^^^^ This. I'll preface this with full disclosure that I am NOT an expert in ANY WAY: I downshift as necessary obviously to deal with decreases in speed, but when coming to a stop light I brake, clutch, downshift while breaking until the bike stops. I keep it in 1st (unless it's a long light) so I can be at the ready for people not paying attention behind me. I fail to see how using the engine/transmission to slow the bike down at every stop sign is good for longterm engine wear.

If I am wrong or doing something wrong.....please let me know. (for real)

 

I always use the engine to slow down and brakes to stop. For those that say it causes excessive wear on the clutch / engine, the clutch on my Wide Glide lasted 150K miles and the bottom end hasn't been touched at 160K.

 

All of these.

 

"Engine braking" won't hurt a thing...people who say you shouldn't do it, never rode a drum brake (front and back) bike.

 

Brakes are cheap compared to gears, synchros and clutches.
I downshift just before coming to a complete stop.

 

The only times that I use "engine braking" is on long declines to help keep my bike at a lower speed and to prevent excess wear on brake pads.

Like most of you, I "downshift" as my speed decreases to stay in an appropriate gear as I need for acceleration. My bike (as many others these days) has ABS, which takes much of the need for thinking out of the hands of the rider and only requires pressure on the brake pedal/lever to function as designed.

I remember back many years ago when an old guy was giving me some tips on driving a truck that had an unsynchronized, dual range transmission and air brakes. His saying has remained with me ever since: "Gears are for pulling and brakes are for stopping".

With an unsynchronized transmission it's imperative that you always have your transmission in gear, and with the engine RPM's matched with the speed of your vehicle, where all modern vehicles with manual transmissions are synchronized and can easily be shifted into most any gear at any speed within reason.

 

And that is the point, isn't it? There was a time when motorcycle brakes weren't very good, and downshifting to engine brake was almost a necessity. Today, with good disc brakes, it's more a matter of matching engine speed to expected road speed when you're able to accelerate.


As for me, I downshift, but mostly for the latter reason. Still, I have no hard and fast rule, it depends on the situation.

 

having abs brakes does not take anything away from the rider. in fact, the only time the abs should even be noticeable is if you have done something wrong. otherwise, you should brake the same as you always have.

 

There's the issue of "We do what we practice."
In that, using engine braking often, buttresses a habit that could cause a problem should an emergency braking situation arise. It may cause a delay in brake application when the chips are down.

Also, there may be increased wear/stress on the primary chain adjustment device. This is why I never "rev" at a redlight. (Well, that, and it heats up the topend even more.)
This may be offset by the lack of wear in the clutch though.
Rev matching has been shown to reduce driveline course over time. (Except for that pesky primary chain adjustment device.)

 

What deadhawg snd Bone Doc said. Didn't read anything after that