Down shift or brake?
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,928
Likes: 285
From: Edmond Oklahoma
Beary
Road Master
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,221
Likes: 4
From: Annemasse (border of Geneva-Switzerland) facing Mt-Blanc.
It seems double clutching is 'the' bad habit that can reduce mileage by 10% in city traffic and it also affects the duration of engine braking. Going down mountain roads is a different story, I never let the engine go below 2,000 rpm because of gravel and uneven pavement (if any).
Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 41
Likes: 5
From: Mougins
From what I've understood of engine braking, the engine brakes because of the vacuum created by the lack of air at the intake and I guess that is why engine braking can be noisy since the flow of air is troubled and is probably at a pressure lower than the ambient pressure. (I don't know what happens exactly in the exhaust)
But the oil pump continues to run and lub, and the amount of detonated fuel is low so the stress on the piston/cylinder should be lower than when running at the same RPM in 'normal condition' (going forward by burning fuel).
Also when braking with the engine, the load on the teeth of the gears is on the opposite side of the normal condition : if some gear fails it won't be because of engine braking but because of the wear of normal use. (unless you go into the RPM red zone)
Downshifting also helps keeping the brakes at a reasonable temp and is mandatory when riding/driving over mountains.
Years ago I had two clutch rebuilds on two BMW (bikes), but at the expected mileage (at about 70K km: the mechanic told me in both cases that this was a 'normal' mileage for a clutch rebuild ). I rode the first bike mainly in flat areas, the other mainly in mountainous areas and had to use a lot more engine braking/downshifting than on the first one. And I never had any engine problem (piston/segment/etc).
Banned
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: Owensboro, Ky.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,686
Likes: 242
From: Glen Mills, PA
My hands and feet do this on their own, let off gas, start braking front and rear, then clutch, down shift accordingly until a stop in neutral usually with letting off the rear brake at almost stop to put my foot down.
Bikes are like a helicopter, need all your extremities to operate.
Bikes are like a helicopter, need all your extremities to operate.
