Gearing Down or Not?
Road Captain
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 624
Likes: 1
From: South of the tunnel Lancaster Co. PA.
As mentioned b4, down shifting helps save wear on breaks and keeps you in more control of the bike. Matching rpms w/ road speed gives you even more control as well as minimizing unnecessary wear on the bike. It is illegal for a commercial vehicle to free wheel, (put the clutch in or put in neutral when coming to a stop). The reason? They want commercial drivers to maintain control of their vehicle.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,616
Likes: 4,440
From: anacoco, la
some of y'all must be really slow when downshifting if you have to blip the throttle to bring your rpms back up..... i go through this every day (as i suspect a lot of you do too). i ride in a 65 zone for 12 miles or so, which then goes down to 45. i'll cruise along in 6th (about 70) until i'm coming up on the reduced speed zone. when i let off the throttle, and pull in the clutch, i'm taking all forward power away from the wheels, which means that the bike is gonna slow down, i shift into 5th, let out the clutch, and it's a smooth transition at about 60 mph, downshift again into 4th, let out the clutch, again, smooth transition, and lock the cruise at 49 or 50....
blipping your throttle seems to me to only serve to stroke the rider's ego, 'hey look at me....'
blipping your throttle seems to me to only serve to stroke the rider's ego, 'hey look at me....'
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,673
Likes: 16
From: Norfolk, VA
I give up, you guys win. People on street bikes, racers, hell, even race cars blip the throttle when downshifting only to draw attention to themselves. It has nothing to do with performance, control etc. Slipper clutches on race bikes are a waste of money because they are not needed to equalize road/engine speed.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 44,903
Likes: 29,883
From: PNW
...... i'll cruise along in 6th (about 70) until i'm coming up on the reduced speed zone. when i let off the throttle, and pull in the clutch, i'm taking all forward power away from the wheels, which means that the bike is gonna slow down, i shift into 5th, let out the clutch, and it's a smooth transition at about 60 mph, downshift again into 4th, let out the clutch, again, smooth transition, and lock the cruise at 49 or 50....
'
'
From watching others come to a stop at intersections, some you can hear them kinda snap the motor to bring up the revs and use those revs to shift down...that requires a lotta pratice to master and I'm not sure of the outcome if you don't quite master it soon enough.
I'm kinda torn of whether I'm wearing out the clutch and brakes sooner or doing more damage not quite timing those rev snaps properly and feeling the front end of the bike go down and hear her groan out those gears slowing down too hard.
Just pickin y'alls brain to find out how its suppose to be done....I wanna do what I can to keep her out of the shop as much as possible.
I'm kinda torn of whether I'm wearing out the clutch and brakes sooner or doing more damage not quite timing those rev snaps properly and feeling the front end of the bike go down and hear her groan out those gears slowing down too hard.
Just pickin y'alls brain to find out how its suppose to be done....I wanna do what I can to keep her out of the shop as much as possible.
Road Captain
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 673
Likes: 0
Many of the worlds top sports cars with paddle shifters, automatically blip the throttle on downshifts so as to not upset the balance of the vehicle...
I guess all the manufacturers are really trying to do is stroke the owners egos by bringing them attention? roflmao
Meanwhile, if done properly, you are only bringing the revs up to less than 2,000 in normal city driving, maybe a little higher at highway speeds.
I guess all the manufacturers are really trying to do is stroke the owners egos by bringing them attention? roflmao
Meanwhile, if done properly, you are only bringing the revs up to less than 2,000 in normal city driving, maybe a little higher at highway speeds.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,616
Likes: 4,440
From: anacoco, la
my wife might have a problem with a line of hot women following me home. maybe she'd let me keep one or two though
Many of the worlds top sports cars with paddle shifters, automatically blip the throttle on downshifts so as to not upset the balance of the vehicle...
I guess all the manufacturers are really trying to do is stroke the owners egos by bringing them attention? roflmao
Meanwhile, if done properly, you are only bringing the revs up to less than 2,000 in normal city driving, maybe a little higher at highway speeds.
I guess all the manufacturers are really trying to do is stroke the owners egos by bringing them attention? roflmao
Meanwhile, if done properly, you are only bringing the revs up to less than 2,000 in normal city driving, maybe a little higher at highway speeds.
there is a huge, huge, huge difference between your harley and a 'top sports car'. regardless of how much you paid for that dyno tune
Road Captain
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 673
Likes: 0
[QUOTE;there is a huge, huge, huge difference between your harley and a 'top sports car'. regardless of how much you paid for that dyno tune [/QUOTE]
Undoubtedly but... the theory, application and effect, remain constant.
[/QUOTE]Undoubtedly but... the theory, application and effect, remain constant.
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,589
Likes: 2
From: USA
Gearing down will make ya a better operator. Coming to a halt in 3rd gear & then needing to move will move ya slowly forward, while coming to a halt in at least 2nd will get ya moving faster...when need be. Also, its less stress on the brakes. Plus, ya spend less time in indecision & thought whenever ya download the gears to idle speed.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 38,613
Likes: 6,439
From: Honah Lee
Brakes are lot cheaper then clutch. When I see yellow or red light I get off gas. No one behind, just let engine drag down the speed. Someone behind I keep eye on them and when I see them backing off also for the light, I downshift as I slow but do not let clutch out. However I match gear for my speed till right before throwing foot out I will be in low. That way I am also ready if say light pops to green I am ready to go if I am doing 20 or doing 2. That last part takes practice.
