- This topic has 17 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 7 months ago by Andrew.
downshifting a motorcycle
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September 29, 2008 at 2:24 am #12923megaspazParticipant
in regards to #1.
Depending on what brisk means, I’m going to define it as light turning yellow and you can’t make it before it turns red and you’re coming in hot. yes, you could run the soon to be red light, but if you attempt to stop and assuming you’re not leaned, downshift and let out the clutch immediately to use engine braking to aid in stopping power. Lather, rinse, repeat until you’re at slow enough speed to just coast it normally as rab described in #1.
Alot of these suggestions depend greatly on the situation, so again until you can provide specifics on your situation, all these suggestions are just being thrown willy nilly and don’t cover all situations.
Edit: usually downshifting once is enough engine braking to significantly aid in slowing the bike down. I’ve done 2 downshifts one time. I’m usually in 6th gear so I tend to come into those brisk stopping situations quite a bit… but that’s our little secret…
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If there’s anything more important than my ego
around, I want it caught and shot now…September 29, 2008 at 8:34 am #12935smokeizfireParticipantI must really come off as a serious guy. Do I?(rhetorical) I’d like to say that the “J. McCain” post was just a joke. If you read the thread titled, “MSF:Waist of time? Waist of Mone….”.etc you get it, I posted something really nasty I was only trying to “lighten” things up a little with a really dry joke.LOL I attempt to be more specific and detailed before I post so that it may encourage adequate responses. This is why I capitalize certain points because it seems a handful of our BBM brothers get things a little twisted sometimes(including me) Guess you can blame it on that “diverse” stuff you were talking about = ) I do think there is a tad bit of political correctness against nay sayers of the “one size fits all” philosophy. In other words, you really have to be extra careful about what you post, or the BBM police will cite you for offending the status quot.LOL Besides that, I love the information that you can find here. Most of the people are great, and the posts are entertaining. I think certain people(…in general) have a general view of how they want this forum to be. Any opposition will hear the voices of the un-silent majority.LOL
Now back to motorcycling. Today I asked my MSF coach(fMoto mechanic for 25 years he says. Fixes and maintain all the bikes for the school) a few questions on this subject today. Question was…..Not form a safety point of view, but from a general point of view. Is it OK to down shift to neutral, and would this cause significant ware and tear on the motorcycle? To make a long story short, he said it is ok to do it the way I explained in the previous post, all be it unsafe. He also said riding the clutch is a no, no.
On a bi….on my bike, if you are not rolling on the throttle, the bike seems to slow itself down at a faster rate, against the bikes “free” momentum. From my experience I’ve noticed that most cars I’m in traffic with accelerate slower than my bike, whereas, in gear my bike seems to decelerate faster. This means that traffic (cars 90xs out of 100) behind you will have to extend their stopping distance, which may promote cars riding my @ss (hate tailgaters). I believe it is safe to say that motorcycles need more distance to stop safely. I hold in the clutch in …..click….click….1/2click to neutral…..ease out the clutch and roll(like when hitting the emergency cut off engine switch) at a faster momentum…..then apply the brakes(with an s)
Note: If I’m rolling in neutral and the light suddenly turns green, usually I an rolling in a speed of around 2nd or 3rd gear. Clutch in…2nd or third gear…ease the clutch out.I down-shift before turns and corners, and rarely down shift to 1st gear unless I’m coming to a complete stop anticipating the green light enough to not have to stop the bike. 2nd gear on my bike is way smoother(probably on most bikes) for low speed riding. As far as finding neutral. It was truly a b#$tch to find neutral. The bike was brand new, so I had to break it in. I find neutral without looking for the “green light” to come on now.
There is no dispute when a rider prefers one way to another. Whatever feels comfortable to your riding style is what you should perfect. As far as your honda goes, I heard they are pretty tough. The “he who dies…” thing is just an ole’ slogan I got from a T-shirt. K[=*D)
HE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST TOYS WINSSeptember 29, 2008 at 2:17 pm #12942AndrewParticipantI have been using the downshift every approx 2 seconds when I’m coming to a complete stop from a higher gear like 4th. I think I heard it here first. it comes in useful in traffic as I have clicked down to 2nd and been able to roll back on the throttle as the traffic has started moving again.
I have gotten used to having my left hand keep the clutch engaged for long periods at lights since I want to stay in 1st when in traffic. I want to be in gear and not have to find it if something happens behind me.
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