Downshifting while braking for a turn

[jonnythan]

So if you hadn't been speeding on a blind turn....

Just kidding, we all end up dropping a gear on a turn at some point and you're 100% right, a nice slow easing out of the clutch will make it smooth as long as you didn't drop 3 or 4 gears. However, it's much better to not have to downshift in the curve, especially if you're taking the turn fast as even more traction will be taken up by the turn.

Dude, at 55mph, I usually have SUVs trying to drive directly up my sphincter on that ramp

Anyway, if I'm slowing down enough to drop *several* gears while mid-turn, I generally straighten up and quickly brake while dropping gears before engaging the gear and leaning back into the turn (or stopping, as the case may be). It's worked well sof ar

[storysunfolding]

J-

The dropping 3-4 gears wasn't a critique of you. I've met many people in my life and it's become more than evident that stupidity is an elemental force, and I respect it.

[jonnythan]

J-

The dropping 3-4 gears wasn't a critique of you. I've met many people in my life and it's become more than evident that stupidity is an elemental force, and I respect it.

Oh I know. No worries, I was just.. elaborating

[Shorts]

For the upcoming turn I flash my rear brake as I downshift well before the turn. But when I downshift, I don't drop my speed too much, just enough to keep the bike at reasonable rpm. I try to get to 2nd for turns which is the right gear for my bike. Keep the speed up in 2nd approaching the turn then use both brakes to slow enough for proper turn speed, then make the turn.

Depending on traffic and the turn, I can stay in 3rd to keep speed.

[Sev]

msf teaches you to brake with both brakes and down shift at the same time when you are coming to a stop.

i do the same thing when preparing for a turn, only i judge the angle of the turn (90 degrees or more?) then I down shift into 2nd for normal turns, and if its tighter i slow way the bleep down and maybe even take it in first.

The MSF teaches you to use both brakes, pull in the clutch and tap dance on the shifter when you're emergency braking.

Under normal braking they suggest working your way down through the gears using engine braking to slow yourself. The the actual brakes to complete the stop. If you're not going to stop, and not racing you shouldn't really need to even use the brakes.

[RideYourRide]

Not one of you gave him any answers. If you're not even capable of doing what the guy's asking yourself then why post? Take your misinformation somewhere else.

Lunchmeat you are on the right track with your thinking.

I can only really offer you a few suggestions for smoothing out downshifting while braking. I'm going under the assumption that whatever you are riding does not have a slipper clutch. If it did we probably wouldn't be talking about it haha. The hardest thing about it is being able to manipulate the throttle smoothly without effecting your pressure on the brakes, and nothing but a zillion repetitions is going to help that.

One thing to remember is that the harder you get on the brakes the faster your RPM will be dropping. This means that when you blip to rev match you'll have to rev it a lesser amount then if you are decelerating slowly, as your wheel speed will have lessened a greater amount in the period you clutch in to downshift then if you were not braking. In other words, brake harder means blip softer.

It helps some people is to use their middle two fingers on the brake lever. This leaves your first finger to work the throttle with, and some people find that to make for more precise blipping. I like this method because it gives you a better stopping power to hand effort ratio as your middle fingers are further away from the brake lever's pivot point then your first two fingers. I use my first two or middle two fingers interchangeably for braking when I'm thinking about it, but if I'm panic stopping or caught by surprise I tend to automatically use my first two fingers. Mess around with different combinations and you will gain dexterity that will help with your blipping as well.


Hope that helps. If you have more questions feel free to ask.

[Sev]

Perhaps I misunderstand. Why would you want to brake and downshift at the same time in that manner?

[Shorts]

Any suggestions? Comments?

Mine fell under the "comments" category

[lunchmeat]

Perhaps I misunderstand. Why would you want to brake and downshift at the same time in that manner?

It theoretically should make things smoother. (Plus, it seems that that's the way you really should be braking, anyway, unless it's emergency braking.) Say I'm approaching a right turn and I'm doing, say, 45. I need to brake early enough that I can take the turn at a moderate speed, but this also involves downshifting. Let's also say I have to downshift two gears instead of one.

The problem here is that, without downshifting smoothly by blipping through the gears, once I get to the turn, I don't know where my revs are in relation to my speed, which will probably mean I'll upset the suspension when I release the clutch. (It's happened before.) I've tried easing, but it doesn't always work that well; there's still kind of a jerk. Blipping at the last moment to match revs is pretty much hit-or-miss for me.

So, logically, if I downshift and match revs while I'm slowing, then I completely avoid the suspension shock. I just think it'd make everything a lot smoother, which I'd like.

[Sev]

Just sounds to me like you need a little more practise with the art of downshifting. You should be able to rev match in a downshift pretty easily.