yep I blip , but food for thought my dealer told me that down shifting is one of the big causes of the harley cranks twisting like mine did , and yes I still do it but have never done it real hard

 

I too match engine speed to the current gear when downshifting-- the "blip" is the only way to achieve that properly, IMO.

 

|Not trying to pick you up on this, but could your dealer have meant if one missed a gear or two while downshifting may be the cause for twisting a crank?

I wouldn't think a normal downshifting process of say, downshifting coming up to a red light would twist a crank as I think it would take a very agressive action to do that.
Sorry to hear you suffered a twisted crank yourself. Hope it wasnt't too painful in the $$$$ dept....

 

Bunch 'o blippers

 

me as well because I dont like the clank if I don't blip the throttle
a little

 

I was blipping when blipping wasn't cool.

 

 

I understand that Harley's cranks aren't what they used to be (not from experience, but rather from reading about them) but if downshifting is one of the major causes of crank twisting then there are a lot of twisted crank Harley riders that don't know how to downshift.

Done correctly, downshifting should put approximately the same load on the crank as simply letting off the throttle. If you're constantly chirping the rear tire, or even if you just feel the rear tire grabbing during a downshift, then you need some practice.

 

That's because newer "cast" Harley cranks are the closest thing to junk the MoCo has ever offered. Same reason that impact tools are no longer recommended on compensator replacement, ( even though that was SOP through 2006 in the repair manuals. Back then Harleys had forged cranks.)
Can you imagine a car dealer telling you not to downshfit your Ford Focus because you might twist the crank? C'mon!

And yes I blip when downshifting and have nearly 100,000 miles on this drivetrain ( with the original clutch plates too!)

 

To answer the original question, I do "blip" to equalize RPMs when braking, but I use engine braking only very moderately by keeping the strain on the drivetrain as low as possible. For me the majority of the braking duties should go to the brakes.

There was a technical article on this subject in a car magazine a decade or two ago and the point made was that engine braking not only wears the rear tire(s), but everything in the drivetrain--engine, transmission, primary chain, clutch, belt, etc. Using the brakes is the most economical option because brake pads are cheaper than drivetrain components.

Keep in mind that that any braking, using engine or brakes, will wear either the front or rear tire. I try to anticipate braking and coast to a stop as much as possible using the highest gear I can.