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Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 1:00 pm
by touge_dorifuto
I picked this up from driving cars. When I stop, whether I engage the clutch or not, I blip through the throttle on downshifts, in case I need that gear. That and it sounds cooler.
Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:05 pm
by Kal
The ONLY reason my instructor wanted me touching the brakes in routine traffic was so I was telegraphing my actions to the road users around me.
Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 11:33 pm
by qwerty
I adjust my brakes so the light comes on before the brake for the same purpose. I downshift and coast a lot, with a toe on the rear brake just enough to turn on the brake light. It sure annoys the "race to the end and slam on the brakes" crowd, but that's okay.
Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2006 1:43 am
by ZooTech
ofblong wrote:engine braking is not recommended as it is very hard on the motor.
Not as hard as a misinformed rider.
Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2006 8:18 pm
by Kal
Zootech - Is the new VAST album any good?
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:46 am
by ArcticHarleyMan
It's nice to know, and I had no doubt, that most people use engine braking. They learned right. I've also noted that some people are concerned with RPM,s. How they are referring to it isn't quite clear to me. I know that many bikes have tachometers, and others don't. For those with, you can memorize the RPM limits for up and down-shifting and watch your tach s you shift, or, and here I include those without tachs, you can learn by listening to your engine. The easiest way to 'hear' the RPM's is to take the bike to the top speed in each gear, memorize that sound and know that the power band is a bit lower than that RPM and that is where you upshift. For down-shifting, you can be sure that the proper downshift area is a slightly higher RPM, thereby giving you a bit stronger engine braking efficiency than you would get by downshifting at too low an RPM.
I hope that helps some.
