My bike usually refuses to go into first if I pop it into neutral at a stop light. So I'm left looking for space to roll the bike forward or back so first will engage. I too just leave it in first at a stop light or sign and have my right foot covering the rear brake. Just seems so much safer to me.

 

Oh ok, I have that too. I usually let out the clutch a little to let the wheel roll just a inch or so, then pull in the clutch then it goes.

 

This happens to me sometimes. All I have to do is release the clutch while it in neutral, pull it back in, and then it works. There have been times however after about 2 hours of riding where it will get stuck in 1st. To fix this I actually have to stall my bike and then start it again for it to change gears.

I never knew about not shifting into first until youre below a certain speed. Is this why my bike kind of 'whines' when I shift into first coming up to a stop light going 20-30 MPH?

 

YES!!! My car is manual trans, so I had habit of looking at RPM when I shift when I first started riding bike. I don't put in first gear when I am downshifting until I am under 10 mph, I think. Correct me if I am doing the wrong thing

 

Do most of you guys rev match when you downshift or just slowly release the clutch? For instance, a traffic light turns red while you're approaching the light going 60mph, how do you have time to rev match and brake? Or do you guys just brake and downshift releasing the clutch slowly?

 

If I am close to the stop light, then I just use the brake and stop. If I stil have space to slow down, I roll off the throttle and use brake little to slow down and downshift when I am at right speed for next gear down. By doing this, I am usually able to slow down to 1st gear before reaching the light and start to balance on 1st, then light normally change. so I go.

But then again, I am not a pro, so it may not be the correct thing to do. But that is what I do.

 

It rarely happens to me but sometimes it doesn't want to go into neutral or first. All I have to do is let the clutch out a little bit (sometimes I'll hear a click) and then it goes in. I never have to physically push the bike unless the engine is off and I want to put it into first gear (when parking on an incline or something).

 

I always blip/rev match. It makes every down shift so much smoother and quicker. If I'm coming up to a traffic light and I'm not going to make it then I just brake and blip through the gears at the same time. By the time I've stopped, I'm already in first gear ready to go. If the light changes on me whilst braking/blipping, I'm always in the right gear to just get on the gas and go.

If I'm coming up to a light and it's already red, then I'll also blip but with a longer pause in between downshifts (because I'm not slowing down as fast) and using a little bit of engine braking between shifts. I don't understand people who kick down, right before stopping at the light, from 4th or so when at a light, it's so slow and it looks really clunky. Some will say that blipping is unnecessary on the streets but it's so much smoother/quicker. I think it's a very valuable skill to learn.

When I filter towards the front of the stoplight I'll be ready in first and have either one foot on the peg (I alternate but usually it's the left foot) or both feed on the ground.
If I know/feel I have a bit more time when first at a light (not filtering) I'll be in neutral resting my hands. If I have some time but the light changes quicker I'll have my left hand and left foot ready to get into 1st and rest my right hand.
If I need to rest but might have to leave the stoplight quickly (pushy car driver behind me) I'll do the same but keep my right hand on the throttle. I'm very quick leaving the light like this even though I have to clutch in and kick into gear.

About the wine in first gear. I'll get it too if I downshift into first when going a bit too fast (the engine braking is noticeably harder) but it's still smooth due to blipping and I can always feather the clutch a bit (left hand is my slipper clutch ).

 

that's what I do in my cage. Good to know that it's done on the bike too. When you're braking and blipping, do you use the front brake and the throttle at the same time, or just rear brake. In a cage, braking and downshifting at the same time is referred to as heel-toe downshifting, and that's what I do for about 90% of downshifts (still in the cage) thanks.

 

I always use both at the same time (the trick is to not jerk the lever when blipping). The only situation in which I would use the rear and not the front is at walking speeds for tight corners and U-turns. If you are going to use only one, using the front makes much more sense than just the rear.