Downshifting & Throttle Blipping

[iZapp]

my 'too sense':

1. the little ninja has barely enough engine braking to skid the rear tire when downshifted under normal circumstances. on this bike matching revs on a downshift is over rated.

2. back brakes? why bother. unless you happen to be on a loose surface and at risk of locking the front.

[adouglas]

Best practices are best practices even if the bike doesn't require them. Why be lazy?

Get into the habit of doing it right and when/if you move up to a more powerful bike you'll be ahead of the game.

Who cares if matching revs is "overrated" on this bike (I can easily lock the back wheel if I want to, BTW)? It's still a useful skill.

If you need to panic stop chances are high that you won't have time to assess the condition of the surface and decide if you need to use the rear brake. It's safer to get into the habit of braking properly at all times, in all circumstances, on any bike.

Anyone who's ever been in a panic situation knows first-hand that you don't have time to think. You'll default to what you've practiced. So practice right and you'll act right.

[iZapp]

Originally Posted by adouglas

(I can easily lock the back wheel if I want to, BTW)? It's still a useful skill.

If you need to panic stop chances are high that you won't have time to assess the condition of the surface and decide if you need to use the rear brake. It's safer to get into the habit of braking properly at all times, in all circumstances, on any bike.

Anyone who's ever been in a panic situation knows first-hand that you don't have time to think. You'll default to what you've practiced. So practice right and you'll act right.

locking the back wheel is never a useful skill on a streetbike. not sure how to even argue that.
and, re panic stops, thats PRECISELY the reason NOT to use the back brake - in a panic, using the back brake will almost certainly lock it, and thats the last thing you want. ever. the situations that require back brake include finessing a bike to a stop once you've hit gravel grass etc, were you've got some time to contemplate what to do.

[adouglas]

I think you misunderstood the point. You said

the little ninja has barely enough engine braking to skid the rear tire when downshifted under normal circumstances.

I was simply observing that in fact it does have enough braking to do it, although you have to be rather ham-handed to get the wheel to lock.

What I took away from your post is that it's a bit of a waste of time to rev match because you're unlikely to lock the wheel. I disagree on the grounds that it's a good habit to get into.

I'm in no way advocating locking the wheel, simply observing that you can do it. Rev matching to avoid it IS a useful skill.

[Joshorilla]

Do they not teach you this when you take your MSF? If i'm down shifting to slow down I just engage the clutch slower because if I blip the throttle it simply wouldn't transfer any road speed to the engine, if i'm down shifting to get more power you match the engine with road speed and they teach you to do this just calling it matching the engine and wheels speed, i'd never heard of blipping before, i'd assumed everyone just did it.

[RedOctober]

Originally Posted by Joshorilla

Do they not teach you this when you take your MSF?

Nope.
Thing about MSF, quote a few people come from "have never driven a stick shift" background. And it's their first bike. There is already enough (which is why 2 out of 8 in my group flunked their MSF) info to overload newbies.

And of course, MSF gets you up to 3rd gear on a dinky cruiser, so you're doing what...30mph? Hard to explain why blip is needed, and most of people are probably going to get a cruiser later anyway, so dont need blipping.

[psych0hans]

On my last ride all I did was try clutchless upshifting and throttle bliping. I think I have a fair idea of both now, just need to practice practice practice... For clutchless downshifting I noticed the best rpm to be in is between 10-11,000 rpm.

[choneofakind]

Clutchless downshifting has been debated here before. It's possible, but it's also easy to get really wrong and mess up your transmission from what I've read.

I stick with just clutchless up-shifts and clutching/revv-matching on downshifts

[psych0hans]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Clutchless downshifting has been debated here before. It's possible, but it's also easy to get really wrong and mess up your transmission from what I've read.

I stick with just clutchless up-shifts and clutching/revv-matching on downshifts

I'm up for another track day (or two) this weekend. I'll probably concentrate on clutchless upshifting and throttle bliping, but I do want to get clutchless downshifting right as well. lets see how it goes...

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by psych0hans

lets see how it goes...

Go for it!! I'm sure you'll get nice and smooth at it once it becomes muscle memory. I'm just hesitant to do it myself when I can already down shift very quickly with 2 fingers on the clutch and a hard blip. I just don't want to ruin my baby

[Motofool]