Have ridden for 40+ years. From dirt, to rice, to cruiser. Have always down shifted to help slow the bike when applicable. (not excessively) Never have done any damage probably never will. Aint buying the whole ruin your crank shaft argument. Unless you have a habit of kicking down to first gear from 3000 rpm's then all bets are off. Gentle down shifting as you slow down is what I have always done, and will always do. Same way I have always driven a car. Just my opinion.

 

Nothing wrong with downshifting to first at 3,000 or even higher rpm's as long as you give it the appropriate blip of the throttle as you're downshifting. Road racers do it all the time. I do it quite regularly, especially when riding canyons. Bottom line is you want the engine rpm to match the vehicle speed to provide for a smooth downshift regardless of speed/rpm. If your rear tire momentarily loses traction or you feel any abrupt decelleration during downshifting then you're not doing it right.

 

Lugging is defined as any low rpm/load where the cylinder is not burning to proper efficiency therefore pinging, firing eradically and surging.

Downshifting to slow speed and throttle blip to match rpm has been around since the first manual trans. A motorcycle will lock up the rear tire you will loose control and freaking die before you hurt a crank from this.

 

I honestly cannot tell at speeds above 50. After reading this entire thread...I will keep it above 2500RPM.

The Manual recommends shifting at 15/25/35/45/55 for each gear from 1-6th...but it really doesn't seem to have any get up and go after third following that pattern.

 

To me this is correct...if it is running smooth, you are not lugging it...you may be running a low enough rpm that you need to downshift before giving it gas..but it is not lugging. I also believe you will "lose control and freaking die before you hurt a crank"...