- This topic has 21 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 15 years ago by Jay T.
Downshifting prior to turns
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March 28, 2009 at 7:48 am #17370megaspazParticipant
Just be nit picky, the best line isn’t necessarily the one where you roll on the throttle at the start of the turn… it’s the line that lets you roll on the throttle as soon as possible. Used with other techniques like trail braking, it could even mean starting to roll on the throttle at the apex of the turn. Then again, trail braking and lines are more past a beginner level, but you can’t learn if you don’t do. The point is, there are very few absolute rules in motorcycling; Depends on the situation.
March 29, 2009 at 12:01 am #17386MunchParticipantMe personally I slow about 5 or less mph then what I look to exit the turn at before diving into it. That away I can get the gearing correct before entering and know I have enough left to throttle out. Not to mention it lets the cager behind me back off a bit to let me roll through more relaxed.
March 29, 2009 at 6:05 pm #17406SantaCruzRiderParticipantI like to take turns with the bike inside a bit higher powerband as I feel I then have more control. I enter turns fairly conservatively, but those few times I’ve come in a bit too hot, the answer has always been more lean and a tad more throttle to keep the bike tight and tracking the needed radius. The worst situations (for me) have been when I was a bit hot and in too high a gear. Then the bike gets vague, wallows when I increase the lean and just generally feels too loose.
As for engine wear, I’m not screaming the engine when I shift, so I feel it’s a non-issue. Barring blatant abuse, I figure most metric bikes outlast their owners’ interest anyway. Ride it the way you like it, do the maintenance, rinse, repeat… LOLMarch 29, 2009 at 9:19 pm #17412Jay TParticipantYou want to make sure that you are going slow enough to be able to roll on the throttle slightly or keep the throttle steady as you take the turn. You want to be in a low enough gear so that the motorcycle doesn’t bog as you straighten the motorcycle and get along your way (after the turn).
March 30, 2009 at 12:40 am #17417japac1ParticipantThanks for the responses, as usual. I’ve been riding considerably more and practicing these turns as much as possible. I still find that as I am approaching a left hand turn (not as much with right hand turns) I am braking and clicking down the gears (not engine braking, yet…ok maybe every once in a while) but find when I am ready to lean into the turn, I feel too fast (I don’t think I am though) and usually wind up in the friction zone during the turn. I know that’s wrong…I need to brake harder and considerably slow down more prior to the turn.
Another item I need to practice is when I am clicking (or downshifting) I once thought I was now in 2nd, only to be in 1st and really revved the engine. I hope it doesn’t take long to get familiar with what gear I am in.
March 30, 2009 at 3:21 am #17420MunchParticipantPractice taking a quick glance at your shift speed going up the gears. That will help you judge in the down shifts. Your brain has a way of figuring visual acuity and giving you that “feel”. I don’t know about your particular bike but I know on my V900 it has a very distinctive clunk when I drop down into first, especially at “faster then I need to be” for that gear.
March 30, 2009 at 11:21 am #17421Jay TParticipantYou probably are going to fast. You may want to let the clutch out between gears. Brake sooner. If you feel like you are entering the turn too fast, you probably are. Brake sooner and more gradual. You should be able to roll on the throttle through the turn. Get your self into a parking lot with some green tennis balls cut in 1/2 (as cones). Go to the range where you trained. There are 4 left hand corners painted there, if you ride counter clockwise.
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