral near first gear since you typically use first gear at the lowest speeds and neutral only when the bike is stopped. They put it above first gear instead of below it so that some one can always find first if they keep hitting the shift lever down. That way if you ever need to move the bike quickly you don't have to be shifting up and down looking for first the way it is sometimes necesary to do for neutral. If a truck is about to run into the back of your bike it is very important to be able to be in first gear and accelerating right now, whereas it is almost never important to find neutral so quickly.