Engine Braking
#11
11-28-2009, 06:54 PM
It's more a question of technique than wear and tear on the bike.
If you're approaching a corner and you ride like a grandmother, you start braking early and maybe downshift at the same time to use some compression braking.
Nothing wrong with that, but it's low performance riding.
If you're riding at a more sprightly pace, you'll go much deeper into the corner with front braking only--or a combination of front and back if you prefer--and then downshift so as to be in the right gear at the corner exit. But you're not using the engine to brake.
Track bikes and high performance street bikes have slipper clutches so there's no chance of engine braking doing what you don't want it to do, busting the rear wheel loose on a downshift/exit.
If you go to a place where riders are doing edge-of-sanity street riding--like Deals Gap--you'll see they don't shift much, if at all. Some go through the entire circuit in one gear, maybe second or third. That means on a four-cylinder bike, the revs are probably holding in the 10 to 12K range. Noisy as hell, but they're always in the torque sweet spot and can concentrate on deep braking and picking the right line and still have max torque for the exit without a downshift to interrupt the flow. Once you get used it, it's one of the better techniques you can learn.
Obviously, on the street, that's too aggressive. But what I do, traffic permitting, is to ride into the corner as deeply as practical, then moderate front braking for the setup, then lean and turn. In the middle of that or before, I snick down into the gear I want for the exit, and match the engine speed on clutch release.
But I rarely use engine braking. Never use it in the wet, because that's where nasty surprises come from. As for front versus rear brake, biasing toward front-use only will reduce the chance of a surprise high side. If you absent mindedly lock the rear wheel due to bad-habit rear braking, you can be eating pavement before you know what hit you. Some track schools remove the rear brake entirely for this reason.
Consistent riding skill comes from being taught the right basic technique before you ingrain bad habits. Personally, I learned the bad habits many years ago and thus struggle constantly to execute good technique.
--Paul
If you're approaching a corner and you ride like a grandmother, you start braking early and maybe downshift at the same time to use some compression braking.
Nothing wrong with that, but it's low performance riding.
If you're riding at a more sprightly pace, you'll go much deeper into the corner with front braking only--or a combination of front and back if you prefer--and then downshift so as to be in the right gear at the corner exit. But you're not using the engine to brake.
Track bikes and high performance street bikes have slipper clutches so there's no chance of engine braking doing what you don't want it to do, busting the rear wheel loose on a downshift/exit.
If you go to a place where riders are doing edge-of-sanity street riding--like Deals Gap--you'll see they don't shift much, if at all. Some go through the entire circuit in one gear, maybe second or third. That means on a four-cylinder bike, the revs are probably holding in the 10 to 12K range. Noisy as hell, but they're always in the torque sweet spot and can concentrate on deep braking and picking the right line and still have max torque for the exit without a downshift to interrupt the flow. Once you get used it, it's one of the better techniques you can learn.
Obviously, on the street, that's too aggressive. But what I do, traffic permitting, is to ride into the corner as deeply as practical, then moderate front braking for the setup, then lean and turn. In the middle of that or before, I snick down into the gear I want for the exit, and match the engine speed on clutch release.
But I rarely use engine braking. Never use it in the wet, because that's where nasty surprises come from. As for front versus rear brake, biasing toward front-use only will reduce the chance of a surprise high side. If you absent mindedly lock the rear wheel due to bad-habit rear braking, you can be eating pavement before you know what hit you. Some track schools remove the rear brake entirely for this reason.
Consistent riding skill comes from being taught the right basic technique before you ingrain bad habits. Personally, I learned the bad habits many years ago and thus struggle constantly to execute good technique.
--Paul
I thought you were supposed to do all of your downshifting, before entering the corner, and not while in the corner
#12
11-29-2009, 02:20 AM
#13
11-29-2009, 07:28 AM
On the street, not quite the same because you wouldn't typically be helling down a two-laner at 60 mph in second gear. At least I don't. So I might need two or even three shifts down, which means I finish up a little past the turn entry.
Either way, I don't rely on engine braking. I try to avoid trail braking, too, because if the traction is compromised by something I can't see, it increases the chances of a tuck. This happened to me last year in a city intersection at night. There had been an accident and coolant was spilled on the roadway, right on a wide painted line. They had thrown sand over it to absorb it. It was the slickest thing I've ever seen. Worse than ice.
I was just coming off the brakes and barely starting the lean when the front wheel hit it. Down we went and hard. Stuff like that you just can't plan for. It's part of the risk. A friend hit some spilled transmission fluid on an interstate ramp, also at night. Front tucked and into an armco barrier he went. Bike destroyed, but he wasn't hurt because he slid parallel to the barrier.
Last edited by Berto; 11-29-2009 at 07:38 AM.
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