Total Motorcycle Community Forums

...bear with me!

I am a licenced beginner motorcyclist, having completed a training course in Canada and earned my M2. I own a used 1984 Honda Hawk which runs beautifully. Sadly I had to leave Canada a while back, and other than the training course and small rides around the neighbourhood, I haven't had much time or experience with riding.

Now here's a query I have because I really, honestly do not know this:

Say I'm riding along on third gear, can I switch down to second and keep riding without issues?

I ask this because during my training course I was riding along in a straight line on second gear, when I switched down to first and let go of the clutch the bike lurched forward and I lost control and I fell to the side skidding a bit (excellent protective gear protected me and all I got was some road rash).

So I figure you can't just switch gears down like that, like on a car (and even with cars I don't even really know, I don't have a driver's licence nor have I ever driven a car).

I know this is all "slap-on-the-forehead" dumb, but I really am concerned.

I sometimes feel my heart racing when I think about finally riding again, because I'm worried something like what happened on the training course may happen on the street in public!

I do plan to make many practice runs in a parking lot before I even dare to ride out again, that's for sure.

So please, humour me and help me out. Thank you!!

It sounds like you just let off the clutch too quickly. The engine was trying to slow down the rear wheel, and if you just dump the clutch, it will cause the tire to break traction, and well, you know how that ends.

You can either let off the clutch much more slowly, or give the bike a bit of gas just before letting off the clutch. If you can get the engine to the correct RPMs, it won't jerk the back wheel like that.

This making any sense? I hope I'm not mucking up the matter further.

Oh so that means you can downshift whilst riding along? Great!

Yeah I know what you were saying, and I have some basic knowledge about how the RPM needs to match up with the speed or something like that. Gah, I need to read up on everything again.

yes you can downshift. you just need some practice getting the hang of it.

when you shift down you are engine braking or using the power of the bike to slow down. if you dump the clutch this (as you have seen) can have disasterous effects. if you do it slowly and steadily it won't be as bad. depending on your speed and the gear you shift in to the severity of this engine braking will differ.

for example:
say you normally shift up to second at 10mph
if you try to shift down to first at 10mph the engine braking is not so bad
if you try to shift down to first at 20mph, the engine braking will be a lot more severe and possibly cause you to crash like you did before.

You said the bike lurched forward. As in acceleratred? That's indicative of too much clutch as mentioned but, at too slow of a speed it would pull the bike forward (accelerate). Too fast of a speed it would slow the bike, pushing you forward.

My advice... Get to a parking lot. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. You need to practice this stuff before you get on the streets. Take it easy and go at your own pace. The fear you have about even getting on the bike is your body's way of telling you that you're not ready yet for the streets. If something unexpected happens you're likely to panic. Stay in a safe parking lot where you can't really hurt anything (if you're careful) and practice everything you learned in the class. Maybe even hire a tutor for a few sessions.


Be safe!


.02

It will probably help you to look up a bit of information on howstuffworks or some other informative site on how manual cars work. Basically pulling in the clutch disconnects the parts of your bike that make it move (transmission..shaft drive...or chain...) from the engine. When you do this your engine will slow to idle speed while your transmission will continue at the same speed of your travel. If you want to shift down you need to make sure your engine speed increases to the same speed if would be if you were in that lower gear going that fast.

Ok, that looks confusing, basically ride a bit and try and get a feel for what RPM you are at in what gear based on speed. Like if you are at 6000 in first while going 25 mph, remember that and the next time you want to switch down into first at 25 try and get your rpm's to 6000. Knowing how to drive a manual car has saved my "o-ring" on the bike many times im sure. The main thing for now, as everyone has said, is to be really slow on the clutch as that same friction zone you feel when initially taking off will also take into effect while down shifting and help to slowly match up the engine rpm's with the travel speed.

I'm sure one of the gear heads in here could give a more informed response, but thats what i got. Good luck and keep the shiney side up from now on eh?

someone's probably already done this for you, but

1) you're in 3rd
2) pull in the clutch
3) release the throttle
4) step down on the shifter
5) rev the throttle to higher RPM then it was at while you were riding
6) smoothly release the clutch

you're now in second

Trust me, I'm definitely going to practice on a parking lot. Thank you for the very informative responses so far.

Funny how all of this stuff works.

It's all so incredibly confusing and complicated to read.

It's also really perplexing to learn.

Yet, once you have it all down, your body just does it without thinking. You shift. You throttle. You clutch. You change RPMs. You brake. You accellerate. You learn your friction zone. I mean, all of this sophisticated stuff that has to be coordinated with such finesse eventually just happens automatically.

Then once it becomes second-nature, it's almost impossible to describe it to anyone in a clear and understandable manner.

Just be patient and practice.

As everyone said, yes, you can downshift a motorcycle. You just did it wrong. That is why you dumped the bike. You'll get used to it. Just take your time. It can really take months of riding before it all feels effortless. Took me about 200 miles before I stopped having to think of every single body-motion in my head.

Falkenheld wrote:.
...Now here's a query I have because I really, honestly do not know this:

Say I'm riding along on third gear, can I switch down to second and keep riding without issues?

I ask this because during my training course I was riding along in a straight line on second gear, when I switched down to first and let go of the clutch the bike lurched forward and I lost control and I fell to the side skidding a bit (excellent protective gear protected me and all I got was some road rash).

So I figure you can't just switch gears down like that, like on a car (and even with cars I don't even really know, I don't have a driver's licence nor have I ever driven a car).

I know this is all "slap-on-the-forehead" dumb, but I really am concerned. ...

Actually I know what you mean, but the bike actually SLOWED DOWN drastically, and YOU lurched forward. (You pitched toward the handlebar and tank, right?)

That severe engine braking is the worst when downshifting into FIRST GEAR. (On my bike, I can't get into first gear if I'm going too fast down the road.)

Practice will help.

P