i'm not too clear on this issue, hope someone can help. honda manuals generally state you must be at a certain mph before downshifting in order to avoid 'engine damage'. like, if you're riding 6th gear, say 80 -100mph, according to the manual, you gotta slow downin the'45mph' (or so) to downshift from 6th to 5th safely. this seems unrealistic. what is the real riding way to engine break from 6th to 5th or 5th to 4th when going 80mph to get passing speed? for now, i just slow down with the front brake and then downshift, which is probably wrong? should i just watch rpm's?thanks.

 

if you're at 80 and you want to down shift to get some passing juice...clutch in and down**** then give some gas and let out clutch at the same time.
as long as you give it gas to match or semi-match the revs...you're not going to hurt the engine.

 

IMHO, Honda does this more from a liability issue than engine damage. If you can go 100 mph in 3rd or 4th gear when your winding up the gears, then its perfectly reasonable to be able to do the same speed when winding down the gears. The problem is that downshifting can be a problem when done incorrectly. If you just kick it into a lower gear, the rpms shoot up. The engine revs will not match the rear wheel and will cause wheel hop which could lead to loss of control of the vehicle. This is why you should blip the throttle when downshifting. This gets the engine revs up to match the drivetrain.

In terms of downshifting to speed up, just do as Tahoe said.

 

Also, the idea of engine braking gives people new to the concept of downshifting the wrong idea IMHO (actually it's Keith Code's idea, but I'll modify for the purposes of this post).

Code says 'the engine is not a brake, although many riders think of it as that'.

With that said, the purpose for downshifting is two fold
1: To power out of a turn
2:To have enough power to escapean approaching safety hazard

 

I agree, brakes are for braking. Brake pads are cheaper to replace than an engine that has been used as a brake pad. I use the brakes to slow down, and I use downshifting to keep my RPM's where I want them.

As state before, remember to blip the throttle (about 1/4) to match engine speed to tire speed. You don't want the rear wheel breaking loose and chattering.

 

great advice, can't wait to practice more as soon as this frigid wave in chicago is over. when i watch motogp, i can hear the downshift on curves and that's what i'd like to perfect without improper engine wear.

 

yea everyone kinda learns to feel when u can shift and stuff without causing damage, but i always just brake with my brakes and use downshifting to maintain whatever rpm i wanna stay at

 

If you've been watchin hopefully you also saw what happens when they do it wrong and the back tire jumps and wiggles. It is thier skill that keeps them from dumpin it. Be careful and don't try it in the curves for a while.

 

Plus they have slipper clutches. Have you ever tried bliping in a turn? The amount of co-ordination it takes is staggering. It's the only time I slip my clutch. The advice I have for myself is 'don't ever do that again'. I've gotten away with it twice but scared the begeezuz out of myself.

 

also, ive noticed something in my own riding experience...when im driving my car...a front wheel drive vehicle with four wheels on the ground, since most of the braking force is applied to the front wheels when using the brakes...downshifting is easily and smoothly accomplished almost completely in conjuction with braking

but, when driving a rear wheel drive 2 wheeled motorcycle...most of the braking should be done with the front brake...but when downshifting and using the engine as a brake, an almost uncrontrolable amount of braking force is applied to the rear wheel

now, since downshifting becomes a habit...just like any other habit you have while driving...in an emergency situation(in this case quick stopping)...downshifting is just instinct, i just do it very quickly in my car...i tried that once in my bike...bad idea...its so hard to control the amount of brake going to the rear wheel, especially when emergency stopping, that i dont think its a good idea to engine brake by downshifting at all, as its a very bad idea when in an emergency situation

IMHO

let me know if anyone agrees