Down shifting while braking

[McLovin]

I found I had some difficulty downshifting (blipping the throttle) while maintaining even pressure on the front brake. While attemping the throttle blip, in order to match the rpm of the downshift gear, I would sometimes pull a bit harder on front brake at that particular moment. I have stock lever and throttle. I played with the hand position a bit (wrist slightly up to allow for full rotation, two fingers on the lever always. I think I need longer fingers. Looking to see what others have found works for them.

[dragos13]

What seems to work for me is using more of your thumb to do the blipping while keeping two fingers on the brake. It will take some time to get used to, but gets smooth once you have it down. If you start twisting your wrist, it will probably affect your brake pressure. Roll your thumb down instead.

[Throttleroller277]

I played with the hand position a bit (wrist slightly up to allow for full rotation, two fingers on the lever always. I think I need longer fingers. Looking to see what others have found works for them.

I have found that using just the tips of my fingers on the Brake lever help with this problem...... you mention needing longer fingers, so I think you may have already tried this, but can you adjust your lever at the "perch", so that the lever is closer to your bar?


and.... practice, practice, practice.... keep in mind that you don't need to be on the track to practice smoothing these motions out, and training your hand to do both things at once, you can practice this while sitting on the bike in the garage or in your pit.....


Not sure if any of this helps, but I thought I'd chime in.

~Brownie

[vort3xr6]

[quote="Throttleroller277"]

and.... practice, practice, practice.... keep in mind that you don't need to be on the track to practice smoothing these motions out...

~Brownie

Amen to that. I was blipping downshifts clipping the apex with my shopping cart last night at King Soopers.

[McLovin]

I'll try all of the above...and practice too! Thanks. Keep the input coming!

[McLovin]

After practicing last night and thinking about what I was doing on the track, I believe the down shift and blipping the throttle part doesn't occur during the hardest part of the braking. At some point you are hard on the brake, once you begin to soften (trailing the brake), you can then maintain a gradual lightening pressure and perform the downshifts at this moment in the braking cycle.

Say you have 100% pressure on the brake, down shift is difficult at this point cause you are concentrating on braking hard, but at about 65% pressure, you can get in the downshifts.

Trying to downshift while pulling hard on the brakes, caused me to pogo the front end. I believe it's mostly a timing issue....

[jbnwc]

Jason Pridmore does things his own way, but you might like it. I personally think it makes things easier and smoother. Here's a link to several of his downshifting clinic videos:

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...nshifting&aq=f

[vort3xr6]

Watching Chris Fillmore downshift last year was mind blowing. He would brake real hard and bang 3 downshifts right when he threw the nose toward the apex.

I have such a hard time with this because I feel it upsets the chassis dipping into the turn.

[oldtimer]

After practicing last night and thinking about what I was doing on the track, I believe the down shift and blipping the throttle part doesn't occur during the hardest part of the braking. At some point you are hard on the brake, once you begin to soften (trailing the brake), you can then maintain a gradual lightening pressure and perform the downshifts at this moment in the braking cycle.

Say you have 100% pressure on the brake, down shift is difficult at this point cause you are concentrating on braking hard, but at about 65% pressure, you can get in the downshifts.

Trying to downshift while pulling hard on the brakes, caused me to pogo the front end. I believe it's mostly a timing issue....

From what I've observed riders downshift in different ways, so keep up the practicing and find what works for you. Jason Pridmore uses engine braking to assist with getting the bike slowed, and suggests executing one downshift early then getting the other shifts completed further into the braking zone. That's how I downshift.

I'm impressed with the guys who can bang through 3 fast shifts ding-ding-ding, I struggle to get that many in a tight group.

[TRK]

I can grab three quick downshifts, but I have never blipped the throttle. It is easiest for me to lightly slip the clutch........does anyone else do this?

[Clarkie]

I can grab three quick downshifts, but I have never blipped the throttle. It is easiest for me to lightly slip the clutch........does anyone else do this?

Yeah but you cheat with your electronic autoshift module you got from ebay...




























I never blipped the throttle either, it's not 1985 any more so you dont need to, and that's not even talking about an OEM slipper clutch that any decent motorcycle has now days.

[marty]

I can grab three quick downshifts, but I have never blipped the throttle. It is easiest for me to lightly slip the clutch........does anyone else do this?

+1

[oldtimer]

I can grab three quick downshifts, but I have never blipped the throttle. It is easiest for me to lightly slip the clutch........does anyone else do this?

Christman keeps telling me I should be shifting this way but I haven't taken the time to practice it. ...sigh

[JimWilson29]

I can grab three quick downshifts, but I have never blipped the throttle. It is easiest for me to lightly slip the clutch........does anyone else do this?

Christman keeps telling me I should be shifting this way but I haven't taken the time to practice it. ...sigh

Didnt Pridmore teach you to feed the clutch on downshifts instead of blipping? He's a big proponent of that.

[oldtimer]

Didnt Pridmore teach you to feed the clutch on downshifts instead of blipping? He's a big proponent of that.

He does teach it and it's amazing. But I still have to practice to learn a new trick. :wink:

I've done the Pridmore two-up rides and I couldn't even feel the shifts, he matches the revs so perfectly.

[Throttleroller277]

I use my hand as a slipper, more than the slipper clutch itself....

[Throttleroller277]

are we talking motorcycles, or nighttime activities?.... oops. ops: 8)

[McLovin]

Two approaches to gear changing (downshifting) are developing on this thread:

1) Blipping of throttle (idea of matching downshift revs with downshifted gear rpm) for smooth transfer of power to rear wheel. i.e. no wheel hopping, etc. Was method for earlier race bikes/technology.

2) Feeding clutch on downshifts in a way as to not disrupt rearwheel traction or upset bike. This can be done on modern bikes as they can handle this demand.

Approach 2, a racer would have to focus on braking for (right hand) and feeding clutch (left hand), versus trying to brake and blip at the same time (two things for the right hand). Seems better to have each extremity, at that moment, performing one operation. Simplifies things and I believe would like to "feel" how my braking is doing and I think blipping may interfere. :?: :?: :?: :?: :?:

[dragos13]

What about doing both? Blipping and still feeding the clutch out a bit? I know what some guys say "smooth is fast" 8)

[Throttleroller277]

What about doing both? Blipping and still feeding the clutch out a bit? I know what some guys say "smooth is fast" 8)

as in "Fast guys, have slow hands".....


I do both blip and feed/slip the clutch, but not at all corners. Sometimes I don't blip at all. Depends on the amount of gears I am dropping, end result in RPM's, maybe a fast kink like turn 3 at Hasting's, where depending on how I was geared and which bike I was on, I wouldn't brake at, just downshift, and turn it in.


Remember "everyone is different... what works for one person, may not work for the next, but both people have the same lap time"- Aaron Clark

[TRK]

I have never blipped the throttle and I race ambike from the 90s still

[davy4575]

I struggled with the timing of it for a while. Blippings is habbit for me, but I have an old bike, no slipper clutch. I was breaking and downshifting at the same time last year and that had me all fuggered up. Concentrating on the shifting rather than the breaking is helping me not spaz so much and overbreak everything. I did move my levers in at the perch. My ergos on the bike are horrible though. First funding available, im going for a set of decent clip-ons.

[spideyrdr]

I struggled with the timing of it for a while. Blippings is habbit for me, but I have an old bike, no slipper clutch. I was breaking and downshifting at the same time last year and that had me all fuggered up. Concentrating on the shifting rather than the breaking is helping me not spaz so much and overbreak everything. I did move my levers in at the perch. My ergos on the bike are horrible though. First funding available, im going for a set of decent clip-ons.

I see an R6 that is for sale, Davy. It even comes with clip-ons! *cough cough*

I can vouch for Davy's blipp-a-tude. He works that throttle like he's giving it a purple-nurple.

I am a non-blipper. I do have a slipper on my R6 but even on my street bikes I have always fed the clutch and have only had one or two rear tire issues (mainly when I was on the EX500).

[McLovin]

I like the feedback for this thread. Seems as if some are non-blippers, some do blips when the corner calls for it and some blip and feed clutch both. A wide variety.

[vort3xr6]

Blippers, hookers, feeders, ballers. I just want to RIDEEEE. This snow is depressing.