Total Motorcycle Community Forums

ofblong wrote:

Shorts wrote:I haven't been on the street yet, but when I ride pillion I hear how DH shifts.

If the light/intersection is far enough ahead, he progressively downshifts to use the engine to slow the bike and he ends up just easy cruising to a stop.

But if its quick stops in city or unexpected, he clutches and and brakes, and quickly taps down to 1st or 2nd.

engine breaking is not recommended as it is very hard on the motor.

I've had two people tell me that you should use engine braking to slow down.

1) My MSF instructor who raced for Kawasaki
2) My Motorcycle Mechanics instructor who has been fixing bikes for 27 years now.

Hell, engine braking is a vital component of running in an engine after you've first bought a new bike. Anyone who tells you different probably doesn't know how to engine brake properly.

The Crimson Rider® wrote:i engine brake a lot.

i rarely brake in the canyons. i don't gun it too fast on the straights since im not yet confident to try trail braking and late braking.

i set up my entrance speed mostly by engine braking.

Engine braking must be tough with a slipper clutch.

ofblong wrote:

Shorts wrote:I haven't been on the street yet, but when I ride pillion I hear how DH shifts.

If the light/intersection is far enough ahead, he progressively downshifts to use the engine to slow the bike and he ends up just easy cruising to a stop.

But if its quick stops in city or unexpected, he clutches and and brakes, and quickly taps down to 1st or 2nd.

engine breaking is not recommended as it is very hard on the motor.

Ofblong, don't you downshift to lower gears on long, steep downhills to use engine braking to control your speed rather than use your brakes?

ofblong wrote:

Shorts wrote:Depends on how hard you do. Do you never decelerate and downshift?

If it breaks, get a new one.

why would I want to cause it to break? Im not rich and can go buy a new motor every other year. Engine breaking is great for emergency use but for normal stopping its not a good idea I dont care what kind of vehicle you are using.

I've been engine braking manual tranny cars since I started driving and never had a clutch or engine go south. Same since I started riding.

Look at it this way, all the money you save from less frequent brake pad changes by engine breaking will allow to have some extra cash in case for some strange reason the engine would be troubled from it.

WyoSemRider wrote:

ofblong wrote:

Shorts wrote:I haven't been on the street yet, but when I ride pillion I hear how DH shifts.

If the light/intersection is far enough ahead, he progressively downshifts to use the engine to slow the bike and he ends up just easy cruising to a stop.

But if its quick stops in city or unexpected, he clutches and and brakes, and quickly taps down to 1st or 2nd.

engine breaking is not recommended as it is very hard on the motor.

Ofblong, don't you downshift to lower gears on long, steep downhills to use engine braking to control your speed rather than use your brakes?

It would be really funny to see someone riding the front brakes try to take a corner at speed on the downhill. You wouldn't make it more then 1/4 of the way over before the front wheel snapped to the lock and the rider became a projectile. Followed by 400+ lbs of metal plastic and various other bike parts.

I believe the original question is about engine breaking while coming to a complete stop. Yes, you should match your gear with your speed and downshift if necessary. In downhill situations, I think this would also be advisable. But I was taught in my MSF class not to use the engine to stop the bike.
I was taught to click down thru the gears with the clutch engaged and be in first by the time I stop.

You realise that "clutch engaged" means that the clutch plates are touching and transfering power to the back wheel right?

Well the way hubby told me is to down shift and let the engine do the braking and release the clutch after each down shift (for a normal stop). I have been doing that and have not had a problem coming to a complete stop where i need to. I count in my head... Ok I am in 4th downshift now third let the clutch out ok now downshift to second let out the clutch then ok down shift to first apply brakes and pull in clutch and put the foot down. Thats my mantra right now when stopping LOL. Took me awhile to mkae sure I was in first though lol. But now am having no problem knowing I am in first.

Have a great one and ride safe
Deedee

'scuse me, incorrect wording there. I should have said something like "holding in the clutch lever". Thanks for spotting that one. Good eye.

I downshift and use engine braking often, but not always. I over-look my drive, and often adjust speed to match traffic just by using the throttle. In cages, I often knock the trans into neautral when letting off the gas, no clutch necessary when the trans is caught with no load between accelerate and decelerate. Can't hardly do that on a bike, though. Sometimes, if distance is a little shorter, I simply let off the throttle and let the engine do the stopping. Sometimes, when distances are a little shorter still, I downshift, but I blip the throttle so the entire gear change is very smooth. By watching far enough ahead and predicting the changing speed of traffic, I rarely use brakes, even in stop-and-go rush hour traffic. I also downshift for long, steep downhills and save my brakes for emergencies.

In true emergency stops, I focus on the brakes and steering, and don't give a rats rump what gear it is in. I'll straighten that out later rather than risk becoming another statistic. Once the danger is avoided, I'll waste no time getting the tranny in the best gear for the situation.

It's still a mistake in my opinion. Engine braking means you're being stopped by the rear of the bike which means inconsistancies in the road are less likely to upset you. It matches the engine speed to the road speed meaning that you can accelerate or slow down as you want too without having to worry about lugging the engine. Or anything silly like that. To me, it's just the safer option.

That and my teacher (motorcycle mechanics) yells at the students who just pull in the clutch and bang down through the gears... and that's sitting on the dyno where the road rolls with the tires. There's gotta be a reason for that type of thing to "pee" him off.

And this is the guy who took a Gixxer750 up to 200km/h in under 6 seconds shifting the whole way on the dyno. All that you saw was his right hand snapping up and down so fast it was a blur and his clutch finally stop in 6th gear. BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM, the back end was hopping around on the drum, back and forth, and his glasses almost went flying off. Haha.