was just curious how everybody else does it.

i use to down shift and brake simultaneously to slow down and keep the bike in an appropriate gear in case i needed to speed up, but i recently learned that down shifting while braking is equivalent to gasing and braking possibly leading to loss of rear wheel control.

so now i will: engage clutch, press brakes, and down shift w/o releasing the clutch, until i come to my stop. so the whole stopping process i have my clutch in. i don't like waiting to the end to down shift,i remember my instructor at MSF (took it about 5yrs ago) said you should keep the bike gear in an appropiratee gear just in case you need to engage and pull away, ie from danger, etc.

is there a better, safer, smarter, way to do this?

 

It all depends for me.. I usually downshift like a car while braking, but only allow the clutch out enough for it to slow me down.

 

I guess it depends where I am, and how fast I need to stop. Generally, I go down each gear and blip the throttleto match the speed of the tranny to the lower gear.. using the inside area between the thumb and fore finger to blip while braking. I practiced this years ago for track use, and it is such a part of my routine that I seem to do it everywhere I ride. Up here in Oregon, our beginning course is called Basic Rider Training, and you are taught to use the downshift procedure, releasing the clutch after each downshift smoooothly, as another way of slowing the motorcycle. Though, keeping the clutch "in" while downshifting coming to a stop is also taught and accepted. For you, I would do what is comfortable and gives you the most control over your motorcycle. Dont forget that you were taught to ride a motorcycle to learn good habits. But dont be afraid to play around a bit and find your style. By now, you have habits in your riding style, and throwing in something new can be fun and further your expertise in your riding.

 

as long as you down downshift too early, you'll be fine. shifting into 1st gear going 40mph is going to cause some skiddige back there.

i always use the engine to help me brake. saves the pads.

 

I usually downshift while braking, but NEVER go into 1st gear. Once the revs get down to about 1500-2000 in 2nd I pull in the clutch, click into neutral and brake to a stop.

 

good stuff, thanks.

 

i try not to use the brakes unless necessary. i downshift all the way down to first when coming to a light, bliping the throttle on each shift. the engine is a good brake if you give yourself enough room. if i'm on the highway, i pretty much just sit up to wind brake if i come up on traffic. the less you use the brakes the better.

 

You don't really need to blip the throttle unless you are aggressively decelerating. Blipping is used to prevent wheel hop by matching your revs to wheel speed.
If you know that you are coming to an intersection that you will be stopping (or slowing) at, you can pretty much just roll off the throttle to slow down, and click down the appropriate gear (if taking a turn), then slip the clutch to engage your wheel speed.

 

Downshifting while braking is something that is taught in advanced schools, nothing wrong with it all, but one other thing that is taught is to not use engine braking as a primary means of slowing down.

 

Depends on how fast I need to stop. If i'm just cruising around town and coming to a stop sign or light,I'll blip the throttle and go down through all of the gears, while using my front brake. If I need to do an emergency stop I clutch in, use both brakes and shift all the way down to 2nd and come to the stop then I shift to 1st. If I just need to slow a little bit down but not come to a complete stop in traffic: I use a mixture of my front and rear brake and remain in gear.